asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect to announce the nomination of a new United Kingdom member to the Committee of the Regions to replace Mr. Roy Cross, who resigned last year.

My right honourable and learned friend the Foreign Secretary has recently nominated Councillor Robert Eccles, JP, an independent Member of Ryedale District Council and of the new Unitary York District Council to replace Mr. Cross.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish the report of the European Commission of Human Rights of 26th September 1958 in Application No. 176/56 Greece v United Kingdom (the first Cyprus case).

Her Majesty's Government have no plans to publish the report of the case in question.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have seen the report on the visit of 20th April 1996 to the South Tripura camps, in which refugees from the Chittagong Hill Tracts are located, by Mr. Jayanta Bhattacharjee (Press Trust of India), Mr. Sekhar Dutta (

We have seen the press reports concerned. Our High Commission in New Delhi is seeking comments from the Indian Government.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they agree with the recommendations by Medecins Sans Frontieres, in their report on violations of humanitarian law in Chechnya; and whether they will raise the case of Chechnya in the OSCE Council of Ministers as a severe and continuing breach of Russia's obligations under the OSCE's Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security agreed at the Budapest Summit in December 1994.

Yes. We have consistently called for an end to attacks on civilians and for all sides to offer full co-operation to agencies distributing medical and humanitarian assistance. The OSCE Assistance Group in Grozny continues to enjoy our full support.As for raising Chechnya in the OSCE Council of Ministers, we shall review the situation nearer the date of the next meeting in early December.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which countries have contributed troops to the multinational division currently serving in IFOR-Bosnia under British command.

The Dutch, Canadians, Malaysians and Czechs have contributed troops to the UK Divisional Area.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many appeals have been decided each year by the House of Lords during the past 10 years.

The number of appeals decided each year by the House of Lords following a hearing is as follows:

• 1986: 50
• 1987: 109
• 1988: 74
• 1989: 64
• 1990: 52
• 1991: 62
• 1992: 63
• 1993: 75
• 1994: 63
• 1995: 59

asked Her Majesty's Government:What has been the average annual period of time within which appeals have been determined by the House of Lords during the past 10 years.

The average length of time between lodgement of a petition of appeal and judgment by the House of Lords was 11 months two weeks in respect of judgments given in 1990, and 10 months two weeks for judgments given in 1995. Information for further years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many appeals have been decided each year by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council during the past 10 years.

The number of appeals decided each year by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council following a hearing is as follows:

• 1986: 71
• 1987: 41
• 1988: 27
• 1989: 45
• 1990: 50
• 1991: 44
• 1992: 43
• 1993: 52
• 1994: 58
• 1995: 60

asked Her Majesty's Government:What has been the average annual period of time within which appeals have been determined by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council during the past 10 years.

The average length of time between registration of an appeal and delivery of judgment by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was 14 months and two weeks in 1990 and 12 months in 1995. Information for further years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will review the restriction on the purchase of premium bonds as a gift for a third party other than a child or grandchild of the purchaser; and whether they will permit the purchase of premium bonds by a godparent as a gift for a godchild under 16.

We have no present plans to make any changes to the eligibility rules for the purchase of premium bonds. Third party purchases by grandparents are generally more expensive to handle than conventional purchases. Extending eligibility to godparents and others would add to the running costs of the scheme, which are borne by the taxpayer. Third party purchases tend to be for the minimum of £100 and are therefore disproportionately expensive relative to the average purchase of well over £1,700.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of refusals of benefit under the habitual residence test are reversed on appeal.

The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the outcome of the Agriculture Council held in Brussels on 29th and 30th April.

I refer my noble friend to the statement given by my noble friend Lord Lindsay on 1st May 1996 (Official Report, cols. 1685–1686).

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in order to establish what were the errors on the basis of which they originally decided that cattle could be fed high protein diets including animal offal and bone and that these diets should be processed in new ways, and why this type of feed was licensed, they will now examine the evidence and the advice that they were given; and if culpable errors are identified, whether they will claim compensation from those who recommended these changes and have benefited from them.

The inclusion of processed animal, plant or fish by-products in livestock feed provides essential sources of quality nutrients and has been practised in many developed countries, including the UK, for decades. Statutory controls on rendering of animal by-products were first introduced in Great Britain in 1981 and these were aimed at reducing the contamination of feedingstuffs by salmonella. Council Directive 90/667 introduced harmonised rendering standards across the Community with effect from 31st December 1991.In 1991 the European Commission commissioned a study to assess the rendering standards required to inactivate the BSE and scrapie agents. Based on the interim results of the study, new ruminant rendering standards were introduced by Commission Decision 94/382 (as amended by 95/29) and UK plants rendering met these by the end of 1994 as required. A Council Decision, based on further results from the study is now under discussion in Brussels.The Government do not believe that culpable errors have been made and the question of seeking compensation does not arise.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether those scientists who were not convinced of the officially accepted accounts of BSE were prevented from participating in government-funded research on the subject.

No. We are prepared to consider applications from anyone but all applications do of course have to be subject to the normal scrutiny procedures to demonstrate that a particular proposal is scientifically valid and that the potential contractors have the expertise and the technical resources to undertake the proposal. One of the Ministry's known critics, Dr. Narang, has been involved as a consultant in a MAFF and BBSRC-financed research project specifically to look at his ideas.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why the first target Mr. Douglas Hogg has set for the Pesticides Safety Directorate is "to achieve 100 per cent. recovery of [its own] costs"? (House of Commons, Written Answers, col. 615, 18th April 1996.)

Full recovery of costs is one of a set of targets relating to the Pesticides Safety Directorate's financial performance, efficiency and delivery of pesticides approval services and policy advice in 1996–97. They are all equally important and the sequence simply follows the pattern of previous years.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why there is no requirement on the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment to produce an annual report, and whether they will now require it to do so in a readily understandable form.

There is no need for such a statutory requirement. The Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment has published annual reports since 1994 and will continue to do so. These reports are available in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to their reply to Lord Marlesford (

The information requested is published in the Fourth Annual Report of the National Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit (August 1995), copies of which are available in the Library. In 1995, 43 cases from probable and definite CJD have been reported, of which 36 were sporadic CJD. In 1996 to date, 14 cases have been reported, of which 13 were sporadic CJD.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What activity takes place at Menwith Hill and which Minister is responsible and whether the RAF or the United States National Security Agency are involved; and what was the outcome of proceedings against women of the Peace Camp there at Ripon Magistrates' Court on 4th April.

Menwith Hill operates as a field station of the US National Security Agency and is an integral part of the worldwide US Department of Defense communications network which supports UK, US and NATO interests. There is an RAF presence at the site, which has now been retitled RAF Menwith Hill to bring it into line with other RAF sites made available by the Ministry of Defence to the United States Government. The Minister of State for the Armed Forces is responsible for RAF Menwith Hill.We are not aware of any proceedings taken against the peace protestors at RAF Menwith Hill on 4th April 1996. A number of cases were brought before Ripon Magistrates' Court on 3rd April 1996 for criminal damage and by-laws offences, but these were adjourned for trial at a later date.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What recommendations the Armed Forces Pay Review Body has made on the pay of medical and dental officers in the Armed Forces.

The Armed Forces Pay Review Body has made recommendations on the pay of medical and dental officers in the Armed Forces in a supplementary report being published today. Copies are available in the Printed Paper Office and the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When it expects to receive the Second Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life (16th May 1996).

The Second Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, under the Chairmanship of Lord Nolan, is being published today as a Command Paper and copies of the report have been placed in the Printed Papers Office and the Library of the House. Her Majesty's Government would like to thank Lord Nolan and his colleagues for their continuing commitment and effort in discharging their important remit.This second report covers Further and Higher Education Bodies, Grant-maintained Schools, Training and Enterprise Councils, Local Enterprise Companies and Registered Housing Associations. We welcome the fact that the committee found these to be "organisations in which very many voluntary Board members and paid staff work hard, maintain high standards and achieve good results". We should like to join Lord Nolan and his colleagues in putting on record Her Majesty's Government's appreciation and admiration of the dedicated unpaid service of so many thousands of volunteers in these Local Public Spending Bodies. This inquiry confirms the continuing vitality of voluntary service as one of the great strengths of the British system. This voluntary local commitment, channelled through a clear policy framework set by central government, provides a successful formula for delivering high-quality services to meet local needs.Naturally, the committee has identified some areas where it believes that improvements can be made and we shall now give the report the close study it deserves before making a considered response, particularly on those recommendations which are addressed directly to the Government.