asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect the White Paper dealing with liquor licensing to be published. [HL1634]

We expect to publish a White Paper on the reform and modernisation of the liquor and public entertainment laws shortly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they expect the existing local licensing committees to retain the licensing jurisdiction; and, if not, what alternative arrangements they have in mind. [HL1635]

A White Paper on the reform and modernisation of the liquor and public entertainment licensing laws, to be published shortly, will set out the new arrangements we have in mind for the licensing of relevant premises.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will respond to the report of the Scoping Study in relation to arson prevention in England and Wales. [HL1788]

My honourable friend the Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office, Mr O'Brien, is pleased to announce today that the Government have accepted all of the main recommendations of the Scoping Study.We have pledged quite clearly our determination and commitment to providing safer communities. The police and fire services have a vital role to play in helping to maintain a safer society, not just by reducing crime and the fear of crime but also by reducing the number of deliberate fires and associated deaths and casualties.The report of the Arson Scoping Study was published last May and set out a series of recommendations aimed at addressing the growing problem of deliberate fires. The report was welcomed as an enormous opportunity for the Government and the police and fire services to reduce the pain and suffering caused by deliberately set fires.When the report was published we made it clear that we wanted to hear the views of chief officers, local authorities, the insurers and all those involved in the administration of justice, all of whom have a crucial role to play in translating the recommendations into action. My honourable friend is pleased to say that the response to the Scoping Study has provided a strong mandate to carry forward all of its key recommendations and for a refocusing of efforts to prevent arson.My honourable friend the Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office is writing to those same organisations today to explain how we intend to take the recommendations forward. In particular, he wants to see the efforts of government, police and fire authorities, the insurers and other local agencies integrated and co-ordinated as the Scoping Study recommended so that the whole effort achieves more than the sum of its parts. We shall be taking steps to put these arrangements in place shortly. He also accepts, with the strong endorsement of the police and fire services and the insurers, the recommendation to create a new government-led arson control forum to take forward the arson prevention strategy.Arson prevention must become a core activity of the police and fire services and we must work in partnership with other agencies and with business to eliminate deliberately set fires. The success of this approach will mean a safer society for us all.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What priorities will be set for placing juvenile offenders when the detention and training order comes into operation. [HL1789]

The detention and training order (DTO) will come into force on 1 April 2000. It will become the main custodial sentence for juvenile offenders aged 12 and under 18, replacing detention in a young offender institution for under-18s and the secure training order. Detention under Section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 will remain available for the minority of young offenders aged 10 and under 18 who commit grave crimes.Subject to parliamentary agreement to an order laid on 27 March, for under-18s sentenced to custody under the DTO or Section 53 and those remanded to Prison Service custody or direct to local authority secure accommodation, new more co-ordinated arrangements for the juvenile secure estate will start operation in April. The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales will commission and purchase places from the Prison Service, the secure training centre (STC) contractors and local authority secure units (LASUs). This will give it considerable influence over the management of custodial placements for under-18s and enable more appropriate and cost-effective use of facilities. The board has drawn up commissioning and placement strategies to support its proposed new role and a copy of these has been placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Ms Ann Chant has completed her review of the Office of the Legal Services Ombudsman and when it is intended to publish her report. [HL1757]

Ms Chant has completed her review of the Office of the Legal Services Ombudsman. My department has today published her report and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Malawi's debts will be waived, in part or in total, under the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) initiative. [HL1735]

Malawi, as a country eligible for relief under the HIPC initiative, will receive debt relief under the terms of that initiative. The level of relief is calculated by World Bank staff at the time the country reaches decision point but, in the case of the Paris Club creditors, will be equivalent to 90 per cent or more debt cancellation.Malawi will, of course, also benefit from the UK's bilateral policy of providing 100 per cent debt relief for countries qualifying under the HIPC initiative. Several other bilateral creditors (including the US, Canada and France) have indicated that they are also willing to provide 100 per cent debt relief.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the proportion of national income that is estimated will be spent on health by the end of 2003–04. [HL1791]

As announced by my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 21 March, provision has been made available for the UK which will allow the average real terms increase for the UK health service over the next four years to be 6.1 per cent. So health service spending will rise from last year's £45.1 billion and this year's £49.3 billion to; next year, £54.2 billion, the year after, £58.6 billion; then £63.5 billion; and then from April 2003, £68.7 billion.As a result, on current forecasts, UK health spending as a proportion of GDP will increase to around 7.6 per cent by 2003–04. It is expected that spending within the private healthcare sector will remain at around 1 per cent of GDP and the overall rise to 7.6 per cent is almost solely accounted for by the real terms increase in NHS spending.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have now agreed to the designation of Menwith Hill as the European ground relay station for the space based infra-red system (SBIRS) as part of the ballistic missile defence system [HL1590]

We have received no request for the use of RAF Menwith Hill in the context of the proposed US national missile defence system.Her Majesty's Government granted permission in March 1997 for the European relay ground station of the US-based infra-red system (SBIRS) to be sited at RAF Menwith Hill. SBIRS is regarded as necessary irrespective of any decision the US may take on deployment of a national missile defence system.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the annual loss figures for BMW for 1998 and 1999 given by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in his statement on the future of Rover (HC Deb, 16 March, col. 577), what were the equivalent figures for 1995, 1996 and 1997. [HL1669]

The annual loss figures referred to by the Secretary of State in his statement were for Rover Group. Under the BMW accounting system these (losses) were £158 million in 1995; £119 million in 1996; £92 million in 1997; £642 million in 1998; and £750 million in 1999.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What targets relate to ethnic minority achievement in their 1999 National Action Plan introduced under Title VIII of the Treaty of Amsterdam. [HL1641]

There are no common EU targets relating to ethnic minorities. However, progress towards achieving equality of opportunity features throughout the UK Action Plan, as well as references to specific initiatives to promote further integration of ethnic minorities into the labour market.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Where the offices of Millennium Volunteers are located; and how many staff are employed in the company; and [HL1680]Who is the chairman of the Millennium Volunteers; and what is the salary and period of tenure of this post; and [HL1713]What is the annual budget of Millennium Volunteers; what were the start-up costs of the company; to whom is it accountable; and how it will be evaluated. [HL1681]

Millennium Volunteers is run by a unit within the Department for Education and Employment. The unit is based in Sheffield and currently has a staff of 18. No chairman has therefore been appointed for Millennium Volunteers.The budget allocated to the Millennium Volunteers Programme in England is £47.75 million for the period 1998 to March 2002. The Government are accountable to Parliament for its expenditure. An evaluation of some early demonstration projects has already taken place and further evaluation is planned for later this year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will announce their response to the report of the Quigley Committee. [HL1790]

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment established a committee under the chairmanship of Sir George Quigley in December 1998, as required by Section 25(4) of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998, to review fee support for students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the fourth year of first degree courses at Scottish institutions. The report is laid today before Parliament and placed in the National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Parliament.We welcome the report and congratulate Sir George and the other members of the committee on their thorough examination of all the relevant issues. The Government accept the recommendations addressed to them set out in the report. The Scottish Executive has accepted that it should meet the net costs of the tuition fees of students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland in their fourth year in Scottish universities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many deaths were associated with an anaesthetic for a dental procedure in each year from 1970; and how many of those deaths in each year were associated with:

Information is not available to answer (a), (b), (c) and (d) of the noble Lord's question before 1991 and data since then are not complete, as this information is not routinely collected. There were three deaths in 1999 which have been associated with general anaesthesia for dental treatment. However, inquests into these cases have yet to be held and in one case legal proceedings are pending.Our records show that there have been the following numbers of deaths associated with general anaesthesia for dental treatment since 1970:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Medicines Control Agency Consultation Document of 13 March relates only to patient group protocols or addresses also the Crown Report of 1997 giving certain groups of independent health professionals independent prescribing rights. [HL1704]

The consultation letter of 13 March is concerned only with patient group directions (formerly known as group protocols).

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend, in conjunction with the devolved authorities, to eradicate scrapie from the United Kingdom. [HL1657]

In its report on research and surveillance on TSEs and sheep published in April 1999, the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) recommended that a programme for the long-term control and eradication of scrapie should be drawn up in consultation with the Scrapie Information Group—a joint initiative of industry, veterinary and government experts who have a day-to-day involvement in the surveillance and control of scrapie. This group, which includes representatives of the devolved administrations, has held a number of deliberations on this subject and has scheduled further discussions during 2000. The development of long-term control and eradication strategies will be an ongoing process that will require close communication with the group and the devolved administrations.In the meantime, although scrapie has been present in the national flock for over 250 years without a confirmed link with human illness, we have a range of precautionary health controls in place introduced after advice from the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC). These comprise the destruction of specified risk materials (whole heads, excluding the tongue, and spleen from all sheep and goats and spinal cord and tonsils of older sheep) and compulsory slaughter, with compensation, of any sheep or goats suspected of having a scrapie-like illness that cannot be ruled out as something else.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they intend to take as a result of the studies on the heat resistance of hamster-adapted scrapie agent report in Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 10. 1073/pnas.050566797, Paul Brown et al. [HL1658]

The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) monitors all relevant scientific publications. Members will evaluate the findings reported in this publication at their next meeting and recommend action if they feel it is necessary. It may be, however, that further details will be required from the author before a definitive conclusion can be reached.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are supporting to ensure the cleanliness of Welsh beaches and their improved safety for holidaymakers visiting Wales in 2000. [HL1650]

EC Directive 76/160/EEC requires member states to identify bathing waters. Once identified, bathing waters must be sampled regularly to show that they meet the bacteriological standards prescribed in the annex to the directive. In Wales sampling is undertaken by the Environment Agency on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales, whose responsibility this is.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What will be the positive and negative effects over the next decade on Northern Ireland, which shares a common border with the Republic of Ireland, of the advent of the euro, whether or not the United Kingdom adopts the euro. [HL1544]

The implications for Northern Ireland of the advent of the euro are the same as those for the UK as a whole. However, due to Northern Ireland's land border and trading patterns with the Republic of Ireland, some of these may be more pronounced or immediate. Since July 1998 the Northern Ireland Euro Preparations Forum has been actively involved in promoting awareness and providing support to the business community in Northern Ireland. The message is that local companies should assess the balance of competitive threats and opportunities, after discussing the euro situation with their customers and suppliers, and should then devise strategies to implement the necessary changes.