asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any of the police officers involved in the deaths in custody of Mr O Lapite and Mr R O'Brien have been prosecuted as a result of the judicial review of proceedings in the Queen's Bench Division and the report by His Honour Gerald Butler QC of his inquiry into Crown Prosecution Service decision-making in relation to Death in Custody and Related Matters; and, if so, what was the outcome. [HL640]

Following the outcome of the judicial review proceedings in the Queen's Bench Division, the Crown Prosecution Service conducted a review of the cases against those police officers involved in the deaths in custody of Mr O Lapite and Mr R O'Brien. Following those reviews no prosecution was brought against any police officer involved in the death of Mr Lapite. A prosecution for manslaughter was brought against police officers involved in the death of Mr O'Brien. This prosecution concluded on 27 July 1999 with all the officers being acquitted by a jury.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of existing hedgerows they deem to be important; and whether this figure includes all hedgerows which are already legally protected under pre-1840 Enclosure Acts. [HL659]

At the time that the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 were introduced it was estimated that some 20 per cent of countryside hedges in England and Wales would qualify as important. Information collected by ADAS during its research into the Hedgerows Review Group's proposed criteria defining importance suggests that the figure could be at least 57 per cent. The higher figure includes hedges which are an integral part of a field system dating from before 1845 or, in the case of an enclosure field system, from before 1870, and where the system is substantially complete. A copy of the ADAS research report, which was published in November last year, has been placed in the House Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Parliament will be informed in advance if the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and Regions decides to grant powers of entry for the enforcement of Environmental Protection (Restriction on the Use of Lead Shot) (England) Regulations 1999 (S.I 1999/2170) to officials of the Environment Agency or English Nature; and, if not, why not. [HL650]

The Government have made it plain that the enforcement of the regulation will primarily be carried out by the police. This is in line with other legislation concerning the protection of birds and notices have been sent to the Chief Constables of all police forces in England, authorising them to enforce the legislation. As we have previously stated, there may be very rare occasions where another competent organisation such as the Environment Agency or English Nature is better placed to enforce the regulation, and the regulation needs to contain this element of flexibility. In these circumstances, authorisation may need to be given at short notice for a particular incident, therefore not allowing sufficient time for advance notice to be given to Parliament.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they intend to introduce regulations for the restriction of the use of lead shot in Scotland and Wales, similar to those provided for England under the Environmental Protection (Restriction on the Use of Lead Shot) (England) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/2170). [HL651]

The decision on whether to implement similar legislation in Wales and Scotland is a matter for the devolved administrations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What performance targets, other than financial ones, they have put in place for London Underground; and [HL460]How they assess the performance of London Underground. [HL461]

Performance targets for London Underground were not set at the beginning of this financial year because of discussions about London Transport's funding requirements, which culminated in the allocation of £517 million of additional resources for this year and next. Since then the Government have been developing performance targets to be met by the Underground by the end of financial year 2000–01, with milestones to be achieved along the way. These targets will be announced in due course.The Government receive regular reports of London Underground's performance against a number of indicators, both objective performance measures and results of customer satisfaction surveys. In addition, I take a close personal interest in the performance of the Underground through the London Transport Taskforce, which I chair. The Taskforce is the forum for London Transport to report to me on performance and delivery of their investment programme.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they will take to protect the interests of British commercial pilots aged over 60 years currently prohibited from flying over or into France in command of public transport aircraft. [HL781]

The Government have raised this matter both directly with the French authorities and within the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) and will continue to seek a resolution of the problem.Under Council Regulation 3922/91 on the harmonisation of aviation technical standards, the national aviation authorities of member states are required to be members of the JAA. The Regulation also adopted some of the JAA's Joint Aviation Requirements (JARs) as the European Community's harmonised standard and established a procedure to adopt future JARs as the EC standard. Where a JAR has not yet been adopted under EC law, JAA member states implement them under national law and are obliged, under the JAA Arrangements, to use their best efforts to implement JARs by the due date.Requirements affecting the age of pilots are contained in the Joint Aviation Requirements on Flight Crew Licensing (JAR-FCL), which was adopted by the JAA in 1996 with the implementation date of 1 July 1999.JARs generally set standards that are compatible with those set by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) under the terms of the Chicago Convention, but can introduce differences, so long as member states notify the differences to ICAO. In drawing up the JAR-FCL, the JAA determined that commercial pilots can safely be licensed to the age of 65, provided that only one pilot in a multi-pilot aircraft may be over 60: this differs from the ICAO standard, under which a person can only act as a pilot in command if they are under 60. The UK and most other JAA member states are, or are in the process of, applying the JAR-FCL age limits. However, the French authorities are continuing to apply the ICAO age limits within French airspace, although co-pilots up to the age of 65 are permitted. The French authorities have said that they are not opposed to a joint approach from the JAA member states to ICAO seeking a revision of the ICAO provisions in line with those in JAR-FCL, and we will pursue this with the JAA.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What they consider to be a reasonable length of time before replies are sent by train operating companies to letters from Members of either House of Parliament. [HL686]

Train operating companies have target response times to complaints from passengers in their Complaints Handling Procedures and their Passenger's Charters. The targets vary between the different companies but the majority aim to reply within 10 working days.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What redress members of the public have when harassed by unlicensed taxi drivers in London; and what steps they are taking to eliminate unlawful touting for custom by such drivers. [HL688]

Touting for taxi services is an offence under Section 167 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, whether or not the driver is licensed. Plying for hire (in London) without a taxi licence is also an offence under Section 7 of the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869. The penalty for both these offences is a fine not exceeding Level Four on the Standard Scale (£2,500). Enforcement of these legal provisions is a matter for the police.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to discourage the antisocial use of mobile telephones on public transport. [HL689]

We hope that passengers using mobile phones when travelling on public transport will show consideration to other passengers. However, the use of mobile phones on public transport is a matter for individual transport operators.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their policy towards support for contemporary painters and sculptors, including direct and indirect measures to increase available exhibition space in publicly owned premises. [HL645]

It is Government policy to support artistic excellence, innovation and access at all levels through the Arts Council of England, which is directly responsible for funding contemporary visual artists and their work. In addition, the Arts Council Collection is the largest national loan collection of post-war British art. The collection aims to buy new and challenging work from artists working in Britain and possesses the work of over 1,700 artists. The collection is used by universities, colleges, local authorities, law courts and hospitals as well as by art galleries.Over the last two and a half years the amount of contemporary art on display in British Government buildings has increased. The Government Art Collection (GAC) displays works of art by British artists of all periods from the 16th century to the contemporary in major British Government buildings at home and throughout the world. This helps to promote the image of Britain and to reflect its culture, history and creativity in the visual arts. The GAC supports the work of contemporary artists by purchasing and commissioning works of art.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many young people were unemployed at the latest date for which figures are available and at the same time two and five years earlier. [HL628]

The New Deal for the youth unemployed covers 18–24 year-old claimants unemployed for more than six months. It shows youth unemployment was 43,306 in December 1999, compared with 109,331 in December 1997 and 277,735 in December 1994.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Answer by the Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 8 December (H.L. Deb., col. 1276), how many individuals serve on each of the 250 short-term working groups; what are the group's titles; and to whom they are accountable. [HL351]

Details of working groups with external members established since May 1997 have been placed in the Library of the House. These groups are accountable to Ministers, who in turn are accountable to Parliament.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the new Knowledge Network Project will have any effect on the political impartiality of the Civil Service. [HL603]

The Knowledge Network System is an information management system designed to modernise and join up the way the Government collect and share information, replacing traditional paper-based systems with a computerised one. The system will cut down duplication of effort and enable everyone to pool their work and knowledge.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the outcome of the Agriculture Council held in Luxembourg on 24 to 25 January.

My right honourable friend the Minister represented the UK at the Agriculture Council meeting in Brussels on 24 January, accompanied by my right honourable friend the Minister of State (Ms Quin) at MAFF and by Mrs Brid Rodgers MLA, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The Council held an in-depth debate on the Commission's proposal for compulsory labelling of beef, notably on the indications which are necessary to guarantee traceability and on how to define the origin of beef. My right honourable friend the Minister welcomed the aims of the proposal and stressed our desire that British beef, a premium quality product, be marketed around the world as such. He supported including essential traceability information on the label, whilst stressing the need for some simplification of the Commission's approach. The proposal will return to the Council for decisions in the coming months.Commissioner Byrne introduced the Commission's White Paper on Food Safety, which outlines plans for a European Food Authority and sets out an action plan for a comprehensive legislative framework intended to guarantee the highest level of consumer protection. Along with all other Council members, my right honourable friend the Minister welcomed the White Paper and the Commission's commitment to a new integrated approach to EU food law with food safety at its heart. The White Paper will now be considered intensively within the Council framework to prepare a report for the Feira European Council in June.The Council agreed by qualified majority (Germany, Austria and Netherlands opposing) a common position deferring the deadline for introducing compulsory pig databases.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the current tonnage of offal being exported from dedicated pig-meat abattoirs; and which countries in the European Union take imports of such material. [HL631]

Official Overseas Trade Statistics do not separately identify exports of offal from dedicated pig-meat abattoirs. The following table shows total UK exports of pig offal, and those countries in the European Union which have taken imports of such material.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have conducted any evaluations of the purity of the active ingredients and solvents in organophosphate sheep dip product ion formulations since the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food News Release 28/92 of January 1992; and, if so, who conducted the studies and with what results.[HL675]

Yes. The active and other ingredients of organophosphorus (OP) sheep clips were reviewed as part of the Veterinary Products Committee (VPC)'s major review of OP sheep dips in 1992 and 1993. In its report published on 1 December 1993 (MAFF News Release No. 424/93), the VPC concluded that there was no firm scientific evidence available at that time to support the hypothesis that the chronic health effects reported were associated with exposure to the OP or other ingredients in sheep dips.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have commissioned any basic research into the nature and mechanisms of toxicity and other components and contaminants in the dipwash, as recommended in the Veterinary Products Committee report of February 1997; and, if so, who conducted the research and with what results.[HL676]

A full list of research and development projects relating to organophosphorus compounds was included in the report of the Official Group on OPs, published in June 1998. The list includes two projects of basic research into the nature and mechanisms of toxicity: a study of the long term electrophysiological effects of sheep dip OPs in the mouse nervous system, and dose effect profiles for OP sheep dips on brain electrical activity and sensitive behaviour indices in non-human primates. The first of these studies has been completed. The second study, which is a three-year project, is under way.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they intend to make generally available the advice they have received from the British Embassy in Paris and circulated to all staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food that three-quarters of drinking water resources in Brittany have excessive pesticide levels. [HL727]

On 9 March 1999 the French Environment Ministry published a report on the environmental impact of agriculture. The newspaper Le Monde discussed the report on 12 March and, amongst other things, quoted it as saying that three-quarters of fresh water sources in Britanny contained excessive pesticide levels. A summary of the Le Monde article was passed to MAFF by the British agricultural attaché in Paris and posted, as is standard practice, on the Ministry's Intranet.The Government have sought clarification from the French authorities. They have confirmed that levels of pesticides in drinking water supplied to the public in Brittany do not, and did not, constitute a risk to health. The Government have no other information over and above that included in the

asked Her Majesty's GovernmentWhich persons have been designated for the purposes of Section 75(1) (statutory duty on public authorities) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 by order made by the Secretary of State under Section 75(3)(d) of that Act; and [HL592]Whether the Home Office, the Lord Chancellor's Department, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and further and higher education institutions have been designated for the purposes of Section 75(1) of the Northern Ireland Act; and if not, why not. [HL593]

The Northern Ireland Act clearly defines the vast majority of public bodies to which the Section 75 obligation will apply. However, the Secretary of State may designate additional bodies, including UK departments carrying out functions relating to Northern Ireland, to which the obligation should apply. George Howarth, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, met the Equality Commission on 20 December to discuss the contents of the proposed Designation Order. At this meeting the Equality Commission suggested a number of other bodies for inclusion in the order and these bodies are being reviewed as a matter of urgency.

asked Her Majesty's Government:(a) what percentage of the Garda Siochana is Protestant; and (b) what percentage of the Royal Ulster Constabulary is Roman Catholic. [HL609]

Information on the religious affiliation of members of the Garda Siochana is a matter for the Government of the Republic of Ireland. At 31 December 1999, the percentage of Roman Catholics in the RUC Regular force was 8.39 per cent.

asked Her Majesty's Government:(A) What percentage of the population of the territory which now comprises Northern Ireland was Roman Catholic in (i) 1918 and (ii) 1998; and(B) What percentage of the population of the territory which now comprises the Republic of Ireland was Protestant in (i) 1918 and (ii) 1998. [HL610]

Responsibility for the collection of figures relating to the population of Northern Ireland has been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly and is therefore no longer a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. However I have asked for those figures which are available to be obtained and given to you. As regards figures relating to the population of the Republic of Ireland, that is a matter for the Government of the Republic of Ireland.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What representations they have made to the new Government of the Côte d'Ivoire following the

My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Peter Hain, strongly condemned the coup on 24 December, and called on all parties to work for a peaceful and rapid restoration of democratic constitutional rule.We also fully backed the EU declaration which condemned the military

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the relationship between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Commonwealth Institute. [H L846]

The Commonwealth Institute ceased to be a Non-Departmental Public Body, under the direction of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, on 31 December 1999. This was a Commonwealth Institute initiative. Its new status is that of an independent charity, in the form of a company limited by guarantee. I am arranging for copies of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the new body to be placed in the Library of the House.Under the terms of its agreement with the Commonwealth Institute, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is investing £8.055 million in a severance package in 1999–00 and 2000–01. The funding will restore and develop the building, support new programmes and provide the institute with financial stability while its plans take effect.This development means that the Imperial Institute Act 1925 and the Commonwealth Institute Act 1958 need to be repealed, and we shall be seeking that this be done as soon as possible.I wish the institute well as it becomes a pan-Commonwealth agency dedicated to promoting the Commonwealth.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will announce the compensation schemes for the 14 trade unionists dismissed from Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). [HL847]

I can announce that I have today laid before Parliament the two schemes that will put into effect the compensation of the 14 former GCHQ employees for their loss of pension rights. Details of the two schemes will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many members of the Department of Social Security staff have been seconded from the Correspondence Section based at Quarry Bank, Leeds, to Scottish and Welsh administrations for training purposes; what is the length of their secondment; and what is the current backlog of correspondence from Members of Parliament and members of the public awaiting replies. [HL677]

This is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the noble Countess.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list those cases decided by the European Court of Human Rights in which the exercise of a right under the European Convention on Human Rights was found by the court to conflict with the law in the country concerned for maintaining discipline in one or all of its armed forces. [HL752]

According to the European Court of Human Rights website (www.echr.coe.int), there are 37 cases listed under "military discipline/armed forces" where the Court found violations of one or more articles of the human rights convention. A check on whether those violations related specifically to a conflict with the law for maintaining discipline in one or all of the armed forces in the country concerned could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many aircraft in the Chinook fleet have been fitted with (a) cockpit voice recorders and (b) flight data recorders; how many aircraft have not been so equipped; and when it is expected the programme will be completed. [HL656]

Cockpit voice and flight data recorders will be fitted to the RAF Chinook Mark 2/2a fleet as part of the Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) programme. The trial installation of HUMS into a MK2a and subsequent flight trials have been completed successfully and work is now in progress to fit the system to all 40 aircraft of the Chinook MK2/2a fleet. This should be completed by August 2001.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many members of the Army had applied for Premature Voluntary Retirement at 1 January or the nearest convenient date. [HL682]

In the year to December 1999, the latest period for which figures are currently available, 7,963 members of the Regular Army applied for Premature Voluntary Retirement (PVR). We would expect that approximately 25 per cent of soldier PVR applications will be withdrawn subsequently.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many members of the Royal Navy had applied for Premature Voluntary Retirement at 1 January or the nearest convenient date. [HL683]

On 1 January 2000, 1,568 Royal Naval personnel had submitted application to leave the Service earlier than the end of their commission or engagement.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many members of the Royal Marines had applied for Premature Voluntary Retirement at 1 January or the nearest convenient date. [HL684]

On 1 January 2000, 347 Royal Marine personnel had submitted application to leave the Service earlier than the end of their commission or engagement.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the establishment of medical consultants in the Defence Medical Services on 1 January or on the nearest convenient date; and how many consultants were actually serving. [HL721]

As at 1 December 1999, there were 174 accredited medical consultants in the regular Defence Medical Services against an operational requirement of 443.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why a member of Mr Mike Tyson's entourage, who is said to have served a term of imprisonment for manslaughter, was allowed to enter the United Kingdom. [HL629]

All applications from Mr Mike Tyson's entourage, for leave to enter the United Kingdom, were decided in accordance with the Immigration Rules and took account of all factors relevant to each individual case.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why the Home Secretary is prepared to consider representations from Amnesty International and other groups about the extradition of General Pinochet when the party responsible for making the application for extradition, namely the Kingdom of Spain, has indicated that it will be content if the Home Secretary decides not to extradite General Pinochet; and [HL670]Why the Home Secretary is prepared to consider representations from different groups about the decision on the possible extradition of General Pinochet to Spain when he did not carry out any such consultation with victims of terrorism when he refused to extradite Roisin McAliskey to Germany. [HL671]

It is not the normal practice of the Home Secretary in extradition cases to invite representations from parties other than those directly concerned—i.e. the accused and the requesting state—although such representations are sometimes volunteered and, where relevant, considered. The reason why, on this occasion, my right honourable friend the Home Secretary allowed time for representations, and specifically invited representations from human rights organisations, was that he was aware that certain of these organisations had been regarded by the House of Lords on both the first and second hearings on the immunity appeal as having sufficient interest in the principles governing the extradition of persons accused of international crimes to warrant their being allowed to intervene and be heard on the appeal. After the first decision of the House of Lords, they asked to be allowed to make representations to my right honourable friend the Home Secretary on the question whether an Authority to Proceed should issue, and such representations were received and considered both at the time when he was deciding whether to issue the first Authority to Proceed, and again when a fresh Authority to Proceed had to be considered in the light of the second decision of the House of Lords. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary assumed that human rights organisations would wish to make representations on this occasion also, and, therefore, allowed a period of time in which they could do so.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many police officers were injured on duty in England and during each of the last five years; and how many of those responsible for those injuries did not receive a custodial sentence upon conviction of that offence. [HL658]

Until the Police (Health and Safety) Regulations 1999 came into force on 14 April 1999, police forces were not required by law to record the number of injuries sustained by police officers although prior to that date forces had for several years forwarded such information to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on a voluntary basis. The HSE has complete data for the financial years 1997–98 and 1998–99. Table 1 therefore records the number of injuries to police officers in England in those financial years.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What applications they have received from local authorities wanting to run pilot schemes at local elections in May 2000. [HL848]

We hope that the Representation of the People Bill will receive Royal Assent in time to allow the first pilot schemes of innovative electoral procedures to be run at local elections in May.Clause 10(11) of the Bill allows for applications to be submitted before the Bill receives Royal Assent.Forty-four local authorities have submitted applications to run 64 pilot schemes.Of these, 21 involve early voting, 14 involve all postal ballots, eight involve electronic voting or counting, seven involve changes to the absent vote arrangements, six involve weekend voting, four involve a mobile ballot box, two involve an extension to polling hours, one involves voter notification, and one involves a freepost facility. Details are set out in the table.Home Office officials will notify local authorities by 14 February whether my right honourable friend the Home Secretary would be minded to approve their applications should the Bill receive Royal Assent in time for schemes to be run in May.