Written Answers of 14 May 2003

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

  National Lottery
  Mr. Simon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many organisations in the Birmingham, Erdington constituency have(a) applied for and (b) claimed awards from the Community Fund in each year since the National Lottery began. [112992]

  Mr. Caborn
  Comprehensive information on applications for Lottery grants is not centrally held at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

  The following table, which is based upon information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the National Lottery awards database, shows the total number of awards made by the Community Fund to applicants within the constituency of Birmingham, Erdington.

  Number of awards within the constituency of Birmingham, Erdington

  1 May 1994 to 30 April 1995

  0

  1 May 1995 to 30 April 1996

  3

  1 May 1996 to 30 April 1997

  2

  1 May 1997 to 30 April 1998

  2

  1 May 1998 to 30 April 1999

  6

  1 May 1999 to 30 April 2000

  12

  1 May 2000 to 30 April 2001

  5

  1 May 2001 to 30 April 2002

  4

  1 May 2002 to 30 April 2003

  0

  Mr. Simon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans are in place to strengthen local advertising campaigns in order to encourage more successful applications for National Lottery funding, with particular reference to regions where there is a record of failing to secure them. [113000]

  Mr. Caborn
  The consultation paper on Lottery distribution (published July 2002) sought views on a number of issues, including raising awareness of Lottery funding and application mechanisms. Ideas included a National Lottery Day, One Stop Shops, to provide a single point of access for advice and a single promotional body, which would raise awareness of the achievements of the Lottery nationally, regionally and locally.

  Proposals from the review will be published in the summer.

  Mr. Simon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list(a) the average grant given for all constituencies, (b) the average grant given for West Midlands constituencies and (c) the average
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  grant given for Birmingham, Erdington under the National Lottery Awards For All scheme in each of the last three years for which statistics are held. [113001]

  Mr. Caborn
  The following table, which is based upon information supplied to us by the distributing bodies for the National Lottery awards database, sets out the average grant given for all constituencies, the average grant for West Midlands constituencies1 and the average award to Birmingham, Erdington under the National Lottery Awards For All scheme in each of the last three years.

  1 Using the definition of the West Midlands (as provided by the House of Commons website) comprising the following constituencies:
  Birmingham, Edgbaston; Birmingham, Erdington; Birmingham, Hall Green;
  Birmingham, Hodge Hill; Birmingham, Ladywood; Birmingham, Northfield
  Birmingham, Perry Barr; Birmingham, Selly Oak; Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath
  Birmingham, Yardley; Sutton Coldfield; Coventry North East; Coventry North West;
  Coventry South; Dudley North; Dudley South; Halesowen and Rowley Regis; Stourbridge
  Halesowen and Rowley Regis; Warley; West Bromwich East; West Bromwich West; Meriden;
  Aldridge-Brownhills; Walsall North; Walsall South; Wolverhampton North East;
  Wolverhampton South East; Wolverhampton South West.

  £

  1 May 2000 to 30 April 2001

  1 May 2001 to 30 April 2002

  1 May 2002 to 30 April 2003

  Average grant given for all UK constituencies

  3,324

  3,537

  3,617

  Average grant given for west Midland constituencies

  3,544

  3,876

  4,009

  Average grant given for Birmingham, Erdington

  3,234

  4,115

  4,276

  Sport (Young People)
  Mark Tami
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department gives to sporting activities for the young outside of the formal school environment. [113018]

  Mr. Caborn
  This Department is committed to increasing and improving opportunities for young people to participate in sporting activities both within and beyond the curriculum. Initiatives beyond the curriculum include: the Community Club Development programme (£60 million); the New Opportunities Fund's Out of School Hours Learning/School Sport Co-ordinators programme (over £19 million); the School to Club Links programme (£9 million) and Step into Sport (£15 million). These complement or directly support delivery of the joint DCMS/DfES national
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  strategy for PE, school sport and club links, in which we are investing a total of £459 million over the next three years.

TRANSPORT

  Driving Licences
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many claims for lost driving licences the DVLA has received in each of the last five years. [113035]

  Mr. Jamieson
  An application for a duplicate driving licence is appropriate where licences have been lost, stolen or defaced after being held by the driver for a certain length of time. From the statistics available it is not possible to state specifically how many applications are for lost licences only. However, during the past five years applications for duplicate driving licences have been.

  Number

  1998–99

  661,000

  1999–2000

  467,000

  2000–01

  510,000

  2001–02

  584,000

  2002–03

  700,000

  DVLA does not meet claims for lost licences.

  Railways
  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria the Strategic Rail Authority used in deciding to award the Greater Anglia Franchise to the successful bidder; and what representations he received on that decision. [113096]

  Mr. Jamieson
  The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) has not yet awarded the Greater Anglia franchise. It issued Invitations to Tender (ITTs) to three bidders—and a consultation document to stakeholders—on 15 April. That followed a process of "Qualification to receive an ITT document", in which applicants were ranked on their responses to a questionnaire.

  Jeremy Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on the reopening of(a) the Matlock to Buxton railway line and (b) the Bletchley to Bicester line. [113199]

  Mr. Jamieson
  The Strategic Rail Authority is currently undertaking a feasibility study on the proposal to re-open the Matlock to Buxton line. The study is expected to be completed in two stages. The first stage will look at options to re-instate the link that formerly existed. This is expected to be completed in September 2003. If the partners agree to continue, stage two would develop the preferred option in detail. Stage two will be completed in April 2004. The Strategic Rail Authority is also currently examining the case for reopening the section of line between Bicester and Bletchley for freight and diversionary purposes. This would potentially enable the introduction of passenger services on the 246W
  eastern section of the route. For these projects to be taken forward, they would have to represent value for money and be affordable.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Age Discrimination
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to address the issue of age discrimination. [109440]

  Beverley Hughes
  The Home Office has continued to integrate age into its equal opportunity policies and to apply its commitments that there should be no unfair discrimination on the basis of age and that staff of all ages and backgrounds should be provided with opportunities to maximise their skills and achieve their potential. Action on diversity will continue to tackle any negative attitudes towards older staff, particularly through the training and development of managers and through the monitoring of recruitment, selection and appraisal statistics.

  Since 1 April 2002, following a review of the Department's age retirement policy, Home Office staff in all grades below the Senior Civil Service have been allowed to retire at any point between the ages of 60 and 65. From the same date, the Home Office changed its recruitment policy to allow the recruitment of staff up to the age of 64 subject to their meeting normal standards of health and provided that there is an expectation of a reasonable period of employment and return on recruitment and training.

  The Prison Service is carrying out a separate review of its age retirement policy. However, on 16 December 2002 a temporary relaxation of its policy was issued, applicable to all non-operational staff below the Senior Civil Service, effective until 1 July 2004. This allows staff covered by the policy to apply for an extension of service beyond 60, subject to health and efficiency considerations.

  In making these various changes, the Home Office has been implementing recommendations of the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) report 'Winning the Generation Game'.

  Anti-terrorism (Detainees)
  Mr. Stringer
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been detained under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001; how many people are detained; and how many of those currently detained are Muslims. [112931]

  Mr. Blunkett
  [holding answer 13 May 2003]: 15 foreign nationals have so far been detained using powers in part 4 of the Anti-terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001. Eight were detained in December 2001, one in February 2002, two in April 2002, one in October 2002, one in November 2002, and a further two in January 2003.

  Of the total detained, two have voluntarily left the United Kingdom. The other 13 remain in detention.
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  Under the Special Immigration Appeals Commission's direction under section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1987, we are directed that 'there shall be no publication of any matter which may identify them or any of them'. Therefore it would not be appropriate for me to provide personal information on those detained, and this has been our position since the passage of the Act.

  Anti-terrorism Website
  Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the(a) set-up and (b) running costs are of his Department's anti-terrorism website. [109512]

  Mr. Blunkett
  The anti-terrorism site (www.homeoffice.gov.uk/terrorism) is a part of the core Home Office website and the running costs are met from the existing budget for running the main website. Costs directly associated with setting up these pages are:

  1. Copy-writing services: £3,150

  2. Template design: £1,410

  The site had 275,000 page impressions during March and April. A service guaranteeing resilience of the servers in the event of increased traffic or security breaches was also procured at a cost of £30,000 per annum. Although this has been put in place to protect the site as a whole in accordance with security requirements, its implementation was timed to tie in with the launch of the anti-terrorism site in order to ensure that the site would cope with the large volume of traffic.

  Antisocial Behaviour Orders
  Sir Michael Spicer
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many antisocial Behaviour Orders are in force; [111774]

  (2) how many breaches there have been of antisocial Behaviour Orders. [111773]

  Mr. Bob Ainsworth
  From 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 data on the number of antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) issued was collected by police force area. From 1 June 2000 official statistics on the number of ASBOs issued are based on quarterly returns from Magistrates' Courts Committees (MCCs).

  Available information shows the number of notifications received by the Home Office of ASBOs issued from 1 April 1999 up to 31 December 2001 was 532. The number of notifications received from 1 January 2002 up to 30 November 2002 (latest available) was 253. Data are not collected centrally on the number of ASBOs in force at any given time.

  We are aware that the number of ASBOs made nationally have been consistently under-reported in returns made by magistrates courts and are considering how reporting can be improved. 66 persons had breaches of their ASBOs proved to the satisfaction of the court and notified to the Home Office in 2000 and a
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  further 258 in 2001 (persons breaching an ASBO more than once and dealt with on separate occasions will be counted more than once in these figures).

  However, as the number of ASBOs made is known to be under-reported and breaches of ASBOs count persons every time they appear in court, these figures cannot be used to calculate a breach rate. For this reason a special exercise was undertaken, covering the period 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2001, to match persons convicted of breaching their ASBOs on at least one occasion (as notified by the police and the courts) with ASBOs made (as notified by the MCC). This showed that during this period 125 persons had breached their ASBOs out of 428 for whom ASBOs had been made and notified to the Home Office, a breach rate of 20 per cent.

  Statistics on breaches of ASBOs in 2002 will be published in the autumn.

  Civil Emergencies
  Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in other EU countries in relation to improving joint contingency planning and cooperation in the event of civil emergencies. [109604]

  Mr. Blunkett
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Hereford (Paul Keetch) on 24 March 2003,Official Report, column 24W.

  Correspondence
  Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 23 April from the hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey regarding extradition arrangements with the United States. [112864]

  Mr. Blunkett
  [holding answer 13 May 2003]: I wrote to the hon. Member on 12 May.

  Demonstrators
  Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many demonstrators have been charged with(a) conspiracy to commit a criminal act and (b) a criminal act in each of the last 18 months. [112161]

  Mr. Bob Ainsworth
  The information requested is not collected centrally.

  Extradition (USA)
  Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with his US counterparts on(a) terrorism and (b) extradition since 1 January. [112136]

  Mr. Blunkett
  I and my officials are in constant contact with our US counterparts on terrorism and extradition issues, where there is excellent co-operation between us.

  I visited the US in late March and early April when I met the US Homeland Security Secretary, Tom Ridge. We agreed to build further on US/UK co-operation by

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  setting up a Joint Contact Group of senior officials to drive a joint programme of work in the fight against terrorism.

  I also discussed extradition with the US Attorney General John Ashcroft in Washington DC, and signed a new UK/US bilateral extradition Treaty on 31 March. I met John Ashcroft, together with other Ministers again in Paris for the G8 meeting on Justice and Home Affairs on 5 May at which common action to improve arrangements for identification was agreed.

  Firearms Amnesty
  Dr. Kumar
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans there are to increase spending on the advertising and promotion of the firearms amnesty; how much has been allocated for the year April 2003 to March 2004; which the preferred medium is in which to promote the campaign; and on what basis he has reached this decision. [111256]

  Police force area

  1997

  1998–991

  1999–20002

  2000–012

  2001–022

  Avon and Somerset

  240

  241

  429

  365

  411

  Bedfordshire

  56

  149

  177

  140

  182

  Cambridgeshire

  134

  141

  186

  146

  195

  Cheshire

  70

  97

  72

  167

  177

  Cleveland

  144

  245

  199

  203

  267

  Cumbria

  54

  33

  34

  29

  34

  Derbyshire

  280

  322

  451

  398

  461

  Devon and Cornwall

  94

  144

  140

  111

  138

  Dorset

  78

  42

  123

  153

  174

  Durham

  65

  25

  53

  116

  163

  Essex

  269

  317

  344

  356

  546

  Gloucestershire

  87

  116

  158

  179

  188

  Greater Manchester

  888

  1,143

  1,372

  1,513

  2,175

  Hampshire

  157

  147

  215

  163

  175

  Hertfordshire

  56

  61

  164

  217

  224

  Humberside

  535

  563

  543

  502

  473

  Kent

  364

  277

  340

  335

  269

  Lancashire

  163

  179

  227

  233

  343

  Leicestershire

  106

  185

  137

  119

  146

  Lincolnshire

  92

  80

  141

  152

  153

  London, City of

  4

  15

  6

  5

  Merseyside

  576

  856

  914

  1,041

  1,211

  Metropolitan Police

  2,926

  3,004

  4,118

  4,258

  5,675

  Norfolk

  75

  59

  56

  57

  68

  Northamptonshire

  130

  191

  177

  78

  98

  Northumbria

  277

  457

  531

  472

  541

  North Yorkshire

  131

  74

  59

  47

  70

  Nottinghamshire

  532

  629

  713

  693

  870

  South Yorkshire

  328

  401

  369

  448

  737

  Staffordshire

  241

  123

  184

  321

  386

  Suffolk

  17

  34

  69

  136

  118

  Surrey

  59

  66

  92

  129

  107

  Sussex

  218

  315

  377

  326

  404

  Thames Valley

  325

  471

  555

  609

  703

  Warwickshire

  86

  56

  69

  73

  102

  West Mercia

  84

  105

  114

  111

  177

  West Midlands

  840

  808

  1,008

  1,058

  1,636

  West Yorkshire

  974

  1,041

  1,235

  1,544

  1,759

  Wiltshire

  61

  85

  84

  79

  98

  Dyfed-Powys

  61

  60

  45

  68

  43

  Gwent

  129

  215

  248

  197

  176

  North Wales

  109

  94

  104

  74

  99

  South Wales

  295

  222

  315

  275

  337

  England total

  11,816

  13,283

  16,234

  17,083

  21,659

  1 There was a change of counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998, which would have the tendency to increase the number of offences counted. Numbers of offences before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable.

  2 Figures may have been inflated by some forces implementing the priciples of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) before 1 April 2002.

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  Mr. Bob Ainsworth
  The firearms amnesty ran from 31 March to 30 April 2003. It was agreed after the success of the first burst of advertising at the beginning of the amnesty to repeat the radio advertising in the last week and an additional £122,000 was spent in April 2003 to achieve this.

  There are currently no plans to run another amnesty in the coming year and therefore no additional money has been allocated for advertising and promotion. Over 40,000 guns where handed in during the period.

  Gun Crime
  Dr. Kumar
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) gun crimes and (b) arrests relating to gun crime there were (i) in England and (ii) in each UK police force area in each of the last five years. [112721]

  Mr. Bob Ainsworth
  Information on the number of recorded crimes involving firearms, including air weapons, is given in the table.
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  Numbers of arrests for recorded crimes involving firearms are not collected centrally.

  Information relating to Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

  Immigration and Nationality Directorate
  Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Croydon South (Richard Ottaway), of 12 December 2003,Official Report, column 480W, on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, how many letters were sent to members of the public where a passport could not be traced in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) to date in 2003. [112148]

  Beverley Hughes
  The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the Integrated Casework Directorate's (ICD) Return of Passport Unit, which was set up in October 1999, issued 97 lost passport letters in the year 2000, 103 in 2001, 390 in 2002 and 251 so far this calendar year.

  I have already now instituted new measures to ensure that in future (a) much fewer passports are held by IND and (b) where a passport does need to be retained it is for as short a period as possible and in a dedicated secure place.

  Northumbria Police
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences involving(a) drugs, (b) alcohol abuse, (c) violence and (d) disorder were reported in each command or division of the Northumbria police area in each year from 1998 to 2002. [113073]

  Mr. Bob Ainsworth
  Information on the total number of recorded crimes in some main offence groups, including violent crimes, has been collected and published at the Basic Command Unit level since 1 April 1999. The number of violent crimes recorded in Basic Command Units in the Northumbria police area is given in the table. Details for 2002/03 are not yet available.

  Number of violent offences recorded by the police in Northumbria police force area by police Basic Command Unit

  Violence against the person

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  2001–02

  Gateshead East

  1,156

  989

  1,787

  Gateshead West

  667

  668

  666

  Newcastle Central

  1,077

  908

  999

  Newcastle East

  778

  639

  709

  Newcastle North

  776

  720

  842

  Newcastle West

  948

  1,052

  1,224

  North Northumberland

  430

  339

  325

  South Tyneside

  1,282

  1,483

  1,687

  South-East Northumberland

  1,324

  1,499

  1,493

  South-West Northumberland

  398

  313

  429

  Sunderland City

  1,643

  1,574

  2,292

  Sunderland West

  642

  646

  827

  Tynemouth

  890

  810

  954

  Wallsend

  600

  450

  475

  Washington

  952

  872

  928

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  Number of violent offences recorded by the police in Northumbrian police force area by police Basic Command Unit

  Sexual Offences

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  2001–02

  Gateshead East

  97

  79

  123

  Gateshead West

  55

  36

  61

  Newcastle Central

  58

  43

  40

  Newcastle East

  52

  52

  58

  Newcastle North

  67

  74

  88

  Newcastle West

  89

  60

  90

  North Northumberland

  17

  23

  19

  South Tyneside

  83

  98

  103

  South-East Northumberland

  131

  113

  113

  South-West Northumberland

  20

  13

  7

  Sunder City

  78

  68

  76

  Sunderland West

  54

  44

  42

  Tynemouth

  59

  53

  96

  Wallsend

  68

  79

  60

  Washington

  55

  56

  54

  Number of violent offences recorded by the police in Northumbrian police force area by police Basic Command Unit

  Robbery

  1999–2000

  2000–01

  2001–02

  Gateshead East

  153

  152

  177

  Gateshead West

  80

  94

  81

  Newcastle Central

  140

  114

  96

  Newcastle East

  85

  87

  74

  Newcastle North

  101

  93

  109

  Newcastle West

  152

  138

  146

  North Northumberland

  5

  1

  10

  South Tyneside

  154

  168

  129

  South-East Northumberland

  55

  80

  72

  South-West Northumberland

  4

  4

  11

  Sunderland City

  163

  169

  196

  Sunderland West

  43

  48

  53

  Tynemouth

  118

  102

  92

  Wallsend

  74

  74

  67

  Washington

  62

  57

  74

  Recorded crime figures do not include details of whether drugs and alcohol are an aggravating factor in offences. The requested details of drug offences, alcohol abuse and disorder are not available.

  Oakington Reception Centre
  Mr. Lansley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to(a) change the composition of asylum applicants housed at the Immigration Reception centre, Oakington and (b)increase the maximum length of stay of residents. [112424]

  Beverley Hughes
  The Oakington fast track facility enables asylum claims which, upon initial screening, appear to be straightforward and suitable for speedy decision making, to be determined in about seven to 10 days. If the decision is to refuse, the claimant may be removed, moved to a Removal Centre or released temporarily.

  There are no plans at present to alter this. Our aim at Oakington is to fast track claims as rapidly as possible. In some instances it may be considered necessary to detain at Oakington beyond the decision stage, non-suspensive appeal (NSA) cases where Judicial Review of a 'clearly unfounded' certificate is sought for example. It is not our intention to detain at Oakington any longer than is necessary.
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  Oakington is a designated place of detention and may also be used to house other persons under the published detention criteria.

  Mr. Lansley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many residents are housed at the Immigration Reception Centre, Oakington; and from which countries. [112427]

  Beverley Hughes
  On 12 May 2003 there was a total of 302 persons detained at Oakington. They were from the following countries: (listed in order of the highest number): Turkey, Jamaica, Serbia and Montenegro, India, Albania, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Moldova, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Romania, Czech Republic, Poland, Nigeria, Ukraine, Cameroon, China, Uganda, Latvia, Tanzania, South Africa, Rwanda, Macedonia, Brazil, Botswana, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Cyprus and Bulgaria.

  Police
  Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training police officers receive in how to deal with victims of(a) child abuse and (b) rape; and whether there is an officer at every police station who has received this training. [112106]

  Mr. Bob Ainsworth
  There is currently no national training for police officers on dealing with victims of child abuse and rape. Individual forces are responsible for determining the training required by their officers.

  Centrex (the Central Police Training and Development Authority) is reviewing the training needed by police officers in relation to the investigation of sexual offences in the light of recommendations made in the report of a joint inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. The review will result in a new learning requirement which will defile what officers need to learn and the standards to which they should be trained and will be aligned with the National Occupational Standards for the police service.

  The Home Office, together with the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Police Skills and Standards Organisation, Centrex and others, is considering how to take forward the recommendations of Lord Laming in the report of his inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie. The Government are committed to implementing Lord Laming's recommendations, which included several concerning the training of police and other practitioners involved in child protection work.

  The deployment of officers following training is entirely a matter for the chief officer of the force concerned.

  Mr. Tom Watson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the costs were of policing the annual party political conferences in 2002; and how these costs were met. [111163]

  Mr. Bob Ainsworth
  Information is only available about the additional costs for policing at the Labour Party and Conservative Party's annual conferences. The additional cost of policing the Labour Party conference in Blackpool in 2002 was £1.52 million. The additional cost for policing the Conservative Party conference in Bournemouth last year was £0.89 million.
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  Forces are assisted with their additional costs through a special grant for the Home Office. For 2002, these grants met the police authorities additional costs in full.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Business Support
  Mark Tami
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support her Department is providing to indigenous and inward investing supplier companies to(a) locate and (b) expand their business in the United Kingdom. [113023]

  Alan Johnson
  Invest. UK in London and overseas promotes the UK as the top inward investment location in Europe and works in partnership with all of the UK's Development Agencies to attract the maximum level of inward investment. Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) is available to indigenous and international inward investors located, or planning to locate, within the UKs assisted areas. RSA provides grants to help support business expansion and create and safeguard jobs.

  Concorde
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many representations she has received on the future of Concorde since January. [112911]

  Alan Johnson
  Twenty one. The Department's Aerospace and Defence Directorate has received six further representations.

  Door-to-door Selling
  Dr. Kumar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will introduce legislation preventing door-to-door salespeople calling on households unannounced. [113402]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  The Office of Fair Trading is currently investigating the doorstep selling sector as a super complaint within the terms of the Enterprise Act 2002. Their report is expected later this year. Any recommendations will be carefully considered.

  Export Licences
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what standard and open export licences were granted in respect of spare parts for Hawk aircraft in(a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002 and for which countries; what risk assessments were made to determine the risk of these exports being diverted or re-exported in contravention of arms export licensing criteria; and if she will make a statement. [112329]

  Nigel Griffiths
  Details of these were given in response to the question from the hon. Member for Crawley (Laura Moffatt) on 26 October 2000,Official Report, columns 199–203, and in my letter dated 14 November to the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Paul Farrelly), a copy of which has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

  Franchises
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what powers she has to prevent two master franchises within the same trading scheme in the United Kingdom from using coercive attempts to press their franchisees with registering for VAT as a means of the master franchises obtaining an exemption under the provisions of the Trading Schemes Act 1996; and if she will make a statement. [113009]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  There are no such powers under the Trading Schemes Act. Registration for VAT is a matter for Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.

  Inward Investment
  Mr. Liddell-Grainger
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what help she will give to Regional Development Agencies in England to increase inward investment. [112954]

  Alan Johnson
  As part of the RDAs 'Single Pot' funding in 2003–04, Invest.UK are providing £12.93 million.

  Invest.UK plan to spend at least £7.2 million in 2003–04 to promote the UK to potential inward investors world-wide. Enquiries generated through this national promotional campaign play a pivotal role in supporting RDAs cluster development activities, helping RDAs deliver their regional economic strategies, and increasing inward investment to their regions.

  Invest.UK has also led the development of a bespoke 'best practice' modular training package for the RDAs to assist them to increase the quality of their 'aftercare' service to inward investors.

  Pharmacy
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the

  Regional Development Agency

  12001–02

  12002–03

  22003–04

  Advantage West Midlands

  170,850

  205,156

  216,026

  East of England Development Agency

  62,596

  89,413

  81,299

  East Midlands Development Agency

  97,439

  102,892

  127,211

  North West Development Agency

  276,872

  274,855

  318,478

  One North East

  162,671

  193,828

  219,256

  South East of England Development Agency

  110,542

  115,034

  123,952

  South West of England Regional Development Agency

  91,940

  101,958

  101,061

  Yorkshire Forward

  246,267

  210,274

  243,287

  London Development Agency

  289,141

  296,059

  291,239

  Total

  1,508,318

  1,589,469

  1,721,809

  1 Budgets are net of receipts forecast to be generated by the Agencies and include changes approved during the financial year in respect of End Year Flexibility entitlement, claims on the Contigency Reserve and budget swaps between Agencies.

  2 Indicative allovations.

  Trading Schemes
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which schemes in the United Kingdom which have two master franchises benefit from the single-tier exemption from the Trading Schemes Act 1996. [113046]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  Information on individual schemes exempt from the Act is not held centrally.
  256W
  progress of the Government's response to the Office of Fair Trading report on the control of entry regulations and pharmacy services in the UK. [111586]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  The Government made an interim response to the OFT's report on control of entry regulations for pharmacies on 26 March. The Government is considering the report and its recommendation further and will come forward with a balanced package of measures for consultation before the summer recess.

  The regulations on pharmacy entry controls are devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the devolved administrations announced their responses to the OFT's recommendations on 26 March.

  Photocopiers
  Mr. Edwards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received about sharp practices involving leasing agreements for office photocopiers; and if she will take steps to afford greater protection to consumers affected by such practices. [113174]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  The Office of Fair Trading is responsible for monitoring the behaviour of consumer hire companies licensed under the Consumer Credit Act and it has confirmed that few complaints have been received. No action is proposed at this time.

  Regional Development Agencies
  Ms Buck
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list funding allocated(a) to each regional development agency, (b) to the London Development Agency and (c) in total in (i) 2001–02, (ii) 2002–03 and (iii) 2003–04 (estimated). [113207]

  Alan Johnson
  Budget allocations, in £000s, to the Regional Development Agencies, including the London Development Agency, for 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04 are given in the following table.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

  After-school Activities (Redbridge)
  Linda Perham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what after-school activities are available in the London borough of Redbridge. [111740]

  Mr. Miliband
  Redbridge receives funding from my Department to provide after school study support opportunities for young people in the area: £284,859 this
  257W
  year through the Standards fund. We allow individual schools and local authorities the freedom to decide which activities best meet local needs. Study support can range from homework and study clubs to special-interest activities including the creative arts and ICT, and many of these take place after school.

  Redbridge has also received two grants totalling £527,050 through the New Opportunities fund to provide out of school hours activities. The first grant targets approximately 10 schools in the Hainault and Loxford areas and the second has introduced activities into more than 15 other schools in the borough. Many of these activities take place after school, and include a Bollywood Dance Club, girls' football, and a zoology club.

  Redbridge has, in addition, been awarded £795,343 by the New Opportunities fund for after-school childcare to date, and is on course to meet its DfES target of 1,387 places to be created before June 2003. It has also received an extra capital allocation of £22,000.

  Child Care
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many(a) nurseries, (b) playgroups, (c) child minders, (d) out-of-school clubs and (e) holiday schemes have been provided in Lancashire in each year since 1997. [112057]

  Mr. Miliband
  The available information for Lancashire Local Authority is shown in the tables.

  Figures for 2001 and earlier years for England and Government Office regions were published in DfES Statistical Bulletin 08/01 "Children's Day Care Facilities at 31st March 2001", which is available in the Library and on the DfES website, www.dfes.qov.uk/statistics. Figures for 2001 for out of school clubs and holiday schemes have recently been revised and are shown in the tables.

  Numbers of day care providers1 by type of provider Lancashire Local Authority area 1999–2001 Position at 31 March each year

  1999

  2000

  2001

  Day nurseries

  230

  240

  270

  Playgroups and pre-schools

  290

  290

  280

  Childminders

  1,500

  1,400

  1,400

  Out of school clubs

  70

  80

  90

  Holiday schemes

  30

  220

  20

  1Figures have been rounded

  2Includes those schemes exempt from registration

  Numbers of day care places1 by type of provider Lancashire Local Authority area 1999–2001 Position at 31 March each year

  1999

  2000

  2001

  Day nurseries

  8,800

  9,600

  10,900

  Playgroups and pre-schools

  6,600

  6,600

  6,500

  Childminders

  6,000

  5,800

  5,900

  Out of school clubs

  1,600

  1,900

  2,200

  Holiday schemes

  900

  2670

  640

  1Figures have been rounded

  2Includes those schemes exempt from registration

  Education Funding
  Mr. Luff
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make it his policy to bring funding per pupil in Worcestershire closer to the national average. [112661]

  Mr. Miliband
  In introducing the new funding system in 2003–04, our aim has been to produce the best possible match between the distribution of funds and the differing circumstances and needs of pupils, schools and Local Education Authorities. It is our policy to ensure that the funding each authority receives reflects the needs of its pupils, and the cost of providing an education service.

  The new funding system comprises of a basic entitlement per pupil—the same everywhere, and a top ups for each pupil with additional educational needs—again the same everywhere. There are also top ups to reflect the higher costs of recruiting and retaining staff in some areas, and the higher costs of providing an education service in sparse areas. The top up for additional educational needs was informed by research conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers into the costs of providing for pupils with additional needs. The top ups for area costs are based on earning differentials from the labour force survey.

  These top ups mean that there are differences in what individual authorities receive. Those which have more deprived pupils and/or receive extra funding to take account of the high costs of recruiting and retaining staff in their area, receive a higher level of funding overall than those which have comparatively low levels of deprivation and/or do not receive additional funding for area costs.

  All LEAs have seen an increase in their Education Formula Spending Share of at least 3.2 per cent. per pupil in 2003–04, in addition to compensation for the bulk of the pension contribution increase and the transfer into EPS of nursery grant and class size grant. The increase for Worcestershire is somewhat more substantial at 4.1 per cent. This translates into an increase in Worcestershire's Education Formula Spending Share of 6.0 per cent. when pupil number changes are taken into account.

  School Inspections
  Mr. Gibb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of lessons inspected by Ofsted in 2001–02 in(a) Year 7, (b) Year 8, (c) Year 9 and (d) Year 10 were set by ability in (i) specialist and (ii) non-specialist comprehensives. [113074]

  Mr. Miliband
  This is a matter for Ofsted and HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to the hon. Member and will place a copy of his letter in the Library.

  School Governance
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received about the School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations. [111735]
  259W
  Mr. Miliband
  We have received no representations about these regulations, which were made on 18 February 2003. However, some enquirers have sought and received clarification on some of the issues.

  Statemented Children (Shropshire)
  Mr. Owen Paterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many children have been statemented in Shropshire in each of the last 10 years; [111662]

  (2) how many children with statements of special educational needs in Shropshire were taught in (a) maintained special schools and (b) other maintained schools in the last 10 years. [111663]

  Mr. Miliband
  The available information is shown in the table.

  Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs (SEN): Shropshire local education authority

  Pupils with statements of SEN

  January

  Total number of pupils

  Number of pupils in maintained special schools

  Number of pupils in other maintained schools1

  Number of pupils in all other schools2

  19943

  2,288

  504

  1,609

  175

  19953

  2,449

  525

  1,760

  164

  19963

  2,662

  578

  1,927

  157

  19973

  2,844

  590

  2,059

  195

  19983

  2,906

  610

  2,139

  157

  19994

  1,679

  191

  1,352

  136

  20004

  1,667

  190

  1,327

  150

  20014

  —5

  —5

  —5

  —5

  20024

  1,501

  206

  1,132

  163

  20034

  —

  —

  —

  —

  (Provisional)

  1,462

  216

  1,091

  155

  1 Includes Maintained Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools and Pupil Referral Units.

  2 Includes independent schools, non-maintained special schools and City Technology Colleges.

  3 Before local government reorganisation. Prior to 1999 Shropshire included Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin.

  4 After local government reorganisation. Figures from 1999 onwards are not directly comparable to those for earlier years.

  5Not available. SEN data for 2001 are known to be incomplete.

  Source:

  Annual Schools' Census

TREASURY

  Departmental Underspending
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reduce his Department's underspend in 2003–04 from that of 2002–03. [112779]

  Mr. Boateng
  The Chancellor's Departments are currently estimating an underspend of £34 million in 2002–03. This is less than 1 per cent. of total provision. The spending plans for the Chancellor's Departments are set out in: "2002 Spending Review—New Public Spending Plans 2003–2006" (Ref: Cm 5570. Published July 2002).

  Departmental Report
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of the publication of the 2001 Departmental Report. [112799]
  260W
  Mr. Boateng
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Berwick-Upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) on 24 July 2002,Official Report, column 1192W. The final cost of the Departmental Report 2001–02 was £4,912.

  Euro
  Linda Perham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to seek changes to the European Stability and Growth Pact prior to any future UK entry into the euro. [113115]

  Ruth Kelly
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford, South (Mike Gapes) on 23 January 2003,Official Report, column 424W.

  External Reports
  Mr. Maude
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list(a) the title and subject, (b) the total cost to his Department and (c) the commissioned author or organisation of each external report commissioned by his Department in each year since 1997. [103726]

  Ruth Kelly
  Since 1997 HM Treasury has on its own or in collaboration with other Departments commissioned people external to the Department to prepare reports.

  The completed reports on which the Treasury took a lead include:
  Economic Instruments and the Business Use of Energy (Lord Marshall), November 1998.
  Work Incentives, The Modernisation of Britain's Tax and Benefit System Number Two (Martin Taylor), November 1998.
  Competition in UK Banking (Don Cruickshank) January 1999.
  Independent Enquiry into a Tonnage Tax (Lord Alexander of Weedon), July 1999.
  Banking Services Consumer Codes Review (DeAnne Julius) May 2001.
  Myners Review of Institutional Investment in the UK (Paul Myners) March 2001.
  Securing our Future Health: Taking a Long-Term View, The Wanless Review' (Derek Wanless) April 2002.
  SET for Success: The supply of people with science, technology,engineering and mathematical skills (Sir Gareth Roberts), Apri12002.
  Medium and Long-Term Retail Savings in the UK (Ron Sandier), July 2002.

  Costs for these reports are not held centrally but will have been met from within the Department's Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL).

  Illegal Food Imports
  Andrew George
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department has allocated to tackling illegal food imports in(a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02, (c) 2002–03, (d) 2003–04, (e) 2004–05 and (f) 2005–06, broken down by category of activity. [112559]

  John Healey
  [holding answer 13 May 2003]: The Government are investing £25 million for the years 2003–06 to tackle illegal imports of meat, other animal

  261W
  products, plants and plant products. Of the £6 million allocated for 2003–04 Customs will receive £4m. This will help to fund:
  Four new mobile anti-smuggling teams
  An expansion of the detector dog programme from 2 to 6 Extra intelligence activity
  A publicity campaign at ports and airports in the UK and overseas

  The distribution of funding for the years 2004–05 and 2005–06 is the subject of negotiation between Defra, the Food Standards Agency and Customs.

  In previous years the lead enforcement authorities for tackling these illegal imports were Defra, Port Health Authorities and Local Authorities. Customs was not therefore in receipt of any funding for this activity.

  Information Technology
  Mr. Howard Flight
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's(a) total managed expenditure, (b) total spending on Information Technology and (c) spending on Information Technology as a proportion of its total managed expenditure has been in each financial year since 1997. [107093]

  Ruth Kelly
  The contribution by HM Treasury to Total Managed Expenditure can be measured by the total of spending under resource and capital budgets, less non-cash items in AME. Data for 1989–99 to 2001–02 were published in the 2002 Departmental Report. New estimates will be published in the same table in the 2003 Departmental Report, in May 2003.

  Spending in each year on Information Technology is set out in the table below, showing separately administration costs (including licences, software maintenance, repairs, and hire of IT equipment) and capital costs (including purchases and the capitalisation if IT consultancy costs).

  Year

  IT administration costs (£m)

  IT capital costs (£m)

  1997–98

  1.74

  1.77

  1998–99

  2.07

  2.63

  1999–2000

  1.24

  2.95

  2000–01

  1.58

  2.79

  2001-02

  1.30

  3.66

  2002–03

  2.31

  3.09

  Mortgage Market
  Linda Perham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to reduce floating-rate debt in the UK mortgage market. [113114]

  Ruth Kelly
  The Chancellor announced in the Budget that he has commissioned Professor David Miles to undertake a review of the supply and demand factors limiting the development of the fixed-rate mortgage market in the UK.

  Liquefied Petroleum Gas
  Dr. Kumar
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on plans to change the level of duty on liquefied petroleum gas fuel. [112718]
  262W
  John Healey
  Duty rates for all fuels, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), are reviewed annually as part of the Budget process. In Budget 2001 the Government announced that duty on all road fuel gases would be frozen in real terms until at least 2004.

  Budget 2003 has announced that duty on all road fuel gases, including LPG, has been frozen at 9 pence per kilogramme, and that the Government will consult stakeholders on how best to ensure that future support for road fuel gases continues to reflect its environmental and other policy objectives. This consultation will be carried out in the next few months jointly by HM Treasury, HM Customs and Excise and the Department for Transport.

  PFI Contracts
  Dr. Kumar
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to insert a fair wages clause into contracts, including PFI contracts between government and private companies entitling agency staff to the same pay and conditions as directly employed public sector employees. [112808]

  Mr. Boateng
  All staff transferring from the public to the private sector are protected by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employees) Act. This requires that all staff contracts, with the new employer, contain identical terms and conditions to those in the original public sector contracts, with the sole exception of terms relating to membership of occupational pension schemes. The Local Authority Best Value code of practice and the Scottish Executive protocol, entitle new joiners to outsourced work forces to be offered "fair and reasonable" terms and conditions that are "overall, no less favourable" than those available to transferees.

  Treasury Solicitor's Department
  Mr. Gibb
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who the chief executive officer of the Treasury Solicitor's Department is. [112709]

  The Solicitor-General
  I have been asked to reply.

  The Chief Executive of the Treasury Solicitor's Department is Juliet Wheldon CB QC, HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

  Antibiotics (Animals)
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has placed a copy of the most recently published annual report into the sale of antibiotics for use in animals in the UK in the Library; and what period that report covered. [112406]

  Mr. Morley
  On 10 April 2003 the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) published the fourth in a series of reports designed to provide information about the sales of veterinary antimicrobial products in the UK. This covered sales of these products in the calendar year 2001. This report, entitled "Sales of Antimicrobial Products Authorised for Use as Veterinary Medicines, Growth Promoters, Coccidiostats and Antiprotozoals
  263W
  in the UK in 2001" is available on the VMD's website (www.vmd.qov.uk). Copies of this report were place in the Library of the House on 1 May 2003.

  Animal By-products
  Andrew George
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations and discussions she has had with(a) small abattoirs, (b) slaughterhouses and (c) independent butchers regarding the Animal By-Products Regulation. [111111]

  Mr. Morley
  The Department has undertaken extensive consultation during the negotiations on the Animal By-Products Regulation. This has included discussions with representatives of the abattoir and butchery industries.

  Andrew George
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she is taking to(a) maintain and (b) encourage the development of new (i) small abattoirs, (ii) slaughterhouses and (iii) butchers under the Animal By-Products Regulation. [111119]

  Mr. Morley
  The purpose of the Animal By-Products Regulation is to ensure that animal by-products are used or disposed of safely. The Department has, however, taken steps where possible to minimise the impact on these industries. We are encouraging our regional partners to deploy the schemes within the England Rural Development Programme to support the network of small and medium abattoirs where a regional need is identified.

  Mr. Gray
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2003,Official Report, column 22W, on Animal By-Products Regulations, for what reason remainders of wild animal carcases which have been used to produce game trophies are not exempt from the scope of the regulation. [111395]

  Mr. Morley
  These controls are in place to maintain existing controls on the trade and import of game trophies under the Balai Directive (92/118/EEC).

  Cetacean By-catch
  Mr. Hayes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the level of cetacean by-catch within the UK 200-mile limit in the last 12 months. [112496]

  Mr. Morley
  Since 2000 the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), under contract to Defra, has carried out a number of surveys to estimate the level of by-catch in UK fisheries. These surveys recorded for the offshore bass fishery 53 common dolphins caught in 116 hauls in 2001 and eight common dolphins caught in 66 hauls in 2002. However, by-catch information from other member states whose vessels operate in this fishery and elsewhere in UK waters is not available so it is not possible to produce reliable estimates of dolphin by-catch deaths in within the UK 200-mile limit. It is for this reason that I have been pressing the Commission for urgent action to widen observer coverage of EU fisheries and to bring forward proposals for positive action to reduce by-catch.

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Brazier
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what performance incentive schemes exist for civil servants in her Department. [112452]

  Alun Michael
  Currently three schemes operate within Defra.i) In February this year a Special Bonus Scheme, applicable to individuals and teams, was introduced to recognise special achievement and contributions beyond normal job requirements. Payments are one-off and not consolidated.
  ii) Staff who, in their appraisal for the period 2003–04, are recognised as consistently exceeding performance requirements will receive one off non-consolidated bonuses in 2004.
  iii) In accordance with senior Civil Service pay arrangements which are not delegated to Departments, all Senior Civil service pay in Defra is performance related including the rate of progression through the pay range. Under these centralised arrangements, Defra is also able to award non-consolidated performance bonuses for delivery of key priorities.

  Departmental Expenditure
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate is of the expenditure of her Department on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in 2002. [106297]

  Alun Michael
  The Department's expenditure on newspapers, periodicals and magazines in the financial year 2002–2003 was £91,095. This figure covers central purchasing through Defra's library services. This excludes the cost of newspapers, periodicals and magazines purchased in Defra local offices and in the Department's Executive Agencies. These figures could only be compiled at disproportionate cost.

  Departmental Relocation
  Mr. Streeter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to relocate parts of her Department to the West Country. [110998]

  Alun Michael
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead, East and Washington, West (Joyce Quin) on 8 May 2003,Official Report, columns 786–87W.

  Fisheries
  Mr. Hayes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many UK fishing vessels there were(a) under 10 metres and (b) over 10 metres, in each year since 1973; what proportion were blue water vessels; and what proportion were foreign-owned. [112498]

  Mr. Morley
  The information requested, where readily available, is given in the following tables. The blue water fleet has been taken as those UK fishing vessels greater than 10 metres overall length.

  Vessel data for 1 January 1973 to 1 January 1990 are available only in terms of under and over 40 foot in length (12.2 metres) and relate to the active rather than the registered UK fishing fleet. The statistics for these years also understate the overall size of the fleet: the

  265W
  registered fleet exceeded the active fleet by about 3,000 vessels in 1991 when the earlier statistical series was replaced.

  The Department does not collect statistics on foreign ownership of fishing vessels. The table includes estimates from 1997 onwards of the number of vessels that are considered to be partly or wholly owned by foreign interests, based on advice from local port offices of the Fisheries Departments in the UK.

  Number of active UK fishing vessels

  Proportion of over 10 m vessels that were foreign owned

  Details as at 1 January

  40 ft and under

  Over 40ft

  Total

  Number

  Percentage over 10 m

  1973

  3,961

  2,366

  6,327

  n/a

  n/a

  1974

  4,073

  2,505

  6,578

  n/a

  n/a

  1975

  4,356

  2,560

  6,916

  n/a

  n/a

  1976

  4,158

  2,533

  6,691

  n/a

  n/a

  1977

  4,307

  2,433

  6,740

  n/a

  n/a

  1978

  4,601

  2,352

  6,953

  n/a

  n/a

  1979

  4,732

  2,335

  7,067

  n/a

  n/a

  1980

  4,878

  2,364

  7,242

  n/a

  n/a

  1981

  4,512

  2,383

  6,895

  n/a

  n/a

  1982

  4,970

  2,381

  7,351

  n/a

  n/a

  1983

  4,485

  2,312

  6,797

  n/a

  n/a

  1984

  4,767

  2,207

  6,974

  n/a

  n/a

  1985

  5,433

  2,151

  7,584

  n/a

  n/a

  1986

  5,868

  2,052

  7,920

  n/a

  n/a

  1987

  6,305

  1,861

  8,166

  n/a

  n/a

  1988

  6,251

  1,953

  8,204

  n/a

  n/a

  1989

  6,128

  2,004

  8,132

  n/a

  n/a

  1990

  6,326

  1,957

  8,283

  n/a

  n/a

  Number of registered UK fishing vessels

  Proportion of over 10 m vessels that were foreign owned1

  Details as at 1 January

  10 m and under

  Over 10 m

  Total

  Number

  Percentage over 10 m

  1991

  7,364

  3,825

  11,189

  n/a

  n/a

  1992

  7,538

  3,873

  11,411

  n/a

  n/a

  1993

  7,831

  3,730

  11,561

  n/a

  n/a

  1994

  8,128

  3,564

  11,692

  n/a

  n/a

  1995

  7,607

  3,220

  10,827

  n/a

  n/a

  1996

  6,757

  2,963

  9,720

  n/a

  n/a

  1997

  6,091

  2,576

  8,667

  162

  6.3

  1998

  6,022

  2,436

  8,458

  152

  6.2

  1999

  6,027

  2,244

  8,271

  141

  6.3

  2000

  5,916

  2,123

  8,039

  124

  5.8

  2001

  5,769

  2,049

  7,818

  116

  5.7

  2002

  5,713

  2,008

  7,721

  119

  5.9

  2003 (provisional)

  5,847

  1,808

  7,655

  121

  6.7

  1 The distribution of ownership at 1 January was as follows:

  1997

  1998

  1999

  2000

  2001

  2002

  2003

  Anglo Spanish

  107

  107

  97

  84

  73

  76

  74

  Anglo Dutch

  40

  35

  36

  33

  37

  37

  38

  Other

  15

  10

  8

  7

  6

  6

  9

  Mr. Hayes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on areas of linkage made during the CFP derogation negotiations between obtaining the support of other member states and the United Kingdom supporting measures in other areas. [112502]
  266W
  Mr. Morley
  The outcome on the package of fishery measures at the Council of Ministers in December 2002 was negotiated by the UK with reference only to the fisheries matters that were under consideration.

  Forestry Commission
  Andrew Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress is being made in dedicating Forestry Commission land for permanent public access. [112361]

  Mr. Morley
  The Forestry Commission has not yet dedicated any of its land as the dedication regulations are not yet in place. These regulations are expected to be finalised by the autumn.

  Milk Quota
  Mr. Swayne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment she has made of the economic impact on the dairy industry of a delay in deciding the base year for milk quota; and if she will make a statement; [112206]

  (2) when she expects to reach a decision with her European partners on the base year for milk quota; and if she will make a statement. [112207]

  Mr. Morley
  Under the current CAP reform proposals, published on 22 January, eligibility for the dairy premium, which is planned as compensation for the price cuts, would be based on quota held on 31 March 2004. We, and some other member states, have expressed concern that the current proposal to base eligibility on quota held at a date in the future has already given rise to speculation on the quota market. We have suggested that it should instead be based on quota held on 31 March 2003, and confined to active producers as at 31 March 2004.

  No formal assessment has been made of the economic impact on the dairy industry, including the effects of quota speculation, of any delay in coming to a decision on the eligibility criteria for the premium. This would in any case be very difficult to determine, as its effect would vary enormously according to producers' individual circumstances.

  The earliest that a formal agreement will be reached on the dairy premium, along with the rest of the CAP reform package, will be the meeting of the Council of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers on 11 and 12 June 2003.

  Solvent Waste
  Norman Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure 100 per cent. of the solvent waste stream from the dry-cleaning industry is recycled. [112390]

  Alun Michael
  None. The nature of dry cleaning operations makes it difficult to capture 100 per cent. of the various solvent waste streams for recycling. The Solvent Emissions Directive (1999/13/EC) which aims at reducing emissions of volatile organic compounds due to the use of organic solvents from certain activities and installations, including dry cleaning operations, does not include specific requirements to ensure that a certain
  267W
  amount of the solvent waste stream should be recycled. Instead it controls releases from the operation of the dry cleaning process as a whole by controlling the maximum amount of solvent that can be emitted per unit mass of cleaned garments, that is emissions of waste gases and fugitive emissions to air, soil and water and solvents contained in any products.

  We intend to consult separately on proposals to include requirements on the operators to ensure that waste contaminated with solvents are recycled or disposed of by waste licensed contracts. This will be in line with existing waste management regimes. There are incentives within these proposals to encourage recovery of any residual solvent contained within the waste from dry cleaning operations.

DEFENCE

  Armed Forces (Domestic Violence)
  Ms Atherton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to apply the proposals in the "Justice for All" White Paper to domestic violence in the armed forces. [113036]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Ministry of Defence is given to understand that the Domestic Violence Unit at the Home Office is to issue a consultation paper arising from the "Justice for All" White Paper as part of a cross cutting review and I can confirm that the Ministry of Defence will participate in the consultation process. Any subsequent changes to laws applying to incidents of domestic violence would apply to the service community in the same way as to other sections of the population.

  Ms Atherton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance he has given to the armed forces on the reporting of domestic violence; and what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the content of such guidance. [113037]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Ministry of Defence's latest guidance on the reporting of incidents of domestic violence within the Armed Forces was published in a "Defence Council Instruction" on 1 February 2002 and is being incorporated into appropriate single-service regulations. The policy takes account of Home Office directives on the subject and with the underlying principle that domestic violence by Service personnel is not to be tolerated under any circumstances. MOD Ministers have not had cause to discuss this policy with other ministerial colleagues.

  Armed Forces Accommodation
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 1 May 2003,Official Report, column 445W, on armed forces accommodation, if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidelines relating to the 4-tier grading system. [112669]

  Dr. Moonie
  Yes.

  Causes of Death
  Harry Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent progress has been made in 268W
  identifying the causes of death of (a) Sapper Luke Allsopp and (b) Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth; and if he will make a statement. [112486]

  Dr. Moonie
  The investigation into the deaths of Sapper Allsopp and Staff Sergeant Cullingworth is still ongoing and it is not yet possible to predict when it is likely to finish. It would, therefore, be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage.

  Children's Rights
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what(a) changes have been made and (b) guidance has been issued by the Director General of Service Personnel Policy on bringing law and policy relating to under-18s into line with UK obligations under (i) the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and (ii) other international guidelines. [112629]

  Dr. Moonie
  Our existing policy and procedures for recruitment were already in line with our obligations. We have a policy to ensure that no under 18s are deployed on UN peacekeeping operations and no under 18s carry out operational patrols in Northern Ireland, and last year we introduced a policy whereby no under 18 soldiers may be deployed on operations outside the United Kingdom unless they are of a purely humanitarian nature and no hostile forces are involved.

  Cluster Bombs
  Harry Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures exist to control the onward sale to third countries of(a) RBL 755 and (b) BL 755 cluster bombs originally exported from the United Kingdom. [112482]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  I have been asked to reply.

  The risk of strategically controlled goods being diverted to a third country is considered at the time of application for a licence, when this possibility is considered against Criterion 7 of the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. Criterion 7 addresses the existence of a risk that the equipment will be diverted within the buyer country or re-exported under undesirable conditions and includes consideration of the capability of the recipient country to exert effective export controls. The Government may draw upon information from a wide variety of sources when considering the risk.

  Deepcut Barracks
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what categories of items have been reported(a) stolen and (b) lost at Deepcut Army barracks in each of the past 10 years; and how many rounds of (i) ammunition and (ii) weapon parts were missing in each year. [112633]

  Dr. Moonie
  In accordance with Service accounting procedures, records of items stolen or lost have been retained for the past five years only. The categories of military stores involved in incidents of theft or loss at Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut during this period are as follows.
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  Year

  Category

  Stolen

  1998

  Miscellaneous Stores

  2002

  Equipment, Miscellaneous Stores

  2003

  Miscellaneous Stores

  Lost

  1998

  Accommodation Stores, Equipment, Miscellaneous Stores

  1999

  Accommodation Stores, Equipment, Rations, Miscellaneous Stores, Clothing

  2000

  Accommodation Stores, Equipment, Miscellaneous Stores, Clothing

  2001

  Accommodation Stores, Equipment, Miscellaneous Stores

  2002

  Accommodation Stores, Equipment, Rations, Miscellaneous Stores, Clothing

  Over the past five years, two small weapons parts have been found to be missing. There have been no recorded incidents of lost or missing ammunition rounds since 29 September 2002. Records prior to this period are currently in the possession of Surrey police and are unavailable for examination.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims have been made against insurance for personally issued kit at Deepcut Army barracks in each of the past 10 years. [112634]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Ministry of Defence does not insure itself against the loss or theft or personally issued military kit. Any private claim would be a matter between an individual and his or her insurer.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fires have been recorded at Deepcut Army barracks in the past 10 years; and in how many cases civilian firefighters have been called to assist. [112635]

  Dr. Moonie
  Records are only available from June 1997. Since that time there have been eight separate fire incidents within the perimeter of the Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut. On each occasion the local civilian fire service was called to assist.

  Electoral Procedures
  Patrick Mercer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that service personnel on operations can vote in elections. [112655]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Representation of the People Act 2000 and the Representation of the People (Scotland) Regulations 2001 presented Service personnel with a range of electoral registration options. They may register to vote at their private or other qualifying address, Service Families Accommodation or Single Living Accommodation, or register to vote by means of a Service declaration, or by rolling registration. A fresh Service declaration must be made every 12 months and, together with all households in the United Kingdom, all Service Voters will receive an annual renewal notification from the local Electoral Registration Officer with whom they are registered. The Ministry of Defence issues annual Defence Council Instructions explaining these measures in detail. The last was issued on 31 January 2003. Those overseas who are registered as Service Voters can only vote by proxy. Those in the United Kingdom who are unable to vote in person may vote by either post or proxy. Those individuals who choose to register on an electoral register—and who are not registered as Service Voters through a Service 270W
  declaration—will be able to vote either by post or proxy if they are overseas or away from home during an election. If personnel are overseas, every effort is made by ships, units, and stations to give reasonable assistance to personnel to register or vote in line with their electoral registration choice.

  Executive Agencies
  Mr. Nick Gibb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who the chief executive officer is of the(a) Defence Diversification Agency, (b) Defence Evaluation and Research Agency and (c) Veterans Agency. [112701]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Director General of the Defence Diversification Agency is Professor Damien G. McDonnell BSc PhD DSc CPhys FinstP QBE. He does not have the title chief executive since the Defence Diversification Agency is part of the Ministry of Defence head office and not a Defence agency.

  The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) no longer exists. On 1 July 2001, two new organisations, QinetiQ pic and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, a trading fund, were formed from DERA. The chief executive officer of QinetiQ is Sir John Chisholm MA FR Eng, and the chief executive of DSTL is Mr. Martin Earwicker.

  The chief executive of the Veterans Agency is Mr. Alan Burnham.

  Graduate Scientists
  Mr. Chaytor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many graduate scientists were recruited by the Nuclear Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston in each of the last three years; and how many additional graduate scientists will be recruited during 2003–04. [112825]

  Dr. Moonie
  The following figures show the number of science graduates recruited at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

  Science graduates

  2000–01

  39

  2001–02

  38

  2002–03

  43

  The expected recruitment figure for 2003–04 is 50.

  Gurkhas
  Patrick Mercer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the two Gurkha reinforcement companies. [112651]

  Dr. Moonie
  Both of the remaining Gurkha Reinforcement Companies are due to be disbanded, the first by July this year and the second by March 2004.

  Improved infantry manning levels mean that the requirement for the Gurkha Reinforcement Companies has reduced. Notwithstanding this we intend to maintain Gurkha force levels at around 3,500 and plan to create two additional permanent Gurkha sub-units.

  Iraq
  Jeremy Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what latest estimate he has of the death toll from current hostilities in Iraq among(a) UK forces, (b) US forces, (c) Iraqi forces, (d) Iraqi civilians and (e) other civilian non-combatants. [110267]

  Mr. Hoon
  As of 6 May, 34 United Kingdom Service personnel had died during coalition military operations against Iraq.

  The number of fatalities suffered by US forces is a matter for the US authorities.

  We make every effort to minimise any impact on the Iraqi civilian population. We have no means of ascertaining the numbers of Iraqi military personnel or civilians, or other civilians who were killed or injured during the coalition's military action.

  Patrick Mercer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what efforts his Department is making to assure the employers of TA soldiers serving in Iraq that their employees will return at the earliest opportunity. [112649]

  Dr. Moonie
  As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence stated on 30 April 2003,Official Report, columns 15–16WS, we will continue to withdraw assets and personnel from the region where possible, but we will maintain an appropriate military presence for as long as is necessary. The requirement for Reservists will match this pattern. Where possible, Regional Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Associations (RFCAs), in concert with the Regional Brigade Chain of Command, have kept local employers of TA and Regular Army Reservists informed of the situation.

  Mr. Tynan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will ensure that reservists on duty in Iraq are kept informed by their commanding officers of how long they will be required to remain in Iraq. [112877]

  Dr. Moonie
  On mobilisation, reservists are informed of the likely length of their mobilised service. This is usually 6 months in theatre plus a further 1½ months made up of pre-deployment training and post-deployment admin and leave (a total of 7½ months). Should there be any changes to the period of mobilised service, reservists would be informed by their commanding officer as a matter of course.

  Jeremy Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK civilians have been deployed in Iraq by his Department since the end of the war; from what department of government they have been drawn; and what the expected(a) cost and (b) length of their deployment is. [113236]

  Dr. Moonie
  [holding answer 13 May 2003]: The number of Ministry of Defence civilian personnel deployed into theatre is in excess of 180. Of those personnel, the number deployed into Iraq varies daily, but is in the order of 12. In addition, some 50 civilians from other Government Departments have deployed, or are deploying into Iraq with the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. The Coalition, including civilian personnel, will stay in Iraq only as long as is necessary to help the Iraqi people to build their own political institutions and reconstruct
  272W
  their country. It is too early to predict how long this is likely to take and therefore, how much the deployment of United Kingdom civilians to Iraq will cost.

  Military Police Training School, Chichester
  Mr. Tyrie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the Royal Military Police Training School and the Roussillon Barracks in Chichester. [112913]

  Dr. Moonie
  I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces' Written Ministerial Statement on 25 November 2002,Official Report, columns 1–2WS. RAF Halton was identified by the 'Defence Training Review as the benchmark location for Joint Police Training. This benchmark assumes that the RMP training would be moved to RAF Halton and that other units at Roussillon Barracks would also be relocated. We do not expect to make a final decision on the location for police training and the eventual use or disposal of Roussillon Barracks before 2005.

  Naval Campaigns (60th Anniversaries)
  Dr. Julian Lewis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for commemorating the 60th anniversaries of major naval campaigns and events in the Second World War. [112267]

  Dr. Moonie
  During the first few years of this century, to 2005, there was and will be a succession of 60th anniversaries of significant actions in the Second World War. It is not possible for the Ministry of Defence to mark all of them and so it was decided that the Department would fund a commemoration of one representative battle for each of the Services, with a triService commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the end of the War. The actions chosen by the Services were the Battle of the Atlantic for the Royal Navy, the Battle of El Alamein for the Army and the Battle of Britain for the Royal Air Force.

  The Battle of Britain was commemorated by the Royal Air Force in 2000. The Army organised a Service of Thanksgiving on 23 October 2002 in Westminster Abbey to mark the Battle of El Alamein and the Royal Navy have just organised an event in Liverpool to mark the Battle of the Atlantic.

  The Government will also be organising events in 2005 to mark the end of the war, but planning is at an early stage and no details are available.

  Forces Recruitment
  Dr. Julian Lewis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes there have been in recruitment rates for(a) the Royal Navy and (b) the Royal Marines since the outbreak of the Gulf conflict. [112268]

  Dr. Moonie
  It is too early to gauge whether the Gulf conflict has had an impact on recruitment to the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines since the process can take a number of months from enquiry to entrance and any knock-on effect would not be evident until later in the year. No candidates have withdrawn enquiries or
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  cancelled interviews as a stated consequence of the conflict and the flow of expressions of interest remains high.

  The number of enquiries and subsequent applications to join the Service as Naval ratings and Royal Marines other ranks shows an increase of between 8 per cent. and 10 per cent. respectively on the same period for last year.

  Service Personnel (Open University Study)
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel have(a) enrolled on and (b) completed an Open University course in the past 12 months. [112624]

  Dr. Moonie
  The best estimates available are that, for financial year 2002–03, 161 RN, 110 Army and 1,477 RAF personnel registered to undertake Open University courses. Accurate figures for enrolment are not available as personnel who elect for personal reasons to undertake an OU course are under no obligation to tell the OU that they are Servicemen or women, or to report to their Service managers that they have commenced a course of learning with the OU.

  In addition, 21 RN, 18 Army and 76 RAF personnel were registered for OU degree courses during the last 12 months under existing sponsorship schemes.

  Figures for course completion are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Suez Medal
  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the sub-committee chaired by General Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank to report regarding the issue of a Suez Canal Zone medal; and if he will make a statement. [112764]

  Dr. Moonie
  The HD Committee has seen the report submitted by General Lord Guthrie on behalf of the sub-committee. They have not indicated when an announcement will be made.

  Training Establishments
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what determination has been made by the Director General of the Training and Education Rationalisation Delivery Group of the appropriate instructor to trainee ratios, including pastoral care and supervisory duties, in each service. [112617]

  Dr. Moonie
  There are two aspects of instructor to trainee ratios: formal training class size and pastoral care out of working hours. The requirement for supervision varies accordingly. The Ministry of Defence does not currently recommend precise supervisory ratios, but work is in hand to develop policy guidance for Commanding Officers of training establishments.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what work has been done by the Director General of Training and Education to formulating a policy for development of the arts, music and other cultural expression in training establishments. [112626]
  274W
  Dr. Moonie
  None. Under Service regulations, maintenance of morale, personal development and recreation are command functions policy responsibility for which lies with the individual Service Principal Personnel Officers. At a local level, development of the arts, music and cultural expression rests with the individual commanders of training establishments, as part of their command function. Many units have voluntary bands and encourage trainees to join. Many also have theatre and music clubs, which often stage productions. Training establishments support music and the arts in a recreational and developmental context and encourage participation as an adjunct to training in operational skills.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures have been taken by the Adjutant General to rectify the staffing shortfalls at(a) the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at Bordon and (b) the Defence School of Transport at Leconfield. [112618]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Army Training and Recruiting Agency, of which the schools at Bordon and Leconfield are a part, has undertaken a comprehensive review of military establishments at all of its schools. In the case of Bordon and Leconfield, urgent action has been taken to amend the establishments. The Assistant Chief of the General Staff has directed the Army's manning authorities to arrange for suitably qualified personnel to be posted there as a matter of priority in the short term.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what rank of empowered commissioned officer has been appointed at each Army training establishment to enable each recruit and trainee to obtain confidential welfare and other advice; and what steps have been taken to advertise the availability of this officer. [112619]

  Moonie
  Within the Army Training and Recruiting Agency (ATRA), empowered officers are normally of the rank of either Major or Captain and, dependent on the establishment, will either be the Unit Welfare Officer, the Second in Command, the Unit Educational Officer or the Unit Resettlement Officer. At each school, the name and contact details of the officer will be publicised widely using a combination of briefings, Unit Orders, flyers and/or posters. A "credit card" showing useful contact numbers is issued to recruits/trainees at some ATRA establishments and consideration is being given to the issue of a card of standard, robust, design for use by all ATRA establishments.

  McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what direction has been issued by the Director General of Training and Education concerning(a) time for sport in training establishments and (b) sport policy; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [112625]

  Moonie
  A policy for Armed Forces sports is nearing completion. I anticipate that it will be approved during the summer. I will write to the hon Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made by principal personnel officers of the number and quality of Welfare and Emotional Support Projects in initial training
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  establishments; what targets are set for the projects; and if he will place a copy of the project action plans in the Library. [112627]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Services have already introduced measures to ensure that welfare presentations and training are now included at Initial Training establishments. The Army have ensured that all new recruits receive instruction on welfare services available, access to WRVS, Service Padres and confidential support telephone lines. The RN and RAF have also adopted similar measures and included organisations like The Soldiers, Sailors and Air Forces Association (Forces Help) (SSAFA (FH)) and the Benevolent and Dependants Funds, who have traditionally provided welfare support to the Services and their families. In addition, all three Services have successfully developed Welfare websites that have proved popular with Servicemen and their families. An action plan for continued spreading of good practice is being prepared; a copy of this action plan will be placed in the Library of the House when complete.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken by principal personnel officers to disseminate best practice guidelines on sustaining links between recruits and trainees with their parents during initial training; and if he will place a copy of the guidelines in the Library. [112630]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Principal Personnel Officers strongly encourage recruits and trainees to sustain links with their parents during initial training. The Naval Service considers that these links are strong, but samples of parents/guardians are to be surveyed on a regular and routine basis to confirm this. Commanding Officers of Army initial training units have for some considerable time now written to, or kept in telephone contact with, parents of recruits aged under 18 years. All Army recruits are also encouraged to maintain contact with parents themselves.

  Following a recent review of the legal position, RAF guidelines to disseminate best practice are expected to be published shortly. A copy of these guidelines will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what library services are available at initial training establishments. [112632]

  Dr. Moonie
  The following library services are available at initial training establishments:Royal Navy
  Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC)—The library serves 600 students per year and works in conjunction with Exeter and Plymouth Universities. It is extensively used for research, in particular work towards Foundation Degrees, and includes a major collection of Maritime strategic history books.
  HMS Raleigh—library forms part of the wider Learning Centre.
  Commando Training Centre Lympstone—The library offers a full library service for the Corps of Royal Marines.
  Army
  The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS)—The library serves some 760 students per year. It focuses on military history, doctrine and international affairs, and is widely used for research.
  Army Training Regiment Bassingbourne—A new library is due to open soon.
  276W
  Army Technical Foundation College Arborfield—General reference, technical and recreational library for students.
  Army Foundation College—General reference and recreational library for students.
  Royal Air Force
  RAF Cranwell—Houses the Trenchard Library, the main RAF library covering recreational and reference materials. It also has a technical library.
  RAF Halton—This contains a recreational and reference library within the Learning Centre.
  RAF Honington—Houses a large recreational and reference library.
  The library facilities listed above generally include good internet and computer training facilities in addition to their stock of books, videos and periodicals.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made by principal personnel officers of the recreational facilities at Army training establishments; how many(a) non-alcohol cafes, (b) internet facilities and (c) quiet areas have been established in the past 12 months; what targets have been set in the form of an action plan; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [112623]

  Dr. Moonie
  The Army Training and Recruiting Agency (ATRA) is currently conducting a comprehensive survey of these facilities at all of its establishments. The number of facilities established during 2002 and in 2003 to the current date is as follows:

  non-alcohol cafes: 8

  internet facilities: 19 (plus 60 personal IT equipment in individual's rooms)

  quiet areas: 26

  Once this survey is completed, a new scaling requirement and action plan will be developed.

  War Pensions Claims
  Mr. Djanogly
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average time taken was to review applications for(a) war disability pension and (b) war widows pension in the last year for which figures are available. [112555]

  Dr. Moonie
  [holding answer 13 May 2003]: Over the year up until April 2003 the average time taken for an appeal to be processed from the initial request for appeal until implementing payment of the award or pension was 283 days. This is within the target figure which has been set at 290 days. Statistics are compiled for all appeal cases and are not split between war disability pensions and war widow(er)s pensions. Separate figures could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

  Local Authority Finance
  9. David Taylor
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has for further changes to the formula used to distribute Government grant to English local authorities. [112949]
  277W
  Mr. Raynsford
  Following the review of the grant distribution formula which took effect this year, we have no plans to change any of the Formula Spending Share formulae until at least 2006–07, other than to reflect changes of function or financing.

  This will give local authorities greater certainty about future funding.

  Tom Brake
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on budget allocations to local authorities. [112953]

  Mr. Raynsford
  In terms of formula grant, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was able to allocate an extra £2.4 billion or 5.9 per cent. to authorities for 2003–04, with each authority receiving more than inflation for the first time ever.

  Including special grants, total funding to all English authorities increased by some £3.8 billion, or 8.0 per cent.

  Regional Government
  Ann Winterton
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the funding of the North West Regional Assembly. [112950]

  Mr. Raynsford
  The North West Regional Assembly is a voluntary body. The bulk of its funding comes from local authority subscriptions and other sources.

  In 2003–04, the Assembly will receive up to £1,837,000 from central Government to support its work scrutinising the plans and activities of the Regional Development Agency, and advising the Government as the Regional Planning Body.

  Joyce Quin
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his Department's plans for encouraging public debate on his proposals regarding elected regional Government in England. [112948]

  Mr. Leslie
  The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has received over 6,000 responses to the soundings exercise on whether to hold referendums to create Elected Regional Assemblies in the English regions.

  As we near decisions on which regions will have referendums, we will continue to raise public awareness and encourage debate.

  Right to Buy
  Claire Ward
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent response he has received from local councils on the restriction of the right to buy discount. [112951]

  Mr. McNulty
  Councils in six of the 42 areas identified as subject to the greatest housing market pressures asked to be excluded from the discount and 12 councils asked to be added to the list. The majority of local authorities recognised the change was needed to address the scheme's impact on affordable housing and profiteering.

  Civil Defence (London)
  Angela Watkinson
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what funding arrangements are in place to enable the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority to prepare for terrorist attacks in London. [112952]
  278W
  Mr. Raynsford
  The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority is one of the functional bodies of the Greater London Authority and its annual budget is part of that set by the Mayor for the GLA.

  Central Government funding for the LFEPA is generally provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement for the GLA. The 2003–04 Settlement gives the GLA just over £2 billion, an increase of £95 million or 4.9 per cent. on 2002-03 on a like for like basis.

  The LFEPA also benefits from the New Dimension programme to enhance the national mass decontamination capability. This will bring an extra 400 gas-tight suits for fire-fighters, 10 new purpose built vehicles and 20 mass decontamination units available to meet London's needs.

  The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is also working closely with London Fire Brigade to improve their current CBRN response capability through the purchase of new personal protective equipment and detection equipment—which Government will fund directly.

  Building Regulations
  Dr. Whitehead
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what assessment he has made of the contribution that building regulations make to the achievement of Government targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; [113183]

  (2) what assessment his Department has made of the scope for amending building regulations to require new buildings to contribute towards the energy used within them; [113185]

  (3) what changes he plans to enhance the contribution that building regulations make to the energy efficiency of new buildings. [113184]

  Mr. Leslie
  The energy performance requirements in Part L of the Building Regulations have been reviewed twice in the last decade to see what contribution they can make towards achieving the Government's energy performance and carbon dioxide emissions targets, while remaining proportionate, cost-effective and practical. Other greenhouse gases are controlled in different ways. In the Regulatory Impact Assessment published in October 2001 to accompany the latest amendment to Part L of the Building Regulations, which came into effect in April 2002, it was estimated that the changes would lead to a reduction in carbon emissions of 1.4 million tonnes of carbon (equivalent to about 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide) per year in 2010.

  The consultation document published in June 2000 that proposed this amendment included an assessment of the scope for improving performance standards over the period to 2008. Both these documents can be inspected on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister website at http://www.safety.odpm.gov.uk/bregs/brnews.htm.

  As to plans for future enhancements, it was announced that a new review of the Building Regulations would occur in the Energy White Paper with the aims of

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  bringing a further major revision into effect in 2005 for new buildings and refurbishment work, and raising standards even more over the next decade.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Wiggin
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was raised in Council Tax in(a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03; and how much is expected to be raised in 2003–04. [113078]

  Mr. Leslie
  Tabled as follows is the most recent figure for gross council tax income in England for each financial year. Gross council tax income includes council tax collectable by local authorities and council tax funded through council tax benefit.

  Year

  Gross council tax income (£ billion)

  2000–011

  14.5

  2001–021

  15.5

  2002–032

  16.6

  2003–042

  18.9

  1Outturn figures

  2Budget figures

  The figures in the table are the amounts expected to be collected in respect of each financial year. They are not the amounts actually collected within the financial year. Some of the council tax due for a particular year is not collected within that year. This means that the amount actually collected in any particular year is made up of income in respect of that year plus amounts collected from earlier and/or later years.

  Devon County Council
  Mr. Swire
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of central government funding allocated to Devon County Council has been ring-fenced for environmental policy implementation in each of the last five years. [109645]

  Mr. Raynsford
  The majority of what local authorities spend on the environment comes in unring-fenced form from general grant. In the last five years Devon received one ring-fenced revenue grant for the environment of £1.159 million for waste in 2002–03. This represented less than 0.5 per cent. of the total revenue grant from central Government in that year1. The waste fund also provided Devon with £0.375 million of capital funding in 2002–03. In addition Devon County Council was awarded the Supplementary Credit Approvals (SCAs) related to environment to the value set out in the following table.

  SCAs

  £000

  Land fill gas/contaminated land

  Flood defence

  1999–2000

  734

  0

  2000–01

  261

  231

  2001–02

  1,648

  0

  2002–03

  1,764

  28

  2003–04

  0

  0

  1The total of general grant and specific and special grants for Devon in that year was £418.909 million. The grant of £1.159 million for waste is attended to cover work by the country council and the districts.

  Firefighters
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many firefighters there were per head of population in(a) Lancashire, (b) the North West of England and (c) Wales in each year since 1997. [112056]

  Mr. Raynsford
  The number of firefighters per 10,000 of population are tabled as follows:

  Number of firefighters per head of population

  1997

  1998

  1999

  2000

  2001

  2002

  Lancashire

  Wholetime

  7.0

  7.0

  7.1

  7.1

  7.1

  7.1

  Retained

  2.5

  2.4

  2.3

  2.2

  2.0

  1.9

  North West

  Wholetime

  8.2

  8.2

  8.1

  8.0

  8.0

  8.0

  Retained

  1.3

  1.3

  1.3

  1.3

  1.2

  1.2

  Wales

  Wholetime

  5.9

  5.9

  5.9

  5.9

  5.9

  5.9

  Retained

  5.1

  5.1

  5.1

  5.1

  5.1

  5.1

  Notes:

  1. Based on annual returns to HM Fire Service Inspectorate and population figures published by the Office for National Statistics.

  2. Wholetime strength expressed in full-time equivalents and retained strength in 24-hour units of cover.

  3. North West figures comprise fire brigade areas of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside.

  Heating Systems
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 10 April 2003,Official Report, column 355W, on heating systems, what the nature is of the research referred to; what stage the research is at; whether there is a mechanism for people to submit comments or evidence to that research; and when the results will be known [113225]

  Mr. Leslie
  The research underlying SEDBUK, the UK's database of domestic boiler seasonal efficiency indices, which was developed to facilitate SAP energy ratings, was carried out as a collaborative venture by industry and Government in 1997 to 1999. Collaboration has continued since then and this has focused on improvements and rectifying anomalies.

  Research into the evaluation of the energy performance of micro-combined heated and power (micro-CHP) units is at an early stage. A laboratory test procedure is being developed through consultations that have been commissioned by a group set up by the Energy Saving Trust. The procedure is close to completion and it is anticipated that the next stage will be to turn it into a "Publicly Available Specification' (PAS) through the offices of BSI. It is akin to the standards in the Boiler Efficiency Directive, used to evaluate full and part load performance for boilers, and aims to establish similar performance parameters for microCHP systems. The results obtained could be used to determine a seasonal performance index for microCHP systems. However, while this index would be similar to the SEDBUK for boilers it would be inappropriate to make direct comparisons between these products on an efficiency basis. Consideration is therefore being given to the development of a comparison system based on total carbon emissions, total energy or total energy costs.
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  As the rating development will be reliant upon microCHP field trials, it is not possible to say precisely when the further research results will be known, but the aim is to have the SEDBUK equivalent in place in time for inclusion in the next major revision of the Building Regulations Part L in 2005. There will, of course, be consultation with the interested parties on these initiatives during the intervening period.

  Home Improvement Agencies
  Mr. Drew
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the timetable is for the letting of the new contract for the national co-ordinating body for Home Improvement Agencies. [113053]

  Mr. McNulty
  In accordance with EU competition rules and Government procurement policy, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will shortly be going out to tender for a new contract to be funded centrally. The new contract will be in place from 1 April 2004.

  Mr. Drew
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what evaluation he has undertaken cf the effectiveness of Foundations, the national co-ordinating body for Home Improvement Agencies. [113054]

  Mr. McNulty
  As part of a continuing dialogue, officials of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister agree an annual plan with Foundations and have detailed quarterly round-up meetings with them to ensure that they are meeting the requirements of the contract.

  Mr. Drew
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what funding central government has allocated for Home Improvement Agencies in each of the last three years; and what its projected budgets are for each of the next three years. [113055]

  Mr. McNulty
  The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister funding for the years requested are tabled as follows:

  £ million

  2000–01

  6.7

  2001–02

  8.5

  2002–03

  8.5

  2003–04

  8.5

  2004–05

  10.5

  2005–06

  10.5

  This funding is ring-fenced within the Supporting People programme for 2003–04. Thereafter, it will be for local authorities (county councils in the case of two-tier administrations) to manage funding for Home Improvement Agencies within their budgets for Supporting People services, in line with the strategy agreed by the local Commissioning Body.

  Over the period 2003–04 to 2005ndash;06 the Department of Health will be providing £9.5 million earmarked for Home Improvement Agencies so that they can become key players in the provision of services to older people on discharge from hospital.

  Mr. Drew
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the written statement of 6 May 2003,Official Report, columns 28–29WS, on the Home Improvement Agency, what consultation was undertaken in advance of
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  the statement; with whom; and if he will publish the local commissioning models and statements consulted upon. [113052]

  Mr. McNulty
  The written statement issued on 6 May reflects the outcome of the public consultation exercise launched in September 2002, and a series of meetings of a Home Improvement Agency (HIA) policy group at which the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Department of Health, agencies and other key stakeholders were represented. That group also had the opportunity to consider draft recommendations from Foundations' separate research project, which looked to establish optimum structures and commissioning arrangements for HIA services. It is expected that the final recommendations from Foundations will be made available on their website in due course.

  Local Elections (Young People)
  Linda Perham
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to increase the number of young people participating in local elections. [112537]

  Yvette Cooper
  I have been asked to reply.

  The Government are keen to encourage young people to participate in elections. My Department contributed to the Children and Young People Unit's work on the engagement of young people in democracy, and we support fully the Electoral Commission's campaigns and competitions aimed specifically at young people. The addition of citizenship studies to the national curriculum and the piloting of new technologies such as text messaging and digital television for voting should also help to engage, and appeal, to young people, as well as increasing their interest, understanding and involvement in the democratic process.

  Objective 1
  Mr. Chapman
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the criteria for Objective 1 funding. [112598]

  Alan Johnson
  I have been asked to reply.

  The eligibility criteria for Objective 1 are specified in Article 3, paragraph 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds as follows:
  The regions covered by Objective 1 shall be regions corresponding to Level II of the Nomenclature of Territorial Statistical Units (NUTS level II) whose per capita GDP, measured in purchasing power parities and calculated on the basis of Community figures for the last three years available on 26 March 1999, is less than 75 per cent. of the Community average.
  The outermost regions (the French overseas departments, the Azores, the Canary Islands and Madeira), which are all below the 75 per cent. threshold, and the areas eligible under Objective 6 for the period 1995 to 1999 pursuant to Protocol 6 to the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden shall also be covered by this Objective.

  On 1 July 1999 the European Commission drew up the list of areas which would be eligible for Objective 1 for the period from 2000 to 2006. In the UK, four regions were eligible on the basis of the average GDP per

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  head using data for 1994 to 1996. These are Merseyside, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, South Yorkshire and West Wales and the Valleys.

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Pickles
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the costs have been in(a) salary, (b) administrative support and (c) travel of special advisers employed in his Department since May 2002. [91620]

  Mr. Leslie
  The costs to public funds for special advisers employed in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the period 1 June 2002 until 31 March 2003 is(a) £189,633 salary costs, (b) £43,725 administrative support costs and (c) £17,877 travel costs.

CABINET OFFICE

  Internet
  John Robertson
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many people in(a) Scotland and (b) the UK (i) do not regularly use the internet and (ii) have never used the internet; [111290]

  (2) what steps he is taking to give the long-term unemployed (a) better knowledge of and (b) better access to the internet; [111288]

  (3) what steps he is taking to give those in low income households better access to the internet; [111291]

  (4) what steps he is taking to encourage people who do not regularly use the internet to log on more often; [111292]

  (5) how he plans to publicise the forthcoming launch of Online Nation; [111293]

  (6) what percentage of (a) households and (b) schools in (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK had access to the internet in each year since 1998; [111289]

  (7) what estimate he has made of the percentage of voluntary organisations in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK who have had websites in each year since 1998. [111294]

  Mr. Alexander
  The UK has made considerable progress in recent years in terms of the proportion of the population regularly accessing the internet. The UK online programme drives forward work across Government, helping to meet the Prime Minister's commitment of internet access for all who want it by 2005. In 1998, 10 per cent. of UK households (8 per cent. in Scotland) had internet access, compared to 45 per cent. by April 2003. Virtually all schools across the UK are now connected to the internet. All schools in England will have broadband connections by the end of 2006.

  In total, 62 per cent. of the UK adult population—some 28.7 million people—have now used the internet (October 2002 National Statistics Omnibus Survey); 38 per cent. of the UK adult population, 17.6 million people have yet to get online; and 50 per cent. of the adult population, 23.1 million people, log on regularly. The survey currently provides six-monthly breakdowns of results for the devolved administrations, so 2003 results for Scotland are not yet available.
  284W
  In November 2002 the Prime Minister announced that we had successfully achieved our target of setting up 6,000 UK online centres in England, enabling thousands of individuals to enjoy the benefits of the internet by providing free or low cost internet access and offering support for first time users. Many of the centres are located in the 2,000 most deprived wards in England. They are located in libraries, community centres, village halls, football clubs, mobile facilities and other community venues. UK online centres have a proven track record of helping to support and engage harder to reach groups, including the long-term unemployed, in the provision of access to ICT learning and skills. So far 16.9 per cent. of users have been unemployed.

  The Scottish Executive's Public Internet Access Points initiative aims to create over 1,000 new internet access points in a wide range of venues throughout Scotland where people already go as part of their everyday lives—e.g. shops, post offices, community centres, pubs, sports facilities etc. Over 500 venues are now up and running. In addition over 550 libraries in Scotland now provide free public access to the internet.

  To enable people to find their nearest internet access point the UK online helpline, in association with the Scottish Executive, provides contact/location information of public internet access facilities across the UK, including in Scotland.

  During the forthcoming 'Get Started' (formerly 'Online Nation') publicity campaign, the UK online helpline will also provide information on events and activities (including taster sessions) in Scotland and Scottish callers will receive the Internet Made Easy CDROM (a joint development with Scottish University for Industry) covering basic skills and outlining the benefits of the web.

  The 'Get Started' campaign will seek to explain to those currently not using the internet how the internet can benefit their daily lives, and will encourage them to access the internet at their nearest public internet access point. We are especially keen to encourage elderly people and those in low income households to get online as it is these people who are least likely to be aware of what the internet can do for them. This campaign will run simultaneously with a campaign in the Scottish Executive with similar objectives.

  The 6,000 UK online centres will offer a free introductory session to the internet to anyone who wants it. In addition, we have commissioned regional TV programmes and community service announcements to demonstrate how people have benefited from using the internet.

  To help get our message across we are working with a number of companies and voluntary organisations to deliver the campaign. These include the BBC, Arriva Group, BT pic, Dixons Stores, the Prince's Trust, the National Library for the Blind, and Citizens Advice. We hope that working with these partners will enable even more people to understand the benefits that the internet can bring.

  285W

  Households, schools and voluntary organisations online in Scotland and the UK since 1998

  Percentage

  Schools

  Households

  1Scotland

  UK

  2Scotland

  3UK

  1998

  48

  28

  8

  9

  1999

  66

  66

  14

  20

  2000

  73

  88

  24

  34

  2001

  84

  97

  36

  39

  2002

  4—

  99

  40

  45

  2003

  —

  99

  —

  45

  1 Percentage of Scottish publicly-funded schools with access to the Internet—source NGfL Scotland Progress Report and NGfL Scotland Progress Report 2.

  2 Scotland households: Source Family Expenditure Survey (April 1998 to March 2001) and Expenditure and Food Survey (from April 2001), by financial year.

  3 UK households: Source Family Expenditure Survey (April 1998 to March 2001) and Expenditure and Food Survey (from April 2001), October to December quarter.

  4 2002 School Census will not be published until June 2003

  Voluntary organisations are independent organisations and are not required to notify either Government or indeed anyone else when setting up a website. Therefore no figures are held centrally either for Scotland or the UK on the percentage of voluntary organisations with websites.

  Public Sector Jobs
  Ann Winterton
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what criteria are used for the advertising of Government and public sector jobs; what steps he is taking to ensure the widest display of Government and public sector job advertisements in varied media publications; and if he will make a statement. [112673]

  Mr. Alexander
  Individual Government Departments and agencies have responsibility for external recruitment, with the exception of the Fast Stream. The recruitment process for jobs in the Civil Service, including advertising, must be consistent with the principle of selection on merit on the basis of fair and open competition, in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code. Decisions about advertising have to take into account, subject to the details of the vacancy or vacancies, how best to ensure that information is widely available in the areas where the target candidate market is to be found.

  We have set targets to improve the diversity of Government Departments at senior levels, and therefore recruitment advertising at every level includes trying to reach those who might not traditionally consider the civil service as a career. This includes the use of varied publications, and face to face contact.

  The Cabinet Office works closely with other public sector employers, both at strategic and operational level, to promote the spread of best practice in recruitment.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Iraq
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 1 May 2003,Official Report, column 449W, on Iraq, what factors underlay the decision on whom to invite to the National Dialogue Conference on l5 April. [112348]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  The Coalition issued invitations to individual Iraqis to attend the Nassiriya Conference on 15 April. Invitations were aimed at attracting a range of Iraqi groups, including opposition and exile groups and those newly liberated.

  Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations were received by his Department from(a) the All Party Parliamentary Archaelogical Group and (b) the British School of Archaeology on the need to protect Iraq's cultural heritage in advance of the start of the invasion of Iraq; what steps were taken in respect of the representations; and what response his Department made to the representations. [111360]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  Dr. Crawford, Chairman, British School of Archaeology in Iraq, wrote to Edward Chaplin, FCO Director, on 27 December 2002, to express her concern about the threat to the monuments and heritage of Iraq in the event of millitary action. Mr. Chaplin replied on 4 February stating that the letter had been passed to the relevant Government Departments, as requested, and offered the Middle East Department as a future contact point.

  I replied on 16 April to the All Party Parliamentary Archaeological Group's letter of II February to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.

  The Government shares the concerns of the group about the importance of protecting and preserving archaeological sites and museums in Iraq. Before the conflict started, the Ministry of Defence consulted widely with the archaeological fraternity, who provided lists of key sites of cultural and historical interest in Iraq. Troops were briefed accordingly and avoided key sites of cultural and historical interest as far as possible during the conflict.

  We could not prevent damage inflicted by Iraqi forces. Most of the looting by criminal elements occurred whilst the fighting was continuing. The aim of the Coalition forces at this stage was to suppress Saddam Hussein's forces with minimal loss of Coalition lives and Iraqi civilians.

  Troops guarded cultural sites where they could, but this was not always possible due to the security situation. It also now appears that organised groups had access to Baghdad Museum and planned the looting well in advance of military action.

  The US has informed us that there are guards at the Baghdad Museum and that the looting of artefacts is now under control.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of the United States to
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  provide for an independent body that can carry out an investigation of allegations of the unlawful use of lethal force by members of the armed forces performing policing and public order duties in Iraq. [111846]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  None. We are not aware of any allegations of unlawful use of lethal force by UK personnel in Iraq. However, were such an allegation to be made, the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Military Police, a detachment of which is currently deployed in the Gulf, would be responsible for carrying out an investigation into the circumstances.

  Any allegations against US personnel would be a matter for the US authorities.

  Mr. Kidney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what involvement the United Nations has in Iraq in respect of(a) delivery of humanitarian aid, (b) policing and other civilian security, (c) re-building works, (d) economic development and (e) establishment of new political institutions. [112283]

  Mr. Rammell
  We believe that the UN has a vital role to play in Iraq. It is already delivering humanitarian aid under the Oil for Food Programme and co-ordinating the work of humanitarian NGOs.

  The UK, together with the US and Spain, has put forward a draft Security Council resolution providing for an influential and wide-ranging UN role. The draft resolution calls for the appointment of a UN Special Co-ordinator whose tasks would be:
  support for and co-ordination of humanitarian and reconstruction assistance by UN agencies and non-governmental organisations;
  support for the orderly and voluntary return of refugees and displaced persons;
  working with others to restore and establish national and local institutions for representative governance;
  facilitating the reconstruction of key infrastructure, in cooperation with other international organisations;
  promoting economic reconstruction and the conditions for sustainable development, including through co-ordination with national and regional organisations, as appropriate, civil society, donors and the international financial institutions;
  encouraging international efforts to contribute to basic civilian administration functions;
  promoting human rights;
  encouraging international efforts to rebuild the capacity of the Iraqi civilian police force;
  supporting international efforts to promote legal and judicial reform.

  We will be discussing the detail of this role with the UN and with Security Council partners.

  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government made about the invitations to the National Dialogue Conference in Iraq on 15 April; whom the Government met for discussions, and on which dates; who made the final decisions about the list of invitees; and if he will make a statement. [112316]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  The meeting in Nassiriya took place on 15 April, while the military campaign was still under way. The invitation list was primarily a US one, designed quickly to initiate the political process towards establishing an Iraqi Interim Authority. The UK was 288W
  invited to suggest additions to the invitations list. There were a number of close contacts between UK and US officials in the run up to this meeting, but the final decision on invitees rested with the US organisers on the event.

  Bolivia
  Dr. Tonge
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his US counterpart concerning the privatisation of water supplies in Bolivia by the Bechtel corporation. [112171]

  Mr. Rammell
  My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with his US counterpart concerning the privatisation of water supplies in Bolivia by the Bechtel corporation.

  Council of Europe Conventions
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the conventions of the Council of Europe that the United Kingdom has still to ratify and the reasons why these conventions have not been ratified by the United Kingdom. [112050]

  Mr. MacShane
  The UK has signed 19 conventions that it has not yet ratified:

  1. Protocol no. 4 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, securing certain rights and freedoms other than those included in the Convention and in Protocol no. 1—signed 16 September 1963

  The UK has not ratified because the extent of the obligation regarding right of entry is unclear. There are no present plans to ratify, but the matter remains under consideration.

  2. Convention Relating to Stops on Bearer Securities in International Circulation—signed 28 May 1970

  Austria, Belgium, France and Luxembourg, which were the four parties, have denounced the Convention which has since ceased to be operative.

  3. Convention on the Establishment of a Scheme of Registration of Wills—signed 16 May 1972

  English law has been amended to enable compliance with the Convention in England and Wales (1982 Administration of Justice Act). The UK is unable to ratify because Scottish law has not been amended to enable the Convention to be ratified. The Scottish Executive do not see ratification as a priority.

  4. European Convention on the Control of the Acquisition and Possession of Firearms by Individuals—signed 28 June 1978

  Ratification would require amendments to be made to the Firearms Act 1968. There are no plans to make such amendments as the UK has already ratified UN and EC instruments on weapons control. Ratification is unlikely.
  289W
  5. European Convention for the Protection of Animals for Slaughter—signed 10 May 1979

  The UK could not ratify at the time of signature, as domestic legislation was more restricted in its scope than the Convention. The EC approved the Convention in 1988, and in 1993 its requirements were incorporated in Directive 93/119/EC, which was implemented in the UK in 1995. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been seeking Ministerial agreement from the relevant departments and the devolved administrations. Ratification is likely in early 2004.

  6. Protocol amending the European Social Charter—signed 21 October 1991 and

  7. European Social Charter (Revised)—signed 7 November 1997

  The Department for Work and Pensions is keeping under review how the Revised Charter will operate and, with other interested departments and the Devolved Administrations, will consider the provisions of the original Charter in the context of future decisions about ratification of the Revised Charter.

  8. Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Llife at Local Level—signed 5 February 1992

  Ratification of this convention remains under consideration by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

  9. European Convention relating to questions on Copyright Law and Neighbouring Rights in the Framework of Transfrontier Broadcasting by Satellite—signed 2 October 1996

  The UK could not initially ratify this convention until EEC Directive 93/83/EEC had been implemented. There is an agreement among EU member states that they should ratify simultaneously. Until all member states have the necessary legislation in place, ratification cannot take place.

  10. Agreement on Illicit Traffic by Sea, Implementing Article 17 of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances—signed 31 January 1995

  The Home Office has not yet found a suitable legislative slot to enact the new legislation required to proceed with ratification. We will continue to look for such a legislative slot, and restart the ratification process when one becomes available.

  11. Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning higher education in the European Region—signed 7 November 1997

  The instrument of ratification was signed by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 6 May 2003. The UK will ratify this convention in the very near future.

  12. Criminal Law Convention on Corruption—signed 27 January 1999

  Before the Convention had entered into force, the Home Office considered it desirable, although not necessary, to reform domestic law on corruption before ratifying the Convention. However, it remains uncertain when the draft Corruption Bill will proceed and,
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  following the entry into force of the Convention in 2002, the balance of the argument has changed. We intend to ratify in the near future.

  13. Civil Law Convention on Corruption—signed 8 June 2000

  Certain minor amendments are needed in relation to UK law on limitation of civil actions to enable ratification to take place. Relevant provisions have been included in the Corruption Bill, which was recently published in draft, and will be taken forward when a legislative opportunity arises.

  14. European Convention on the Promotion of a Transnational Long-term Voluntary Service for Young People—signed 19 September 2000

  The Department for Education and Skills will not be pursuing ratification of this Convention. It closely mirrors an existing EU scheme and as such, ratification would lead to a duplication of work.

  15. Additional Protocol to the European Agreement on the Transmission of applications for Legal Aid—signed 4 October 2001

  The Lord Chancellor's Department has established that no primary legislation is needed to proceed with ratification. They are in the process of preparing an Explanatory Memorandum on this protocol. Ratification is therefore expected to take place in the latter half of 2003.

  16. Additional Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data, regarding supervisory authorities and transborder data flows—signed 8 November 2001

  17. Second additional Protocol to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters—signed 8 November 2001

  The Explanatory Memorandum for this protocol has been laid before Parliament. The Crime (International Co-operation) Bill must be given Royal Assent before ratification can progress. This is likely in late 2003, with ratification following in early 2004.

  Convention on Cyber Crime—signed 23 November 2001

  New legislation will be required in order to ratify this convention. The principal cause of delay has been finding Parliamentary time for this legislation. Ratification is expected in late 2004 at the earliest.

  19. Protocol no. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights on the Abolition of the Death Penalty in all circumstances—signed 3 May 2002

  Ratification is expected in June 2003. The Explanatory Memorandum is currently laying before Parliament under the Ponsonby rule.

  Counselling Services
  Mr. Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements are made in his Department to allow staff to access counselling services. [111935]
  291W
  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  Since March 2002 the FCO has provided a counselling service to staff (and dependants), both in the United Kingdom and overseas, via an Employee Assistance Programme.

  Drug Trafficking
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with(a) Commonwealth members from the Caribbean, (b) other Caribbean governments, (c) Venezuelan authorities, (d) Colombian authorities and (e) the USA on ways in which co-operation and joint operations can combat drug trafficking from the Caribbean coast of South America; and if he will make a statement. [111566]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  The UK maintains an active dialogue on drugs trafficking with Caribbean and South American countries. In November, I had a detailed discussion in London with Jamaica's Minister for National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips, on the challenges he faces; and last July, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister met President Uribe of Colombia and underlined the importance he attaches to co-operation on drugs issues.

  We support a range of projects in the region to strengthen law enforcement capability in producer and transit countries, often in co-operation with the US. In the Caribbean, a British Military Advisory and Training Team from the Royal Navy is providing maritime skills to enable local coastguards to intercept consignments of drugs. The local US Embassy is providing the same coastguard detachments with vessels in which to conduct their operations.

  Gibraltar
  Mr. Ancram
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department held(a) during and (b) before the Azores Summit in March concerning Gibraltar; and at what level they were conducted. [113288]

  Mr. Straw
  Discussions during the Azores Summit focussed on Iraq. Gibraltar was not discussed at, or in relation to, the Summit.

  Mr. Ancram
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he held personally with his Spanish counterpart concerning Gibraltar during the Azores Summit in March. [113239]

  Mr. Straw
  None. I did not attend the Azores Summit in March.

  Guantanamo Bay Detainees
  Tony Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made towards bringing into practice a judicial system for the prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. [111809]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  It is for the US, as the detaining power, to decide whether to prosecute the detainees.

  We have pressed the US at senior levels to resolve the position of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay and will continue to do so.
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  We have made clear our views that the detainees, if prosecuted, should receive a fair trial.

  Indonesia
  Jeremy Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring of Indonesian military operation in Aceh is being undertaken by the UK Embassy in Jakarta; what discussions his Department has held with women's rights organisations on such operations; and if he will make a statement. [113234]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  [holding answer 13 May 2003]: Our Embassy in Jakarta will be using all available sources of information, including NGOs, to monitor military operations in Aceh.

  FCO officials have recently held discussions with an Aceh-based member of ORPAD, the Acehnese Women's Organisation for Democracy, who had expressed concern about the noticeable build-up of military activity in Aceh.

  International Criminal Court
  Tony Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make a statement about recent activities of the Government relating to bilateral agreements with the United States concerning the International Criminal Court; [111806]

  (2) what implications the recent Extradition Treaty signed with the United States has for the treatment of those suspected of committing war crimes who might be tried by the International Criminal Court. [111808]

  Mr. Rammell
  On 31 March 2003, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, together with the US Attorney General, signed a new bilateral Extradition Treaty between the United Kingdom and the USA. Article 16.2 of the Treaty contains a standard provision precluding the UK from transferring persons extradited from the US elsewhere without US consent, and vice versa. Such a provision features in the existing (1972) UK/US Extradition Treaty.

  At US request, the UK has provided a side letter to the new Treaty confirming that the UK understands this provision to preclude the onward surrender to the International Criminal Court (ICC) of a person extradited from the US; and that the UK would contest any request from the ICC for such a surrender, as being incompatible with Article 98.2 of the ICC Statute.

  Article 98.2 provides for non-surrender of an individual to the ICC where the requested State has an international obligation that gives the right of consent to the sending State.

  There have been no other discussions with the US in respect of agreements relating to Article 98.2 of the ICC Statute since officials met at US request on 17 October 2002. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 26 February 2003, Official Report, column 595W.

  Kashmir
  Margaret Moran
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations he has received in the last 12 months in respect of human rights violations in Indian-held Kashmir; [110665]

  (2) what recent discussions he has had on introducing international human rights inspectors to Indian-held Kashmir. [110666]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  We have in the past 12 months received nearly 150 letters from members of the public and 37 letters from honourable Members raising concerns over the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir. We have also received a number of reports from human rights non-governmental organisations on alleged violations by the security forces and certain police groups there.

  I discussed the human rights situation in Kashmir, including access for international monitors, with Mr. I.D. Swami, the Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs, in New Delhi on 17 October 2002. We will continue to urge the Government of India to allow access to Jammu and Kashmir for international human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, and UN Special Rapporteurs.

  Dr. Tonge
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Governments of(a) India and (b) Pakistan, on the killing of civilians in (i) Nadimarg and (ii) Chatisingpura. [112732]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  My right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary remains in close and regular contact with the Governments of India and Pakistan. The Foreign Secretary condemned the 24 March killing of innocent civilians at Nadimarg and urged Pakistan to do its utmost to discourage any acts of violence by militants in Kashmir. These points were covered in the joint statement with US Secretary Powell at Camp David on 27 March.

  The differences between India and Pakistan can only be resolved through peaceful means and engagement. We therefore welcome recent moves by both sides towards the normalisation of relations. We hope that these positive developments prove to be the first step in a process of building confidence, normalising bilateral relations and resolving their outstanding differences, including Kashmir. We will continue to do all that we can in support of these positive developments.

  Mental Health
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of his staff retired on medical grounds due to mental health problems in the last year. [111962]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  Under the terms of the Data Protection Act the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is unable to provide this information, as it would infringe individual privacy. The identity of individuals and their medical history should remain private, especially when the numbers involved may be so low that identification is easy to achieve.
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  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of his staff have taken sick leave due to mental health problems in the last year. [111985]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  In the last financial year 157 staff at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office took sick leave due to mental health problems. Our definition of mental health illness includes depression/mental illness and stress.

  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many sick days were lost over the last year by his Department through staff mental health problems. [111999]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  The Foreign and Commonwealth Office had 157 incidents of mental health absence in the last financial year. An incident is defined as one continuous absence period. We are unable to provide a full breakdown of days lost to mental health absence without incurring disproportionate costs. Our definition of mental health illness includes depression/mental illness and stress.

  Nigeria
  Ann Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations have been made to the Nigerian Government regarding the death sentence passed on Amina Lawal. [111913]

  Mr. Rammell
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the member for South Swindon (Julia Drown) during oral questions to the Foreign Secretary on 6 May Official Report column 528.

  North Korea
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2003,Official Report, column 126W, on North Korea, what discussions the Government have had with international partners in the last six months; and what meetings are scheduled to discuss the situation in North Korea. [112123]

  Mr. Rammell
  The Government are in close and regular consultation with international partners on the issue of North Korea's nuclear programmes. The UK has participated in talks about DPRK in a range of international fora including the UN and the EU. My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and I are in contact with US, Chinese, Russian, South Korean and Japanese colleagues, on North Korea, and will continue to work with them and other key partners to find a peaceful and lasting resolution to this issue.

  Pakistan
  Mr. Roy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received about movement of Taliban supporters in tribal regions of Pakistan and their alliances. [112609]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  There is continuing activity by Taliban remnants in the tribal regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. We regularly discuss with Pakistan the
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  importance of their continuing support for coalition action against Al Qa'ida and its associates (including Taliban remnants).

  Russia
  Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on whether the closure, by Russian authorities, of internally displaced persons camps in Ingushetia has stopped following President Putin's statement on 10 December 2002; and what(a) bilateral and (b) multilateral action the UK Government are taking to press for an end to this closure. [112160]

  Mr. MacShane
  We are not aware of any camp closures in Ingushetia since President Putin's order that this practice should be stopped. Nevertheless, we have continued to remind the Russian authorities of their assurances that all movement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) would be strictly voluntary and of their obligations under the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. We last did so bilaterally in March and the EU took similar action in mid-April at the EU-Russia Co-operation Council.

  However, we are concerned by recent reports that the Ingush authorities have ordered the demolition of shelters built for IDPs currently living in dilapidated tent camps. We are monitoring the situation closely and would welcome a positive outcome to the negotiations between the Ingush Government and the humanitarian agencies involved.

  Sponsorship
  Mr. Oaten
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which of his Department's projects have received sponsorship in the last financial year; who the sponsor was in each case; what the nature of each project was; what time-period was covered by each project; what the total cost of each project was; how much money was involved in each sponsorship deal; and if he will make a statement. [112399]

  Mr. Rammell
  In line with the Government's commitment in its response to the Sixth Report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life, details of individual amounts of sponsorship in 2002–03 valued at more than £5,000 are disclosed in the department's Annual Report which is available in the Library of the House.

  Turkey
  Ann Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department made to the Turkish Government about the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights on 17 July 2001 in the case of Leyla Zana and other Kurdish members of the Turkish Parliament; whether diplomats from the Embassy in Ankara(a) attended the retrial hearing on 25 April and (b) intend to attend future hearings; and if he will make a statement on the treatment of the human rights of the defendants. [112827]

  Mr. MacShane
  [holding answer 12 May 2003]: FCO officials raised the case of Leyla Zana and her codefendants with their Turkish counterparts at the most recent round of an ongoing Human Rights dialogue on
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  26 November 2002. A representative of the British Embassy in Ankara did attend the retrial hearing on 25 April. The Embassy will continue to liaise with our EU Partners to determine who attends future hearings.

  UN Firearms Protocol
  Dr. Tonge
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK has ratified the UN protocol against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition; and which other states have ratified the protocol. [112169]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  On 6 May 2002, the UK signed the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts, Components and Ammunition, one of three protocols to the UN Convention on Trans-national Organised Crime. We are now working in conjunction with the European Commission to ensure that the necessary measures are in place for the UK to ratify the Protocol. We are also encouraging others to sign the Protocol and work towards its implementation.

  According to the UN Office on Drugs and Organised Crime there have been 52 signatures and four ratifications to the Protocol.

  United States
  Alan Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the US government about the Pentagon's proposals of 4 March to repeal the 1993 legislation that bans research and development of further nuclear weapons. [112278]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  We understand that the US Department of Defence has requested that the US Congress rescind US legislation that prohibits US government research and development into low-yield nuclear weapons. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed this matter with the US government.

  The US government stated in May 2003 at the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2005 Review Conference of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, that it is reducing reliance on nuclear weapons and is not developing, testing or producing any nuclear warheads and has not done so in more than a decade. The US confirmed that there is no current requirement for a new nuclear warhead and that the US President has not directed such work.

PRIME MINISTER

  Access to Government Information
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will ensure that the exemptions provided in the code of practice on Access to Government Information which allows for the waiving of legal professional privilege in the drafting of legislation is employed automatically by departments when legislation is being drafted which is intended to protect the public. [112980]
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  The Prime Minister
  The circumstances in which information is exempt from the code of practice on account of legal professional privilege are set out in paragraphs 4.15 and paragraphs 4.16 of the Guidance on Interpretation to the code of practice on Access to Government Information (second edition 1997), a copy of which is available in the Library.

  Gibraltar
  Mr. Ancram
  To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he held with his Spanish counterpart concerning Gibraltar during the Azores Summit in March; and whether an agreement was reached. [113287]

  The Prime Minister
  None.

  Official Visits
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make an official visit to Gaia House near Denbury in South Devon. [112965]

  The Prime Minister
  I have no current plans to do so.

WORK AND PENSIONS

  Access to Work
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to improve awareness of the Access to Work scheme; and how much was spent on its promotion in the last year for which figures are available. [110738]

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  Jobcentre Plus invests around £300,000 per year on marketing and publicising its specialised services and programmes for disabled people. Promotional material is available in a wide range of media such as leaflets, audiotapes and videos. Information and advice on Access to Work forms an integral part of many of these campaigns and it is not therefore possible to give a separate figure for this scheme only.

  Information on all our disability services is available from Jobcentre Plus offices. Detailed information is also available on the Jobcentre Plus web site. The web address is included on Jobcentre Plus publicity material and can be accessed through most internet search engines.

  Disability Employment Advisers regularly meet local employers to promote the full range of disability services, including Access to Work. In addition, many disability organisations actively promote Access to Work to their members and some have information about the programme on their web site.

  Research shows that applications come from a range of sources, suggesting that knowledge of the programme is widespread1.

  1Source:

  "Users' Views of Access to Work" Employment Service study, March 2001.

  Attendance Allowance (Burton)
  Mrs. Dean
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the Burton constituency are in receipt of attendance allowance. [113147]

  Maria Eagle
  There are currently 2,100 customers in receipt of attendance allowance in the parliamentary constituency of Burton.

  Note:

  Figures taken from a 5 per cent. sample at 30 November 2002. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

  Source:

  IAD Information Centre

  Benefit Payments
  Mr. Alan Reid
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of(a) state pensions, (b) war pensions and (c) benefits were written to by his Department during April to inform them that they must change to a direct payment method; and for each of these three groups, how many chose to have their payments made into (i) a bank or building society account, (ii) a basic bank account and (iii) a post office card account. [112907]

  Malcolm Wicks
  The information is not available in the format requested.

  Information that is available shows that 538,666 customer invitation letters were issued in April. This was made up of 538,430 child benefit customers, 209 Veterans Agency customers (the final segment of Veterans agency customers) and 27 Jobcentre Plus customers (the residue from a pilot exercise in March). For the same period 382,199 customers responded to our letters and opted for payment into a bank or building society account, many of which can be accessed at post office branches. We do not differentiate between current and basic bank accounts. 60,086 customers responded with a request for a post office card account.

  The change will be phased in over a two-year period and is due to be completed in 2005.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Boswell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to improve access to Job Centre Plus for disabled people, with particular reference to(a) physical access to premises and (b) staff training in disability awareness. [110740]

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Clare Dodgson. She will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Clare Dodgson to Mr. Tim Boswell, dated 14 May 2003:
  As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, I have been asked to reply to your question concerning what plans we have to improve access to Jobcentre Plus for people with disabilities. This falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of the Agency.
  We are currently undertaking a four year programme to upgrade our premises and introduce a new integrated service to all people of working age. As a part of this programme our offices are being designed and refurbished to enable all of our customers to gain access to them. We are also ensuring that our customers have access to all of our services through careful planning of our service

  299W
  delivery arrangements. For example, where Personal Advisor interviews are conducted on an upper floor and a lift is not available we will make arrangements to interview people with mobility problems on the ground floor.
  In planning for our new services we are consulting on our proposals for service delivery with MPs, local partners, stakeholders, customer groups (including groups of and for disabled people), staff and trade unions. We are currently reviewing the training given to Personal Advisers and are seeking to better equip them to deliver work focused interviews to all of our customers.
  Additionally, enhanced training is being developed for Personal Advisers specialising in helping people claiming Incapacity Benefit.
  The new Jobcentre Plus service enables us to widen the help and support previously given to millions of customers in receipt of incapacity and disability benefits. Through building modernisation, integrating services and better training we aim to meet the needs of all of our customers.
  I hope this is helpful.

  Mr. Goodman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which organisations have been awarded contracts to deliver the New Deal for Disabled People in the Wycombe constituency. [112373]

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  [holding answer 12 May 2003]: New Deal for Disabled People, delivered by around 60 Job Brokers across England, Scotland and Wales, is helping people with health problems and disabilities to move into work. Since the national extension of the programme began, it has helped over 11,000 people into jobs and almost 38,000 have registered with Job Brokers to actively pursue employment.

  Job Brokers are contracted to deliver their services by local authority area. The Job Brokers currently operating within the Wycombe district council area are Scout Enterprises (Western) Ltd, Support Shop Ltd, Yes2Work and Shaw Trust Employment.

  Older People
  Linda Perham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) which voluntary and commercial organisations have been consulted during the development of the Older People Strategy; [111736]

  (2) when he expects to publish the Older People Strategy; and if he will make a statement; [111737]

  (3) whether he plans to repeat the Listening to Older People programme; and if he will make a statement. [111742]

  Maria Eagle
  We have established a system for consulting directly with older people, and a range of statutory and non-government organisations representing the diverse interests of older people through the setting up of the Partnership Group. The Group comprises members from the Better Government for Older People network, the Older People's Advisory Group, employment, education and research organisations, a media consultant, as well as national organisations representing the interests of older people. It is chaired by the Minister for Pensions and meets on a regular basis to provide views on presented ideas from Government on the development of policy or services, and to serve as an external think-tank for ideas on service delivery issues. A full list of the organisations represented on the Partnership Group is listed.
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  The Government set up Better Government for Older People (BGOP) as an independent organisation with a Management Board of key partners, and a UK wide networking partnership to ensure older people are engaged at all levels of decision-making. Membership of BGOP is open to any authority or organisation that is committed to engaging older people in decision making and working in partnership. The Older People's Advisory Group is one of BGOP's key partners and provides opportunities for older people themselves to participate in all areas of public life including the formation of policies.

  The publication "Life Begins at 50" in May 2000 set out the Government's responses to needs expressed by older people themselves in the form of an interdepartmental action programme. This followed consultation with a range of bodies. We are currently considering options for reporting progress on that programme and its strategic objectives.

  We will consider the need for further Listening to Older People events in that context, taking account of the development of other channels of engagement.

  Organisations represented on the partnership group

  Anchor Trust

  National Pensioners Convention

  Older People's Advisory Group

  Chalmers Communications

  Centre for Policy on Ageing

  Better Government for Older People Network

  Third Age Employment Network

  Counsel and Care

  The Abbeyfield Society

  Help the Aged

  Age Concern England

  Employers Forum on Age

  Policy Research Institute Ageing and Ethnicity

  Older People's Services, Department of Health

  Association of Retired Persons and Over 50

  Local Government Association

  Economic and Social Research Council Growing Older Programme

  National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux

  Pensions
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of working-age(a) adults, (b) men and (c) women in the UK are members of a stakeholder pension plan. [111158]

  Maria Eagle
  Specific data on the number of individuals contributing to a stakeholder pension will not be available until the middle of the year. However, latest figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) state that 1.25 million stakeholder pensions had been sold up to the end of December 2002, of which an estimated 97 per cent. had been bought for individuals of working age, (56 per cent. men and 44 per cent. women). ABI figures show the number of stakeholder pension policies sold, not the number of individuals who have taken out a stakeholder pension. People are allowed to hold more than one stakeholder pension.
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  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 11 February 2003,Official Report, columns 687–88W, on pension schemes, what checks he has carried out on the data given for the number of pension schemes that have completed winding-up and the number of members of those schemes, between 1997 and 2002. [112639]

  Maria Eagle
  The data used for the answer of 11 February 2003,Official Report, columns 687–88W, were supplied by the Pension Schemes Registry (PSR). The PSR ensured that the data provided in answer to this question were correct at that time and within the limitations that the PSR have when providing data, as explained in the answer.

  The PSR analysed the data scripts produced to ensure that the relevant schemes had been counted. They also compared the revised figures against previous figures supplied in response to requests for pension scheme wind up statistics. This comparison allowed for the time difference since previous figures.

  Data supplied by the PSR are not designed or intended to provide a statistical record of the number of schemes which wind up. The PSR registers schemes for tracing purposes and collects the levy from pension schemes, including those in the process of winding up. New scheme data are being reported to the PSR on a continuous basis, so the figures are subject to daily revision. Any figures provided are a snapshot of a particular time.

  The figures provided in the answer of 11 February 2003, Official Report, columns 687–88W, replaced those issued in the answer of 18 December 2002, Official

  Customers sent home unseen from Medical Services Examination Centres between 1 May 2002 and 28 February 2003, broken down by reason

  Type

  May 2002

  June 2002

  July 2002

  August 2002

  September 2002

  October 2002

  November 2002

  December 2002

  January 2003

  February 2003

  Doctor productivity

  77

  66

  40

  40

  47

  81

  90

  38

  56

  52

  Doctor cancelled

  116

  109

  194

  171

  116

  168

  177

  109

  181

  168

  Doctor ill

  91

  20

  20

  214

  231

  80

  101

  113

  86

  111

  More claimants attended than doctors could manage to see

  760

  597

  651

  872

  1120

  1,236

  1,180

  585

  827

  705

  Case mix problem (some cases take longer than others)

  14

  11

  14

  20

  18

  15

  28

  8

  19

  27

  No interpreter available

  31

  32

  32

  20

  44

  40

  53

  30

  45

  45

  File not at Medical Services Examination Centre

  73

  55

  108

  80

  113

  110

  76

  79

  79

  51

  Doctor mismatch (not specialised in required medical area)

  35

  46

  41

  35

  37

  40

  33

  32

  27

  29

  Claimant called in error (didn't require examination)

  44

  29

  45

  41

  46

  53

  40

  31

  34

  56

  Doctor booked but not informed

  7

  3

  3

  11

  40

  14

  22

  6

  11

  6

  Claimant requested same-gender doctor

  8

  3

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  6

  0

  Claimant unfit to be seen

  22

  17

  12

  19

  22

  27

  26

  15

  34

  80

  Claimant arrived too late for appointment (greater than 30 minutes)

  63

  61

  49

  58

  67

  94

  89

  68

  54

  116

  Claimant would not wait (less than 30 minutes)

  26

  40

  17

  24

  36

  45

  33

  25

  65

  98

  Claimant would not wait (greater than 30 minutes)

  176

  111

  168

  155

  159

  308

  289

  189

  180

  216

  Inadequate information provided to Medical Services.

  5

  8

  7

  5

  12

  8

  7

  14

  7

  16

  Accommodation problem (eg power failure at site)

  2

  10

  11

  24

  2

  5

  188

  9

  12

  13

  Total not seen

  1,550

  1,218

  1,412

  1,789

  2,110

  2,324

  2,432

  1,352

  1,719

  1,789

  Total seen

  51,510

  40,742

  49,616

  47,673

  52,815

  59,792

  55,449

  41,047

  51,704

  49,763

  Total seen as proportion of those who attended (percentage)

  97.08

  97.10

  97.23

  96.38

  96.16

  96.26

  95.80

  96.81

  96.78

  96.53

  Source:

  Medical Provision and Contracting Team management information.
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  Report, column 859. Additional procedures were introduced to prevent a recurrence of the problem with the reply of 18 December 2002, Official Report, column 859. These procedures ensure that confirmation is received from the IT contractor that the data supplied reflect the data requested, data request is attached to the data script, comparisons are made with previous data, an additional manual check is made of the information and a control record is completed.

  A long-term objective is to introduce a new system to provide data which the new kind of regulator will use to discharge its new functions. The specification for this new system will emerge from work to develop the new kind of regulator.

  SchlumbergerSema
  Paul Holmes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 3 April 2003,Official Report, column 844W, on SchlumbergerSema, for what reasons customers may be sent home unseen from their medical assessments; how many customers were sent home unseen between 1 May 2002 and 28 February, broken down by reason; and if he will make a statement. [108842]

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  SchlumbergerSema are committed to providing a professional service to customers attending their examination centres. Of 517,806 customers who attended Medical Examination Centres for assessments between 1 May 2002 and 28 February 2003, 17,695 were sent home unseen. This corrects the previous information given in the answer of 3 April 2003,Official Report, column 844W.

  The information is in the table.

  Transco
  Mr. Gardiner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 10 April,Official Report, column 395W, on Transco, whether an exemption certificate was issued to Transco by the HSE from the requirement to reassess its engineers' qualifications by the approved competency standard before 3 March 2002. [111552]

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  I am advised by the Health and Safety Executive that it has never issued a certificate to exempt Transco from the requirement for its engineers to be assessed or re-assessed against nationally approved competency standards.

  Exercising its powers under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, the HSE issued, on 1 April 2002, a certificate temporarily suspending the requirement on Transco to be registered with CORGI until such time as the new national vocational qualification, referred to in my previous answer, had been aligned with the nationally accredited certification scheme for individual gas fitting operatives. The certificate was issued in order to enable the national gas emergency service to continue without interuption, in the interests of public safety. The alignment and assessment processes were successfully completed by the certificate's expiry date of 31 October 2002.

  Travel-to-work Areas
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many travel to work areas have(a) less than five per cent. (b) six to 10 per cent. (c) 11 to 15 per cent. (d) 16 to 20 per cent. and (e) over 20 per cent. of the work force turning over each year. [110688]

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  The information requested is not available.

  However, a measure of turnover is available in Great Britain at government office region level using the quarterly Labour Force Survey. The definition of turnover used for this analysis is the number of people who have been with their employer for less than three months at the time of the survey. By adding the quarterly figures together we are able to estimate the number of people who have changed jobs over the year.

  In 2002 we estimate that six of the 11 regions in Great Britain had a turnover of 16 to 20 per cent. of the workforce over the year, whilst the remaining five regions had turnover of over 20 per cent. of the workforce.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  All-Postal Voting
  Mr. Keetch
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, if he will introduce all-posting voting at general elections. [112369]

  Yvette Cooper
  [holding answer 12 May 2003]: All postal voting is currently possible only in local elections. The independent Electoral Commission is currently evaluating all the electoral pilot projects which took
  304W
  place on 1 May, including the all-postal voting pilots. We will consider carefully their assessment and any recommendations they may make.

  Council Tax
  Ms Drown
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many liability orders for non-payment of council tax bills were(a) heard and (b) refused by magistrates courts in England in the last year for which figures are available. [112544]

  Yvette Cooper
  Central Government does not collect information on the number of liability orders for nonpayment of council tax bills heard or refused by magistrates courts in England. However, estimates are available on the number of liability orders granted by local authorities in England. The most recent information available is given in the table attached. These estimates are based on information supplied to The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) on its Revenue Collection Statistics return. The most recent information available is for 2000–01 and is based on returns from 227 local authorities in England (out of a possible 354). The information provided in the table has been grossed by CIPFA to provide totals by class of authority.

  Local authorities in England

  Number of liability orders granted in 2000–01

  London Boroughs

  468,000

  Metropolitan Districts

  558,000

  English Unitaries

  513,000

  Shire Districts

  677,000

  Total England

  2,216,000

  Document Classification
  Harry Cohen
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many documents are held by the Lord Chancellor's Department that are subject to security classification, broken down by category of classification.—[107361]

  Ms Rosie Winterton
  The information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. My Department follows the Cabinet Office Guidance on document marking and control.

  Legal Professional Privilege
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will introduce proposals to remove legal professional privilege involved in the provision of advice to Government departments in the drafting of legislation.—[113008]

  Ms Rosie Winterton
  The Government has no plans to introduce any proposals to limit extent to which legal professional privilege applies to advice to Government departments. Legal professional privilege is a general principle of the common law which protects confidential communications with a legal adviser from disclosure in legal proceedings.

  Mental Health
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) how many sick days were lost over the last year by the Department through staff mental health problems; [111995]

  (2) many staff in the Department have taken sick leave due to mental health problems in the last year. [111981]

  Ms Rosie Winterton
  This information is not yet available. My Department will be carrying out an analysis of sick absence by type of illness for the financial year 2002–03 over the next few weeks, after which I will write to the hon. Member with details, a copy of which will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  My Department is committed to managing sickness absence effectively. A great deal of work has been undertaken to raise awareness of our Service Delivery Agreement targets, and of the need to manage attendance in accordance with best practice policies. My Department is also committed to providing a safe working environment for employees, by seeking to reduce absence due to work related injuries and illness arising from the government's Revitalising Health and Safety initiative.

  Public Guardianship Office
  Mr. Gibb
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department who the chief executive officer of the Public Guardianship Office is. [112706]

  Ms Rosie Winterton
  The chief executive officer of the Public Guardianship Office (PGO) is David Lye.

  Further information is available on the PGO's website: www.guardianship.gov.uk.

  Timber
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much timber will be used in the redevelopment of Clive House; what types of timber will be used and for which purposes; from which countries it will come; and which companies will be providing the timber. [111032]

  Ms Rosie Winterton
  3.47m3 of carcassing timber and 94m2 of plywood will be used in the redevelopment of Clive House. The softwood timber for the window
  306W
  frames will be sourced from Sweden and will be obtained through Sampsons. The timber for the remaining items such as kitchen base units, reception desk, coat cupboards, bench unit, vanity units, CCTV monitor enclosure, joinery suites and doors has not yet been sourced. Brown and Carroll will be supplying the timber for these items.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Assembly Elections
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his estimate is of the total cost of postponing the Assembly elections; and how this sum is made up. [112616]

  Mr. Paul Murphy
  Payment to registered parties and candidates to reimburse expenditure which may have been incurred in connection with the election which was to have taken place on 29 May could total up to £4 million. The cost to the Electoral Commission of administering this scheme will be up to £50,000. The Electoral Office estimates that they have incurred costs of £67,000 as a result of the postponement of the election. All these costs will be met from the UK Consolidated Fund.

  Mr. Dodds
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the electoral offices in Northern Ireland have spent to date on the Northern Ireland Assembly elections due in May; and what the estimated total cost is. [112908]

  Mr. Browne
  The Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections and Periods of Suspension) Bill is currently before the House. The purpose of the Bill is to postpone the date of the poll for the election of the next Northern Ireland Assembly from 29 May 2003, and to provide a mechanism for setting the date of the next poll.

  As at 9 May the Chief Electoral Officer had spent approximately £250,000 on the Assembly elections. Around £183,000 of this expenditure has been spent on material which can be used at the next Assembly election. The Chief Electoral Officer had estimated the total cost of the elections due to take place in May at £3 million. This does not take account of other costs arising from the postponement of the election including reimbursing political parties and candidates.

HEALTH

  Breast Cancer
  Mrs. Roe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress there has been regarding his Department's discussions with Myriad Inc. on the patent for testing breast cancer genes relating to hereditary breast cancer. [111931]

  Ms Blears
  [holding answer 12 May 2003]: There have been no recent discussions with Myriad.

  Most likely condition for an abortion. North-east London, 1993 to 2001

  2001 SHA

  2000 SHA

  1999 SHA

  1998 SHA

  1997 SHA

  1996 SHA

  1995 SHA

  1994 1HAs

  1993 1HAs

  Total number of abortions

  11,149

  10,406

  9,905

  9,725

  9,085

  9,114

  8,438

  8,518

  8,538

  Marital status

  Single

  Single

  Single

  Single

  Single

  Single

  Single

  Single

  Single

  Age group in years

  20–24

  20–24

  20–24

  20–24

  25–29

  20–24

  25–29

  25–29

  25–24

  Gestation group in weeks

  9 to 12

  9 to 12

  9 to 12

  9 to 12

  9 to 12

  9 to 12

  9 to 12

  9 to 12

  9 to 12

  Previous children

  None

  None

  None

  None

  None

  None

  None

  None

  None

  Previous abortions

  None

  None

  None

  None

  None

  None

  None

  None

  None

  Legal grounds

  2C

  2C

  2C

  2C

  2C

  2C

  2C

  2C

  2C

  Notes:

  1 North East London Strategic health authority (SHA) is equivalent to three health authorities (HAs); Barking & Havering, Redbridge & Waltham Forest and East London & The City.

  2Includes Ground C alone (that the pregnancy has not exceeded its 24th week and that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman There were boundary changes in HAs prior to 1993 and comparable data are therefore not available

  Children's Food (Ingredients)
  Dr. Kumar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what has been done to address the 2001 Food Commission report concerning high levels of sugar, salt and saturated fat in food marketed at children; [111765]

  (2) what measures are being taken to work with food retailers and manufacturers to raise consumer awareness of (a) healthy eating regimes and (b) the contents and properties of pre-packaged food items. [111696]

  Ms Blears
  The Department of Health and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are engaged with stakeholders in a wide range of activities aimed at promoting a healthy balanced diet as outlined in the NHS Plan and the FSA's nutrition action plan. This includes discussions with food industry organisations about their health promotion activity and reducing salt levels in processed food; work on sugars and fat will follow through in 2003–04.

  The five-a-day logo was launched on 25 March 2003, as part of the five-a-day programme aimed at raising public awareness of the health benefits of eating at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day.

  The FSA recommends that manufacturers provide full nutrition labelling on all pre-packaged foods to aid consumer choice on healthy eating and is pressing for changes to the current European Union rules to make this a legal requirement.

  Abortion Statistics
  Mr. Rosindell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the statistically most likely candidate in the North East London health authority for an abortion in the latest year for which figures are available in terms of(a) the marital status of the woman, (b) the age of the woman, (c) the gestation of the pregnancy, (d) the number of previous children born by the woman, (e) the number of previous abortions undergone by the woman and (f) the legal grounds under which the abortion was performed; and how many abortions were performed in the north-east London health authority in each year since 1973, broken down by the above categories. [111531]

  Ms Blears
  The available information is shown in the table.

  The Department of Health leads work across Government and with stakeholders to develop a food and health action plan as part of the Government's strategy on sustainable farming and food. The plan will focus on consumers' health needs, aiming to achieve a healthier diet for the people of England, will include clear policy objectives on nutrition and will set out arrangements for future co-ordination of nutrition work.

  The FSA has noted the Food Commission Report and, as identified in the nutrition action plan, is working with a range of stakeholders, including food manufacturers and retailers, to address issues relating to the salt, fat and sugar content of food.

  General Practitioners
  Bob Spink
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what remedies are available to patients who are not offered a choice of doctor when their local GP practice has closed. [113124]

  Mr. Hutton
  [holding answer 13 May 2003]: There are inevitably occasions when patients are unable to register with their general practitioner (GP) of choice, due, for example, to limited practice capacity. Patients who experience difficulty in registering should contact their primary care trust, which is under a duty to help its local population to register with a GP or personal medical service (PMS) provider and, if necessary, has a reserve power to allocate patients to a GP or PMS provider.

  Civil Defence
  Mr. Keetch
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contingency plans are in place to respond to bioterrorist attacks using(a) clostridium botulinium toxin (botulism), (b) yersinia pestis (plague), (c) francisella tularensis (tularaemia) and (d) viral haemorrhagic fevers; and if he will make a statement. [103437]

  Mr. Hutton
  The Department of Health has had contingency plans in place with the national health service and key public health agencies to ensure a rapid response to, and recovery from, a terrorist attack for several years. Comprehensive guidance was first issued to the NHS in November 1998, followed by more specific guidance 'Deliberate Release of Biological and Chemical Agents: Guidance to help plan the health service response' issued in 2000.

  Following the events of 11 September 2001, regional directors of public health were given further generic advice on dealing with biological threats in October 2001, and guidance for clinicians on dealing with clostridium botulinium toxin (botulism), yersinia pestis (plague), francisella tularensis (tularaemia) and viral haemorrhagic fevers was put up on the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) website. All departmental guidance is now openly available on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/epcu/cbr/intro.htm and the PHLS website at www.phls.co.uk/topics az/deliberate release/menu.htm

  A UK national stockpile of medical countermeasures for dealing with these infections has been established. This is accessible by the NHS on a 24-hour basis for rapid deployment in the event of a mass casualty incident, which may or may not be associated with deliberate release of hazardous material.

  The Department has also expanded its diagnostic and emergency support for public health emergencies by developing a facility, expertise, technology and training base at the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research related to agents of greatest threat.

  Collaborative Programme (Emergency Services)
  Chris Grayling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the Modernisation Agency Emergency Services Collaborative Programme. [111024]

  Mr. Lammy
  Assessment of the progress of the Collaborative is undertaken on an ongoing basis, through regular monthly reporting of improvements against the target.

  The Collaborative is run over six waves, with every acute trust in England being involved by July 2003. The Collaborative is in its early stages but sites in wave 1 are already showing improvement across their emergency care systems resulting in reduced waits and delays for patients.

  Contraceptive Pill (Cervical Cancer)
  Jim Dobbin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on links between long-term use of the contraceptive pill and cervical cancer. [111433]
  310W
  Ms Blears
  An association between long-term use of oral contraceptives (OCs) and a slightly increased risk of cervical cancer has been recognised for many years. However, it has not been possible to demonstrate a direct causal relationship as the presence of other factors, such as persistent infection with human papilloma virus (HPV), that are believed to have an important role in the development of cervical cancer, are also associated with long-term use of OCs.

  A review of all eligible research on the long-term use of OCs and risk of cervical cancer has recently been published (The Lancet—5 April 2003–361:1159). This review took into consideration many other relevant factors, such as HPV infection and still found that use of OCs for many years is associated with a slight increase in the risk of cervical cancer compared with 'never-use'. A copy is available in the Library.

  The Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) has kept the issue under review and has considered the latest evidence. CSM has advised that, as it is not possible to be certain that all relevant factors, such as duration of HPV infection, have been fully taken into account in the review, a definite causal relationship has yet to be established. Nonetheless, the new study strengthens the evidence for a causal link between long-term OC use and cervical cancer and research is ongoing.

  Warnings about the risk of cervical cancer with long-term use have been included in the summary of product characteristics for health professionals and the patient information leaflet for women for many years. In addition, women are advised to regularly attend for a cervical smear in accordance with Guidelines. In the United Kingdom, the introduction of a highly effective screening programme means that the total number of cases of cervical cancer is low and mortality has fallen.

  Counselling
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are made in his Department to allow staff to access counselling services. [111934]

  Mr. Lammy
  Department of Health staff are provided access to a free-phone telephone counselling and information service provided by Corecare. The service is available 24 hours, 365 days per year. In addition to the telephone help line employees can be offered up to eight sessions of confidential face to face counselling.

  Diabetic Treatment Facilities
  Chris Grayling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts are reducing diabetic treatment facilities in hospitals and moving services into primary care. [111766]

  Mr. Lammy
  Information relating to the number of diabetic treatment facilities in national health service trusts is not collected centrally by the Department.

  The "National Service Framework for Diabetes: Delivery Strategy", published in January this year, sets out how the local progress can be made to put the NHS on track to reaching all the national service framework standards by 2013.
  311W
  It will be for primary care trusts to decide the best approach to delivering the standards across both hospital and primary care to reflect local circumstances and the communities they serve.

  Fluoride (Water Supplies)
  Dr. Naysmith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has received from(a) the Chief Medical Officer and (b) the Chief Dental Officer on the implications of the recent Medical Research Council report on water fluoridation for the Government's policy on fluoridation. [111468]

  Ms Blears
  We have asked the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Dental Officer to consider how the success of existing fluoridation schemes in improving oral health, and the oral health benefits residents of naturally fluoridated areas enjoy, might be extended to other communities who wish it. The Medical Research Council has identified and prioritised the research necessary to strengthen the evidence base on fluoridation and the Department is already taking action to commission appropriate research.

  Dr. Naysmith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has commissioned comparing the bio-availability of artificial and naturally occurring fluoride in water supplies; and when the findings of such research will be made publicly available. [111469]

  Ms Blears
  Following a competitive tendering exercise, research has been commissioned from the School of Dental Sciences at Newcastle University. The aims of the study are to investigate the effect of water hardness and source of fluoride ion on bio-availability of fluoride in drinking water by comparing the relative bio-availability of fluoride in: artificially fluoridated hard and naturally fluoridated hard tap drinking water; artificially fluoridated soft and naturally fluoridated soft tap drinking water; artificially fluoridated hard and artificially fluoridated soft tap drinking water; and naturally fluoridated hard and naturally fluoridated soft tap drinking water. The study is due for completion in the Autumn.

  Food Ingredients
  Chris Grayling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the process that will be used to assess the allergenic nature of food ingredients to meet the requirements of Directive 2000/ 13/EC. [111753]

  Ms Blears
  Proposed amendments to the Food Labelling Directive 2000/13/EC, which reached Common Position stage on 20 February this year, would require certain specified ingredients and their derivatives always to be declared in ingredient lists on food labels because of their link with food allergy or intolerance. The European Food Safety Authority will be responsible for reviewing and making recommendations for amendment of this list of specified ingredients in accordance with Article 29 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002.

  Food Standards Agency
  Mr. Roger Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from and discussions he has had with(a) the Food Standards Agency and (b) local authorities regarding food law enforcement. [111102]

  Ms Blears
  The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has responsibility for food law enforcement matters, as this area falls within its remit to protect public health and consumers' interests in relation to food. The FSA advises and keeps Health Ministers regularly informed, through frequent discussions and briefings, about relevant developments and issues. The FSA works very closely with local authorities and their representative bodies and receives regular representations from them regarding food law enforcement issues. These are made informally through day-to-day contact between FSA officials and local authority enforcement officers and more formally by means of written representations, through the enforcement liaison group (a joint FSA/ local authority committee that was set up to strengthen and develop links with local authorities) and at regular meetings of the FSA's chairman, chief executive and other senior officials with representatives of the local authorities co-ordinator of regulatory services and with the Local Government Association. These representations relate to a wide range of issues including, for example, the FSA's local authority monitoring and audit programmes, levels and consistency of food law enforcement activity, recruitment and retention of enforcement professionals and licensing of food premises.

  Janet Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Food Standards Agency has budgeted to spend on the Food Working Party when it is appointed. [111208]

  Ms Blears
  The Food Standards Agency has recently invited tenders for the 2003–04 contract to run a food working party of United Kingdom consumer and enforcement organisations with an interest in UK, and particularly European Union, food policy. The budget for 2003–04 will be in the region of £40,000.

  Janet Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Food Standards Agency spent on its Foodaware initiative in 2002–03. [111210]

  Ms Blears
  Foodaware is a quarterly working party of United Kingdom consumer and enforcement organisations with an interest in the UK and particularly European Union food policy. The Food Standards Agency funds the Secretariat. The budget for Foodaware was £40,000 in 2002–03.

  Heart Disease (Women)
  Chris Grayling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes there have been to death rates from heart disease among women in the past ten years. [111757]

  Ruth Kelly
  I have been asked to reply.

  The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
  313W
  Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Chris Grayling dated 14 May 2003.
  As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the changes in death rates from heart disease in women in the past 10 years. (111757)
  The most recent available mortality data are for the calendar year 2001. Figures for coronary heart disease (also known as ischaemic heart disease) and for other types of heart disease are shown in the attached table for each year from 1992 to 2001.

  Age standardised mortality rates1 per 100,000 female population from heart disease2 in females3, England and Wales, 1992 to 20014

  Calendar year

  Coronary heart disease

  Other types of heart disease

  Coronary heart disease and other types of heart disease

  1992

  136.5

  26.0

  162.5

  1993

  134.8

  30.6

  165.3

  1994

  123.8

  28.5

  152.3

  1995

  119.5

  28.9

  148.4

  1996

  114.1

  28.1

  142.2

  1997

  107.5

  27.1

  135.1

  1998

  105.6

  27.1

  132.7

  1999

  98.8

  27.1

  125.8

  2000

  90.9

  25.0

  115.9

  20015

  88.0

  26.2

  114.2

  1 The rates have been standardised using the European standard population.

  2 The cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (1CD-9) codes for the years 1992 to 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (1CD-10) codes for 2001. The codes used are listed: Coronary heart disease—1CD-9 410–414; 1CD-10 120–125; Other types of heart disease—ICD-9 390–398, 402, 404, 420–429; 1CD-10 100–102, 105–109, 111, 113, 130–152. Figures quoted exclude pulmonary heart disease (1CD-9 415–417; JCD- 10126–128).

  3 The data refer to females of all ages.

  4 Figures for 1992 are based on deaths registered in that calendar year and for 1993 to 2001 on deaths occurring in each calendar year.

  5 The introduction of ICD-10 for coding cause of death in 2001 means that data for heart disease in this year are not completely comparable with data for earlier years. The data should therefore be interpreted with caution. For coronary heart disease the effect of the change in classification in 2001 is described in a report published in May 20026.

  6 Source:

  Office for National Statistics. Results of the 1CD-10 bridge coding study, England and Wales, 1999. Health Statistics Quarterly 14 (2002), 75–83.

  Infectious Diseases
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to overhaul the infectious disease services and to create new isolation units and hospitals for victims of such diseases. [107931]

  Ms Blears
  There is already a network of specialist infectious disease units across the country and most hospitals have single rooms suitable for isolation.

  There are no immediate plans to create new specialist centres or isolation hospitals.

  Mr. Andrew Rosindell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what measures are being taken to prepare(a) airports and (b) other entry points into the United Kingdom to deal with future outbreaks of infectious diseases in foreign countries; [111303]
  314W
  (2) what programmes are planned to train airport officials in recognising potentially infectious persons before they enter the country. [111304]

  Ms Blears
  The national health service locally is responsible for providing medical practitioners to undertake public health functions at ports, airports and railway stations handling international trains. These medical practitioners would be expected to know about relevant clinical aspects of communicable diseases as part of their normal professional learning, and the NHS would be responsible for ensuring that they are suitably equipped. Warnings of future threats from outbreaks of communicable disease in other countries and guidance on dealing with them will be cascaded through the NHS if the need arises.

  Mr. Rosindell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what organisation would be responsible for coorclinating health operations in the event of a large scale outbreak of an infectious disease in a major population centre. [111305]

  Ms Blears
  This aspect of the primary care trusts' accountability for control of infectious diseases is discharged by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), which is responsible for the investigation and management of suspected communicable disease incidents affecting the community, including outbreaks of infection. The HPA's responsibility includes the preparation of multi-agency contingency plans, leading and co-ordinating the public health response, undertaking appropriate epidemiological investigation, providing advice to the public and professionals and convening multi-agency incident/outbreak control teams.

  The Chief Medical Officer discharges his responsibilities via the regional directors of public health, who play a key role in management of large scale incidents.

  The Department's emergency plans would be brought into effect when necessary to ensure that the national health service can cope with large numbers of patients. These plans involve co-operation between all the key organisations.

  Integrated Medicines
  Mr. Paterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on evaluating integrated medicines in each of the past five years. [111666]

  Ms Blears
  The term 'integrated medicine' is usually applied generically to the use of complementary therapies to supplement orthodox treatment. At the present time, no projects have been commissioned with a specific remit to assess the interaction between a complementary therapy and an orthodox treatment. Questions of this sort can best be considered once the efficacy of individual complementary therapies, acting on their own, is better understood.

  Between 1999 and 2001, the Medical Research Council spent an estimated 520,000 on such research. The Department of Health has currently awarded two

  315W
  grants at a total value of £800,000. On 21 April, I announced post-doctoral awards in complementary medicine research, totalling a further £1.3 million.

  Meningitis Trust
  Mr. Kidney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial support his Department gives to the Meningitis Trust. [111403]

  Ms Blears
  The Meningitis Trust is in receipt of a grant under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968. The grant is for three years.

  In 2002–03, the award was for £20,000, in 2003–04 the award will be for £27,000 and in 2004–05 the award will be for £35,200.

  The Section 64 Grant is to help finance the trust's home visiting service, which was launched last year to help people suffering from meningitis after they have been discharged from hospital.

  Methadone
  Ms Atherton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Answer of 7 May 2003,Official Report, column 767W, on methadone overdose deaths, if he will make it his policy to ensure that all methadone prescriptions are taken under medical supervision. [113101]

  Ms Blears
  The Department of Health's 'Drug Misuse and dependence—guidelines on clinical management' (1999) states the following:

  `Supervised consumption is recommended for new prescriptions for a minimum of three months, and should be relaxed only when the patient's compliance is assured. However, the need for supervised consumption should take into account the patient's social factors, such as employment and child care responsibilities. If supervised ingestion clashes with these and is still felt necessary, it must be made available at a time that allows the patient to attend without putting their job or families at risk.'

  NHS Electronic Bookings
  Chris Grayling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health which pilots for NHS electronic bookings have been completed; and what the outcomes of the work carried out were. [110174]

  Mr. Hutton
  There are 43 health communities taking forward electronic booking as part of the national booking programme; at least one in every strategic health authority. These comprise:Five electronic booking enterprise communities: North West London, South East London, Dorset, Manchester and West Yorkshire. These were established to move electronic booking faster and act as demonstrators for the rest of the national health service. They ran from April 2002 to March 2003;
  38 electronic booking shadow communities between May and November 2002. These were established to continue the development and spread of electronic booking, learning from the experience of the enterprise communities and will run until November 2003.

  Work with the enterprise communities was used to inform the development of the specification for the procurement of electronic booking systems currently underway.
  316W
  An interim report on the work of the enterprise communities was published by the Modernisation Agency in November 2002, a copy of which is available in the Library. A full evaluation, reporting the progress of the enterprise communities and early findings from the shadow communities, will be published in the summer.

  NHS Premises
  Mrs. Calton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent advances have been made by the NHS in improving the environmental standards of NHS premises. [109649]

  Mr. Hutton
  The national health service has made significant advances in improving the environmental standards of NHS premises.

  The NHS has met the energy efficiency target of 20 per cent. reduction in energy use from 1990 to March 2000.

  Work is now underway, in concert with Action Energy and the Carbon Trust, to assist the NHS in meeting new, challenging targets of 15 per cent. energy or 0.15 million tonnes carbon efficiency from March 2000 to March 2010.

  The "New Environmental Strategy for the NHS" issued in April 2002 requires the NHS to produce local strategies and plans of action against a number of key areas, including: transport, waste, water, energy/ carbon, and procurement.

  To assist the NHS, advice is provided in "Sustainable Development in the NHS". A software tool, the "NHS Environmental Assessment Tool", will help the NHS identify and hence seek to improve its environmental impacts. Additionally, to assist the NHS, NHS Estates is involved with:
  the Government's Watermark initiative to address water conservation;
  the Department of Health and Sustrans to provide seminars on healthy transport planning;
  producing further guidance to address total waste management; and
  promoting sustainable construction as part of the major NHS capital development programme to 2010.

  NHS Treatment Abroad
  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients he estimates are eligible to have treatment in another EU country paid for by the NHS owing to an undue delay in treatment in England, with reference to the European Court of Justice ruling on treatment of patients abroad. [109976]

  Mr. Hutton
  No estimate has been made of the number of patients who may wish to seek authorisation for treatment abroad under the El 12 referral arrangements.

  Nationals of the European economic area resident in this country are eligible to apply for referral to another European Union country using the E112 referral scheme. Whether authorisation is granted will depend on certain conditions being met. One of these is that the treatment in question cannot be given to the patient

  317W
  "within the time normally necessary for obtaining the treatment in question in the member state of residence, taking account of his current state of health and the probable course of the disease".

  It is not possible to estimate at any given point in time how many patients this might apply to. In 2002, 1,120 E112 forms were issued in respect of residents of England, Scotland and Wales.

  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Office concerning the right of patients to have treatment in another EU country paid for by the NHS owing to an undue delay in treatment in the UK, referred to in the European Court of Justice ruling on treatment of patients abroad. [109978]

  Mr. Hutton
  Following the European Court of Justice judgment in Case-C157/99 Geraets-Smits/Peerbooms, the Department reviewed the operation of the arrangements in place in the United Kingdom for referral of patients elsewhere in the European Economic Area under Regulation (EEC) 1408/71. The devolved administrations were consulted.

  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what efforts he has made to inform patients of their right to have treatment in another EU country paid for by the NHS if subject to undue delay in this country as stated in the European Court of Justice ruling on treatment of patients abroad; [109882]

  (2) what efforts he has made to inform patients of their right to have treatment in another EU country paid for by the NHS if subject to undue delay in England, as referred to in the European Court of Justice ruling on treatment of patients abroad. [109977]

  Mr. Hutton
  The Department publishes the patient referral arrangements in Regulation (EEC) 1408/71 through "Health Advice for Travellers", which is widely available in post offices. Information is also available on CEEFAX, PRESTEL and the internet.

  Revised guidance to the public to take account of recent rulings in the European Court of Justice on treatment of patients abroad is being finalised and will be published in the next edition of the leaflet.

  Guidance to the national health service on directly commissioning treatment in other European economic area countries is also available on the Department's website.

  Obesity
  Chris Grayling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Health Development Agency will publish its report into obesity. [109286]

  Ms Blears
  The Health Development Agency (HDA) intends to have a draft report, "Weight management: an analysis of reviews of diet, physical activity and behavioural approaches", completed by May 2003 for consideration and approval by the HDA obesity reference group and the Department of Health. The next 318W
  meeting of the obesity reference group will be held on 9 July 2003. It is intended that the HDA report will be published in autumn 2003.

  Public Health
  Dr. Evan Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what action his Department intends to take to clarify the responsibilities of health authorities and local authorities in the area of communicable disease control; [110958]

  (2) whether his Department intends to establish a statutory notification scheme for laboratories; [110957]

  (3) what action his Department intends to take to amend the powers exercised as a last resort over people, premises and property in circumstances posing a risk to public health;[110959]

  (4) what action his Department intends to take to change the reserve powers available to the Secretary of State in the event that an outbreak of communicable disease is being mishandled. [110960]

  Ms Blears
  Responses to the consultation exercise which the previous Government conducted in 1989 suggested that there needed to be changes to the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 in these four areas. However, legislation to make these changes was not brought forward by the then Government. The general issues raised will be considered as part of the review which we plan of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act.

  Scans (Waiting Times)
  Mr. Norman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of(a) CT scans, (b) MRI scans, (c) ultrasound scans, (d) X-ray tests and (e) audiology tests were classed as (i) consultant-led first out-patient appointments and (ii) consultant-led in-patient elective admissions in the last year for which figures are available. [109660]

  Ms Blears
  No statistics are available centrally which allow us to show which computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, ultrasound scans, x-ray tests and audiology tests are taken as a part of an out-patient attendance or as part of a n elective in-patient admission.

  Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
  Mr. Peter Luff
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the role of aircraft air conditioning systems in the spread of (a) SARS and (b) other infectious diseases; and if he will make a statement. [110807]

  Ms Blears
  The pattern of illness so far suggests that travellers are not at increased risk if they have travelled by plane with someone with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). However, as a precaution, if a passenger is identified with symptoms and is suspected of having SARS, the details of those sitting in nearby seats, two rows in front and behind, will be taken and they will be given information on action to take should they develop symptoms within 10 days of the flight.
  319W
  Mr. Rosindell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what public funds he has made available for research into possible vaccinations against SARS. [111306]

  Ms Blears
  The probable causative pathogen of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has only recently been identified. There is still a certain amount of scientific work to be carried out before we can start research into the development of a vaccine.

  Dr. Evan Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the World Health Organisation recommends against screening by(a) interview and (b) body temperature at airports of entry of passengers returning from SARS affected areas. [110999]

  Ms Blears
  To reduce the risk that travellers may carry the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus to new areas, the World Health Organisation recommends screening international travellers departing from areas where local transmission is occurring, by answering a few questions and may include a temperature check.

  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the preparations being made at hospitals near Heathrow Airport to treat people arriving at Heathrow Airport who are infected with the SARS virus. [110558]

  Ms Blears
  The Chief Medical Officer issued detailed information to all general practitioners and health professionals on 14 March and subsequently on 7 April. A letter to all chief executives of national health service primary care trusts was also issued on 29 April, reminding them of the action they need to take in their own organisations as a precaution in case of further possible cases presenting to the NHS.

  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the precautions being taken at Heathrow to prevent the spread of the SARS virus into the United Kingdom via the airport. [110559]

  Ms Blears
  Since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), environmental health officers (EHOs) based at Heathrow's health control unit are boarding flights arriving at the airport from high risk areas such as Hong Kong, China and Singapore. EHOs are meeting planes before passengers disembark to ascertain from the cabin crew whether there are any ill passengers on board. In addition, they verify that the airline is aware of their legal requirement to notify port health authorities of any suspected infectious disease.

  If a passenger has become ill during the flight and develops symptoms suggestive of SARS, an EHO/ health control unit officer and a medical officer will board the plane on its arrival. Airline crew and passengers remain on board while the medical officer assesses the patient and establish the nature of the illness. The health control unit arranges for the patient's subsequent care.
  320W
  If SARS is suspected, then all passengers and crew will be given information sheets about the illness and the need to seek early medical advice should they develop symptoms within ten days of the flight.

  Close contacts, including passengers sitting in the same seating row or within at least two rows in front of or behind the ill passenger, will be given a form to complete. The form will require them to provide their contact details and in the event of the suspected case being confirmed, will enable public health services to monitor their health.

  The plane involved will then be impounded by EHOs until it has been disinfected by the airline in accordance with current requirements.

  Dr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to his statement to the House of 28 April, if he will make a statement on the status of a declaration signed by passengers returning from SARS-affected areas; [110931]

  (2) pursuant to his oral statement of 28 April 2003, Official Report, column 38, on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, if he will make a statement on the action to be taken against people returning to the United Kingdom from SARS-affected areas, who are unable or unwilling to sign a declaration; [110961]

  (3) what (a) scientific and (b) medical advice he has received in support of a policy of screening for SARS at airports using a declaration for passengers to sign. [110923]

  Ms Blears
  Travellers returning from severe acute respiratory syndrome affected areas are not currently required to sign declarations. The statement my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State made on 28 April, referred to this course of action being considered should the need arise.

  Dr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received advice from(a) the World Health Organisation and (b) the Chief Medical Officer on the transmissibility of SARS through (i) aerosol routes and (ii) fomites. [110963]

  Ms Blears
  The World Health Organization (WHO) has on-going research (from members of WHO laboratory network) on the exact mechanism of transmission based on the stability of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus. From the information to date the WHO continues to advise the need for personal protective equipment appropriate for standard, contact, and airborne precautions—for example, hand hygiene, gown, gloves, a face mask providing appropriate respiratory protection, eye protection, footwear that can be decontaminated—for health care workers to prevent transmission of SARS in the health care settings. They have also issued advice on decontamination and disinfection of potential fomites to reduce the spread of infection.

  The Chief Medical Officer emphasised in his letter to Chief Executives of national health service trusts and primary care trust of 29 April, of the need to maintain absolute rigour in reducing the risk of cross infection through effective respiratory precautions, high quality sterile practice by staff caring for the patient concerned, exceptional standards of environmental hygiene—for

  321W
  example, walls, floors, surfaces—in the clinical areas where patients have been cared for even temporarily, such as walk-in centres, and absolutely no inappropriate re-use of medical devices and equipment.

  Dr. Evan Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list hospitals and primary care trusts where suspected SARS cases are being observed or treated as inpatients. [110964]

  Ms Blears
  There have been a number of cases where people fit the suspect definition of severe acute respiratory syndrome which have been investigated. However from these only four probable cases have emerged. Indeed two previous probable cases have been removed following confirmation of alternative diagnoses. The last case in the United Kingdom was admitted to hospital on 10 April, and all those diagnosed as probable cases have now recovered.

  Dr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) suspected and (b) probable SARS cases there were in the UK on the most recent day for which information is available. [110966]

  Ms Blears
  As of 12 May, there were four probable cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the United Kingdom.

  There have been a number of cases where people fit the suspect definition of SARS which have also been investigated. We will only be reporting cases that fit the probable case definition issued by the World Health Organisation. At this time of year in south-east Asia influenza activity is high and we would therefore expect travellers to this area to be returning with flu-like

  Diagnoses and rates for selected conditions, total diagnoses and workload in GUM Clinics: England, Wales and Northern Ireland 1997–2001

  Diagnoses

  1997

  1998

  1999

  2000

  2001

  Infectious syphilis (primary and secondary)

  Male

  101

  88

  160

  252

  613

  Female

  50

  44

  55

  75

  102

  Total

  151

  132

  215

  327

  715

  Uncomplicated gonorrhoea

  Male

  8,602

  8,649

  10,972

  14,725

  15,903

  Female

  4,054

  4,180

  5,002

  6,406

  6,794

  Total

  12,656

  12,829

  15,974

  21,131

  22,697

  Uncomplicated genital chlamydial infection

  Male

  16,985

  19,896

  22,962

  28,100

  30,763

  Female

  23,598

  26,259

  30,821

  36,700

  40,362

  Total

  40,583

  46,155

  53,783

  64,800

  71,125

  Genital herpes simplex virus (first attack)

  Male

  5,870

  6,356

  6,302

  6,473

  6,787

  Female

  9,896

  10,065

  10,279

  10,471

  11,063

  Total

  15,766

  16,421

  16,581

  16,944

  17,850

  Genital warts (first attack)

  Male

  32,679

  33,670

  34,716

  34,847

  35,487

  Female

  30,875

  31,255

  31,723

  31,297

  32,185

  Total

  63,554

  64,925

  66,439

  66,144

  67,672

  All diagnoses

  Male

  228,205

  242,681

  256,466

  276,120

  292,060

  Female

  277,490

  291,136

  305,733

  324,885

  345,778

  Total

  505,695

  533,817

  562,199

  601,005

  637,838

  All diagnoses and workload

  Male

  464,861

  498,537

  519,574

  561,270

  628,743

  Female

  548,297

  578,855

  594,942

  634,371

  704,167

  Total

  1,013,158

  1,077,392

  1,114,516

  1,195,641

  1,332,910

  322W
  symptoms, which are unrelated to the current outbreaks of SARS. Each suspected case is carefully evaluated on the clinical presentation of its symptoms.

  The situation is changing daily, and it would not be beneficial to report suspected cases as there will be many who after investigation do not fit the WHO case definition. We therefore only report on probable cases, as required by WHO.

  Mr. Dismore
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice and assistance he is giving to people of Chinese origin regarding concerns over the SARS issue; and if he will make a statement. [111782]

  Ms Blears
  [holding answer 7 May 2003]: The Department of Health issued updated information and advice to all travellers from the United Kingdom about severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on 8 May. This information is reviewed daily.

  Sexually Transmitted Infections
  Mr. Paul Marsden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level was of sexually transmitted infections, broken down by disease, in each year since 1997. [109689]

  Ms Blears
  Information on the number of new cases (diagnoses) and new cases per 100,000 population by disease, for the years 1997–2001 is shown in the table. This is taken from the statutory reporting of diagnoses made at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics on form KC60. Data on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are only collected centrally from GUM clinics where most STIs are diagnosed and treated. STIs diagnosed and treated by general practitioners or in other settings are not available.
  323W

  Diagnoses and rates for selected conditions, total diagnoses and workload in GUM Clinics: England, Wales and Northern Ireland 1997–2001

  Rates (per 100,000 of population)

  1997

  1998

  1999

  2000

  2001

  Infectious syphilis (primary and secondary)

  Male

  0.36

  0.33

  0.60

  0.93

  2.27

  Female

  0.18

  0.16

  0.20

  0.27

  0.37

  Total

  0.27

  0.24

  0.40

  0.60

  1.31

  Uncomplicated gonorrhoea

  Male

  30.54

  32.46

  40.92

  54.59

  58.96

  Female

  14.80

  15.22

  18.14

  23.15

  24.56

  Total

  22.78

  23.71

  29.37

  38.67

  41.54

  Uncomplicated genital chlamydial infection

  Male

  60.30

  74.67

  85.64

  104.17

  114.05

  Female

  86.16

  95.58

  111.80

  132.65

  145.89

  Total

  73.05

  85.29

  98.90

  118.59

  130.17

  Genital herpes simplex virus (first attack)

  Male

  20.84

  23.86

  23.50

  24.00

  25.16

  Female

  36.13

  36.64

  37.29

  37.85

  39.99

  Total

  28.38

  30.34

  30.49

  31.01

  32.67

  Genital warts (first attack)

  Male

  116.01

  126.37

  129.47

  129.19

  131.56

  Female

  112.72

  113.77

  115.07

  113.12

  116.33

  Total

  114.39

  119.97

  122.17

  121.05

  123.85

  All diagnoses

  Male

  810.13

  910.83

  956.49

  1,023.64

  1,082.73

  Female

  1,013.11

  1,059.74

  1,108.99

  1,174.28

  1,249.80

  Total

  910.20

  986.42

  1,033.80

  1,099.91

  1,167.32

  All diagnoses and workload

  Male

  1,650.27

  1,871.10

  1,937.75

  2,080.76

  2,330.89

  Female

  2,001.82

  2,107.03

  2,158.05

  2,292.90

  2,545.17

  Total

  1,823.58

  1,990.87

  2,049.43

  2,188.17

  2,439.39

  Smoked Food
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what legislation regulates the description of food as smoked. [111472]

  Ms Blears
  European rules on food labelling are implemented in the United Kingdom by the general provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 and the Food Labelling Regulation 1996. These make it an offence to describe food in a way that is false, or likely to mislead a purchaser about its nature, substance or quality. Guidance notes accompanying this legislation make clear that terms like "smoked" can easily be abused and suggest that products that have been immersed in, or sprayed with, a solution which imparts flavour and colour should be described as "smoke flavoured" rather than "smoked".

  Sunbeds
  Mr. Rosindell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had regarding health risks associated with the use of sunbeds. [110545]

  Ms Blears
  I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave him on 12 May 2003,Official Report, column 111 W.

  TB
  Tim Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the strategic national plan to deal with tuberculosis. [109113]

  Ms Blears
  The tuberculosis action plan is currently being finalised and will be published shortly.

  Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast
  Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast
  Northern Ireland Office: Questions for Written Answer
  Northern Ireland Office: Questions for Written Answer
  Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001: Telephone Interceptions
  Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001: Telephone Interceptions
  MoD Hospital Units
  MoD Hospital Units
  Afghanistan: Provincial Reconstruction Teams
  Afghanistan: Provincial Reconstruction Teams
  Iraq: Antiquities
  Iraq: Antiquities
  Abortion
  Abortion
  Bisphenol Exposure
  Bisphenol Exposure
  NHS Foundation Trusts
  NHS Foundation Trusts
  VAT
  VAT