asked Her Majesty's Government:

What action has been taken to follow up the people and baggage screening trials conducted on the London rail and Underground in January and February 2006; and what was the cost of these trials. [HL4548]

I refer the noble Baroness to my Written Ministerial Statement made to the House on Thursday, 26 June 2008 [Official Report, cols. WS 126-28].

The costs of the trials, including the public attitudes research, were just under £700,000 and were met by the Department for Transport.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Statement by the Leader of the House on 19 May (WS 77–78), what progress has been made in establishing a Speaker's conference to address declining turnout in elections. [HL4387]

The joint secretaries have been appointed. Work is progressing to arrive at agreed terms of reference, following which the membership of the conference will be selected. It is hoped that Mr Speaker will be in a position to make an announcement in the other place before the Summer Recess.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 24 June (col. WA 227), how many outgrowing embryos cultured for more than 14 days are required to derive one embryonic stem cell line; and how this compares to the efficiency of embryonic stem cell derivation using conventional approaches used by Professor Sir Martin Evans in mice and Professor Jamie Thomson with human embryos. [HL4491]

The department is not in a position to form a view on the efficacy of stem cell derivation from outgrown embryos.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much food is discarded daily by supermarkets because of faulty or damaged packaging; and [HL4501]

What is the cost of edible food discarded each day by supermarkets in the United Kingdom. [HL4502]

Her Majesty’s Government do not hold the information requested. The government-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme is, however, initiating a baseline study this year that should provide us with some data on back-of-store waste.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What were the engagements in Northern Ireland of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland during April 2008. [HL3740]

The information requested by the noble Lord is held by the Northern Ireland Office. However, the disclosure of some of this information, including details of internal or interdepartmental meetings with Ministers or officials, would be prejudicial to the effective conduct of public affairs.

During that time he had various meetings in Northern Ireland with Ministers, local political representatives, key public figures and officials.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many people in (a) Elsenham, (b) Stansted Mountfitchet, (c) Uttlesford District, (d) the Saffron Walden constituency, and (e) Essex are not registered with an NHS dentist. [HL4449]

Information is not available in the format requested.

Under the new dental contractual arrangements introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with a National Health Service dentist to receive NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to “registration” is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services (“patients seen”) over a 24-month period. However, this is not directly comparable to the registration data for earlier years.

Information is available on the numbers of patients seen by an NHS dentist over the previous 24-month period, as a percentage of the population. The most recent information is available in table C2 of Annex 3 of the report NHS Dental Statistics for England: Quarter 3: 31 December 2007. Information is provided by strategic health authority and by primary care trust and is available for the 24-month periods ending 31 March 2006, 31 March 2007, 30 June 2007, 30 September 2007 and 31 December 2007.

Copies of this report, published on 5 June 2008, are available in the Library and are also available on the information centre for health and social carers’ website at: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0708q3.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the number of general practitioners per head of population in (a) England, (b) the East of England and (c) Essex. [HL4499]

The number of general practitioners per 100,000 head of population recorded in the national workforce census at 30 September 2007 was 65.7 in England and 62.6 in the East of England Strategic Health Authority (SHA). The figures for the five Essex primary care trusts (PCTs) within East of England are shown in the following table:

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the aims of the Home Office's interception modernisation programme. [HL4465]

The objective of the interception modernisation programme (IMP) is to maintain the UK's lawful intercept and communications data capabilities in the changing communications environment. It is a cross-government programme, led by the Home Office, to ensure that our capability to lawfully intercept and exploit data when fighting crime and terrorism is not lost. It was established in response to my right honourable friend the Prime Minister's national security remit in 2006.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the current Comprehensive Spending Review allocation contains any financing for the Home Office's interception modernisation programme; and, if so, how much. [HL4466]

As part of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR 07) a central bid was made to HM Treasury on behalf of the security and intelligence agencies. Funding for IMP was included in the bid, and the exact programme allocation across the CSR years is currently being finalised between the Home Office and HM Treasury.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the Home Office's current budgetary estimates for demonstrating the feasibility of the interception modernisation programme. [HL4467]

A significant proportion of the programme investment over the CSR period will be used to test feasibility and reduce the risk associated with implementing the proposed IMP solution. The private sector is likely to play a major role in this work and the programme will be conducting a competitive tender and entering commercial negotiations to commission its services.

The tendering processes are not yet complete and therefore the budget for the feasibility and de-risking activities is not finalised. For this reason, a precise figure cannot be given at this time.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the Home Office's current budgetary estimates for the interception modernisation programme. [HL4468]

The interception modernisation programme (IMP) will require a substantial level of investment which will need to tie in with the Government's three-year CSR periods. The scale of overall economic investment is very difficult to calculate because of the complexity of the project and wide-ranging implementation solutions currently being considered.

Given this complexity and the commercial and national security sensitivities, the precise costs of the programme cannot be disclosed. Further detail on budgetary estimates for the IMP will, however, become available once the draft Communications Data Bill is published.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What guidance they are giving to local authorities on the priority to give to low-carbon travel in their local transport plans. [HL4666]

The development of low-carbon travel is an increasingly important theme to be addressed in the implementation of local transport plans (LTPs). Guidance published in December 2004 on the second round of LTPs, which runs from 2006-07 to 2010-11, encouraged local highways authorities to take account of the 2003 energy White Paper, Our Energy Future—Creating a Low Carbon Economy. Since the publication of the guidance, a range of further research, advice and funding has been made available to assist authorities, particularly as they seek to encourage behaviour change. For example, on 19 June we announced a £100 million investment package to pioneer innovative ways to increase cycling. Addressing climate change has also been identified as one of five key goals for the Department for Transport in Towards a Sustainable Transport System, published in October 2007.

The Local Transport Bill currently under consideration includes a new duty on local authorities to have regard to the protection or improvement of the environment in developing and implementing policies to be included in local transport plans. We expect to publish draft guidance on future plans towards the end of the year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Tunnicliffe on 24 June (WA 232), whether the provision of funding out of the Northern Ireland block grant is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive; and [HL4488]

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Tunnicliffe on 24 June (WA 232) concerning funding for a national stadium in Northern Ireland, whether they will fund a stadium other than at the Maze location. [HL4489]

The Northern Ireland Executive is responsible for the delivery of public services in the transferred field, as defined by the Northern Ireland Act 1998. While the block grant is determined by Her Majesty's Government, it is for the Northern Ireland Executive to decide how it should be allocated.

The funding of a national stadium and its location are therefore decisions for the Northern Ireland Executive and not for Her Majesty's Government.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 19 June (WA 192) concerning the expenditure of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission in 2006–07, on what the £17,000 of grants for initiatives was spent; to whom it was paid; and why. [HL4432]

The £17,000 of grants for initiatives is broken down as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:

On how many occasions Ministers and officials have met representatives of (a) the Fairfield Partnership and (b) the Town and Country Planning Association in the past five years. [HL4394]

On the information currently available to the Government, they are aware of officials having met with the Fairfield Partnership on four occasions over the past five years.

The Government can confirm that both Ministers and officials have met and continue to meet with the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA). The TCPA provides support and works with Communities and Local Government (CLG) on policy related to housing and planning, and in particular over the last year has been working with the Government on the practical application of the key sustainability and development criteria for eco-towns. The TCPA plays no part in the assessment of individual eco-town schemes. The relationship with the TCPA is an ongoing relationship and involves regular meetings across CLG. Quantifying the number of occasions of these meetings could only be done at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

On what date Mr David Lock ceased to be employed as a government adviser on planning and eco-towns; and on how many occasions Ministers or officials have met him since that date. [HL4396]

Professor David Lock was employed as chief planning adviser to the Department of Environment from 1994 to 1997. However, he has never been employed as government adviser on eco-towns.

The Government asked the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) to advise them on some of the concepts and rationale for eco-towns when the initiative was first announced in March 2007, and at that time Professor Lock was chair of the TCPA. The TCPA continues to advise the Government on the practical application of the key sustainability and development criteria for eco-towns, but this advice is generic and available to all. It does not relate to the assessment of any individual schemes and neither the TCPA nor Professor Lock has any role in that.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 19 June (WA 176), what were the methods of disposal and the average immediate custodial sentence length (in months) for burglary for the south Belfast police district command unit in 2004–06. [HL4594]

The following table gives the method of disposal for those offenders convicted of burglary whose address fell within the south Belfast police district command unit.

Data cover the calendar years 2004 to 2006 and are collated on the principal offence rule; so only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Tunnicliffe on 24 June (WA 232) concerning drugs found in Northern Ireland prisons, what prosecutions have resulted from the finds listed in the Answer. [HL4487]

As Lord Tunnicliffe indicated, the Prison Service does not hold information on the outcome of cases handed over to police.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What improvements are to be made to the west coast main line in the next 12 months. [HL4574]

The Government are investing £8.8 billion in the modernisation of infrastructure on the west coast main line, incorporating such large-scale projects as the four-tracking of the route in the Trent Valley and a new layout at Milton Keynes.

Following completion of this work, a new timetable will be issued in December 2008 that will deliver a 45 per cent increase in long-distance services from London. Passengers will enjoy more seats, more frequent trains, new services and faster journey times.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What measures they have in place to improve levels of retention and recruitment of teachers to social work. [HL4333]

The General Social Care Council’s Code of Practice for Social Care Workers states that social care workers must undertake relevant training to maintain and improve their knowledge and skills and contribute to the learning and development of others.

To support this, under the new framework for social work post-qualifying training, the “Enabling Others” module will equip social workers to supervise and assess social work students and will be available to a wider range of staff than the previous practice teaching award. In addition, social workers will develop skills in practice education through higher specialist awards.

Activities are currently taking place in regions to support the retention, support and development of existing practice assessors. This includes providing sub-regional network groups for practice learning co-ordinators, to update them on current developments within the new framework and to encourage the sharing of good practice.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the terms of reference of the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Lord Carlile of Berriew; and how much he is paid from public funds. [HL4430]

The terms of reference of the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation are set out in the Official Report of the House of Lords of 8 March 1984, which states that the reviewer should make detailed inquiries of people who use the Act, or are affected by it, and the reviewer may see sensitive material.

The reviewer receives payment at a rate of £900 per day plus expenses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 24 June (cols. WA 242-43), from which countries the 22 per cent of foreign heavy goods vehicles found to have prohibitable defects in 2006 came from. [HL4573]

The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency carried out prohibitions on vehicles registered in the following countries in 2006: Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Lithuania, Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Turkey, Slovenia, Romania, Austria, Latvia, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Estonia, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Norway and a non-European country.