To ask the Minister without Portfolio what plans his Department has to correspond electronically with (a) hon. Members and (b) members of the public. [49830]

[holding answer 13 July 1998]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 17 July 1998, Official Report, column 315.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the initiatives undertaken by his Department since 1 May 1997 which have involved the establishment of (a) action zones and (b) pilot schemes limited to particular geographical areas, indicating the name of the programme and the action zone or pilot scheme areas covered in each instance. [47051]

No initiatives have been undertaken by my Department since 1 May 1997 which have resulted in the establishment of action zones. Regarding the establishment of pilot schemes, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) on 30 June 1998, Official Report, columns 135–36.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for South-East Cornwall (Mr. Breed) on 8 April 1998, Official Report, column 310, if the same options are applied to public sector research establishments included within the scope of the review. [49974]

Yes. The prior options reviews of public sector research establishments must thoroughly examine the same options that are applied during reviews of Next Steps agencies and agency candidates generally: abolition; privatisation; contracting out; market testing; rationalisation or merger with other areas of government; and agency or NDPB status. In looking at whether the function is required, prior option reviews of public sector research establishments will consider the underlying question of the country's scientific needs in that area. As with all prior options reviews, there is no presupposition that any outcome is more favoured than another. The decision on future status is made with the aim of achieving the most appropriate and cost effective way of carrying out the functions so as to deliver best value for money and best service.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what measures he has put in place to ensure that small businesses can complete all their licensing requirements and inform themselves about relevant regulation in one office. [50015]

The Access Business Group, chaired by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service, aims to make the regulatory system more transparent, accessible and helpful. The Group is also looking at the provision of integrated information, advice and guidance to ease the burden on business. The use of Information Technology to help businesses fulfil their obligation is part of this work.In December, I launched the "intelligent" form which enables people to register as self-employed at a bank. This model has now been extended with the launch of the Post Office-led "Open for Business" pilot which enables people to register as self-employed in a post office, library, a community based "telecottage" or local government office. The "intelligent" form is just the start. The system proves the technology and we should eventually have electronic forms for people to apply for licences.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer of 13 July 1998, Official Report, column 1, what was the nature of the representations received from (a) the Minister without Portfolio and (b) the Secretary of State for the Home Department. [51159]

Internal discussions between Ministers on policy issues are confidential under the terms of Exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer of 6 July 1998, Official Report, column 337, on the People's Panel, how many waves of research the Government plan to commission. [51302]

The Cabinet Office plans to commission a second wave of research later in the year. Plans for subsequent waves of research are being discussed with other government departments.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the Government response to the second report of the Science and Technology Committee "The Year 2000—Computer Compliance" [HC342] will be published. [51804]

My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade and I have today laid before Parliament the Government Response as Command Paper 3944.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many letters per day his office receives; how many staff are employed to answer these; what targets are set in respect of such letters; and what is the current performance against targets. [50686]

The Cabinet Office is currently collating information on the performance of the main government departments and agencies in responding to letters from MPs and the general public. This includes information on the volume of correspondence received, the target for responding to such letters, and performance against the target. It will be made available to House.Information will not be included on the number of staff employed to answer letters as very few are employed solely in handling correspondence: in most cases correspondence is handled by staff across Whitehall as part of their normal duties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is her Department's average response time to correspondence from members of the public; and how such response times are monitored. [48663]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service on 14 July 1998, Official Report, column 159.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Orange parades have been re-routed in Portadown since 1985. [49520]

The following table shows the number of Orange parades re-routed in Portadown since 1990. The information prior to that year is not readily available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the (a) forecast cost and (b) planned completion date of improvements to the section of the railway line between Lisburn and Belfast. [50136]

Work on Phase 1 of the Belfast-Lisburn rail upgrade, ie, the line between Great Victoria Street junction and Lisburn, which commenced in March, will be completed by 31 December 1998. Work on Phase 2 between Belfast Central Station and Belfast City junction will commence in spring 1999 and is likely to be completed mid year. The total cost of the project is estimated at £16.1m.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if land will be included in the list of goods, facilities and services in the Government's proposals to amend the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989. [51306]

The White paper "Partnership for Equality" indicated that Fair Employment legislation would be extended to cover goods, facilities and services and the disposal or management of premises. Premises includes land. Views were sought on possible exceptions within areas such as housing and land and comments received are still being considered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of those organisations replying to the White Paper, "Partnership for Equality" (a) explicitly supported the establishment of a single Equality Commission and (b) did not mention it in their submission. [51308]

In total there were 123 responses to the White Paper "Partnership for Equality" and of those 29 or 23 per cent. supported the establishment of a single Equality Commission and 24 or 20 per cent. did not mention it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the current annual costs and manpower of those bodies which it is intended to absorb into the Equality Commission. [51309]

The current annual cost of the Fair Employment Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission for Northern Ireland and the Commission for Racial Equality for Northern Ireland is £4.8m. The staffing complement of these bodies is 117 full-time equivalents. The Northern Ireland Disability Council has an annual cost of £100,000 and no staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what evaluation her Department has made of the impact of the European Court of Justice decision in respect of unauthorised spending by the Commission on measures in favour of older people. [45422]

[holding answer 11 June 1998]: No evaluation is required. The European Court of Justice decision (C106/96) given on 12 May was in respect of unlawful expenditure by the European Commission on projects to combat social exclusion. The Court agreed with the UK that whilst the payments had been illegal, the projects should be allowed to retain the money they had received.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will set a maximum target for the time within which the Independent Tribunal Service has to respond to requests for statements explaining tribunals' findings on questions of fact and the reasons underlying their decisions; and if she will make a statement. [48815]

The administration of the appeal system is a matter for His Honour Judge Michael Harris, the President of the Independent Tribunal Service (ITS). Tribunal chairmen provide statements explaining tribunals' findings on questions of fact and the reasons underlying their decisions. I understand the Chief Executive of the ITS has written to the hon. Member asking for more information and that the President will reply in more detail in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is her Department's average response time to correspondence from members of the public. [48976]

The Department and its Agencies aim to reply to all correspondence from members of the public within 20 days. Although performance is monitored, the information is not available in the format requested. I refer the hon. Member to the written answer from my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service on 14 July 1998, Official Report, column 159.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans her Department has to correspond electronically with (a) hon. Members and (b) members of the public. [49895]

[holding answer Monday 13 July 1998]: This Department provides a wide range of information through a variety of means, including electronic. We have a website on the Internet which contains Social Security information such as benefits and Green Papers and an E-mail box for Ministerial correspondence.We are actively looking at ways members of the public can deal electronically with the Department, with respect to benefit claims.I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 17 July 1998,

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the rate of return on the lifetime National Insurance contributions of (a) a man aged 65 and (b) a woman aged 60 retiring in the current financial year and receiving a full basic state pension. [48972]

The Government Actuary's Department estimates that the real rate of return on lifetime National Insurance contributions for someone reaching State Pension Age in 1998 would be 1.1 per cent. for a man aged 65 and 4.0 per cent for a woman aged 60.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will estimate the cost of uprating to 1998 prices the £10 Christmas bonus as originally introduced on the basis of providing it (a) to all pensioners, (b) to pensioners other than higher rate taxpayers and (c) to pensioners other than standard and higher rate taxpayers. [49954]

The estimated cost of uprating the £10 Christmas bonus to 1998 prices on the basis of providing it to:

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for industrial injuries disablement benefit for each of the last three years were made by officials or employees or former officials or employees of (a) Government or Government agencies, (b) the NHS, (c) local government or local government agencies and (d) the private sector. [50628]

The information requested is not available. Information is available only on the employment status of people receiving Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit and is collected by the Standard Industrial Classification on Economic Activity relevant to the employment they were in at the time the injury occurred or the prescribed disease was contracted. Such information as is available is set out in the tables.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will make a statement on the factors underlying delays in issuing child benefit payment books. [49219]

I have been asked to reply.Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Social Security Agency under its Chief Executive, Mr. Chris Thompson, and I have asked him to arrange for a response to be given.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the volume of correspondence sent to, and received from, hon. Members by (a) the Inland Revenue and (b) Her Majesty's Customs and Excise between (i) January to March 1996 and (b) January to March 1998. [47871]

The Board of Inland Revenue and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise receive a large volume of correspondence from hon. Members at local office level, regional and collection level, and at their respective Head Offices.The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list in cash terms total Government debt in (a) 1996–97 and (b) 1997–98. [51474]

Cash figures for net public sector debt in 1996–97 were published in Table B7 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report. Estimates of net public sector debt as a proportion of GDP in 1997–98 were published in Table 4.5 of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report. The estimate of GDP in 1997–98 was published in Table 4.1.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate total Government debt in cash terms for (a) 1998–99, (b) 1999–2000, (c) 2000–01 and (d) 2001–02. [51473]

Table 4.5 of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report showed forecasts of net public sector debt as a proportion of GDP. Forecasts of GDP were published in Table 4.1.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans his Department has to broaden the range of people eligible to sit on rent tribunals. [50106]

We want to see tribunals drawn from a broader constituency and representing a balance of expert and lay membership. Though these are expert tribunals and necessarily include qualified lawyers and valuers, we have been concerned about the lack of lay members. My Department has started advertising to recruit more lay members and to widen the catchment from which they are drawn.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans his Department has to correspond electronically with (a) hon. Members and (b) members of the public. [49815]

[holding answer 12 July 1998]: On (a), I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 17 July 1998, Official Report, column 315. On (b), as part of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's target of twenty five per cent. of dealings with Government being undertaken electronically by 2002, the Department is taking major steps to modernise and bring in electronic services. Among other things, this will provide more opportunity for the Department to correspond electronically with members of the public.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many letters per day his office receives; how many staff are employed to answer these; what targets are set in respect of such letters; and what is the current performance against targets. [50679]

In respect of the volume of correspondence and targets set by this Department for dealing with such correspondence, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service today, Official Report, colum 363. Few staff are solely employed by my Department to handle correspondence; for most staff this is part of their normal duties.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will place in the Library copies of correspondence his Department has received in the last six months from the European Commission concerning the implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive as it affects the offshore oil and gas industry. [50634]

Correspondence between the European Commission and the Member States (including the UK) concerning the implementation of EC Directives is regarded by all parties as confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he has had with Wandsworth Borough Council on the number of council properties that have been empty for periods longer than three months. [50704]

I have had no such discussions. However officials of the Government Office for London regularly discuss with Borough officials, as part of the annual Housing Investment Programme determination, many aspects of the Borough's housing strategy and of its performance as a housing authority. Empty council properties are one aspect of that discussion. The Government regularly mention the number of empty houses in each local authority area, and encourage all local authorities to implement strategies to minimise the number of empty houses in their area.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what funds have been provided by his Department for the Sustrans UK project; and if he will make a statement. [50726]

The Department welcomes the contribution the National Cycle Network can make to encouraging people to cycle. In addition to the £43.5m Sustrans received from the Millennium Commission the Department has undertaken to fund the crossings on the trunk road network where this is appropriate.The Highways Agency is committed to spending around £7.8m on cycle schemes across England's trunk road network. A rolling programme of around 60 crossings are being targeted for completion by the year 2000. In most cases the Highways Agency is working in partnership with local authorities, cycling groups and Sustrans to identify the right schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the representations received by his Department on the Air Carrier Liability Order 1998 indicating those in favour and those against the terms of the Order. [50821]

Representations have been received from the following organisations, companies or individuals:

• Association of Asia Pacific Airways
• Association of British Travel Agents
• Barlow Lyde & Gilbert
• Beaumont and Son
• Board of Airlines Represented in the United Kingdom
• British Airways
• British Air Transport Association
• Harold Caplan Esq.
• Dibb Lupton Alsop
• International Air Transport Association
• Peter Martin Esq.
• Lady O'Cathain.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will discuss with HM Treasury methods by which local authorities could keep the proceeds of fines relating to dog fouling. [50826]

Section 4(2) of the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 currently requires local authorities to surrender the proceeds of fines relating to dog fouling to the Secretary of State. The Government will consider whether this should be changed when the next legislation opportunity presents itself.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many companies registered under the terms of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations by 1977 (a) 1 August 1997 and (b) 1 April 1998; what income was received by the Government agency in respect of companies registering in each period; and how many prosecutions there were in each period of non-registering companies. [50753]

The first deadline for registration with the Environment Agency (the "Agency") as required by the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 was 31 August 1997 and the second 1 April 1998.By 1 August 1997 records indicate a total of 581 businesses registered with the Agency and subsequently a total of 3,613 businesses registered for the period 31 August 1997 to 1 April 1998. Fees recovered on 1 August 1997 were £720 and subsequently increased to £1,650,600.By 1 April 1998 records indicate a total of 2,323 businesses were registered with the Agency for the registration period 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999 and subsequently a total of 3,376 businesses were registered by the end of June 1998. Fees recovered on 1 August 1998 were £1,497,250 and subsequently £1,482,750.No prosecutions for non compliance have yet taken place.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 9 June 1997, Official Report, column 317, if he will estimate when Peterborough will be served by direct Eurostar services. [51148]

As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced on 3 June 1998, Official Report, columns 367–84, London and Continental Railways, which are responsible for the operation of the Eurostar service, have decided to award a management contract for the service to a consortium comprising British Airways, National Express and the national railways of France and Belgium. This consortium has been asked to review urgently the feasibility of regional Eurostar services, and to report to the Government before the end of the year. We cannot prejudge the outcome of that report.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if his Department's negotiations for the construction of the CTRL will be concluded before LCR's review of the feasibility of regional Eurostar services is completed. [51170]

Negotiations for the construction of the CTRL and the review of the feasibility of regional Eurostar services are being taken forward in parallel. Negotiations for the construction of the CTRL are being progressed with a view to allowing construction to start later this year. The consortium selected to operate Eurostar have been asked to review urgently the feasibility of regional services and report by the end of this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many companies have expressed an interest in taking a stake in the National Air Traffic Services. [51182]

One organisation has so far expressed an interest.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the names of (a) consultants and (b) legal advisers currently employed or to be employed by (i) his Department, (ii) the Civil Aviation Authority and (iii) National Air Traffic Services to provide advice on the public-private partnership or National Air Traffic Services. [51181]

The Department is in the early stages of appointing consultants and legal advisers to provide advice on the public-private partnership for National Air Traffic Services. Neither the Civil Aviation Authority nor the National Air Traffic Services currently employ consultants or legal advisers for this purpose, but are considering their need for such services.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many additional staff have been or are planned to be employed by (a) his Department, (b) NATS and (c) the CAA to deal with the proposed public-private partnership for the National Air Traffic Services. [51215]

The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions intends to staff the work relating to the proposed public-private partnership for National Air Traffic Services from existing resources. Neither NATS nor the CAA employ or plan to employ additional staff for this work.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what work (a) his Department and (b) the Civil Aviation Authority are carrying out to assess the possibility of (i) RAF Northolt and (ii) Redhill Aerodrome being used as feeder or reliever airports for Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. [51175]

Neither my Department nor the Civil Aviation Authority are carrying out work to assess the possibility of RAF Northolt or Redhill Aerodrome being used as feeder or reliever airports for Heathrow or Gatwick.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the working groups established by (a) his Department and (b) the Civil Aviation Authority to discuss airport capacity in the South East of England. [51190]

No working groups have been established for this purpose by either my Department or the Civil Aviation Authority in the last few years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of when Stansted Airport will become slot constrained. [51167]

Stansted Airport Ltd. notified the Department on 7 July that in its opinion conditions are such that Stansted Airport should be fully coordinated for slot allocation purposes under Article 3 of EC Regulation 95/93 with effect from Summer 1999. The Government will consider if the airport should be so designated following consultation with airlines and other relevant organisations on a capacity analysis in accordance with the Regulation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what work BAA plc has carried out recently at his Department's request on a scheme for a close parallel runway at Gatwick. [51377]

BAA plc is not currently undertaking any work at the request of my Department in relation to the possibility of developing a close parallel runway at Gatwick Airport. The work which the previous Administration asked BAA to undertake into this concept following publication of the report on Runway Capacity in the South East (RUCATSE) is not yet complete. We have asked BAA to put the work on hold so that we can consider how to take this issue forward in the light of the Integrated Transport White Paper.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the transatlantic routes that are currently served only by British Airways or American Airlines services. [51198]

The UK/US routes that are served only by British Airways are:

• London—Baltimore
• London—Charlotte
• London—Phoenix
• London—Pittsburgh
• London—San Diego
• London—Seattle
• London—Tampa.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what percentage of driver and vehicle records have been found to be accurate in each of the last five years. [51200]

The information is not available in the form requested. However, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has since 1994/95 been set targets for the accuracy with which it captures the data provided by its customers.The table shows the targets and the results:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many (a) driver licence and (b) vehicle registration applications were received by the DVLA for each of the last five years. [51199]

The volumes of driver licences and vehicle registration applications received by the DVLA for each of the last five years are:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the computer system used by the DVLA was last upgraded; and what proposals he has for future developments to it. [51172]

The DVLA drivers computer system has recently been upgraded to permit the issue of photocard licences. The vehicle system is currently being upgraded and this will be completed by the end of the year. A number of other amendments and improvements are in hand including ensuring that all systems are year 2000 compliant and are responsive to customer requirements.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list for the most recent five years for which records are available (a) the number of heavy goods vehicles tested and (b) the number of HGV test failures due to exhaust emissions. [51126]

The figures requested are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what specific environmental and energy-saving criteria are included in standard (a) tender documents and (b) tender evaluation procedures in respect of Government contracts for (i) new building, (ii) renovation works and (iii) heating and lighting. [51025]

Government departments are individually responsible for determining their accommodation requirements including the specification of environmental and energy saving criteria in their tender documents. Advice on these matters is available to Government departments from the Property Advisers to the Civil Estate (PACE) and other sources such as the best practice guides produced by the Building Research Energy Conservation Support Unit (BRECSU) and the Energy Technology Support Unit (ETSU).DETR has produced a Green Guide for Buyers which provides general advice on conserving resources and reducing waste and pollution. It is available on DETR's web site for greening government.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will issue guidance to housing authorities and housing associations supporting prospective elderly tenants who already have and wish to retain a pet. [50937]

[holding answer 17 July 1998]: It is for local authorities and Registered Social Landlords to decide which of their dwellings are and are not appropriate for pets, taking into account the needs of all their tenants and residents.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what (a) percentage and (b) number of long leaseholders have taken advantage of the provisions contained in the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 to enfranchise. [50942]

[holding answer 17 July 1998]: Research carried out for the Department by Sheffield Hallam University, and to be published shortly, has found that 19 per cent. (49) of leaseholders who contacted LEASE for advice on enfranchisement under the provisions contained in the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 successfully enfranchised under these provisions. The Department has no information on the numbers of leaseholders who have successfully enfranchised without contacting LEASE.We are concerned that the existing rules for collective enfranchisement for flats are unduly complex and that it can be difficult for leaseholders to enfranchise. We intend to address this problem in our forthcoming consultation paper on leasehold reform.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many leaseholders living in blocks of flats of 50 units or more have successfully enfranchised their leases under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. [50948]

[holding answer 17 July 1998]: Research carried out for the Department by Sheffield Hallam University, and to be published shortly, found no leaseholders living in blocks of flats of 50 or more units who had enfranchised their leases.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans his Department has for long-term monitoring of the effects of sludge dumping in Liverpool Bay; and what will be the role of water companies in such monitoring. [51383]

The arrangements for monitoring maritime sewage-sludge dumping sites around the United Kingdom, including Liverpool Bay, are described in "Towards 2000: Marine Monitoring in the 1990s", the fifth report of the UK Marine Pollution Monitoring Group, published this year by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he is taking to inform interested parties of the Government's policy at the forthcoming ministerial meeting of the OSPAR convention in Portugal; and if he will place in the Library the United Kingdom's submissions to the negotiating committee for the conference. [51410]

On 17 July 1998, Official Report, columns 325–26, I answered a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Ms Walley) setting out our objectives at the forthcoming ministerial meeting of the OSPAR Commission. I and my officials are meeting various interested non-governmental organisations. I am placing in the Library copies of the paper which my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has submitted to the OSPAR Commission and of the papers submitted by the United Kingdom to the meeting of the Commission at official level and to the last three meetings of the official Heads of Delegation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proportion of Housing Corporation grant has been allocated to rural areas; and how many new homes have been started or completed as a result in each of the last five years. [51487]

The table sets out details of the proportion of Housing Corporation grant and the number of approvals allocated to rural areas in the last five years. The information is based upon schemes within settlements of up to 3,000 population.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment his Department has made of affordable housing need in (a) rural areas and (b) villages of less than 1,000 population. [51488]

My Department recently commissioned a study on the nature of demand for housing in rural areas, including affordable housing. The research looked at five different types of rural areas in England with populations ranging from 7,500 to 15,000 people, where most of the main settlements were of less than 1,000 population. A report on this project will be published by the contractors, DTZ Pieda, soon.All local authorities are encouraged to carry out assessments of housing need to inform housing strategies and development plans. Local assessments provide the justification for local authorities to specify a proportion of affordable housing to be provided on suitable sites identified in the development plan, and to negotiate the inclusion of an element of affordable housing in private developments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the boundary review in London will be conducted on the basis of universal three member wards in order to facilitate elections by thirds. [51470]

Our consultation paper "Modernising Local Government: local democracy and community leadership" set out options for more frequent local elections, and considered the possible implications for warding arrangements. We are considering the responses to that consultation, and will put forward firm proposals in a local government White Paper this Summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his expenditure plans for transport programmes, pursuant to the publication of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review. [51805]

I am today announcing, in conjunction with the publication of our Integrated Transport White Paper, plans to revitalise local and public transport. An extra £1.8bn of funds will be made available for local transport, bus services, road maintenance and railways.The table shows my Department's current plans to use the resources available for transport programmes.These plans will secure greatly increased investment in transport infrastructure, through both increases in public spending in areas identified as priorities in our Integrated Transport White Paper and through partnership with the private sector. It will allow local authorities to spend almost twice as much on their transport programmes in 2001–02 as they do now.Extra public spending on rail services will bring in substantial amounts of private investment, and by removing bottlenecks in the network, real improvements for passengers and freight in support of our objective of reducing car use.The plans involve:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of CO₂ emission levels from the nuclear industry in the United Kingdom, with particular reference to emissions during (a) construction, (b) generation and (c) decommissioning and disposal; and if he will make a statement. [50833]

I have been asked to reply.No separate figures in the form requested are available. It is estimated that nuclear electricity generation leads to emissions of about 4 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour of electricity delivered to the final user. Of these 4 grams, 3.2 grams are emitted in the process of uranium extraction and the remainder during fuel processing.Carbon dioxide emissions from nuclear generation are less than 1 per cent. of equivalent figures for any of the major fossil-fuelled electricity generation technologies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applicants were unable to pay for legal representation to assist them in the preparation of their cases during the last 12 months. [50105]

I regret that it is not possible to determine how many asylum applicants were unable to pay for advice or legal representation. The available information is that the Immigration Advisory Service and The Refugee Legal Centre—Home Office funded bodies—provided free advice to 10,578 refused asylum applicants at the appeal stage over the last financial year (4,455 and 6,123 respectively). In addition to this, the Refugee Legal Centre gave advice in 3,152 asylum applications. These figures do not include those advised by charitable organisations or others working without reimbursement who are unconnected with the Home Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current average waiting time for decisions on applications for asylum in the United Kingdom; and what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times. [50824]

Applications lodged before the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 are currently estimated to be taking on average 58 months to reach an initial decision, while those lodged after the Act are taking an average of 14 months. Both of these figures reflect the proportion of inherited old cases within the system, but figures for 1997 show that 38 per cent. of initial decisions on asylum applications were taken within six months, as against 10 per cent. in 1992.We have been conducting a wide-ranging review of asylum and immigration policy. We hope soon to be able to make a full statement about our future strategy, including proposals to improve the handling of asylum applications. Quite separately, plans are now well advanced for the introduction of more efficient working practices and for the computerisation of casework in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. A trial of the new working practices is to start on 17 August.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost to the United Kingdom Government of the co-operation by UK police forces with French police over policing of World Cup matches involving teams from Scotland and England. [50708]

In the case of officers from England and Wales, the cost of travel, overseas allowances and overtime will be met by the Football Association. The salary costs will be met by the officers' respective forces. The Football Association contributed to the costs of police equipment. The salary and associated costs and the cost of travel for officers from Scottish police forces will be met by their respective forces. Equipment costs were met by respective police forces from existing stock. Accommodation costs in France for both sets of officers were met by the French authorities.The Government will contribute to the costs associated with the 24-hour manning of the National Criminal Intelligence Service Football Unit during the Finals, and will meet some of the costs associated with the provision of additional football intelligence officers who were in France for some England matches. Detailed information about actual costs incurred is operationally sensitive.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce further regulations to control the display of pornographic magazine covers and video cases in shops accessible to children. [50754]

Current legislation governing the display of pornographic magazines includes the Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981, which makes it an offence to display any indecent matter which is exposed to view in a public place or where it can be seen from a public place. It is the responsibility of the police to decide whether there are sufficient grounds to launch a criminal investigation, and that of the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether to prosecute those alleged to be responsible for the publication.Most newsagents also abide by a voluntary code of practice, refusing to sell "adult" magazines to persons under the age of 18 and placing pornographic magazines on the top shelf and out of reach of children.With respect to videos, before the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) gives full certification to a video work, the sleeve must be seen and approved by the Video Packaging Review Committee. This Committee is chaired by a representative of the BBFC and comprises members of the British Video Association and the Video Standards Council. The sleeves seen by the Committee account for over 90 per cent. of all video works on the market.While the issue of indecent displays is kept under constant review, there are currently no plans to introduce further regulations in this area.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for reducing the backlog of applications for licences, and amendments to licences, under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. [50866]

We are continuing to explore and, as far as possible, exploit all possible options for managing and reducing the backlog in our London office. This backlog arose primarily due to the loss of experienced staff (for unavoidable reasons) and has built up due to difficulties in attracting and retaining staff for this type of work.We are in the process of recruiting staff, through open competition, and we are arranging a selection Board for promoting existing Home Office staff to fill two posts currently held by casual staff. These two recruitment exercises should provide the best choice of candidates and a more permanent solution than employing casual staff for short periods.In the meantime, we have recently recruited another member of casual staff and now have a full complement of staff in our London office. To reduce the backlog, staff are continuing to work overtime and have been joined in London, on occasions, by colleagues from our regional offices.A minor technical problem has recently been overcome to allow London cases to be transferred to other regional offices to process.We are also looking to see whether there are elements of work currently carried out by the licensing team which they might stop doing whilst the backlog is cleared—one possibility is to no longer advise project licence holders that their licence will shortly expire. Licensees would, as a consequence, need to remain alert to the date on which their authorities expire and the need to apply for any replacement licence well before that date.In the longer term, we are exploring how modern IT systems can improve the licensing operation and whether the personal licence system can be streamlined.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications, under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, for licences, and amendments to licences, were awaiting decision on (a) 1 July 1998, (b) 1 January 1998 and (c) 1 July 1997. [50867]

This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost, and the process would significantly worsen the backlog problem about which my hon. Friend is rightly concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many duplicated experiments were carried out in 1997 under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. [51122]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Lewes (Mr. Baker) on 19 January 1998 Official Report, column 387.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to announce a ban on the use of animals for cosmetic ingredient testing; and what is the time scale for a ban becoming operative. [51121]

This is an extremely complex issue and we are still exploring the implications of various courses of action.Under European Directives, including the Cosmetics and Dangerous Substances Directives, ingredients must be tested on animals to show that they are safe in use, manufacture and transport. Industry strongly contends that there is a need for certain types of new ingredients for cosmetic products, particularly UVA filters for such products as sunscreens.We must ensure that any action we take is sustainable and does not unnecessarily disadvantage United Kingdom research, medicine and industry or compromise public safety.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors underlay the reduction in the proportion of non-legislative animal tests carried out for cosmetic purposes between 1995 and 1996. [51120]

Additional data on cosmetic testing, above that required for the annual statistics report, are collected separately. In 1996, the way in which this additional information was collected was changed. The data needed to identify the factors in which the hon. Member is interested are not available before 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the countries from which dogs were imported into the United Kingdom for experiments in 1996 and 1997, indicating the number from each country; how often his Department's inspectors visited these overseas breeding establishments under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; and if the code of practice for breeding establishments is enforced in these non-United Kingdom establishments. [51123]

In total, 478 dogs in 1996 and 214 dogs in 1997 were acquired from the United States of America. All were purpose-bred and were obtained from breeding establishments which meet their national standards.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many animals were bred for scientific procedures but killed prior to use in any procedure in (a) 1995, (b) 1996 and (c) 1997. [51124]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Lewes (Mr. Baker) on 19 January 1998, Official Report, columns 388–89.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in reviewing section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; and what plans he has to amend it following the Government's freedom of information proposals. [51207]

No decision has yet been taken. We are still awaiting final details on the proposals for freedom of information legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for a public information campaign on the potential dangers posed by air guns. [51026]

Copies of a public information leaflet on air gun safety may be obtained from police firearms licensing departments or from the Home Office. We shall consider, in consultation with the police, shooting organisations and other interested bodies, whether this leaflet needs to be revised. We have no immediate plans for a further publicity campaign on this issue.Most air gun shooters are responsible and law-abiding citizens, who pursue their hobby safely. Regrettably, a small minority of people misuse air guns. There are already laws to prevent air gun misuse and people breaking those laws can face severe penalties, including life imprisonment for the most serious offences.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Metropolitan Police has spent on the services of lobbying companies in (a) the last and (b) the current financial year; and which companies have been engaged. [51466]

The Commissioner tells me that the Metropolitan Police Service does not engage the services of lobbying companies, and has no plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the British Crime Survey excludes from their statistics crimes committed against people living in care homes; and if his Department has any plans to include such crimes in future. [51505]

The British Crime Survey (BCS), conducted by the Home Office, is a survey of people living in private households in England and Wales. In its present format and structure, it would be impossible for it also to provide an adequate measure of offences committed against people who live in residential care homes without a major change to its format, structure and scope. A sample of care homes within the size of sample for BCS purposes would be too small to permit reliable analysis. For this reason we have concluded that it would require a specially designed survey. A feasibility study into a possible survey of communal establishments is being undertaken by Social Survey Division of the Office for National Statistics. As yet, no decision has been taken on the types of communal establishment this would cover, whether victimisation will be covered or the funding arrangements for such a survey.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Comprehensive Spending Review, when he proposes to announce the details of the settlement for his Department. [51806]

Tomorrow. At 3.30pm I will be publishing a research study entitled "Reducing offending: an assessment of research evidence on ways of dealing with offending behaviour", which will provide the evidential basis for my plans for tackling crime.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what account his Department will take of the impact on the health and safety of local residents in determining whether to allow the Llanllyfni bypass to proceed. [50828]

The benefits of removing traffic from communities, and the resulting improvement in the safety and environment of local residents, is an integral part of the consideration of any road scheme, including the A487 Llanwnda to south of Llanllyfni improvement, which is currently subject to the Strategic Trunk Roads Review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his proposals for the development of the food sector in Wales. [51794]

The markets for general agricultural products are competitive, and will become increasingly so. Wales needs premium products, which can command premium prices. We need much greater food processing in Wales, to add value to Wales's primary agricultural products. We need products with a strong brand image, and we must exploit as many niche markets as possible.I have announced action today to develop industry-led action plans, setting clear priorities for the action that must be taken in the lamb and beef, dairy and organic sectors in the first instance.As part of this, I am very concerned that work on promoting Welsh food, and work in supporting economic development in the food sector in Wales should go hand in hand. This is critical if there is to be coherent effective support for action by the industry. I have therefore decided to give the WDA a clear responsibility for supporting the development of the food industry in Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when an appointment will be made to the post of Chairman of the new Welsh Development Agency; and if he will make a statement. [51795]

I am very pleased to announce that Mr. David Rowe-Beddoe has accepted my offer of the post of Chairman of the new Agency following an open competition. This will take effect in the Autumn upon the merger of the WDA and the Development Board for Rural Wales (DBRW) and the Land Authority for Wales (LAW).

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will set out the guidelines for determining the audit arrangements for trading subsidiaries of local authorities and the relevant definitions for not-for-profit companies financed in whole or in part by local authorities causing them to be regarded as (a) privately influenced and (b) public sector influenced. [51312]

The basic framework for classifying local authorities' interests in companies is set out in Part V of the Local Government and Housing Act 1985. Section 69 of the Act describes the circumstances which would lead to a company being one which is treated as "influenced" by a local authority.The Local Authorities (Companies) Order 1995 (SI 1995 No. 849) includes requirements applicable to companies subject to the influence of local authorities within the meaning of the 1989 Act.In March 1995, the Welsh Office issued an explanatory guide to local authorities' interests in companies. Paragraphs 10 and 11 of this guide provides general advice on private sector influenced companies and public sector influenced companies. The question of which category an influenced company falls into is one for local authorities to decide in conjunction with their auditors and legal advisers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of 18 year olds leaving further education entered (a) full-time or part-time education, (b) job-related training, (c) employment without a training element and (d) unemployment in Scotland in each year since 1988. [48492]

[holding answer 8 July 1998]: The information requested is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what statistics his Department collates on the re-offending rates of young people who have been referred to children's panels following the reporting of an offence; and if he will make a statement. [50601]

Responsibility for collection and publication of data on the Children's hearings system lies with the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration.The only relevant information collected relates to children referred to Reporters on offence grounds on more than one occasion, and this is not collated routinely. I have asked the Principal Reporter to write to the right hon. Gentleman with more details of this information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will set up a study to examine practice in the management of community organisations funded by Urban Aid, EU or other regeneration funds, and produce guidelines to ensure good management of such organisations in future. [50548]

The allocation of moneys from the Urban Programme, EU and other regeneration funds is governed by clear conditions. The responsibility for supervising and monitoring the performance and activities of individual community organisations in accordance with these conditions rests with central departments, local authorities or other agents of government, depending on the source of the funding. However the Government take seriously any reports of poor practice in the management of community organisations which have access to public funds, and seek to ensure that the appropriate examination and monitoring procedures are adhered to.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list for each local education authority area the provision of nursery places to be provided by non-statutory bodies and private providers in the academic year 1998–99; [50426](2) if he will estimate the number of children currently attending nurseries provided by private providers who will not be able to continue to do so in the academic year 1998–99 because the facilities have been withdrawn by the local education authority. [50427]

The number and distribution of grant funded pre-school education places which local authorities will commission in school year 1998–99 from partner centres will not be known accurately until the autumn. Estimates have however been received from each authority and the information is set out in the table.It is likely there will be some parents of pre-school year children in the school year 1998–99 who, because their local authority has decided not to commission places from their preferred registered provider, will have to decide whether to move their child to another centre which is grant-eligible or to pay for a place at their preferred provider themselves. A reliable estimate of the number of parents so affected would however require data which are not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the criteria to be used to review the way that local education authorities have exercised their discretion in entering into local partnerships with private sector organisations to provide nursery places for the academic year 1998–99. [50425]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 21 April 1998, Official Report, column 585.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what sums passed to the Crown as ultimus haeres from Scottish estates where the deceased failed to leave an effective will in the last year for which figures are available. [51440]

The total sum passed to the Crown Office in Scotland as Ultimus Haeres for the year 1 January 1997 to 31 December 1997 was £1,708,773.03.The part of the sum attributable to Scottish estates where the deceased failed to leave a Will cannot be identified separately from sums passing to the Crown from dissolved companies without disproportionate cost to the Department.

To ask the Prime Minister what is his office's average response time to correspondence from members of the public; and how such response times are monitored. [48672]

It is not possible for me to deal personally with all of the letters I receive and I must therefore refer most of them to the Department with responsibility for the policy or the matter in question. We ask Departments to respond within their targets for dealing with correspondence.One of the six service standards for central government requires Departments to set a target for responding to letters from members of the public and to publish information on their performance. A report on the performance of the main Departments against the six standards is being prepared and will be made available to the House shortly.

To ask the Prime Minister what is the e-mail address of his Office's Ministerial Correspondence Unit.[49822]

[holding answer 13 July 1998]: Downing Street receives approximately 7,000 items of correspondence a week from the general public—approximately three times as much as received prior to the General Election. The majority receive a response from my office or the relevant Government Department. There are no plans at present to introduce a dedicated e-mail address for the 10 Downing Street Correspondence Unit. However, the Government are currently considering policy on providing Ministers with e-mail addresses. Number 10's allocation of an e-mail address will be in line with this policy once it has been finalised.The 10 Downing Street website (

To ask the Prime Minister if a telephone log is kept showing the incoming and outgoing calls to and from the No. 10 Policy Unit. [49963]

[holding answer 10 July 1998]: The facilities under the previous Government continue to operate whereby an automatic record is kept of the telephone numbers called from the No. 10 switchboard.

To ask the Prime Minister what names have been provided to him or his office following the advertisement for candidates who wish to be considered for appointment as vice-chairman of the BBC. [50535]

These appointments are made by the Prime Minister with the approval of Her Majesty the Queen and they will be announced, in the normal way, when the full appointment process is completed.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer to the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) on 8 July 1998, Official Report, column 1065, what factors led him to his conclusion that The Observer claimed to have a tape recording of a conversation with a member of his staff in relation to payments for contacts; and when he reached that conclusion. [50533]

In an interview broadcast on BBC Radio Five Live on 6 July 1998, Mr. Gregory Pallast, a journalist from The Observer, was asked in relation to an alleged conversation with a member of my staff "Do you have that on tape?". Mr. Pallast replied "I have that for certain".In a discussion broadcast that evening on the BBC television programme "Newsnight" Mr. Pallast was again repeatedly asked whether he could produce a tape. He did not take the opportunity to deny that one existed.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will establish an independent review of the legal processes relating to Lockerbie. [49275]

[holding answer 15 July 1998]: No. Since taking office, my noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate, in his independent role as prosecutor, has fully reviewed the evidence relating to the Lockerbie case. He concluded that, on the evidence available, it would be right to pursue the petition warrants against the two Libyan accused.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the most recent requests for investigations which the Government have made to the Committee on Standards in Public Life and the date each request was communicated to the Committee. [51224]

[holding answer 17 July 1998]: The Committee on Standards in Public Life does not have powers of investigation, but undertakes more general inquiries about standards of conduct in public life. On 12 November 1997, I wrote to Lord Neill, Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, inviting the Committee to look at the funding of political parties, and extending their terms of reference to enable them to undertake this study. The Committee's inquiry is due to be completed in September 1998. The Government have made no subsequent requests to the Committee.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 23 February 1998, Official Report, column 2, when he expects to write to the right hon. Member for Wokingham indicating the cost of his trip to Japan. [51421]

Shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans the British Library has for the charging of readers fees for (a) commercial and (b) non-commercial users. [50743]

[holding answer 16 July 1998]: The British Library has no immediate plans to introduce charges for access to the reading rooms but is currently consulting its users on a broad range of issues, including introduction of charges. Any proposal by the Board to introduce charges would require my approval and would be considered in the light of all relevant factors, including the views of readers.