To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which beneficiaries of the Aggregates Levy Sustainable Fund were based in Stroud constituency in each year since the inception of the levy. (158549)

DEFRA’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund database captures information at county-level and has details of beneficiaries from April 2004 onwards. Beneficiaries that have run projects in Gloucestershire, since April 2004, are shown in the following list.

Gloucestershire—April 2004 onwards

Bowmoor Sailing Club

British Waterways

Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre

Cotswold Canal Trust

Cotswold Water Park Society

Cotswold AONB Partnership

Drybrook Parish council

Fairford Playing Field Ltd

Fairford Town council

Gloucester city council

Gloucestershire county council

Gloucestershire Geoconservation Trust

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

Huntsmans Quarries Ltd

Kemerton Conservation Trust

MCTI Partnership

Oxford Archaeology

Pool Keynes Village Hall Committee

RSPB

Staunton Parish council

Staunton Meend Common

Stroud Valleys Project

South Gloucestershire council

Somerford Keynes Parish council

South Cerney Playgroup

The National Trust

The Jurassic Hill Geopark

University of Gloucester

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action he is taking to ensure the term cider brandy is retained and not renamed cider spirit in the draft EU regulations to replace the present EU Regulation 1576/89; and if he will make a statement. (158721)

[holding answer 16 October 2007]: DEFRA is aware that the term “cider brandy” is absent from the draft of the European Union regulation on spirit drinks. We are pressing the European Commission to find a pragmatic solution to this issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many ships departing from UK ports since 1 January 2007 carrying live animals have been subject to inspection for animal welfare purposes; and what percentage of sailings this constitutes. (157789)

Since January 2007, two specialist livestock vessels have operated out of Dover. These vessels have also had a limited number of sailings from Sheerness and Ipswich port. Animal Health carry out welfare inspections on a percentage of all the animal transport vehicles travelling on these vessels.

Combined figures for the vessels show that, of 104 sailings, 97 included physical and documentary checks on a number of the vehicles onboard. This means that over 93 per cent. of the sailings had welfare checks carried out on their vehicles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle passport applications he expects to be received late due to the postal strike; and how many cattle he estimates this will render valueless. (157275)

BCMS receives around 49,000 applications each week for cattle passports. Passports are produced provided there is reasonable evidence to show that farmers submitted applications in good time or were prevented from doing so by factors outside their control. These factors include known postal strikes.

If applications were not submitted in reasonable time then a passport would be refused and farmers would be unable to move the animal from their holding. 0.35 per cent. of all applications received are normally refused, subject to appeal because they are late. The figures from the last postal strike show that 0.45 per cent. of applications were initially refused. Three quarters of these appealed against the decision and were successful because of the postal strike delays. This compares with 55 per cent. of such appeals during a similar period the previous year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what accounts directions were issued by his Department in financial years (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07. (156622)

Under the Government Resource and Accounts Act 2000 HM Treasury issues accounts directions to Departments, pension schemes and agencies and under the Government Trading Fund Act 1973 to trading funds.

For the years 2005-06 and 2006-07 Department has issued accounts directions for the form and content of resource and other accounts to the following sponsored bodies;

2005-06

British Potato Council

British Waterways Board

Consumer Council For Water

Covent Garden Market Authority

English Nature

Environment Agency

Food From Britain

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Home Grown Cereals Authority

Horticultural Development Council

Meat and Livestock Commission

Milk Development Council

Royal Botanical Gardens Kew

2006-07

British Potato Council

British Waterways Board

Countryside Agency

Commission For Rural Communities

Covent Garden Market Authority

English Nature

Food From Britain

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Home Grown Cereals Authority

Horticultural Development Council

Meat and Livestock Commission

Milk Development Council

Natural England

Royal Botanical Gardens Kew

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the review, Flooding Lessons Learned, chaired by Sir Michael Pitt. (158753)

The Government await the findings of the Flooding Lessons Learned review and will respond as positively as possible to the recommendations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he intends to assess the effectiveness of the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative in respect of small and local meat producers. (157329)

Earlier this year, DEFRA commissioned Ipsos MORI to gauge awareness of the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI) in schools and local authorities. The survey included questions on the proportion of tenders from small and local producers, including meat producers. The results were positive with:

three in five schools (59 per cent.) and four in five local authorities stating that they encourage tenders from small and local producers;

almost seven in 10 local authorities (69 per cent.) stating that at least half the food supplied to schools in their area is from small and local producers;

half of the schools (53 per cent.) stating that at least half of their food is supplied by small and local producers while one in ten schools (9 per cent.) say that all their food is supplied from these producers.

The report also found that in 52 per cent. of the local authorities and 44 per cent. of schools the proportion of food supplied by small and local producers during the last two to three years had increased.

A copy of the Ipsos MORI survey is on the PSFPI website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/sustain/procurement/school-food.htm. It was conducted during the period March to July 2007 and covered 81 local authorities and 255 schools.

Recent research by the Meat and Livestock Commission, based on estimates provided by 126 English local authorities, suggests that 39 per cent. of their meat by volume was locally sourced. The figure may exaggerate the amount of locally farmed meat supplied as not all local authorities seek provenance.

In addition to the research mentioned above, DEFRA is currently collating data from across central Government to determine the proportion of publicly procured food that is British. We aim to publish the information before the end of this month.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what compensation will be made available to (a) auction marts which suffered closure owing to foot and mouth measures and (b) farmers who were unable to enter their stock for sale in such auction marts. [R] (157080)

There are no plans to compensate auction markets who suffered closure owing to foot and mouth measures, or farmers who were unable to enter their stock for sale in such auction markets.

Under the Animal Health Act 1981, compensation is paid for animals that are compulsorily slaughtered to prevent the spread of disease. For foot and mouth disease (FMD), the Act requires that compensation is paid at the full market value before the animal became infected. This is determined by an approved valuer at the time of slaughter. Compensation is also paid for other items, such as farm equipment and feed, where these are seized because they are considered to be contaminated; this includes such things as milk. However, it is a long established principle that the Government do not meet the costs of consequential losses, which must be borne by the industry. Government seek to minimise the risk of market impacts, particularly by encouraging public understanding of the issues.

We are taking a risk-based and staged approach to easing movement restrictions when the evidence indicates that it is appropriate to do so. This is the best way to facilitate the return to normal working for the industry. We are working in partnership with the industry, but eradication of foot and mouth disease remains our priority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make support for the increased costs of collection available to those farmers with fallen stock in low risk areas which are now dependent upon using the National Fallen Stock Company for collection. (158161)

[holding answer 16 October 2007]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State (Hilary Benn) announced on 8 October 2007, Official Report, column 39, that DEFRA would provide £1 million to raise the level of subsidy for the National Fallen Stock scheme for farmers in the foot and mouth (FMD) risk area from 10 per cent. to 100 per cent. This is targeted to help the livestock farmers that have been worst affected financially from restrictions imposed as a result of FMD and this will be available to all livestock keepers in the FMD risk area.

The National Fallen Stock scheme will continue as normal in the rest of the UK and for non-susceptible livestock in the risk area, subject to FMD licensing controls. There are no plans for any extra support to be introduced.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many staff were employed by the (a) Commission for Racial Equality, (b) Disability Rights Commission and (c) Equal Opportunities Commission prior to the establishment of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. (157110)

No staff were made redundant from any of the legacy commissions. However the three commissions ran voluntary severance schemes and the following numbers left the commissions: CRE had 78 leavers, DRC had 68 leavers and EOC had 39 leavers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Government expect to launch the Youth Citizenship Commission, as announced in the Green Paper: The Governance of Britain; and what discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on the involvement of young people from Scotland in the initiative. (156388)

I have been asked to reply.

The Youth Citizenship Commission will report to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and the Secretary of State for Justice. It will be launched this autumn. There have been discussions at official level between the Secretariat for the Commission and the Scottish Executive.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance his Department follows on the maximum time taken to respond to hon. Members’ correspondence; and what performance against that target was in the most recent period for which figures are available. (158582)

The Wales Office complies with Cabinet Office guidelines for the maximum time for responding to correspondence.

The Wales Office publishes correspondence statistics in its annual report and to the Cabinet Office for their annual report to Parliament.

The latest figures for April 2006 to March 2007 were 93 per cent. of correspondence answered within 15 days of receipt.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were employed by his Department on 1 January in each of the last five years; and how many of these staff were (a) permanent employees, (b) temporary staff and (c) contractors. (158326)

The Wales Office publishes staffing figures within the Departmental Annual Report. The 2007 Report (CM7110) provides data on staff including staff numbers, permanent and temporary staff. A copy of the report can be obtained from the Library of the House or it can be viewed on our website:

http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/2007/AnnualReport2007.pdf.

The Wales Office has not employed any contractors in the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in the last 12 months. (158906)

Wales Office records are kept in financial year.

£12,265 was spent on hospitality in financial year 2006-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what policy changes his Department has implemented since 27 June 2007. (159285)

I was delighted to be re-appointed Secretary of State for Wales. I have pressed forward the same policies of deepening devolution in Wales, particularly under the framework set by the Government of Wales Act 2006, and championing Welsh interests.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what contingency preparations his Department made for the possibility of a general election in autumn 2007; and what the costs of those preparations were. (156994)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 15 October 2007, Official Report, columns 822-23W, by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Edward Miliband).

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many websites his Department operates; how many it operated at 1 January 2005; and what the estimated annual cost has been of running his Department's websites in the last five years. (157881)

The Northern Ireland Office operates 15 websites. On 1 January 2005 the Department operated 11 websites. The estimated annual cost of running the Department's websites in each of the last five years is detailed in the following table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hits the (a) most popular and (b) least popular website run by his Department has received since 1 January 2007. (157882)

The most popular website run by the Northern Ireland Office is www.nio.gov.uk; it received 8,767,572 hits between 1 January 2007 and 31 August 2007.

The website used least was www.howsecureismyhome.com; it received 5,909 hits over this same period.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are seconded to his Department from outside Government; from which outside body each has been seconded; and what the length is of each secondment. (157880)

The Northern Ireland Office currently has no staff seconded from outside Government.

To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’ Committee on the Electoral Commission if he will make a statement on steps being taken by the Electoral Commission to investigate the permissibility of the donation by Mr. Michael Brown to the Liberal Democrats. (158697)

I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 16 May 2007, Official Report, column 748W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the BBC received in the form of (a) loans, (b) direct payments and (c) indirect payments from EU institutions in each of the last five years. (158605)

This is a matter for the BBC. The BBC Group finance director will consider the question raised by the hon. Member and write to him direct. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many hits the (a) most and (b) least popular website run by his Department has received since 1 January 2007. (157890)

The information requested is as follows:

Visitor statistics 1 January to 31 August 2007

The following statistics refer to ‘unique visitors’ rather than ‘hits’ which is accepted as a more useful indicator of the popularity of sites.

The most popular site was the main website at:

http://www.culture.gov.uk/

The least popular was ‘Where We Live’ at:

http://www.wherewelive.org.uk/

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of those eligible have applied for assistance with digital switchover in Whitehaven. (158568)

As of 15 October 2007, 33 per cent. of those identified as being eligible for assistance from the digital switchover help scheme in the Whitehaven area had contacted the help scheme administrator. 25 per cent. of those eligible for assistance opted to receive help; 8 per cent. of those eligible for assistance chose to opt-out of the scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Secretaries of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills and Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on the implementation of recommendation 39 of the Gowers Review, on internet service providers’ responsibility for copyright theft. (158203)

As Minister with responsibility for the creative industries, I have had discussions with my hon. Friend the Minister for Intellectual Property and Quality at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, and my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Competitiveness at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in relation to progress on the implementation of a range of recommendations from the Gowers review, including recommendation 39.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Forest of Dean dated 20 April and 18 July regarding the Waterways Museum in Gloucester. (158040)

[holding answer 15 October 2007]: I replied to the hon. Member's letters on 16 October. I apologise for the completely unacceptable delay in responding to this correspondence. I am taking steps to ensure that officials respond efficiently to correspondence we receive.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many television licences have been issued to addresses in (a) Argyll and Bute constituency, (b) the STV Central region and (c) the STV North region. (158718)

[holding answer 16 October 2007]: The BBC has responsibility for the administration of the television licensing system and the maintenance of television licence records. I understand from the BBC, however, that they are not able to provide a breakdown by constituency or TV region of the number of TV licences issued, as there is no operational need for the BBC to hold the information in this way. The information is recorded at individual address level and aggregated to national level for reporting purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the locations are of the overseas offices of (a) VisitScotland and (b) VisitWales. (157303)

Neither VisitScotland nor VisitWales operates overseas offices.

However, under an agreement made between DCMS and the Scottish Executive in March 2005, VisitScotland carries out overseas marketing through VisitBritain's offices in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Eire.

VisitWales has two members of staff working in VisitBritain's New York office. These are the only representatives from VisitWales located overseas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding his Department provided to (a) VisitScotland and (b) VisitWales in each of the last five years. (157304)

VisitScotland and VisitWales are fully funded by the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly respectively. Neither receives any funding from DCMS.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the percentage of families who have access to affordable childcare places in England, broken down by (a) region and (b) constituency. (157729)

Information is not available in the form requested.

Ofsted have produced figures on the numbers of registered child care providers and places on a quarterly basis from March 2003. Their latest figures were published in their report “Registered Childcare Providers and Places, June 2007”, which is available on their website,

www.Ofsted.gov.uk/

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which Secretary of State has the lead role in delivering the 2010 child poverty target; and if he will make a statement. (157600)

As stated in ‘PSA Delivery Agreement 9: Halve the number of children in poverty by 2010-11, on the way to eradicating child poverty by 2020’,

“The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions will be responsible for child poverty, and in addition the Chancellor of the Exchequer is the lead Minister for this PSA.”

I refer the hon. Member to the reply of 18 July 2007, Official Report, column 92W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will introduce a compulsory registration scheme for private fostering. (158256)

[holding answer 15 October 2007]: The Government have agreed that at a suitable point we will publish a report on the impact of the enhanced notification scheme introduced by the Children Act 2004, and it is on that basis that we will announce whether or not we are minded to move towards a registration scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what support his Department provides to parents in areas with high levels of gang and gun-related crime to help ensure that children do not become involved in criminal activity. (154095)

We are providing extra funding this year to areas where gun, knife and gang crime is most prevalent to accelerate the roll-out of extended schools. Parenting support is an important part of the extended schools core offer of services. There are currently over 7,000 schools providing access to the core offer of services and by 2010 all schools will be offering these services.

In addition, DCSF is leading a number of wider activities that will provide parents with support to help them steer their children away from trouble. These include launching the £34 million Parent Know How programme; establishing the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners; investing £4 million to employ Respect parenting practitioners, targeted at helping parents whose children are most at risk of engaging in antisocial behaviour; we have established a national network of 53 Family Intervention Projects supporting families facing the most problems; and we have set up, in 18 local authorities, Parenting Early Intervention Pathfinders for parents of younger children who are at risk of negative outcomes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of publicly run play areas for children available in (a) 1997 and (b) 2007. (154787)

The information requested is not collected centrally. We recognise fully the benefits of play for children and we continue to take steps to support and promote the provision of opportunities for play. For example, between 2008-09 and 2010-11, we are providing over £1.1 billion for schools so that every school will be offering access to extended services by 2010. Through this, children and families will be able to access breakfast and after-school clubs, a range of activities and community services, with areas for play an important element of the provision.

In addition, the Government are supporting improvements to the quality of parks and green spaces in all our towns and cities, especially the most deprived areas, so that everyone has access to good quality spaces close to where they live. The quality of parks and green spaces is being driven up by the Government-supported Green Flag Award Scheme; knowledge, capacity and skills within local authorities have been enhanced through the How To programme and the work of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, and many communities have improved their local spaces through support Groundwork, the Living Spaces programme and the Liveability Fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what process is to be followed by the online review into the effect of violent video games; (158561)

The review being carried out by Dr. Tanya Byron will consider the evidence on the risks to children and young people from inappropriate or harmful content in video games and the internet and assess the effectiveness and adequacy of existing measures to protect them and support parents.

An open call for evidence was published by Dr. Byron on 9 October 2007, running until 30 November 2007. It asks respondents to respond online via the Department’s website or to email or post responses to the questions posed in the call for evidence document.

A children and young people’s call for evidence is due out in week commencing 22 October 2007 and will be promoted through a wide range of media platforms (including social networking sites and online debates).

In addition to considering responses to these two open calls for evidence, the Byron Review will draw upon a wide range of existing evidence, including published commentary and research literature, and will undertake some further research in areas where gaps in the literature have been identified.

Since the review was announced on 8 September 2007, the review has met with groups, organisations and individuals representing parents; children and young people; those involved in the welfare, education and safety of children; the academic and research community; the video gaming industry; gamers; the internet industry (including producers, content aggregators, web hosts, internet service providers, search and navigation providers, consumer device manufacturers and retailers); advertising and retail bodies; government agencies; other statutory and non-statutory public bodies and third sector organisations. Dr. Byron and her team will continue to meet with key stakeholders throughout the period of the review, and they welcome input from any interested person or organisation.

The final report (due to be published in March 2008) will make recommendations to the Secretaries of State for Children’s Schools and Families and Culture Media and Sport. This will include a list of individuals and groups that have contributed to the Review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish reports received from British embassies relating to Alisher Usmanov. (158765)

Such information would constitute personal data. A request for personal information brings into play the relevant legislative provisions on data release by the Government and would require the consent of the individual concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Ministers from his Department attended the Defence Systems and Equipment International exhibition in September. (158779)

I can confirm to my hon. Friend that no Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers attended the Defence Systems and Equipment International (DSEi) event in September to which he refers.

However, the FCO did jointly sponsor a seminar at the DSEi event with the Defence Manufacturers Association. The seminar aimed to raise awareness and build support for an International Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) among the defence and military equipment industry. John Duncan, UK ambassador for Multilateral and Disarmament Affairs in Geneva, gave a speech about the UK’s approach to an ATT and responded to questions on the subject.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Department paid in fees to recruitment agencies for (a) temporary and (b) permanent staff in each year since 1997. (151664)

The recorded expenditure for agency staff for each financial year since 1997 is as follows:

Expenditure in respect of temporary and permanent agency staff is not recorded separately. The increase in expenditure in 2006-07 arose from the need to recruit temporary staff to assist Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services to move to Trading Fund status, and to enable the FCO’s account to be signed off earlier than in previous years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the Israeli authorities in the case of Khaled Mudallel on his return from Gaza to his business studies course at Bradford university. (158826)

We raised this issue with the Israeli embassy in London on 15 October. The embassy told us that Mr. Mudallel has been advised that he can leave Gaza via the Nitzana Border Terminal.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of British residency permit holders unable to leave Gaza due to official action. (158827)

We have made no formal estimate. However, we are currently discussing the problem with our EU colleagues. We continue to raise concerns about movement and access with the Government for Israel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visa offices are operated by his Department in (a) Bangladesh, (b) India and (c) Pakistan; and how many staff are employed in each of those offices to process visa applications. (158287)

UKvisas has one Visa Section in Bangladesh, located at our high commission in Dhaka. There are four Visa Sections in India, located at our high commission in New Delhi and our deputy high commissions in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. There are two Visa Sections in Pakistan, located at our high commission in Islamabad and our deputy high commission in Karachi.

The following table displays the total number of staff employed at each of these Visa Sections to process visa applications. The figures include entry clearance managers, officers, assistants, local support staff and those on short-term contracts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visa applications were processed by his Department in (a) Bangladesh, (b) India and (c) Pakistan in each (i) year and (ii) month since 2001. (158288)

The following table displays the total number of UK visa applications processed by our visa sections in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan in each year and month since April 2001.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visas have been (a) issued and (b) refused by his Department in (i) Bangladesh, (ii) India and (iii) Pakistan since 2001. (158289)

The following table displays the total number of UK visa applications issued and refused by our visa sections in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan since 2001.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what targets are set for the processing of visa applications by consular staff in (a) Bangladesh, (b) India and (c) Pakistan. (158290)

UKvisas does not set targets for its staff to process visa applications. Instead, UKvisas measures performance at all of its missions abroad against the following public service agreement (PSA) standards.

PSA 1: 90 per cent. of straightforward non-settlement applications to be processed within 24-hours.

PSA 2: 90 per cent. of non-settlement applications requiring further enquiries or interview to be processed within 15 days.

PSA 3: 90 per cent of settlement applications to be processed within 12 weeks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Iran on the persecution of the Baha’i community, with particular reference to young Baha’i people being allowed to attend university; and if he will make a statement. (158551)

We remain concerned about the treatment of religious minorities in Iran. The Baha’i faith is not formally recognised under the Iranian Constitution and as a result Baha’is routinely face persecution and discrimination. In recent years Baha’is have been subject to arbitrary arrests, confiscation of property and restrictions on employment. Denial of access to higher education has been a long-term problem for Baha’i students.

After the religious identifier was removed from the national university entrance examination in 2006, a number of Baha’i students sat the exam for last academic year (2006-07). Over 250 Baha’i students were admitted to campuses across Iran, but 120 were expelled throughout the year as the universities discovered their religion. This year, students applying to study at technical and vocational institutes were required to complete a form stating their religion. The options did not include the Baha’i religion, so Baha’i students were once again effectively excluded from applying to these institutions. We do not yet know the situation facing Baha’i university students this academic year, but we remain concerned that more Baha’is may be prevented from applying to university or expelled in the future.

We continue to monitor the situation and raise concerns about the treatment of the Baha’is with the Iranian authorities, bilaterally and through the EU. The EU presidency raised specific concerns about the issue of Baha’i access to higher education in meetings with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 1 September and 10 October.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many UK citizens were employed by non-UK-based private contractors in Iraq not concerned with security matters in each of the last five years; (158257)

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold the information requested by the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many UK citizens working for UK-based private security contractors in Iraq were (a) killed and (b) injured in each of the last five years; (158259)

Our consular records show that at least 72 British civilians have died in Iraq since March 2003.

2003—6

2004—23

2005—12

2006—22

2007—9

This number includes deaths from natural causes but is not a definitive figure as records include only those cases where consular assistance has been sought. The figure does not include British dual nationals or unrepresented foreign nationals.

We also have records of 78 British civilians who have been injured in Iraq over the same period.

2003—7

2004—30

2005—15

2006—1

2007—15

We do not collect data in a form which would enable us to distinguish between private security companies or other contractors nor the country of origin of those employers. Consular officials do not have accurate figures on non-British nationals in the above categories.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 9 October 2007, Official Report, columns 27-8WS, on Iraq: assistance to locally employed staff, what his estimate is of the number of Iraqi nationals who (a) work and (b) have worked in Iraq as (i) direct employees of the UK armed forces or the Ministry of Defence, (ii) on letters of appointment from HM embassy Baghdad or the British embassy offices in Basra and the Kurdistan region and (iii) as direct employees of the Department for International Development or the British Council. (157993)

[holding answer 15 October 2007]: About 500 locally engaged staff currently work in Iraq as direct employees of the UK armed forces or the Ministry of Defence and a further 43 work on letters of appointment from our embassy in Baghdad and our embassy Offices in Basra or Erbil, the Department for International Development (DFID) and the British Council.

About 20,000 have worked for the UK armed forces or the Ministry of Defence and a further 140 have worked on letters of appointment from our embassy in Baghdad, our embassy Offices in Basra or Erbil, DFID and the British Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made towards a peace settlement in the Middle East. (158658)

In the run up to the November international meeting I believe that a window of opportunity now exists with: a continuing Israeli Prime Minister Olmert/Palestinian President Abbas dialogue; the right hon. Tony Blair’s engagement; and a rejuvenated Arab Peace Initiative. We will continue to work with international partners to develop these proposals and move us closer to a two-state solution.

We would like to see at the US-hosted November meeting, an agreement that puts the Israelis and Palestinians on a path to real negotiations in 2008 leading to a final settlement of two states living side by side in peace and security.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the signing of human rights agreements by Saudi Arabia on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement. (158029)

Saudi Arabia is party to the following international instruments:

Convention on the Rights of the Child;

Convention on the Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination;

Convention against torture; and

International convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.

Saudi Arabia’s human rights record is poor but improving. Complete implementation of these instruments continues to be a challenge. It is the role of the UN treaty monitoring bodies to assess how well a country is fulfilling its obligations under a treaty. The Government continue to work both bilaterally and with EU partners to encourage Saudi Arabia to fulfil its obligations and report on time.

From April 2008 the UN Human Rights Council will be implementing periodic reviews on all the human rights records of all Member States.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average price was of a UK work visa from Ukraine in each year since 2003. (157957)

The current fee for a Work Permit Holder visa application at our Visa Section in Kiev is £200. From 1 July 2005 to 31 March 2007, the fee for a Work Permit Holder visa was £85. Prior to this, Work Permit Holders paid the long-term non-settlement fee of £75.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 25 April 2007, Official Report, column 1109W, on the A358, what discussions she has had with the (a) Highways Agency and (b) Regional Fire Control Centre at Blackbrook on the proposed scheme to link the A358 and M5 at Blackbrook in Taunton constituency; and what the outcome of those discussions was. (158625)

The Highways Agency had a constructive meeting with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and their consultants on 31 August 2007 to discuss the impact of the A303/A358 South Petherton to M5 Taunton Improvement scheme on the Fire Control Centre at Blackbrook.

It was agreed that both parties should work together to resolve any issues. The Highways Agency have sent further information to DCLG to allow their consultants to update the risk assessment of the site.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 25 April 2007, Official Report, column 1109W, on the A358, if she will take steps to make the Highways Agency report into alternative schemes to link the A358 and M5 at Blackbrook in Taunton constituency available to local residents; if she will undertake a further public consultation on the alternative schemes; and if she will place a copy of the report in the Library. (158626)

In response to public feedback received during consultation, the Highways Agency is currently considering two alternative options to connect the M5 northbound and the A358 eastbound (Blackbrook loop). The outcome of this additional work will be included in an addendum to the public consultation report, which would be published in due course.

Should it be considered necessary to amend the proposed scheme as a result of this further work then it is likely that further limited consultation would be undertaken.

When the report is published it will be posted on the Highways Agency's website and be deposited in the local area for the public to view.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers passed through (a) Heathrow and (b) Gatwick airports between April and September 2007; and if she will make a statement. (159355)

The following table shows the number of terminal passengers at Heathrow and Gatwick airport in each month between April and September 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how much has been allocated to Chorley borough council to fund the free local concessionary bus travel scheme in 2007-08; (158729)

From April 2006, older and disabled people have been guaranteed free off-peak local bus travel within their local authority area. The existing funding for statutory concessionary fares is supported through Formula Grant, which comprises Revenue Support Grant, Redistributed Business Rates and Principal Formula Police Grant.

Formula Grant is an unhypothecated block grant i.e. authorities are free to spend the money on any service. Because of this and the method of calculation, particularly floor damping (which guarantees local authorities at least a minimum percentage increase by scaling back increases for other authorities), it is not possible to say how much of the total Formula Grant funding is for any particular service.

Local authorities have the discretion to offer (and fund from their own resources) enhancements to the statutory minimum, such as peak bus travel and/or concessions on other modes.

The £212 million of extra funding to English authorities for the national bus concession from April 2008 will be distributed by a non-ringfenced special grant via a formula. The Department has recently published a consultation paper on the formula basis for distribution of the special grant. This new consultation supersedes the Department for Communities and Local Government’s consultation on the formula grant options for concessionary fares. Local authorities have been asked to respond to the special grant consultation by 23 November.

In addition, we have announced that we will be providing local authorities with approximately £30 million for the issuing of the national pass; it is likely that Chorley borough council will receive around £69,000 of this additional funding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) accidents and (b) traffic offences occurred involving hire cars in Peterborough constituency in each of the last five years. (158962)

The information requested is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether a financing agreement is in place for the Crossrail project. (158495)

[holding answer 16 October 2007]: I refer the right hon. Member to the White Paper for the 2007 pre-Budget report and Comprehensive Spending Review presented to Parliament by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 9 October 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will place a copy in the Library of the financial agreement on Crossrail. (158492)

Subject to commercial confidentiality, the Secretary of State expects to place relevant agreements in the Library in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contingency preparations her Department made for the possibility of a general election in autumn 2007; and what the costs were of those preparations. (156993)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Edward Miliband) on 15 October 2007, Official Report, columns 822-23W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents there have been involving (a) motorcyclists, (b) bicycles and (c) only motorcyclists and bicyclists in each year since 1997. (158672)

The number of reported personal injury road accidents involving at least (a) one motorcyclist, (b) one pedal cyclist and (c) no other vehicles or pedestrians but at least one motorcyclist and at least one pedal cyclist, in each year since 1997 is shown in the table—note that (c) is included in both (a) and (b).

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the extra rail carriages announced by her Department in the five-year plan published on 24 July have been introduced; and on which lines. (156923)

The extra rail carriages are to be introduced in stages between 2009 and 2014.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents in each of the last five years involved children; and if she will make a statement. (159262)

The number of reported personal injury road accidents involving at least one child casualty (aged 0 to 15) for each of the last five years is:

In 2000, the Government set a PSA target to achieve a 50 per cent. reduction in the number of children aged 0 to 15 killed or seriously injured by 2010, compared with the average for 1994-98. 3,294 children were killed or seriously injured in Great Britain in 2006, which is 52 per cent. below the 1994-98 average of 6,860. In February 2007 we issued a new child road safety strategy, which sets out further measures to improve child road safety.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many liability orders the Child Support Agency has applied for in each month since January 2003; how many of these were inaccurate in any particular; and how many were (a) withdrawn and (b) dismissed. (146178)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 17 October 2007:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions regarding the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many liability orders the Child Support Agency has applied for in each month since January 2003; how many of these were inaccurate in any particular; and how many were (a) withdrawn and (b) dismissed. (146178)

Such information as is available is set out in the attached table. The Agency holds information on; the number of liability orders it has applied for, the numbers subsequently granted as well as information on the numbers of applications withdrawn by the Agency pre and post hearing and the numbers of cases dismissed by the Courts. This information is recorded and validated on a yearly basis only. The Agency currently does not hold management information on the accuracy of individual elements of child maintenance cases such as the liability order process.

Information on a range of enforcement actions is routinely published in the Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS). A copy of this is available in the House of Commons Library and is also available on the Internet via the following link:

www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly_jun07.asp

The Agency seeks liability orders in cases where the non-resident parent is failing to meet their responsibilities to maintain their children. In many cases, as the non-resident parent may not have co-operated fully in the assessment and calculation of their maintenance liability, the Agency will proceed on the basis of the information available. As the Agency will continue to correspond with the non-resident parent throughout the time taken for a liability order to be granted, the non-resident parent can at any time supply information which may lead to a review of the maintenance assessment, or indeed make payments to comply with the maintenance liability. In addition, in some cases the parent with care can request that any maintenance owed directly to them not be recovered, the Agency will then consider withdrawing the liability order application prior to the court hearing.

Once a liability order is being actively considered by the Court, the non-resident parent can make representations for the Court to dismiss the liability order. The Courts currently dismiss less than one per cent of applications. The Agency believes that this is a good indication of the robustness of the checking regime currently in place. Finally, once a liability order has been awarded, the non-resident parent can again bring forward additional information, or indeed settle their arrears and the Agency may again consider whether it is appropriate to proceed with the application.

It should therefore be noted that there are many reasons that the Agency may withdraw a liability order application, however the Agency currently does not record individual reasons an application may be withdrawn. The most relevant measure of the accuracy of the Agency’s process is therefore the low numbers of cases dismissed by the Courts, following representations from the non-resident parent.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total value is of the contracts the Child Support Agency (CSA) has with external debt collectors; how much has been paid to date under such contracts; with which debt collectors the CSA has contracts; how many cases they are handling; what the average debt outstanding on transfer to the external debt collectors is; how many cases they have successfully recovered outstanding debt from (a) in full and (b) in part; and what average sum has been recovered. (155937)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 17 October 2007:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total value is of the contracts the Child Support Agency (CSA) has with external debt collectors; how much has been paid to date under such contracts; with which debt collectors the CSA has contracts; how many cases they are handling; what the average debt outstanding on transfer to the external debt collectors is; how many cases they have successfully recovered outstanding debt from (a) in full and (b) in part; and what average sum has been recovered. [155937]

The Agency has a current contract with two debt collection agencies, Eversheds LLP and iQor. The contract with both of these debt collection agencies has been let on a commission basis and the final value of the contract will be dependent on the amount of debt collected by them. Up to 31 August 2007, the Agency has paid over £360,000 to the debt collection agencies under this contract.

As at 31 August 2007, the Agency has referred over 59,000 cases to the debt collection agencies with an average debt value of £5,250. Of these, the agencies have collected debt in over 12,000 cases, from which 2,003 non-resident parents have paid their child support maintenance debt in full, with the average collection being £444.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely impact of proposed reductions in staffing of the Child Support Agency (CSA) on the effectiveness of the CSA and its successor the Child Maintenance and Support Commission. (155614)

The Agency is committed to meeting both the departmentally agreed headcount target of 9,547 by March 2008 and the Secretary of State performance targets for the coming year. Computer system improvements as part of the Agency’s Operational Improvement Plan will ensure client service in both CSA, and later C-MEC, will not be affected by this reduction in headcount.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Belfast unit of the Child Support Agency over the last (a) six months and (b) year in handling claims involving children from Northamptonshire. (154969)

[holding answer 10 September 2007]: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 17 October 2007:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Belfast unit of the Child Support Agency over the last (a) six months and (b) year in handling claims involving children from Northamptonshire. [154969]

Such information as is available for Northamptonshire cases is set out in tables S1a to S4b of the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS). Unfortunately, these tables have recently been added and only give information back to December 2006. These tables show that at end of June 2007 the compliance rate for the Nottinghamshire area is 67%, slightly above that of the national average of 66%. The Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics is available in the House of Commons Library or on the Internet via the following link: www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly_jun07.asp.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of HM Revenue and Customs gross income data which will be (a) less than one year out of date, (b) more than one year out of date and (c) more than two years out of date when calculating child maintenance under the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission; and if he will make a statement. (154619)

Under the proposed scheme, non-resident parents’ maintenance liabilities will be based on their gross income for the latest tax year available from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs at the time that a case is opened or is subject to an annual review.

With the increased focus on parents agreeing to voluntary arrangements and the ending of the requirement that parents with care on benefit be treated as applying for child maintenance, not all of the current Child Support Agency case load will choose to use the statutory maintenance service. Since we do not know the precise composition of the resulting case load, no estimates have been made on the proportion of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs gross income data which will be (a) less than one year out of date, (b) more than one year out of date and (c) more than two years out of date when calculating child maintenance under the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Department is taking to enable the recovery of historical debt of non-resident parents by the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. (156491)

[holding answer 8 October 2007]: We want to take firm action at the earliest opportunity against non-resident parents who do not fulfil their responsibility to pay maintenance.

The Child Support Agency has already begun to improve the recovery of debt as part of the Operational Improvement Plan and is committed to recovering over £200 million historic debt by 2009.

The Commission will build on the current Child Support Agency debt strategy and the success of the Operational Improvement Plan. Through the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill we intend to strengthen the range of enforcement and debt management powers that will be at the disposal of the Commission. The Bill proposes new and streamlined enforcement provisions such as administrative liability orders, disqualification from holding or obtaining a travel authorisation, collection of maintenance directly from accounts held by financial institutions, enforcing the surrender of a non-resident parent’s passport and imposing a curfew.

New debt management powers, such as the ability to accept part payment of arrears in full and final settlement, will, where appropriate, take account of the wishes of the parent with care. These powers will help the Commission manage debt, including interim maintenance assessment debt. The new debt management and enforcement measures will be used both to encourage ongoing compliance to prevent the new debt building up, and to enable more of the accumulated debt to be recovered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children he estimates will be taken out of poverty when the new £40 disregard for child maintenance is introduced. (158797)

We estimate that around 50,000 children will be lifted out of poverty by increasing the child maintenance disregard to £40 a week from April 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received on staffing levels at the Commission for Equality and Human Rights; and if he will make a statement. (157817)

[holding answer 15 October 2007]: The Equality and Human Rights Commission currently plans to employ approximately 500 staff. There is no intention to make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which private consultancy firms (a) his Department and (b) agencies which report to his Department engaged in each of the last three years; which programmes or projects each firm worked on; and what the approximate cost to the Department or agency concerned was of each engagement. (155875)

The details of consultancy engagements and related costs by all projects across the Department for Work and Pensions and all its agencies over the last three years are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. A particular exercise to obtain this information for the 12 projects with the largest engagement with consultancy firms over the last three years has been conducted and the results are shown in the following table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many departmental staff have been dismissed for gross misconduct in each of the last five years. (157175)

The information on the number of people dismissed for gross misconduct for the period July 2003 to March 2007 is shown in the following table.

No information is available for the period before July 2003.

Information for the period from April 2007 to March 2008 is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints were received about doctors contracted to Jobcentre Plus to carry out incapacity benefit assessments, in each of the last five years, broken down by local benefits agency; and if he will make a statement. (154866)

[holding answer 10 September 2007]: Medical services are provided to DWP under contract by Atos Healthcare. Doctors carrying out incapacity benefit (IB) assessments are engaged by Atos Healthcare not Jobcentre Plus.

Atos Healthcare only began keeping records of complaints received by local benefits office in 2004 and by Jobcentre Plus region in 2005. Information about the number of complaints received per Medical Services Centre, relating to IB is in the following table.