To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff were in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' unit responsible for genetically modified organisms in each year since 2000; and what was the annual budget for that unit in each year since 2000. [HL2794]

The following table gives the information requested from 2003-04, based on the number of Defra staff working full-time on GM policy issues. Other Defra staff contribute some of their time to work on GM issues, but it would be difficult to apportion this accurately. Information for earlier years is not available.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many meetings have taken place between ministers and (a) representatives of the biotechnology industry and its trade organisations, and (b) representatives of non-governmental organisations and consumer groups, on matters relating to genetically modified crops and foods in the past five years. [HL2866]

Since the beginning of 2007, Defra Ministers have had five meetings with representatives of the biotechnology industry and three meetings with non-governmental organisations specifically about matters relating to genetically modified crops and foods. Information for earlier years is not available.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they paid to settle claims by asylum seekers subjected to administrative detention for wrongful imprisonment, unlawful use of force or medical damage in 2008 and 2009; and what were the associated legal costs. [HL2983]

The Home Office prepares its accounts in accordance with UK GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) adapted for the public sector in accordance with guidance issued by HM Treasury.

The information is not collated in the way requested.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Bangladesh about alleged harassment and deportation of Burmese Rohingya refugees. [HL2845]

We are concerned by the recent reports by Medecins Sans Frontieres and Physicians for Human Rights on the situation facing displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh. We have raised the plight of the Rohingyas and their status with the Government of Bangladesh, both bilaterally and in concert with EU partners. Most recently, my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Mike Foster, raised the importance of meeting the basic needs of the displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh with the Bangladeshi State Minister for Environment and Forests on 17 March.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were in receipt of incapacity benefit as a result of mental health problems in each of the past five years. [HL2714]

Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation. To qualify for incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance, claimants have to undertake a medical assessment of incapacity for work which is called the personal capability assessment. Therefore, the medical condition recorded on the incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claim form does not itself confer entitlement to incapacity benefits, so for example, the decision for a customer claiming benefit on the grounds of a mental and behavioural disorder would be based on their ability to carry out the range of activities in the personal capability assessment.

Source: Department for Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent data.

Notes:

1. The figures are based on data derived from the Incapacity Reference Guide for Decision Makers. The guide is based on the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD -10). The relevant section does not differentiate between mental and behavioural disorders.

2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

3. Employment and support allowance replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008. Data by medical condition are not currently available for employment and support allowance/

4. Figures are published at www.nomisweb.co.uk.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what announcements they have made since 1 January about the broadcasting of the Irish and Ulster Scots languages; and how any such announcements meet the requirements for equality and parity of esteem. [HL2828]

On 1 February, the Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Irish Government that, among other things, ensures the widespread availability of the Irish language channel TG4 in Northern Ireland following the digital switchover. The Government see no inconsistency with obligations in respect of equality and parity of esteem.

To ask Her Majesty's Government following the report of the International Development Committee on DfID Assistance to Burmese Internally Displaced People and Refugees on the Thai-Burma Border (10th Report, session 2006–07), how much funding has been provided to community-based organisations on the Thai-Burma border to build schools, clinics and shelter in Burma. [HL2819]

Since 2007, approximately £660,000 of funding from the Department for International Development (DfID) has been used by non-governmental organisations, based in Thailand, to provide humanitarian assistance in Burma. This assistance includes the provision of health, education and other services, and financial support to enable particularly vulnerable people displaced by conflict to buy food. About £18,000 of this funding has been used to build classrooms and water and sanitation facilities for people displaced by conflict.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether elections due in Burma later this year will be free and fair. [HL2822]

Election laws published by the Burmese regime in early March compound the iniquities of the 2008 constitution. The laws appear to force the National League for Democracy to expel Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners from the party, or disband and withdraw from the political process. The laws also require political parties to endorse a constitution imposed through a sham referendum and place severe restrictions on their ability to campaign. In view of these and other restrictions, planned elections cannot be free and fair. The military government appear intent on further marginalising the democratic opposition and Burma's many ethnic groups, when only a fully inclusive political process stands any chance of delivering stability and solving Burma's many problems.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they plan to hold with the City of London Corporation's Economic Development Office following its recent report on the financial needs of United Kingdom small and medium-sized enterprises. [HL3078]

The City of London's report provides a good summary of the financing landscape affecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including the funding escalator required for different stages of business growth. Government acknowledge the conclusions in the report and will continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders and partners, including the City of London, to support the financial needs of UK SMEs and to help address the issues that the report identifies.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was paid by the Ministry of Defence and its agencies to (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) KPMG, (c) Deloitte, (d) Ernst & Young, (e) Grant Thornton, (f) BDO Stoy Hayward, (g) Baker Tilly, (h) Smith & Williamson, (i) Tenon Group, (j) PKF, (k) McKinsey and Company, and (l) Accenture, in each of the past five years for which information is available; how they monitor contracts with those firms; and how the department reports (1) during, and (2) at the end of, contracts to Buying Solutions. [HL2096]

The Ministry of Defence Financial Management Shared Service Centre (FMSSC) contracts database shows that payments have been made over the past five complete financial years to the companies listed in the following table. The amounts shown have been rounded to the nearest £1 million.

• - Under £1 million

0 - No payments made in period

There are no records of payments being made to Baker Tilly, Tenon Group or PKF.

To monitor and assess the compliance and performance of individual contracts against a defined requirement, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) incorporates milestones, critical success factors, performance indicators, and contract completion conditions, and conducts project evaluations.

MoD is not required to report this spend data to Buying Solutions.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will pursue bilateral agreements on climate change with other countries, following the lack of a full agreement at the Copenhagen climate change conference in December 2009. [HL2564]

The UK Government remain committed to achieving an international legally binding agreement through the UNFCCC. The Copenhagen Accord provides a strong platform on which to build. We will continue to work bilaterally and through multilateral institutions both to support practical action on the ground to address climate change and to work towards a legally binding agreement.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they regard the European Court of Human Rights ruling on 5 March that the Immovable Property Commission in Northern Cyprus provides appropriate redress for Greek Cypriot complaints about deprivation of property following the 1974 Turkish intervention as de facto recognition of the enabling Government in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. [HL2935]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling is not a de facto recognition of the self-declared “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (TRNC). The ECHR ruling stated clearly that,

“to the extent that any domestic remedy is made available by acts of ‘TRNC’ authorities or institutions, it may be regarded as a ‘domestic remedy’ or ‘national’ remedy vis-a-vis Turkey... the overall control exercised by Turkey over the territory of northern Cyprus entails her responsibility for the policies and actions of the ‘TRNC’”.

Accordingly, the Government do not regard this ruling as a de facto recognition of the self-declared “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”.

The full judgment of the ECHR in this case is available at http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?item =7&portal=hbkm&action=html&highlight=&sessionid= 49443179&skin=hudoc-en.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have introduced a telephone campaign offering to assume responsibility for all the debts of qualifying individuals applying before 6 April; and what assessment they have made of the effects of the campaign on heavily indebted persons. [HL2838]

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the funds at the disposal of the promoters of a telephone campaign, claiming to be made by the Government and offering to assume responsibility for all the debts of qualifying individuals applying before 6 April, are derived from HM Treasury; if so, how much is available; on what terms; and for how long. [HL2839]

To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the terms under which, in a telephone campaign claiming to be made by them, qualifying individuals applying before 6 April are offered to be relieved of all of their personal debt. [HL2840]

There is no government telephone campaign offering to assume responsibility for all debts of qualifying individuals. Any government scheme would not involve cold calling consumers, nor would it encourage consumers to seek to evade their debts.

The Government are aware that there have been some instances of misleading and unlawful cold calling practices. In some cases, consumers have been misled into believing that they were one of the “few chosen individuals” contacted as part of a government scheme to help wipe out consumer debt. The Office of Fair Trading last year ordered six debt management businesses and four cold calling companies to stop using unsolicited and misleading calls to advertise their services. Follow-up formal enforcement action has been taken against some of those companies.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to monitor the number of eco-friendly light bulbs that fail after less than four years. [HL2914]

Through Commission Regulation (244/2009/EC), requirements are set on lumen maintenance and survival factors for non-directional household lamps placed on the European market, as well as energy efficiency requirements.

The National Measurement Office has the enforcement responsibility for this regulation and will be carrying out a programme of product testing. The tests will be targeted on products that are known to have a higher risk of non-compliance.

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Young of Norwood Green on 16 March (WA 158), what response they made to the report of January 2009 by Professor Colin Jones Government Review of Regulation and Redress in the UK Housing Market, prepared for the then Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, which recommended the regulation of estate agents. [HL3013]

The Government welcomed Professor Jones' report. It is an important contribution to the ongoing debate about improving service standards among property professionals, for the benefit of consumers.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the operation of the European Union internal market in the light of the Internal Market Scoreboard published in March; and what their priorities are for further developing the internal market. [HL3080]

The March scoreboard demonstrates that the record of member states in transposing EU legislation correctly and on time continues to improve. However, further improvement is still needed, not only on the measures contained in the scoreboard but also in the way in which legislation is implemented in practice, to make sure the anticipated benefits are really delivered to businesses and citizens.

The Government's EU Compact for Jobs and Growth, published in October 2009, identifies a number of priorities for further development of the single market including: a focus on barriers in high growth sectors such as services, the digital economy and low-carbon technologies, as well as barriers preventing cross-border trade by small and medium enterprises; further steps to reduce the burden of EU legislation on businesses; improved co-operation between national enforcement authorities; more accessible problem-solving mechanisms; and measures to facilitate the free movement of workers.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what response they have given to the European Court of Human Rights' invitation to submit written observations on the admissibility and merits of Application No 31965/07 Hardy & Maile v the United Kingdom for which a response was initially required by 17 February, subsequently extended by the court to 5 March at the request of Her Majesty's Government. [HL2910]

The Government have submitted written observations as requested by the European Court of Human Rights, setting out the Government's position that this application is inadmissible for non-exhaustion of domestic remedies, alternatively that there is no violation of the convention.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of their contribution to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and what steps they are taking to ensure the Fund receives adequate future funding during this year's replenishment process. [HL2937]

In its recent annual report on innovation and impact, the Global Fund Secretariat estimates that fund-supported programmes have saved 4.9 million lives; provided 2.5 million people with antiretroviral treatments for AIDS; provided 6 million people with TB treatments; and distributed 104 million insecticide-treated bed nets. However, the UK Government acknowledge that the fund can and should do more to streamline its operations; work better with partner country systems and other donors; deliver better value for money; and improve its communications.

The UK made a long-term pledge at the Global Fund’s 2007 replenishment of £1 billion from 2008 to 2015. The UK will continue to encourage others to honour their pledges and new donors to step up to the table, as well as support new efforts on innovative financing for health systems.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to update the “fact files” page of the website of the government office for the North East to carry data on unemployment in the north east region after August 2009. [HL2666]

Government offices ceased to publish the fact files for all the government office regions from 3 March 2010 as an efficiency measure as it duplicated information that was already available from other sources. Information, such as data on unemployment, can be obtained directly from the Office for National Statistics website.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what part they are playing in establishing open, accountable and effective Government in Haiti. [HL2953]

The UK has contributed a community engagement expert to the team which has now produced a post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA). The PDNA identifies important recommendations to establish open, accountable and effective government in Haiti, including: to seek a political consensus during the reconstruction period; to strengthen the democratic process through support to Parliament and political parties, to support civil society to promote dialogue on public policy; to strengthen the capacities of the Provisional Electoral Commission; and to support the institutional strengthening of the National Identification Office.

The UK believes that follow up to the PDNA is best supported by multilateral institutions, including the World Bank, European Commission and Inter-American Development Bank. The UK's share of the reconstruction funding already announced by these organisations amounts to around $50 million. The UK will use its position as major stakeholder in the multilateral bodies to ensure the priorities and principles they set for their allocations in Haiti address the most pressing needs—informed by the recommendations of the PDNA and the Government of Haiti's strategy for reconstruction and development.

In addition, in 2008-09 the UK contributed US$42 million to the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) through our assessed contributions to UN Peacekeeping. The UK, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, also politically supports MINUSTAH through the Security Council mandate process. MINUSTAH has played a critical role in providing support to the Haitian Government for a number of years, including for free and fair elections such as the presidential elections in 2006. It will continue to do so for the next presidential elections, which we hope will take place as soon as conditions allow, and at the latest before the end of the current president's mandate.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what contribution they are making towards developing the rule of law and the administration of justice in Haiti. [HL2954]

In 2008-09, the UK contributed US$42 million to the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) through our assessed contributions to UN peacekeeping. The UK, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, politically supports MINUSTAH through the Security Council mandate process. MINUSTAH plays a critical role within Haiti in training and supporting the Haitian National Police, providing the skills required to effectively and fairly maintain law and order within the country.

Following the earthquake of 12 January, the UK contributed a community engagement expert to an international team which has now produced a post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA). The PDNA identifies important recommendations to develop the rule of law and the administration of justice in Haiti, including: to restore and enhance the operational capacities of actors in the justice and public safety system; and to modernise the justice and public safety system and expand services at the territorial level.

The UK believes that follow-up to the PDNA is best supported by multilateral institutions, including the World Bank, European Commission and Inter-American Development Bank. The UK's share of the reconstruction funding already announced by these organisations amounts to around $50 million. The UK will use our position as a major shareholder in the multilateral bodies to ensure the priorities and principles the institutions set for their allocations in Haiti address the most pressing needs—informed by the recommendations of the PDNA and the Government of Haiti's strategy for reconstruction and development.

Additionally, experts from the UK Government's Stabilisation Unit are advising the Haitian Ministry of Justice on a programme of prison rebuilding. This is part of an international donor effort to rebuild and improve the prison sector in Haiti. Improving prison conditions had also been a priority before the earthquake. The work is now continuing, and the team are also providing advice to the Haitian Ministry of Justice on introducing international standards on prison management, as well as better security management and contingency planning.

To ask Her Majesty's Government in what circumstances the Crown Prosecution Service would prosecute a young person begging. [HL2969]

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) would prosecute a youth for begging only if there was sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and if a prosecution was in the public interest.

The public interest would not usually require a prosecution if the youth admitted the offence and had not previously been convicted of an offence or received a warning from the police. In these circumstances, the police would usually issue a reprimand or warning for the offence.

Youths are usually only referred to the CPS for prosecution if the youth denies the offence or if the youth has already received a final warning or has been convicted of an offence. The CPS will consider each case on its merits and would take into account the interests of the youth and factors such as the reasons for begging, the prevalence of the offence in the area, whether the begging was aggressive and whether members of the public had complained.

To ask the Chairman of Committees what assessment has been made of the additional costs to Parliamentary works projects arising out of any sittings of the House of Lords in September 2010. [HL2800]

It is estimated that a September sitting would, in total, add approximately £1.3 million to the cost of shared and Lords-only major works projects taking place over the summer, largely because of the need to accelerate or delay them. This does not include Commons-only projects.

To ask the Chairman of Committees what consultation has been undertaken with contractors regarding any disruption arising from or delays to Parliamentary works projects as a result of any sittings of the House of Lords in August or September 2010. [HL2802]

Discussions on this matter have been held with the contractor currently undertaking the cast iron roofs project. Contractors have not yet been appointed to the other major projects likely to be affected by an August or September sitting (the mechanical and electrical project and the fire safety works) but the tender documents will reflect these considerations.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the average weekly incomes in each region and country in the United Kingdom in (a) 1997, (b) 2006, and (c) 2009. [HL2750]

Specific information regarding household income for the United Kingdom is available in Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 2007-08.

The information where available is presented in the table.

Source: Households Below Average Income, DWP

Notes:

10. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income, sourced from the Family Resources Survey. The Households Below Average Income series and the Family Resources Survey is available in the Library.

11. Small changes should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response.

12. The reference period for Households Below Average Income figures are single financial years. Three survey year averages are given for regional statistics as regional single year estimates are subject to volatility.

13. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication Households Below Average Income series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or “equivalised”) for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living.

14. For the Households Below Average Income series, incomes have been equivalised using Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development equivalisation factors.

15. Median incomes have been provided rather than mean incomes because the income distribution is skewed with some outliers with high incomes.

16. Incomes are presented in 2007-08 prices and have been rounded to the nearest pound sterling.

17. Figures have been presented on a Before Housing Cost and an After Housing Cost basis. For Before Housing Costs, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for After Housing Costs they are.

18. “..” indicates figures are not available. Figures are only available for the Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom from 2002-03 onwards.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are making representations to the Government of Iran about the arrests of the Rev Wilson Issavi, Mr Hamid Shafiee and his wife Reyhaneh Aghajary and their conditions in custody. [HL2851]

We are aware of these arrests and remain concerned at the treatment of religious minorities in Iran. We have raised our concerns over the human rights situation in Iran, including the treatment of religious minorities, with the Iranian authorities both bilaterally and via the EU. My honourable friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State, Ivan Lewis MP, raised our concerns with the Iranian ambassador on 20 January.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the government of Israel requesting that all property claims in Israel and east Jerusalem be treated on a basis of equality, in particular those dating from 1948; and whether they will raise the matter in the European Union in the context of the human rights clause of the European Union–Israel Association Agreement. [HL2817]

The UK does not recognise the illegal Israeli annexation of east Jerusalem. We have consistently raised concerns about actions taken directly by the Israeli Government or by private organisations with the support of the Israeli legal system (such as the absentee property law and the enforcement of pre-1948 property claims by Jewish litigants to Palestinian land where no such parallel right exists for Palestinian litigants) that have the effect of altering the demographic balance of Jerusalem. This includes the building of settlements on occupied land, the eviction of Palestinian families from their homes and the demolition of Palestinian housing.

To ask Her Majesty's Government which United Kingdom citizens have been extradited under the European arrest warrant; for which alleged crimes; to which European countries; and how long they have spent in custody awaiting trial. [HL2940]

The Serious Organised Crime Agency and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (for Scotland) are the designated authorities in the UK responsible for processing European arrest warrants (EAWs). It is not possible from current systems to break down the number of EAWs received by the UK into nationality, alleged offence type and requesting EU member state. To do so would require a manual examination of all files and incur disproportionate cost. Once a person has been extradited from the UK to another jurisdiction, the designated authorities’ involvement in the EAW process ceases.

How long a person is held on remand awaiting trial, whether in custody or on bail, is governed by the law of the requesting state and this can vary from country to country. Internationally accepted standards usually allow for a two-year period of detention before trial, depending on the circumstances of the case. While the UK is unable to interfere in the legal processes of another country, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, if appropriate, will consider making inquiries with local authorities to establish the reason for any delay in trial proceedings for any British national held on remand for more than 24 months.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what powers local authorities have been given since May 2005 which increase their ability to levy fixed penalty notices. [HL2662]

The Government do not hold a central register of the fixed penalty notices introduced by their various departments. They are responsible for legislative proposals affecting local government in those policy areas for which they have responsibility.

Since May 2005, my department has provided local authorities with powers to issue fixed penalty notices in the following areas: breach of duties in relation to the provision of home information packs under Part 5 of the Housing Act 2004; and breach of duty in relation to energy performance certificates, display energy certificates or air conditioning inspections or reports under Regulations 40 and 43 of the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Northern Ireland Office has approved suppliers for conducting opinion polls; if so, who are the approved suppliers; how they were chosen; by whom; and when. [HL2829]

I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given on 22 March 2010 (Official Report, col. WA 249).

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland, in deciding not to prosecute two students accused of being involved in the attack on a south Belfast church where Romanians were sheltering, took account of the social status of their parents. [HL2927]

To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland reconsidered its decision not to prosecute Nigel Brown and Gary Taylor in relation to the death of Thomas Devlin; and how often in the past five years it has reconsidered decisions not to prosecute. [HL2928]

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland has prosecuted for murder in each of the past five years; how many prosecutions have resulted in an acquittal; and how many have resulted in a conviction. [HL2929]

To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service is advertising for temporary prosecuting staff; and whether they propose to increase the number of permanent prosecuting staff. [HL2930]

These are operational matters for the Acting Director of Public Prosecutions. I have asked him to reply directly to the noble Lord and will arrange for copies of the letters to be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many forged or stolen United Kingdom passports have been detected at the United Kingdom border in each of the last 12 months. [HL2958]

The following table details the detections of forged and stolen United Kingdom passports at UK Border Force offices for each month in 2009, the most recent period for which figures are available.

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Thornton on 5 January (WA 50), how many pensions are paid to British nationals in Ireland; and how many recipients are over 90 years old. [HL2658]

The information requested is not available. The information that is available is in the table.

Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Notes:

1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

2. Some additional disclosure control has also been applied.

To ask Her Majesty's Government when the code of practice on the management of police pursuits will be issued to police forces. [HL3026]

My right honourable friend the Policing Minister will be making an announcement about this issue shortly.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to limit the population growth of the United Kingdom. [HL2543]

We will continue to consider the implications of population projections and develop policy accordingly.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what conclusions they have drawn from the consultation with interested parties and the public on the proposal for a rapid transport system linking St Pancras and Euston stations for the High Speed Two railway. [HL3074]

As set out in the High Speed Rail Command Paper (CM 7827), the Government believe that any new high-speed rail line should be connected to the wider European high-speed rail network via High Speed One and the Channel Tunnel, subject to cost and value for money. This could be achieved through either or both of a dedicated rapid transport system linking Euston and St Pancras and a direct rail link to High Speed One. HS2 Ltd will carry out further work to assess the viability and cost of each of these, including a full assessment of the business case, prior to any public consultation.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Mr Stephen Byers has spoken to the Secretary of State for Transport, Lord Adonis, regarding National Express's East Coast franchise; and, if so, what was (a) the date on which the contact took place, and (b) the nature of the contact.[HL3052]

I had a brief conversation in the House of Commons with the right honourable Member for North Tyneside in June 2009 about the East Coast Main Line. I set out the content of the conversation in my Answer to the noble Baroness' Question on 22 March 2010 (Official Report, col. 754).

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Secretary of State for Transport, Lord Adonis, has been informed of any payments made by the National Express Group plc, its subsidiaries or representatives to Mr Stephen Byers; and, if so, at what date he was informed of any such payments. [HL3053]

I have not been informed of any payments made by the National Express Group plc or its subsidiaries or representatives to the right honourable Member for North Tyneside.

To ask Her Majesty's Government on what occasions the Secretary of State for Transport, Lord Adonis, (a) met, or (b) spoke to, (1) Mr Stephen Byers, (2) representatives of the National Express Group plc or its subsidiaries, and (3) Mr Stephen Byers and representatives of National Express Group plc or its subsidiaries together, since 3 October 2008. [HL3054]

Since 3 October 2008, I have had the following meetings and discussions:

As set out in my Answer to the noble Baroness' Question on 22 March 2010 (Official Report, col. 754], I had a brief conversation about the East Coast Main Line with the right honourable Member for North Tyneside in June 2009 in the House of Commons. I also met him socially on 11 February 2010; no matters relating to National Express were discussed.

I have met representatives of the National Express Group plc or its subsidiaries on a regular basis. As Minister of State, I had meetings on 23 October 2008, 28 November 2008, 18 February 2009 and 21 April 2009. Since becoming Secretary of State, I have met representatives on 9 June 2009, 26 June 2009 and 17 November 2009. Some of these meetings were specifically to discuss issues relating to National Express Group plc or its subsidiaries; others were wider events involving other transport stakeholders.

I have held no meetings or discussions with the right honourable Member for North Tyneside and representatives of National Express Group plc or its subsidiaries together.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether in discussions about the European Union Neighbourhood Policy and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and in other appropriate fora they will raise the situation of the Kurds in Syria, in particular their citizenship status, freedom to demonstrate, land rights, language rights and other human rights. [HL2936]

As I said in my Answer of 9 February to the noble Lord, we regularly raise the issue of Kurds with the Syrian Government.

We will consider using any multilateral fora to raise the issue of Kurds, including the ones that the noble Lord mentions. If signed by Syria, the structures provided by the EU Association Agreement will provide the EU with a regular political forum to raise human rights and other concerns.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the students in north India, Bangladesh and Nepal who made applications under previous rules for tier 4 student visas to the United Kingdom to study at private colleges which have been suspended will have their applications automatically declined and fees returned; and how many such applications are pending decision under the previous rules. [HL2872]

Students who have made applications in North India, Bangladesh and Nepal to suspended colleges will have their applications considered once the outcome of the suspension is known.

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord West of Spithead on 12 January (WA 148) and on 23 February (WA 296), whether they collate statistics on the number of foreign students granted visas to study at particular private colleges; and, if so, why it is commercially sensitive to provide details of the number of visas per college. [HL2874]

The UK Border Agency can collate statistics on the number of foreign students granted visas to study at particular private colleges if needed, but we do not do so regularly, except when we are making checks to ensure compliance with our rules.

Publication of such data would make commercially important information about the college's activities available to competitors and could put the private college at an unfair disadvantage.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many student visas have been issued in the past ten years; and how many have been issued to dependants of students. [HL2875]

The information requested has only been collated since 2004. In the past six years, 1,305,592 entry clearance visas have been issued to students and 124,816 entry clearance visas have been issued to the dependants of students.

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much aid they gave to Zimbabwe in each of the past five years for which figures are available. [HL2788]

Details of UK aid to developing countries from 2004-05 to 2008-09 are available in the 2009 edition of Statistics on International Development, a copy of which is available in the House Library. The relevant figures for Zimbabwe are reproduced in the table below.