To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what changes he proposes to make to his Department's cash limits and running costs for 1998–99. [71118]

Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the cash limit for Class X, Vote 1 will be increased by £468,000 from £885,816,000 to £886,284,000.This is to enable the Tate Gallery to use the proceeds of £1,900,000 from the sale of its store at Acton to finance the remaining conversion works at their new store at Southwark and the relocation of library and archive facilities to Millbank; to provide for increases in provision of £97,000 for the Public Lending Right to maintain the rate per loan at 2.07 pence; £215,000 for works on occupied Royal Palaces and state monuments in line with end year flexibility as announced by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1998,

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport at what cost to (a) the Government, (b) libraries and (c) local authorities, connections to the Internet for public libraries have been made. [72083]

[holding answer 24 February 1999]: The Government have pledged £70 million of National Lottery funding to train public library staff and create digitised material which will support the development of the Public Libraries Network. In addition, £6 million of pump-priming investment in the network infrastructure is being provided over two years (1998–99 and 1999–2000) through the DCMS/Wolfson Challenge Fund. Information on the costs incurred by libraries and local authorities is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received about the broadcasting of speedway events. [73114]

I have received three representations on this subject since May 1997.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the whereabouts of the Turner Collection of scientific manuscripts. [73115]

Following Keele University's sale of the Turner collection, the exact present location of the collection is unknown. The disposal raises important issues about the future operation of the export licence system, which I am now considering.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received about the future funding of the Centre for Young Musicians; and if he will make a statement. [73113]

I have received several representations, each from the Centre for Young Musicians, regarding future funding. Government funding for the Centre is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will take steps to enable Talk Radio to become a member of the European Broadcasting Union. [73246]

This is entirely a matter for the European Broadcasting Union.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received regarding the effect of the national minimum wage on the tourism industry. [71614]

I have received representations on this subject from a number of companies and associations in the tourism, hospitality and leisure industry. I understand the Low Pay Commission (LPC) had a good and productive dialogue with many representatives of the tourism industry. This is reflected in the recommendations the LPC made. All the industry's major representative organisations were included in the recent consultation exercise about the draft regulations which will implement the National Minimum Wage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list those Ministers in his Department who were present at the recent Brit Awards in an official capacity, indicating the organisation acting as their sponsor or host. [73495]

My hon. Friend the Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting and I attended as guests of the British Phonographic Industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many planning applications for the sale of school playing fields have (a) been considered and (b) been objected to by the Sports Council since 1 January. [70980]

[holding answer 15 February 1999]: Since 1 January 1999 the English Sports Council has considered 26 planning applications in respect of school playing fields and objected in 6 cases.

Rank/Grade	Complement December 1995	Complement December 1996	Complement December 1997	Complement December 1998	Actual December 1998
ACC	1	1	1	1	11
Superintendent	12	12	12	11	11
Chief Inspector	25	26	26	26	26
Inspector	10	10	10	10	16
Sergeant	9	9	9	9	10
Constable	9	9	9	9	16
EO1	—	1	1	1	1
EO2	—	3	3	3	2
AO	—	9	9	9	9
AA	11	12	12	12	11
Pers Secretary	1	1	1	1	0
Typing Manager	1	1	1	1	1
Typists	10	10	11	11	11
Total	66 2(X)	103	103	104	3115
1 Also covers B Department
2Figures for the civilian staff complement are not readily available.
3Includes officers temporarily seconded to assist with particular investigations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Action for Community Employment worker posts are attached to pre-school playgroups in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement on future funding for ACE workers employed by pre-school playgroups. [71489]

Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Training and Employment Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Ian Walters. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will estimate for each of the last four years for which figures are available the principal items of expenditure from the total annual budget of the Complaints and Discipline Department of the Royal Ulster Constabulary; and how many officers and staff were employed and at what salary grades. [69656]

The main expenditure for the Complaints and Discipline Department of the Royal Ulster Constabulary is on staff costs. Other expenditure would include accommodation and supplies e.g. Stationery, and are dealt with on a force-wide basis.The personnel costs for both police and civilian support staff are estimated as follows:

Year	£ million
1997–98	4.5
1998–99	4.8

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list the items sold by her Department, its agencies and associated public bodies from those listed in the National Assets Register of November 1997; if he will give in each case the amount of money realised; if she will estimate the total cash raised from such sales to date; and if she will make a statement. [704171

The information is not readily available in the format requested (by item). The following information was available from the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Departments, with the exception of The Department of Education for Northern Ireland who could answer the question only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what directions she has given to her officials in the Road Service of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland to comply with best practice with regard to the needs of disabled people in the implementation of pedestrianisation in Belfast; [70723](2) what steps she is taking to ensure that the standards with regard to vehicular access for disabled people to the centre of Belfast match those recommended by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions; [70721](3) what representations she has received from the Disabled Drivers Association regarding the proposals for pedestrianisation of parts of central Belfast; and what plans she has to meet representatives of the association. [70722]

Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Roads Service under its chief executive, Mr. W. S. McCoubrey. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to her answer of 11 January 1999, Official Report, column 1, if she will list the expenditure not included in her answer incurred (a) by task forces and review bodies, (b) by focus groups, (c) on market research and (d) for publications and publicity; and if she will list the bodies which incurred the expenditure. [71029]

The information for the Northern Ireland Departments is as follows:

£
	Market Research	Publications/Publicity
(a) Task Forces and Review Bodies
NIO
Criminal Injuries Compensation Review	0	6,480
NI Drugs Strategy Review	20,497	2,190
Independent Commission on Policing	0	33,782
Criminal Justice Review Group	14,000	8,000
DED
Review of Training Centres and FE Colleges in NI	16.000	7,341
DENI
Youth Service Policy Review Group	8,460	24,471
DHSS
Policy Development and Review Unit	0	1,089
(b) Focus Groups
DED
Organisation of the Unemployed (New Deal Focus Group)	1,260	0
NI Euro Preparations Forum	0	301

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to her answer of 11 January 1999, Official Report, column 1, if she will list the expenditure not included in her answer incurred by (a) her agencies and non-departmental public bodies and (b) the Central Office of Information for relevant work carried out for her Department. [71028]

(a) The information for the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Departments is as follows:

	Amount (£)
Public Opinion Research1	295,350
Television radio newspaper advertising2	5,140,390
Direct mail3	413,146
1 The information for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
2 Includes a figure for the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland, which was not previously available.
3 The information for the Police Authority for Northern Ireland and the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

All figures exclude the Department of Health and Social Services and the Education and Library Boards as the information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list in real terms the annual percentage change in spending in Northern Ireland between 1996–97 and 2001–02 on (a) education, (b) health, (c) transport, (d) housing, (e) police and (f) local government. [71398]

The information requested is contained in the following table:

Annual percentage change in expenditure on previous year in real terms1
Estimated			Plans
	Outturn 1997–98	outturn 1998–99	1999–2000	2000–2001	2001–2002
(a) Education (including Culture & Recreation)	-0.9	0.3	3.2	4.2	1.4
(b) Health (including Personal Social Services)	4.2	3.4	2.5	4	2.6
(c) Transport (including Roads)	-4.9	2.2	-6.3	-0.3	3.4
(d) Housing	-6.2	-13.8	-3.2	-3.6	-1.8
(e) Police2	1.3	-3.8	-2.5	-3.8	-2.9
(f) Local Government3	-8	3	-2.5	0.3	0.9
1 Adjusted by GDP deflator series. Figures exclude the "ring-fenced" allocations for Welfare to Work, Chancellor's Initiative and EU Peace and Reconciliation programme.
2 Police Authority for Northern Ireland (PANI) Grant.
3 Central Government support to District Councils. Excludes local authority self-financed expenditure.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many objections her Department has received to the proposed pedestrianisation of parts of Belfast; from whom they have been received; and what are the main grounds for objection put forward by each objector; [71552](2) what instructions she has given her officials in the Roads Service of the Department of the Environment in respect of requests for meetings from organisations of disabled people to discuss the access needs of disabled people in the implementation of pedestrianisation in Belfast. [71554]

Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Roads Service under its chief executive, Mr. W. J. McCoubrey. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many New Deal places have been offered in Northern Ireland, broken down by industry; and how many have been taken up in each month to date. [71412]

Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Training and Employment Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Ian Walters. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if all Departments are Year 2000 compliant; and if she will make a statement on the progress of the Year 2000 bug-busters in Northern Ireland. [71529]

I refer the hon. Member to the quarterly statements made in the House by the President of the Council. These statements cover the whole of the United Kingdom. The President of the Council is due to make a further statement in March to update the House on progress towards compliance. Information on the compliance situation in each department is laid before the House each quarter and is published on the internet.The take up of Year 2000 bug buster training by small and medium sized companies in Northern Ireland has, since its launch on 16 October 1998, been extremely reassuring and compares very favourably with participation levels in the rest of the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Year 2000 bug-busters have successfully completed their training; and how many are currently employed to tackle the problem in Northern Ireland. [71544]

At 15 February 1999, 883 employees of Northern Ireland companies had successfully completed bug buster training with a further 293 due to complete training by the end of February 1999. There are 6 accredited providers appointed to deliver the Government's bug buster programme Northern Ireland. Approximately 65 local companies are offering solutions to Year 2000 problems.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students are studying for computer science degrees in Northern Ireland colleges; and how many of these are studying (a) business information systems and (b) programming; and how many computer science degrees have been awarded in the past five years. [71560]

Students enrolled on first degree and postgraduate courses in Computer Science at Northern Ireland institutions 1997–98:

	Full-time	Part-time	Total
First degree	1,006	90	1,096
Postgraduate	274	355	629
Total	1,280	445	1,725

Information on the number of these students studying

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if she will publish for the week ended Saturday 13 February the number of (a) punishment beatings and (b) punishment shootings which took place in Northern Ireland, indicating how many in each category were committed by (i) Loyalist and (ii) Republican groups; [72551]

During the period 7 February to 13 February, there were 5 shooting incidents and 4 bombing incidents. The number of casualties as a result of paramilitary-style attacks during this period are as illustrated below:

	By Loyalist	By Republican
Assaults	7	1
Shootings	5	0
Total	12	1

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his progress in developing a modernised commercial regime for electronic transactions. [71606]

The Government are committed to developing the UK as the best place in the world for trading electronically and to helping many more small businesses exploit the opportunities of electronic commerce, with the goal of tripling the number of SMEs wired up to the digital market place from 350,000 to 1 million by 2002. The White Paper "Our Competitive Future: Building the Knowledge Drive Economy" set out a wide range of actions to help achieve these goals. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be publishing an implementation plan for the White Paper shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost of the social chapter's (i) parental leave directive, (ii) works councils' directive and (iii) part time workers' directive to British business. [71607]

Impact assessments for all these measures have been presented to Parliament. European Works Councils were estimated to cost £18 million per year. Measures to implement the Parental Leave Directive are estimated to cost £36 million per year. The costs of the Part Time Work Directive are likely to be small. We expect the benefits of all these and other social partnership measures to far outweigh any costs by combating unregulated absenteeism. For example, survey evidence from the CBI suggests that the annual cost of sick absence in the UK could be as much as £25 billion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will introduce measures to ensure that companies with strong potential for long-term growth are not forced into insolvency because of short-term difficulties. [71608]

I have recently set up a review to consider existing procedures for business rescues and what more can be done to enable fundamentally sound business to survive short-term difficulties. It will report by the end of July.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has for helping entrepreneurs whose businesses fail through no fault of their own. [71619]

As announced in the Competitiveness White Paper, officials are considering whether insolvency law (and particularly bankruptcy law) and practice inhibit enterprise. An initial report will be made to Ministers by the end of April 1999, which will consider what changes might be made to current law and practice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has for encouraging young people to enter careers in science and engineering. [71610]

The Government have developed and supported a wide range of initiatives:

The Public Understanding of Science, Engineering and Technology programme, to raise general awareness of these subjects.

A unit dedicated to Promoting SET for Women.

I recently announced £1.5 million support for the promotion of engineering, with £425,000 p.a. allocated to Quinco, the engineering community's new five year campaign.

We continue to support SETNET which aims to ensure that information on promotional schemes for school children to consider careers in science, engineering and mathematics is accessible to teachers and potential industrial sponsors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the impact on small businesses of the measures included in the Employment Relations Bill; and if he will make a statement. [71611]

Businesses of all sizes will benefit from the measures in the Bill. Decent minimum standards protect responsible employers from being undercut by less responsible employers. The culture of partnership we are encouraging should raise employee commitment and thus promote greater staff retention, reduced absenteeism and greater productivity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the prospects for offshore wind power generation. [71612]

I launched a consultation paper on incorporating offshore wind energy into future non-fossil fuel obligation arrangements at the British Wind Energy Association's conference in Cardiff on 2 September 1998. The responses which have been received are being assessed by my officials. Meanwhile, the Crown Estate have announced the arrangements they have made with developers to undertake wind speed measurements on five potential offshore windfarm sites. I expect to launch a consultation on future new and renewable energy policy shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what response he has made to the Ofgas report into anti-competitive practices by Transco; and what measures he proposes to assist and protect public gas transporters. [71613]

This report is a matter for the Director General of Gas Supply, who has since made and announced an Enforcement Order on Transco. The Competition Act 1998 will from next year provide tough new powers for the investigation and prohibition of anti-competitive agreements and abuse of market power, exercisable by the sectoral regulators (including the DGGS) concurrently with the Director General of Fair Trading.The Government have also conducted a review of utility regulation the main conclusions of which were set out in our response to consultation, "A Fair Deal for Consumers: Modernising the Framework for Utility Regulation", published in July 1998. We are committed to legislating on utility reform as soon as Parliamentary time permits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the ownership of sports viewing rights. [71615]

The sale of broadcasting rights is one way in which sport can generate the income that it needs in order both to publicise and encourage participation in sport and to secure finances to help improve facilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of Lancaster's application for assisted area status. [71617]

The Government are considering carefully the needs of all areas, including Lancaster, under the current review of the Assisted Areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the costs to employers of the administration of the parental leave directive. [71618]

We have published our estimate of the costs to employers of parental leave in the Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Employment Relations Bill. We will be consulting on the details of the parental leave scheme in the draft regulations which we will publish before the Summer. We aim to keep employers' administrative costs to a minimum and will make a further assessment of these when the details are settled.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what deregulation or better regulations his Department plans to help businesses compete more effectively with those of other nations. [71620]

The Competitiveness White Paper in December set out 75 commitments to help British business compete more effectively. Specific regulatory measures include:

an effective modern competition framework;

removal of obstacles that stand in the way of electronic commerce;

reform of telecommunications regulation; and

seeking the removal of remaining barriers on trade in future international trade negotiations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are being taken to investigate the activities of the Dubelle Foundation. [71621]

The Department of Trade and Industry does not comment on the affairs of an individual company in relation to possible investigations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact of the minimum wage on the competitiveness of British industry; and if he will make a statement. [71622]

The introduction of the national minimum wage will enable companies to compete on the basis of the quality of the goods and services they provide not just on price based on low pay. The minimum wage will help to improve productivity. It will create a better rewarded and more committed workforce, which will encourage investment in training, reduce staff turnover and help raise productivity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has for monitoring compliance with the national minimum wage. [71631]

Inland Revenue officers will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the national minimum wage and that work will be monitored by means of a service level agreement with my Department. More generally, we have asked the Low Pay Commission to monitor and evaluate the introduction and impact of the national minimum wage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what approach he intends to take in pursuing international trade liberalisation. [71623]

The Government seek actively to work with the EU and with the UK's major trading partners, through such mechanisms as the Transatlantic Economic Partnership and the Asia-Europe meeting, to encourage the reduction of barriers to trade in overseas markets. In particular, the Government share the European Union's support for a comprehensive new Round of trade liberalisation negotiations to be launched at the World Trade Organisation's next Ministerial meeting, to be held in Seattle, USA in November-December this year. A comprehensive Round offers the best chance of ensuring real gains for all participants, including developing countries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the outcome of his meeting with representatives of the British Libyan Interest Group to discuss the effects on trade between Britain and Libya of economic sanctions. [71624]

I have not met representatives of the British Libyan Business Group. However, DTI Officials recently met the BLBG Secretariat to listen to their views and will continue with that dialogue. Officials keep me fully informed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out his responsibilities in respect of issues relating to patenting of genetic material. [71625]

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has responsibility for the Patents Act 1977 and associated Rules, and for making any amendments to this legislation which, for example, may be required to implement the European Directive (98/44/EC) on patents for biotechnological inventions. This legislation is administered by the Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks who has responsibility for granting patents under the criteria specified in this legislation. Rights granted can be challenged before the courts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has for the implementation of the measures proposed in the Competitiveness White Paper in the areas of new technology. [71626]

The Government have appointed an Implementation Manager, as promised in paragraph 5.10 of the Competitiveness White Paper. We will publish the Implementation Plan for the commitments including developing new technologies we gave in the Competitiveness White Paper shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to improve competitiveness in manufacturing in the west midlands. [71627]

The Government's support to help improve the competitiveness of West Midlands manufacturing companies is extensive, focused mainly through the 10 regional Business Link partnerships. The West Midlands Regional Supply Office also provides specialist help in linking purchasers with suppliers and supply chain development with a particular focus on a number of industrial sectors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department has taken to make it easier for United Kingdom consumers to buy cars from elsewhere in the EU. [71628]

The Department seeks to ensure that all infringements of EC competition law which restrict imports of cars into the UK are vigorously pursued by the European Commission. We welcome the establishment of manufacturers' hotlines which will make it easier for consumers to purchase cars elsewhere in the EU. We have placed a list of the numbers for use of UK consumers in the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about reform of EU structural funds. [71629]

The discussions between Member States and the Commission on the reform of the Structural and Cohesion Funds will continue until the March 1999 deadline set by the Cardiff Council last June.The UK is negotiating for an outcome that is fair and affordable to all future and existing Member States, particularly the UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he intends to take to tackle the costs to business of unsolicited e-mail known as spam. [71630]

The Government are aware that unsolicited email is a potentially difficult area for business. There are several industry initiatives aimed at tackling this problem. Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have installed systems aimed at combating unsolicited email, and the London Internet Exchange (LINX) is producing a set of best practice guidelines for ISPs on this subject. In addition the Direct Marketing Association is working on an email preference scheme, to operate in a similar way to the conventional mail preference service but with global rather than national coverage. Such initiatives will be aided by the draft Electronic Commerce Directive which would require all unsolicited commercial communications by email to be indicated as such. The Government will monitor the effectiveness of these approaches and consider whether any further action is required in the light of their impact on the problem.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the contribution of the partnership between unions and management at Rover Longbridge to the continuation of motor car production at the plant. [71616]

I have been most impressed by the positive response of the Unions and the management at Rover to the challenges now facing the company. There is no doubt that the agreement reached last year to introduce flexible working patterns and to reduce costs has played a significant role in helping to secure the Mini investment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if British Energy has retained the shareholding inherited from the Central Electricity Generating Board in the holding company NERSA in respect of ownership of the Superphenix fast reactor in France. [69603]

The shareholding was retained in Magnox Electric plc at the time of British Energy's privatisation, and is now held by BNFL.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to remove the right of (a) water, (b) electricity and (c) gas suppliers to make standing charges payable by (i) pensioner households and (ii) households receiving income support; and if he will make a statement. [71054]

Clearly it is essential that special care should be taken to ensure that vulnerable groups of customers have access to reliable, affordable, water and energy supplies. That is why this Government have vigorously taken forward work on modernising the framework for utility regulation. The Government's review of water charging in England and Wales raised concerns about the effect of high standing charges on low income, low water users such as pensioners living alone. The Government will consider further how these effects can best be mitigated within the new framework proposed in the Water Industry Bill now before Parliament. Also, we are encouraging the regulator for gas and electricity to review the Social Dimension in his Action Plan, with a view to determining what further initiatives can provide effective help to the fuel poor.Standing charges have been the usual means of utility companies making a charge for the fixed costs of providing a service which do not vary according to the level of usage. Such costs generally include meter reading, accounting and billing, maintenance of infrastructure, and provision of emergency services, although there is no requirement for these costs to be recovered by means of a standing charge.With the spread of competition in the gas and electricity markets, many customers already have a choice of who should supply them with these important utility services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many licences have been granted since 1 May 1997 for the export of arms to Bahrain; and if he will provide details of the arms covered by each licence and the declared purpose. [71301]

[holding answer 15 February 1999]: The entry in the relevant legislation under which the export of goods is controlled is known as their rating. The Export Control Organisation's computer databases have been interrogated and the following results were obtained. Between 2 May 1997 and 29 January 1999, 45 Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) and 26 Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs) were issued covering the export to consignees or end-users in Bahrain 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. Individual licences may cover a range of goods with various ratings. Where this is so, the licence is included in the Table in the total for all of the relevant ratings.

Individual licences issued between 2 May 1997 and 29 January 1999 covering the export to Bahrain of goods on the Military List
Rating	Number of SIELs issued covering Number of goods with this rating	Number of OIELs issued covering goods with this rating
ML1	14	1
ML2	8	0
ML3	12	0
ML4	1	2
ML5	5	7
ML6	1	0
ML7	0	1
ML8	0	1
ML9	0	1
ML10	0	4
ML11	5	11
ML13	3	2
ML14	0	1
ML15	0	2
ML18	0	1
ML21	0	2
ML22	0	2
PL5006	3	0
PL5017	3	1
PL5030	1	0

This information does not cover any Media OIELs that may have been issued during this period. Media OIELs authorise the export to all destinations of protective clothing, mainly for the protection of aid agency workers and journalists, when working in areas of conflict.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will list (a) the licence applications for military exports to Indonesia which have been refused in the past five years and (b) the reasons for the refusals; [71923](2) if he will list the export licence applications for military exports to Indonesia which have been refused in the past five years. [72017]

The Export Control Organisation's computer databases have been interrogated and the following results were obtained. In the calendar years 1994 to 1998, 21 applications for Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) and one application for an Open Individual Export Licence (OIEL) were refused covering the export to consignees or end-users in Indonesia 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. The entry in the relevant legislation under which the export of goods is controlled is known as their rating. Applications for individual licences may cover a range of goods with various ratings. Where this is so, the application is included in the total for all of the relevant ratings.

Number of applications for SIELs refused in each calendar year covering the export to Indonesia of goods on the Military List
Rating	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998
ML1	1	2	3	3	1
ML2	1	1	0	0	0
ML3	3	0	1	0	0
ML4	0	0	0	1	0
ML5	1	0	0	0	0
ML6	0	0	0	1	0
ML7	1	0	0	0	0
ML14	0	0	0	1	0
ML15	1	0	0	0	0
PL5002	0	0	0	1	0
PL5017	0	0	0	1	0
PL5018	3	0	1	0	0
PL5021	2	0	0	0	0
Total number of applications	5	3	4	8	1

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when his Department's review of renewable energy will be published. [72300]

I plan to publish a paper on my review of renewable energy policy shortly which will analyse the status and prospects for renewables and present policies for developing renewables further.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to receive the report of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on the supply of raw milk in Great Britain; and if he will make it his policy (a) to publish that report and (b) to undertake a public consultation on its recommendations before he makes a decision on them. [72310]

[holding answer 22 February 1999]: The Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) is required to deliver its report on the supply of raw milk in Great Britain to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by 26 February 1999. The Secretary of State is required to publish all monopoly reports, and will announce what action he intends to take, if any, when he publishes the report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if articles of the 10 carat gold standard hallmarked in Ireland may be placed on the market in the United Kingdom; and what assessment he has made of the consequences for British competitiveness of such marketing. [72589]

Following the amendments to the Hallmarking Act 1973 which came into effect on 1 January, the United Kingdom, in accordance with Article 30 of the EC Treaty and European case law concerning the free circulation of goods, has permitted articles of precious metal hallmarked in Ireland to be marketed here without further hallmarking by a UK assay office. I can confirm that this would include articles of 10 carat gold.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if all the European Economic Area states have amended their laws to permit articles hallmarked in the United Kingdom to be sold in their states; and if he will make a statement. [72590]

Only those EEA States which have a mandatory requirement for hallmarking under their law and have in the past required imported articles to be re-hallmarked in their country before being placed on the market they would need to amend their laws to permit articles hallmarked in the United Kingdom to be placed on their markets without further marking. The DTI is obtaining up-to-date information from the Commission about which countries have now made the necessary changes to their legislation. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as the information is available and will place a copy of the reply in the Libraries of the House.In any event, it should be noted that the legal position concerning the free circulation of goods in the EU Member States is set out in Article 30 of the EC Treaty and European caselaw. Notwithstanding whether a Member State has amended its national legislation the Treaty and caselaw will have effect and under these provisions I understand that UK hallmarks should be accepted throughout the European Community. The other EEA States (i.e. Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) are governed by the EEA Agreement (1992).

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the report sponsored by his Department on the electronic publishing industry. [73946]

The Report, The Advance of Electronic Publishing, which examines the barriers and drivers of the electronic publishing and content industries, was published today. Copies are available in the Library of the House. It can also be accessed on the Internet at www.isi.gov.uk/new/advance.html.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on state aids to European airlines; and if he will make a statement. [71595]

State aid to the airline industry is a matter for my right hon. Friend of the Minister of Transport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices have had the new Benefits Agency/POCL system installed to date; how many remain to have the system installed; how many have had the system installed in each week throughout the period of installation to date; and how many will have the system installed in each remaining week of the implementation period. [73031]

The Post Office tell me that at present 204 post offices have been automated and are paying Child Benefit by Payment Card as part of a limited trial of the new Benefits Agency/Post Office Counters system; 18,610 post offices remain to have the system installed; the system was installed in the 204 post offices in the trial in 1997 at the rate of 20 offices per week; and national roll-out of the system to every post office, which will only commence once final acceptance trials have been completed, is scheduled to take place at a rate of some 300 post offices a week.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to reach a decision regarding the future of the PFR Reprocessing Plant at Dounreay; what consultation he will carry out prior to reaching that decision; when he expects to receive options studies from the UK Atomic Energy Authority with regard to this decision; if he will place a copy of the option studies in the Library; when he plans to announce his decision; and if he will make a statement. [72334]

A comprehensive review by UKAEA of the options for handling PFR and other fuels awaiting treatment at Dounreay is nearing completion. I await UKAEA's formal proposals which will be subject to full and careful scrutiny in due course. I also intend to consult relevant Government advisory bodies and allow sufficient time to give proper consideration to the issues before making a decision. In accordance with the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, the relevant facts and analysis of the facts important in framing the Government's decision on this issue will be published when we announce our decision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to what extent the cost of board, lodging and similar incidentals is taken into account in the regulation of the terms and conditions applying to the employment of au pairs; and if he will make a statement. [71976]

I have been asked to reply.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had about the future of Vaux Brewery; and if he will make a statement. [73260]

I am aware of the importance that many in the region attach to the future of the Vaux brewery in Sunderland. I am also aware of reports that Vaux is looking to sell its brewing interests. I am conscious of my hon. Friend's personal interest in this issue and would be happy to meet him to discuss his concerns.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 1 February 1999, Official Report, column 483, what plans he has to measure the present participation rate of three-year-olds in early education in Southampton in order to measure progress with his target to double that rate. [71980]

The Government's target is to double the proportion of three-year-old children in free early education places to 66 per cent. across England by 2001–02; a target participation rate will be set for each Local Education Authority which will enable us to meet that national target. The present participation rate and plans for expansion will be described in each Local Education Authority area's Early Years Development and Child Care Plan.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the effects of the 1999–2000 revenue support grant on the provision of education services in West Sussex. [73129]

The revenue support grant settlement for 1999–2000 for West Sussex includes an underlying increase of £15.5 million or 6.1 per cent. in the education standard spending assessment, after allowing for local authority changes of function. This is sufficient to meet the pressures faced by education services in West Sussex if, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has urged it to do, the County Council uses all of the cash increase in the education SSA to support education, especially schools.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the provision of capital funding for schools in West Sussex in 1999–2000. [73130]

An allocation of £3,329,969 was announced through the Annual Capital Guideline on 16 December 1998.Announcements on the Class Size and New Deal for Schools allocations for 1999–2000 will be made shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if additional funding will be made available to local education authorities to cover the administration costs of running ballots on the future of grammar schools; and if he will make a statement. [73188]

The responsibility for administering ballots on the future admission arrangements of grammar schools will not fall to local authorities. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has appointed Electoral Reform (Ballot Services) Limited to act as the ballot administration company. The Department for Education and Employment will reimburse the costs incurred by the company in providing this service.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the responses his Department received in respect of the consultation papers on (a) the Control of Unscrupulous Immigration Advisers, (b) the Review of Appeals and (c) the White Paper, Fairer, Faster and Firmer, indicating how many were (i) in favour and (ii) opposed to (1) a single tier of immigration appeals, (2) a presumption in favour of hearings on the papers rather than oral hearings for appeals, (3) the introduction of a charge towards the cost of an appeal against a refusal of an application for entry clearance as a visitor, (4) including the legal profession in a statutory regulation scheme for immigration advisers, (5) cash payments rather than benefits in kind being made to asylum seekers, (6) the dispersal of asylum seekers to accommodation throughout the United Kingdom without their consent, (7) magistrates hearing bail applications, (8) administrative removal for overstayers rather than deportation and a right of appeal and (9) the removal of a right of appeal against a decision which does not result in the applicant having to leave the United Kingdom. [70383]

I will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on his Department' s policies of the goods and services provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to be implemented in October 1999. [71273]

Review	Actual report date	Anticipated report date	Comments
Review of the law relating to bribery corruption	31 July 1998
Review of arrangements for confiscation of criminal assets	1 November 1998
Review of community fire safety	3 November 1997
Interdepartmental review of the treatment of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses	10 June 1998

We have already done much work to ensure that the Department's policies meet the needs of disabled people and that we comply with our legal requirements. We shall continue to do so, not only by complying fully with new duties in the Disability Discrimination Act but by aiming to exceed them where appropriate.We have promulgated within the Department the guidance "Policy Appraisal for Equal Treatment" which the Cabinet Office issued to all Government Departments in November 1998, and which was signed jointly by the Home Secretary, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment and the Minister for Women. All ministerial submissions on new policy initiatives or significant policy changes are now assessed for any adverse impact not only on disabled people but on any minority or disadvantaged group.Different areas of the Home Office have different requirements. Two examples of good practice where specialist provision is available are the Immigration and Nationality Department Public Inquiry Office at Croydon, which includes interview booths being wheelchair accessible and fitted with induction loops, the provision of hand rails, special access arrangements for callers with disability, low level pay phones and adapted toilet facilities.The Passport Agency provides, among other things, staff trained in sign language, textphones, the Typetalk service provided by BT and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, literature in alternative formats and Braille stickers to identify a passport.My hon. Friend the Member for Knowsley, North and Sefton, East (Mr. Howarth), the Under-Secretary, chairs a Working Party on Electoral Procedures which considers disability access to electoral services of all kinds.Consolidated and enhanced guidance which includes advice on national access standards will be issued shortly to all returning officers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) reviews, (b) task forces and (c) advisory groups have been established by his Department since 1 May 1997; what costs they have incurred to date; and what reports they have published. [71509]

A list of the reviews, task forces and advisory groups established by my Department since 1 May 1997 are listed in the table. Terms of reference have been given where a report date cannot be specified.