asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the closure notices issued by Bristol Council for the closure of Merrywood School, Bristol, fulfilled the statutory requirements for such notices. [HL1565]

The proposals for closure of Merrywood School were published on 5 July 1999. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State considered that the notices met the requirements set out in the Education (Publication of School Proposals and Notices) Regulations 1993. Information provided by the local education authority showed that parents were aware of the detailed arrangements underlying the published proposals, and in particular the transitional arrangements.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the practice of "pithing" cattle at slaughter results in the contamination of the carcass with brain material; and, if so, what is the level of such contamination. [HL1523]

The Government have funded research which found evidence of contamination of jugular blood by fragments of brain tissue in one out of 16 animals which were pithed following stunning. That research did not investigate whether any traces of brain tissue could be transported in the blood to the rest of the carcase. The results were published in the Veterinary Record of 16 October 1999. The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee reviewed the research findings and advised that there is no reason on the basis of current data to change UK practices of stunning and pithing during slaughter of cattle.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether major new information technology systems for common agricultural policy administration will not be introduced in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food until any such systems have been fully tested and their efficiency and reliability have been proven. [HL1558]

The recent studies (the PricewaterhouseCoopers Review of CAP Scheme Administration and the report of the Independent Working Group on IACS and Inspections) have recommended that modern IT systems would offer substantial scope for reducing the burden of form filling in the farming community.Before any new systems go live they will of course need to be fully tested. The trial of electronic IACS application forms which is currently running in East Anglia is an important first step in this process. We are also considering ways of ensuring that farmers who do not wish to use the new technology themselves will have access to suitable sources of advice and assistance.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What will be the positive and negative effects over the next decade on the British automobile industry of the advent of the euro, whether or not the United Kingdom adopts the euro. [HL1542]

The launch of the euro in eleven European (EU) countries has major implications for UK firms of all sizes across a number of business sectors, including the automotive sector.That is why the Government have established the Euro Preparations Unit (EPU). Since its inception in December 1997, EPU has run a major business information campaign on the euro and published euro fact sheets and case studies, which help small and medium sized enterprises to take account of the euro now that it is a business reality. Further information can be found in the Treasury's regular euro progress reports, the most recent of which was published in November 1999. Copies of these reports are available in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether oil extraction and pipeline equipment come within the definition of strategic goods; and, if so, whether they will refuse licences for the export of such goods to the Sudan. [HL1530]

The export of oil extraction and pipeline equipment is not generally subject to control. All applications for a licence to export controlled items to Sudan are considered on a case by case basis, irrespective of their intended end use, against the relevant criteria and in light of current circumstances in Sudan and the continuing EU arms embargo.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Sainsbury of Turville on 16 March

The issue of stamps is a matter for the Post Office. I am advised that the possibility of including the 200th anniversary of the creation of the United Kindom in the 2001 stamp programme was considered in early 1998—and research was conducted into the 200th anniversary of the Union Flag, the physical icon of the creation of the UK. The Post Office receives some 2,000 suggestions for over 300 subjects. Detailed research suggested there was no strong support for a stamp covering this anniversary. Only 10 subjects were chosen for the 2001 programme and the creation of the United Kingdom was not one of them. However, the entire Millennium stamp programme is a celebration of the United Kingdom past, present and future.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the terms of the imposition of

The principal features of the agreement on the levy on modern and contemporary art resales are:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they voted in favour of the decision by the European Union on 15 March to impose

The proposal for an EC directive harmonising the droit de suite levy on resales on modern and contemporary art was endorsed unanimously at the Committee of Permanent Representatives. The directive will go forward to Council as an "A" point—i.e. for agreement without discussion. It will then be discussed in the European Parliament, and could be agreed finally before the end of the year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of (a) lay and (b) stipendiary magistrates in England and Wales are drawn from Afro-Caribbean or Asian ethnic minorities. [HL1510]

(a) A survey of lay magistrates (excluding those in the Duchy of Lancaster) conducted in 1997 indicated that there were 753 lay magistrates, 286 female and 467 male, from Afro-Caribbean and Asian ethnic minorities (2.9 per cent). The survey showed that overall 4.1 per cent of magistrates classified themselves as belonging to an ethnic minority community. There has, however, been an increasing percentage of appointments of people from ethnic minorities in recent years; in 1995, 6 per cent of those appointed were from an ethnic minority and last year the figure rose to 7.6 per cent. Figures for the total number of magistrates from ethnic minorities will be available later this year and I am confident that the percentage will show an increase over 1997. (b) There are two stipendiary magistrates from the Asian community, one female and one male (1.9 per cent).

asked Her Majesty's Government:What costs relating to the establishment of the Electoral Commission will be met in advance of Royal Assent being given to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Bill. [HL1742]

It is in the public interest to ensure that the commission is functioning at the earliest opportunity. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary has made clear his wish that it should be up and running by this November. To meet this tight timetable some costs such as those relating to the recruitment of the Commissioners will necessarily be incurred before Royal Assent.Parliamentary approval to this service will be sought in a Main Estimate for the Electoral Commission Vote (Class XVIII, C, Vote 1). Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £300,000 will be met by repayable advances from the Contingencies Fund.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will provide further details about the additional money for fighting crime which was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget Statement on 21 March. [HL1741]

1. As a result of the funding decisions outlined in the Budget statement, there will be a significant injection of £285 million for tackling crime and the causes of crime. This comprises Capital Modernisation Funding of £185 million for a range of projects, and a £100 million fund for modernising policing, of which around £91 million is for England and Wales and £9 million is for Scotland. £14 million of expenditure under the Capital Modernisation Fund has been previously announced in respect of DNA. The rest represents new money.2. This funding will be used to step up the fight against crime in four key areas. It will speed up the recruitment of new officers; create more opportunities for local partnerships to tackle crime and disorder; provide further scientific and technological support to increase their effectiveness; and will develop and modernise the criminal justice system.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish the basket of race equality performance indicators they have been developing. [HLI743]

My right honourable friend the Home Secretary has today placed in the Library a copy of the document Race Equality in Public Services—Driving up Standards and Accounting for Progress. The document sets out performance data in a number of key areas which are of interest to ethnic minority communities, and provides a quantifiable way of demonstrating the Government's progress in promoting race equality.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 1 February

Pursuant to my reply of 1 February 2000, cols. WA 29–30, Table 1 in respect of the number of injuries to police officers in England in 1997–98 and 1998–99 related to injuries which resulted in police officers being absent from work for more than three consecutive days and not all injuries as implied by the Answer. Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1985, employers are not required to report injuries which result in less or no time off work.The table is reproduced as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their policy in regard to applications for asylum from citizens of member states of the Council of Europe which have accepted the obligation to observe human rights. [HL1560]

We will consider such applications on their merits, as the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees requires us to do. Those which are unfounded will be refused, and those which are manifestly unfounded or fall under one of the other grounds in paragraph 5 of Schedule 2 to the Asylum and Immigration Act 1993 will be certified, with the consequence that any appeal against the refusal is accelerated.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will enable and encourage courts to order the confiscation of any airgun used or involved in the committing of an offence. [HL1562]

Under Section 43 of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973, courts are empowered to make an order of forfeiture of property (including, if relevant, an airgun). This power is available where the court is satisfied of a limited set of circumstances:that the property has been used for committing or facilitating the commission of an offence or that it was intended to be so used; orwhere the possession of the property was itself the offence.Exercise of this power is entirely at the discretion of the court in the light of the circumstances of the offence and the offender.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the Prison Chaplaincy's official policy or mission statement. [HL1591]

The policy of the Prison Chaplaincy is to support the Prison Service's objectives of protecting the public by holding those committed by the courts in a safe, decent and healthy environment and to reduce crime by providing constructive regimes which address offending behaviour, improve educational and work skills and promote law abiding behaviour in custody and after release.Its Mission Statement is that the Prison Chaplaincy serves the Kingdom of God and society through the pastoral care of all who live and work in prison, by proclaiming the Gospel, celebrating the sacrament and furthering moral and spiritual values. This pastoral role includes facilitating the observance of religious practice by prisoners of other faiths.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have decided not to appoint a successor when the present Prison Chaplain General retires; and what role the Bishop to Prisons will then play. [HL1592]

No. The appointment of a successor to the current Chaplain General is being considered.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many post-1973 Ministry of Defence non-attributable widows are currently in receipt of Forces Family Pensions; and [HL1470]How many new post-1973 Ministry of Defence non-attributable widows there have been in each of the last 10 years. [HL1471]

About 76,000 widows and widowers are currently being paid pensions from the Armed Forces Pensions Scheme. Our records do not break this figure down by year of retirement or between widows/widowers whose husbands retired before and after 1973. To attempt to do so would require a manual search of all 76,000 pensions files, and that would incur disproportionate cost. Some 2,500 attributable widows' and widowers' pensions are being paid from the AFPS, all of them to the widows and widowers of individuals who retired or died in service after 1973.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the debate on hospices on 1 March (H.L. Deb., cols. 605–628) when the present decline in their financial support for independent hospices is expected to be arrested and reversed; and [HL1566]

At present, the National Health Service contribution to hospices is about 31 per cent or a third of their running costs. Specifying centrally what the proportion of NHS funding should be is not sensible, given the extent of local diversity both of services provided and alternative sources of local support. Therefore issues concerning the financial support for hospices are for local discussion and agreement.The Health Improvement Programme (HimP) is and will continue to be the funding mechanism for palliative care services. Further HimPs will be set in the context of the priorities set in the National Priorities Guidance and

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will review the Domiciliary Oxygen Service in England in the light of the Royal College of Physicians' guidance

Following the publication of the Royal College of Physicians' guidance Domiciliary oxygen therapy services, we will be reviewing a number of aspects of the Domiciliary Oxygen Service under the following terms of reference:To review the scope and organisation of the Domiciliary Oxygen Service in England in the light of the 1999 guidance of the Royal College of Physicians, including:Whether, and if so to what extent, patient access to the service should continue to be via general practitioner prescribing or otherwise,the availability of alternative forms of oxygen delivery (cylinder, concentrator, and liquid) and associated equipment, and the circumstances in which one form might be preferable to another.whether the current supply arrangements, including the arrangements for setting prices should be maintained or altered,the cost effectiveness and affordability of any changes,other relevant matters.We have placed in the Library a copy of a letter to interested companies and organisations inviting them to let us have their views as a first step in the review.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will place in the Library of the House, or on the Internet, full details of each of the persons who have died in the United Kingdom of new variant CJD, showing (a) the date of death; (b) the age at death; (c) the age at onset of symptoms; (d) identified exposure to possible sources of infection; and (e) the genetic makeup of the prion gene. [HL1549]

To protect patient confidentiality, precise details cannot be supplied but the following information may be helpful:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made on evaluating the capillary electrophoresis test, developed by Mary Jo Schmerr of the National Animal Disease Centre of the United States Department of Agriculture, for abnormal prions in blood; what tests are under way; and when it is expected that they will be completed. [HL1546]

The test currently under development by Dr Schmerr has undergone some preliminary evaluation at: the Medical Research Council Prion Unit, London; the National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit, Edinburgh; and the Veterinary Laboratory Agency, Weybridge. An application for a full evaluation of this, and other, blood tests is being considered by the Government. Before a diagnostic test such as this can be used to determine whether people or animals are infected with a transmissible encephalopathy agent at a pre-clinical stage, it will be necessary for the test to be fully developed and scientifically validated. We are not yet able to predict when any of these blood tests currently being developed will be completed.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made on the programme of screening tonsils removed in routine operations for the presence of abnormal prions; and whether they will publish the results of the screening to date. [HL1547]

Two retrospective studies to examine samples of tonsil and appendix tissue taken from 15,000 patients in the South West of England and 3,000 in the Lothian Region of Scotland for the presence of abnormal prions commenced in the spring of 1999. The first preliminary results from these studies are likely to be available during the spring and will then be considered by the Department of Health, the Medical Research Council and relevant scientific experts including the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee. An announcement will be made about the findings.An additional prospective study proposed by the London Prion Unit at St Mary's Hospital, to look at 2,000 tonsil specimens, has recently obtained ethical approval from the London Multi-centre Regional Ethical Committee and this study should be under way shortly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are aware of any cases in which it appears possible that a Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy has been transmitted by a human mother to her child

The National CJD Surveillance Unit monitors the onset of all cases of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease in the United Kingdom. No confirmed or probable case has been reported to the Unit of a baby being affected by this disease.Epidemiological evidence from Kuru—a human TSE occurring amongst the Fore people of Papua New Guinea—sugges,s that human maternal transmission of TSE disease does not occur. However animal studies have shown maternal transmission can occur in scrapie in sheep and there is evidence of a low rate of vertical transmission of BSE in cattle. We will continue to liaise closely with scientists at the National CJD Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh to monitor the onset of all cases of CJD and seek to identify any common features.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there is any evidence that any Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy in any species can be transmitted through blood; and whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of the principal relevant scientific papers. [HL1545]

Some animal studies have shown that certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies can be experimentally transmitted from animal to Animal through blood components. However, the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee at its February meeting reviewed recent research undertaken in this area and did not consider any measures were necessary, in addition to those already in place, to reduce any potential risk to public health from human blood and blood products.Copies of the following relevant scientific papers are being placed in the Library.Brown P. 1995,

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there is the potential for transmission of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies through the use of inadequately sterilised dentists' instruments. [HL1524]

Although the possibility of person to person transmission of any theoretical Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy infectivity through the use of surgical instruments cannot be ruled out, the National CJD Surveillance Unit, as they investigate cases of CJD, undertake an examination of medical histories to look for common risk factors. Analyses of cases to date do not provide evidence to suggest any increased risk with past dental surgical intervention. Nonetheless, guidance has been formulated on appropriate prudent practice, which is available from the BDA, and which takes into account advice from the Joint Working Group of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee and the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens. In addition, a Health Service Circular on best practice on decontamination of medical devices was issued in August 1999 to healthcare organisations, including Dental Postgraduate Deans and Regional Dental Advisors.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Mr Rod Griffiths, the West Midlands director of public health, has been correctly quoted as saying (in respect of instruments used in subsequent operations having been used on a woman with new-variant CJD) that the risk to other women was vanishingly small, as the prion that caused CJD was removed simply by washing before sterilisation; and if so, whether they agree with him. [HL1548]

We are unable to comment on the accuracy of the reporting of any statement by Professor Griffiths. However the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust has advised that Caesarean section itself is considered to be low risk surgery for transmission. The Government agree with advice from the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee that rigorous washing, decontamination and general hygiene practices with regard to surgical instruments are key measures in minimising the risk of any infection being transferred from patient to patient.To date, there is no known case of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease having arisen as a consequence of medical or surgical intervention.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why patients who have received blood or blood products from people who have subsequently developed CJD are allowed to donate blood. [HL1660]

There is strong epidemiological evidence to suggest that classic Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (CJD) is not transmitted through blood. Donors who have received blood or blood products from people who subsequently developed classic CJD are therefore not barred from giving blood. However, there is far less knowledge about the routes of transmission of variant CJD and, as a precautionary measure, no blood from donors who received blood from people who subsequently developed variant CJD enters the blood supply. As an additional precaution against the theoretical risk that variant CJD may be transmitted through blood, all blood taken from United Kingdom donors is leucodepleted (the white cells are removed) and all blood products are made with plasma sourced from outside the UK.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the recent Charity Tax Review has addressed the issue of VAT refunds on village and community halls. [HL1515]

The construction of village halls used for charitable purposes is already zero-rated for VAT. During the Review of Charity Taxation, many charities sought more VAT relief, including compensation for the irrecoverable VAT on their purchases. The Government made it clear in the consultation document issued in March 1999 that this

asked Her Majesty's Government:What guidance the Treasury has given Customs and Excise on whether (and under what circumstances) village halls should be eligible for VAT refunds. [HL1516]

None. Guidance on VAT matters is the responsibility of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish, for the industries specified (a) the total employee job figures for 1948 and (b) an index based on 1948 = 100, showing the changes that have occurred in these industries from 1948 to 1998 in 10-year steps: coal mining; ports and docks; railways; steel production; shipbuilding; agriculture; motor vehicle manufacture. [HL1602]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics who has been asked to reply.