asked Her Majesty's Government:What forms of advice they intend farmers to use the Small Business Service for. [HL919]

In creating the Small Business Service (SBS), the Government intend to provide a strong voice for small business at the heart of government, improve the quality and coherence of business support and help small businesses to meet the demands of regulation. The aim is to ensure easy access to advice and information on regulatory and business issues for all small businesses, including farmers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many National Health Service consultant psychiatrists have been (a) erased and (b) suspended by the General Medical Council in each of the years from 1992 to date; and what was the effect on the consultant's contract of each case of suspension; and [HL871]What arrangements are in place to disseminate in the National Health Service adverse findings made against doctors by the Professional Conduct Committee and Committee for Professional Performance of the General Medical Council; and whether they are satisfied with such arrangements. [HL872]

This information is held by the General Medical Council (GMC). They inform us that there was one psychiatrist erased, and one suspended from the Medical Register in 1995, and one suspended and subsequently erased in 1998. Matters relating to a consultant's contract are between the doctor and the National Health Service employer. In cases where consultants are erased from the Medical Register, the contract with the employer becomes void and the doctor is no longer able to practise medicine. In cases of suspension from the GMC register, the consultant is not able to work in the NHS until the suspension is withdrawn.It is a contractual requirement that all doctors who work in the NHS are registered with the GMC.Adverse findings against doctors made by the Professional Conduct Committee and the Committee for Professional Performance are sent to NHS trusts and health authorities in the form of a Health Service Circular. We are currently reviewing the present arrangements.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the recommendations of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body report. [HL1050]

The 2000 Report of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body has been published today. Copies are available in the Vote Office and the Library of the House. We are grateful to the Chairman and members of the Review Body for the work they have put into them.In the Comprehensive Spending Review the Government made it clear that public sector pay settlements would need to be fair and affordable and support budgeted public service improvements. In making their recommendations, the AFPRB have taken into account a number of considerations, including the recruitment, retention and motivation of the Armed Forces and have recommended an increase in basic military salary of 3.3 per cent for all ranks, with the exception of Privates, Lance Corporals, Captains and Lieutenants, who should receive 3.8 per cent. An increase of 1 per cent in X Factor is also recommended. The X Factor, which has not been reviewed for five years, is paid as an addition to basic pay and reflects the differences between conditions of service experienced by members of the Armed Forces over a full career and conditions in civilian life, which cannot be taken directly into account in assessing pay comparability. The graduate starting salary is set at £18,126 per annum. There are also some increases in Additional Pay (eg Flying Pay, Submarine Pay and Hydrographic Pay) and in Longer Separated Service Allowance/Bonus.These recommendations will fully support the Armed Forces strategic personnel policies, in particular in relation to recruitment and retention, The additional cost to the Defence Budget will be £260 million. This will be met within existing departmental expenditure limits.The AFPRB's recommendations are to be accepted in full, with implementation effective from 1 April 2000.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have any plans to alter the current status of Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) and, if so, how this will affect personnel serving within QARNNS. [HL1049]

Following a comprehensive review, the Queen Alexandra's Royal Nursing Sevice (QARNNS) will be incorporated into the Royal Navy (RN) from 1 April 2000 as the Service's specialised nursing branch. QARNNS is currently a separate Service within the Naval Service.This will bring the status of QARNNS into line with that of the Army and RAF. It will also mean that QARNNS personnel commissioned or engaged into the RN from 1 April 2000 will be available for reserve service once they leave the RN. QARNNS ratings currently have no liability for reserve service.The terms and conditions of service of existing QARNNS personnel will be unaffected by this change.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of the fact that Stansted now handles more than 9 million passengers a year, and those numbers are rising, they will consider designating a less busy airport for hijacked airliners. [HL1008]

All UK airports must be capable of handling hijacked aircraft, but a particular advantage of Stansted is that it can continue to operate during an incident without a great deal of disruption after the initial phase. Policy on handling of hijacks is reviewed as a matter of course after an incident.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any specific projects are earmarked for recognition by the Objective 1 status monies allocated to South Yorkshire; and what is the reason for the delay in payments. [HL994]

The South Yorkshire Objective 1 Single Programme Document was received by the European Commission on 17 November 1999. Under the Regulations, the Commission has five months to approve the programme. It is expected that the South Yorkshire programme will be approved in principle at the end of March. Until it is approved, no projects can be submitted. However, South Yorkshire partners are making preparations to ensure that projects can come forward as soon as the programme is fully operational.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they propose to respond to the consultation on the expense limits for the election of the London mayor and assembly. [HL894]

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State announced the Government's proposed limits for candidates' and third parties' election expenditure on 3 February 2000 (Official Report, col. 650).

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of traffic-impeding roadworks in London, during the most recent three-year period for which statistics are available, were attributable to:

This information is not held centrally in the form requested. The highway authorities and the utilities co-operate with each other within the framework of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. In London, the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC) co-ordinates and monitors the activities of the utilities' street works. I will write to you to say what information is available in respect of the utilities' works.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they intend to publish the trial results for the M.4 bus and taxi lane. [HL944]

The M.4 bus lane pilot scheme is being independently monitored by the Transport Research Laboratory. Details of the performance of the scheme during the first three months' operation of the bus lane were published last November by the Highways Agency and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House. The results show that all vehicles benefited by reduced average journey times. Subsequent monitoring is showing that these benefits are continuing.The detailed monitoring by TRL is continuing. Further results will be released from time to time.It is too early to provide details of the effect of the scheme on accidents, but the police who patrol the motorway consider it is now safer.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the revised version of the Health and Safety Executive's MS17 has been published; and to whom it is to be distributed. [HL965]

Guidance note MS17, now retitled Medical aspects of work related exposures to Organophosphates, has been finalised following publication of the Committee on Toxicity report into organophosphates. It will be published towards the end of March, and copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.The specialised advice in MS17 is aimed at doctors and occupational health professionals. Copies will be sent to those consulted in the revision and relevant government departments and agencies. Discussions are still under way with the Department of Health on the most effective methods of publicising the revised document to the defined target audience. Arrangements will be made to publish a summary of the guidance on the Internet, and work is under way to include a reference to MS17 under the section "Information for doctors" on the labels of OP sheep dip products when they are next revised. MS17 will also be available extensively as a priced publication from HSE Books and high street bookshops.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are aware of the litter on the M.11 motorway between the A.406 and the M.25; what steps they intend to take to ensure that the contractor responsible for its removal clears it up; and whether a penalty for non-performance will be applied to the contractor responsible for this length of motorway. [HL863]

I have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency, Mr Peter Nutt, to write to the noble Lord.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in the interests of the health, welfare and safety of rough sleepers, they will institute a policy of zero tolerance towards sleeping on the streets where adequate and reasonable accommodation exists within (a) one mile, (b) two miles, or (c) three miles. [HL937]

No. The Government recognise that sleeping rough is extremely bad for the health and welfare of the individuals concerned and are therefore committed to reducing rough sleeping in England to as near zero as possible or by at least two-thirds by 2002. This commitment is backed up by a budget of nearly £200 million over three years.One element of the Government's strategy for tackling rough sleeping is to ensure that there is adequate accommodation available. The most vulnerable rough sleepers, however, will need more than accommodation to help them off the streets. Many will have other, more complex, needs, including drugs or alcohol abuse, and mental health problems, and these must also be addressed. Only then can we help rough sleepers to develop a settled and meaningful lifestyle away from the streets.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What percentage of offenders aged under 18 are re-convicted following release from custodial sentences within two years and four years respectively. [HL913]

Estimates from criminal histories of a sample of young offenders who were aged under 18 when discharged from custody in 1987 showed that around 78 per cent were reconvicted within two years of release and around 87 per cent were reconvicted within four years of release. A more recent sample showed that around 85 per cent of those aged under 18 when discharged in 1995 where reconvicted within two years; a comparable four-year reconviction rate is not yet available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:For how long it has been their policy not to reveal whether requests for extradition have been received in individual cases; and what are the reasons for such a policy. [HL905].

It has always been our policy not to reveal the existence of an extradition request in advance of an arrest taking place, since to do so could enable the subject of such a request to evade extradition proceedings.

asked Her Majesty's Government:On which date they first revealed that an application had been received for the extradition of General Pinochet. [HL906]

The request for the extradition of Senator Pinochet was transmitted to the United Kingdom police via Interpol, from the Spanish authorities, on 16 October 1998, and his arrest took place on the same day. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary first made a statement to Parliament about the case in another place on 22 October 1998, Official Report, col. 1205.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Advisory Committee on Pesticides, in conjunction with the Pesticides Safety Directorate, relating to their assessment of the health effects of organophosphates, have asked manufacturers to provide data relating to the effects of organophosphates on human immune, endocrine and reproductive systems. [HL1002]

The information required to support pesticide approvals is detailed and comprehensive. It is designed to detect all key adverse effects. These include potential effects of the compound on human immune, endocrine and reproductive systems.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the costings for each project announced under the Agriculture Development Scheme on 2 February and the length of each project. [HL952]

The size of individual awards is commercially confidential, but these grants range in value from £5,500 to £100,000. It is a condition of the scheme that all projects must be complete and claims for grant submitted by 30 November 2000.

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

The following table shows the number of cases of BSE confirmed in Great Britain during each week of 1999 and in the current year to 3 February, together with the moving annual total of cases reported for each 52-week period.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What projects have been awarded grants under the Agriculture Development Scheme 1999; how much has been awarded to each project; and what criteria were used when awarding the grants. [HL915]

As my right honourable friend the Minister announced on 2 February, 47 awards of grant totalling £2 million have been made under the Agriculture Development Scheme 1999. A list of the successful projects is given below. The size of individual awards is commercially confidential but they range in value from £5,500 to £100,000.Each application was assessed against the following criteria: the abilities of the proponents to deliver the project, and their financial viability; the requirement for grant to progress the project; the economic difficulty being experienced by the sector targeted, the proportion of primary producers within the sector likely to benefit from the project and the duration of that benefit; the likely benefit to the agri-food economy as a whole; the relevance of the project to the issues facing the sector; value for money; the quality and credibility of the application; and the quality of proposals for disseminating the results of the project to relevant interests.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will publish the report of the Review Body on Senior Salaries and what are its main recommendations. [HL1072]

The 2000 report of the Review Body on Senior Salaries, which makes recommendations about the pay of the senior civil service, senior military personnel and the judiciary, together with the annual uprating of parliamentary salaries, is being published today. Copies are available from the Vote Office.