asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the latest stated position of the Police Federation on the question of introducing an identification card scheme; and what are the observations on it. [HL3399]

We have had no recent discussions with the Police Federation about this issue; but we understand that its latest stated position is that it would favour a voluntary identity card which also acts as a driving licence and travel document. We have not yet formed a view on the merits of this or any other option.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the recent stated position of the Association of Chief Police Officers to the

asked Her Majesty's Government:How they intend to guarantee the safety and well-being of Peter Clarence Foster when he is returned to this country after his extradition from Australia. [HL3539]

In the event of Mr. Foster being extradited back to this country and placed into Prison Service custody, prison staff would take all reasonable steps to ensure his safety, as is done with all prisoners.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Prison Service was in breach of its regulations when, in 1996, it permitted a serving inmate, Peter Clarence Foster, to participate as a registered informant in Operation Outreach. [HL3540]

We have had no formal discussions with the Association of Chief Police Officers about identity cards. But we understand that its stated position remains as in its evidence to the 1996 Home Affairs Select Committee that it would favour a voluntary scheme.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the number of recorded offences by (a) women and (b) young people since 1992. [HL3449]

The data on recorded crime count the number of offences committed and are not broken down by age or sex.The data given in the table show the number of known offenders (those cautioned or convicted) for indictable offences in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

I refer the noble Lord to my Written Answer of 24 March, (WA 159) to his Question concerning Operation Outreach in which I stated that the Derbyshire police had not conducted any operation within the specified period with that name. I also said it is not the policy of the police either to confirm or deny whether anyone is a registered informant. There is no indication that the Prison Service breached its own regulations in relation to the case of Mr. Foster.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action, if any, was taken to investigate the detailed allegations of corruption within the Prison Service outlined in the letters of 18 June 1998 sent by Peter Clarence Foster's lawyers, Janes Solicitors, to the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister. [HL3541]

I regret to say that there is no record of any letters of 18 June 1998 from Mr. Foster's solicitors having been received.Allegations made against Prison Service staff are either referred to the police for investigation or investigated internally, depending on their seriousness. If the allegations are found to be true, appropriate action is taken under the terms of the Prison Service code of discipline.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jay of Paddington on 24 June (

As I said on 7 June (WA 123), the Government have no plans to introduce an upper age limit for membership of the House of Commons. And as my right honourable friend the Leader of the House said in her previous Answer, the future composition of the House of Lords is currently being considered by a Royal Commission and the Government have taken no view on the question of an upper age limit for its members. The Government have not therefore sought legal advice on whether such limits would be in breach of the European Court of Human Rights.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What consideration is being given to the use of part of the additional resources to be made available under both European Union and national regional policies in order to reduce crime and nuisance and to protect persons and property. [HL3563]

There are many sources of funding available to local communities to help them improve community safety. These include: the urban European Community initiative programmes which operate in the United Kingdom and provide measures to improve security provisions and prevent crime in eligible areas in order to encourage economic development; the Single Regeneration Budget which provides resources to support regeneration initiatives in England (the scheme it supports can have a mix of objectives, including tackling crime, the prevention of drug abuse and improvements to community safety); the new deal for Communities which was launched in September 1998 and which earmarked £800 million over three years to help the most deprived communities to tackle their problems in an intensive and co-ordinated way (tackling crime in their neighbourhoods will be one of a number of key issues to be addressed by the partnerships established under the programme); and the Crime Reduction Programme which was announced by my right honourable friend the Home Secretary last year and which is providing £400 million for community safety initiatives in England and Wales.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many criminal offences were recorded in each police force area in England in both 1978 and 1998. [HL3564]

Figures for the calendar year 1998 are not yet available. The figures for 1978 and the year ending 31 March 1998 are given in the table. They represent notifiable offences recorded by the police, and include most indictable and triable either way offences, together with certain summary offences.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will ensure that any police intervention in family disputes involving violence is even handed and will deal with violence by women towards their husbands or children as well as violence by men towards their wives or children; and whether they will ensure any sanctions imposed apply equally to both sexes. [HL3566]

The Government have emphasised that all forms of violence are unacceptable and that domestic violence can occur in all types of relationship, including those in which a woman abuses a man and in same sex relationships. Both our Break the Chain campaign and guidance to chief constables about the definition of domestic violence for statistical returns issued earlier in the year reflect this gender neutral approach.How each police force tackles domestic violence is an operational matter for the chief officer.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will undertake a detailed study of physical, mental and verbal abuse by wives against husbands, including common law relationships. [HL3567]

Earlier this year we clarified the definition of domestic violence for statistical purposes. This new definition should improve the quality and consistency of domestic violence statistics, regardless of whether a man is abusing a woman, a woman is abusing a man, or in same sex relationships. That should bring about an important improvement in our knowledge of the extent and nature of domestic violence.I cannot say at this stage whether any forthcoming victim survey will specifically address the issues raised in the Question.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will set up an inquiry into the part played by alcohol abuse in family violence. [HL3568]

Alcohol is often a factor in violence against partners, as in other crimes of violence. The Government are developing a strategy to tackle alcohol misuse in all its forms. One of these broad aims is to protect individuals and society from anti-social and criminal behaviour associated with all forms of alcohol misuse. We expect to publish the strategy, after consultation, in early 2000.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they intend to publish the revised regime for access to environmental information during the consultation period for the draft Freedom of Information Bill. [HL3599]

Work on how to give effect to the provisions of the 1990 European Community Directive (90/313/EEC) and the Aarhus Convention (the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters, which the United Kingdom signed in June 1998), is ongoing.The revised regime on access to environmental information will be set out in the Bill when it is introduced into Parliament. It is not intended to publish it before this time.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the governments represented on the Contact Group are bound by the private commitments (including eventual incorporation of the KLA in the Kosovo military forces and direct funding for Kosovo institutions under the US State Department guidance) made to the KLA by US Secretary of State Albright during the Rambouillet discussions and made public by the Foreign Minister of Albania on 24 February; and whether this has been communicated to the KLA. [HL3069]

We are not aware of any such undertaking by the US Secretary of State.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they consider that Mr. A. Ocalan received a fair trial in Turkey or not; and whether they will ask for internationally acceptable conditions for defence counsel in any appeal against conviction or sentence. [HL3415]

We are aware of the observations of 21 June by members of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly on this matter. We are also aware of the concerns raised by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights with regard to the treatment of Mr. Ocalan's lawyers.The conviction and sentencing of Mr. Ocalan are matters for the Turkish courts. We understand that an appeal is now pending. It is in the first place for the Appeal Court to review the outcome of the trial.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What subjects will be discussed with the Government of Turkey by the Right Honourable Joyce Quin, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, when she visits that country in the near future. [HL3542]

My right honourable friend the Minister of State, Ms Quin, will discuss a broad range of bilateral and multilateral issues during her visit to Turkey on 12 to 14 July. In particular, Ms Quin hopes to discuss Turkey's relations with the European Union, Cyprus, human rights and European Defence.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they are taking to support the Binational Plan for Border Integration between Ecuador and Peru, following the successful conclusion of the peace process between the two countries. [HL3557]

My honourable friend Tony Lloyd MP, Minister of State, visited Peru and Ecuador in January 1999. During his visit, he expressed Her Majesty's Government's interest in the process of cross-border co-operation and explained that the UK had led the debate within the EU on support for the implementation of the then recently-concluded peace agreement. Like our EU partners, we are committed to giving serious consideration to the project proposals of the Binational Commission on Border Integration once these emerge (probably in November 1999). But in the meantime the UK is already working on ways to support the peace agreement. For example, the FCO has recently sponsored a project using schools and colleges as a medium to bring young people together from both sides of the border; and in February 1999 we sponsored a Ministry of Defence expert to attend an international seminar in Quito about the future role of the Ecuadorean Armed Forces in the wake of the peace agreement.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many people from the former Republic of Yugoslavia have been indicted as war criminals; and how many of these have been taken into custody. [HL3562]

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has publicly indicted 90 individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. In addition, it has issued an undisclosed number of "sealed" indictments.Of the 90 indictees, six have since died; 18 have had charges against them dropped; and one is serving his sentence. Twenty-eight of the remaining 65 indictees are in the tribunal's custody, including six persons whose convictions are under appeal.In addition, domestic courts in former Yugoslavia have brought some prosecutions against persons accused of having committed atrocities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What they are doing bilaterally and through the United Nations agencies to encourage the peace process in the Congo; and what material assistance they have given to peace-keeping and reconstruction. [HL3569]

Britain is working hard for peace. We continue to support African efforts towards a peaceful settlement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We hope the ceasefire agreement signed in Lusaka on 10 July will bring an end to a war that has caused untold suffering and damage to the region. We have urged all parties to show commitment to the agreement. Britain stands ready, with the rest of the international community, to help consolidate the peace. And with our EU partners we have also made clear our readiness to help with rebuilding the country once the right conditions are in place. Prior to the conflict we pledged 10 million US dollars to a World Bank Trust Fund established for this purpose. The prospects for disbursement of the fund will soon be re-examined.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether a Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages is a public authority within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998. [HL3672]

Yes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much money has been invested in the Joint Industrial and Commercial Attachments Programme between 1990–99; and what the programme has achieved. [HL3511]

With the closure of JICAP IV on 3] July 1999, the programmes will have cost an estimated £11.1 million. They will have allowed over 2,400 managers to benefit from both university based and practical company attachment management training.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What evidence they have that debt relief through the heavily indebted poor countries initiative is linked to poverty reduction in countries like Tanzania, where health and education spending is declining in real terms because of debt servicing and falling aid. [HL3570]

The Government welcome the comprehensive review of the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) initiative which is currently under way and the G7 call at the Cologne Summit for faster, deeper and wider debt relief under HIPC. We strongly support the statement that the objective is to increase spending on anti-poverty programmes such as health and education. If the revisions proposed by the G7 are adopted at the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF in September, HIPC will deliver twice as much debt relief, twice as quickly. The link to poverty reduction is being examined in the second phase of the HIPC review and proposals for strengthening it will also be considered in the autumn. We are working very closely with the Government of Tanzania on ways in which HIPC debt relief can be used to tackle poverty.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have statistics to show that heavily indebted poor countries debt relief has already demonstrated a direct or indirect link with poverty eradication in Uganda, Mozambique or any other country now benefiting from the initiative. [HL3571]

The purpose of providing debt relief is to free resources for investment in programmes to eliminate poverty and assist countries to achieve the international development targets. Only four countries have so far received HIPC debt relief—Uganda and Bolivia in 1998, and Mozambique and Guyana recently. In the case of Uganda, its Minister of Finance wrote in June outlining his country's experience of HIPC to inform our thinking on the necessary revisions to the HIPC initiative. The Minister noted that Uganda had established a poverty action fund into which debt service savings are placed. In the first year of operation, the PAF had more than doubled the amount spent on priority poverty reduction programmes, including primary education, primary healthcare, rural roads arid safe water. The operation of the PAF has been discussed with donors and civil society to ensure transparency and accountability. Mozambique will use the savings on its debt service payments to tackle poverty. The Government plan to increase annual current spending on health and education from 120 million dollars in 1998 to 175 million dollars in 2001, or from marginally over the amount paid on debt service in 1998 to more than double the projected debt service payments after HIPC relief.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the completion of the programme for the release, under the Good Friday agreement (Cm. 3883), of prisoners convicted of terrorist offences is dependent on progress being made in the decommissioning of IRA weapons and munitions. [HL3218]

Under the legislation, the early release of prisoners is dependent upon whether organisations are maintaining complete and unequivocal ceasefires. In making her judgment, the Secretary of State must take into account all relevant factors. As the Secretary of State said, in this judgment she will "pay increasingly close attention to the extent to which an organisation is co-operating with the commission".

asked Her Majesty's Government:What provision is made for free school meals for children of asylum seekers attending nursery, primary or secondary schools. [HL3615]

Free school meals are available for all children whose parents qualify through receipt of income support or income-based job seekers allowance, whether or not they are asylum seekers. If the asylum Bill currently before Parliament is enacted, it will remove the right of asylum seekers to claim these benefits. However, their children and unaccompanied children seeking asylum will be eligible for free school meals.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many colleges in the United Kingdom provide dedicated courses to train stenographers. [HL3617]

There are no colleges of further education in England currently providing courses specifically to train stenographers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are their plans to promote the training of stenographers. [HL3618]

The Further Education Funding Council has a statutory duty to ensure that there are sufficient and adequate further education opportunities throughout England. Currently there is no evidence of insufficiency or inadequacy in the training of stenographers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What expenditure has been (a) authorised and (b) incurred for urgent operational requirements for Operation Agricola in Kosovo. [HL3443]

Urgent operational requirements of a significant value have been authorised for planning and contingency purposes in support of Kosovo-related operations. A number of these are being re-evaluated in the light of the positive developments in Kosovo in recent weeks, and the value of likely contract action has therefore yet to be determined.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the highest security classification of documents normally handled by (a) units and (b) sub-units of the Territorial Army which are not involved with Special Forces or intelligence matters; and [HL3543]What is the highest security classification of information technology equipment normally found in (a) units and (b) sub-units of the Territorial Army which are not involved with Special Forces or intelligence matters. [HL3544]

TA units normally handle documents up to Secret and sub-units up to Restricted. IT systems capable of processing information at these levels of classification are allocated accordingly. Exceptionally, certain specialist units and sub-units may have a requirement to process information of a higher classification.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How general medical practitioners and serving regimental medical officers are informed of illnesses within the Gulf veterans' community; and when such information was last disseminated. [HL3493]

Guidance on the medical assessment programme and the referral of patients has been issued to service units to ensure that veterans who are still serving in the Armed Forces are able to take advantage of the programme's services if they wish. Guidance for NHS doctors has been issued through the Department of Health in the Chief Medical Officer's update.For its part, the MoD has produced an information pack with the intention of providing medical practitioners and other health professionals with information which they may find useful in dealing with Gulf veterans' health concerns. The pack, which was first produced in October 1998 and revised in May 1999, gives information on the MAP, the steps the Government are taking to address Gulf veterans' health concerns, the environmental factors to which veterans may have been exposed in the Gulf, an overview of the published research on this subject and a note on war pensions. A copy of the pack has been placed in the Library of the House. It is also available on the Internet. The existence of the information pack was highlighted in the May edition of the Chief Medical Officer's update, with details of how doctors or anyone else who is interested can obtain a copy. Approximately 200 requests for copies of the document have been received so far.In addition service men and women and MoD civilians who served in the Gulf at any time between August 1990 and July 1991 or who believe that their health has suffered as a direct result of the Gulf conflict may be referred to the Gulf veterans' medical assessment programme (MAP) by their doctor. All medical practitioners, whether civilian or military, who refer patients to the MAP receive a full report of the examination, assessment and diagnosis of the patient and recommendations for treatment where appropriate. In January of this year a review of the clinical findings of the first 1,000 patients seen at the MAP was published in the

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the current arrangements, if any, for calculating redundancy payments applicable to non-regular permanent staff of the Territorial Army who are being made redundant but take on employment with the Ministry of Defence as a civilian. [HL3501]

The current redundancy compensation terms for officers and soldiers of the non-regular permanent staff (NRPS) are published in the Territorial Army Regulations 1978. Redundancy payments are determined individually and are calculated on the basis of length of service, rank and rate of pay. Members of the NRPS who are made redundant and are subsequently re-employed in civilianised NRPS posts are not required to repay their lump sum compensation payment provided they have applied for the post in open competition.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the future of the Royal Tournament. [HL3759]

Last year we announced that the Royal Tournament in its current form would end on a high in 1999 but that a flagship Armed Forces event would continue in the future.The Royal Military Tattoo 2000 will be a flagship contribution by the Armed Forces to the country's Millennium celebrations. Within the setting of Horse Guards' Parade, the theme will be Defence of the Realm: Past, Present and Future, portraying a 1,000-year story. The event will take place between 10 and 15 July 2000, with one performance each evening.From 2001 onwards, the spirit of the Royal Tournament will be carried forward in a showcase event in London. This will be a military tattoo at Horse Guards Parade, involving ceremonial, massed hands and pageantry. It will be held each summer inside a week.In addition, a military festival will be held annually outside London at different military locations, also in the summer. In 2001 this will be Portsmouth, based on the Royal Navy's Festival of the Sea.These changes will mean that the final Royal Navy Field Gun Competition will take place at the 1999 Royal Tournament, in the centenary year of the action it commemorates.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the current rate of caesarean births as a percentage of all births; what was the current rate in 1994 and 1989; and what is the current rate of other operative births including forceps and ventouse. [HL3635]

The available information is as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the additional costs of a caesarean delivery compared with a vaginal birth, including all expenses such as capital costs, costs of drugs, resulting morbidity, increased length of stay and professional time. [HL3636]

In the absence of reliable up-to-date figures we have commissioned a detailed study of the costs directly and indirectly associated with delivery of caesarean section from the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU). This includes comparative analysis of costs associated with other modes of delivery. The NPEU report is due in the autumn and will be submitted for publication in a peer reviewed journal.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What percentage of women are left without a midwife in attendance during any time of their labour and delivery. [[HL3637]

This information is not collected centrally. Responsibility for the organisation of maternity services lies with individual National Health Service trusts, taking into account the needs of the local population, evidence of effectiveness and available, resources. We would however expect that an. appropriately qualified practitioner would be in attendance at the time of delivery and support the Audit Commission's recommendation that clinicians and managers in NHS trusts should ensure that women are not left without professional support in labour when they need or want it.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many pilot schemes have been set up as a result of the Changing Childbirth initiative; how many were funded through this initiative; how many pilot schemes have been discontinued; and how many have been modified. [HL3638]

Since 1994 the Department of Health has provided funding of £1.5 million for 33 development projects. A final report Changing Childbirth Development Projects Summary Report, which highlights achievements and lessons learnt and provides contact details, was published in August 1998. Copies have been placed in the Library. The report sets out the position as at mid-1998 and no further action to follow up the projects has been taken since then.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many appeals relating to Gulf War illnesses are currently outstanding at the War Pensions Agency; and what was the comparative figure at 30 June 1999. [HL3496]

Queries on operational matters concerning the War Pensions Agency are for its chief executive, Mr. Gordon Hextall. I have asked him to write to the noble Countess.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they propose to take to prevent overcrowding and discomfort on London Underground trains, to improve the management and planning of the Underground system and to prevent line closures from happening during busy periods of the year. [HL3592]

The Government are working hard to improve the lot of London Underground's passengers. We have just announced extra resources for London Transport of over £500 million for this year and next, in addition to the £365 million extra grant it received under the Comprehensive Spending Review. This extra funding will bring investment in the Underground system to £1.6 billion over two years.We have also put in place a new management structure for London Transport, with a new non-executive chairman for London Transport and a new managing director for London Underground Ltd, earlier this year.The timing of temporary line closures is an operational matter for London Underground. We understand that as far as possible it concentrates closures in less busy times of the year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 19 November 1998 (

Improvements to this underpass are a matter for the highway authority, the London Borough of Lambeth. We understand that the council is shortly to start an assessment of the maintenance needs of the underpass with the intention of carrying out remedial works in the near future.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they have taken to reduce the quantity of ragwort on roadside verges in England and Wales. [HL3613]

Eradication of noxious weeds on local road verges in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities. These authorities take measures to eradicate ragwort when made aware that a problem exists. The Highways Agency's current policy on noxious weeds for the trunk road and motorway network in England is to actively seek out infestation and take appropriate control measures. The trunk and motorway network and local roads in Wales are the responsibility of the National Assembly for Wales and Welsh local authorities respectively.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their policy on the removal of temporary road signs and in particular the increasing numbers of road signs on the streets of London which are out of date. [HL3678]

Our policy is that lawfully placed temporary signs should be removed once the conditions to which they refer no longer apply and they are no longer needed. Unauthorised signs should also be removed as soon as practicable. The Traffic Signs General Directions 1994 specify the maximum periods for which temporary traffic signs may be retained for particular purposes in England, Wales and Scotland. Responsibility for ensuring that outdated signs are removed rests with the appropriate highway or roads authority.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the number of road deaths in each of the years 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1998. [HL3686]

The numbers of road deaths in each of the years requested are given in the table below.