asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will grant a licence for the export of demining equipment to the HALO Trust in Kosovo. [HL1107]

We have granted a licence for the export to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) of a rocket wrench, de-arming kit and power charges for use by the HALO Trust, an organisation engaged in humanitarian demining activities in Kosovo on behalf of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). These goods are on the UK's Military List.UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1160 imposed an arms embargo on the FRY. The only exception to this embargo is that in UNSCR 1244, which provides that prohibitions imposed by UNSCR 1160 shall not apply to the sale or supply of arms and related material for use by the international civil and security presence in Kosovo. We have notified the UN Sanctions Committee on this export and they have raised no objection. The export of the equipment required for demining purposes is not prohibited by the EU arms embargo.

asked the Chairman of Committees:How many Lords are serving on the European Union Committee and its Sub-Committees; and how many of them belong, respectively, to the Conservative, Labour and Liberal parties and how many are Cross-Benchers. [HL1075]

The Select Committee on the European Union has 19 members. They all (with the exception of the Chairman, Lord Tordoff) also serve on a Sub-Committee. Each Sub-Committee has, in addition, a number of co-opted members. The total number of Lords serving on the Select Committee and its Sub-Committees is 69.The breakdown by political party/membership of the Cross-Benches is as follows:

	Number
Labour	23
Conservative	19
Liberal Democrat	13

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, when the electricity supply industry was privatised, they were aware of a likely surplus in the pension scheme and the intention of the privatised employers to use that surplus for their own benefit; and, if so, why the privatised companies were allowed so to benefit. [HL931]

The identification of any surplus within the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme is established through actuarial valuations which are normally undertaken triennially. The most recently available valuation at the time of privatisation was that prepared as at 31 March 1989, which declared a surplus of £89 million, £70 million of which was used to meet the excess cost of pension increases from 1 April 1990.The rights of pensioners are protected under the scheme, which requires that any arrangements made in relation to either its administration or the investment management of assets do not reduce entitlement to benefits.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in the light of Lord Peyton of Yeovil's question on 7 February (H.L. Deb., col. 395), the pedestrianisation of Parliament Square as part of the World Squares for All masterplan is compatible with the sessional order that passages through the streets leading to the Houses of Parliament should be kept free and open. [HL973]

The World Squares for All masterplan proposals for Parliament Square involve the pedestrianisation of the south side of the square only and are compatible with the annual sessional order that passages through the streets leading to the Houses of Parliament should be kept free and open.The masterplan proposed phasing the implementation of the plans. Phase 1 focuses on Trafalgar Square and public consultation on the design will be held shortly. Proposals for Parliament Square would be kept for the third and final stage.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the delegation by the Secretary of State for the Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions to an official of his department, for the issue of authorisation notices for enforcement of the Environmental Protection (Restriction on the use of Lead Shot) (England) Regulations 1999 (S.I 1999/2170), which allow for the entry of authorised persons to private premises, applies only to the Environment Agency or English Nature or whether that official is now legally entitled to authorise any person or organisation to enter private premises under this legislation. [HL1081]

The power to authorise any suitable person or organisation can be undertaken by a senior official of my department.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they approve of proposals by local authorities, including at least one London Borough, to evict a whole household when one of its members is convicted of an arrestable offence; and whether such action is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. [HL1028]

Local authority landlords have a range of preventive measures that they can use to tackle antisocial behaviour. The Government continues to advise local authorities that eviction of nuisance tenants should be seen as a last resort, to be pursued only when such measures have failed to persuade the perpetrator to mend his ways.Tenants should be in no doubt, however, that antisocial or nuisance behaviour, either by themselves, or by their family or visitors, is unacceptable and may lead to the loss of their tenancy. Ground 2 of Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1985, as amended by the Housing Act 1996, enables local authority landlords to seek possession of a tenancy if a tenant, or a person residing in or visiting the dwelling house, has been convicted of an arrestable offence committed in, or in the locality of, the dwelling. It is for the courts to decide, taking into account all the circumstances, whether to grant an eviction order for the tenant concerned. The tenant has the right to make representations to the court about his and his family's circumstances.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many local authority council dwellings were vacant during the years 1997, 1998 and 1999 respectively. [HL955]

The available information relates to the position reported by local authorities in England at 1 April for each year:

	Total council vacants	Of which empty for management reasons
1997	81,200	49,900
1998	81,700	49,500
1999	83,900	48,100

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they propose to introduce revised hedgerow regulations and what proportion of existing hedgerows they wish to protect. [HL960]

Revised draft regulations will be published for statutory consultation after the results of the research by ADAS into the Hedgerows Review Group's recommendations have been fully evaluated. I am unable to put a timescale on this at this stage.The Government's aim is to ensure that any revised hedgerows regulations adequately protect important hedgerows. We do not have preconceived ideas about the proportion of existing hedgerows which should qualify as important.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their estimate of the number of miles of hedgerow which have been removed since 1996. [HL961]

This information is not held centrally. However, a survey of hedgerow stock is being undertaken as part of Countryside Survey 2000. This will provide estimates of the length of hedgerow removed since previous surveys in 1990 and 1993, and a baseline for monitoring future changes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When local authorities which wrote to the Deputy Prime Minister about how long-term funding is to be identified for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (including Devon County Council, which wrote on 17 January) can expect to receive an answer. [HL1033]

Ministers have received letters from a number of local authorities on the subject of funding for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Replies have in most cases been sent well within the department's target of 15 working days. A reply to the letter from Councillor Margaret Rogers of Devon County Council, which was received on 21 January, was sent on 9 February.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to include measures to protect Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the forthcoming Countryside Bill. [HL1034]

As announced in the Queen's Speech, the Government intend to introduce legislation to give people greater access to the countryside and to improve protection for wildlife. I cannot disclose further details of the legislation before it is introduced in Parliament.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much of the £195 million New Deal for Disabled People funding for helping people with disabilities with employment had been spent at 31 December 1999; and how much of the sum spent by that date was spent on supporting the care packages of severely disabled people in full-time employment. [HL934]

195 million (£186 million for Great Britain) has been set aside for the New Deal for Disabled People over the lifetime of this Parliament. As at 31 December 1999, £11.75 million had been spent on pilots offering extra help and support for people on incapacity benefits who want to work. We hope to make an announcement shortly about the next stage of the New Deal for Disabled People taking account of emerging findings from the pilots. None of the £195 million has been set aside specifically for care packages for severely disabled people in full-time employment. However, it is open for personal advisers to provide a wide range of in-work support, including arrangements to supplement care packages where necessary to meet individual needs.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many people have opted for training and self-employment within the New Deal, giving figures separately for England and South Yorkshire. [HL995]

Under the New Deal for Young People there are four options, all of which involve some form of training. Figures for these to the end of November 1999 are as follows:

Options	England	South Yorkshire
Full Time Education and Training	53,020	2,855
Voluntary Sector	20,540	657
Environment Task Force	18,350	872
Employment	20,540	1,142

For the Self-Employment Route within New Deal we gather clerical information for Great Britain. The latest provisional figures to the end of January 2000 show that nationally 1,671 young people have started test trading under the Self Employment Option, and 346 young people have gone into independent self-employment. This figure is not broken down to separate regions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans have they to strengthen the provisions of the Learning and Skills Bill (H.L.) to ensure that both the national and local learning and skills councils will have statutory responsibility to develop the skills of the workforce regardless of age. [HL986]

We recognise that there needs to be a substantial improvement in participation and achievement at every level of attainment. That is why we are devoting significant additional resources to post-16 learning to allow access to learning for all those who need it: £3.9 billion in 2001–02, compared to £3.1 billion in 1998–99: an extra £800 million.However, we have made clear that the learning and skills council will be required to give priority to the learning of 16 to 19-year-olds, fulfilling our commitment given in the White Paper

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will strengthen the provisions of the Learning and Skills Bill (H.L.) to ensure that the plans of local learning and skills councils are based upon a statement of the needs of their areas regarding education, training and workforce development; and [HL988]

The noble Lord has tabled the above two Questions which we feel can be appropriately linked.We have set out in the LSC Prospectus the importance of the LSCs activities being integrated with local economic development. Local LSCs will achieve this by consulting about their plans with RDAs, local authorities, the Employment Service and local economic development partnerships.In support of workforce development and regeneration activities, the LSC is expected to develop a system which is responsive to the needs of the economy, local areas and particular industries and sectors. In particular, the LSC will support workforce development by working with employers, trade unions and many others, including Investors in People UK, the Small Business Service and the University for Industry. It will also work closely with National Training Organisations and their developing frameworks for sector workforce development plans. At a local level the LSCs will prepare local workforce development plans which reflect the national framework and build on the work of local Learning Partnerships. This work includes an analysis of local labour market and skills needs and build on the work of RDAs in identifying regional skill needs.Also, local LSCs will have a range of flexible budgets amounting to around 10–15 per cent of the overall funding to support workforce development, local regeneration initiatives, equality of opportunity projects and initiatives, improving access to learning opportunities and marketing and promotion activity.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to amend the Learning and Skills Bill (H.L.) to ensure that the workplace learning route has equal status, support and funding to the school or college route. [HL989]

The Learning and Skills Council will aim to fund all providers on an equitable basis. We have said in the Prospectus that the LSC will need to encourage and support providers offering a high quality service, whether they be employers, colleges, school sixth forms or private or voluntary sector training providers.We are committed to creating a new system which is coherent, accessible and responsive to the needs of individuals, businesses and communities. The allocation of the majority of the LSC's funds will therefore depend on demand from individuals and businesses about the learning opportunities they wish to pursue, which will in turn inform the decisions taken by the local LSCs.The majority of funds will be allocated to national rates within a funding formula. However, we expect that 10–15 per cent of LSC budgets will be for provision which is not included in the national tariff and will be made at the discretion of the local LSC and can be used, for example, for improvements in the quality of local provision and workforce development.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 31 January

Our decision to have a strong centre to provide strategic focus and drive to the work of this Administration is not inconsistent with our programme of devolution and local government reform, which is bringing decision-making closer to local people.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there have been any instances where the terms of the Model Contract for Special Advisers have been substantively varied to accommodate the specific requirements of any individual; and, if so, in what respect. [HL923]

Significant variations have been made in respect of four appointments: the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff and Chief Press Secretary to reflect the fact that they are not restricted to an advisory role, and the UK Anti-Drugs Coordinator and his deputy to reflect their cross-governmental advisory role in tackling drugs related issues.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 8 February (

10 staff are employed by the Labour Party in the Political Office in No. 10.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 7 February

Yes. As indicated in the Answer given to the noble Lord on 7 February, Official Report, WA 63, the Government are determined to ensure that criminal justice legislation does not discriminate on the grounds of race of ethnic origin.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many police forces have accepted the Association of Chief Police Officers' police pursuit driver training document, issued in September 1998. [HL932]

I expect to be in a position to send you a substantive reply by 10 March 2000.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Answer by Lord Bach on 25 November 1999 (H.L. Deb., col. 648), whether there are any clauses in the European Union treaties which might allow the

In our opinion, there are no such provisions. Although Article 280(4) of the European Community Treaty enables the Council to adopt legislation by qualified majority voting (and co-decision with the European Parliament) to prevent and fight fraud against the financial interests of the Community, Article 280(4) also provides that such measures "shall not concern the application of national criminal law or the national administration of justice". The proposals in the Corpus Juris project would have a major impact on national criminal law in all member states, and are therefore excluded. Some of the proposals in Corpus Juris could be introduced through legislation under Title VI of the Treaty on European Union, but they could only be adopted through unanimity. Alternatively, they might be introduced as a proposal for closer co-operation between a majority of member states under Article 43 of that Treaty. A proposal under Article 43 would require the unanimous support of the member states concerned, and member states which did not wish to take part in the closer co-operation would not be affected.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 3 February

In their bids for a share of the recruitment scheme of the Crime Fighting Fund, forces provided information on their planned recruitment over the next three years. The table shows the projected appointments on probation, excluding transfers in from other forces. Actual recruitment levels will depend on the chief officer's decisions in the light of the available resources—including the outcome of the 2000 Spending Review now under way.

	Projected Appointments on Probation
Force	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	Total
Avon & Somerset	65	80	80	225
Bedfordshire	52	52	52	156
Cambridgeshire	101	52	47	200
Cheshire	70	76	73	219
City of London	50	52	52	154
Cleveland	59	51	47	157
Cumbria	5	60	60	125
Derbyshire	36	60	48	144
Devon & Cornwall	88	48	70	206
Dorset	42	36	31	109
Durham	46	53	51	150
Dyfed-Powys	34	36	14	104
Essex	200	113	115	428
Gloucestershire	90	70	70	230
Greater Manchester	244	279	257	780
Gwent	0	74	51	125
Hampshire	170	152	170	492
Hertfordshire	114	12S	116	358
Humberside	0	0	0	0
Kent	145	60	139	344
Lancashire	80	80	80	240
Leicestershire	71	83	94	248
Lincolnshire	55	55	45	155
Merseyside	40	40	40	120
Metropolitan	692	346	600	1,638
Norfolk	20	31	29	80
North Wales	57	57	57	171
North Yorkshire	60	63	60	183
Northamptonshire	27	37	40	104

	Projected Appointments on Probation
Force	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	Total
Northumbria	154	137	134	425
Nottinghamshire	87	73	73	233
South Wales	192	162	162	516
South Yorkshire	80	80	80	240
Staffordshire	11	34	68	113
Suffolk	16	36	55	107
Surrey	145	212	100	457
Sussex	160	160	160	480
Thames Valley	180	175	166	521