asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list the conventions and other legal instruments of the Council of Europe which they have not ratified, distinguishing between those which have been signed by them, those where a decision on whether or not to sign is awaited and those which it is their current policy not to sign.

As the information is not yet complete, I will write to the noble Lord with a full answer by 23rd May. A copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in the light of recent circumstances, they will reconsider their decision to support the Russian Federation's membership of the Council of Europe.

No. We supported the Russian Federation's accession to the Council of Europe on 28th February 1996. This has not changed.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will use their best endeavours, bilaterally and as a member of the European Union, to persuade the government of Indonesia to comply with the recommendations of the High Commissioner for Human Rights following his visit to Indonesia and East Timor of 3rd to 7th December 1995, as reported in E/CN. 4/1996/112 of 14th March 1996, and in particular, whether they will press for the establishment of a United Nations human rights presence in East Timor and the granting to international human rights NGOs of full access to Indonesia and East Timor.

Together with our European partners, we continue to urge the Indonesian Government fully to implement the recommendations of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, following his recent visit to Indonesia and East Timor in December 1995, and to improve access to the territory for human rights and humanitarian organisations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will report on the work of the Forensic Explosives Laboratory.

On 14th March 1996 explosives contamination was found in a centrifuge at the Forensic Explosives Laboratory which is part of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. The laboratory carried out a preliminary investigation and laid all the information before the Government in a formal report. A copy of that report has today been placed in the library.The Forensic Explosives Laboratory's primary role is to provide scientific support to the police service and to provide expert witnesses for the Crown Prosecution Service in cases involving the criminal use of explosives. One of the services it provides involves the laboratory analysis of swab samples taken to determine the presence of explosives and the type involved. This "trace" analysis involves a range of procedures including the use in many cases of a centrifuge.The explosives contamination involved a small amount, not more than 30 micrograms (that is 30 millionths of a gram), of the explosive RDS, one of the main components of the explosive Semtex. It was detected in a part of a laboratory centrifuge which was probably already contaminated on its arrival at the Forensic Explosives Laboratory in 1989. By normal standards the amount of explosive detected was tiny but nevertheless it should not have been there.The centrifuge involved was immediately taken out of operational action on discovery of this contamination and the trace laboratory thoroughly cleaned. No incidence of contamination from the centrifuge could, therefore, occur from that point on.There is a small theoretical possibility that any casework sample showing RDX traces may have been affected by the centrifuge contamination. Regular quality assurance tests undertaken by the laboratory have not revealed RDX traces at a level which would suggest that casework samples are likely to have been contaminated but this cannot be ruled out completely. This may call into question evidence submitted by the FEL in criminal cases involving RDX.On present information there may be around a dozen such cases which resulted in convictions, but the identification of all relevant cases and assessment of the possible risk of contamination are matters on which my right honourable friend the Home Secretary wants independent advice. He has therefore decided that an

immediate independent review of the casework and procedures at the Forensic Explosive Laboratory must take place. The terms of reference will require the reviewer:

asked Her Majesty's Government:

• What is the Home Office country assessment for Zaire; and
• What is the Home Office country assessment for Algeria; and
• What is the Home Office country assessment for Liberia; and
• What is the Home Office country assessment for Sudan; and
• What is the Home Office country assessment for Bahrain.

Every case in which a person applies for asylum is examined on its merits. The relevance of the general situation in the applicant's country of origin varies from case to case, as does the range of information and assessment upon which it is necessary to rely on reaching a decision. We have no current plans to publish country briefs on any of these countries.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which individuals they have appointed as chairmen of government agencies and quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations since 1st January 1996; what, in each case, were the principal qualifications of the individuals for the job, the term of office and salary, and whether the appointment is full or part-time.

Since 1st January 1996, 515 people have been appointed or re-appointed to serve as chairmen/women of those organisations listed in the Cabinet Office publication Public Bodies. In each case, the individual has been selected on the basis of merit, having been carefully appraised against criteria set for the appointment which cover the qualities, skills, and experience required. No appointments of chairmen are made to next steps executive agencies. In view of the length of the list detailing the names of individuals and their appointments, I have arranged for a copy to be placed in the House library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will provide, for publication in the

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are their plans to restructure the current regulating regime to take account of the convergence of broadcasting, telecommunications and information technology.

The Government are keeping the market situation under review as various aspects of convergence in broadcasting telecommunications and information technology begin to develop. Against a criteria of stable regulation so that investment is stimulated, the Government will consider adjusting the regulatory regime from time to time, if it appears necessary, to take account of these multimedia developments. In addition, the regulatory authorities will continue to develop the ways in which they work together.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they think the role of the Director-General of Oftel helps or hinders open access to networks, fair pricing and provides a wider choice of networks.

The role of the Director-General of Telecommunications is defined by the Telecommunications Act 1984, and in particular by the statutory duties placed on him in Section 3 of that Act. Prominent among these are his duties to promote the interests of consumers and to maintain and promote effective competition in telecommunications. The full benefits of competition will only be realised for consumers if effective competition is established in the provision of telecommunications networks as well as in services. The Government's policy on the most appropriate regulatory framework for promoting network infrastructure competition, and for providing access to networks, was set out in its Command Paper published in November 1994 entitled Creating the Superhighways of the Future Developing Broadband Communications in the UK (Cm 2734).

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the projected complement of Oftel for each of the next five years.

The Government's Expenditure Plans for Trade and Industry 1996–97 to 1998–99 Cm 3205, p. 121) give the following estimates for numbers of staff working in the Office of Telecommunications:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to their Answer of 16th April 1996 (

Pursuant to the Answer I gave my noble friend on 16 April 1996, col. WA64, the cost of isolating and assembling the data he requested in order to provide a complete picture across Government departments and agencies would have significantly exceeded £450.The establishment of an inventory such as my noble friend suggests might indeed have the effect which he anticipates, but the Government consider that the cost of creating and maintaining it would exceed the benefit.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of the fish caught within

Information is not available in the form requested. Fisheries are managed on the basis of the areas in which there are biologically distinct stocks. Records of catches do not specify the territorial limits within which they are taken: rather they are accounted for on the basis of the sea areas defined by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).Landings by UK-flagged vessels into UK ports and abroad are given below. These figures relate to landings of all species, including those which are not subject to EU or third country quotas. (Figures for landings abroad are not available prior to 1988, and figures for 1995 have yet to be finalised. Figures for 1994 are given in terms of live weight equivalent of fish landed. For earlier years, the quantities are expressed in terms of the standard landed weight).

asked Her Majesty's Government:Who were the members of the bodies that provided them with evidence about BSE, and what were their commercial affiliations.

The Government obtain evidence about BSE from a wide range of sources. This evidence is evaluated by the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) whose remit is to advise the Government on matters relating to spongiform encephalopathies.The members of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Committee are:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether farmers were not permitted, on grounds of commercial confidentiality, to know the contents of the high protein feeds that had been licensed and whether they will now ensure that farmers and others may in future take their own decisions about what they feed their animals.

A long standing provision has required compounders to provide information on the nutrient content of feeds. In addition, the Feeding Stuffs Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1412) require the declaration of the ingredients of compound feeds, either by individual ingredient or category of ingredient. This has been a provision of regulations since 1991.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish in the

The following table shows the distribution as at 3rd May of confirmed cases by month and year of clinical onset since July 1986:

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect to respond to the report of the Biodiversity Steering Group.

The UK Biodiversity Steering Group was set up to advise the Government on the further development of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. The Government welcomed the Group's report at its launch in December 1995. It will publish its response tomorrow under a foreword from the Prime Minister. The response will be positive and will explain how the Government, in partnership with other sectors will implement the species and habitat action plans and carry forward the other recommendations in the report. In particular it will set out a number of new initiatives it is taking to ensure that the UK maintains its leading role in the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Copies of the response will be placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they aim to base planning decisions on up-to-date local development plans and if so when they anticipate there will be national coverage of development plans, and what their average age is likely to be at that time.

Section 70(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 requires all those making decisions on planning applications to have regard to the development plan, so far as it is material to the application, and to any other material considerations. Where the development plan is material to the development proposal, Section 54A requires the decision to be made in accordance with the plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. One such consideration would be whether the development plan policies are up-to-date and apply to current circumstances, or whether they have been overtaken by events. The age of the plan (its adoption date) would not in itself be a material consideration.The Department of the Environment's Development Plan Monitoring Survey for September 1995 indicated that 58 per cent. of non-metropolitan districts 78 per cent. of metropolitan districts and 88 per cent. of London boroughs expect to have a single district-wide local plan or unitary development plan in place by the end of 1996. The survey also indicated that 100 per cent. of all districts and London boroughs expect to have such plans in place by the end of 1999. The length of time it is taking some local authorities to adopt their local plans is a matter of concern. Her Majesty's Government have already proposed changes to amend both the code of practice on development plans and the development plan regulations. We have not ruled out further changes, including measures that will require legislation, if they are wanted by users of the development plan system. Meetings will shortly be held with interested organisations to discuss their ideas for possible changes to the system.It is not possible to predict what the average age of development plans would be at any future date. Development planning is a continuous process. Plans are kept under constant review and once they have been adopted are updated by the local planning authority, by alteration or replacement, at appropriate intervals.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether recent quarterly statistics on the performance of the Planning Inspectorate in dealing with different categories of planning appeal are

Responsibility for the provision of information on performance on the processing of planning appeals has been delegated to the Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate Agency, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.