Written Answers of 9 May 2001

PRIME MINISTER

  Missile Defence Systems
  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Prime Minister what his policy is on United States' plans to develop a ballistic missile shield and to seek changes to the ABM treaty. [160633]

  The Prime Minister
  I refer the right hon. Member to the answers I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley, West and Penistone (Mr. Clapham) and to the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) in the House on 2 May 2001,Official Report, columns 844–46.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  IRA Arms Dumps
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions IRA arms dumps have been inspected by the international inspectors since 6 May 2000; and if he will make a statement. [159620]

  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions IRA arms dumps have been inspected by the international inspectors since 6 May 2000; and if he will make a statement. [159627]

  Dr. Reid
  The two arms inspectors, Martti Ahtisaari and Cyril Ramaphosa, have issued two separate reports on their inspections of IRA arms dumps. On both occasions they reported the dumps held a substantial amount of military material, including explosives and weapons. They remain confident that these weapons and explosives cannot be used without their being aware of it.

  Paramilitary Threats
  Mr. Grieve
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the threat posed by dissident paramilitary organisations to security in(a) Northern Ireland and (b) Great Britain. [159621]

  Mr. Ingram
  While we believe the main paramilitary groups are maintaining their cease fires there remains a threat from dissidents as evidenced by the recent disruption to the Northern Ireland railway network and the bomb attack on the BBC in London. The security forces are conscious of the threat posed by dissident republicans, and continue to take steps to thwart their attacks.

  Security Situation
  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the security situation in Northern Ireland. [159622]
  160W
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the security situation in Northern Ireland. [159626]

  Mr. Ingram
  The Government believe on balance that the main cease fires are holding. There remains however, a threat from republican dissidents who are opposed to the Good Friday Agreement as evidenced by recent attacks on the railway network in Northern Ireland and the discovery of a Mark 15 barrack buster bomb near Omagh. The security forces are conscious of the threat posed by these groups, and continue to take steps to thwart their attacks.

  Mr. Brazier
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the requirement for police service and Army force levels in the present security situation. [159630]

  Mr. Ingram
  Operational security measures are a matter for the Chief Constable and he keeps security at a level appropriate to his assessment of the prevailing threat. As the level of threat changes, this will be reflected in changes to the security force profile.

  Mr. Colman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what further steps he is taking to create a normal security environment in Northern Ireland. [159632]

  Mr. Ben Chapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what further steps he is taking to create a normal security environment in Northern Ireland. [159641]

  Mr. Ingram
  The Chief Constable recently announced a number of further normalisation measures including the demolition of the six Fermanagh patrol bases, the closure and demolition of Long Kesh army base and the closure of Strand Road Holding Centre. In the longer term, the number of army bases will reduce to no more than 20. Currently the police routinely patrol without military assistance in 28 of the 29 District Command Units. However, on a number of occasions military support has been utilised for specific purposes. Further measures will very much depend on the removal of the threat from dissident republicans and continued progress towards a normal civil society.

  Police (Northern Ireland) Act
  Mr. Browne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about progress in implementing the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000. [159623]

  Mr. Ingram
  A number of the provisions in the Police Act have been commenced, some as recently as 30 March. Implementation is being taken forward where possible, including the provisions enabling 50:50 recruitment and those relating to the Oversight Commissioner.

  Commencement of a number of the sections and schedules in the Act, however, is dependent on the creation of the Policing Board. The Government want to see a Board established as soon as possible so that the comprehensive programme of change envisaged by the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland can be fully progressed.

  Peace Process
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the peace process in Northern Ireland. [159625]

  Mr. David Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress in implementing the Good Friday agreement. [159628]

  Mrs. McKenna
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the peace process in Northern Ireland. [159644]

  Dr. Reid
  I refer my hon. Friends to the reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friends the Members for Warrington, South (Ms Southworth) and Barnsley, East and Mexborough (Mr. Ennis),Official Report, column 99.

  Mr. Tynan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions his Department has had with the US Administration concerning their continued role in the peace process. [159635]

  Dr. Reid
  I met the President's National Security Adviser Dr. Rice and Secretary of State Powell when I was in Washington in March. My officials also keep in touch with the Administration, including through the US Embassy in London to keep them abreast of the current political situation.

  Dr. Iddon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his assessment is of the impact of a stable economy on the peace process in Northern Ireland. [159636]

  Mr. George Howarth
  Northern Ireland now has the fastest growing economy in the United Kingdom and this economic success is directly related to the Belfast Agreement. Seeing and experiencing such tangible benefits helps to maintain support from the business community and the public at large for our continuing efforts to implement the Agreement in full.

  Criminal Justice
  Dr. George Turner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in the review of criminal justice in Northern Ireland. [159629]

  Mr. Dobbin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress on the review of criminal justice in Northern Ireland. [159643]

  Dr. Reid
  I refer my hon. Friends to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) on 26 April 2001,Official Report, column 342W.

  Decommissioning
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has held with the Taoiseach and the Irish Foreign Minister on matters relating to decommissioning and demilitarisation. [159631]

  Dr. Reid
  I regularly discuss the security situation, including the decommissioning and normalisation issues in Northern Ireland with the Taoiseach and the Irish Foreign Minister. I last met the Taoiseach on 31 January 2001 and the Irish Foreign Minister on 3 May 2001.
  162W
  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent developments there have been towards arms decommissioning; and if he will make a statement. [159637]

  Mr. Ingram
  I welcomed the report issued in March by the Decommissioning Commission announcing its re-engagement with the IRA, and look forward to early positive reports from the Commission that progress is being made.

  It is vital that all the paramilitary groups on ceasefire fully and actively engage with the Commission so that the issue of illegally held arms can be resolved and decommissioning can occur as soon as possible.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the prospects for achieving arms decommissioning by the June deadline. [159640]

  Dr. Reid
  I would like to see decommissioning begin as soon as possible and I was encouraged by the report issued by the Decommissioning Commission in March in which it announced its re-engagement with the IRA. Like the Commission, I hope that it will be possible to make substantial progress by the June target date.

  Disability Rights Commission
  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he next expects to meet the Disability Rights Commission to discuss disability rights in Northern Ireland [159634]

  Mr. George Howarth
  The Disability Rights Commission's remit does not extend to Northern Ireland and anti-discrimination legislation there is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland deals with disability and other equality issues in Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State met with members of the Equality Commission on 24 April to discuss their work on the statutory equality duty set out in section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

  Victims of Violence
  John Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps his Department is taking to support the victims of violence in Northern Ireland. [159638]

  Mr. Ingram
  In 1998 the Victims Liaison Unit was established to implement measures to support victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. To date over £18.25 million has been allocated to support victims, and measures including the establishment of a Family Trauma Centre, the Northern Ireland Memorial Fund, a review of Criminal Injuries Compensation, and funding for groups working with victims have been introduced. Further measures will be announced in the coming months.

  RUC Reforms
  Mr. Laurence Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the progress made in the reforms of the RUC. [159639]
  163W
  Mr. Ingram
  The Government are committed to the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland. The Government and the police are pressing on with a wide range of changes to improve the effectiveness of the service and bring it ever closer to the vision set out in the Commission's report.

  A representative Policing Board is a key component of the report's proposals and the Government want to see such a board established as soon as possible so that the changes dependent upon its creation can also be progressed.

  Drug Trafficking
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many RUC officers in each of the last three years have been assigned to combating drug trafficking in Northern Ireland. [159642]

  Mr. Ingram
  All officers in the Royal Ulster Constabulary are drugs aware and capable of combating drugs trafficking. However, there are dedicated units in the Drugs Squad and in District Command Units, previously in Sub-Divisions.

  While figures are not readily available for the number of officers assigned to duties outside the Drugs Squad, over the last three years it has had an approved complement of 44. It is headed by a Detective Superintendent who reports to the Assistant Chief Constable, Crime Department.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Ennis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have(a) been lost and (b) disappeared from the system since the introduction of the national dispersal and integration policy. [158801]

  Mrs. Roche
  If an asylum seeker who is supported by the National Asylum Support Service is found to have left their accommodation, support is withdrawn. We do not, however, keep statistics on the number of such cases.

  Mr. Whittingdale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are located in Essex while awaiting determination of their application or appeal; and what estimate he has made of their total cost to(a) central Government and (b) local government funds. [159952]

  Mrs. Roche
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: The available information comes from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), which began supporting destitute asylum seekers entering the United Kingdom on or after 3 April 2000. NASS records information on the location of NASS supported asylum seekers by region and cluster area but not by county. Statistics from NASS, for the end of February 2001, show that for asylum seekers located in the east of England (which includes Essex) 40 asylum seekers (including dependants) had been allocated accommodation and 810 asylum seekers (including dependants) had been allocated voucher only support.
  164W
  These figures may include some asylum seeker families who have received a final negative decision because families of asylum seekers are eligible to remain supported by NASS until removal.

  Information is not available centrally on the location of asylum seekers not supported by NASS. Asylum seekers who entered the United Kingdom before 3 April 2000 are supported by local authorities.

  Estimated expenditure on asylum support, including unaccompanied asylum seeking minors, in 2000–01 was £751 million (estimated final outturn)

  Notes:

  1. Information on the costs of supporting asylum seekers in specific areas of the United Kingdom are not available.

  2. Figures rounded to the nearest 10.

  3. Costs rounded to the nearest £1 million.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on local authority housing services of the maximum 14 day notice period within which people housed under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 must leave their accommodation after they receive a positive decision on their asylum claims; what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues about the Audit Commission's recommendation that this period should be reviewed; and if he will make a statement. [160663]

  Mrs. Roche
  No ministerial discussions have taken place about the 14 day period laid down in the Asylum Support Regulations 2000 during which asylum seekers remain eligible for National Asylum Support Service (NASS) support. This period was discussed and agreed with the Benefits Agency prior to the implementation of the legislation. However talks are currently taking place between NASS officials, the Benefits Agency and interested voluntary bodies about this period.

  Mr. Brooke
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the effect asylum seekers opting for support by voucher only are having on the housing shortage in London. [160794]

  Mrs. Roche
  No assessment of this sort has been made since where an asylum seeker applies for voucher only support he should already have accommodation, possibly with family or friends, available to him.

  Miss Widdecombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected cannot be traced; and if he will make a statement.[159442]

  Mrs. Roche
  This information has never been collected centrally on a systematic basis, and could be obtained only by a special exercise to examine individual case files at a disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional financial provision is made for(a) health service provision, (b) education provision and (c) local government services in areas designated as cluster areas for asylum seekers. [159748]

  Mrs. Roche
  Health authority baseline allocations are intended to cover the health costs of local populations and these include asylum seekers coming into an area. For England, £600 million of additional funding was
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  announced on 28 March 2000, which meant health authorities received average increases of 8.9 per cent. for the financial year 2000–01 (the minimum increase was 8.2 per cent). Separate arrangements apply for Scotland and Wales which each receive a consequential share of funding.

  On 30 June 2000 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment announced that additional funding, up to £500 per pupil, would be available in the financial year 2000–01 to support the educational needs of children of asylum seekers in receipt of support from the National Asylum Support Service who have been dispersed to cluster areas. In 2000–01 a total of £1.3 million was allocated to schools who have received children of asylum seekers.

  The grant in England is distributed to local authorities through standard spending assessments which take account of factors such as the size of the population and the number of children needing school places. The grant to a particular local authority will reflect an increase in the size of the population due to asylum seekers moving into that area.

  Community Police Officers
  Ms Kelly
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evaluation his Department has made of the impact of community police officers on the number of anti-social behaviour offences. [160294]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: Anti-social behaviour offences are not recorded as a separate category, so an evaluation of the effect on them of any specific policing strategy is not possible.

  Ms Kelly
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many community police officers there are in each police area of Greater Manchester; and how many are(a) full-time and (b) part-time; [160292]

  (2) what measures are in place to increase the number of community police officers in the UK; and what impact they have had on the Greater Manchester area. [160293]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: The information requested for Greater Manchester has been provided by the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester police and is set out in the table.

  Greater Manchester police—Community police officers by division

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Total

  A Division (North Manchester)

  52

  0

  52

  C Division (South Manchester)1

  94

  2

  96

  F Division (Salford)

  71

  0

  71

  G Division (Tameside)

  38

  0

  38

  J Division (Stockport)

  44

  2

  46

  K Division (Bolton)

  57

  0

  57

  L Division (Wigan)

  59

  2

  61

  M Division (Trafford)

  34

  2

  36

  N Division (Bury)

  34

  2

  36

  P Division (Rochdale)1

  34

  4

  38

  Q Division (Oldham)

  44

  0

  44

  Total

  561

  14

  575

  1 South Manchester and Rochdale Divisions are considering increasing their numbers of Community Police Officers by two and one respectively

  166W
  There is no single definition for community policing and many officers carry out some sort of community policing function. The term can cover the assignment of named officers to patrol neighbourhoods, community beat officers and community liaison officers. They are at the forefront of delivering many of our crime reduction policies on the ground, campaigning to reduce burglary and vehicle crime, and gathering intelligence at street level. All these provide visible reassurance and improve the quality of life in the area, not least through reducing the fear of crime among the most vulnerable members of society.

  All Chief Constables have agreed that from this year they will report to their constituencies the measures they are taking to increase visibility and accessibility in every ward and parish in their police authority area.

  The precise deployment and number of officers for community policing is a matter for the chief officers to decide in accordance with the nature of the areas policed.

  I understand from the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester police that Community Police Officers form a key part of the force's operational policing strategy. They are specifically expected to build effective working relationships with key community members through group meetings such as Police Community Consultative Groups and to provide reassurance through high profile foot patrol. Community based police officers should not under ordinary circumstances be diverted away from their normal duties.

  Horserace Betting Levy Board
  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is his policy that the Horserace Betting Levy Board will not be abolished until alternative funding arrangements are agreed by both the racing industry and the betting industry. [160673]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  Our stated intention is to abolish the statutory levy on horserace betting, on the basis that commercial agreements between horseracing and other industries, including bookmaking, are capable of producing sufficient income for racing to flourish as a national sport without the need for such a levy. We would expect to see discussions on future funding arrangements make progress, but introduction of the necessary legislation is not conditional on the conclusion of commercial agreements.

  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding threats to deprive horserace tracks of payments made from Horserace Betting Levy Board money if such tracks sign media rights agreements not agreed by the British Horseracing Board. [160675]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  I am told we have received no representations on this matter.

  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if payments to horserace tracks from Horserace Betting Levy Board money can be withdrawn other than by breach of the conditions of these payments. [160674]
  167W
  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  The allocation of funds from the levy is a matter for the Horserace Betting Levy Board. However, I understand that the board has not given any consideration to withdrawing payments that have already been agreed.

  Tibetans
  Mr. Colman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department(a) when Tibetans were first classed as Chinese nationals for asylum purposes in the UK, (b) by which Government Department the decision was taken and (c) if Tibetans are classified as Chinese nationals by other EU member states; and if he will make a statement. [160504]

  Mrs. Roche
  The 1951 Refugee Convention requires that, unless stateless, a person's claim to refugee status be assessed in relation to the country of which they are a national. The United Kingdom does not recognise China's claims of sovereignty over Tibet, but recognises that Tibet is not independent, and Tibetans hold Chinese nationality. This has been the position argued y the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since the 1951 annexation of Tibet by China. Further, an individual may claim asylum on the basis of persecution by the Chinese authorities because of their Tibetan ethnicity, but at the time and place of their claimed persecution they are held to be Chinese nationals.

  Therefore, the classification of Tibetan in the context of nationality is independent of the consideration of individual asylum claims. This has been the approach adopted in all available United Kingdom asylum statistics. No other European member state classes Tibetans as a separate nationality for asylum purposes.

  Police Complaints System
  Mr. Hope
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he will take to ensure that the development of a new police complaints system takes account of the lessons to be learned from Operation Lancet. [160870]

  Mr. Straw
  We published the Government's proposed framework for a new police complaints system in December 2000. In developing the new arrangements we

  Name

  Start Date

  Previous Position

  David Petch

  5 March 2001

  Ministry of Defence, with attachments to Northern Ireland Office and Cabinet Office

  Diane Hughes

  2 April 2001

  Senior Lecturer in law at Manchester University

  Deborah Glass

  2 April 2001

  Chief Executive of the Investment Management Regulatory Organisation

  Susan Swindell

  2 April 2001

  Senior Crown Prosecutor

  Lionel Pilkington

  2 April 2001

  Senior Crown Prosecutor

  Child Protection
  Mr. Hepburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the aims and objectives are of the new task force on child protection on the internet; and if he will make a statement. [160688]

  Mr. Straw
  I met representatives from the industry involved in providing internet services in the United Kingdom, children's charities, law enforcement agencies
  168W
  want to ensure that they are able to deal effectively and robustly with all cases including those where the investigation may be complex and wide-ranging. I have therefore asked Sir John Hoddinott, former Chief Constable of Hampshire, to carry out a review with the following terms of reference.

  On behalf of the Home Secretary to conduct a review:
  To consider the functioning of the statutory constitutional arrangements for the investigation of corruption and other serious complaints against the police, including the roles of the Police Complaints Authority and the Crown Prosecution Service;
  To consider Operation Lancet as a case study of the way such an investigation is managed strategically and operationally, including as part of the study the process by which decisions were taken during that investigation, and the extent of resources and time used; and
  To make recommendations for the future investigation of police complaints.

  The review will consider the issues arising from the conduct and management of the investigation and will not re-consider any of the matters of substance which were the subject of the investigation. The review will not consider issues relating to the substance of allegations of misconduct about individuals or any such new allegations.

  Sir John Hoddinott will begin work this month.

  Police Complaints Authority
  Mr. Hope
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what appointments to the Police Complaints Authority have been made since 1 March. [160871]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  I have recently appointed Mr. Ian Bynoe to the second position of Deputy Chairman of the authority. His appointment is for two years with effect from 1 May 2001.

  Ian Bynoe has served as a member of the authority since 1998, both reviewing investigations and disciplinary proceedings and supervising investigations. He comes from a legal background and, prior to joining the authority, he was a self-employed policy researcher and legal trainer.

  Also, I have appointed five new full-time members to the Police Complaints Authority. Their appointments will be for three years. The five new members are:

  and others on 28 March 2001, where it was agreed to form a Task Force on Child Protection on the Internet.

  The task force is a partnership of representatives from: internet service providers (ISP); retailers and manufacturers; children's charities; representatives from the main opposition parties; law enforcement agencies; and academics. It has the following aims and objectives:

  Aims:
  To make the United Kingdom the best and safest place in the world for children to use the internet; and to help protect children the world over from abuse fuelled by criminal misuse of new technologies.
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  Objectives:
  Building on current good practice, for industry involved in providing internet services in the United Kingdom to promote ethical business standards across the industry;
  Building on existing co-operation, for law enforcement agencies and industry involved in providing internet services in the United Kingdom to work together to develop effective procedures to prevent, detect and investigate crime on the Internet;
  For the Government to ensure that the law properly covers criminal activity on the internet; and to consider in co-operation with the industry involved in providing internet services in the United Kingdom, the structure of co-regulation for the industry and whether it needs to be strengthened;
  Building on the recommendations of the Internet Crime Forum in their report 'Chatwise Streetwise' for the industry involved in providing internet services in the United Kingdom to offer services with effective safeguards for children.

  The work will be underpinned by a new public awareness campaign later this year and by Government and industry leadership in international initiatives in the European Union and more widely.

  I have today placed a copy of the full aims and objectives and list of organisations represented on the task force in the Library.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Sudan
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will apply greater pressure on the authorities in Khartoum to improve their human rights record. [160243]

  Mr. Wilson
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh) on 23 April 2001,Official Report, column 126W.

  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the arrest of Christians in Khartoum on 10 April and their treatment by riot police; and if he will make a statement. [160145]

  Mr. Wilson
  We received a number of reports of the events on 10 April from our Embassy in Khartoum and Church organisations both within and outside Sudan. Our Ambassador in Khartoum has expressed our concerns to the Government of Sudan. We shall follow the Government's actions on the events in Green Square and at the Episcopal Cathedral, and on freedom of religious expression in general.

  Pakistan
  Mr. Colman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Pakistani Government concerning the persecution of members of the Ahmadiyya Islamic Movement. [160625]

  Mr. Wilson
  On 3 April, the Under-Secretary, my noble Friend Baroness Scotland, met the Pakistani Attorney General and Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights, Ms Shahida Jamil, and reiterated our concerns about the position of the Ahmadi communities in Pakistan and allegations of their persecution under Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

  Trainee Teachers
  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of trainee teachers left before completing their course in each year from 1992–93 to 1999–2000; and i he will make a statement. [157514]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  [holding answer 9 April 2001]: Information about the proportion of trainee teachers who leave a teacher training course before completing is not collected centrally.

  Vocational A-levels
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the failure rate by those taking vocational A-level assessments. [158247]

  Mr. Wicks
  [holing answer 23 April 2001]: We are committed to ensuring that the new vocational A-level is as rigorous as the GCE A-level. However, responsibility for assessing the standards of qualifications rests with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and with the awarding body. QCA is meeting with all awarding bodies to review the outcome of the assessments and consider whether there are lessons to be learned.

  Education and Youth European Council
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the issues raised at the 9 November Education and Youth European Council, pertaining to(a) the Social Agenda, (b) the Blois seminar, Learn the History of Europe, (c) Young People and Europe, (d) the Youth Programme, (e) Social Inclusion of Young People and (f) measures to combat racism in the young; and if he will list the documents concerned and place them in the Library. [158751]

  Mr. Wicks
  [holding answer 24 April 2001]: The outcome of the Education and Youth Council was reported in the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment, my hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon (Mr. Wills) on 14 November 2000, Official Report, column 601W. In respect of the particular issues the hon. Member raises, further information is as follows:

  a) The Social Agenda: the Council adopted an opinion on "the Social Policy Agenda" to forward to the Employment and Social Policy Council. This opinion welcomed, inter alia, that the Social Policy Agenda accepted the role of education and lifelong learning in the preparation and adaptation of the labour market. An Explanatory Memorandum on the European Social Agenda was deposited in the Library on 19 December 2000;

  b) The Blois seminar: this item was included on the agenda as an information point. The Council was informed by the Presidency of the outcome of the seminar held in Blois from 13 to 15 October 2000 on the topic "learning the history of Europe". No discussion took place;

  c) Young People and Europe: an open debate, as part of the Commission's consultation process to develop a White Paper on the future youth policy. The Council agreed the importance of involving young people at European level and the need to create opportunities to consult with young people at national and European level;

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  d) The Youth Programme: the Commission informed the Council of the adoption and implementation of the Youth Programme to run for seven years from 2000 to 2006. The Council Decision establishing the Youth Community Action Programme was recorded in the Official Journal of the European Communities, L117, of 18 May 2000;

  e) Social Inclusion of Young People: the Council adopted a resolution that recognised the distinctive position of young people. It encouraged member states to develop young people's social inclusion and to improve their social and economic situation. The Council Resolution was recorded in the Official Journal of the European Communities, C374, of the 28 December 2000;

  f) Measures to combat racism in the young: the Council took note of a German statement on the need to tackle the problem of racism and xenophobia among young People.

  Depositable papers were not available for those items without listed documents.

  Schools (Ministerial Communications)
  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many(a) consultation documents, (b) regulations, (c) revised and corrected regulations,(d) guidance notes, (e) requests for statistical information and (f) letters from Ministers have been sent to schools by his Department since May 1997. [158920]

  Jacqui Smith
  In my reply to the hon. Member on 19 April 2001,Official Report, column 563W, I gave the number of mailings for the years 1996 to mid 2000. The tables cover mailings to primary schools and mailings to secondary schools in the whole of the year 2000 and in the year 2001 up to 2 May. Since September 2000, we have had a presumption against sending materials direct to schools. Instead most information is available on request.

  Primary schools

  Topic

  2000

  2001 to 2 May 2001

  Consultation Papers1

  School Finance

  1

  0

  School Standards

  0

  1

  Guidance

  Early Years

  1

  0

  Literacy and Numeracy

  6

  3

  School Curriculum

  11

  1

  School Discipline

  1

  1

  School Finance

  2

  1

  School Governance

  2

  2

  School Health and Safety

  3

  1

  School Organisation

  1

  2

  School Premises

  1

  0

  School Standards

  1

  1

  Special Education

  3

  0

  Teaching Profession

  22

  2

  Data collection

  Early Years

  3

  1

  Class size

  2

  1

  School Discipline

  2

  2

  School Finance

  0

  2

  School Standards

  9

  9

  Special education

  1

  1

  Teaching Profession

  1

  1

  Letters from Ministers

  To primary schools

  7

  2

  1 In general DfEE now only consults a sample of schools, usually 10 per cent.

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  Secondary schools

  Topic

  2000

  2001 to 2 May 2001

  Consultation Papers1

  School Finance

  1

  0

  School Standards

  0

  1

  Guidance

  Literacy and Numeracy

  1

  3

  School Curriculum

  14

  1

  School Discipline

  1

  1

  School Finance

  2

  1

  School Governance

  2

  2

  School Health and Safety

  3

  1

  School Organisation

  1

  2

  School Premises

  1

  0

  School Standards

  1

  1

  Special Education

  3

  0

  Teaching Profession

  22

  2

  Data collection

  Class size

  1

  1

  School Discipline

  2

  2

  School Finance

  0

  2

  School Standards

  9

  9

  Special education

  1

  1

  Teaching Profession

  1

  1

  Letters from Ministers

  To secondary schools

  6

  3

  1 In general DfEE now only consults a sample of schools, usually 10 per cent.

  Note:

  Regulations are not sent to schools

  Advertising
  Mrs. May
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the amount his Department has spent on advertising(a) between December 2000 to May 2001 and (b) between May to October 1997. [158998]

  Mr. Wills
  [holding answer 26 April 2001]: The role of advertising is to make the general public aware of the opportunities available to them for example in employment, training or education, to enable them to fulfil their potential.

  During the period May to October 1997 the DfEE spend on advertising was nil. During this period the Department was developing its policies.

  During the period December 2000 to May 2001 the total DfEE spend on advertising was £14,755,321. This reflects the DfEE's need to communicate to a diverse and broad range of target audiences what the Department's policies mean to them.

  The campaigns include:
  Individual Learning Accounts—To encourage people to take up Individual Learning Accounts to improve their career prospects (£568,777).
  Childcare—A successful campaign to recruit more childcare workers and inform parents of local childcare provision (£1,775,475).
  Disability—Raising disability awareness (including getting small business to take practical steps to help disabled customers) (£1,899,447).

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  Fast Track Teachers—To inform potential recruits about the fast-track teachers scheme (£1,400,009).
  Science Year—To encourage more interest in science among young people (£1,509,643).
  Training and Jobs—To promote a range of training and jobs programmes, including apprenticeships for young people and jobs for the over 50s (£694,532).
  UK online centres—Encouraging adults to gain computer skills (£3,238,739).
  Millennium Volunteers—To raise awareness among young people about the benefits of volunteering in the community and stimulate recruitment (£615,341).
  Learning Journey—Campaign to get parents more involved in their children's education (£1,700,000).
  Widening Access to Higher Education—Letting young people know about university opportunities (£1,314,403).

  Medical Schools
  Mr. Chaytor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many places in English medical schools were allocated to overseas students in each of the last three years; and what percentage of the total this represents. [157905]

  Mr. Wicks
  [holding answer 26 April 2001]: The available data are shown in the table.

  Intake numbers of pre-clinical medical students in Higher Education Institutions in England by domicile (Thousands)

  UK

  Overseas

  Total

  1997–98

  Number

  3,438

  311

  3,749

  Percentage

  91.7

  8.3

  100.0

  1998–99

  Number

  3,389

  346

  3,735

  Percentage

  90.7

  9.3

  100.00

  1999–2000

  Number

  3,650

  322

  3,972

  Percentage

  91.8

  8.1

  100.0

  Tuition Fees
  Ms Glenda Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of higher education students are not paying tuition fees in(a) London and (b) English universities and higher education establishments. [159613]

  Mr. Wicks
  In England and Wales, students on undergraduate courses and their families are expected to make a contribution towards their tuition fees only if they can afford to do so.

  In academic year 1999–2000, the latest year for which data are available, for students who are normally domiciled in London as a whole (studying in the UK), the proportion of students who are liable for fees under the Education (Student Support) Regulations and who do not
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  have to pay a contribution towards their fees is estimated to be 58 per cent. For students normally domiciled in England (studying in the UK) this figure is estimated to be 45 per cent.

  Individual Learning Accounts
  Ms Kelly
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to increase the amount of funding available for training through individual learning accounts.[160304]

  Mr. Wicks
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: Spending plans for individual learning accounts for the next three years show a marked increase from the £42 million in financial year 2000–01. The figures are as follows: £46.6 million (2001–02) £72 million (2002–03) and £71.2 million in 2003–04.

  Ms Kelly
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people have(a) applied for and (b) used an individual learning account, broken down by (i) gender, (ii) occupation and (iii) the nature of learning scheme taken up. [160303]

  Mr. Wicks
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: Latest figures are that over one million people have opened individual learning accounts (ILAs) in the UK. This is a remarkable achievement and means that our manifesto commitment to open one million accounts across the UK by March 2002 has been met almost 12 months early. The one million figure includes over 200,000 opened during the pilot phase which preceded the introduction of the national framework to administer ILAs.

  Since the launch of the national framework to administer ILAs in June 2000, almost one million people have inquired about ILA membership in England, 785,379 people have opened an account and 346,559 (44 per cent.) have already made use of their ILA to support a course of learning.

  Of the 785,379 who have opened an account, 459,782 are women and 322,674 are men. Of the 346,559 who have already made use of their account, 203,124 are women and 142,177 are men.

  Over half of the learning is IT related with Computer Literacy and Information Technology (CLAIT) and European Computer Driving Licence being the most popular courses. A wide variety of non-IT, non-recreational learning makes up the balance. A breakdown of the accounts opened arid accounts used by occupation is given in the following table:

  Accounts opened by occupation

  Occupation

  ILAs

  Housewife/Homemaker

  67,290

  Manual/Factory Worker

  41,745

  Manager (own business less than 250 staff)

  27,170

  Office/Retail Worker

  145,795

  Senior Manager/Professional

  79,576

  Skilled Worker/Tradesperson

  62,000

  Teaching/Lecturer

  37,087

  Data not supplied

  173,403

  Other

  151,313

  Total

  785,379

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  Accounts used by occupation

  Occupation

  ILAs

  Housewife/Homemaker

  33,730

  Manual/Factory Worker

  19,233

  Manager (own business less than 250 staff)

  12,149

  Office/Retail Worker

  65,234

  Senior Manager/Professional

  33,330

  Skilled Worker/Tradesperson

  27,943

  Teaching/Lecturer

  15,253

  Data not supplied

  70,626

  Other

  69,061

  Total

  346,559

  Day Care for Childminding
  Mr. Casale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he will publish the national standards for day care and childminding following the consultation on draft standards last year. [160944]

  Ms Hodge
  The national standards for under eights day care and childminding are being published today, and I am placing copies in the Library.

  Work-focused Interviews
  Kali Mountford
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proposals he has to extend the use of work-focused interviews for working-age claimants to benefits. [160874]

  Mr. Blunkett
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security and I are establishing, later this year, Jobcentre Plus, an Agency for people of working age. This will bring together labour market and benefit services for people of working age and enable us to provide a more integrated approach for our customers.

  As we announced on 14 March this year, as a first stage in the launch of Jobcentre Plus, we will be introducing around 50 Pathfinder offices. Additionally, we will be introducing work-focused interviews for everyone of working age making a claim to benefit in around a further 40 offices to the same time scale. A provisional list of the locations in which these offices are based is set out in the table. People of working age making a claim for benefit in these offices will be required to participate in a work-focused interview as an integral part of the benefit claims process and will be offered specialist support to help them into work. My right hon. Friend will shortly be laying regulations under the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 for this purpose.

  Jobcentre Plus work focused interview sites (city/town):

  City of Aberdeen

  Livingston

  Bridgend

  Telford

  Wallasey

  Manchester Openshaw

  City of Derby

  Gateshead

  Essex.

  GCSEs (Shropshire)
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the pass rates for GCSE examinations for pupils in Shropshire for each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [160519]

  Mr. Wicks
  The pass rates for GCSE examinations for pupils in Shropshire who gained at least one GCSE (or GNVQ equivalent) at grade G or above since 1997 are shown in the table.

  Percentage

  1997–98

  97.5

  1998–99

  97.3

  1999–2000

  97.0

  Sure Start (Shrewsbury and Atcham)
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the Sure Start Programme in Shrewsbury and Atcham. [160516]

  Yvette Cooper
  There are no Sure Start programmes operating in the Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency.

  Our aim is to establish 500 programmes in areas of disadvantage by 2003–04. To date, 260 programmes have been announced. Further programmes will be announced later this year.

  Districts are invited to submit plans for a Sure Start programme because collectively they have high levels of need and disadvantage, according to the DETR Index of Multiple Deprivation, and give a good spread between different types of area around the country.

  We will also be looking at ways that Sure Start can reach young children in areas with smaller pockets of deprivation.

  Education Spending (Reading, West)
  Mr. Salter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much the Government spent on education in the Reading, West constituency in each of the financial years from 1995–96 to 2000–01, indicating the specific areas on which the funding has been spent. [159614]

  Ms Estelle Morris
  Most funding provided by the Department is distributed via local education authorities. Total Devolved Formula Capital allocations for schools in the Reading, West constituency amounted to £708,500 in 2000–01. Allocations between the years 1997–98 and 2000–01 under the New Deal for Schools scheme are set out in the table. The Department does not hold information on other support provided to Reading, West constituency schools since 1995–96. The Secretary of State wrote to my hon. Friend on 16 February setting out the total funding for his local education authorities (Reading and West Berkshire) for the years 1998–99 to 2001–02. Due to local government reorganisation, figures are not available for earlier years.
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  New Deal for Schools (NDS): Allocations to schools in the Reading, West constituency

  School

  Project details

  Grant awarded (£)

  1997–98

  LEA wide package including:

  English Martyrs RC Primary

  Urgent health and safety work

  1761,000

  Downsway Primary

  St. Edward's School

  Birch Copse

  1998–99

  Thamesbridge College (formerly Ashmead School)

  Replacement of unusable teaching accommodation

  2,279,825

  LEA wide package involving 12 schools

  Plumbing work

  2136,700

  LEA wide package involving 16 schools

  Repairs to roofs

  2252,900

  1999–2000

  Little Heath School

  Roof Covering Replacement

  107,030

  The Holy Brook School

  Window Replacement

  24,310

  2000–01

  Brookfields Special School

  Replacement of temporary classroom

  60,000

  Upcroft Primary School

  Reorganising and extending school building

  272,550

  Included within a 15 school package:

  Kennett Valley Primary

  Fire alarms/means of escape

  3273,216

  Calcot Infant and Nursery

  Included within a 3 school package:

  Kennett Valley Primary

  Internal remodelling

  3217,925

  1 Local education authorities (LEAs) were not required to specify individual project costs for phase 1 of the NDS programme, so the amount shown is the total allocation in that year to the former Berkshire LEA. Reading LEA (English Martyrs RC Primary and St. Edward's School) and West Berkshire LEA (Downsway Primary and Birch Copse) hold project level information.

  2 Denotes LEA wide package; details of specific schools within the package are not available. West Berkshire local education authority will be able to advise if schools from the Reading, West constituency benefited.

  3 Denotes total allocation made to package projects covering more than one school. West Berkshire local education authority will be able to advise the value of projects at schools which have benefited from these allocations.

  Between 1992–93 and 1997–98, average recurrent funding per pupil fell nationally 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.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Work-focused Interviews
  Kali Mountford
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proposals he has to extend the use of work-focused interviews for working age claimants to benefits. [160873]

  Mr. Darling
  My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment and I are establishing, later this year, Jobcentre Plus, an Agency for people of working age. This will bring together labour market and benefit services for people of working age and enable us to provide a more integrated approach for our customers.

  As we announced on 14 March this year, as the first stage in the launch of Jobcentre Plus, we will be introducing around 50 Pathfinder offices. Additionally, we will be introducing work-focused interviews for everyone of working age making a claim to benefit in around a further 40 offices to the same time scale. A provisional list of the locations in which these offices are based is set out in the table. People of working age making a claim for benefit in these offices will be required
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  to participate in a work-focused interview as an integral part of the benefit claims process and will be offered specialist support to help them into work. I will shortly by laying regulations under the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 for this purpose.

  Jobcentre Plus Work focused Interview Sites

  City of Aberdeen

  Livingston

  Bridgend

  Telford

  Wallasey

  Manchester Openshaw

  City of Derby

  Gateshead

  Essex.

  Pensioners
  Kali Mountford
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his written answer to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 15 March 2001,Official Report, column 716W, if he will update his estimates of the number of pensioner units with an income of (a) under £50, (b) £50 to £99, (c) £100 to £149, (d) £150 to £199, (e) £200 to £210, (f) £211 to £221 and (g) £221 and above who are in receipt of (i) Housing Benefit, (ii) Council Tax Benefit, (iii) Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit and (iv) one or more of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. [160872]

  Mr. Rooker
  The information is in the tables.
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  Pensioners in Great Britain in receipt of Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit by amount of income (excluding Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit amounts)—May 1999

  Total income

  Housing Benefit for Great Britain

  Council Tax Benefit for Great Britain

  Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit for Great Britain

  Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit for Great Britain

  All Cases

  1,769,000

  2,542,000

  1,640,000

  2,670,000

  Under £50

  162,000

  204,000

  150,000

  220,000

  £50–£99

  720,000

  1,042,000

  690,000

  1,070,000

  £100–£149

  628,000

  895,000

  570,000

  960,000

  £150–£199

  187,000

  288,000

  170,000

  300,000

  £200–£210

  19,000

  30,000

  20,000

  30,000

  £211–£220

  12,000

  21,000

  10,000

  20,000

  £221 and above

  40,000

  62,000

  40,000

  70,000

  Pensioners in Great Britain in receipt of Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit by amount of income (including Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit amounts)—May 1999

  Total income

  Housing Benefit for Great Britain

  Council Tax Benefit for Great Britain

  Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit for Great Britain

  Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit for Great Britain

  All cases

  1,769,000

  2,542,000

  1,640,000

  2,670,000

  Under £50

  36,000

  79,000

  30,000

  90,000

  £50–£99

  130,000

  438,000

  120,000

  450,000

  £100–£149

  821,000

  1,097,000

  760,000

  1,150,000

  £150–£199

  536,000

  642,000

  500,000

  680,000

  £200–£210

  61,000

  69,000

  60,000

  70,000

  £211–£220

  42,000

  50,000

  40,000

  50,000

  £221 and above

  142,000

  167,000

  130,000

  180,000

  Notes:

  1. All income that has been used is the income prior to any subtraction of disregards, except for earned income, which is all net income.

  2. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.

  3. The figures for cases in receipt of Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit have been rounded to the nearest thousand, however due to the estimation procedure to produce the figures for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, or Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit, these figures need to be rounded to the nearest ten thousand due to the collection procedures in Scotland.

  4. Pensioners have been identified by either the claimant or the partner being aged 60 and over.

  5. In the first table, the bands of income have been reached by looking at the total income excluding any housing benefit or council tax benefit but including income assumed from any savings.

  6. In the second table, the bands of income have been reached by looking at the total income including any housing benefit or council tax benefit as well as any income assumed from any savings.

  7. The totals may not sum due to rounding.

  Source:
  Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 1999.

  Mr. Blizzard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much additional expenditure on pensioners there has been since May 1997 over and above the cost of annually uprating the state pension in line with prices. [160640]

  Mr. Rooker
  Including forecast expenditure for the current year, the Government will have spent an additional £8.9 billion on new measures over and above inflation increases in the state pension since April 1997.

  Roland Riggs
  Mr. Colman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the hon. Member for Putney will receive a reply to his letter of 17 April about the reclaiming of benefit from the war disablement pension of his constituent, Mr. Roland Riggs. [160527]

  Mr. Bayley
  An initial reply was sent on 8 May 2001 to my hon. Friend's letter of 17 April 2001, on behalf of Mr. Roland Riggs, and I expect to follow this up with a full reply as soon as possible.

  Mrs. Mary McCreadie Harrison
  Mr. Cotter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he will reply to the letter of 29 March, from Mrs. Mary McCreadie Harrison, a constituent, concerning her pension entitlement. [160789]

  Mr. Rooker
  A reply was issued on 4 May 2001.

  Child Support Agency
  Ms Drown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the(a) earliest and (b) latest date is on which the new CSA rules will be applied to existing CSA cases; and if he will make a statement on how the new CSA arrangements will be phased in for existing cases. [160683]

  Angela Eagle
  The new child support scheme will be introduced for new cases by April 2002. Existing cases will be moved on to the new scheme when it is seen to be working well and maintenance is being paid regularly and reliably to new cases.

  To give parents who have existing child support assessments time to adjust to the new amounts, child support liability will be phased over a period of five years and in stages of £2.50, £5 or £10, depending on the non-resident parent's net weekly income.

ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS

  GM Crops
  Mrs. Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what consultations were held with(a) the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, (b) the Wild Life Trust West Wales, (c) Pembrokeshire county council and (d) the National Assembly for Wales on environmental sensitivity, prior to a decision being made to allow genetically modified farm scale trials to go ahead at Mathry, Pembrokeshire. [157570]

  Mr. Meacher
  [holding answer 9 April 2001]: No consultations on environmental sensitivity were held with the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, the Wild Life Trust West Wales, Pembrokeshire county council or the National Assembly for Wales, prior to a decision being made to propose genetically modified farm scale evaluations at Mathry, Pembrokeshire.

  The genetically modified (GM) maize to be grown at Mathry has European Union wide approval for unrestricted cultivation. The fields at Mathry were offered by Aventis CropScience on behalf of the industry body SCIMAC and selected by the research consortium

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  undertaking the evaluations in accordance with the criteria set by the independent committee of scientists overseeing the Farm Scale Evaluations. It is not a decision Ministers take. As soon as DETR officials were notified of the site locations by SCIMAC they informed National Assembly officials about the three sites in Wales. DETR issued a press release on 3 April listing the proposed sites and on the same day also wrote to Pembrokeshire county council and the local community council to inform them of the sites and to provide information about the Farm Scale Evaluation programme. This received extensive local and Welsh media coverage. DETR officials and experts were then available to discuss any environmental concerns arising from the proposed evaluation in Mathry.

  Mrs. Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what environmental impact assessments have been carried out on the proposed genetically modified farm scale trial sites at Mathry, Pembrokeshire, before the decision to grant a licence was made. [157568]

  Mr. Meacher
  [holding answer 9 April 2001]: The genetically modified (GM) maize to be grown in the Farm Scale Evaluations at Mathry has been subject to detailed risk assessments as part of the requirement for its authorisation under EU Directive 90–220, which controls releases of GM organisms. These risk assessments showed that it could safely be cultivated anywhere within the EU. Accordingly it was granted consent for commercial cultivation in 1998. This consent applies throughout the European Union. Directive 90–220 requires that the use of GM crops with commercial approval may not be prohibited or impeded except on sound scientific grounds, in particular, risks to human health or the environment. Any such action would need to be agreed by other Member States. This is in keeping with such crops having passed a robust risk assessment at EU level and being assessed as safe for use. No additional environmental impact assessment is therefore required under EU legislation. Equally there is nothing to prevent such an assessment being carried out, though none in practice has.

  Green Belt/greenfield Development
  Mr. Green
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the locations of each development on(a) green belt land and (b) non-green belt greenfield land that he has given planning permission for since 1 May 1997. [158709]

  Mr. Raynsford
  [holding answer 23 April 2001]: The locations of the 119 sites where the Secretary of State has approved development in the green belt are set out in a table which has been placed in the Libraries of the House. Sixty six per cent. of these sites involved the use of previously developed land and the conversion of existing buildings. The total area of the sites on which approval was given equates to 0.08 per cent. of the total area of green belt in England. In the same period, the Secretary of State refused development on 132 sites in the green belt.

  Information on non-green belt greenfield sites is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Foot and Mouth (Financial Assistance)
  Mr. Green
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much money central Government had paid out by 26 April under the matched funding scheme for public donations to foot and mouth relief. [159939]

  Mr. Meacher
  Up until the 26 April, the Countryside Agency, which is implementing the Government's commitment to match donations from the public to help alleviate hardship as a result of the foot and mouth disease, had made payment of one grant worth £52,000 to the Hadfield Trust in Cumbria.

  On Friday 4 May the Countryside Agency announced details of three further charities that had been awarded funding worth almost £1.5 million under the scheme. The ARC-Addington Fund will receive match funding of £1 million, the Rural Stress Information Network will receive £332,000 and the Cumbrian Community Foundation will receive £91,843.

  The Countryside Agency continues to receive applications for match funding which it aims to turn around as quickly as possible.

  Foot and Mouth
  Mr. Stunell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received from Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for the relaxation of pollution control regulations in relation to(a) open burning of slaughtered livestock carcases and (b) tyres used to aid combustion; and if he will make a statement. [159854]

  Mr. Meacher
  [holding answer 2 May 2001]: There is a continuing dialogue between various Government Departments, and with the Environment Agency, about options for the disposal of carcases.

  In order to expedite the burning of animal carcases resulting from the foot and mouth crisis, we have made regulations—The Pollution Prevention and Control (Foot-and-Mouth Disease) (Air Curtain Incinerators) (England and Wales) Regulations 2001, SI 2001–1623)—which came into force on Tuesday 1 May 2001, allowing the permitting of air curtain incinerators for this purpose, which can be preferable to the use of pyres.

  The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food would not generally sanction the use of tyres to aid combustion, and has made no representations to my Department on this matter.

  Sellafield
  Mr. Chaytor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what research he has commissioned on the technical modifications necessary to the Sellafield MOX plant to enable the plant to process plutonium for immobilisation. [159781]

  Mr. Meacher
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: My Department has not commissioned any research on this subject. We are aware of the recent report by Fred Barker and Mike Sadnicki, "The Disposition of Civil Plutonium

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  in the UK", which, among other things, identifies some modifications which could enable the plant to dispose of plutonium through a process of immobilisation.

  Railtrack
  Ms Kelly
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the(a) allocated and (b) forecast level of public funding to Railtrack is in each of the next three years. [160297]

  Mr. Hill
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: Railtrack will receive network grants from the Strategic Rail Authority. While the precise amounts will depend on future movements in the retail prices index, payments are expected to be as follows:

  £ million

  2001–02

  505

  2002–03

  900

  2003–04

  2,005

  In addition, Railtrack will receive some £2 billion each year in revenue from passenger train operators, the large majority of whom receive subsidy from the Strategic Rail Authority and passenger transport executives.

  Additionally, in 2003–04 network grants to Railtrack will be increased by an adjustment for freight access income. This will consist of one third of the difference between the total amount of freight income allowed for in the second regulatory control period in the Regulator's final conclusions on passenger access charges and that to emerge from the Regulator's freight charging review.

  Wild Birds
  Mr. Brake
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he is taking to ensure that the Government comply with Article 9.1(c) of Council Directive (79/409/EEC) on the conservation of wild birds with respect to the possession of live and dead birds; and what measures are taken to differentiate between those birds of captive origin and those which are not. [160631]

  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which implements Council Directive (79/409/EEC) in Great Britain, protects all wild birds. Captive-bred birds are not covered by the provisions of the Directive, although they are covered by certain provisions of the 1981 Act. It is an offence under section 1 of the Act to possess any live or dead wild bird, or derivative of such a bird. Section 1 also includes a defence if the possessor of such a bird can show that it had either been legally taken from the wild or that it was captive bred. Ultimately, only the courts can definitively interpret the legislation and decide whether defence is met in any individual case.

  Section 16 of the 1981 Act implements Article 9 of the Directive and provides for licences to be issued derogating from the protection afforded to birds for certain purposes.

  Transport White Paper
  Mrs. Brinton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what guidance 184W
  he has issued on the selection of options in multi-model shares and their consistency with the Transport White Paper, "A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone". [160526]

  Mr. Hill
  I assume my hon. Friend is referring to multi-modal studies. My Department issued Guidance on the Methodology for Multi-Modal Studies (GOMMMS) in March 2000. This develops the new approach to appraisal that was introduced in the White Paper into a fully multi-modal appraisal framework.

  The framework covers the identification and assessment of problems, the identification of options, and the assessment of those options against the five objectives of environment, safety, economy, accessibility and integration which were set out in the Transport White Paper, "A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone".

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the number of homeless acceptances resulting from the termination of support by NASS following a positive decision on claims for asylum; what future plans he has to monitor the number of households who are accepted as homeless in these circumstances; and if he will make a statement. [160660]

  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  These figures are not recorded and we have no current plans to do so.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the support needs of homeless refugees and those given exceptional leave to remain in the UK once they have been given a positive decision on their asylum claims; what guidance will be given to local authorities in this area under the proposed new duty on local housing authorities to produce homelessness strategies set out in the Homes Bill; and if he will make a statement. [160662]

  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  Local authorities must consider the support needs of all homeless client groups, including refugees.

  Guidance on strategies will encourage local authorities to consider the support needs of all homeless client groups, including refugees.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what guidance is available to local authorities about the needs of refugees who are(a) victims of rape or torture and (b) suffering from post-traumatic stress; what plans he has to ensure that local housing authorities consider such needs in assessing whether a person is in priority need under the homelessness legislation; and if he will make a statement. [160661]

  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  The Code of Guidance on Parts 6 and 7 of the Housing Act 1996 requires local authorities to consider whether eligible applicants for social housing are vulnerable as a result of having suffered harassment or violence. Where this is the case, the applicant will have a priority need for accommodation, regardless of his or her background.

  Capital Projects (Shrewsbury and Atcham)
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list capital projects in Shrewsbury and Atcham since 1997 aimed at improving the environment; and if he will make a statement. [160520]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  The table sets out figures for funding provided by DETR to Shrewsbury and Atcham council since 1997, both for all capital purposes, which could include environmental expenditure, as well as for specific capital projects for improving the environment. Returns to the Department also indicate that, between 1997–98 and 1999–2000, Shrewsbury and Atcham council raised around £3 million of usable capital receipts from the sale of assets, which they would have been able to use for any capital purpose, including environmental expenditure, depending on local needs and priorities.

  £000

  Basic Credit Approvals1

  1996–97

  649

  1997–98

  342

  1998–99

  276

  1999–2000

  431

  2000–01

  2,052

  2001–02

  518

  Supplementary Credit Approvals2 for contaminated land

  1996–97

  Spring Gardens, Shrewsbury

  26

  Capital grant

  2000–03

  Renovation of Flaxmill and former malt kiln

  2,800

  1 Basic Credit Approvals are issued annually to all local authorities in England and may be used for any kind of capital expenditure.

  2 Supplementary Credit Approvals are normally issued for specific types of expenditure.

  Flood Emergency Works
  Mr. Oaten
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to review the Bellwin rates to allow local authorities to claim for increased expenditure on flood emergency works. [160513]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  Following the floods that were experienced between October and December 2000 my Department is reviewing the operation of the Bellwin scheme in co-operation with the Local Government Association.

  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 involves destruction of, or danger to, life or property. Grant is 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).
  186W
  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. Bellwin grant is paid only in respect of current expenditure; capital expenditure is not eligible for grant.

  Issues such as future funding will be considered as part of the review. There is also a separate review of flood defence funding.

  Aerodromes (Security)
  Mr. Öpik
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if his Department will incorporate the text of paragraph 9 to the annexe to Circular 2/92 in the final wording of the paper "Safeguarding Aerodromes, Technical Sites and Military Explosives Storage Areas"; and if he will make a statement; [160710]

  (2) what measures his Department proposes to take to ensure the continued protection of (a) gliding sites and (b) other unlicensed aerodromes provided for in paragraph 9 of the annexe to Circular 2/92; and if he will make a statement; [160709]

  (3) what plans his Department has to change its policy on the unofficial safeguarding of gliding sites; and if he will make a statement. [160708]

  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  My Department is currently conducting a public consultation on a proposal to revise Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions Circular 292 on the safeguarding of aerodromes, technical sites and military explosives storage areas. The existing circular is concerned mainly with the role of local planning authorities in official safeguarding, but it also recommends a form of unofficial safeguarding to operators of other aerodromes and of gliding sites. No change of policy is proposed on the unofficial safeguarding of these other aerodromes or of gliding sites. But we envisage that instead of this brief reference in a departmental circular there will be a specific safeguarding publication to be issued by the Civil Aviation Authority. This will be addressed in particular to aerodromes licensed by the authority, but the advice will also be relevant to the operators of unlicensed aerodromes and of gliding sites. We will consider, in our further work on the revision of the circular, whether we should complement the Authority's advice with a recommendation to local planning authorities.

  Commercial Property Leasing
  Mr. Waterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will make an announcement on the action he will take on the voluntary code of practice on commercial property leasing. [160619]

  Ms Beverley Hughes
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Reading, East (Jane Griffiths) on 23 April 2001,Official Report, columns 5–6W.

  National Bus Company
  Ms Rosie Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the distribution of the National Bus Company pensions settlement. [160869]
  187W
  Mr. Hill
  I am very pleased to say that I have been informed by the National Bus Company pension trustees that the representative beneficiaries have now reached an agreement which will enable the trustees to formulate their proposals for the final distribution of the settlement. This agreement removes a major impediment to further early progress.

  Court approval will be necessary for the representative beneficiaries' agreement and for the trustees' proposals. I understand that beneficiaries will be given an opportunity to express their views prior to this approval being sought. The trustees and the representative beneficiaries will be issuing an information bulletin in this regard very shortly.

  The trustees' aim is to obtain the court's approval this summer which should mean that the distribution will be very largely completed this autumn.

  I urge all the parties involved to ensure that this latest very positive progress is continued over the next few months and we will remain in close touch with developments.

  Rights of Way
  Mr. Burgon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will make regulations under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 in relation to access land, rights of way and local access forums. [160946]

  Mr. Meacher
  We have issued a consultation paper on proposals for regulations under section 11 of the Act to enable the Countryside Agency to prepare draft maps of open country and registered common land. The closing date for comments is 20 June and we expect to lay regulations before the summer recess. At that time we would expect to consult on a framework for regulations under section 94 of the Act relating to the establishment of local access forums with a view to laying regulations in the autumn. Before the end of the year we propose to consult on regulations relating to the issue of provisional maps of open country and appeals against them with a view to laying regulations early in 2002. We shall also be consulting on regulations relating to exclusions and restrictions under Chapter II of the Act and dedication of land for access under section 16. We would hope to lay such regulations in the first half of 2002. Consultations on the remaining regulations under Part I will follow.

  Certain of the rights of way provisions in Part II of the Act are already in force, for example the power to order removal of an obstruction under section 64. However the provisions of Part II are complex and there is much work to be done in producing the required regulations. We shall wish to consult before making many of the regulations, which adds to difficulty in providing specific timings. We are committed to improving the rights of way network as soon as possible and are focusing on a number of key issues to achieve this. Guidance on rights of way improvement plans and further provisions to aid the speedy removal of obstructions will he dealt with as a priority and we would hope to have these in force before the end of this year. Other aspects of Part II will be dealt with as quickly as possible over the next two years.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

  Listed Buildings
  Sir Nicholas Lyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list those Grade I listed buildings whose façade has had to be compromised by reason of the requirements of the Health and Safety Executive; what procedures are followed by way of consultation between the HSE and conservation bodies to resolve such issues; and if he will make a statement. [R] [159577]

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  This information is not available. Any such issues would need to be considered on a case by case basis, taking account of the statutory requirement to obtain listed building consent for any works which would affect the character of the building concerned. English Heritage is a statutory consultee in this process.

  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria are used when deciding whether to list a building. [160307]

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: When deciding whether to list buildings, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regard to the statutory criteria set out in section 1 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1979, and to the criteria contained in section 6 of the Government's Planning Policy Guidance Note 15: Planning and the Historic Environment.

  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received concerning listing buildings in Redbridge. [160308]

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: My right hon. Friend is currently considering requests to list two buildings in the Redbridge area—the Odeon Cinema, Gants Hill and Wanstead Police Station. He has asked English Heritage, his statutory adviser on the historic environment, to assess these buildings and will carefully consider its advice and any other available evidence before making his decisions. Since 1994, the Department has been asked to consider 19 buildings in the Redbridge area for inclusion on the statutory list, and of these nine have been listed.

  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received concerning listed status for the Odeon Cinema, Gants Hill. [160309]

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: My right hon. Friend has received a request to consider this cinema for inclusion in the statutory list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest. He has asked English Heritage, his statutory adviser on these matters, to assess the building and will carefully consider its advice and any other available evidence before making his decision.

  Community Fund Grants
  Ms Kelly
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the average length of time is for a decision to be made on applications from organisations in the Greater Manchester area for funding from the Community Fund. [160300]
  189W
  Kate Hoey
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]This information is not available for Greater Manchester. For the United Kingdom, the average time for a decision to be made depends on which grant programme an applicant applies to. For the Awards for All programme, for grants up to £5,000, it takes an average of two months and a maximum of three months. For the main grants programme, the average is approximately three months for a decision with a maximum of five months. The longer time scale is needed for more complex projects.

  Manpower
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture. Media and Sport if he will list the dates of the meetings between his Department and the recruitment company, Manpower(a) prior to June 1999 and (b) after June 1999 and the matters discussed at them. [160656]

  Mr. Chris Smith
  Prior to June 1999 my officials had contract review meetings with the recruitment company, Manpower on 5 July 1994, 11 October 1994, 24 April 1995 and 27 April 1995. The matters discussed included pricing, invoicing, typing services questionnaire, security clearance of staff, replacement staff, statistical data, appraisals, evaluation and the Department's procedural manual.

  The contract agreement terminated in 1996.

  Royal Parks Agency
  Ms Drown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he will publish the report on the five-year review of the Royal Parks Agency; and if he will make a statement. [160943]

  Mr. Alan Howarth
  The report was published today and I have placed copies in the Libraries of both Houses. The report is also available on the DCMS website (www.culture.gov.uk).

  The report's main conclusion and recommendation is that responsibility for the Royal Parks should remain with central Government and that the Royal Parks Agency (RPA) should continue to manage them although the Department should work towards establishing the Royal Parks as a non-departmental public body. The Government welcome the report and will respond in due course.

  I am pleased to note the report's recognition of the essential role of the Royal Parks Advisory Board in helping the effective management of the Royal Parks by their advice to Ministers and to the Chief Executive. I am grateful for their contribution which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I very much value. We welcome the initiative the board has taken over the past year in extending their role by providing independent advice on a wider range of the agency's plans, performance and longer-term strategy.

  Digital Television
  Mrs. Gilroy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make it his policy to require all new television sets sold after 2004 to have digital receivers built into them. [160200]

  Ms Hewitt
  I have been asked to reply.
  190W
  The Government wish all viewers to enjoy the benefits of digital broadcasting. When purchasing a new television set, it is important that consumers are aware that any set which does not include a digital decoder will not be able to receive television broadcasts without the use of a separate digital decoder once analogue transmissions cease. We have set out the criteria to be achieved before analogue terrestrial transmissions are switched off, and also have said that we expect that the criteria will be met in the period 2006–10. Both satellite and cable broadcasters are expected to cease analogue transmissions by that time. Given that most sets purchased now will still be in use at that time, we are encouraging television set manufacturers to produce generally affordable integrated digital televisions. We would like to see sales of analogue-only sets diminish rapidly in favour of televisions including a digital decoder for at least one of the three main platforms (terrestrial, satellite and cable). The UK cannot prohibit the sale of analogue-only sets that meet EU standards, but we will work with the Commission and with business on ways to encourage or require that all new televisions include a digital decoder as soon as practicable.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

  Everything but Arms Initiative
  Mr. Goggins
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what analysis the Government have undertaken of the impact of the Everything But Arms initiative on the Caribbean. [160942]

  Clare Short
  We have carefully considered the impact of the Everything but Arms initiative on all stakeholders. This includes Caribbean countries that are concerned about the possible impact that it might have on their preferential access to EU markets, particularly for sugar, rice and bananas. A summary of our analysis will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The analysis shows that none of the Caribbean's sugar industries is expected to suffer a significant deterioration in its financial performance due to EBA. For bananas, the impact will be negligible and for rice, the transition arrangements under EBA will mean that changes in market forces will be phased in gradually and the overall impact will not be very great.

  World Summit on Sustainable Development
  Mr. Chaytor
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to assist the preparations for the Rio † 10 conference; what contributions she intends to make at the conference; and if she will make a statement. [159783]

  Clare Short
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment, on 8 May 2001,Official Report, column 38W. DFID is working closely with DETR and other Government Departments to ensure an effective UK contribution to the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

  My Department plans to spend some £1.5 million to support the process. The largest contribution will go to the Government of South Africa to help them meet the costs of organising and hosting the Summit. The Department is also assisting the UN Secretariat to prepare for the Summit and

  191W
  to support developing country participation. A DFID-funded expert meeting on strategies for sustainable development is expected to provide recommendations for the preparatory process. My Department will also be a principal supporter of the UN Development Programme/ European Community Poverty and Environment Initiative which is designed to demonstrate the poverty reducing potential of environmental interventions in the run-up to the Summit.

  Both the Prime Minister and I spoke at the 6 March World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) conference on the Summit and I am placing a copy of my speech in the Library of the House.

  Sub-Saharan Africa
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her policy towards improving water storage and distribution networks in sub-Saharan Africa. [160670]

  Clare Short
  We place a high priority on improving access to potable water supplies and sanitation facilities for the world's poorest people. Sub-Saharan Africa currently has the lowest coverage, with almost half of the population not having access to safe drinking water or sanitation facilities. My Department works with Government and non-government agencies to improve the management of existing water supply schemes and to construct new, affordable schemes. This support includes water storage and distribution networks where locally appropriate. We currently have major water projects in Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique and South Africa.

  Our policy on improving water (and sanitation) services is set out in the recently published strategy paper "Addressing the Water Crisis". I Will send the hon. Member a copy and place a copy in the House Library. This details how we will work towards the target for water supply agreed at the UN Millennium Summit last September—to halve by 2015 the proportion of people unable to reach, or afford, safe drinking water.

  Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
  Mr. Alan Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the share of world trade of each of the most indebted countries(a) in 1980 and (b) in the latest year for which figures are available. [159762]

  Clare Short
  In 1980 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) held a share in world merchandise and services trade of 0.87 per cent. The figure in 1998 was 0.57 per cent. Over this period the volume of exports in merchandise and services rose from $21 billion to $38 billion. There are 41 HIPC countries. Figures for 1980 were not available in 11 of these countries. Figures for 1998 were not available in seven.

DEFENCE

  Defence Estates Agency
  Mrs. Organ
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the Defence Estates Agency for 2001–02. [160862]
  192W
  Dr. Moonie
  As detailed in the Defence Estates Corporate Plan 2001–06, the following key targets have been set for the Agency:

  Key Target 1:
  Customer service—to achieve 90 per cent. of project deliverables on time and to budget.

  Key Target 2:
  Customer satisfaction—to achieve an overall customer satisfaction rating of 67 per cent. or more, as measured by the 2001–02 Customer Satisfaction survey.

  Key Target 3:
  Annual Stewardship Report—to have the report for 2000–01 ready for publication by 31 December.

  Key Target 4:
  Disposal Receipts—to achieve gross receipts of £550 million in FY 2001–02 to 2005–06.

  Key Target 5:
  Prime Contracting—to continue with the implementation of the regional prime contracting programme during the corporate plan period.

  Key Target 6:
  IIP re-accreditation—by 31 July.

  Copies of the new Defence Estates Corporate Plan have been placed in the Library of the House.

  British Forces Post Office Agency
  Miss Geraldine Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the British Forces Post Office Agency for financial year 2001–02. [160863]

  Mr. Spellar
  The Chief Executive of the British Forces Post Office Agency has set the following Key Targets for 2001–02.

  Key Target 1a
  To meet the customers' requirements as negotiated and agreed in Customer Supplier Agreements.

  Key Target 1b
  To achieve an increased level of customer satisfaction.

  Key Target 2
  To achieve an overall 3 per cent. increase in efficiency.

  Key Target 3
  To reduce the level of customer compensation attributable to BFPO by 3 per cent.

  Defence Transport and Movements Agency
  Miss Geraldine Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the Defence Transport and Movements Agency for financial year 2001–02. [160864]

  Mr. Spellar
  The Chief Executive of the Defence Transport and Movements Agency has been set the following Key Targets for 2001–02:

  Key Target 1
  To meet the customers' requirements as negotiated and agreed in Customer Supplier Agreements.

  Key Target la
  94 per cent. or more of Agency transactions and services provided under call-off contracts to be within agreed performance criteria.
  193W
  Key Target 1b
  No individual Agency service or call-off contract to be less than 90 per cent. of agreed performance criteria.

  Key Target 2
  To achieve an overall 3 per cent. increase in efficiency.

  Key Target 3
  To demonstrate improved net added value.

  Key Target 4
  To achieve at least a satisfactory rating in the provision operational transport and movements support.

  Meteorological Office
  Miss Geraldine Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the Meteorological Office for 2001–02. [160865]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Chief Executive of the Met Office is responsible for providing meteorological and related environmental services, including climate change prediction, to a wide range of customers, including the armed forces, Government, civil aviation, shipping, emergency services, media, commerce, industry and the general public. It also undertakes research related to meteorology and climate. This year, the Met Office will be set the following challenging targets:

  Key Target 1:
  To increase the value of the Numerical Weather Prediction Index by at least 2.0 points from the level achieved on 31 March 2001, by 31 March 2002;

  Key Target 2:
  To achieve a value for the Service Quality Index of at least 107.8 on 31 March 2002, from a baseline of 100.0 on 31 March 1997, in line with customer requirements;

  Key Target 3:
  To achieve a value for the Efficiency Index of at least 111.6 by 31 March 2003, from a baseline of 100.0 on 31 March 2000, and to achieve an increase of at least 1.4 Index points during 2001–02;

  Key Target 4:
  To achieve a positive return on capital employed in 2001–02, while returning an operating profit of at least £14.4 million before strategic investments;

  Key Target 5:
  To achieve strategic investments in 2001–02 of £15.9 million ±£1.5 million;

  Key Target 6:
  To achieve a total contribution from commercial activities in 2001–02 of at least £4.4 million;

  Key Target 7:
  To achieve a value for the Staff Skills Index of at least 107.5 by 31 March 2004, from a baseline of 100.0 as at 31 March 2001.

  Defence Storage and Distribution Agency
  Mrs. Organ
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency for financial year 2001–02. [160866]
  194W
  Mr. Spellar
  The Chief Executive of the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency has been set the following Key Targets for 2001–02:

  Key Target 1:
  To meet the customers' requirements as negotiated and agreed in Customer Supplier Agreements.

  Key Target 1a:
  95 per cent. of all issues to consumers to meet Supply Chain Pipeline Times.

  Key Target 1b
  98 per cent. of all receipts to be processed within agreed time limits.

  Key Target 2:
  To demonstrate continuous improvement in efficiency.

  Key Target 2a:
  To achieve an overall 5 per cent. reduction in the unit cost of output.

  Key Target 2b:
  To establish an accurate baseline cost of process output to be used as measurement in financial year 2002–03.

  Key Target 3:
  The value of inventory written off to be less than agreed levels.

  United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
  Mrs. Organ
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office for the financial year 2001–02. [160867]

  Dr. Moonie
  The key targets set for the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office in 2001–02 are as follows:

  1. Publish 100 per cent. of priority safety information within the stated time scales from the receipt of the original data.

  2. Deliver defence specific outputs as defined in the Tasking Authorisation Forms. All agreed outputs delivered to time and quality.

  3. Improve completeness and delivery of commercial orders. 95 per cent. of orders shipped to schedule and 98 per cent. line completeness at first pick by March 2002.

  4. Design, build and populate the UKHO's hydrographic data management infrastructure. Data population to start by 2002.

  5. Break even taking one year with another and achieve an average return on capital employed during the plan period of 7.5 per cent.

  6. Achieve efficiency measure of 5 per cent. growth in "value added" per member of staff (based on financial year 2000–01) by financial yew 2005–06.

  Mrs. Organ
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the quinquennial review of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office will take place. [160868]

  Dr. Moonie
  The quinquennial review (QQR) of the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) will begin this month. The aim of the review is to make recommendations on the future means of delivery of the functions, products and services provided by the UKHO, assessing both the business environment and the strategic capability of the
  195W
  organisation and how the UKHO can best exploit its position in the future. In doing this, phase 1 of the review, which is expected to be completed by mid July, will:
  conduct a challenging examination of current arrangements, taking into account the requirements and views of customers, staff and other stakeholders;
  identify organisational and structural options for future product and service provision and provide costed options for change where this is considered appropriate in order to ensure responsive, coherent and cost-effective product and service delivery.

  Following consultation, phase 2 of the review will go on to develop more detailed proposals for the targeting of improvements in performance and service delivery. The precise programme of work will be dependent on the finding of phase 1, but it is currently expected that it will be completed by November 2001.

  The review will be carried out by a small team which will consult closely with the UKHO and with major stakeholders, and liaise with organisations within and outside of Government that could contribute to the review or be affected by it. The Ministry of Defence is also keen to hear the views of other organisations or individuals with an interest. These can be sent to: UKHO QQR Team, UK Hydrographic Office, Admiralty Way, Taunton, Somerset TA1 2DN. (e-mail: peterhobson@ukho.gov.uk). There will also be an opportunity for feedback on the UKHO website at www.ukho.gov.uk.

  Service Pensions
  Mr. Robert Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will make an announcement in respect of his review of armed forces pensions. [160475]

  Dr. Moonie
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Defence on 16 March 2001,Official Report, column 756W.

  War Widows Pensions
  Jackie Ballard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of(a) the number of people affected and (b) the cost to the Exchequer of re-instating Army widow pensions to those widows who lost their pension on remarriage, prior to the change of policy. [160528]

  Dr. Moonie
  I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 27 November 2000,Official Report, columns 422–23W and 7 February 2001, Official Report, columns 524–25W to the hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis).

  Livestock (Armed Forces)
  Mr. Curry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what livestock the armed forces own other than for ceremonial purposes; and where they are kept. [159823]

  Dr. Moonie
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: Records are not held centrally of any livestock held by the armed forces.

  Research Contracts
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by his Department on research contracts, broken down by region, for the most recent financial year for which figures are available. [149566]
  196W
  Dr. Moonie
  [holding answer 8 February 2001]: Net expenditure outturn for my Department's major customers' research budgets in the Appropriation Accounts for financial year 1999–2000, published on 24 January, was £457.812 million. This sum includes research work placed with DERA but excludes technology demonstrator programmes, and loans and grants to DERA. It is not possible to provide a regional breakdown of research expenditure from available data.

  Porton Down
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many films made by the Chemical Defence and Biological Establishment, Porton Down have been transferred to the Imperial War Museum since 1990; if he will place in the Library a list of the titles of each such film; what progress is being made in transferring further films from Porton Down to the Imperial War Museum; and if he will make a statement. [160493]

  Dr. Moonie
  It is believed that at least 70 films have been transferred to the Imperial War Museum (IWM) from the Chemical and Biological Defence Sector of DERA at Porton Down since 1990. Responsibility for producing a catalogue of acquisitions rests with the IWM. The Ministry of Defence continues to maintain dialogue with the IWM and staff at the Public Record Office and Porton Down about the suitability of other films for permanent preservation.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff since 21 November 2000 have been taken on at the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down to deal with issues relating to Porton Down volunteers who took part in experiments at the Chemical Defence Establishment. [160489]

  Dr. Moonie
  None. Since 21 November 2000, 12 members of staff have been re-assigned from other duties at the Chemical Defence Establishment at Porton Down, to deal with issues relating to the Porton Down Volunteer Programme on a full or part-time basis.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if service volunteers who took part in experiments at the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down are entitled to receive a copy of technical reports which describe the experiments in which they participated. [160491]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Chemical and Biological Defence Sector of DERA at Porton Down respond to all inquiries from ex-Porton Down volunteers and these responses include an invitation to visit Porton Down to view the original record books and discuss any details with current members of staff.

  Volunteers who visit CBD are given copies of records that refer to them personally and copies of other documentation, including technical reports, where they add relevant information to that already located in the volunteer records books. This is decided on a case-to-case basis.

  Technical reports do not usually include names or personal detail and it is often not possible to relate reports to studies in which individual volunteers took part.
  197W
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the technical reports which were compiled by the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down to record the results of an experiment in 1989 in which Service personnel were exposed to Sarin nerve gas. [160490]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Chemical and Biological Defence Sector of DERA at Porton Down has published one technical report on the research undertaken with Sarin in 1989 which involved Service volunteers. This is Technical Paper No. 571 entitled "The Effects on the Eye of Prolonged Exposure to a Low Concentration of GB Vapour". I will make arrangements for a copy of this publication to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many films made by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down are held in the archives of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down; and if he will place in the Library a list of the titles and dates of each film which is currently held in these archives. [160492]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment archives at Porton Down contain references to over 1,200 films. The titles have not been catalogued and in many cases are not very informative. It would require disproportionate cost to produce a meaningful list.

  Appointments (Political Affiliations)
  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many appointments he has made since May 1997 in accordance with the Nolan criteria; how many appointees were aged over 60 years at the time of appointment; and how many declared a political affiliation for(a) the Conservative party, (b) the Labour party and (c) the Liberal Democrats. [160630]

  Dr. Moonie
  Since May 1997 there have been 361 public appointments to non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, made in accordance with the Nolan criteria under guidelines issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Of these, 206 were re-appointments of individuals already serving on the relevant body.

  Of the 361, 93 were aged over 60, 12 declared a political affiliation for the Conservative party, three for the Labour party and none for the Liberal Democrats at the time of appointment and/or re-appointment.

  Deep Vein Thrombosis
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) RAF pilots and aircrew, (b) Army flying personnel and (c) Royal Naval pilots and personnel have suffered from (i) deep vein thrombosis and (ii) pulmonary embolisms in the last five years; and how many were known by his Department to have suffered within 14 days of flying activities. [147192]

  Dr. Moonie
  [holding answer 29 January 2001]: Central records maintained by my Department do not identify illness where it has not resulted in medical downgrading for a significant period. They may, therefore, not record cases of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolisms. In fact, these records show one case of a pulmonary embolism from 1999. The individual
  198W
  concerned was also suffering from a serious illness, which may have been the cause of the pulmonary embolism. Neither the Royal Navy nor the RAF maintain additional collated records, and further information on their personnel could be obtained only by checking medical records individually. A collated Army record is, however, maintained. This shows two Army aircrew who have suffered deep vein thrombosis within the last five years, one of whom also suffered a pulmonary embolism. Neither had been engaged in military flying duties within the previous 14 days, but both had been passengers on a commercial aircraft within that period.

HEALTH

  Meat Inspection Charges
  Mr. Gill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on meat inspection charges in smaller abattoirs. [R] [150872]

  Ms Stuart
  [holding answer 26 February 2001]: The Government's response to the report of the Meat Inspection Charges Task Force was published in the Rural White Paper on 28 November 2000 when, inter alia, we announced the provision of new, additional aid (worth £8.7 million in 2001–02) to help secure the future of small and medium-sized abattoirs.

  As a result of this additional funding the Food Standards Agency was able to implement, from 2 April 2001, the recommendations of the Task Force to base meat inspection charges on the standard headage charges laid down in the EU Charges Directive or on actual inspection costs where these are lower.

  General Practitioners
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent consultations have taken place with GPs over policy changes that will affect the way they work. [156735]

  Mr. Denham
  Officials in the Department meet the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association regularly to discuss these matters. Officials also meet other primary care organisations regularly to discuss wider primary care issues.

  Macular Degenerative Disease
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance his Department is giving to sufferers from macular degenerative disease. [158337]

  Mr. Denham
  We fund research into vision-related conditions through the Medical Research Council. They are currently funding several major research projects into macular degeneration, including a clinical trial at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast: "Radiotherapy in the treatment of subfoveal neovascular membranes (CNVM) in age-related macular degeneration of the eye" for which a grant was provided of £61,571. They have also provided a £1.5 million grant to look at "Genetic Susceptibility to Age Related Macular Degeneration."

  We are also collaborating with the voluntary sector in developing low vision services for people who have lost vision as a result of eye diseases including macular

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  degeneration. This entails improving co-ordination between the hospital eye service where patients are diagnosed, community opticians who are capable of supplying low vision aids, social services departments who can help with aids to independent living and mobility, and voluntary organisations who can provide talking books, guide dogs. Nothing can do more to improve the quality of life for people with visual handicaps than prompt, effective collaboration between these agencies.

  Hearing Aids
  Mr. Laurence Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average length of time patients waited to receive(a) digital and (b) other hearing aids was (i) in the United Kingdom and (ii) in Gloucestershire in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [158880]

  Mr. Hutton
  [holding answer 26 April 2001]: The Department does not collect information on waiting times for hearing aids as it collects data only on consultant-led specialities, and waiting for an appointment for a hearing aid to be fitted is not always consultant-led. Information is available for audiology which covers other things within that speciality. Data are collected for ear, nose and throat and audiological medicine, but this is not specific to hearing aids. These are shown in the table.

  Average (median) out-patient waiting times in weeks for ENT and audiological medicine

  Specialty

  Quarter

  ENT

  Audiological medicine

  Data for England

  March 2000

  10.00

  11.44

  June 2000

  8.83

  10.91

  September 2000

  9.49

  11.67

  December 2000

  9.33

  11.29

  Data for Gloucestershire HA (QDY)

  March 2000

  8.15

  1—

  June 2000

  7.77

  1—

  September 2000

  8.15

  1—

  December 2000

  7.69

  1—

  1 No data

  Note:

  The out-patient average should he treated as an approximation only. This is because it is calculated from data split into four timebands. It is calculated as the median waiting time (in weeks) of those seen for a first out-patient appointment during the quarter following a GP referral.

  Source:

  QMO8R quarterly waiting times return

  Audiology Services
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent representations he has received about funding for audiology services; [160071]

  (2) what his policy is on funding audiology services. [160070]

  Mr. Hutton
  Health authorities have received an average 6.2 per cent. real-terms increase for 2001–02. Funding for national health service audiology services is 200W
  part of the normal responsibility of health authorities and trusts and audiology services should benefit from this very significant increase.

  In addition, substantial extra funds have been provided for the "Modernising NHS hearing aid services" project, which is evaluating leading edge digital hearing aids for NHS patients, together with the evaluation of associated service delivery changes. An extra £10.75 million has been made available for the 20 NHS hearing aid departments involved in the project. If the project is successful, we anticipate by 2003–04 that an extra £25 million will be invested in NHS hearing aid services.

  National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance about the steps audiology departments should be taking to make sure patients get the hearing aid they need was issued in July 2000.

  Representations on NHS audiology services have been received from a wide range of individuals and organisations, including the Royal National Institute for Deaf People.

  Hip Replacements
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the waiting list was for those waiting for hip replacement operations on the NHS in the north-west in each of the years from 1997 to date; [160086]

  (2) what the cost of a hip replacement operation in the north-west was in each of the years from 1997 to date. [160085]

  Mr. Denham
  We do not collect procedure specific waiting list information.

  Abattoirs
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abattoirs there were in the north-west in each of the years from 1997 to date. [160079]

  Ms Stuart
  Between 1997 and March 2001, there were 50 licensed red meat abattoirs and 16 licensed white meat abattoirs in the north-west (Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside). The number of licensed red meat abattoirs fell to 47 in late March, when three abattoirs surrendered their licences in order to take part in the cull schemes introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food during the foot and mouth disease outbreak.

  Currently, licensed abattoirs are also subject to additional approval arrangements under the Foot and Mouth Disease Order as amended. Thirty-eight abattoirs in the north-west are approved to operate under these arrangements.

  Skin and Respiratory Illnesses
  Mr. Crausby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost was to the NHS of treating of(a) asthma and (b) hay fever in the last year for which figures are available. [160130]
  201W
  Mr. Denham
  The information requested is not available in the format required.

  National schedule of reference costs: average unit cost data by healthcare resource group (HRG)—1999 to 2000

  HRG code

  HRG narrative

  Admission type

  Number of FCES

  Mean average £

  Total cost£

  D21

  Asthma more than 49 years or with complications and comorbidities

  Day case

  253

  209

  52,877

  D21

  Asthma more than 49 years or with complications and comorbidities

  Elective in-patient

  1,193

  1,742

  2,078,206

  D21

  Asthma more than 49 years or with complications and comorbidities

  Non-elective in patient

  82,503

  1,043

  86,050,629

  D22

  Asthma less than 50 years or without complications and comorbidities

  Day case

  197

  240

  47,280

  D22

  Asthma less than 50 years or Without complications comorbidities

  Elective in-patient

  466

  1,260

  587,160

  D22

  Asthma less than 50 years or without complications and comorbidities

  Non-elective in-patient

  36,147

  529

  19,121,763

  PO1

  Asthma or recurrent Wheeze

  Day case

  170

  339

  57,630

  PO1

  Asthma or recurrent Wheeze

  Elective in-patient

  697

  711

  495,567

  PO1

  Asthma or recurrent Wheeze

  Non-elective in-patient

  23,191

  498

  11,549,118

  Total

  120,040,230

  The aggregate (total) figures have been produced using average cost figures only, and do not reflect specific costs in individual organisations. Activity data are based on fast-track data and need to be verified against final HES data where available, to ensure that "total" costs are not understated.

  It should be stressed that these are "calculated" total cost figures and should be quoted in round terms, rather than assuming robust accuracy; for example, £120 million in 1999 –2000. The costs of primary care treatment of these conditions are not included in reference costs and would need to be added to these figures to give total costs.

  Mr. Crausby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual drugs bill for asthma was in each of the last five years. [160135]

  Ms Stuart
  The information requested is not available centrally.

  The costs of national health service prescription items for drugs used in the management of asthma and dispensed in the community in England from 1995 to 2000 (January to September) are shown in the table. Information on prescriptions dispensed in NHS hospitals is not available.

  Number of prescription items and the associated net ingredient cost of drugs dispensed in the community for the management of asthma, 1995 to 1999, and 2000 (January to September), England

  Year

  Prescription items(Thousand)

  Net ingredient cost(£000)

  1995

  33,936

  410,899

  1996

  34,500

  438,266

  1997

  35,512

  466,229

  1998

  36,468

  498,037

  1999

  36,639

  519,755

  20001

  27,044

  388,215

  1 January to September

  Notes:

  1. The prescription information is from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system and is based on a full analysis of all prescriptions dispensed in the community, i.e. by community
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  The table lists figures which relate to hospital-based admissions for asthma or recurrent wheeze which can include hay fever.

  pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. Also included are prescriptions written in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man but dispensed in England. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospital or private prescriptions.

  2. The net ingredient cost is the basic cost of a drug. This cost does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income.

  Mr. Crausby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to prevent(a) eczema, (b) hay fever and (c) asthma. [160132]

  Mr. Denham
  We recognise that asthma is the commonest chronic illness in England and policy emphasises that preventive action is of great importance. Hay fever and other allergic diseases, while not having the same symptoms as asthma, must also be avoided where possible and Government-funded research is ongoing into the benefits of allergen avoidance and immunotherapy for such conditions.

  We fund research through the Medical Research Council. The MRC's work includes basic research into the causes of asthma and allergies, with particular effort at present on analysing the genetic factors that predispose some individuals and families to asthma and eczema. The MRC is also conducting controlled trials of methods for managing and preventing asthma. The total MRC spend on allergy and asthma in 1999–2000 was £4 million.

  Included in this total are three projects looking at the causes of hay fever (among other allergies) and exploring possible ways of curing the condition; the spend on these was £200,000 in 1999–2000.

  Mr. Crausby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost to the NHS of treating of eczema was to the NHS in each of the last five years. [160150]

  Mr. Denham
  The Department does not centrally collect final total information on the cost of eczema to the national health service. However, information is available
  203W
  on both the costs of NHS prescription items for drugs used in treating eczema and also costs relating to hospital based admissions for the condition.

  The costs of NHS prescription items for drugs used in the treatment of asthma and dispensed in the community in England from 1995 to 2000 (January to September) are as follows: for 1995 the net ingredient cost was approximately £6.7 million; in 1996 £6.8 million; 1997 £6.6 million; 1998 £6.4 million; 1999 £6.3 million; and for the January to September 2000 period the net ingredient cost was approximately £4.5 million. Information on prescriptions dispensed in NHS hospitals is not available.

  In respect of hospital-based admissions for eczema, aggregate (total cost) figures have been produced using average cost figures. For 1997–98 the total cost was approximately £10.2 million, for 1998–99 the total cost was approximately £29.4 million, and for 1999–2000 the total cost was approximately £30.1 million. Figures are not available for published reference costs prior to the 1997–98 financial year. The figures do not include the cost of primary care treatment of these conditions.

  Mr. Crausby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are diagnosed as sufferers from(a) eczema and (b) hay fever. [160134]

  Mr. Denham
  It is not possible to state the number of people who have been diagnosed as suffering from allergies which include eczema and hay fever. This is due to the fact that many people diagnose themselves, and buy remedies at their local pharmacy, or are diagnosed by their general practitioners or appropriate clinic such as chest clinics or dermatology units. It is however estimated that at least 15 per cent. of the population is affected by allergy.

  However, there were 8,000 admissions to national health service hospitals for 1999–2000 where the primary diagnosis could be described as asthma and 200 cases where the primary diagnosis could be described as hay fever (allergic rhinitus due to pollen).

  Hospital Sites Development
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is his policy to seek to encourage private developers who have purchased former hospital sites and land to provide low-cost housing in developments that they may undertake. [160272]

  Mr. Denham
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions is responsible for setting the national policy guidance in respect of the provision of low-cost housing. Local authorities include policies in their development plans that reflect this guidance. It is for them to ensure that their policies are adhered to when considering proposals for redevelopment of former hospitals

  Local Social Services
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with each of the London borough councils on the growth in their spending on the provision of local social services for the present financial year. [160269]
  204W
  Mr. Hutton
  Ministerial colleagues and I meet frequently with representatives of local councils, including London authorities to discuss growth. which will increase by 10.7 per cent. in real terms from 2000–01 to 2003–04.

  Day Centres (Shropshire)
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on day centre provision for people with learning disabilities in Shropshire. [160376]

  Mr. Hutton
  Shropshire has 12 day centres for people with learning disabilities. These provide a range of opportunities including employment, leisure, therapeutic help and access to education. Some of the centres provide extra support or activities for people who have severe disabilities.

  Most of these centres are small, but the two centres based in Shrewsbury are large centres each catering for between 70 to 90 people. As part of a three-year county-wide improvement plan, social services have increased the learning disability budget by 18 per cent. to modernise the service and to provide users in Shrewsbury with small local provision, which will be consistent with the type of provision available in the rest of the county.

  A Joint Investment Plan for Learning Disability in Shropshire has been submitted for formal evaluation to the Department. This, together with the action plan drawn up in response to the recent Joint Review report, gives details of an overall strategy to improve and integrate health and social services provision and make it more responsive to service users needs.

  Learning Disabilities (Shropshire)
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with learning disabilities have been supported for each year since 1992 by Shropshire county council's social services; and if he will make a statement. [160363]

  Mr. Hutton
  Numbers of residents with learning disabilities supported by Shropshire social services for each year since 1992 are given in the table.

  Year

  Residents

  Residential care

  Nursing care

  1992

  159

  159

  —

  1993

  164

  164

  —

  1994

  181

  179

  2

  1995

  172

  171

  1

  1996

  284

  280

  4

  1997

  277

  264

  13

  1998

  312

  304

  8

  1999

  300

  288

  12

  2000

  234

  216

  18

  Source:

  DH forms RA6 and SRI

  Telford and Wrekin became a unitary authority in 1998. The data for the new unitary have been added to those for Shropshire for 1999 and 2000 for proper comparison with the earlier years.

  These figures include people resettled from hospital and funded by the health authority. These represent 66 out of 234 people for 2000.
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  The council also supports 481 people with a learning disability, at home. This figure is taken from the Personal Social Services Personal Indicator's for 1999–2000. Shropshire was placed at band 5 for this indicator, reflecting very good performance in this area. Shropshire was one of the first local authorities to complete the resettlement of people with learning disabilities from long stay hospitals.

  Medical Specialities
  Mr. Todd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has given to health authorities on their allocation of resources to individual medical specialties. [160263]

  Mr. Denham
  To enable health authorities to manage flexibly the totality of resources available to them, there is limited earmarking of funds within allocations. For 2001–02 the national health service plan implementation programme identified the following sums included in allocations with an intention that they be spent on the purpose for which they were allocated:

  Priority

  £million

  Cancer and coronary heart disease

  450

  Waiting times and access

  423

  Intermediate care and community equipment

  188

  Information management and technology

  113

  These sums reflect national estimates of investment needed to deliver targets and milestones in implementing the NHS plan. They are intended as a guide for local health communities in ensuring that their own plans will meet these targets and milestones.

  A copy of the NHS plan implementation programme will be placed in the Library.

  Medicines Control Agency
  Mr. Ian Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the high-level targets for the Medicines Control Agency for 2001–02. [160938]

  Yvette Cooper
  The high-level targets for the Medicines Control Agency are included in its annual business plan, copies of which have been placed in the Library today.

  Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
  Mr. Ian Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has approved the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's fifth code of practice. [160939]

  Yvette Cooper
  The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's revised code of practice has been approved and was laid before the House today. Copies of the code have been placed in the Library.

  Mr. Ian Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has approved the publication of the second quinquennial review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. [160940]

  Yvette Cooper
  The report of the second quinquennial review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has been approved and copies have been placed in the Library today. This was a thorough review of the 206W
  authority and its work which included wide consultation with the public, service users and providers. The report acknowledges the value of the authority's role in this highly sensitive area.

  The report makes important recommendations. Work on introducing improved quality assurance systems is in hand and we are Working with the authority to agree an implementation plan for the other recommendations.

  Strokes
  Mrs. Brinton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to address the incidence of stroke in ethnic minority groups, to identify and raise awareness among those at greatest risk and to provide accessible, culturally sensitive and appropriate prevention information. [160539]

  Yvette Cooper
  The Department is taking action to address the incidence of stroke in minority ethnic groups through the National Service Frameworks (NSFs) for coronary heart disease and older people.

  Given the higher prevalence of stroke in some minority ethnic communities, the NSFs recognise the need to ensure that integrated stroke services and stroke prevention advice should take into account the need for advocacy support, especially for those patients and carers for whom English is not their first language.

  The Department is currently funding the Stroke Association to produce information packs on high blood pressure, effects of diet, risks from smoking and alcohol and the importance of exercise. The packs will specifically target Afro-Caribbean people and will be publicised and distributed through local community, church and health groups by the end of 2001.

  As part of the Department's tobacco education campaign, a dedicated campaign focused on ethnic minority populations is being developed. The campaign will start in summer of this year and will be supported by a specialist Asian language helpline.

  Mrs. Brinton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards the target set in "Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation" of reducing stroke in those under 75 years. [160537]

  Yvette Cooper
  The target set in the White Paper "Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation" was not solely for stroke, but was for all circulatory diseases combined:"To reduce the death rate from coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke and related diseases in people aged under 75 by at least two fifths (40 per cent.) by 2010".
  It is not yet possible to assess progress towards the target, since the latest available data (for the years 1997–99 combined) overlap with the start of the "Our Healthier Nation" strategy, which was published in July 1999. The last two years' data do demonstrate some movement towards the target, but there are still insufficient data points to establish a trend.

  The table shows directly standardised mortality rates in England (based on three-year rolling averages) from stroke, CHD and for all circulatory diseases (the target group), among people aged under 75.
  207W

  Stroke

  CHD

  All circulatory diseases

  1996 (1995–97)

  24.5

  88.9

  139.6

  1997 (1996–98)

  23.8

  84.3

  133.8

  1998 (1997–99)

  22.8

  79.2

  127.0

  Percentage change 1996–98

  —6.6

  —11.0

  —9.0

  Source

  Office for National Statistics

  Mrs. Brinton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he will be issuing on the development of stroke registers to identify those at greater risk of stroke; and when that guidance can be expected. [160538]

  Yvette Cooper
  Advice on constructing and populating stroke registers will be contained in the Information Strategy for Older People which will be published shortly.

  The National Service Framework for Older People requires that individuals at particular risk of stroke should be identified and offered advice and support to make lifestyle changes. General Practitioner practices should build on registers being developed for the prevention of coronary heart disease as described in the Coronary Heart Disease National Service Framework Standards 3 and 4) and put in place models of care. The milestone for the registers is April 2004.

  Blood Pressure Screening
  Mrs. Brinton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will investigate the effectiveness of introducing blood pressure screening programmes. [160540]

  Mr. Denham
  The National Service Frameworks for Coronary Heart Disease and Older People give clear guidance on the control of blood pressure.

  The National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease sets out a requirement for people at risk of cardiovascular disease to be offered advice and treatment on a range of risk factors, including maintaining healthy blood pressure levels. By April 2003, clinical audit data no more than 12 months old will be available on the use of this and other interventions.

  The National Service Framework for Older People stresses the importance of maintaining a healthy blood pressure. By April 2004, primary care groups and trusts will have ensured that every general practice, using protocols agreed with local specialist services, can identify and treat patients identified as being at risk of stroke because of high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation or other risk factors.

  The United Kingdom National Screening Committee is awaiting the publication of the next health technology assessment report on blood pressure and will consider any wider screening issues on receipt of that report.

  Kidney Failure
  Mrs. Brinton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for the development of a national service framework for patients with kidney failure. [160628]
  208W
  Mr. Denham
  The Renal National Service Framework will be published in 2002. It will set out a national programme for the development of renal services, including specific standards and milestones, with implementation beginning in 2003.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the hon. Member for West Chelmsford will receive a reply to his letter of 3 January concerning Mr. Clive Mortimore; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay in replying. [160632]

  Mr. Denham
  A reply to the hon. Member's letter was sent on the 8 May 2001.

  I am sorry that the hon. Member did not receive an earlier reply. The Department's Permanent Secretary/ Chief Executive has written to the hon. Member separately to apologise for the unacceptable delay in replying. The letter of 3 January could not be traced and a copy of the correspondence had to be requested. The Department has now implemented a number of measures to prevent this type of delay from happening again.

  Eating Disorders
  Mr. Cotter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of spending on mental health services in the NHS was allocated to eating disorders in the last financial year. [160785]

  Mr. Hutton
  It is not possible to identify the percentage of spending on mental health services allocated to the treatment of eating disorders in the last financial year because costs are not broken down by condition. However, we have drawn attention to the importance for people with eating disorders of being able to access effective treatment in the mental health National Service Framework. In addition, we have commissioned the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to develop a guideline on the treatment of eating disorders.

  Body Piercing
  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to regulate the piercing of body parts other than ears; and if he will make a statement. [160666]

  Yvette Cooper
  Local authorities in London already have powers to regulate cosmetic body piercing businesses. We believe that there should be primary legislation introduced to give local authorities outside London powers to regulate the hygiene and cleanliness of cosmetic body piercing businesses, when parliamentary time allows.

  Shelton Hospital, Shrewsbury
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the capital projects for Shelton hospital, Shrewsbury agreed since 1 May 1997 and their value; and if he will make a statement. [160510]

  Yvette Cooper
  The regional office has approved one capital scheme for Shelton hospital since 1 May 1997. This was in respect of a low security unit (Wroxeter ward) which cost £1.6 million.
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  Shropshire's Community and Mental Health Service National Health Service Trust has also invested additional capital funding on the Shelton hospital site through various minor works upgradings on the site.

  NHS Vacancies
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS vacancies there were for(a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) midwives, (d) health visitors, (e) professions allied to medicine and (f) management and administration staff for each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; how many posts in each category have been vacant for longer than three months; and if he will make a statement. [157323]

  Mr. Denham
  [pursuant to his reply, 9 May 2001, c. 453–54W]: The Department has collected data on the number of posts that have been vacant for three months or more as at 31 March in 1999 and 2000. The information is in the table.
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  Department of Health vacancies survey 3 month vacancy figures 1 in England as at 31 March for each year

  1999

  2000

  Consultants

  470

  590

  Qualified nurses

  7,150

  9,870

  Of which:

  Midwives

  370

  490

  Health visitors

  100

  190

  Professions allied to Medicine2

  860

  1,510

  Administration and Estates3

  640

  1,740

  1 Posts that had been vacant for 3 months or more at 31 March each year.

  2 Professions allied to Medicine staff include the following occupation groups: Chiropody, Dietetics, Occupational therapy, Orthoptics/optics, Physiotherapy, Diagnostic radiography, Therapeutic radiology, Art/ Music/Drama therapy.

  3 Management and Administration staff are part of Administration and Estates Staff group, and can not be separately identified.

  Note:

  Figures are whole-time equivalents rounded to the nearest 10.

  Source:

  Department of Health Vacancies Survey

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Coal Mineshafts
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the report by Herriot Watt university on the impact of coal mineshafts in Stoke-on-Trent will be published. [160979]

  Mr. Hain
  I have today placed copies of the report in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament. I am also writing to those individual hon. Members whom I know to have a keen interest in the report to send them a copy.

  I know how householders have been blighted by concerns over mineshafts and I want to look at how we can help. The report shows the problems of blight are real but have many causes. Government will work with many others—the Law Society, the Coal Authority, mortgage lenders, valuers, local authorities etc.—to produce the right package of solutions. As a first step to identifying those solutions, we want to hear the views of those groups and others in the local community with an interest.

  The report is being sent to relevant representative and professional bodies as well as to central and local government. It will be available on my Department's website at www.dti.gov.uk/consultations. I would be pleased to have views by 10 August 2001 on the report's findings, together with suggestions of action that individuals and organisations could take in response to the report. My Department will be seeking discussions with a number of relevant organisations. These discussions will also need to take account of the recent High Court case which the Coal Authority have accepted as finding that the information given by British Coal in mining reports prior to 1991 could in some cases be seen to have been incomplete.

  Employment Agencies
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many companies which offer temporary to permanent products his Department met to discuss the effect of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations on temporary to permanent contracts(a) before and (b) after the final draft was published; [160652]

  (2) if he will list the recruitment companies other than REC he met to discuss regulations 8 and 9 prior to the final draft of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations being published; [160658]

  (3) what discussions he held with (a) recruitment companies and (b) REC relating to the impact of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations on work experience to permanent products before the final draft was published. [160653]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  Before the final draft of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2001 was published, I had meetings with Manpower, Adecco, Blue Arrow, Brook Street, NES International and Hewett Recruitment. I also met the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the Agents Association and the Local Employment Agencies 212W
  Forum. A number of issues were discussed during those meetings, including the impact of the draft Regulations on the private recruitment industry's operation.

  My officials have had regular meetings with agencies and their associations to discuss the effect of the draft Regulations. It is estimated that around 100 such meetings have taken place over the past two years. However, it is not possible to break this down by date.

  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 3 April 2001,Official Report, column 103W, what discussions he has had with (a) women's groups, (b) representatives of ethnic minority groups and (c) student groups regarding the implications of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations. [160649]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  I am always willing to meet representative bodies to discuss the implications of the draft Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2001, provided, of course, a mutually convenient time can be arranged. To date I have had no such meetings with groups representing women, ethnic minorities or students.

  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 3 April 2001,Official Report, column 103W, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations on recruitment bureaux products. [160650]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  The Regulatory Impact Assessment issued with the draft Regulations concluded that the net result of the proposed changes should be a more effective recruitment industry able to offer a better and speedier service, helping to create a more efficient and flexible labour market. The proposals should not affect those who have appropriate systems in place.

  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment he has made of the impact of regulations 8 and 9 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations on those recruitment companies who operate with a dual role as agency and business; [160659]

  (2) what assessment he made of the impact of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations on work experience to permanent products before the final draft was published. [160654]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 27 April 2001,Official Report, column 417W.

  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many meetings(a) he and (b) his officials have held with Keith Faulkner to discuss the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations; and on what dates; [160648]
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  (2) how many meetings his officials held with Manpower (a) before and (b) after the publication of the consultation document on the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations; and on what dates; [160646]

  (3) how many meetings Ministers held with Manpower relating to the consultation document on the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations; and on what dates; [160647]

  (4) what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have held with Manpower regarding the changes to temporary to permanent contracts contained in the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations. [160651]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  I met Keith Faulkner of Manpower three times, on 9 September 1999, 10 January 2000 and 6 December 2000, to discuss the draft Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations but I have not met him since the final draft Regulations were published on 1 February 2001. My officials met Mr. Faulkner on 23 August 2000. These discussions covered the various provisions of the draft Regulations, including the changes to temporary to permanent contracts.

  Corus Plc
  Mr. Edwards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will ask Corus plc for a written assessment of the proposals submitted by the ISTC to restructure steel production at each plant in England and Wales. [160704]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  Regrettably, Corus has taken its decision to proceed with the redundancies it outlined on 1 February and I do not think there is much to be gained from further contesting that decision. Our priority now is to put into place measures that will help redundant workers, their families and the communities in which they live as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced in this House on 3 May 2001,Official Report, column 962–66.

  Mobile Phones
  Mr. Ennis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made by the Government on the recommendation made by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones, chaired by Professor Sir William Stewart, on developing and maintaining a national database on base stations and their emissions. [160941]

  Ms Hewitt
  I have asked the Radio communications Agency (RA) to develop and maintain a public database giving details on all operating cellular base stations and their emissions, in response to the recommendations of the Independent Experts Group on Mobile Phones report chaired by Professor Sir William Stewart.

  The RA has been making steady progress in implementing this recommendation. It is developing an internet based solution known as "Sitefinder". Sitefinder will employ a map-based facility indicating the location of cellular phone base stations. More information on a particular base station will be available by simply clicking on the position indicator for the base station in question.
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  The mobile phone companies have been consulted during the development of this resource and have voluntarily agreed to disclose information on their respective base stations. RA have been formatting the data received from the cellular operators to make it compatible with the database software.

  "Sitefinder" is currently undergoing strenuous system and user acceptance testing. It is hoped that "Sitefinder" should be made publicly available via the RA's website later this summer.

  Redundancy Legislation
  Ms Kelly
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to complete his Department's review of collective redundancy legislation. [160317]

  Mr. Alan Johnson
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]The Review will be completed as soon as possible, consistent with the need to carry out a thorough analysis of the facts and to involve a wide range of interested parties.

  World Trade Organisation
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the Government's objectives with regards to environmentally friendly farming at the World Trade Organisation negotiations. [160449]

  Mr. Caborn
  EU Agriculture Ministers have adopted unanimous conclusions on the position of agriculture in WTO negotiations. These recognise the importance of further agricultural trade liberalisation as a contribution to economic growth.

  They also emphasise the multifunctional character of agriculture, including its role in preserving the rural environment and in contributing to the viability of rural areas.

  The Government recognise that agricultural trade liberalisation can have both positive and negative environmental effects, and to produce an effective solution it must be accompanied by environmental policies which are targeted on the delivery of environmental objectives. So, in pressing for further reductions in production-related support, the Government have consistently emphasised the importance of accompanying, targeted measures to conserve and enhance the rural environment and promote the rural economy.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what aims the United Kingdom Government have in the current round of World Trade Organisation negotiations; and if he will make a statement. [160448]

  Mr. Caborn
  Following the failure to launch a new round of trade talks at the Third Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation in Seattle in December 1999, it was agreed at the WTO General Council meeting on 7–8 February 2000 that the mandated negotiations on agriculture and services would take place in the Agriculture and Services Council respectively.

  The UK's aims in the agriculture negotiations are to achieve further liberalisation of agricultural trade in line with our objectives for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy to reduce the costs to consumers and

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  taxpayers; to encourage the development of a viable and sustainable farming industry which is capable of competing without ongoing production support; and to conserve and enhance the rural environment and promote the rural economy through targeted measures.

  In the current negotiations on services, the UK seeks further progressive liberalisation in line with the objectives of the General Agreement on Trade in Services. The UK, as the world's second largest exporter of services, has a major export interest in opening services markets around the world. We also support services liberalisation for the benefits it can bring to developing countries. These are reflected in the negotiating guidelines recently agreed by WTO Members which also recognise the right of WTO Members to regulate for national policy objectives. As the Government have made clear before, we will not be making any commitments that would call into question the public provision of health and education services in the UK.

  The UK and EU remain committed to the launch of a new round of trade negotiations with a broad, inclusive agenda. Our position is the same as set out ahead of Seattle in the General Affairs Council (GAC) Conclusions of 26 October 1999. The next WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Doha, Qatar from 9–13 November 2001 is seen as the earliest opportunity at which a new Round may be launched.

  Generators
  Fiona Mactaggart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the terms of reference of the review of the impact of NETA on small generators. [160250]

  Mr. Hain
  Draft Terms of Reference (ToR) for the review of the initial impact of NETA on smaller generators were published for consultation by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) on 9 April. Ofgem has received responses from 21 companies and representative organisations. These are currently being assessed by Ofgem who intend to submit revised ToR for my approval shortly. The final ToR will then be published by Ofgem along with a conclusions document summarising the responses and Ofgem's analysis of them. I want Ofgem to ensure that small generators including CHP, prosper under NETA.

  Stop Now Orders
  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what impact he expects the Stop Now Orders (Injunctions Directive) Regulations 2001 will have on the self-regulatory system in advertising; [160617]

  (2) what discussions he has had with advertising regulators with regard to the Stop Now Orders (Injunctions Directive) Regulations 2001; and if he will place copies of all relevant correspondence in the Library. [160616]

  Dr. Howells
  It has always been the Government's policy to implement the EC Injunctions Directive (98/27/EC) in such a way as to preserve the self-regulatory system in advertising successfully established through the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry wrote to Lord Borrie, Chairman of the ASA, on 216W
  5 April to reassure him that, while remaining consistent with the requirements of the directive, the Stop Now Orders (EC Directive) Regulations 2001 contain a number of controls to achieve this.

  First, one of the criteria which must be met by private consumer organisations seeking to be named is a readiness and willingness to co-operate with other authorities, bodies and persons having responsibility for regulation of matters covered by the regulations, including advertising. This includes the ASA. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry would be obliged to refuse to name a private body seeking a designation to include advertising if it did not show that it was willing to co-operate with the ASA. If, having been designated, a named private qualified entity failed to co-operate with the ASA and so ceased to meet the criteria then my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry would be required to strike it off the list of designated bodies.

  In addition, both public and private qualified entities must first consult the Director General of Fair Trading before bringing any proceedings. If more than one of the Director General and any public or private UK qualified entity are contemplating bringing proceedings the Director General may, in any particular case, direct which of these entities is to bring such proceedings, or that only he may do so. Where the Director General directs that only he may bring such proceedings the regulations expressly provide that he may take into account in reaching that decision whether the infringement could be stopped by other means (for example, by the ASA) in deciding whether or not to bring court proceedings. I am confident from discussions with the OFT that the Director General will use this provision to stop both public and private UK bodies from bypassing the ASA's system of self-regulation.

  With these safeguards in place, and with formal memoranda of understanding between the Director General and enforcement bodies, including the ASA, I am confident that the ASA's self-regulatory regime will be preserved and strengthened.

  I am placing a copy of the Secretary of State's letter and Lord Borrie's reply in the Library of the House.

  BNFL
  Mr. Stunell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has received the draft of the new BNFL corporate plan referred to in evidence by his officials to the Trade and Industry Select Committee, published in its Ninth report, Session 1999–2000; and if he will place copies of the most recent draft he has received in the Library. [160543]

  Mr. Hain
  My officials have recently received a copy of BNFL's latest Corporate Plan 2001–02 to 2005–06, which they will be discussing further with the company. The plan contains commercially confidential information and, under exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, will not be made public.

  Newspapers
  Mr. Todd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the competitiveness of the newspaper wholesale supply marketplace. [160265]

  Dr. Howells
  DTI works closely with businesses across the newspaper sector. In particular, I am aware of the agreement by those involved in both newspapers and magazines to enter into a process to re-examine distribution issues and we are following developments in those discussions.

  Post Office Closures
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many(a) rural and (b) non-rural post offices closed in (i) the last 12 months for which figures are available and (ii) 2000. [159447]

  Mr. Byers
  [holding answer 27 April 2001]: I am informed by the Post Office that, subject to final verification, a net total of 112 urban offices and 435 rural offices closed in year ending 26 March 20011. Of the closures in the year, only four are permanent.

  The primary reason for temporary closures is the retirement of sub-postmasters.

  In addition, 123 rural and 46 urban offices reopened in the year. Also, subject to final verification, net closures in the final quarter of the year ending 26 March 2001 were 113.

  This indicates a significant downward trend in post office closures compared with the third quarter when net closures were 135 and the first half of the year when closures were running at a rate of 150 per quarter.

  This means that during the period April 2000 to March 2001, in the first half of the year net closures were running at 300 whereas in the final half of the year closures were 17 per cent. lower at 248.

  Figures for the calendar year 2000 are not available. The Post Office is currently finalising with the Postal Services Commission a process and format for reporting information on the post office network on a quarterly basis with effect from the current financial year.

  1 Based on the Post Office's traditional definition of rural offices as those serving communities with under 6,300 residents.

  Miners' Compensation
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many former coal miners suffering from(a) emphysema, (b) chronic bronchitis and (c) asthma, or their widows, have outstanding claims for compensation and have received no payment to date; and how many such cases have been paid (i) in full and (ii) in part at the most recent available date. [160611]

  Mr. Hain
  To date, IRISC, the Department's claims handlers, have received over 145,000 claims in respect of respiratory disease; 1,000 new claims continue to be initiated each week. Of these, almost 95,000 are from live claimants and the remaining 50,000 claims are pursued by the claimants' estate.
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  Until claims are assessed, the type and level of injury cannot be identified into the categories above.

  The Department has made 28,363 interim payments and 8,135 payments in full and final settlement. Together, £142.2 million has been paid in total compensation for respiratory disease to date.

  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many medical assessment procedures were conducted each week since 1 January 2000 in the miners' compensation claim for chest disease. [160497]

  Mr. Hain
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 13 March 2001,Official Report, columns 548–49W.

  The individual weekly totals from 11 March 2001 to date are as follows:

  Week ending

  Number of MAPs

  11 March

  659

  18 March

  565

  25 March

  570

  1 April

  537

  8 April

  694

  15 April

  541

  22 April

  507

  29 April

  757

  The total number of MAPs undertaken to date is 18,048.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been spent(a) to date and (b) during the last 12 months, under the provisions of the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979. [160535]

  Mr. Meacher
  I have been asked to reply as Minister responsible for the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979.

  Since the Act came into force in 1980 and up until April 2001, the total amount paid out has been £84.5 million. The total amount paid in the last complete financial year 2000–01 was £11,885,000.

CABINET OFFICE

  Government Business
  Mr. Quinn
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance is issued to Government Departments on the conduct of Government business once an election is announced. [160945]

  Marjorie Mowlam
  The Prime Minister has written to ministerial colleagues about Government business during the election. Guidance for civil servants covering their conduct was also issued to Departments, and specific guidance has been issued to special advisers. Copies of all three documents have been placed in the Libraries of the House, as well as guidance on the use of the Knowledge Network system.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Fines
  Mr. Hilary Benn
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what percentage of court fines were collected in each year since 1971. [160474]

  Jane Kennedy
  Figures for court fines alone are not available. In the year 1999–2000, the magistrates courts received payment of 58.1 per cent. of the value of new impositions and orders made in that period in criminal matters (including fines, compensation orders, confiscation orders and contributions to legal aid) although some receipts were in relation to amounts imposed in earlier years. In the period April 2000 to December 2000, the figure was 54.9 per cent. Data collection of this sort started in April 1999, and figures for earlier periods are not available.

  Public Records
  Helen Jackson
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, if he will list those public organisations which are responsible for the maintenance of their own public records and exempt from supervision by the Public Record Office; and what powers he has to ensure that such bodies keep proper records to the standards applied by the Public Record Office. [160542]

  Mr. Lock
  Under the Public Records Act 1958 s.3(1–2), all bodies holding public records are responsible for their maintenance, and do so under the guidance, supervision and co-ordination of the Keeper of Public Records. No public records body is exempt from the supervision of the Public Record Office.

  All public authorities will be subject to the Lord Chancellor's Code of Practice for records management under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Work is ongoing with the Information Commissioner to establish the division of responsibility for the supervision of records management in public authorities.

  The Public Records Act 1958 allows for selected public records of enduring historical value to be held in places outside the Public Record Office by deposit under s.4(1) of the Act. The Keeper of Public Records may withdraw place of deposit status from an office if appropriate standards of public records storage and access are not maintained.

TREASURY

  National Minimum Wage
  Mrs. Gilroy
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's estimates are of the number of people who have benefited from the national minimum wage in(a) Plymouth, Sutton constituency, (b) Plymouth, Devonport constituency, (c) South-West Devon constituency and (d) Plymouth unitary authority area. [160242]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
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  Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Linda Gilroy, dated 9 May 2001 As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the number of people in who have benefited from the national minimum wage (NMW) in (a) Plymouth, Sutton constituency, (b) Plymouth, Devonport constituency, (c) South West Devon constituency and (d) Plymouth unitary authority area (160242).
  The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published estimates of the number of jobs paid at less than NMW rates for 1998, 1999, and 2000. These estimates are based on an improved methodology using data from the New Earnings Survey (NES) and Labour Force Survey (LFS). This methodology provides the best estimates for the number of jobs in the UK paid below low hourly rate thresholds and was developed to overcome the deficiencies inherent in using the NES and LFS separately for measuring low pay.
  Estimates for the United Kingdom and Government Office Regions are posted on the National Statistics website at: www.statistics.gov.uk/nsbase/themes/labour_market/nmw_lowpay_tables.asp
  Estimates for Parliamentary Constituencies and Unitary Authorities of numbers of jobs paid below NMW rates are not available on the basis of the methodology applied for producing the national and regional level figures.

  Public Expenditure
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give, in cash and real terms, the expenditure in(a) Scotland and (b) England on (i) education, (ii) health and personal social services, (iii) roads and transport, (iv) housing, (v) law, order and protective services, (vi) trade, industry, energy and employment, (vii) agriculture, fisheries, food and forestry and (viii) total expenditure in the form set out in Chapter 8 of Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (Cm 5101) in each year from 1979–80 to 1999–2000. [160629]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  Information on expenditure by function and country, in cash terms and per head, is set out in chapter 8 of Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) 2001–02 (Cm 5101), from 1995–96 up to 1999–2000. Real terms expenditure can be derived using the latest GDP deflator series, updated on 24 March 2001, available in the Commons Library.

  Similar information for earlier years (back to 1985–86) has been published in previous editions of PESA. But there have been significant definitional, classification and coverage changes that mean data are not fully comparable between successive editions of PESA. A consistent and comparable time series for expenditure by function and country for the years prior to 1995–96 is not available.

  Barnett Formula
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the level of funding apportioned per head of population by the Government under the Barnett formula in Scotland and in the north-west of England, broken down by spending on(a) transport, (b) education, (c) health and social services, (d) trade and industry and (e) tourism. [160626]

  Mr. Andrew Smith
  The Barnett formula is used to allocate funding to the devolved Administrations. It is for the devolved Administrations to decide how to allocate their budgets reflecting their own priorities. The Barnett formula is not used to determine spending allocations
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  within England. Information on identifiable total managed expenditure per head by country and region and function is published in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses.

  Financial Services
  Barbara Follett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to commence powers making the Financial Services Authority the single financial services regulator under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. [160978]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  I am pleased to announce that the Government will be commencing, with effect from 18 June 2001, provisions of the Act which make the Financial Services Authority the single financial services regulator, and give it rule-making powers. These provisions will enable the FSA to make the key provisions of its rule-book no later than end July 2001 so that the financial services industry can train and prepare for the commencement of the main provisions of the Act no later than end November 2001.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Hills Task Force
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the report of the Hills Task Force. [160947]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  I published the report today. The task force has achieved a great deal in three months and I am grateful to its members, particularly the farmers, who have had enormous personal worries due to foot and mouth disease.

  I asked the task force to undertake a scoping study, and it has made a thorough one. It has made a number of recommendations, which we will need to examine carefully—to test the evidence and the value for money, to consider compliance with EU rules, and to hear the views of interested organisations including the other Government Departments which are affected. Some recommendations are for the longer term. Others might be more immediately useful in helping the industry, and particularly the hills sector, to recover from foot and mouth disease, and we shall need to look at these ones much more quickly.

  The report is available in the House Libraries and on the MAFF website.

  Inputs Task Force
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the report of the Inputs Task Force. [160949]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  I published the report today. The task force found that across the board, UK farmers do not pay more for their inputs than their competitors in Europe, but competitive trade can be frustrated by a lack of transparency in the market, commercial arrangements and differing regulatory requirements for some inputs across EU member states. They also found that there was a wide range of efficiency of input use and substantial scope for improvement.
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  The report contains a number of recommendations for action by both Government and industry to reduce input costs and optimise input use. The Government will consider these carefully and publish a full response as soon as possible.

  The report is available in the House Libraries and on the MAFF website.

  RAF Lyneham
  Mr. Gray
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reason the practice of renting out grassland on RAF Lyneham for grass keep has been discontinued. [159262]

  Mr. Spellar
  [holding answer 27 April 2001]: I have been asked to reply.

  We have been unable to find any records concerning the renting of grassland for the purpose of grass keep at RAF Lyneham.

  Integrated Administration and Control System
  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 4 April 2001,Official Report, column 224W, on IACS, if IACS applicants submitting electronically can be protected against the Post Office using their names and addresses for commercial purposes. [160241]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: Applicants submitting their 2001 IACS forms electronically must first obtain a digital certificate which they use to digitally sign their applications. Digital certificates are issued by commercial companies who have been accepted as competent Certification Authorities. There are currently two digital certificate providers approved by the Office of the e-Envoy: Equifax Secure who issue SecureMark certificates and the British Chambers of Commerce in partnership with Royal Mail Viacode who issue ChamberSign certificates.

  In order to obtain a digital certificate applicants provide personal information to the Certification Authority. The information supplied to certificate providers by applicants is held under the terms of the UK Data Protection Act 1998 and as such cannot be used for any purposes other than that for which it was originally intended, unless authorised by the applicant. This includes other commercial purposes.

  As part of the Public Key Infrastructure which underpins digital certificate technology, some of this information (name, company name and e-mail address) will be held in a public electronic directory. This is necessary to enable the transmission of secure e-mail.

  In addition, section 11 of the Data Protection Act 1998 also offers protection to the applicant against the use of personal data for the purposes of direct marketing. Section 11 states:

  (1) An individual is entitled at any time by notice in writing to a data controller to require the data controller at the end of such period as is reasonable in the circumstances to cease, or not to begin, processing for the purposes of direct marketing personal data in respect of which he is the data subject.

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  (2) If the court is satisfied, on the application of any person who has given a notice under that subsection (1), that the data controller has failed to comply with the notice, the court may order him to take such steps for complying with the notice as the court thinks fit.

  (3) In this section "direct marketing" means the communication (by whatever means) of any advertising or marketing material which is directed to particular individuals.

  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the outcome was of the recent consultation exercise into an appeal mechanism for IACS claimants in England. [160948]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  The responses to the consultation exercise on an IACS appeals mechanism in England that began in December 2000 have now been evaluated and I am pleased to say that new appeal arrangements for IACS claimants in England will be introduced.

  These arrangements will reflect the three-stage appeal mechanism on which we consulted that attracted positive support from the farming industry for handling IACS appeals in England. The decision to proceed with the introduction of the new arrangements is in line with both the recommendations of the IACS and Inspections Red Tape Working Group and, more recently, of the House of Commons Agriculture Committee in its report on "The Implementation of IACS in the European Union."

  A good deal of detailed work remains to be done but we aim to work with industry to introduce the new arrangements as soon as we can.

  BSE
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make available the latest progress report prepared by his Department on bovine spongiform encephalopathy. [160951]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  A further progress report on BSE in Great Britain was placed in the Library of the House today.

  The report outlines the measures, which have been taken to protect public health since June 2000 and includes the latest EU requirements for testing and surveillance.

  There is also a section on the protection of animal health which covers controls on animal feed.

  The epidemiology section shows that the epidemic of BSE in Great Britain continues to decline in line with predictions.

  The report is also published on the MAFF website: www.maff.gov.uk. animalh/bse/index/html

  Beef Imports
  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last wrote to the Prime Minister on the subject of imported over-30-month beef products. [146400]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  [holding answer 22 January 2001]: Letters from Government Ministers to the Prime Minister fall under the exemption in Part II Section 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, but I last wrote to the Prime Minister on this issue on 16 November 2000.

  Classical Swine Fever
  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the source of the outbreak of classical swine fever in East Anglia last year and the lessons the Government have drawn from its occurrence. [153246]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  A wide-ranging meeting was held between officials and key stakeholders on 16 February 2001 to review the sources of the outbreak and lessons learned. However, further consideration of these issues has had to be postponed while the State Veterinary Service concentrates on eradicating the current outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Investigations into the sources of both outbreaks will continue as a matter of urgency.

  Pig Swill
  Mr. Pickles
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to ban the use of swill as a source for the feeding of pigs. [153961]

  Ms Quin
  With effect from 24 May, there will be a ban on the swill feeding of catering waste which contains meat or has been in contact with meat to livestock. This ban also includes the feeding of poultry slaughterhouse waste and wet fish as swill.

  There will be a three-week phase-in period up to 24 May, which is intended to ensure that animals can be weaned off waste food on to an alternative diet safely.

  Meat Imports
  Mr. Sayeed
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the countries where farm animal diseases are widespread from which(a) meat, (b) meat products, (c) poultry and (d) poultry products are imported, indicating the country and disease together with the amount imported over the last year for which figures are available; and what plans he has to ban such imports. [156409]

  Ms Quin
  The Community's animal and public health import requirements for animal products include disease control provisions. In particular these relate to the List A notifiable diseases of the Office International des Epizooties which include foot and mouth disease, and classical swine fever among others. Unless third countries can demonstrate that they have veterinary and public health facilities to cope with possible outbreaks of these diseases they will not be eligible to export animal products into the Community.

  Imports of meat and poultry and their products are allowed from third countries which have outbreaks of diseases, but only if they can attest and demonstrate that they have in place animal and public health safeguard measures as laid down in Community law. Where any of these measures are not met the UK will prohibit the import of products which may cause risk to public or animal health. My officials are preparing information on the amount of imports into the UK last year of meat and poultry and their products from countries or parts thereof which have had outbreaks of List A diseases in the last year. I will write to the hon. Member with this information in the near future and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.
  225W
  Mr. Sayeed
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from which countries where standards of animal (i) welfare and (ii) health and hygiene are lower than those in the UK,(a) meat, (b) meat products, (c) poultry and (d) poultry products are imported; and what plans he has to prohibit such imports. [156404]

  Ms Quin
  World Trade Organisation rules do not permit us to use animal welfare considerations as a criterion for the import of meat and poultry. I do not in any case believe that restricting trade is necessarily the answer. It is far better to work, as we do, to improve welfare standards across the EU and in third countries.

  On health and hygiene, imports into the UK of meat and poultry and their products are governed by Community legislation, which protects both animal and public health requirements. Under these rules only third countries approved by the Commission may import into the Community and subsequently imports may start only when the Commission agrees a list of establishments in that country which meet established Community hygiene standards. The lists of countries and establishments allowed to import into the Community the products listed are available on the Commission's website at: http://forum.europa.eu.int/irc/sanco/vets/info/data/listes/table0.html.

  Responsibility for ensuring that third countries meet these requirements lies with the Food and Veterinary Office of the European Commission. The UK will prohibit the importation of animal products that do not meet Community standards.

  Fisheries
  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what information he has collated about the level of Government aid paid to the fishing industry of other EU member states; [157238]

  (2) what information he has collated about (a) aid, (b) subsidy and (c) support given to national fishing industries over the last year by Governments in (i) France, (ii) Belgium, (iii) the Republic of Ireland, (iv) the Netherlands and (v) Denmark. [158435]

  Mr. Morley
  I am placing a note in the Library of the House containing the latest information which we have.

  Chinese Poultry Meat
  Mr. Todd
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the disease risks from the proposed importation of poultry meat from the People's Republic of China. [157595]

  Ms Quin
  EU law establishes the requirements for the importation into the EU of fresh poultry meat from third countries. The European Commission's Food and Veterinary Office is responsible for carrying out inspections in third countries from which meat is imported. They need to be satisfied that any third country is complying with all the relevant community provisions before imports may be permitted.

  Imports into the community of poultry meat from China were suspended in 1996 as their hygiene standards did not meet community import requirements. Following a number of Commission missions to inspect Chinese veterinary controls and hygiene standards, the
  226W
  Commission proposed to reinstate the specific areas of China previously allowed to export poultry meat as they once again met all Community requirements. Imports could not restart until a list of approved establishments had been drawn up. This has now been done and member states agreed on 24 April to permit the resumption of exports from approved establishments in China from 24 May.

  Transport (Disinfection)
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he provides to vets on the implementation of Directive 91/628 in respect of the disinfection of transport. [159587]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 27 April 2001]: These requirements are currently implemented by the Transport of Animals (Cleansing and Disinfection)(England)(No. 2) Order 2000 (SI 2000/1618), which came into force on 6 July 2000. The main provision of this Order is that, subject to certain exemptions, livestock transports should be cleansed and disinfected after each use. Guidance on the Order was issued in November 2000 to all members of the State Veterinary Service and to local authorities who enforce the Order.

  Flood Defence
  Mr. Todd
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 30 April 2001,Official Report, column 501W, on flood defence, if he will list the pilot studies being undertaken; and when they will be assessed. [160275]

  Mr. Morley
  The Environment Agency is undertaking the following pilot catchment area studies utilising recently prepared guidelines:—

  North-east—River Derwent catchment

  North-west—River Irwell catchment

  Midlands—River Severn upstream of Gloucester

  Southern—River Medway and tributaries

  South-west and Moors—Catchments draining across the Somerset Levels.

  The progress of these studies will be closely monitored. A review of the lessons learnt from these studies in autumn 2001, together with feedback from consultation on the current guidelines, will be incorporated into revised guidelines for the main programme of such studies leading to Catchment Flood Management Plans.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall, North of 11 April concerning a constituent. [160281]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: My noble Friend Baroness Hayman replied to the letter from my hon. Friend on 8 May.

  Processed Food Exports
  Mr. Paterson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to restore UK exports of those food products that contain processed
  227W
  meat and dairy ingredients which conform to the requirements laid down by Decision 2001/172/EC to EU applicant countries. [160401]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: I wrote on 27 April to the Ambassadors of all those EU applicant countries which have imposed import restrictions on UK products going beyond the requirements laid down in Commission Decision 2001/172/EC, urging their governments to reconsider their positions.

  Common Agricultural Policy
  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans the Government have to table proposals for reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. [160622]

  Ms Quin
  The CAP is failing to deliver what farmers, the rural economy and the environment need. The Government are committed to securing a more economically rational CAP to enable the industry to respond flexibly to consumer wishes without being constrained by the market-distorting nature of the current CAP, and to securing a CAP which is compatible with the protection and enhancement of the natural environment.

  Responsibility for presenting proposals to reform the CAP rests with the European Commission. We expect a package of reforming measures to issue next year for a number of key CAP commodity regimes. We will continue to work closely with the Commission and other member states to drive forward the reform agenda.

  Farm Business Advice Service
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what services are offered by the Farm Business Advice Service; and what funds have been allocated to it. [160529]

  Ms Quin
  The Farm Business Advice Service provides up to three days of free one-to-one business advice to farmers and growers in England. The service provides a business health check leading to the preparation of an Action Plan that will help farmers develop better business practices and signpost them to organisations that can provide further support and advice. £4.1 million was spent on delivery of the Farm Business Advice Service in 2000–01 and the service has a budget of £5.25 million for 2001–02.

  An enhanced form of the service is being introduced for those farmers whose livestock have been compulsorily slaughtered under the foot and mouth control measures. They are in particular need of help to plan ahead and will be offered up to five days' free advice. Under the enhanced service advisers will help individual farmers develop an effective recovery or exit strategy, draw up a business plan for the farm, explore and develop new income opportunities and access the range of other support measures available. The farm business advisers will draw on guidance the Ministry will provide for farmers who are considering restocking. The additional cost of the enhanced service will be £10.4 million, £4.4 million of which will be funded by carrying forward unspent provision from 2000–01.

  Foot and Mouth
  Mr. Yeo
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in which countries type O foot and mouth virus is(a) endemic and (b) responsible for outbreaks in the last year; and in respect of each country, what restrictions on livestock product exports to Britain were implemented, and when. [153360]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  The Pan Asian type O virus strain of foot and mouth disease is endemic in most of Asia and the middle east. In the past year there have been outbreaks of this type in Japan, South Korea, China, Eastern Russia and throughout the middle east and South East Asia. There have been outbreaks due to other type O virus strains in South Africa and South America, in particular Brazil and Uruguay.

  The UK, in accordance with Community legislation, does not allow the importation of meat and meat products from any of the countries affected by the Pan Asian O type virus. The single exception concerns animal casings from Japan, China and Mongolia, which must be treated in accordance with the animal health controls in EU legislation. Imports of meat are allowed from Brazil but only from regions that are free of FMD. Veterinary certification attesting to that must accompany each consignment. Following notification from the European Commission of outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in South Africa and Uruguay, the Government took action to prohibit imports. In respect of South Africa, England and Wales prohibited imports of fresh meat with effect from 5 January, Scotland on 8 January and Northern Ireland on 17 January. In respect of Uruguay, England and Wales prohibited imports of fresh meat with effect from 26 April with Northern Ireland and Scotland taking similar action with effect from 1 May.

  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the consignment of sheep that was exported to France on 31 January and which tested positive for foot and mouth disease. [160950]

  Mr. Nick Brown
  A consignment of 402 sheep was certified for export to France on 31 January from premises in Wales. In early March the French authorities blood tested 31 of the animals for foot and mouth disease before slaughtering them and seven samples gave positive results. The French authorities have now confirmed that the samples that initially showed positive results have been subject to further testing with negative results. They have concluded that the earlier test results were false positives.

  This explanation from the French authorities supports our view that, contrary to media reports, foot and mouth disease did not go undetected in sheep in Great Britain for up to two months prior to the disease being confirmed.

  Mr. Grieve
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made as to the best materials to be employed in the construction of pyres for the incineration of dead livestock, to minimise the production of dioxins and furans, and in particular TCDDs and TCDFs, from such pyres; and if he will make a statement. [159850]

  Mr. Meacher
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: I have been asked to reply.
  229W
  Guidance has been issued by the Department of Health entitled "FMD: Measures to minimise risk to public health from slaughter and disposal of animals—further guidance" to provide practical advice to those at the local level on the best way, from a public health perspective, to dispose of animal carcases (available on www.doh.gov.uk/fmdguidance). This includes guidance on the construction and siting of pyres which takes account of the possible risks to health from the emissions of air pollutants from the pyres. The Department of Health has also published a risk assessment "Foot and Mouth—Effects on health of Emissions from Pyres Used for Disposal of Animals" (available on www.doh.gov.uk). The risk assessment provides estimates of the release of dioxins and other air pollutants from pyres and predicted concentrations in air. Detailed advice on the materials to be used for the construction of pyres is set out in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food "Air Code". This also includes advice on the materials which should not be used as fuels in such pyres, so as to minimise the production of air pollutants such as dark smoke, dioxins and furans.

  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment has been made of the risks associated with imports of live horses from countries with foot and mouth disease. [153972]

  Ms Quin
  Horses are not susceptible to foot and mouth disease. Nor are they capable of incubating or transmitting the disease except by mechanical means, for example via their hooves, tack, clothing or equipment. The Office International des Epizooties (OIE—the international animal health organisation) provides recommendations for precautions that should be taken by countries importing live animals from areas where foot and mouth disease is present although these recommendations do not include requirements for horses.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment has been made of the risk of the spread of the foot and mouth virus in smoke from pyres used to incinerate infected carcases; and what research has been carried out on the minimum temperature needed to kill the virus during incineration. [156375]

  Ms Quin
  The Institute of Animal Health at Pirbright has recently produced a report, in collaboration with MAFF and the Meteorological Office, on the spread of the foot and mouth disease virus from the burning of animal carcases on open pyres. This report is to be published in the Veterinary Record shortly.

  Six pyres, located in Devon, Exeter and Worcestershire, were monitored. Additional pyres are currently being investigated in Cumbria and Devon. The report concludes that early results indicate that breakdowns due to virus dispersion from pyres are unlikely to occur in general and the pyres analysed to date have shown no evidence that breakdowns due to this cause have occurred.

  The Institute of Animal Health has informed the Ministry that the virus is inactivated at temperatures above 50 degrees centigrade. There may be a small thermo-resistant element of the virus which is also destroyed at 70 degrees, but expert opinion is that this is likely to be insignificant in the possible spread of infection from pyres.
  230W
  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what the source was of the British sheep which were confirmed as having foot and mouth disease in France; [156432]

  (2) if he will list the consignments of live sheep exported from the UK between 30 January and 23 February. [156433]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answers 30 March 2001]: Foot and mouth disease was confirmed in France in British sheep consigned from premises in the Hereford and Worcester area. Between 1 February and 20 February 2001, 45,808 sheep were certified for export from Great Britain to other member states. Figures for exports from Northern Ireland are not available. The destination member states and the number of consignments exported were as follows:

  Number

  France

  69

  Belgium

  3

  Germany

  10

  Italy

  3

  Netherlands

  31

  Ireland

  2

  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to compensate farmers who are affected by culling, on farms contiguous to those with confirmed outbreaks of foot and mouth disease for the value of unused feed and other items on the farm which are rendered valueless by the cull. [156771]

  Ms Quin
  Feedingstuffs on infected premises and on premises contiguous to infected premises will be destroyed if they are considered to be contaminated and cannot be disinfected. Compensation is payable for the market value of animals slaughtered and, in line with the Animal Health Act 1981, for any feedingstuffs or any other materials destroyed or seized as being contaminated. Farmers will not receive compensation for items which will go unused as a result of foot and mouth disease which are not seized by the Ministry.

  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the compensation for milk wasted as a result of foot and mouth disease is calculated; what representations he has received regarding compensation levels for milk: what considerations informed the decision to set the level of compensation at a rate below market price; what plans he has to revise the structure of compensation; and if he will make a statement. [156698]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 3 April 2001]: The Animal Health Act 1981 grants the Ministry powers to seize and dispose of anything necessary for preventing the spread of foot and mouth disease. Milk from infected premises and premises considered to be at risk of or exposed to infection is therefore seized, disinfected and disposed of.

  Compensation is paid for anything seized for the purpose of preventing foot and mouth disease. Section 36 of the Act says that compensation for anything seized shall be its value at the time of seizure. Compensation for

  231W
  milk is therefore paid at the price the owner of the dairy currently receives for supplies to milk buying companies. Farmers will not receive compensation for items which will go unused as a result of foot and mouth disease which are not seized by the Ministry.

  The Ministry has not received any representations regarding compensation levels for milk and there are no plans to revise the compensation structure.

  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what contingency plans were drawn up by his Department prior to the current outbreak for the handling of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease; and at what point in the outbreak it was proposed that the Army should become involved. [156876]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 4 April 2001]: The Ministry has contingency plans to deal with notifiable exotic animal diseases, including foot and mouth disease. These are regularly updated and tested by the State Veterinary Service.

  At each stage of the current outbreak we have called on the appropriate resources. As the disease grew, so did our response. We were in touch with the Ministry of Defence on 20 February, to alert them that there had been an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Essex, and that military assistance might be required. This led to the first active deployment of troops on the ground on 16 March following a formal request by MAFF for such MOD assistance on 14 March.

  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received calling for higher compensation under foot and mouth welfare measures for organically reared pigs than that already available for non-organically reared pigs. [157338]

  Ms Quin
  The Ministry has received a number of representations from keepers of pedigree animals and producers of organically reared animals, regarding payments under the Livestock Welfare Disposal Scheme.

  The scheme is designed to provide payments to farmers to recognise the welfare needs of animals that may arise because of foot and mouth disease related restrictions. It is not a compensation scheme. The scheme helps farmers who have no means of moving livestock by disposing of animals which cannot be kept in good welfare conditions and by providing money to help them keep any remaining animals in good condition.

  There are no plans to increase payments for pedigree or organically reared animals.

  Mr. Breed
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many animals were(a) awaiting slaughter and (b) slaughtered on each day of the foot and mouth outbreak. [157160]

  Ms Quin
  MAFF publishes slaughter and awaiting slaughter figures each day. These reflect the data then available. As further data become available these figures may alter. The figures in the table reflect the position as of 1 May 2001.
  232W

  Number of animals slaughtered and awaiting slaughter—cumulative total by day

  Thousand

  Date

  Slaughtered

  Awaiting slaughter

  1 May 2001

  2,382

  118

  30 April 2001

  2,380

  116

  29 April 2001

  2,375

  113

  28 April 2001

  2,368

  119

  27 April 2001

  2,359

  117

  26 April 2001

  2,340

  124

  25 April 2001

  2,333

  116

  24 April 2001

  2,319

  108

  23 April 2001

  2,297

  117

  22 April 2001

  2,277

  123

  21 April 2001

  2,249

  137

  20 April 2001

  2,203

  162

  19 April 2001

  2,158

  186

  18 April 2001

  2,106

  193

  17 April 2001

  2,072

  180

  16 April 2001

  2,040

  163

  15 April 2001

  1,985

  203

  14 April 2001

  1,925

  243

  13 April 2001

  1,854

  288

  12 April 2001

  1,785

  277

  11 April 2001

  1,709

  283

  10 April 2001

  1,633

  299

  9 April 2001

  1,555

  288

  8 April 2001

  1,484

  312

  7 April 2001

  1,420

  318

  6 April 2001

  1,338

  352

  5 April 2001

  1,255

  365

  4 April 2001

  1,183

  367

  3 April 2001

  1,103

  372

  2 April 2001

  1,021

  386

  1 April 2001

  947

  407

  31 March 2001

  870

  419

  30 March 2001

  799

  394

  29 March 2001

  712

  401

  28 March 2001

  662

  375

  27 March 2001

  604

  331

  26 March 2001

  562

  318

  25 March 2001

  523

  276

  24 March 2001

  488

  256

  23 March 2001

  437

  244

  22 March 2001

  400

  223

  21 March 2001

  351

  231

  20 March 2001

  313

  198

  19 March 2001

  286

  172

  18 March 2001

  266

  152

  17 March 2001

  230

  157

  16 March 2001

  219

  145

  15 March 2001

  191

  119

  14 March 2001

  171

  113

  13 March 2001

  147

  103

  12 March 2001

  133

  97

  11 March 2001

  123

  91

  10 March 2001

  113

  84

  9 March 2001

  99

  80

  8 March 2001

  85

  66

  7 March 2001

  79

  50

  6 March 2001

  69

  48

  5 March 2001

  52

  59

  4 March 2001

  48

  55

  3 March 2001

  34

  52

  2 March 2001

  23

  43

  1 March 2001

  16

  40

  28 February 2001

  10

  28

  27 February 2001

  6

  25

  26 February 2001

  3

  14

  25 February 2001

  3

  7

  24 February 2001

  1

  4

  23 February 2001

  1

  1

  22 February 2001

  1

  1

  21 February 2001

  —

  1

  20 February 2001

  —

  1

  Source

  MAFF Disease Control System database at 19:00 on 1 May
  233W
  Mr. Burnett
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has collated in the last two months of wildlife contracting foot and mouth disease; and how many cases there have been of wildlife being diagnosed as suffering from foot and mouth disease. [157039]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 5 April 2001]: There have been no laboratory confirmed cases of foot and mouth disease in wildlife species in the UK during the current outbreak (as of 4 May 2001).

  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the last foot and mouth infected animals were burned at Layer-de-la-Haye, Essex; when disinfection of the infected farms will be completed; and when movement restrictions on surrounding farms will be lifted. [157246]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 6 April 2001]: The infected animals at the two separate sites at Layer-de-la-Haye were burned on 11 March and 23 March respectively, in both cases the day after slaughter. The State Veterinary Service completed all of the cleansing and disinfection work on the two farms by 24 April 2001. However subsequent blood sampling in the 3 km area resulted in the discovery of two seropositives and this has delayed the lifting of the Infected Area. All stock on the new farms involved have been destroyed and sent for rendering and an additional 3 km patrol area has been established.

  Inspections and blood sampling in this new area should be completed by 3 May. Provided these are clear, it is hoped restrictions in the whole Colchester area could be lifted by next week.

  The cleansing and disinfection of the new Dangerous Contact premises is under way but this should not affect the lifting of the Infected Area.

  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will issue guidelines to his Department's staff, dealing with foot and mouth disease in the areas affected, to ensure that neighbouring residents are informed if slaughtered carcases are to be burned near their homes. [157373]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 6 April 2001]: Methods for informing residents of burning sites in the neighbourhood are decided at a local level, and will include mail shots, consultation with relevant organisations and publicity through local press.

  Safeguarding public health is the Government's overriding priority in handling the foot and mouth outbreak. The Department of Health has published detailed guidance on the disposal of carcases together with advice about the public health aspects of disposal, including burning.

  All fires are being constructed following special guidance from the Government to minimise public health risks. As with any fire, however, smoke contains pollutants that will stay in the air for a short time. Local residents are therefore advised to avoid sustained exposure within the vicinity of pyres.

  Mr. Simon Thomas
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish his Department's assessment of the discovery on 31 January by French veterinarians of foot and mouth disease in sheep exported from Wales. [157483]
  234W
  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 9 April 2001]: The circumstances were as follows. A consignment of 402 sheep was exported to France from premises in Wales on 1 February under an export health certificate that had been issued on 31 January. In early March, the French authorities blood tested 31 of the animals before slaughtering them. The French authorities have now informed us that the seven samples that initially showed positive results have now been re-tested with negative results. They have concluded that the initial serological positive reactions must be considered as false positives.

  Mr. Pickles
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to make a statement on the easing of livestock movement in the Brentwood area of Essex; and what conditions must be met before such a statement can be made. [157956]

  Ms Quin
  The infected area status around Brentwood was lifted on 24 April 2001. This means that the Brentwood area becomes an 'at risk area' and farmers can now apply for licences to move their livestock to other similar areas in the country under the livestock movement schemes.

  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the D notices will be lifted in the Chorley constituency. [157521]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 9 April 2001]: Form D notices are services on individual premises when an Inspector has reasonable grounds for suspecting an animal situated on the premises has been exposed to foot and mouth disease and where the premises are in a Protection Zone. These are withdrawn as soon as this is appropriate. The Protection Zone in the Chorley constituency is currently being reviewed and will be lifted as soon as possible in line with veterinary guidance.

  Mr. Luff
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the public health effects of the burning of old railway sleepers associated with the disposal of culled animals. [157890]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 10 April 2001]: Emissions of pollutants from burning railway sleepers were considered as part of the Department of Health-led risk assessment on the health effects of air emissions from pyres. This Risk Assessment is available on the Department of Health's website. Railway sleepers form an important source of fuel for pyres. The sleepers may be treated with creosote and this will add to the range of pollutants emitted on burning. The emission of pollutants from sleepers was assessed by the Environment Agency and factored into the risk assessment. No separate assessment of the emissions from burning sleepers has been undertaken: the focus has been on the pyres as a whole.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what part illegal movements of animals have played in the spread of foot and mouth in the United Kingdom. [157784]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 10 April 2001]: Illegal movements of animals are investigated by enforcement officers of the local authority and exceptionally by MAFF Investigation Branch and the police.
  235W
  To date, although throughout the UK, rumours and suspicion of illegal movement is alleged, we have no evidence against which we can state that illegal movement has been proved to have led to any one particular case.

  Mr. Nicholls
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if a flock of sheep from Abermarle Barracks, Heddon-on-the-Wall, was slaughtered and buried prior to the outbreak at Burns de Farm. [158254]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 23 April 2001]: No. We are assured that no sheep have been present within Albermarle barracks for a number of years.

  Mr. Öpik
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the incubation periods are for the known strains of foot and mouth virus; and if he will make a statement. [158726]

  Ms Quin
  The incubation period varies according to the infecting dose, the strain of virus and the susceptibility of the infected animal, both individual and species. It can be between two and 14 days, but certain strains of FMD virus serotype 0 circulating in Asia, including that in the UK, can have very short incubation periods in pigs, as short as 18 hours.

  Mr. Öpik
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he has is taken to ensure a consistent message is generated by all parts of the Government regarding foot and mouth disease; and if he will make a statement. [158730]

  Ms Quin
  The Government have at all times sought to provide the best possible information to Parliament, to farmers, to those on the ground fighting the disease, and to the public and the news media here, and abroad.

  In particular we have created an extensive dedicated website, set up a 24 hour a day helpline, co-operated with other Government Departments throughout the Joint Co-ordination Centre in MAFF and the News Co-ordination Centre (NCC) in the Cabinet Office. The NCC has provided two complementary websites and a general helpline. The No. 10 Downing street website has provided a multi-lingual service, and British Embassies and High Commissioners have provided information through local news media and their own local websites. Communication activity is among the topics co-ordinated by regular meetings of the Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBRA).

  The Scottish Executive, the Northern Ireland Executive, and the National Assembly for Wales have provided similar information services, co-ordinated with these arrangements. In the English regions, my Department's offices have worked with the Central Office of Information (C0I) and Ministry of Defence staff to provide full local services for the news media. My offices and the COI have also arranged direct communication with farmers and others.

  We have reported to Parliament 0 times since the beginning of the outbreak on 20 February and my right hon. Friend the Minister has written to farmers on three occasions, put advertisements in the specialist press and written articles for several local and national newspapers. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Minister and a number of other Ministers have made many visits to disease-affected areas to meet local people and local news media.
  236W
  The Office of Science and Technology provided science teams who visited the regions to explain the basis of the culling policy. The Ministry has also provided a mobile public information unit which supports local operations in explaining the details of the campaign to eradicate the disease.

  Mr. Öpik
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has assessed the possibility that foot and mouth spreads as a result of the gases rising from the incineration of carcases in connection with the foot and mouth disease; and if he will make a statement. [158718]

  Ms Quin
  The Institute of Animal Health at Pirbright has recently produced a report, in collaboration with MAFF and the Meteorological Office, on the spread of the foot and mouth disease virus from the burning of animal carcases on open pyres. This report is to be published in the "Veterinary Record" shortly.

  Six pyres, located in Devon, Exeter and Worcestershire, were monitored. Additional pyres are currently being investigated in Cumbria and Devon. The report concludes that early results indicated that breakdowns due to virus dispersion from pyres are unlikely to occur in general and the pyres analysed to date have shown no evidence that breakdowns due to this cause have occurred.

  The Pirbright Institute of Animal Health has informed the Ministry that the virus is inactivated at temperatures above 50 degrees centigrade. There may be a small thermo-resistant element of the virus which is also destroyed at 70 degrees, but expert opinion is that this is likely to be insignificant in the possible spread of infection from pyres.

  Mr. Nicholls
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reports he has received about the results of the virology tests taken from livestock which were slaughtered upon suspicion by the French authorities, on the farm of M. Nozin, of Hameau le Fayed, St. Nicholas de Bliquetuit, France; when the sheep in question were in contact with foot and mouth disease, and by what means; on what date the sheep arrived in France; what evidence the Head of Veterinary International Trade for his Department has that the serological test results were due to false positive reactions; what testing procedures other than the FMD Elisa test can produce such results; and if he will make a statement. [158252]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 23 April 2001]: This consignment of sheep was exported to France by ferry on 1 February 2001. The French authorities have now informed us that the seven samples that initially showed positive results have now been re-tested with negative results. They have concluded that the initial serological positive reactions must be considered as false positives.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many appeals his Department has received from farmers against the slaughter of their livestock as part of his policy to control foot and mouth disease. [158264]

  Ms Quin
  As of 3 May, 17 cases are under consideration by MAFF in which farmers have engaged solicitors who have raised questions about the proposed slaughter of their stock. They all involve the contiguous cull policy before it was recently modified.
  237W
  The legislation does not provide for a formal legal appeals procedure against slaughter although, of course, challenge by way of judicial review is always available to anyone. To date only one judicial review has been brought but it was discontinued by the applicant. MAFF policy is that if a farmer objects to having his stock slaughtered under the contiguous slaughter policy, a veterinary reassessment is performed. This takes into consideration all the representation made by the farmer and reviews the situation on the ground. A final decision is then taken by the local Divisional Veterinary Manager.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at what times and on what days of the week the foot and mouth helplines at each of his Department's offices are open to telephone calls from farmers and other members of the public; what plans he has to extend these hours; and if he will make a statement. [158259]

  Ms Quin
  The national foot and mouth disease helpline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to offer advice and assistance to farmers and other members of the public. The 24 Animal Health Divisional Offices (AHDOs) are open during normal office hours and the opening times have been extended according to the disease situation. Outside these hours a duty veterinary officer is available to provide emergency assistance.

  Mr. Luff
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what resources are available to him to test milk and blood samples for foot and mouth disease(a) in his Department, (b) in other Government Departments, (c) in places of education, (d) in the private sector and (e) elsewhere; and if he will make a statement. [158479]

  Ms Quin
  Milk is not routinely tested to confirm a diagnosis of foot and mouth disease (FMD). Tissue and blood samples for the diagnosis of FMD are tested in Great Britain only at the Institute for Animal Health laboratory in Pirbright. This is the world and EU community reference laboratory for FMD. The laboratory has the experience in this area, the trained personnel and uses internationally recognised, validated laboratory tests for FMD. It is licensed for this purpose by the Ministry, and operates under the very highest conditions of containment to ensure that there is no escape of infection from the laboratory premises.

  Mr. Luff
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the consistency of the application of the rules for identifying herds and flocks for contiguous culls to control foot and mouth disease; and if he will make a statement. [158476]

  Ms Quin
  The identification of contiguous premises and the culling operations carried out at such premises are managed locally but monitored centrally by headquarters staff of the State Veterinary Service. We are not aware of any significant inconsistencies in the application of policy in this area.

  Mr. Drew
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the advice given to those flying close to outbreaks of foot and mouth disease. [158449]

  Ms Quin
  The Ministry may request the Civil Aviation Authority to impose restrictions for the purposes of disease control. Current instructions are that no flying is 238W
  permitted below 500 feet for a radius of one nautical mile around certain infected premises. These restrictions apply to those infected premises where the risk of airborne transmission is considered to be high. For example, restrictions are imposed on infected premises with a significant number of pigs, due to the high levels of virus they excrete. The restrictions will be lifted as soon as slaughter is completed. There are also restrictions that apply to mass burial and cremation sites, with flying not permitted below 1,000 feet for a radius of two nautical miles around the site.

  Mr. Fabricant
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if auctioneers performing foot and mouth disease valuations are paid(a) a percentage commission of the valuation, (b) a fixed fee and (c) by other means. [158204]

  Ms Quin
  [holding, answer 23 April 2001]: The current agreement with the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers is for a fee structure of 1 per cent. per valuation, subject to a daily minimum fee of £500 and a daily maximum fee of £1,500.

  Mrs. Gilroy
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what studies he has commissioned on the lessons from the current outbreak of foot and mouth disease(a) in general and (b) relating to animal welfare; and if he will make a statement. [158488]

  Ms Quin
  There will undoubtedly be lessons to be learned from our experiences of the foot and mouth epidemic. How this can best be done will be considered later when the outbreak has been dealt with.

  Mr. David Heath
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice has been issued to(a) the Jockey Club and (b) individual racecourses on the movement of horses into and out of foot and mouth disease restricted areas. [158392]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 23 April 2001]: Horses are not susceptible to foot and mouth disease but may be involved in spreading infection in the same way as vehicles and people by carrying material from an infected animal. For this reason, horses on infected farms cannot move off the farm until the restrictions are lifted. Guidelines have been issued for horse-riding, and some activities are prohibited in an infected area. These include hunting and point to point meetings.

  The State Veterinary Service has carried out assessments of the risks of spreading foot and mouth disease by holding horse race meetings. Instructions and guidelines for horse racing have been issued by the Jockey Club and British Horseracing Board, in conjunction with MAFF. The Jockey Club and British Horseracing Board ensure that the conditions are enforced by individual racecourse. Detailed information, including the veterinary risk assessments, is also accessible on the MAFF website http://www.maff.gov.uk/.

  Current veterinary advice is that no race meeting should be held within 3km of a confirmed or suspected case of foot and mouth disease. Horses are not permitted to enter a racecourse if they are from premises situated less than 1km of a premises on which foot and mouth disease has been confirmed in the previous 30 days.
  239W
  Mr. David Heath
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those establishments licensed for the training of racehorses which were situated within areas restricted under foot and mouth disease precautions on 9 April. [158390]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 23 April 2001]: The Ministry does not hold this information. Racehorse training yards are licensed by the Jockey Club.

  Mr. Öpik
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans there are to cull farms between Priestweston and Marton Hill in the Shropshire/ Powys area, in order to create a fire break against the spread of foot and mouth disease; and if he will make a statement. [158944]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 26 April 2001]: There are no plans to carry out any culls to produce fire breaks against the spread of foot and mouth disease in the Priestweston/Marton Hill area of Shropshire. The only culls that would take place are those on Infected Premises and on farms that would be identified as being contiguous to such premises, and on premises adjudged to be Dangerous Contacts.

  Mr. Luff
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what instructions have been given to(a) veterinary surgeons and (b) other departmental officials about the need to classify apparent cases of foot and mouth disease as suspicious rather than confirmed; and if he will make a statement; [158985]

  (2) what post-slaughter assessment is made of stock slaughtered on suspicion of foot and mouth disease; where it is established that such stock was infected with foot and mouth disease, if it is his policy to reclassify such cases as a confirmed outbreak; and if he will make a statement. [158965]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answers 26 April 2001]: On investigation for foot and mouth disease, veterinary inspectors can follow two courses of action. Being either satisfied on clinical grounds or suspicious that foot and mouth disease is present, the stock will be slaughtered and samples sent for testing. Stock on contiguous premises is also culled when disease has been confirmed on the premises under investigation. Slaughter on suspicion cases are confirmed as outbreaks if the laboratory results are positive. If a veterinary inspector is satisfied that the disease is not present, restrictions on the premises are lifted.

  Mr. Luff
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farms have had animals slaughtered on suspicion of foot and mouth disease in(a) Worcestershire and (b) the United Kingdom; and how many animals have been destroyed in the course of the current outbreak. [158988]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 26 April 2001]: Since the start of the outbreak of the 2001 epidemic of foot and mouth disease the following numbers of premises have had animals slaughtered on suspicion of foot and mouth disease.
  240W

  Farms

  Animals

  Hereford and Worcestershire

  12

  10,901

  Great Britain1

  141

  72,000

  1 Does not include Northern Ireland

  The total number of animals slaughtered since the start of the outbreak as of 1 May is 2,382,000 animals.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of ease of transporting(a) napalm and (b) timber and old tyres to avoid transport in connection with destruction of animal carcases. [158871]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 26 April 2001]: Napalm produces very toxic compounds when burnt, and so cannot be used because of the public and environmental health risks. We have made no assessment of the ease of transporting napalm compared with transporting timber or old tyres.

  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy that railway sleepers and other materials not needed to be burned for purposes of disposing of animal carcases will be removed from burn sites on farms rather than being burned up. [159165]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 26 April 2001]: Veterinary advice is that a risk assessment should be undertaken at the site to judge the severity of contamination of any unused pyre material. Railway sleepers and other materials will be disinfected and reused where possible, otherwise they will be burnt on site. Unused straw will always be burnt.

  There are restrictions on moving materials from infected areas, so where pyre materials are re-used, any movements must be carried out under licence.

  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the current average compensation payment is for(a) a cow and (b)a sheep. [159176]

  Ms Quin
  The average compensation payable per animal up to 4 May is £916 for cattle and £110 for sheep.

  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the average compensation paid to livestock farmers is who have been affected by foot and mouth disease. [159177]

  Ms Quin
  Payments to farmers depend on the mix, numbers and valuation of their livestock and may be covered by more than one claim. The average compensation payable per animal up to 4 May is £916 for cattle, £110 for sheep and £89 for pigs.

  Mr. Todd
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will amend the rules allowing movements of animals to slaughter for human consumption from within infected areas to permit movements from premises under form D restrictions where there has been no recent nearby outbreak, subject to a veterinary inspection. [159722]

  Ms Quin
  New rules introduced on 3 May allow the movement of healthy animals direct to slaughter from within a Protection Zone, subject to certain conditions. Such movements provide for animals to leave the Protection Zone but not the infected area.
  241W
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the current average compensation payment is for a pig. [159679]

  Ms Quin
  The average compensation payable up to 4 May for a pig is £89.

  Mr. Maclean
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in respect of how many farms in Cumbria and Devon temporary veterinary inspectors have registered dissent over the operation of the contiguous cull. [159465]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 27 April 2001]: Records have not been kept in relation to individual farms. In both Cumbria and Devon when the policy was initially announced a number of temporary veterinary inspectors (TVIs) initially expressed disquiet with the presumption that cattle on contiguous farms would automatically be

  Table 1: Cases currently classified as slaughter on suspicion

  Week ending

  County

  11 March

  25 March

  1 April

  8 April

  15 April

  22 April

  29 April

  6 May

  Total to date

  Avon

  —

  —

  —

  1

  2

  —

  1

  —

  4

  Berwickshire

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  1

  Cheshire

  —

  —

  1

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  3

  Cornwall

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  Cumbria

  2

  1

  3

  1

  2

  8

  —

  5

  22

  Derbyshire

  —

  —

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  2

  Devonshire

  —

  —

  4

  14

  6

  5

  4

  —

  33

  Dumfrieshire

  —

  —

  3

  4

  1

  1

  3

  —

  12

  Durham

  —

  —

  1

  —

  3

  4

  4

  1

  13

  East Lothian

  —

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  2

  Gloucestershire

  —

  —

  7

  3

  2

  2

  —

  —

  14

  Gwent

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  2

  Gwynedd

  —

  —

  3

  —

  —

  —

  2

  —

  5

  Hereford and Worcester

  —

  —

  2

  3

  6

  1

  —

  —

  12

  Kent

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  1

  Kirkcudbright

  —

  —

  1

  1

  2

  1

  1

  1

  7

  Lancashire

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1

  Leicestershire

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  Northumberland

  —

  —

  1

  1

  —

  3

  —

  —

  5

  Powys

  —

  —

  3

  1

  3

  1

  1

  —

  9

  Roxburgh

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  2

  Shropshire

  —

  —

  2

  1

  2

  —

  —

  —

  5

  South Yorkshire

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  Staffordshire

  —

  —

  4

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  4

  Tyne and Wear

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  West Yorkshire

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1

  Wigtown

  —

  —

  —

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  2

  Wiltshire

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  3

  —

  3

  Great Britain

  2

  1

  42

  33

  34

  28

  21

  8

  169

  A further 50 cases initially identified as slaughter on suspicion were subsequently reclassified as Infected Premises following clinical examination or testing. These are in Table 2.

  Table 2: Cases initially classified as slaughter on suspicion and reclassified ed as Infected Premises

  Week ending

  County

  25 March

  1 April

  8 April

  15 April

  22 April

  29 April

  6 May

  Total to date

  Cheshire

  1

  2

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  3

  Cumbria

  1

  1

  4

  3

  2

  3

  1

  15

  Denvonshire

  —

  1

  —

  2

  3

  1

  —

  7

  Dumfreshire

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  1

  Durham

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1

  Gloucestershire

  1

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  2

  Gwent

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  242W
  slaughtered. Subsequent clarification of the policy and the refinements announced on 26 April have been generally welcomed by the veterinary profession.

  Mr. Maclean
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many slaughtered on suspicion cases in(a) England and (b) Cumbria have not been concluded or finally classified. [159460]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 27 April 2001]: As of 22.00 hours on 3 May 2001, there were 21 cases in England of which 1 were in Cumbria.

  Mr. Maclean
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list on a weekly basis per county since the foot and mouth epidemic began the number of cases classified as slaughtered on suspicion. [159457]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 27 April 2001]: The information on cases currently classified as slaughter on suspicion is in Table 1. There were no cases which originated before 11 March.
  243W

  Table 2: Cases initially classified as slaughter on suspicion and reclassified as Infected Premises

  Week ending

  Country

  25 March

  1 April

  8 April

  15 April

  22 April

  29 April

  6 May

  Total to date

  Hereford and Worcester

  —

  1

  2

  —

  —

  —

  —

  3

  Kirkcudbright

  —

  1

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  2

  North Yorkshire

  —

  —

  1

  —

  2

  —

  —

  3

  Northumberland

  —

  1

  —

  2

  1

  1

  1

  6

  Powys

  —

  1

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  3

  Shropshire

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  1

  Wigtown

  —

  —

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  2

  Great Britain

  3

  8

  9

  11

  12

  5

  2

  50

  Mr. Maclean
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list for(a) England and (b) Cumbria the number of (i) cattle and (ii) sheep which have been slaughtered from farms contiguous to infected premises. [159474]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 27 April 2001]: The table shows the numbers of cattle and sleep slaughtered on premises contiguous to infected premises in England and Wales as at 19:00 on 2 May.

  cattle

  Sheep

  England

  73,832

  327,179

  Cumbria

  6,980

  43,382

  Mr. Gray
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what his policy is on the use of raptors to keep foot and mouth disease landfill sites free of birds; [159278]

  (2) if he will assess the benefits of using Wingaway dam cry bird scarers on foot and mouth disease landfill sites. [159277]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 27 April 2001]: Decisions as to whether to use raptors or bird scarers on foot and mouth disease landfill sites are For the individual operators managing the sites.

  Mr. Öpik
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will discuss delays relating to the animal welfare cull of the stock belonging to Gareth Owen in Powys with the Intervention Board; and what information his Department has on the current condition of the animals. [159834]

  Ms Quin
  It is not practicable or appropriate to comment on individual cases under his scheme. Given full information on the animals and holdings concerned, the Intervention Board will be happy to respond to any queries.

  Mr. Drew
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussion: he has had with Ministers from other EU and European countries on the introduction of a regime for permanent use of vaccination against foot and mouth disease. [159513]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 30 April 2001]: None. There was a general discussion of foot and mouth disease at the informal meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers at Östersund on 8–10 April, at which some member states called for a reassessment of current EU policy but none advocated permanent use of vaccination against foot and mouth disease.
  244W
  Mr. Luff
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to apply the rate of compensation for animals slaughtered under the Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme prevailing at the time of his oral statement of 26 April 2001,Official Report, columns 456–59, to all animals (a) accepted and (b) entered for the scheme prior to his statement. [160100]

  Ms Quin
  The point of collection or slaughter on farm under the Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme is the point at which animals are entered into the scheme. The revised rates of payment under the scheme apply to animals collected or slaughtered on farm after midnight on Sunday 29 April. This includes animals that were the subject of applications made before 26 April.

  Mr. Luff
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to review each application under the Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme, and, where he is satisfied that animals will be slaughtered on or after 30 April as a result of errors made or delays caused by his Department or his agencies, to pay the higher rate of compensation prevailing before that date; and if he will make a statement [160075]

  Ms Quin
  We will give careful consideration to any complaints about the alleged mishandling of applications under the Livestock Welfare (Disposal) Scheme. We will consider individual cases on their merits.

  Mr. Luff
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what instructions have been given to those slaughtering animals during contiguous culls about the report they should make and the steps they should take when they discover clinical symptoms of foot and mouth disease in the stock they are slaughtering; and if he will make a statement. [159849]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: Normal suspect disease procedures apply when clinical symptoms of foot and mouth disease are discovered in stock being slaughtered during contiguous culling. The slaughtered animals are reported as confirmed on clinical grounds. The newly confirmed premises in turn becomes the centre for a circle of contiguous culling. The same also applies if samples taken from contiguously culled animals test positive for signs of the disease.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many reports were received of the illegal movement of livestock in(a) February, (b) March and (c) April. [159956]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: This information is not available in the format requested. Local authorities provide quarterly returns to the Ministry on levels of enforcement activity in England but the returns

  245W
  do not necessarily separate out work in response to reports of illegal movements of stock. However, in the period February to April, MAFF has been made aware of at least 230 reported illegal movements in England. MAFF is also aware of at least 73 such reports in Wales and eight in Scotland.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures he has taken to reduce the spread of future outbreaks of foot and mouth disease that may occur after the present outbreak. [159955]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: The statement by my right hon. Friend the Minister on 26 April 2001, Official Report, columns 456–73, updated the House on a number of actions taken following an initial assessment of the origins and spread of the disease. The consultation on the proposed ban on pig swill closed on 10 April. 150 responses were received, almost all of which favoured a ban. A number of detailed issues were raised which are being considered urgently and an announcement on this is expected shortly. A large number of comments has been received on a proposed 20 day standstill period, after movements on farm, for sheep, goats and cattle. Because of the considerable interest in this issue, it has been decided to extend the consultation period for a further month from the initial deadline of 11 May. The cross-departmental examination of the controls on commercial and personal imports of meat and meat products is under way and a further announcement will be made in due course.

  Mr. Curry
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the efficiency of equipment to test live animals in the field for the presence of foot and mouth disease infection. [159822]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: All confirmatory diagnosis of foot and mouth disease infection is carried out at the Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright. The tests used are those recommended in the OIE Manual of Standards for Diagnostic Tests and

  Cattle

  Sheep

  Pigs

  Goats/deer llamas etc.

  Total

  (a) Animals slaughtered on infected premises1

  249,000

  690,000

  22,000

  400

  961,400

  (b) Animals slaughtered on suspicion

  8,000

  63,000

  2,000

  0

  73,000

  (c) Animals slaughtered on contiguous premises

  89,000

  406,000

  28,000

  800

  523,800

  (d) Animals slaughtered for welfare reasons

  36,000

  440,000

  177,000

  700

  653,700

  Animals slaughtered as other dangerous contacts

  75,000

  718,000

  59,000

  100

  852,100

  Total

  457,000

  2,317,000

  288,000

  2,000

  3,064,000

  1 On infected premises, all animals are slaughtered. They are not tested individually for infection

  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on(a) the potential of deer to catch foot and mouth disease, (b) the potential of deer to act as carriers of the disease and (c) plans he has to control deer suspected of (a) and (b). [160644]

  Ms Quin
  All cloven-hoofed animals, including deer, are susceptible to foot and mouth disease. Wild deer tend to show mild or inapparent disease, resembling the disease in sheep, although some species, (eg roe deer and muntjak deer in the UK) may be severely affected. The age of the animal greatly affects the severity of the disease.
  246W
  Vaccines, plus additional tests under development. The equipment used in these tests is regularly serviced and maintained at the standard required by the tests used.

  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if wild deer with foot and mouth disease are capable of infecting the farm animals with which they come into contact. [R] [159945]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 1 May 2001]: Our current veterinary risk assessment concludes that infected deer could transmit foo and mouth disease to susceptible livestock during the clinical stages of the disease. However the risk of wild deer playing any significant part in the spread of the disease is assessed as very low and feral deer are unlikely to represent a longer term risk. We therefore have no plans at this stage to control wild deer populations.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what stocks of foot and mouth vaccines his Department holds. [160381]

  Mr. Morley
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: The Department does not hold stocks of foot and mouth vaccine. However, contingency plans exist to draw sufficient doses from the International Vaccine Bank (IVB) and the EU Vaccine Bank (EUVB) to vaccinate some 750,000 cattle. This is available at short notice but, as the EUVB holds sufficient doses of appropriate vaccine for 2.5 million cattle, additional supplies are available from this source if required.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of each animal species slaughtered in the foot and mouth outbreak were(a)known to be afflicted with the disease, (b) suspected of being infected, (c) inhabited contiguous areas and (d) killed for welfare reasons. [160378]

  Ms Quin
  [holding answer 8 May 2001]: The numbers of pigs, sheep and cattle that have been slaughtered are broken down as follows (figures as at 19:00 2 May 2001):

  Deer can be carriers of the foot and mouth virus, and could transmit foot and mouth disease to susceptible livestock during the clinical stages of the disease. However, the Ministry's current veterinary risk assessment indicates that the risk of wild deer playing any significant part in the spread of foot and mouth disease is very low. There are therefore no plans at this stage to control wild deer populations, although as more information becomes available about that epidemiology of the disease in areas where there are are Wild deer, the risk assessment will be updated.
  247W
  All samples that have been submitted to the Institute of Animal Health for testing, as of 4 May, have tested negative for evidence of the foo and mouth virus, antigens or antibodies.

  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he hits to table proposals for reform of the EU's methods for tackling foot and mouth, following the recent UK outbreak. [160623]
  248W
  Ms Quin
  As my right hon. Friend the Minister reported to the House in his statement of 26 April 2001,Official Report columns 456–73, at the Government's instigation the European Union will convene a conference later in the year to all aspects of our experience of the disease, in order to help shape control policy for the future.

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