To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what requirements are placed on senior staff of the British Library to disclose shareholdings and other financial interests in the annual report of the Library. [63365]

[holding answer 14 December 1998]: There are no requirements on senior staff at the British Library to publish these details in the Library's annual report. However, the Library holds a Register of Business Interests in which all staff are required to provide details of relevant financial interests or other relevant material benefit which they receive from sources external to the Library and which might be perceived as a conflict of interest.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list those public art galleries and museums which allow items from their collections to be displayed in (a) hotels and (b) other places where the general public does not have an automatic right of access. [64493]

Although we are aware that some museums and galleries lend items from their collections outside the museums community, we have no means of knowing all that do so: it is for the governing body of each museum and gallery to determine their own policy on loans of works of art or objects. The governing body will want to be satisfied as to the level of public access to the display.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he will announce the membership of the panel looking at the future funding of the BBC; and if he will make a statement. [65562]

The panel will be chaired by Gavyn Davies and comprises the right hon. Lord Newton of Braintree, Lord Gordon of Strathblane, Sir Alan Budd, Rabbi Julia Neuberger, Helen Black, Ruth Evans, David Lipsey and Heather Rabbatts.This is an important review which aims to ensure the BBC's continuing ability to meet its public service obligations effectively, while, at the same time, ensuring that it retains the ability to operate effectively in a competitive marketplace.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the Chairman of the Sports Council for Wales concerning the receipt by the Football Association of Wales of a grant from the English Football Association and the conditions attached thereto; and if he will make a statement. [64987]

I have had no consultations with the Sports Council for Wales on this issue. It is entirely a matter for the two governing bodies involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate aggregate Government spending in Wales in each year between 1992–93 and 2001–02. [64502]

Identifiable General Government Expenditure in Wales between 1992–93 and 1996–97 is as shown:

	£ million
1992–93	11,438
1993–94	12,069
1994–95	12,556
1995–96	12,985
1996–97	13,496

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate Government revenues derived from sources in Wales in each year between 1992–93 and 2001–02. [64501]

"Government Expenditure and Revenue, Wales 1993–94 and 1994–95", available in the Library of the House, gives the following estimates:

• 1993–94: £9.3 billion
• 1994–95: £9.9 billion.

No estimates are available for other years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list the dates of the visits by the office of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools to Bedlinog Junior, Bedlinog Infants and Graig Bedlinog Infants schools to advise on the exercise of his powers under sections 35(1) and 167(1) of the Education Act 1996; [64769](2) if he will list the dates upon which his professional advisers on school building visited Bedlinog Infants, Bedlinog Junior and Graig Bedlinog Infants schools in consideration of the exercise of his powers under sections 35(1) and 167(1) of the Education Act 1996. [64768]

Bedlinog schools —class sizes and pupil-teacher ratios —September 1998
	Class sizes
School	Class	Number of pupils	Number of teachers	Pupil-Teacher ratio
Bedlinog Infants	N/R	18
	R/Y1/Y2	22
	Total	40	12	20:1
Graig Bedlinog Infant	N/R/Y1	23
	Yl/Y2	21
	Total	44	12.1	20.95:1
Bedlinog Junior	Yrs 3–6	25
		26
		25
	Total	76	23.8	20:1
1Including Head teacher
2Head teacher teaches for 80 per cent. of his time.

Since Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council's proposal to amalgamate the three Bedlinog schools on the site of the existing junior school attracted statutory objections, in accordance with sections 37 and 169 of the Education Act 1996, it fell to the Secretary of State to determine.In considering the proposal the Secretary of State sought the views of the Office of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in Wales (OHMCI) and the Department's professional advisers on school building matters —Burgess Partnership.Bedlinog Junior, Bedlinog Infants and Graig Bedlinog Infants schools were inspected by independent inspectors under contract to OHMCI on 10–12 June 1996, 23–25 September 1996, and 4–6 March 1996 respectively. Given the generally satisfactory standards of achievement in the three schools, visits by HMI were not deemed necessary following the inspections. OHMCI provided the Department with advice on the educational merits of the LEA's proposal having considered the LEA's statement of case and all the objections.The Burgess Partnership did not visit the schools but assessed the LEA's technical report on the condition of the junior school building and the authority's response to objections relating to this particular issue. Their assessment was reported to the Secretary of State for his consideration along with all other evidence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what estimate he has made of each of the current class sizes in (a) Bedlinog Junior, (b) Bedlinog Infants and (c) Graig Bedlinog Infants schools, Merthyr Tydfil; and what estimate he has made of each of these class sizes following the proposed reorganisation of the schools; [64771](2) what estimate he has made of the teacher/pupil ratios at

The following table provides details of class sizes and pupil-teacher ratios at each of the three schools at September 1998.The determination of class sizes and pupil-teacher ratios following the reorganisation of the schools will be matters for the head teacher and governing body. The school is expected to have around 162 pupils and 6 teachers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list for the weeks ending (i) 19 December 1998, (ii) 26 December 1998,

	Shootings		Assaults
Date	By Loyalist	By Republican	By Loyalist	By Republican
13 December to 19 December	2	1	1	1
20 December to 26 December	0	0	1	0
27 December to 2 January	0	0	0	1
03 January to 9 January	1	2	6	5
Total	3	3	8	7

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the excess winter deaths for each region within Great Britain for the last three years, and the forecasts for (a) this winter, (b) 1999–2000 and (c) 2000–01; and if he will list the estimated cost to the NHS as a result.[63411]

[holding answer 14 December 1998]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

The following table shows the number of casualties as a result of paramilitary style attacks for the period 13 December 1998 to 9 January 1999.

Excess winter deaths by region, Great Britain, 1995–96 to 11997–98
Region	1995–96	1996–97	11997–98
Wales	2,440	2,880	1,330
Scotland	3,660	3,640	2,740
1 Provisional

The ONS defines excess winter mortality as the difference between the number of deaths during the four winter months (December to March) and the average of the number of deaths during the preceding autumn (August to November) and the following summer (April to July).It is not possible to forecast the figures for future winters as excess winter mortality is influenced by many factors such as temperature and the incidence of influenza which cannot be predicted.Information on the estimated cost to the NHS is not collected by the ONS or the Department of Health.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the percentage of low birthweight live births in each English health authority area broken down by (a) single and (b) all live births for the last three years. [64413]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reasons underlie the deduction of income tax credits from the figure for net taxes and social security contributions in Table B9 of the Pre-Budget report, Cmnd 4076. [64639]

Income tax reliefs such as MIRAS and other tax credits, including the Working Families Tax Credit, are part of the income tax system and are administered by Inland Revenue. As they reduce the receipts of Inland Revenue, they are netted off the figures for total tax receipts and social security contributions.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the United Kingdom's gross contribution to the EC budget for the latest available year was comprised of the proceeds of (a) agricultural levies and (b) customs duties; and what were the corresponding figures for the latest available years for (i) France, (ii) Germany and (iii) Italy. [64642]

The percentages for the traditional own resources contributions of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy in respect of calendar year 1997 are set out in the table.

To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will list the capacities in which Mr. Dominic Lawson has been employed by Her Majesty's Government or any agency acting on their behalf; and if he will make a statement; [64972]

None.

To ask the Prime Minister when the Social Exclusion Unit will publish its report on, and recommendations for, reducing the numbers of teenage pregnancies. [64832]

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mr. Corbett) on 7 December 1998, official report, columns 16– 17.

To ask the Prime Minister what is his policy towards the use of air miles awarded to Ministers who travel on official business paid for by public funds. [65072]

Paragraph 82 of the Ministerial Code makes clear that Air Miles and other benefits earned through travel paid for from public funds, other than where there are de minimis (for example, access to special departure lounges or booking arrangements which go with membership of regular flier clubs), should be used only for official purposes or else forgone. However, if it is impracticable to use the benefits for Government travel, there is no objection to Ministers donating them to charity if this is permissible under the terms of the airline's scheme and the charity is one chosen by the airline.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 15 December 1998, official report, column 459, on ministerial visits to Latin America, if he will list the (a) 12 countries referred to and (b) the Ministers concerned. [64736]

[holding answer 11 January 1999]: The information is as follows:

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the ministerial visits undertaken to each South American and Caribbean country since 1997. [64823]

Ministers have made a number of visits to the countries of South America and the Caribbean since 1 May 1997 to strengthen our bilateral relations, promote British interests and play our leading role in international affairs.For the visits to South America I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have given today to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood (Mr. Wilkinson).The information for Caribbean countries is as follows:

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the measures proposed under paragraph 67 of the presidency conclusions of the Vienna European Council in respect of nuclear safety in the context of enlargement of the European Union. [64815]

The United Kingdom has a strong interest in ensuring the candidates for European Union membership apply adequate safety standards. The Conclusions of the 7–8 December General Affairs Council on nuclear safety in the context of enlargement, welcomed by Vienna, stress the need for the candidates to attain internationally accepted levels of safety as part of their pre-accession strategies and to meet commitments they have already made in this sector.The EU is already helping the candidates improve nuclear safety levels and to deal with the cost of early plant closure. This assistance will continue within the overall context of pre-accession assistance set out by the Accession partnerships, which are themselves due for revision later this year.

To ask the Prime Minister to what extent each of his objectives in undertaking the bombing of Iraq jointly with the United States of America in December has been met; and on what basis he will consider undertaking similar attacks in future. [65281]

The objectives of Operation Desert Fox were to reduce Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and other military capabilities, and Iraq's ability to threaten its neighbours. We are ready to use force again if necessary, and will do so if Iraq tries to reconstitute its weapons of mass destruction or threatens its neighbours.

To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the French Government about the consequences for his policy of establishing a separate European defence identity of the American and British military action against Iraq. [65380]

None. We have, of course, briefed the French and our other EU partners on our recent actions in Iraq. The reasons for these are well understood.

To ask the Prime Minister what response he gave to representations from the Government of Italy concerning the attack on Iraq. [65379]

I briefed Prime Minister D' Alema on our current thinking on Iraq on 18 December 1998 and we agreed to keep in touch on the issue.

To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements he proposes to make for the parliamentary accountability of the Sure Start strategy. [65651]

Sure Start is a vital element in the Government's work to improve services and other support for young children and their families. We have committed £540 million over the next three years, including £452 million in England, to achieving Sure Start's objectives. Sure Start is an interdepartmental strategy, and its success will require active partnership within Government and a continuing commitment to innovation. I want the arrangements for securing Parliamentary accountability for Sure Start both to be clear and to underline these principles.I have therefore decided that, in England:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government plan to respond to the representations made on behalf of the 14 staff dismissed from GCHQ for refusing to give up their trades union membership. [65653]

After discussions with the Council of Civil Service Unions and the TUC, I have decided to offer compensation for lost pension rights to the 14 staff dismissed from GCHQ for retaining their membership of the national Civil Service trades unions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list (a) the (i) task forces, (ii) review panels and (iii) advisory groups his Department has, (b) the remit of each and (c) the members of each together with their principal employment and their level of remuneration. [62806]

As the information asked for is lengthy, it has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. [63924]

The figures for total expenditure by the Department since May 1997, in each of the categories stated above are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if the term average cost in respect of the costs of travel by Ministers in his Department in RAF and privately chartered aircraft refers to the average cost per passenger. [64775]

No. The average cost refers to the average cost per trip and not the average cost per passenger.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list all the local authority education authorities specifying in respect of each whether the chair of education is a man or a woman. [65316]

This information is not collected by my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if Millennium bug busters who have completed a subsidised training course have an obligation to work in the United Kingdom. [64821]

There is no requirement for Bug Buster trainees to work in the UK after they have completed their training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will review the position of students who are required to attend a foundation course before taking up a university place who currently receive no grant for the year of their foundation course. [63358]

Current legislation restricts mandatory awards to courses leading to a first degree, HND, DipHE and to courses of initial teacher training. We have decided broadly to carry forward this position for the new student support arrangements which are being introduced for the 1999–2000 academic year. However, students on foundation courses in further education will be eligible to apply for assistance through the new further education student support arrangements which will be introduced in September.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what non-military organisations currently use the RN Hospital Haslar site; [65298](2) what investment has taken place in medical facilities at the RN Hospital Haslar in each of the last 10 years; [65300](3) what discussions he had with the non-MoD users of the RN Hospital Haslar concerning his proposals for the hospital; [65299](4) how many

This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Secondary Care Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the key targets for 1998–99 for the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. [65478]

Consistent with Treasury requirements, DERA is required to achieve a 6 per cent. return on capital employed.The Agency is required to keep any increase in the hourly manpower rates charged to MOD customers below the annual rise in the Retail Price Index. These manpower rates include overheads and depreciation but not direct contract costs.DERA will seek to increase income from work for non-MOD customers from the £106 million achieved in 1997–98 to £122 million in 1998–99.DERA will seek to increase the number of staff elected as Fellows of professional bodies by 10 per cent. from a baseline of 126 at the end of 1997–98 to 139 in 1998–99.DERA is required to achieve on time 90 per cent. of the agreed milestones on work for MOD customers.DERA has been set the target of maintaining at least the same score as last year, 655 points out of a possible 1,000, for overall satisfaction in the core questions in the annual customer satisfaction survey and, because of the particular significance of project management skills in the efficient delivery of scientific programmes, to achieve an improvement of 5 per cent. in the score for project management, from 596 points to 626, in the same survey.DERA will seek to increase the value of its contribution to projects jointly funded by DERA and industry by 10 per cent. from £38.3 million to £42.1 million. DERA will seek to achieve, over a period of 3 years, a 20 per cent. increase in the number of articles that appear in scientific and technical publications and which are subjected to scrutiny and validation by a panel of experts. Under this target, the increase would be from 4.8 publications to 5.8 publications per 100 professionals in DERA, with professionals being defined as all those staff who have a scientific, technical or other specialist background or training.DERA is required to increase by 50 per cent., from 16 to 24, over a period of three years, the number of its scientific teams that achieve the rating of "world-class" in DERA's technical assessment exercise. The latter involves both internal assessment and validation by outside experts form academia, industry and MOD.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions in the last year the Royal Green Jackets have hosted breakfasts for charities or other organisations; and if he will list the organisations concerned. [64761]

The Royal Green Jackets have not hosted breakfasts for any charitable or other organisation in the last year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre for 1998–99. [65635]

The role of the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre is to train the Armed Forces and other Intelligence agencies in intelligence and security disciplines and conduct after capture; to maintain an operational capability; and to contribute to effective and timely advice to the Armed Forces on appropriate intelligence and security matters. The Key Targets for the Agency for the 12 months from April 1998 are:Key Target 1:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a list of the papers produced by the Radiation Physics Division of the Atomic Weapons Establishment in its Plasma Physics Notes and Radiation Physics Department Technical Notes series of papers which are currently unclassified, indicating the title of each paper and the date on which each paper was produced. [65057]

I have arranged for a list of unclassified papers from the relevant series to be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when export licences for a stand-off weapon known as the Black Shaheen were granted. [62919]

[holding answer 9 December 1998]: No licence has been issued for the export of the Black Shaheen missile or its sub assemblies, but we expect to licence the export of sub assemblies to France subject to the agreement and implementation of suitable technical safeguards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will ensure that the licensed production of arms by British companies requires that (a) deals to license arms production overseas have to pass the same checks as direct exports, including parliamentary reporting and (b) exports via UK licensed products overseas must require UK export licences. [64534]

[holding answer 11 January 1999]: In its recent report on Strategic Export Controls, the Trade and Industry Committee recommended that the question of controls on licensed production overseas should be addressed in the Wassenaar Arrangement. We are currently considering this and the Committee's other recommendations and will be responding to the Committee in due course.The issue of controls on licensed production overseas has also been raised in a number of the responses to the White Paper on Strategic Export Controls and will therefore also be considered in our review of the White Paper proposals in the light of the results of the consultation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what export licences have been applied for and granted since 1 May 1997 for military and dual use goods; and how many licences were refused. [64531]

[holding answer 11 January 1999]: The Export Control Organisation's computer databases have been interrogated and the following results were obtained. Between 2 May 1997 and 27 November 1998, decisions were made on 14,423 applications made in the same period for Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) or Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs) covering the export of goods subject to export control by being listed in Part III of Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994, the so-called Military List; or of goods subject to export control by being listed in Schedule 2 to the Dual-Use and Related Goods (Export Control) Regulations 1996, as amended, or in Annex 1 to Council Decision No. 94/942/CFSP, as amended. Of these, 13,965 SIELs and 382 OIELs were issued, and 76 applications for SIELs were refused.In addition, goods may have been exported under certain Open General Export Licences; copies of all Open General Export Licences valid at any time during the period are in the Library of the House.This information should be considered in light of the answer given by my predecessor to my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) on 30 October 1997,

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the countries for which licences have been given for military and dual use goods since 1 May 1997, indicating the types of goods concerned. [64532]

[holding answer 11 January 1999]: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Central (Mr. Lloyd), to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Dr. Jones) on 14 July 1998, official report, column 149.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to simplify the process of registration of patents in the United Kingdom. [64643]

[holding answer 11 January 1999]: The Government's 1998 Competitiveness White Paper recognises the fundamental importance of intellectual property rights, including patents, to an innovative economy, and the need for such rights to be accessible. The Patent Office will therefore be continuing its drive to simplify its detailed rules and procedures to make it easier for businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, to obtain patent protection. Building on steps it has already taken, for example in making patent application forms available on its web-site, the Office will be actively pursuing the possibilities for its customers to deal electronically. The Government will also be working with their European partners to simplify and harmonise the patent system in Europe, in particular in response to European Commission proposals expected following its Green Paper on the Community Patent and the Patent System in Europe.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made by the OFT in its investigation into competition in food retailing; and if he will make a statement. [65074]