To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what performance targets have been set for 1999–2000 for the Northern Ireland Health and Social Services Estates Agency. [84333]

The targets, which have been set for 1999–2000, are based on the corporate aims and objectives of the Agency as set out in section 5 of its Corporate and Business Plan and reflect in part a refinement of the previously set targets. The targets are in line with the Government's policy of seeking to improve the service provided to clients in terms of both quality and value for money and I am satisfied that they present a demanding challenge for the Agency. A copy of the Corporate and Business plan will be placed in the Library.The targets are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when she intends to publish the report by Mr. J. J. Rowe QC on the operation during 1998 of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1996. [84334]

Mr. Rowe's Report is being published today and copies are being placed in the Library. I note that Mr. Rowe recommends that the legislation be renewed.The UK's counter terrorism legislation is currently under review. The Government intend to bring forward, as soon as possible, new UK-wide legislation to replace the existing temporary provisions.In December last year, the Government published a consultation paper entitled, "Legislation Against Terrorism". Around eighty responses have been received. The process of examining each contribution and preparing the Government's legislative response is well underway. The Government have made clear that during the period the new legislation is being prepared it will not leave the people of Northern Ireland without the protection of necessary counter-terrorism measures. For that reason I propose to continue the EPA in force for a temporary period and I shall lay before the House as soon as possible a draft Order for consideration which would have that effect.The Government are committed to steadily transforming the security environment in Northern Ireland and achieving complete normalisation as part of the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement as a whole. In such circumstances, the Government's position is that there will be no need for any temporary Northern Ireland specific powers. The Government will make a judgment about that nearer the time the new UK-wide legislation is introduced.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will make a statement on the Review of the Valuation and Lands Agency. [84335]

On 27 February 1998, Official Report, columns 413–14, I announced to the House the Review of the Valuation and Lands Agency. Each Agency undergoes a periodic review to evaluate performance and to reconsider whether agency status is the best way of doing the job.I am pleased to announce that this Review is now complete. It has found that there have been substantial improvements in productivity and efficiency, and in the overall quality of service to customers. The Review recommends that the Valuation and Lands Agency should remain an Agency within the Department of Finance and Personnel.The Review goes on to recommend that a feasibility study should be carried out into the possibility of a merger with the Rate Collection Agency. The decision, under devolved arrangements, to transfer the Rate Collection Agency to the Department of Finance and Personnel should facilitate such a study and I have commended the findings in the Review Report to the First Minister (Designate) and deputy First Minister (Designate).I am placing a copy of the Report in the Library today. Work will continue on a revised Framework Document and this will become a matter for the devolved administration in Northern Ireland to approve in due course.

To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to amend the Civil Service Code to take account of devolution for Scotland and Wales. [84171]

There will continue, under the Devolution settlements, to be a unified Home Civil Service whose members will serve their respective Administrations in accordance with the well-established principles of integrity, honesty, impartiality and objectivity. A revised Civil Service Code is being issued to all civil servants to reflect the changes brought about by devolution to Scotland and Wales. Copies of the Code have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Prime Minister if the Intelligence and Security Committee has reported to him on Sierra Leone; and if he will publish the report. [84486]

The Intelligence and Security Committee sent a Report examining the intelligence aspects of the counter-coup in Sierra Leone to me in February. Following discussions about which parts of the Report must be withheld for security reasons, the Report is being published today. The Government intend to publish a formal response to the Report in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the eventual total cost of the M11 Link Road; and on what date it is expected to be fully completed. [83598]

I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Lawrie Haynes, to write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions in how many instances in each of the last five years for which figures are available, a request for change of the sex recorded on a driving licence was (a) received and (b) acted upon. [83571]

No separate record is kept of applications. Provided the application is supported by appropriate documentation, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will accept the request.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress he has made in commissioning the M6 corridor transport study; and what timetable he has agreed. [83743]

Lord Whitty announced on 23 March 1999 the start dates for the programme of multimodal and roads based studies. The West Midlands to North West Conurbation Study will begin in Summer 1999. Consultation with the Regional Planning Conferences in both the West Midlands and the North West will start before then, initially on the preparation of the consultants' brief, and will continue throughout the life of the study. As part of the multimodal study, consultants will develop a full range of options to tackle the traffic problems of the corridor, including the possibility of modal shift.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what guidance he has issued to prospective consultants in respect of consultation with the public as part of the proposed multimodal transport studies. [83746]

The Department is currently preparing guidance on the methodology for the multimodal studies. The guidance will be aimed at consultants undertaking work on the studies and will cover the role of consultation in the study process.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what opportunities there will be for local stakeholders to be involved in drawing up the terms of reference for the proposed multimodal transport studies. [83745]

The Government Offices responsible for taking forward the multimodal studies will draw up terms of reference in consultation with the local Regional Planning Bodies and agree them with the study steering group.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what guidance he has issued in respect of the geographical scope of multimodal studies; what area the proposed M6 corridor transport study will cover; and which major routes will be included other than the M6. [83744]

The geographical scope of each multimodal study will be set out in its terms of reference, which will be drawn up by Government Offices in consultation with the Regional Planning Bodies.The terms of reference for the West Midlands to North West Conurbation study have not yet been agreed, but the geographical scope is expected to be the broad corridor along the M6/west coast main line routes, including the A500, A50(M1), A34 and other possible rail and bus routes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 20 April 1999, Official Report, column 473, on genetically modified crops, if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay between the holding reply and the final reply. [83820]

The sudden upsurge in media and public interest in genetic modification technology earlier this year resulted in a very substantial increase in the volume of Ministerial correspondence, Parliamentary Questions and correspondence from members of the public needing to be handled by officials. My officials have also been required to handle significantly increased levels of briefing resulting from several Select Committee appearances and the general increase in Ministerial activity in this area. This increased level of activity coupled with the need to provide full and considered replies to the large number of sometimes detailed and complex Parliamentary Questions tabled has inevitably resulted in some increase in response time, which I regret.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what measures he plans to put in place to ensure that local authority transport schemes which currently exceed the proposed minimum standard of half price concessionary bus fares for older people do not reduce their benefits to older people when the proposed national scheme is implemented. [83845]

Beyond the terms of our national standard minimum for concessionary travel schemes for elderly people, local authorities will continue to have full discretion to decide on the terms of their concessionary travel schemes. Local authorities will therefore remain entirely free to provide concessionary fare schemes which are more generous than our proposed statutory minimum. We believe that it is right to maintain the principle that locally elected authorities should consider these matters in the light of local needs and circumstances and their overall financial priorities, and to be locally accountable for the decisions then made.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if his proposed minimum national concessionary bus fare scheme for older people will be applicable to all people aged over 60 years. [83844]

Our proposed national minimum for concessionary fares will be based on the present statutory position, whereby concessionary travel for older people is linked to the state pension age.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what impact the landfill tax has had on reducing the proportion of total waste which is disposed of through landfill sites; and what proportion of United Kingdom waste has been recycled in each of the last 10 years. [83623]

[holding answer 11 May 1999]: The information currently available suggests that the landfill tax has reduced the quantity of material going to licensed landfill sites, particularly construction and demolition waste. There is little statistical information at this stage to support any conclusions as to the extent to which this results from a reduction in the amount of waste generated as opposed to being diverted to different outlets.The data available for municipal waste only are as follows:

Municipal waste recycling rate
Percentage
Year	England and Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
1998	18	2—	2—
1997	17	2—	3.4
1996	6.5	no data	no data
1995	no data	no data	no data
1994	no data	0.64	no data
1993	no data	0.66	no data
1992	no data	0.68	no data
1991	no data	0.61	no data
1990	no data	0.63	no data
1989	no data	no data	no data
1Data still to be fully verified
2Data still to be collected or processed

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress is being made following his consultation on the system of single vehicle approvals. [84208]

Changes to the current limit on the number of commercially traded vehicles which can be approved into the UK each year under the Single Vehicle Approval Scheme (SVA) scheme will be introduced from March 2000. The main elements of the changes are:

Progressive lifting of limits on the total number of commercially traded vehicles which can be approved and registered under SVA, starting with 1,000 vehicles in March next year and increasing by 1,000 each month until the end of year 2000 when all limits will be lifted.

Introduction of enhanced technical standards for key environmental, safety and security (anti-theft) items to apply to commercially traded vehicles. The current SVA standards will continue to apply to amateur-built vehicles and genuine personal imports as redefined below.

Complete lifting of limits on vehicles which have been approved to equivalent standards to the enhanced SVA in other European member states.

Tightening of the rules for vehicles to qualify as "personal imports" by requiring importers to have lived abroad for at least 12 months and used their vehicles abroad for at least 6 months.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what response his Department has made to the European Commission White Paper establishing a common transport infrastructure charging framework in the EU. [83941]

The Commission has not invited member states to comment on its White Paper and neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor I have made any formal response. However, as proposed in the White Paper, the Commission has established a committee of experts to develop guidance on methods to estimate the marginal costs of transport, and our officials are participating in that process.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what is the maximum period of time for which an auditor may be appointed by the Audit Commission; [84044](2) what powers the Audit Commission has to terminate the appointment of an appointed auditor

Section 3 of the Audit Commission Act 1998 makes provision for the appointment of auditors by the Audit Commission. There is no prescribed maximum period, but it is the commission's general policy, in accordance with good professional practice, to change a council's auditor at least once every seven years. The Audit Commission may terminate an appointment where the auditor fails to comply with the statutory Code of Audit Practice, or other statutory obligations. Where an auditor is not a Commission employee, section 3(8) provides for the appointment to be on such terms and for such period as the Commission may determine. Such terms include the personal fees payable by the commission to the individual auditor or the firm of individuals.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received on the impact on Westminster City Council's fulfilment of its statutory functions of the reimbursement of legal costs associated with councillors and officers in connection with the District Auditor's inquiry into designated sales. [84065]

My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is not aware of any such representations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he proposes to take, in relation to the work of the auditor involved in the inquiry, following the Court of Appeal's judgment reducing the Westminster auditor's calculation of loss in connection with the inquiry into designated sales. [84064]

My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has no function in relation to the work of auditors appointed by the independent Audit Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the average time taken between the completion of a planning inquiry and the announcement of the inspector's decision within the south-west region. [84220]

Such information is available only for Planning Appeals made under S78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. In the last year April 1998 to March 1999 the average time taken for cases in the south-west region decided by the Secretary of State was 27 weeks compared with a national average of 34 weeks.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what were the average rents in each year since 1989 for (a) local authority properties, (b) housing association properties and (c) private properties. [84047]

The average weekly rents for England are as set out. These averages take no account of differences in the size, age or location of dwellings covered under the three tenures.

£
Year	Local authority	Housing association1	Private
1989–90	20.86	n/a	n/a
1990–91	23.92	n/a	40
1991–92	27.59	29.62	n/a
1992–93	30.84	34.34	n/a
1993–94	33.70	38.17	61
1994–95	35.79	40.71	65
1995–96	38.41	44.00	70
1996–97	40.17	46.74	76
1997–98	41.18	49.71	79
1Housing association rents are at 31 March in each year. The series above runs from 31/3/92—31/3/98.

To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department when he proposes to publish the Community Legal Service consultation document. [83822]

I expect to publish the document shortly.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the current caseload of the Serious Fraud Office. [83889]

The current caseload of the Serious Fraud Office is 66 active cases. Caseload figures for the three previous financial years, as set out in the SFO Annual Reports, are as follows: 70, 82 and 78 (for 1995–96, 1996–97 and 1997–98 respectively).

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) discussions he has had and (b) proposals his Department has put forward at Council of Ministers' meetings in respect of EU fraud; and if he will make a statement. [77775]

[holding answer 19 March 1999]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Treasury on 19 March 1999, Official Report, column 858–59.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 20 January 1999, Official Report, column 505, for what reason he has not received from the European Commission the information requested by the hon. Member for Ludlow on 13 January. [81980]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 20 January 1999, Official Report, column 505, on the European Commission, what steps he has taken to secure the information requested from the European Commission. [82179]

I have written to the right hon. and hon. Members. A copy of these letters has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the proposals which he has made at the Council of Ministers for the reform of the European Commission. [82482]

The UK has shared with partners a number of specific reform ideas aimed at making the Commission more efficient, transparent and accountable. These include changes to Commission internal management structures, personnel policy and financial control. Some progress has already been made. For example, the Council is expected shortly to approve plans for an independent fraud investigation office within the Commission, the make-up of which will owe much to UK ideas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will estimate the average proportion of the agenda for European Union Council meetings attended by his Ministers which change in the period between his monthly announcement of the proposed agenda and the actual meeting. [82296]

The agendas for EU General Affairs Councils (GACs) are subject to changes in the run-up to the meetings: Ministers often need to react quickly to events. Over the last six months, I estimate that the agendas for the GACs have changed by up to 50 per cent. between the monthly announcements and the actual meetings.As part of the Parliamentary process, my department provides the Scrutiny Committees with updated agendas for the GACs two weeks in advance of the meetings, which are updated thereafter if there are further significant changes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish as a single paper the texts of the revised Treaties on European Union and the European Community as coming into effect on 1 May together with all the protocols and declarations contained in their component treaties and showing for each article therein references to earlier numbered Articles related to those now current. [83819]

I refer my hon. Friend to Command Paper CM 3780, presented to Parliament by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in October 1997. The consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union begins on page 110, that of the Treaty establishing the European Community on page 130. This text also includes references to the previous numbering of articles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 5 May 1999, Official Report, column 421, on UN peacekeeping, if he will list the cases which have arisen, other than in Kosovo, when in the light of all the circumstances a limited use of force has been deemed justifiable under international law in support of purposes laid down by the Security Council. [84066]

A limited use of force was deemed justifiable in support of the purposes laid down by the Security Council but without the council's express authorisation in order to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Iraq shortly after the Gulf War. The No Fly Zones were established in 1991 (northern Iraq) and 1992 (southern Iraq) in support of UNSCR 688 which called on Iraq to end its brutal repression of the civilian population: coalition aircraft help protect the interests of the Shias in the south and the Kurds and other minorities in the north by ensuring Iraqi aircraft cannot fly below the 33^rd or above the 36^th parallel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of British military equipment exported to Yugoslavia since 1989 on the present conflict. [80160]

I have been asked to reply.Since the introduction of UN and EU arms embargoes in 1991 we have no evidence of UK companies, either directly or through intermediaries, supplying the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with any military equipment prohibited by the embargoes. Details of military equipment exports during the period 1 January 1989 to July 1991, when the EU embargo was applied, were published on 16 February 1993,

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the reasons for the financial compensation package paid on the resignation of the Chief Executive of SOLOTEC. [83377]

The Board of SOLOTEC is responsible for setting the terms and conditions of SOLOTEC's staff. I understand that the Board decided last summer to vary the then Chief Executive's terms of employment to incorporate the severance payment he has since received. I further understand that the Board at the time believed that the financial compensation package was necessary to retain the services of the Chief Executive. When the Board subsequently decided to part with the Chief Executive, they decide to make the payment in full.The compensation package was agreed and paid without the knowledge of the Department. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made clear our view that there are no circumstances in which a payment of this size could be justified for any TEC employee.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the (a) number of and (b) origin of students studying at British universities from the countries of Latin America. [83369]

The latest available data are given in the following table:

Number of higher education students from Latin American countries studying in higher education institutions in Great Britain 1998–99
Country	Number of students1
Argentina	365
Bolivia	35
Brazil	1,046
Chile	202
Colombia	475
Costa Rica	25
Cuba	10
Ecuador	50
El Salvador	15
Guatemala	12
Honduras	6
Mexico	1,056
Nicaragua	8
Panama	27
Paraguay	15
Peru	120
Uruguay	43
Venezuela	279
Total	3,789
1Full-time, part-time, undergraduates and postgraduates

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency showing the numbers of part-time and full-time mature students who entered higher education in (i) 1996, (ii) 1997 and (iii) 1998. [83590]

Information for the three years requested is given in the table.

Mature1 entrants to UK higher education institutions
Year	Full-time	Part-time	Total
1996–97	172,100	226,000	398,100
1997–98	170,400	230,800	401,200
1998–99	168,700	250,100	418,700
1Mature entrants are defined as students in their first year of study aged 25 and over on postgraduate courses and aged 21 and over on undergraduate courses. The numbers cover home and overseas domiciled students and are taken from HESA December Student Record datasets.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the proportion of UK citizens with post-graduate degrees obtained at British universities who have subsequently taken up employment abroad; and if he will make a statement. [83356]

The available information relates only to the destinations of individual cohorts of postgraduate qualifiers six months after qualification.The latest figures relating to 1996–97 show that of the 17,367 UK domiciled full-time postgraduate qualifiers from GB higher education institutions for whom we have destination information, 1,100 (or 6 per cent.) are reported to have taken up employment overseas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if he will call for a report from the FEFC on the decision of the previous directors of Wirral Metropolitan College to award an enhancement of eligible service to the recently retired Principal of Wirral Metropolitan College; [83689](2) what external advice he

The retirement package was a decision made by the previous governors of Wirral Metropolitan College. The decision was made in line with guidance provided by the FEFC in its financial memorandum to colleges. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has asked the FEFC to review the advice it gives to colleges to ensure that careful consideration is given to the guidance so that it is appropriate in different circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will set out her Department's planned financial assistance towards orphanages in Romania in the financial year 1999–2000. [83965]

We have no plans to provide financial assistance for orphanages in Romania for the financial year 1999–2000. We are considering a request from the Romanian Department for Child Protection which may include support for orphanages.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received the findings of the independent investigation into the leak of material relating to the report by Sir William Macpherson into the death of Stephen Lawrence. [84332]

I have now received from my Permanent Secretary the report of the independent investigation into the leak, carried out following longstanding practice by a member of the panel maintained by the Cabinet Office. The summary findings of the report are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the number of house fires which are caused each year by faulty cigarette lighters; and if he will make a statement. [83813]

In 1997, there were 527 fires caused by cigarette lighters which resulted in 10 fatal and 265 non-fatal casualties. The statistics do not specify whether or not the cigarette lighter in question was faulty.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the financial costs to the Metropolitan Police of the additional security arrangements in London in response to the recent nail bomb attacks; and what additional financial provision he proposes to make to cover these costs. [83888]

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that the estimated cost of the enhanced high visibility policing provided to reassure the public, in particular, in policing in areas populated or frequented by all known minority groups, as part of the measures to combat the recent nail bombings, is £1,435,144. The figures do not include policing of the bomb scenes themselves.These policing operations were of the character for which the funding of the Metropolitan Police already provides.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will assess the benefits of compulsory registration of privately operated CCTV systems with the local police. [83886]

There is no requirement for owners of privately operated Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) systems to register with the local police, nor are there any plans to assess the benefits of requiring them to do so.The Data Protection Act 1998 provides a framework for the statutory regulation of CCTV systems. Their controllers will be required to notify details of their processing of personal data to the Data Protection Commissioner who will make them publicly available in a register. They will also have to comply with a set of enforceable principles of good data handling practice.Our recently published White Paper on the statutory regulation of the private security industry would require those operating CCTV systems to be licensed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the throughput of files achieved by the case allocation unit for the latest available period. [83954]

During the week ending 8 May, the case allocation unit allocated a total of 3,563 files to Case Management Units. A further 1,545 files were sent to other locations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what discussions he has had with the National Association for lay visiting about custody suites at police stations regarding (a) length of service of lay visitors, (b) retirement age of lay visitors and (c) the future of the lay visitors scheme; [83967](2) what representations he has received from

Lay visiting to police stations is a non-statutory function which is the responsibility of police authorities. The National Association for Lay Visiting (NALV) is an independent voluntary organisation which works to support and promote lay visiting to police stations. The Home Office has issued guidance to police authorities on the operation of lay visiting schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when live firing experiments using animals were last carried out (a) in the UK and (b) involving UK personnel. [82521]

This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's planned spending on research broken down by category in (a) 1999–2000, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03; and what was actual spending in 1998–99. [83473]

Planned defence expenditure on major customers' research budgets for 1999–2000 is £453 million as set out in the Government's Expenditure Plans 1999–2000 to 2000–01, Cmnd. 4208, published in March 1999. Actual spending in 1998–99 is estimated at £460 million. The main categories within this expenditure are the Applied Research Programme, about £325 million in 1998–99, and the Corporate Research Programme, about £120 million. A similar breakdown is expected to apply in 1999–2000. Total figures for subsequent years will be published in subsequent editions of Government Expenditure Plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individual members of the Territorial Army are currently serving with British forces in the Kosovo theatre; and with which units they are serving. [83627]

[holding answer 12 May 1999]: 19 individual members of the TA are serving in Macedonia with the following units:HQ 4 Armd Bde: 92 Sqn RAF: 1HQ UK NSE: 321 Engr Regt: 428 Engr Regt: 123 Para Fd Amb: 1.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it is departmental policy to refer to the "New Territorial Army" in official communications or publications. [84098]

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are (a) the storage space occupied by the enumerators' books for the post-1920 decennial censuses for Scotland and (b) the estimated costs of micro-filming each of these census records. [83772]

[holding answer 10 May 1999]:(a) The census returns for Scotland which remain closed to the public occupy approximately the following amounts of shelving in secure storage belonging to the Registrar General for Scotland.

Linear metres
1901 Census	776 volumes	18.3
1911 Census	1,225 volumes	38.3
1921 Census	1,720 volumes	39.2
1931 Census	1,175 volumes	34.8
1939 National Registration1	2,087 volumes	91.0
1951 Census	3,720 binders	247.1
1961 Census	10,800 binders	591.1
1966 Sample Census	3,528 binders	146.2
1971 Census	19,279 boxes	1,290.2
1981 Census	19,150 boxes	1,666.1
1991 Census	12,852 boxes	1,863.5
All closed censuses		6,025.8
1No census of the population of Scotland was taken in 1941. Instead, shortly after the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the Registrar General undertook 'national registration', which amounted to a census of the population for the purposes of conscription and the rationing of food etc. The original paper volumes remain in the ownership of the Registrar General and are treated essentially as if they were closed census returns.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will commission an independent assessment of the advice given to Swallow plc regarding the asset value of Vaux brewery. [79361]

[holding answer 30 March 1999]: I refer my hon. Friend to the comments I made during his Adjournment debate on this on 29 April 1999, Official Report, columns 596–600.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his Department's policy with regard to the report from the Law Commission (1994 No. 227), entitled "Restitution: Mistakes of Law and ultra vires Public Authority Receipts and Payments". [82307]

This is primarily a matter for the Lord Chancellor's Department, and I refer the hon and learned Member to the reply given by the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department on 29 April 1999, Official Report, column 245.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the prospects for the oil and gas industry in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [82728]

Work is being carried out or is planned to be carried out under landward licences held over acreage in North and South Wales.I expect to be able to offer further licensing opportunities for onshore areas in due course which will allow further appraisal of the hydrocarbon potential in and around Wales, including coal gas related prospects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the outcome of the Industry Council held in Luxembourg on 29 April; and if he will make a statement. [83263]

My noble Friend the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe represented the UK at the EU Industry Council held on 29 April.The Council reached political agreement on a common position on a late payments directive. The purpose of this directive is to deter late payment by giving all businesses a right to statutory interest on debt not paid on time, regardless of where the debtor is based in the EU. Now that Ministers have reached a political agreement, a common position will be finalised for communication to the European Parliament for the Directives second reading.Council conclusions were agreed on shipbuilding which sent a strong message of support to the European shipbuilding industry, given the lack of orders for European yards so far this year. In particular, the Conclusions provided a mandate for Commissioner Bangemann's forthcoming discussions with South Korea. The Commission also presented the third monitoring report on aid to German and Spanish shipyards.The Council had an open debate on globalisation and competitiveness. Ministers spoke on a wide range of themes. The Presidency summed up by identifying the key themes arising from the discussions: venture capital, take-up of university research, intellectual property, strengthening the internal market to create the framework conditions for the information society training and the global context of competition policy and liberalisation. The Presidency concluded that the Council saw itself as having a co-ordinating role in updating EU industrial policy, and there was a need for further rationalisation of Council structures.The Council adopted a Resolution settling the outstanding issue of ownership and administration of the assets of the ECSC after the expiry of the Treaty in 2002. The Resolution reflects agreement reached by member states by which the assets will be transferred to the ownership of the remaining Communities, while being ring-fenced from other Community funds. The Commission also presented the latest monitoring report on past steel aid cases and noted that there were no particular problems.A lunchtime discussion was held on industrial aspects of enlargement of the EU. There was agreement that enlargement should not lead to competitive distortions, that effective implementation of the EU acquis was essential, and that restructuring would be needed in several sectors. A meeting of representatives of such sectors and Ministers from candidate countries would be held in Estonia in the autumn, to help them learn from EU experience.Agreement was reached on two amending regulations which would allow the Commission to bring forward a new block exemption policy for dealing with vertical agreements between companies. The Presidency also noted agreement of a Council declaration on the essential elements that the new block exemption should contain. The Commission undertook to take on board the content of the Council declaration and made its own declaration to this effect.The Presidency withdrew its proposed Council Conclusions which encouraged the Commission to bring forward and adopt its White Paper on the Modernisation of Competition Policy, following the Commission's adoption of the White Paper on 28 April. The White Paper is intended to bring about debate on the future implementation of Articles 85 and 86.The Council also adopted Conclusions on benchmarking, sustainable development, the Business Environment Simplification Task Force (BEST) Report and the Commission's White Paper on Commerce.The Commission gave presentations on the economic situation in the EU and its Communication on Tourism and Employment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 26 March 1999, Official Report, column 444, on competitiveness, on what basis he has defined productivity performance. [83316]

[holding answer 5 May 1999]: Labour productivity can be measured by value added per worker or by value added per hour worked. Irrespective of the measure chosen, the UK's productivity performance is disappointing. The Analysis and Background document, which was published along with recent Competitiveness White Paper (Cm 4176), showed that only Japan has lower productivity as measured by value added per hour worked, and that the UK lags all of the G7 on a per worker basis. Both documents are in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what joint meetings he has attended with the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales and the Deputy Prime Minister to discuss the Assisted Areas Map. [83619]

[holding answer 10 May 1999]: I meet my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales and my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues including the Assisted Areas Map.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent Ministerial Council of the European Space Agency. [84387]

My noble Friend the Minister for Science and Space was invited to chair the Ministerial meeting held in Brussels. At the meeting the UK led its partners in the European Space Agency (ESA) to embark on a new £400 million programme of environmental research. The "Living Planet" programme will help scientists to understand and predict the Earth's environment and humankind's effects upon it. For example, it will monitor the effect of global warming on the polar ice caps and measure soil moisture and other factors that are essential to the accurate modelling of climate systems.We have announced £67 million investment in the programme by the British National Space Centre (BNSC). The UK has taken a strong lead in devising this programme. Our scientific community has worked closely with the BNSC in identifying how to deliver a challenging value-for-money initiative, using state of the art equipment and know-how. The agreement we secured is the first step towards providing an assured long-term programme of scientific research which looks at the Earth and its environment from space. We are putting Earth sciences on an equal footing with ESA's traditional areas of scientific research—astronomy and planetary exploration.We also announced further commitments of around £40 million to other new ESA programmes in satellite multimedia and global navigation satellites. These were coupled with renewed commitments of around £46 million per year to existing science and facility investment programmes.The Government's support for space has allowed the UK to make major commitments not only to science, where the substantial increase in funding in the recent Comprehensive Spending Review is already bearing fruit, but also to the continued health of the UK space industry. Our subscriptions to the satellite multimedia and navigation programmes will position our companies at the forefront of the knowledge-driven economy and give them the opportunity to maximise their share in global markets that will be worth around £65 billion a year within the next decade.I am confident that, with the current spirit of co-operation between the member states of ESA, we will now be able to press ahead with the exciting missions of ESA's Horizons 2000 programme, such as Planck/FIRST, and that we will be able to include the unique Mars Express mission. This is a new chapter, opening a period of great potential for European space.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if errors have been identified in the information on export licensing decisions included in Part II of the Government's Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls; and if he will make a statement. [84388]

Regrettably, a small number of recording errors and omissions have been identified. These errors were identified in the course of work carried out to compile certain information requested by the quadripartite committee established to carry out a joint inquiry into the Government's first Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls. As was noted in the Report, human error cannot be eliminated altogether in the compilation of such a large body of data.The recording errors identified are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of sub-postmasters' remuneration is accounted for by (a) sale of postal services and (b) payment of benefits. [84058]

I understand from the Post Office that around 25 per cent. of sub-postmasters' remuneration is accounted for by the sale of postal services and around 35 per cent. is accounted for by the payment of benefits. The remainder of their post office remuneration derives from banking, bill payment and other financial and licensing transactions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the current hourly target rate of remuneration for sub-postmasters. [84057]

Sub-postmasters are not employees of the Post Office but are independent business people who provide post office service on an agency basis.The Post Office makes payments to sub-postmasters based on the amount of transactions they perform, plus some core payments and allowances. The concept of an hourly rate of remuneration is therefore not applicable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which employment sectors are currently excluded from the 48-hour week provision of the Working Time Directive; for which of them Her Majesty's Government have tabled alternative proposals; and what maximum hours respectively are suggested in these proposals. [83839]

The employment sectors currently excluded from the Working Time Directive are air, rail, road, sea, inland waterway and lake transport, sea fishing, other work at sea (essentially the offshore oil and gas industry) and doctors in training.It would not be appropriate for the Government to discuss specific details of its negotiating position. However, the Government are not opposed to the extension of working time in principle, although we want to ensure the new measures accommodate our concerns and do not adversely affect the competitiveness of industry or the delivery of healthcare within the NHS.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will modify the Working Time Regulations to take into account hours at work spent not continually working on account of machine breakdown, supply difficulties or for other reasons beyond the direct control of management. [83840]

There are no plans to amend the definition of working time in the Working Time Regulations. Under the Regulations working time is defined as time when a worker is 'working, at his employer's disposal and carrying out his activities or duties'. For time to be working time all three elements must be satisfied.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to (a) introduce and (b) modify minimum standards of service for the Post Office, with particular reference to deliveries. [83841]

The targets for the percentages of first class mail delivered the next working day after posting and second class mail delivered within three working days of posting are set by the Post Office in consultation with the Post Office Users' National Council. The targets to achieve first delivery in urban areas by 9.30am and to achieve delivery in rural areas by 2.00pm are set internally by the Post Office.A key element of the package of Post Office reforms announced last December is the creation of an independent regulator to protect consumers' interests including standards of service. It is also planned to give the Post Office Users' National Council a more central role and increased powers. Together with the other elements of the reform package these changes will ensure that service standards will improve over time. Further details will be set out in a White Paper shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he proposes to publish the Post Office White Paper. [83842] Mr. Ian McCartney: It remains my expectation, as I told the Trade and Industry Select Committee on 9 December, that the White Paper will be published in the first half of the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) Crown post offices and (b) sub-post offices have shut during the last 12 months. [84055]

I understand from the Post Office that there has been a net reduction of one Crown post office and 232 sub post offices in the 12 months to the end of March 1999.The Crown office reduction was the net result of merging two nearby offices in London when the opportunity was taken to open a new flagship Crown office in their place.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of sub-post offices is located in rural areas. [84053]

The Post Office classify approximately 50 per cent. of sub-post offices as being in rural areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the Under-Secretary of State for Social Security, the hon. Member for Wallasey (Angela Eagle), will respond to the letters from Mr. P. Pritchard of Eastbourne dated 21 January and 5 March. [83159]

We can find no record of Mr. Pritchard's correspondence from January and March. The last recorded correspondence for Mr. Pritchard was in November 1998 in response to a letter from the hon. Member. If the hon. Member could forward copies of Mr. Pritchard's correspondence we will reply urgently to his concerns.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidance has been issued to Benefits Agency Offices on the payment of those ancillary workers affected by the Social Security Commissioner's decision CIS/14661/1996 of December 1997 who had been advised not to sign on with the Employment Service for the period of their unpaid leave. [83903]

Since Social Security Commissioner's Decision CIS/14661/1996 was made on 21 August 1997 (received by the Department on 13 September 1997), guidance has been issued to Benefits Agency and Employment Services staff explaining that Jobseeker's Allowance cannot be paid under normal rules to those who did not claim at the relevant time.It is, however, sometimes possible for ex-gratia payments to be made to people in these circumstances. Agency staff have been asked to keep a note of those ancillary workers who have inquired about such payments so that consideration can be given to their requests.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if, under the proposed reforms to Incapacity Benefit, persons who have their entitlement reduced to zero by their level of pension will continue to receive national insurance credits. [83721]

People who have their entitlement to Incapacity Benefit reduced to nil under the proposed reforms will qualify for national insurance credits for each week they remain incapable of work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for what reason the Green Paper, "Beating Fraud is Everyone's Business: Securing the Future", is no longer available on his Department's website. [84042]

Following the wide endorsement of the proposals in the Green Paper, we have set out how we are putting our plans into action in "A New Contract for Welfare: Safeguarding Social Security" which is available on the website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of housing benefit claimants are unemployed. [84048]

About 12 per cent. of Housing Benefit recipients are unemployed and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for improving public awareness amongst men of the benefits of self-testing for testicular cancer, with particular reference to the highest-risk age group; and if he will make a statement. [83597]

The Department encourages men to consult their doctor as soon as they notice any unusual changes in their testicles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made with plans to hold an international conference for the Harmonisation of Technical Standards for the Registration of Medicinal Products. [83789]

The International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for the Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) was established in 1990 as a joint regulatory/industry project. The aim of the project is to improve, through harmonisation of the regulatory requirements, the efficiency of the process for developing and registering new medicinal products in Europe, Japan and the United States, in order to make these products available to patients with a minimum of delay.The Fourth International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH 4) was held in Brussels, 16–18 July 1997. Plans for a fifth phase are currently under discussion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to ensure that the issue of establishing a proper licensing system for medicines used in the treatment of children is given the highest priority at a European level; [83788](2) what steps he plans to take to examine the experience of the United States in the licensing and regulation of medicines used on children; and if he will make a statement; [83790](3) what steps he is taking to press the European Commission to monitor the implementation of EU guidance on the licensing of medicines used in the treatment of children. [83787]

The United Kingdom took the lead in revising the European guideline and is committed to working closely with the European Commission and other Member States to monitor the effectiveness of its operation. The Government are committed to ensuring that the regulatory system within Europe effectively addresses the licensing of medicines for use in children. We will work with other Member States to press the Commission to take further action should this prove necessary.We intend to monitor closely the combination of financial incentives and legislation which has now been introduced in the United States. We will keep the Commission informed of the effectiveness of the US initiative, and its suitability or otherwise for replication within the European Union.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much iophendalyte was purchased by the National Health Service in each financial year from 1969–70 until 1987–88. [83793]

As with other pharmaceutical products purchased by National Health Service trusts this information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the forthcoming White Paper, Our Healthier Nation, will include measures aimed at preventing injury from accidents caused by unsafe cigarette lighters; and if he will make a statement. [83814]

Accidental injury was one of the four national priority areas in the "Our Healthier Nation" Green Paper, published last year. It set out the framework for a range of measures to be carried out by the many Departments and agencies with a role to play in reducing death and injury from accidents. Although product safety and fire safety issues are integral to this overall effort, the White Paper, to be published later this month, will not include an exhaustive list of measures relating to the safety of specific product types, such as cigarette lighters.

Minister	Date	Location	Counterpart
Minister for the Cabinet Office	14 January 1999	Washington	Al Gore: Vice President
Minister for the Cabinet Office	28 November—2 December 1998	Washington	Al Gore: Vice President
			Janet Reno: Attorney Generalplus senior officials including General Barry McCaffrey: Director, Office National Drug Control Policy
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	21–24 June 1998	Washington	Senior officials only

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his latest estimate of the number of 18 to 24-year-olds who have entered (a) further education, (b) training and (c) employment programmes under the New Deal in Wales. [83767]

The latest information from the Department for Education and Employment indicates that, by the end of February 1999:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue new guidelines on the use of beta interferon in the NHS. [80174]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to make beta interferon universally available on the NHS. [78995]

[pursuant to his reply, 11 May 1999, c. 131]: I regret that the reply I gave was misleading. It should read:The Department will shortly he consulting interested parties on a draft health service circular on the prescribing of beta-interferon for people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many times Ministers in his Department have met their counterparts in the US Government since 1 June 1998; and if he will list the dates and locations of each meeting, the Ministers involved on each occasion and the name of the US counterpart at each meeting. [82266]

Ministers have had the following meetings with members of the US Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has in respect of the improvement of North-South rail services; and if he will make a statement. [84296]

I consider that a better rail service between North and South Wales is essential for the economic and social cohesion of Wales. The Welsh Office is now working in partnership with the North Wales Economic Forum to secure two return services a day via Wrexham, and to reduce the fastest journey time between Bangor and Cardiff by half an hour. I expect to see the new services in place by the summer timetable next year.Following the transfer of functions, the National Assembly will take a close interest in rail services in Wales. Responsibility for the regulation and financial support of the railways will remain with the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the effect on employment at Pentre, Deeside, of the decision not to allow Rockwool to take over the Owen-Corning's plant. [83982]

My hon. Friend, the Minister for Competition and Consumer Affairs published the report of the Competition Commission, `Rockwool Ltd. and Owen-Corning Building Products (UK) Ltd.; a report on the proposed merger' on 7 May, and a copy is in the Library of the House.As part of the report, the Commission considered that the most likely outcome of prohibiting the merger would be that Owen-Corning would sell the Queensferry plant to another party.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the level of road fuel duty per litre of diesel in (a) the UK and (b) other EU member states in 1999–2000. [83201]

The rate of duty on ultra low sulphur diesel in the United Kingdom is 47.21 per litre and on standard diesel the rate is 50.21 per litre.The latest available rates of duty in the other member states range from about 18 per litre in Luxembourg and Greece to 28 per litre in Italy.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of Government economic policy on the overall value of UK pension funds. [83202]

The Government are pursuing policies to promote economic stability and raise productivity, and so enhancing the worth of pension fund investments.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the measures he is taking to increase financial support to families. [83203]

All families will have benefited from the increase in child benefit for the eldest child which came into force in April and from the above-inflation increases announced for next April. Following the introduction of the new children's tax credit in April 2000 a family with one child receiving this and child benefit will get double the support for their child, £23 a week, compared with their position in May 1997 when they would have received £11.40 a week.In addition, the working families tax credit will be introduced in October this year and will benefit 1.5 million families. It will provide a guaranteed minimum income of £200 for a family with someone in full-time work on the national minimum wage.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account he takes of the level of the FTSE index in devising economic policy; and if he will assess its accuracy. [83204]

The Government take account of all relevant economic and financial information in devising economic policy, including the level of stock market indices.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the change in levels of national insurance paid by the self-employed in 2001–02 as a result of the March Budget. [83205]

It is estimated that the self-employed will pay about £420 million less in National Insurance contributions in 2000–01, but £520 million more in 2001–02 as a result of the March 1999 Budget.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions his Department has had with the Department of Social Security in respect of practices adopted by some companies to avoid paying national insurance contributions. [83207]

One of the benefits of transferring the Contributions Agency and policy responsibility for National Insurance to the Inland Revenue is that the Departments will be able to combine their efforts in detecting and preventing artificial avoidance of National Insurance which cost the National Insurance Fund hundreds of millions of pounds a year in lost revenue.In my right hon. Friend the Chancellor's Budget we announced a further move. We shall be bringing forward legislation shortly to counter avoidance in personal service provision.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his reform of national insurance contributions. [83197]

In March 1998 the Chancellor announced the most radical restructuring of the National Insurance system for 20 years, in line with the recommendations of the Taylor Report, The Modernisation of Britain's Tax and Benefits System'.These reforms will improve work incentives by reducing burdens on the lower paid thereby encouraging people to move from welfare to work and simplify the structure of the National Insurance contribution scheme for both employees and employers.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will report on progress made on debt relief for poor countries at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings. [83206]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will report on progress made on debt relief for poor countries at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings. [83216]

At the Spring meetings of the IMF/World Bank last month I took forward proposals for faster, deeper and wider debt relief. There was general consensus on the need for an enhanced initiative.I am now hopeful that we can resolve to:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the future of duty-free sales. [83209]

Duty free sales on journeys made wholly with the European Union are due to end from 30 June as a result of a decision taken by the Council of Finance Ministers in 1991. The Government are pressing for an extension to allow time to work out better duty paid arrangements. However, we have never underestimated the difficulty of this task as it requires unanimity among member states. The Government will continue to press for the best and most sensible deal possible for the UK. Duty free sales on journeys made to countries outside the EU will continue unaffected after 30 June 1999.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to provide funding to allow objective 1 EU projects to proceed. [83210]

The funding arrangements for EU projects are a matter for the Departments, and devolved administrations, which administer the Structural Funds programmes as well as the individual project applicants. Departments' and devolved administrations' overall expenditure is decided in the Comprehensive Spending Review.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on the level of tax paid by business from 1999–2000 to 2001–02 of the March 1999 Budget. [83211]

All companies who pay tax will benefit from the cuts in Corporation Tax that were announced in this year's Budget and in previous Budgets.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to enable companies to make Intrastat returns electronically. [83212]

Companies have been able to submit Intrastat returns using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) since the start of the Single Market on 1 January 1993. This allowed companies to send in their data on floppy disk, tape or via the Value Added Network.In December 1998 two further methods of submitting Intrastat data electronically were introduced using the internet. A third method of submitting data via the internet, of particular benefit to smaller companies, will be considered later this year.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his projections for the saving ratio in 2001–02. [83213]

The Government's forecast for the saving ratio is set out in the March 1999 Financial Statement and Budget Report. This shows the saving ratio rising from 7 per cent. in 1998 to 7½ per cent. in 1999 and beyond.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he made of the prospects for the UK joining the single currency (a) at the time of the announcement of the five tests and (b) at the most recent date. [83214]

In his statement to the House of Commons on 27 October 1997, Official Report, columns 584–88, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said that, barring some fundamental and unforeseen change in economic circumstances, making a decision, during the lifetime of this Parliament, to join the single currency was not realistic. But preparations should be made so that Britain would be in a position to join a successful single currency early in the next Parliament, should Government, Parliament and the British people agree. This position was restated by the Prime Minister in his statement to the House of Commons on 23 February 1999, Official Report, columns 179–83.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met EU Finance Ministers to discuss the sixth VAT directive. [83215]

The last occasion was at a meeting of ECOFIN on 15 March, when a European Commission proposal for the introduction of an experimental reduced VAT rate on labour intensive services was briefly considered.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of (a) children and (b) adults in households whose income will increase to above half average income in each of the next three years as a result of measures introduced in each of his Budget statements. [83217]

As a result of tax and benefit measures announced in the last two Budgets, 1; million people—700,000 of them children—will no longer be living in households below half the average equivalised income after allowing for housing costs.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the Government's monetary policies on the value of companies quoted on the London stock exchange. [83218]

Maintaining low and stable inflation is the best contribution monetary policy can make to the Government's goal of high and stable levels of growth and employment. Economic stability is good for companies' performance and may be one of several factors behind recent equity market valuations.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next plans to meet European Finance Ministers to discuss the global economic system. [83219]

ECOFIN was asked by the Vienna European Council to produce a report on reform of the international financial architecture for the Cologne European Council starting on 3 June. The draft report is expected to be discussed by EU Finance and Economic Ministers at the 25 May ECOFIN.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the changes in taxation paid in 2001–02 as a result of Budgets since July 1997. [83220]

Costings of the measures in the July 1997, March 1998 and March 1999 Budgets can be found in tables 2.2, 1.3 and 1.3 of the respective Financial Statement and Budget Reports.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his measures to increase the financial incentive to work. [83221]