To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what are the estimated running costs for Portcullis House and the running costs in the latest year for which figures are available for 7 Millbank and Norman Shaw North and South. [96726]

[holding answer 3 November 1999]: The annual running costs for Portcullis House are estimated to be some £3.6 million. This includes the cost of utilities, rates, cleaning and maintenance. Comparable figures for other buildings on the parliamentary estate for 1998–99 are; 7 Millbank—£2.5 million and Norman Shaw North and South—£1.3 million. The hon. Member will wish to note that Norman Shaw South is overdue for a major refurbishment, and therefore running costs have been somewhat curtailed in the last few years.

To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what is the cost of refurbishing the Grand Committee Room for the Westminster Hall sittings. [97520]

The total cost of the refurbishment is £882,000.

To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, from what budget heading costs for Scottish Grand Committee meetings will be allocated. [97587]

[holding answer 5 November 1999]: Costs associated with meetings of the Scottish Grand Committee at Westminster are met from the general

Date	Bill	Number of amendments disagreed to
Session 1992–93
7 June 1993	Asylum and Immigration Appeals Bill	3
14 June 1993	Housing and Urban Development Bill (changed to Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Bill)	1
19 July 1993	Education Bill	13
3 November 1993	Railways Bill	3
Session 1993–94
21 April 1994	Sunday Trading Bill	1 (Motion to agree negatived)
28 June 1994	Coal Industry Bill	3
19 October 1994	Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill	18
20 October 1994	Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill	12
1 November 1994	Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill	2
Session 1994–95
17 July 1995	Criminal Appeal Bill	2

To ask the Chairman of the Information Committee what arrangements have been made between the Library and the British Museum for the keeping of those parts of the Library's older book stock which are of antiquarian interest but which are seldom needed by hon. Members. [97838]

The Library has a substantial number of books which were acquired when it was re-stocked after the fire of 1834. These volumes, often in fine bindings, are not often used by hon. Members but are of potential interest to scholars. I have been informed that the Librarian has signed an agreement with the Director of the British Museum which will mean that these books will be transferred on a long term loan to the care of the Museum, where they will be housed in the King's Library. This room was vacated when the British Library moved to its new St. Pancras building. The loan will mean that the books will be on display in a fine setting and that the Museum will be able to provide access by scholars, both its own staff and others. If any volumes are needed by hon. Members, the Library will be able to retrieve them, but it will not be responsible for the continuing care of the books and will gain the use of valuable storage space. The books will be transferred when the refurbishment of the King's Library is complete, which is expected to be in 2003.

To ask the President of the Council on how many occasions, in each parliamentary session since 1992, Lords amendments to Bills which have been the subject of a motion moved in this House to disagree have been (a) rejected and (b) accepted by this House. [97820]

There appear to be no examples to category (b) in the period in question. The table gives details, according to the records, of Lords amendments disagreed to by this House since Session 1992–93. All were subject to motions to disagree except for one case in 1993–94, where a motion to agree with a Lords amendment to the Sunday Trading Bill was negatived on division.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the mechanism by which Her Majesty's Government can rescind participation in Schengen. [97527]

The Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union, annexed to the Treaties by the Treaty of Amsterdam, makes provision in Articles 4 and 5 for the participation of the United Kingdom in the Schengen acquis and in its development. Once the United Kingdom has chosen to participate, to that extent the normal arrangements of the Treaties apply, and it would not be possible to rescind participation. The United Kingdom is otherwise not bound by the Schengen acquis. My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, submitted on 26 May 1999, an application on behalf of the United Kingdom to participate in certain provisions of the Schengen acquis, a copy of which is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department from which elements of Schengen Information System data, in accordance with Section 13 of the Commission Opinion on the request by the UK to take part in certain provisions of the Schengen acquis, the Commission recommends the UK remain excluded from access. [97522]

The Commission Opinion refers to the need to study the feasibility of limiting the United Kingdom's access to data held under Article 96 of the Schengen Implementing Convention. This reflects the terms of the United Kingdom to participate in certain provisions of the Schengen acquis; we requested that we should be allowed not to enter or receive such data, which is related to the refusal of admission to third country nationals at the external frontier. This is because we are not seeking to participate in the external frontier control provisions of the Schengen acquis.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for the latest period for which figures are available the number of people entering the UK from non-EU countries as visitors with permission to stay for up to six months; the proportion of these not permitted to pass immediately through passport control but subject to interview and the proportion of those interviewed refused entry. [97445]

All non-European Economic Area (EEA) passengers seeking entry as visitors are subject to interview to determine their admissibility under the immigration rules. In the 12 months from July 1998 to June 1999, some 8.2 million non-EEA nationals were granted leave to enter as visitors for up to six months. Information on persons seeking entry as visitors who were subject to further examination is available only for 13 of the largest ports. At these ports, 23,500 non-EEA visitors were subject to further examination in the 12-month period and of these, 68 per cent. (16,100) were refused leave to enter.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average waiting time at (a) Heathrow and (b) Gatwick airports of people wishing to enter the UK as visitors who are not permitted to pass immediately through passport control but are subject to interview. [97444]

The information requested is not available.The length of time involved in assessing a passenger's eligibility for entry varies considerably depending on the particular situation and on factors such as the availability of interpreters and sponsors, which are outside the control of the Immigration Officer.Every effort is made to deal with each case at the earliest opportunity.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are taken to ensure that the Immigration and Nationality Directorate operates in a non-discriminatory way; and what monitoring is carried out of the Directorate's (a) operations and (b) statistics on immigration case decisions. [97530]

Staff in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) are required by the Immigration Rules to perform their duties without regard to the race, colour or religion of persons seeking to enter or remain in the United Kingdom. Staff dealing with applications are trained in racial and cultural awareness. All IND staff are in the process of receiving training in discrimination issues and equal opportunities. IND investigates all complaints by members of the public against IND staff, including complaints of racial and other unfair discrimination. The independent Complaints Audit Committee, appointed by my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, monitors the effectiveness of the procedures, and reports to him annually. Copies of these Reports are placed in the Library. The number of complaints of discrimination since 1995 are given in the table:

	Racial discrimination	Other unfair discrimination	Total	Substantiated
1995	40	1	41	1
1996	31	6	37	1
1997	41	8	49	0
1998	38	11	49	0
19991	21	4	25	4
1 Provisional figures to end of September

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the numbers of staff employed in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate who deal with individual casework excluding administrative staff, indicating the proportions from (a) black and (b) ethnic minority communities. [97529]

Since January 1999, the majority of casework has been undertaken by staff in the Integrated Casework Directorate (ICD). Most casework decisions in the ICD are taken by Administrative Officers (AOs) or Executive Officers (EOs) with staff in other grades providing either management, quality control, or administrative support for the caseworking function. The data requested are as follows:

Grade	Number of staff 1	Black (%)	Ethnic Origin 2 Asian (%)	Other (%)
AA	386	15.28	33.05	1.23
AO	516	11.43	23.31	0.67
EO	460	9.11	16.35	1.63
HEO	204	2.76	5.52	0.60
SEO	37	—	—	—
Grade 7	9	—	—	—
Grade 6		—	—	—
SCS		—	—	—
1 Figures exclude Support Grade Band staff
2 The percentages shown relate to the number of staff in each grade whose ethnic origin is known

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued to police authorities in respect of the concession in immigration law on the one year rule in respect of domestic violence. [97372]

The Secretary to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Standing Committee on the Disclosure of Convictions was notified at the same time as the concession was announced so that all Chief Police Officers could, in turn, be advised that the concession was operational. This is now being taken forward through ACPO procedures. ACPO's Standing Committee had previously agreed that immigration caseworkers could make written inquiries of the criminal records office of individual police headquarters about cautions for domestic violence. Referral forms and procedures were agreed with ACPO.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued to Women's Aid and other agencies regarding the concession in immigration law on the one year rule in respect of domestic violence. [97373]

No specific notification was sent to Women's Aid but Southall Black Sisters, who were involved in discussions about the proposed concession, were sent details when it was announced. Information about the concession can be found in the Immigration Directorate Instructions. These are available on the Home Office Internet website and a copy is also available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women died as a result of domestic violence in each of the last three years for which figures were available; and if he will make a statement. [97450]

Details of homicides held centrally do not enable those cases preceded by domestic violence to be separately identified.The table shows the number of currently (as at 31 July 1998) recorded homicides in England and Wales, 1995 to 1997, where the victim was the current or former spouse, cohabitant or lover of the principal suspect:

Currently recorded homicides where the victim was the current or former spouse, cohabitant or lover of the principal suspect, England and Wales, 1995 to 1997
	Male victims	Female victims
1995	38	92
1996	26	92
1997	34	105

A Home Office Research, Development and Statistics project has looked at domestic homicides in West Yorkshire between 1994 and 1997, based on data provided by the police. The aim of this study included an exploration of the links between domestic violence histories of offenders and domestic homicides. A draft report is currently in preparation; it is anticipated that a final report will be produced next year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are currently detained under the Immigration Acts in (a) detention centres, (b) Prison Service establishments and (c) other accommodation. [97576]

The latest available information, relating to the snapshot of all persons detained solely under Immigration Act powers, by location, on 30 September 1999, is given in the table.

Persons recorded as being in detention 1 in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers as at 30 September 1999, by place of detention
Location	Total detainees
Immigration detention centres 2
Campsfield House	174
Dover Harbour	27
Harmondsworth	90
Harwich	2
Heathrow's Queens building	15
Longport	5
Manchester airport	7
Tinsley House	142
Other immigration centres	1
Prison establishments
Aberdeen	8
Bedford	3
Belmarsh	10
Birmingham	2
Blakenhurst	5
Brixton	3
Canterbury	15
Dorchester	2
Durham	2
Elmley	5
Feltham	5
Gloucester	2
Haslar	157
High Down	16
Holloway	16
Holme House	2
Lancaster Farms	2
Leeds	5
Liverpool	4
Longriggend	18
Manchester	7
Norwich	2
Pentonville	10
Preston	2
Rochester	191
Swansea	2
Wandsworth	5
Winchester	3
Woodhill	2
Wormwood Scrubs	7
Other prison establishments	9
Total	985
1 Figures exclude persons detained in police cells (other than at Dover Harbour)
2 Figures include the use of police cells at Dover Harbour

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to amend the draft Freedom of Information Bill to ensure that non-departmental public bodies are required to disclose information explaining the bases of their decisions to allocate financial resources. [97365]

The draft Freedom of Information Bill provides that all public authorities, including non-departmental public bodies, are required to disclose information they hold, subject to the conditions and exemptions set out in the draft Bill. Even where information is exempted information, the changes to the draft Bill which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley, South (Mr. Pearson), Official Report, 21 October 1999, column 624, will mean that a public authority will have to consider the public interest in disclosing information when considering whether to exercise the discretionary authority to disclose.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to seek compensation from the suppliers of software to the Probation Service. [97550]

The suppliers of the case management software to the Probation Service are contractually obliged to deliver a Year 2000 compliant version of that software by the end of November. Although there was some delay, earlier this year, in progress against plan in the development of that software, the suppliers are now back on schedule to achieve this.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions since 1 May 1997 local authorities have (a) refused to allow the screening of films cleared by the British Board of Film Classification and (b) permitted the screening of films deemed unsuitable for screening by the British Board of Film Classification. [97593]

[holding answer 8 November 1999]: Under the cinema licensing regime provided by the Cinemas Act 1985, local authorities have the power to determine whether particular films may be shown in cinemas in their area. I understand that local authorities generally require cinemas to abide by the classification certificate issued by the British Board of Film Classification and that decisions not to do so are rare. Records of their decisions are not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the textile, clothing and footwear produced within HM Prisons is sold at normal commercial prices for goods of comparable quality; and what measures are in place to ensure that this is done. [97959]

Clothing, textiles and footwear are sold at normal commercial prices. Products are costed using an industry-recognised costing software package. Allowance is made for the lower productivity levels achieved in prison workshops. These prices are compared with commercially available statistics to check that they are in line with normal wholesale prices.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the annual sales turnover of textile, clothing and footwear products produced within HM Prisons broken down between those consumed by (a) the Prison Service, (b) other Government Departments, (c) local authorities and (d) the private sector in each of the last five years. [97958]

The breakdown of sales for textiles and footwear products from prison workshops for the year 1989–99 is given in the table. Figures are not available for previous years due to a change in reporting procedures.

Sales of textiles and footwear from prison workshops 1998–99	£
Textiles
Prison Service	12,647,801
Other Government Departments/Agencies	650,143
Local Authorities	2,700
Private Sector	129,800
Total	13,430,444
Footwear
Prison Service	2,025,977
Private Sector	52,610
Total	2,078,587

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of HM Prisons are engaged in the production of textiles, clothing and footwear; and what was the annual turnover of such products in each establishment in the latest year for which information is available. [97957]

There are 64 prison establishments involved in textiles and four in footwear. Turnover for textiles and footwear products for 1998–99 are given in the table.

1998–99
Establishment	Sales value (£)
Textiles
Acklington	385,385
Albany	162,067
Ashwell	49,442
Birmingham	626,282
Blundeston	117,878
Bristol	253,607
Bullingdon	18,643
Bullwood Hall	2,574
Camp Hill	86,156
Cardiff	100,090
Castington	72,878
Channings Wood	79,561
Cookham Wood	53,730
Dartmoor	202,293
Dorchester	2,762
Drake Hall	12,761
Durham	335,269
Exeter	75
Featherstone	1,779,980
Ford	67,414
Foston Hall	52,765
Full Sutton	1,032,129
Garth	235,405
Gartree	263,755
Guys Marsh	45,155
Haverigg	612,263
Hewell Grange	2,160
High Down	13,036
Highpoint	174,933
Hindley	7,035
Hull	119,316

1998–99
Establishment	Sales value (£)
Lancaster	295,611
Leeds	418,274
Lincoln	668,419
Lindholme	98,606
Littlehey	2,955
Liverpool	128,034
Low Newton	41,324
Maidstone	105,594
Moorland	60,193
New Hall	103,731
Norwich	10,859
Nottingham	99,072
Parkhurst	41,362
Pentonville	153,080
Preston	356,326
Risley	999
Shepton Mallet	59,898
Shrewsbury	380,343
Stafford	102,009
Standford Hill	75,005
Stocken	287,861
Stoke Heath	76,454
Styal	79,560
Swansea	18,707
Wakefield	836,243
Wandsworth	1,017,756
Wayland	132,481
Wealstun	372,665
Whatton	77,210
Whitemoor	2,251
Winchester	149,342
Wormwood Scrubs	22,403
Wymott	189,018
Total	13,430,444
Footwear
Ashwell	770,131
Gartree	370,148
Liverpool	32,028
Sudbury	906,280
Total	2,078,587

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to require operators of animal sanctuaries to be licensed. [97505]

It is not Government policy at this time to seek to license the operators of animal sanctuaries, and there are no plans to change that. Animals in sanctuaries have the same protection against cruelty—afforded principally by the Protection of Animals Act 1911—as those in other privately run establishments. It is not considered that there is sufficient evidence of problems with sanctuaries across the country to warrant additional introduction of a statutory licensing regime.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to transfer the operation of anti-social behaviour orders to the County Court. [96380]

I have no such plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on the speed of the home buying process of his proposal to restrict the commercial use of the electoral register. [97989]

My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, is currently considering the recommendation, by the Working Party on Electoral Procedures, that electors should have the option of deciding whether the details that they provide for electoral purposes should be made commercially available. He will take into account representations from organisations that offer credit for house purchase when doing so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to amend the right to trial by jury in fraud cases. [96386]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to alter the right to trial by jury in fraud cases. [96389]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to amend the right to trial by jury in fraud cases. [96382]

The Government are considering the responses to the consultation document "Juries in Serious Fraud Trials" which was issued last year. They are aiming to announce their conclusions shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will (a) list the assets sold by his

Member State	Legislation	Date of coming into force
Austria	Telecommunications Act 1997 (reference BGBI. Nr. 100/1997).	1 August 1997
Belgium	Telecommunications Act 1991 of 21 March 1991 as amended on 31 December 1997, and by Royal Decrees of 22 June 1998 (voice telephony), 8 July 1999 (calling line identification) and 14 September 1999 (telephone directories).	11 January 1998
Denmark	Executive Order 581 of 6 July 1999.	21 September 1999
	Executive Order 580 of 24 July 1999.	1 August 1999
Finland	Regulation 565/1999 of 22 April 1999.	1 July 1999
France	The Telecommunications Act of 26 July 1996 (Loi 96/659), Loi 90/1170 and the Decree on Standard Clauses of 29 December 1990 (Loi 96/1175).	Dates not known
Germany	Telecommunications Act of 25 July 1996.	1 January 1998
	Telecommunications Carriers Data Protection Ordinance of 12 July 1996.	19 July 1996
Greece	Draft Bill issued.	Expected January 2000
Ireland	Draft regulations issued 17 September 1999.	Expected end March 2000
Italy	Decree number 171 of 13 May 1998.	18 June 1998
Luxembourg	No information is available.	—
Netherlands	Telecommunications Act of 5 November 1998 (Stb.610).	15 December 1998
Portugal	Law 69/98 of 28 October 1998.	24 October 1998
Spain	General Telecommunication Law (November 1998) of 24 April 1998	26 April 1998
	Royal Decree 1736/1998 of 31 July 1998.	6 September 1998
Sweden	Amendment to the Telecommunications Act (1999.578) and regulations (1999.572).	1 July 1999
United Kingdom	The Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) (Direct Marketing) Regulations 1998 (S.I.3170/1998).	1 May 1999
	The Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 2093/1999).	31 March 2000
1 Dates for Royal Decrees not known
2 1 December 1999 for some provisions
3 16 August 1999 for some provisions

[holding answer 26 October 1999]: The information requested by the hon. Member is not available in the form requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if regulations required by Commission Directive 97/64/EC (O.J. No. L315, 19.11.1997, p.13) regarding labelling of dangerous substances have been published in all EU countries; and if he will list those regulations together with their proposed implementation dates. [96454]

The Dangerous Substances and Preparations (Safety)(Consolidation)(Amendment) Regulations 1999, which implement Directive 97/64/EC—The Lamp Oils Directive, were laid before Parliament on 22 July 1999 and came into force on 13 August 1999.It is for the European Commission to monitor the transposition of EU Directives across the Community and take appropriate action as necessary. The Commission publishes information on which Directives have been transposed on its CELEX database. This can be accessed on the Parliamentary intranet at the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if regulations required under EU Directive 97/66/EC concerning the processing of personal data in the telecommunications sector have been published in all EU member states; and if he will list those regulations together with their proposed implementation dates. [96455]

As far as the Government are aware, the latest position regarding the implementation of Directive 97/66/EC, in full or in part by EU member states, is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if regulations required under EU Directive 97/67/EC regarding postal services have been published in all EU member states; and if he will list those regulations together with their proposed implementation dates. [96451]

The Postal Services Regulations 1999 (1999 No. 2107) laid before Parliament on 27 July 1999 implement the EU Postal Services Directive (97/67/EC) in the United Kingdom to the extent that it was not already covered by existing legislation and procedures. It came into force on 1 September.It is for the European Commission to monitor the transposition of EU Directives across the Community and take appropriate action as necessary. The Commission publishes information on which Directives have been transposed on its CELEX database. This can be accessed on the Parliamentary intranet at the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if regulations required by EU Council Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair terms in consumer contracts (O.J. No. L95, 21.4.93, p.29) have been published in each EU country; and if he will list those regulations together with their proposed implementation dates. [96452]

The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999 No. 2083) currently give effect to the Directive in the UK. These Regulations repealed and replaced 1994 Regulations (S.I. 1994 No. 3159) of the same name which came into force on 1 July 1994.It is for the European Commission to monitor the transposition of EU Directives across the Community and take appropriate action as necessary. The Commission publishes information on which Directives have been transposed on its CELEX database. This can be accessed on the Parliamentary intranet at the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to receive the European Commission's views on the proposed Objective 2 areas identified by the Government. [97546]

We are currently in discussion with the Commission about the areas proposed for Objective 2 status for 2000 to 2006. We hope our proposed areas will be agreed by the end of the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what representations he has made to the European Commission about the accelerated tariff liberalisation proposed by APEC; and if he will make a statement; [97151](2) what analysis he has made of the advantages and disadvantages of APEC's proposals in respect of accelerated tariff liberalisation of

[holding answer 4 November 1999]: APEC's proposals have been considered in detail at both national and Community level. We and all other member states have concluded that the APEC approach is selective and excludes sectors of importance to the EU. Our preference is to optimise market access within the framework of a comprehensive negotiation rather than accelerated sectoral liberalisation but we see no reason why sectoral agreements reached in the course of a comprehensive negotiation could not be implemented on a provisional basis prior to the formal conclusion of the New Round.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact on small and medium-sized enterprises in manufacturing of the introduction of the climate change levy; and if he will make a statement. [97640]

The Government believe that small and medium-sized enterprises also have a contribution to make towards reducing greenhouse emissions. Their initial proposals for the climate change levy reflect Lord Marshall's conclusion that a tax could help improve energy efficiency in small and medium-sized enterprises. The Government are seeking to design and implement the levy in a way that maximises the environmental benefits, while at the same time safeguarding the competitiveness of business of all sizes.The Government have previously announced that £50 million per annum of the anticipated revenues from the levy will be used to provide energy efficiency advice for business, including small and medium-sized enterprises; as well as for increased support for renewable sources of energy and a "carbon trust" to develop low carbon technologies. This represents a step change from previous levels of funding. The Government are preparing proposals on the details of these arrangements and expect to make further announcements in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will assess the effect the climate change levy will have on UK industrial competitiveness relative to that of (a) Belgium, (b) Norway and (c) Sweden; and if he will make a statement. [97860]

The Government aim to design the climate change levy in a way which safeguards the international competitiveness of UK business.The United Kingdom is not alone in having to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, nor in using economic instruments to do so. We expect that, on current projections, most OECD countries will have to introduce new measures of one kind or another in order to meet their Kyoto obligations. Governments are considering the policies and measures which they will need to deliver these commitments. This will take account of their various national circumstances, including existing fiscal regimes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims for compensation from miners and miners' widows have been received to date for (a) vibration white finger and (b) chronic bronchitis and emphysema in (i) South Yorkshire, (ii) Yorkshire and (iii) the UK. [97283]

[holding answer 5 November 1999]: As at 1 November 1999, the Government have received 87,336 claims from ex-miners and their families for respiratory diseases, of these 17,741 are from claimants in the Yorkshire area and 11,986 of these are from South Yorkshire. On VWF, the Government have received 50,755 claims from ex-miners and their families for vibration white finger, of these 12,783 are from claimants in the Yorkshire area and 10,299 of these are from South Yorkshire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his estimate of the compensation that will be paid out over the next three years to miners and miners' widows for (a) vibration white finger and (b) chronic bronchitis and emphysema in (i) South Yorkshire, (ii) Yorkshire and (iii) the UK. [97282]

[holding answer 5 November 1999]: The gross level of provision for the British Coal health liabilities assumed by the Department is:

Year	£ million
1999–2000	228.2
2000–01	490.3
2001–02	507.5

Due to a number of uncertainties—not least the number of claims likely to be received and the actual levels of compensation payable in individual cases—it is not possible to say how much will be required to meet the specific cost of miners' health claims for vibration white finger, and chronic bronchitis and emphysema, or to provide regional breakdowns.The Government have, however, made clear that they will provide the funds necessary to meet the cost of legitimate claims.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he introduced his stricter consents policy on energy sources for power generation; and when he will relax it. [97659]

[holding answer 8 November 1999]: The White Paper of October 1998 "Conclusions of The Review of Energy Sources for Power Generation and Government responses to fourth and fifth Reports of the Trade and Industry Committee" (Cm 4071) set out the Government's programme of reform in the electricity market and introduced a stricter policy on consents for gas-fired power stations to protect diversity and security of supply while the programme of reform was underway. As set out in the White Paper, the policy will be relaxed as soon as the Government conclude, on the basis of advice from the Director General of Electricity Supply on progress in addressing the competition issues, that the reform programme has been undertaken and the distortions in the electricity market removed. While this would not necessarily mean completing every aspect of the programme, the Government expect the reforms to be substantially complete across the picture before the consents policy is relaxed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what mechanisms are in place to control and monitor advertisements on his Department's export website; and if he will make a statement on the advertisement placed on his Department's website by Nisam International of Esher listing stun guns among the equipment the firm was prepared to sell. [97482]

[holding answer 8 November 1999]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Dr. Tonge) on 5 November 1999, Official Report, columns 335–36.The information included in the TradeUK entry for Nisam International Ltd. was provided by them on their application form. The reference to stun guns was removed by the TradeUK contractor on Friday 29 October 1999.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will announce his decision on proposals by Burlington Resources (Irish Sea) Limited to build a combined-cycle gas turbine power station at Rhosgoch, Anglesey and by Kent Power Limited for the construction of a combined-cycle gas turbine power station on the Isle of Grain, Kent. [98158]

A direction has been given to Burlington Resources (Irish Sea) Limited under section 14(3) of the Energy Act 1976 in response to their notice under section 14(1) of that Act to prevent the building of a 560 MW combined cycle gas turbine power station to be fuelled by natural gas at Rhosgoch, Anglesey. Although the scheme would make significant heat supplies available, these would not be sufficient to demonstrate the efficiency levels for combined heat and power set out in the October 1998 White Paper. As well as the benefits which would result from the heat utilisation, the project offers other distinct environmental benefits. However, taken together, I do not consider that these are sufficient in this instance to outweigh the Government's concern over new gas-fired generation.Consent, under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, has not been granted to Kent Power Limited (Enron Europe Ltd.) for the construction and operation of a 1,200 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station on the Isle of Grain, Kent. The company's application will be put on hold unless a case is put forward for a decision to be taken now.I have taken these decisions in accordance with the policy set out in the White Paper entitled "Conclusions of the Review of Energy Sources for Power Generation and Government response to fourth and fifth Reports of the Trade and Industry Committee" (Cm 4071). I would be prepared to review these decisions, if requested, when the stricter consents policy announced in the White Paper is lifted.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many persons are employed in the opencast coal industry in (a) Scotland and (b) England; what is the annual output of the industry in each country; and what percentage of the output of each is used by power stations. [R][97677]

At the end of March 1999, employment in the opencast coal industry (including contractors), as declared to the Coal Authority, was 1,301 in Scotland and 1,882 in England. Opencast output in the year to 31 March 1999 was 6.4 million tonnes in Scotland and 7.0 million tonnes in England.Information on the percentage of opencast output used in power stations is not readily available, but in 1998, 82 per cent. of all the coal produced in the United Kingdom by the five largest producers (one third of which was from opencast mining) was sold to power stations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the total amount of coal imported to the UK in each of the past five years broken down by the nations from which the coal was imported. [R][97680]

The information requested is shown in the table.

Volumes of coal imported into the United Kingdom
Thousand tonnes
Country of origin	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998
Australia	3,993	3,641	3,748	4,362	4,610
Belgium/Luxembourg	5	13	19	45	31
Canada	830	1,364	1,410	1,632	1,552
Colombia	2,963	2,686	2,824	2,810	3,820
France	15	—	23	9	—
Germany	191	132	151	86	25
Indonesia	153	64	27	84	24
Irish Republic	32	25	40	64	32
Italy	6	—	—	—	—
Netherlands1	225	104	253	183	157
Norway	—	2	6	102	120
People's Republic of China	77	77	30	78	132
Poland	1,961	1,274	850	700	950
Republic of South Africa	706	1,314	1,559	2,472	2,463
Russia	353	160	75	36	20
Spain	—	—	—	—	3
Sweden	—	10	33	—	—
United States of America	3,167	4,859	6,657	6,950	6,746
Venezuela	15	101	—	97	399
Vietnam	217	—	26	15	80
Other countries	133	70	68	131	67
Total all countries	15,041	15,895	17,799	19,856	21,233
1 Includes some coal from outside the European Union routed through the Netherlands.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he was consulted by the Post Office before its decision to appeal against the minimum wage ruling of the Employment Tribunal in the case of Sub-postmistress Elizabeth Bain of Tone, Inverness. [97863]

No. This is an operational matter, which is the responsibility of the Post Office Board and management.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce legislation requiring that the withdrawal of food and fluid from persistent vegetative state patients be subject to a court order but otherwise following the Guideline of the British Medical Association on the withdrawal of treatment. [97097]

The courts have ruled that the withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration from a patient who is diagnosed in a persistent vegetative state should first be referred to a court for a decision. We have no plans to change the law in this respect.We have no plans to introduce legislation requiring the guidelines of the British Medical Association on the Withholding and Withdrawal of Life-prolonging Medical Treatment to be followed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if there are any proposals to amend his Department's Departmental Expenditure Limit/running cost limit for 1999–2000. [98079]

Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimates for Class II, Votes 1 and 2, the Department of Health Departmental Expenditure Limit for 1999–2000 will be increased by £109,984,000 from £40,345,035,000 to £40,455,019,000. The increase is the net effect of changes to Class II, Vote 1 (Hospital, community health, family health and related services, England) of £207,861,000 made up of £114,058,000 in respect of the take up of end year flexibility as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 27 July 1999, Official Report, column 393, and £100,000,000 for the take up of departmental unallocated provision. In addition the following transfers will take place: £1,177,000 from Scotland (£47,000 for the High Security Infectious Diseases Unit and £1,130,000 for out of area treatments); £877,000 from Wales for out of area treatments and £7,464,000 from Class II, Vote 2 (Department of Health, administration, miscellaneous health and personal social services, England) (£662,000 for the Public Health Development Fund and £802,000 for regional professional development projects). The overall increase is partially offset by transfers of £8,364,000 to Wales, (£6,720,000 for high security psychiatric services and £1,644,000 for cross border adjustments for primary care groups); £4,800,000 to Class I, Vote 1 (Department for Education and Employment: programmes and central services) for the King's College Hospital/United Medical and Dental School merger and £2,551,000 to Class II, Vote 2 (£2,500,000 for publicity on Meningitis C vaccine and £51,000 for cancer prevention).The increase of £770,000 for Class II, Vote 2 (Department of Health, administration, miscellaneous health and personal social services, England) is the net effect of transfers to Vote 1 of £4,913,000 (detailed above), £6,293,000 take-up of end year flexibility (mentioned above) for claims in respect of 1998–99 asylum seekers grant; £315,000 (£10,000 running costs) from Class IV, Vote 1 (Home Office administration, police, probation, immigration and other services, England and Wales) mainly for research; £500,000 (running costs) from Class IV, Vote 2 (Prisons, England and Wales) for prison health care services. The overall increase is partially offset by a transfer of £1,425,000 to Class I, Vote 1 (Department for Education and Employment: programmes and central services) for a contribution towards the healthy schools initiative.The amount required for non-voted supplementary credit approvals for personal social services (DoH/LACAP) in England is to be increased by £1,353,000 from £18,700,000 to £20,053,000 in respect of take up of end year flexibility entitlement as mentioned above.The Department's gross running cost limit will be increased by £510,000 from £279,940,000 to £280,450,000 as detailed above.All increases will either be offset by transfers to or from other Departmental Expenditure Limits (detailed above) or take-up of end year flexibility and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were (a) the number of people waiting for 12 months or more for hospital treatment and (b) the total number of people waiting for hospital treatment, in May in each year from 1992 to 1999 in the Worcester Royal Infirmary Trust area. [96414]

The figures are for the Worcester Royal Infirmary National Health Service Trust for the end of March every year. Monthly collection of data only started in April 1998 so a time series for May was not possible. Trusts, as they are coded today, have only supplied data from June 1994. Prior to 1994–95 waiting list data were compiled from district health authorities returns. Therefore, there is no comparable data available for 1992 to 1994.

Worcester Royal Infirmary Trust
	Total	Over 12 months
March 1995	3,092	0
March 1996	3,230	0
March 1997	4,111	29
March 1998	5,047	191
March 1999	4,302	282

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the hon. Member for New Forest, West will receive a substantive response to his question of 19 October on discussions with the professions regarding levels of clinical suspicion. [97827]

I replied to the hon. Member on 8 November.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 25 October 1999, Official Report, column 738, on how many occasions Her Majesty's Government have denied an arms export licence, notified EU partners and objected to another member state's stance on the appropriateness of export; what value of exports was involved; and what (a) values and (b) type of exports have been approved for export by another EU state despite United Kingdom notification. [97247]

The UK has issued 54 denial notifications under the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports between the adoption of the Code on 8 June 1998 and 31 October 1999.Operative Provision 4 of the EU Code of Conduct states that "EU member states will keep such denials and consultations confidential and not use them for commercial advantage".

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list (a) British and (b) European Communities delegations to the conference on federalism at Mont Tremblant, Quebec, in October; which members of either gave speeches; and if he will deposit texts of the speeches in the Library. [97523]

There were no formal delegations from the UK or the EC to the conference on federalism held recently at Mont Tremblant in Canada, at which participation was in a personal, rather than governmental capacity. A few, invited British officials attended but they did not make speeches. A British journalist and the Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament did speak, but these were statements of their own views. Information and documentation on the conference may be obtained from the organisers' website (address: www.ciff.on.ca).

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will deposit in the Library a list of those areas which the Government have indicated a willingness to discuss as focus points for Treaty modification. [97531]

The conclusions of the Cologne European Council set out the topics which are likely to be on the agenda for the IGC. A copy of the Cologne conclusions is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in which (a) regions and (b) cities there are European Commission representative offices in the Russian Federation outside of Moscow. [97405]

[holding answer 8 November 1999]: The European Commission does not have any representative offices outside Moscow in the Russian Federation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in which (a) regions and (b) cities there are diplomatic representations of European Union member states in the Russian Federation outside of Moscow, indicating which of these posts issue visas to Russian nationals to travel to (i) EU countries in the Schengen zone and (ii) EU countries outside the Schengen zone. [97400]

[holding answer 8 November 1999]: The following European Union member states have representations in the Russian Federation outside Moscow:

• Austria—St. Petersburg (Honorary Consulate—no visa service)
• Denmark—Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg
• Finland—Karelyia, Murmansk, St. Petersburg
• France—St. Petersburg
• Germany—Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg, Saratov
• Greece—Novorosisk, St. Petersburg
• Italy—St. Petersburg
• Netherlands—St. Petersburg
• United Kingdom—Ekaterinburg, St. Petersburg.

Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Sweden are represented only in Moscow.Those EU member states who are party to the Schengen agreement (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) issue Schengen visas as well as visas solely for travel to their own country. None of the EU member states issue visas to Russians for travel to EU countries outside the Schengen zone.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives Her Majesty's Government are taking to assist the restoration of municipal Government in Kosovo; and if he will make a statement. [97403]

[holding answer 8 November 1999]: The United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has responsibility for restoring municipal government in Kosovo. The United Kingdom is making a major contribution to UNMIK in terms of finance and personnel. One of the five UNMIK District Administrators in Kosovo is a British national. Four UK local government and two central government experts are working as part of the United Nations civil administration to advise and assist re-establishment of local government in Kosovo. One of the UK secondees, formerly involved in local government in Northern Ireland, has been appointed UN civil administrator for the city of Pristina.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the UK will continue to impose an arms embargo on Afghanistan in line with the EU's Common Position of 17 December 1996. [98111]

We remain committed to the EU arms embargo against Afghanistan which the UK interprets as covering all goods and technology entered on Part III to Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994, as amended.Following consultations with this Department and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry has issued three licences for the export of mine clearance equipment for use by the United Nations and The Halo Trust to aid their demining activities in Afghanistan. The grant of these licences is for humanitarian purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the role of his Department in respect of British nationals on trial overseas. [98112]

I would like to take this opportunity to clarify the oral answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes, North-East (Mr. White) on 2 November 1999, Official Report, column 80. The FCO takes no view as to the innocence or guilt of British nationals on trial overseas—that is a matter for the courts. International law does not allow the FCO to interfere in the judicial procedures of other sovereign states, just as we would not tolerate other countries interfering in our own judicial procedures.The FCO therefore cannot intervene in the trials of British nationals overseas. However, the FCO will do everything it can to ensure that such nationals have access to legal representation, and insist that they are treated as well as nationals of the countries concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Ann Clwyd) of 28 October 1999, Official Report, column 993, on the Chinese State visit, (a) for what reason no minutes were taken of these meetings and whether that is normal practice and (b) if he will name the officers from (i) the Metropolitan Police and (ii) the Cambridgeshire Constabulary who attended these meetings. [97508]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Mr. Maples) on 4 November 1999, Official Report columns 271–72.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (i) he and (ii) his Department has had with the Governments of Peru and Colombia about the export of precursors to drugs; and if he will make a statement. [96497]

We share the increasing international concern about precursors. We have frequent exchanges with Peru and Colombia at Ministerial and official level on drugs issues. These cover all aspects of the problems which drugs present to our societies, including the problem of the diversion into drugs production of legitimately exported chemicals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans Her Majesty's Government have to enter into bilateral agreements under Article 98 of the International Court Statute which would prevent the extradition of nationals to (a) the court and (b) a third country. [97828]

We have no plans to enter into new bilateral agreements which would prevent the surrender of British nationals to the International Criminal Court under Article 98 of the Court's Statute. Article 98 relates to surrender of persons to the International Criminal Court; it does not relate to extradition to a third country.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long a person applying for entry clearance for settlement in June, July and August can be expected to have to wait for an interview in each queue at each post in the Indian subcontinent. [96617]

[pursuant to his reply, 3 November 1999, c. 186]: An administrative error led to an omission in my answer of 3 November to my hon. Friend. The complete answer should read as follows.The statistics are as follows:

Waiting times in weeks on last day of month
Post	Queue	June	July	August
India
Bombay	Q1	0	0	0
	Q2	6	5	4
	Q3	6	5	5
	Q4	6	5	5
Calcutta	1—	0.4	1	0
Madras	1—	8	4	3
New Delhi	Q1	0	0	0
	Q2	15	15	16
	Q3	27	26	23
	Q4	31	35	34
Pakistan
Islamabad	Q1	12	8	7
	Q2	43	40.5	39
	Q3	47	46	43
	Q4	56	54	51
Karachi	1—	8	10	9
Bangladesh
Dhaka	Q1	11	13	14
	Q2	22	20	21
	Q3	11	10	10
	Q4	52	44	46
Sri Lanka
Colombo	1—	12	11	9
1 Calcutta, Colombo, Karachi and Madras do not operate separate queues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what programmes and resources British Trade International and his Department have to support companies which wish to make investments in Central and Eastern Europe; [97865](2) what programmes and resources British Trade International and his Department have to assist companies looking into the feasibility of making investments in Central and Eastern Europe. [97864]

Companies wishing to invest in Central and Eastern Europe, like those exporting to those markets, are supported by a variety of British Trade International schemes. These include support for inward and outward trade missions, trade fairs and promotional seminars, and the Export Marketing Research Scheme which is being extended to cover better the needs of outward investors.This year British Trade International's budget for promoting trade and investment opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe is £3.5 million.

To ask the Prime Minister (1) if it is the Government's policy to support, at the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference, extension of qualified majority voting to include treaty modification; and if he will make a statement; [96570](2) if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy on the extension of qualified majority voting, set out in the Von Weizsäcker/Dehaene/Simon report. [96577]

The Government have already made it clear that they will consider the extension of qualified majority voting on a case by case basis. Where it is in Britain's interests we shall support it. But where key national interests need to be protected, such as border controls, defence, Treaty change and taxation, we shall insist on retaining unanimity.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 1 November 1999, Official Report, column 3, on the European Charter of Rights, (a) when he expects to publish the name and qualifications of the personal representative he is nominating to the drafting body of the working group and (b) what items he expects to be included in such a charter additional to those in the existing European Convention and those capable of introduction under existing treaty powers. [97954]

The Finnish Presidency has now confirmed that the first meeting of the drafting body will take place on 17 December. I will therefore announce the details of my representative shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what measures he is taking at European Communities Level to enforce compliance with the age limits in the joint aviation requirement on flight crew licensing. [97144]

Under Council Regulation 3922-91 on the harmonisation of aviation technical standards the national aviation authorities of member states are required to be members of the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA). The Regulation also adopted some of the JAA's Joint Aviation Requirements (JARs) as the European Community's harmonised standard and established a procedure to adopt future JARs as the EC standard. Where a JAR has not yet been adopted under EC law, JAA member states implement them under national law and are obliged, under the JAA Arrangements, to use their best efforts to implement JARs by the due date. The JAR on Flight Crew Licensing (JAR-FCL) was adopted by the JAA in 1996 with an implementation date of 1 July 1999.JARs generally set standards that are compatible with those set by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) under the terms of the Chicago Convention, but can introduce differences, so long as member states notify the differences to ICAO. In drawing up the JAR-FCL, the JAA determined that commercial pilots can safely be licensed to the age of sixty five, provided that only one pilot in a multi pilot aircraft may be over 60: this differs from the ICAO standard under which a person can only act as a pilot in command if they are under 60. The UK and most other JAA member states are, or are in the process of, applying this age limit. However, the French Authorities are continuing to apply the ICAO age limits within French airspace, although co-pilots up to the age of 65 are permitted. The UK has raised this matter both within the JAA and directly with the French authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on how many occasions since May 1997, on what dates, and for what duration he met representatives of the air traffic controllers to discuss the Government's proposals for the National Air Traffic Services. [97248]

Since May 1997, Ministers in this Department have met representatives of air traffic controllers on eight separate occasions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what are the targets, and corresponding dates, for the increase in the recycling of household waste; and if he will make a statement. [97140]

In the draft waste strategy "A Way with Waste", published on 30 June 1999 by my Department and the Welsh Office, we have set a goal of recycling or composting 30 per cent. of household waste by 2010. We will aim to meet the existing target of recycling or composting 25 per cent. of household waste by 2005.By 2015 we expect to recover value from two thirds of our household waste, with at least half of this through recycling or composting.Devolution of responsibility for waste policy means that final decisions about the way the strategy is taken forward in Wales will be a matter for the National Assembly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what percentage of houses in England and Wales have (a) three, (b) four, (c) five and (d) six inches of loft insulation. [97226]

It is estimated that around 15 per cent., 24 per cent., 10 per cent. and 17 per cent. of homes with accessible lofts in England and Wales have respectively three, four, five and six inches or more of loft insulation. A further 11 per cent. have two inches or less and in 13 per cent. of cases the depth of the insulation is not known. Over 6 per cent. have no loft insulation and there are no data for the remaining 3 per cent. of homes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which body is responsible for monitoring complaints by air passengers regarding perceived dangerous in-flight incidents. [97265]

The Civil Aviation Authority is responsible for the safety regulation of UK registered aircraft and airlines. Under the Air Navigation Order UK airlines are required to report all in-flight occurrences which could affect the safety of the aircraft so that the CAA can monitor airline safety performance. The CAA review all such reports and publish a monthly summary. If a passenger has a concern about an in-flight incident on a UK airline they should take it up with the airline concerned in the first instance. If they are not happy with the response they should write to the CAA.The safety regulation of foreign airlines is primarily the responsibility of the State in which the airline is based. Foreign airlines operating to the UK are required to comply with the minimum standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. When the Department receives a complaint from a passenger which indicates that a foreign airline operating to the UK is not complying with ICAO standards we will follow the matter up with the airline concerned, or its regulatory authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what relationship he proposes between Regional Development Agencies and local authority development agencies. [97837]

Working in partnership is a central part of the new approach in the regions. We asked the Regional Development Agencies to draw up their regional strategies in conjunction with regional partners, including local authorities and the private and voluntary sectors.Implementing the strategies will also require genuine partnership working, since it requires co-ordination and coherence in policies and across programmes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what part regional development agencies will play in the development and implementation of local transport policies. [97835]

Regional Planning Guidance incorporates regional transport strategies which in turn inform local transport plans. RDAs are key partners in the preparation of RPG and draw attention to the transport priorities as they see them related to their regional economic strategies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what relationship he proposes between regional development agencies and local authorities. [97836]

Our regional agenda, set out in the 1997 White Paper "Building Partnerships for Prosperity" is based on a number of principles. These include the need for regional structures to be based on partnership, with each local or regional interest being able to contribute effectively towards an integrated and coherent strategic programme which commands general support. We have, therefore, asked the RDAs to proceed in dialogue with regional partners—local authorities and the private and voluntary sectors—and work to secure the support of regional interests.Successful implementation of RDA strategies will mean genuine partnership working in the regions since it will involve co-ordination and coherence in policy and across programmes.Local authorities have a significant stake in the work of the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). Four of the thirteen board members of each RDA are drawn from local government.The Regional Chambers will also be a key partner of the RDAs. The Chambers are local authority led, but also include representatives from business, the voluntary sector and others. Their statutory functions include commenting on the RDAs' strategies and receiving reports on the RDAs' activities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what changes in the law will be required to implement the Government's policy for speeding up the process of buying and selling homes in England and Wales. [96379]

We believe that most of the actions we are seeking from service providers can be achieved on a voluntary basis, except that home buyers' searches will probably need to be put on a statutory footing. However, sellers' information packs will need to be made compulsory to ensure that everyone benefits from them. The surveyor will be liable both to the seller and the buyer for the House Condition Report which will be part of the seller's information pack. These changes will require legislation and we plan to do this as soon as a suitable opportunity arises.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many advisers the South African Sandmen's Institute employ, who are funded by her Department, to work with the San bushmen of South Africa. [97264]

My Department is contributing to the running costs of the South African San Institute (SAS) office in Cape Town, and with the establishment of an office in the Northern Cape to support the San communities located in Schmitsdrift near Kimberley, and throughout the Mier area, near the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. This will include up to ten full-time staff whose costs are met by the Department for International Development (DFID). Funds are also available for the provision of short term expertise to support the components of the programme of activities in support of the San communities.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid programmes her Department is supporting in the current financial year in Pakistan; at what cost; and what was the comparable figure for 1998–99. [97582]

On October 15 after the military coup in Pakistan, I announced a freeze on all British assistance to the Government of Pakistan and a continuation of all our programmes that directly help the poor. At this stage it is impossible to predict what our 1999–2000 spend will be. Provisional DFID programme expenditure for the 1998–99 financial year is £24.24 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimates he has made of expenditure on Lottery ticket sales as (a) a percentage of household income and (b) a share of total ticket sales for each income decile. [97054]

My Department has made no such estimates. However, there is an analysis of National Lottery ticket sales by income category in the National Lottery Commission's Social Research Programme Report, Number 1, published in May 1999. I have arranged for copies of this Report to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if he will make a statement on the depredations by foxes on wildlife in St. James's Park and Green Park; [97220](2) how many of the Laysan Teal introduced to St. James's Park have

Responsibility for the subject of these questions has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency under its Chief Executive, Mr. David Welch. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of the Multi-role Armoured Vehicle; and if he will make a statement. [96981]

The precise number of vehicles required has yet to be defined, but on current planning the estimated total procurement cost to the UK will be over £1 billion. That includes the cost of procuring the vehicles and supporting them for the first two years of their service life.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost to the public purse, (a) directly and (b) in terms of the time of officials, of supporting the Defence Systems Equipment International Exhibition; and if he will review the need for future public sector support. [96901]

In reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 22 February 1999, Official Report, column 33, my predecessor outlined that the principal costs for the exhibition would fall to the organisers, Spearhead Exhibitions Ltd., but that my Department would make a contribution towards the cost of the official missions to be invited by Her Majesty's Government. We estimated the direct costs to MOD for this to be about £250,000. In the event, official delegations from over 50 countries attended and the final cost remains to be established, although we do not anticipate it will exceed the estimated figure. In addition, the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) organised a British Army Demonstration Area at the exhibition which featured a range of UK equipment; the estimated direct cost of this was £108,000. MOD officials and military personnel carried out activities associated with the exhibition as part of their duties, but these costs could be fully identified only at disproportionate cost. A number of MOD Agencies and organisations also participated at the exhibition, the costs for which are not held centrally. MOD support for future exhibitions will be considered in the light of our experience of this year's DSEi and plans for 2001.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the performance of the ramjet-powered variant of Raytheon's AIM-120 programme. [97134]

My Department was made aware of and attended in 1997 a ground based system demonstration firing undertaken in the United States to demonstrate ducted ramjet powered motor technology. No detailed assessment has been made on any ramjet powered variant of Raytheon's AIM-120 programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had concerning the implications for future British involvement in peacekeeping operations of ratification of the International Criminal Court. [97515]

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr. Hain) gave him on 8 November 1999, Official Report, column 409.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which forces, listed in the Memorandum of Understanding with the UN on forces available for peacekeeping operations, are unavailable; what proportion of earmarked forces this represents; and if he will make a statement on the purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding. [97763]

The purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is to demonstrate our continued commitment to the UN. The MOU provides the planning staff in the UN with details of those UK forces on which it might be able to call. Whether those forces are available for any particular operation depends on the nature, location and duration of the operation; and other continuing or known future commitments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of HM armed forces who were in active service during the Gulf War are known to be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. [97635]

The MOD holds information on those Gulf veterans who were referred by their Service Medical Officer or GP for assessment at the MOD's Gulf Veterans Medical Assessment Programme (MAP). Since its establishment in October 1993 and up to 4 November 1999, the MAP has seen 2,893 patients. Of these, 2,283 have had their clinical findings recorded on the MAP database. Of the 2,283,214 Gulf veterans have a recorded diagnosis of PTSD confirmed by a consultant psychiatrist. Of the 214 patients, the number still suffering from PTSD is not known since the MAP does not routinely monitor their health status nor is it responsible for providing treatment. As the veterans assessed by the programme were all self-selected, these figures cannot be used to determine the extent of PTSD in Gulf veterans as a whole. I will write to the right hon. and learned Gentlemen with information on the prevalence of PTSD in the remaining MAP patients who were seen up to 4 November once their medical notes have been reviewed and catalogued.However, the MOD does not keep a central record of all diagnoses made on currently serving personnel. Responsibility for the health of ex-service personnel, if resident in the UK, lies with the NHS which similarly does not keep a central record on all diagnoses. Neither does the NHS routinely communicate diagnostic information to the MOD. No arrangements are in place to monitor the health of ex-service personnel living overseas. Therefore, the total number of service people on active service in 1990–91 or of Gulf veterans suffering from PTSD is not known.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of (a) the Royal Navy, (b) the Royal Air Force and (c) the Army have been medically discharged solely for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder since 1995. [97637]

The numbers of personnel medically discharged from the armed forces since 1 January 1995 solely on grounds of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are shown in the table:

	Number
Royal Navy	23
Army	38
RAF	10

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the investigations which have been commissioned by medical officers in each year since 1990 regarding the frequency of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among serving members of the armed forces. [97636]

I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answer given by my predecessor to my hon. Friend the Member for Hull, North (Mr. McNamara) on 10 February 1999, Official Report, column 216.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservists served in the Balkans theatre with (a) the Army, (b) the RAF and (c) the Royal Navy in each year since 1994; with which units they served; what percentage of forces deployed to the theatre they represented; for each service in each year what was the average length of service of reservists; and if he will make a statement. [97615]

This information is not available in the form requested, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since operations commenced in December 1995, reserve forces personnel have represented around 10 per cent. of UK forces deployed in the Balkans theatre.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the readiness cycle for mobilisation for operations in (a) the Territorial Army, (b) the Royal Navy Reserve, (c) the Royal Auxiliary Airforce and (d) among sponsored reservists for the deployment of (i) formed units and (ii) individual members to regular units; and if he will make a statement. [97662]

[holding answer 8 November 1999]: Volunteer reserve units from all the Services are held at readiness levels appropriate to their role. In the case of the Territorial Army, this varies from 30 days to 24 months. Following call out, a unit would be required to undergo a period of training before deployment on operations. Individual Territorial Army members called out to serve with the Regular Army are trained at the Reserves Training and Mobilisation Centre and then deployed to theatre. Royal Naval Reserve personnel, when mobilised, are deployed as individuals to augment regular units rather than in formed units. It is anticipated that the majority of RNR personnel would be ready to deploy within 30 days of receipt of their call out notice. RAF Planning assumptions also provide for individual reservists to be ready for deployment within 30 days of call out. Operational requirements may necessitate reduced periods of notice and training, and planning is carried out for such contingencies.High Readiness Reserves largely drawn from the Territorial Army, have accepted an enhanced liability for call out for permanent service, and in most cases are held at seven days notice to report for duty.There are no sponsored reserves currently in service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what forces make up the UK's Amphibious Readiness Group. [97878]

The UK's Amphibious Readiness Group is not a standing force and there are no specific forces assigned. The composition of the Group would be dependent on operational considerations and force availability at the time.