To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the budget allocation to atomic energy research made by his Department for each financial year from 1989–90 to 1999–2000; and what is his Department's anticipated expenditure for 2000–01.[113299]

The budget allocation to Nuclear R&D made by my Department (and by the Department of Energy prior to amalgamation) for each financial year since 1989–90 to 1999–2000, and the anticipated expenditure for 2000–01, is as follows:

Year	£ million
1989–90	163.8
1990–91	126.4
1991–92	93.6
1992–93	85.3
1993–94	76.9
1994–95	28.4
1995–96	21.7
1996–97	21.4
1997–98	17.6
1998–99	14.2
1999–2000	16.8
2000–01	16.8

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he collects on the percentage market share of each of the major suppliers of petroleum fuel to petroleum retailers. [113536]

[holding answer 7 March 2000]: My Department collects and collates data from the individual companies that supply petroleum products into the UK market. However, this information is provided under strict commercial confidentiality constraints, and, as such, data on individual company market shares cannot be published.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what controls exist to prevent petrol suppliers charging petrol retailers for petrol which has evaporated before delivery. [113531]

[holding answer 7 March 2000]: Evaporative losses occurring between loading petrol from a storage terminal and delivering it to a retail site have been minimised by the use of vapour recovery systems. Under EC Directive 94/63/EC all storage and distribution terminals delivering more than 50,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of petrol already operate vapour recovery equipment, and all other terminals will have to comply by 2001 or 2004 (depending on the volume of their deliveries). It is estimated that the implementation of vapour recovery has already reduced vapour losses arising from the transportation and delivery of petrol by 98 per cent. since 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will announce his decision on the provision of emergency towing vessels (tugs) around the UK. [114330]

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is announcing today the extension of the contract for the provision of the Emergency Towing Vessel (Tug) Anglia Monarch, to provide emergency cover for the Fair Isle Channel and the Pentland Firth for a further winter period, commencing from October 2000, and the conclusion of an agreement with the French authorities which will ensure all year round emergency tug cover for the Dover straits. A tug review team is now working to review all emergency towing provision around the UK and is expected to report its findings during summer 2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps are being taken to replace the Code of Audit Practice which ceases to have effect on 21 July; and if he will make a statement. [114331]

On 2 March the Audit Commission approved a new Code of Audit Practice which it has submitted to my right hon. Friend who has today laid a copy before the House.It is now for the House to consider the Code and, if it sees fit, to approve it. If approved, the Code will prescribe the way in which auditors in England and Wales must carry out their audits of local government and NHS bodies, and it will also set out auditors' responsibilities in relation to the audit of local government Best Value Performance Plans.The Code has been prepared under the Audit Commission Act 1998 and the Local Government Act 1999. The Code sets out the general principles to be followed by auditors, and the audit framework within which auditors will carry out their responsibilities. It also sets out auditors' responsibilities in relation to reviews of the financial aspects of corporate governance; the audit of the accounts; and reviews of aspects performance management.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will publish the revised Standards of Modern Zoo Practice. [114356]

I am pleased to announce that I shall be launching the revised standards at Bristol Zoo today. They will come into effect on 3 April 2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which Ministers have responsibility for the new unit to co-ordinate the Government's approach to the regions; and how often the ministerial board of the unit will meet. [113153]

Lord Falconer, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, will have day-to-day responsibility for the Regional Co-ordination Unit reporting to me. Matters relating to the new unit that require collective agreement will be considered by an interdepartmental committee of Ministers, which will meet under my chairmanship when business requires.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many civil servants have been assigned to the new unit to co-ordinate the Government's approach to the regions. [113156]

A team of three civil servants is currently preparing for the setting up of the core of the Regional Co-ordination Unit on 1 April. Staff will be assigned to the new unit as the implementation plan on the Performance and Innovation Unit report "Reaching Out" progresses.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress in developing a domestic emissions trading scheme. [113054]

The Government, in their new Draft Climate Change Programme, recognise that carbon emissions trading is a key part of the longer-term solution to greenhouse gas emissions. It will complement other measures in the business sector by offering cost-effective and flexible options for achieving emissions reductions. And an early start to emissions trading in the UK should bring valuable experience and expertise to UK business and to the City of London. This will be particularly important in advance of the international emissions trading scheme envisaged by the Kyoto Protocol, and the European trading scheme put forward in the recent European Commission Green Paper.The design of a domestic greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme has been taken forward by the business-led UK Emissions Trading Group (ETG), with Government officials working closely alongside. The ETG has made speedy progress in addressing the key issues involved in the design of a domestic emissions trading scheme. Outline proposals for a UK trading scheme were presented to Government in October 1999, and the ETG has recently reported to Government on follow-up work in a number of areas. The group's conclusions have moved the UK significantly along the road to the launch of a domestic trading scheme. But much work on the detail of the scheme remains to be done, and the Government will expect to take this work forward with the Emissions Trading Group.The Government have also said that firms within climate change levy agreements, who have agreed a target to increase their energy efficiency or reduce their carbon emissions, will be able to use carbon trading as one way of helping them meet their targets. And the Government are currently discussing with members of the Emissions Trading Group and climate change levy agreement sectors the most suitable way for these firms to participate in this trading, and in trading with the wider domestic scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list for each of the last five years for which figures are available (a) the total allocation to Shrewsbury and Atcham from the Rural Bus Fund and (b) the number of (i) additional and (ii) improved bus services supported by these grants; and if he will make a statement. [113484]

The rural bus subsidy grant is allocated at county council level and it is for each county to decide which services to support. In the first year of the grant, 1998–99, Shropshire county council was allocated £630,354. The same amount has also been allocated to the council for 1999–2000 and 2000–01.In 1998–99 Shropshire county council used its allocation to fund 46 services, of which 16 served Shrewsbury. Of the total of 46 services, 16 were entirely new and 30 improvements to existing services. We shall be obtaining information on any changes to those figures at the end of the current financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions to which specific classes of freight currently predominately transported by road, his policy on moving freight transport from road to rail applies. [113485]

The policy of encouraging more freight on rail extends to all classes of freight. Freight grant applications are assessed purely on the basis of environmental benefit of lorry miles saved. The process does not take into account the type of goods proposed to be transported by rail.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals he has received for an increase in freight traffic on the North Wales main line (a) in general and (b) with reference to traffic between the Republic of Ireland and other member states of the EU. [113636]

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement about rate relief for businesses in rural areas. [112248]

Mandatory rate relief of 50 per cent. is available to the sole village shop or post office in a qualifying settlement (one which is in a designated rural area and has a population of fewer than 3,000), provided the property has a rateable value less than £5,000. Local authorities have the discretion to provide additional relief up to 100 per cent. of the rates bill.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what reports he has received regarding commercial cultivation of Novartis genetically modified Bt maize in Germany; and what their implications are for decision-making in the (a) UK and (b) EU. [113617]

I have received no reports regarding commercial cultivation of Novartis genetically modified Bt maize in Germany.Novartis Bt maize is not and never has been grown in the United Kingdom and Novartis, through the industry body SCIMAC, have given an assurance that there are no plans to do so in the next few years. Therefore any decisions on cultivation in Germany have no implications for the UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what statutory authority exists for costs to be met by him for expenditure incurred on the provision of a booklet of election addresses by mayoral candidates at the first election of the Greater London Authority. [114329]

Pending parliamentary approval of powers in the Representation of the People Bill, urgent expenditure on the preparation and delivery of the booklet, estimated at some £0.4 million in 1999–2000, will be met by repayable advances from the Contingencies Fund. The cost of repaying the advances will be met from within the Department's existing provision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to promote closer links between school sports activities and local community sports clubs. [113059]

The first School Sport Co-ordinators, an initiative being supported by the Lottery Sports Fund, with additional support expected to come from the New Opportunities Fund (NOF), will be in place in September.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will estimate the administrative cost to the BBC of issuing free TV licences to households containing a person aged over 75 years. [112851]

[holding answer 7 March 2000]: Estimates are currently being prepared and will be incorporated in the Department of Social Security's Departmental Report, which is due for publication following the Budget.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what advice he has been given on the question of possible breach of EU state aid rules as a result of payments to the BBC in lieu of the revenue lost through giving free TV licences to those aged over 75 years. [112849]

[holding answer 7 March 2000]: The Government have taken legal advice on the application of state aid rules to its recently announced policy on free television licences for people aged 75 or over.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with what assistance the NESTA programme provides for talented young sports people. [112955]

The NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) programme, created under the National Lottery Act 1998, with £200 million of National Lottery money to invest, exclusively focuses on British creativity and innovation. NESTA's main aims are to nurture talented people to pursue potential and produce services, and to bring the appreciation of science, technology and the arts to the public domain.While NESTA does not offer support to sporting activities, Sport England's Lottery Fund has created an opportunity to help young people develop their sporting skills and talent, with several million pounds being invested in education based projects. The New Opportunities Fund (NOF) is intended to promote after-school-hours activity with £180 million earmarked across the UK for revenue funding to support after school clubs. NOF has a target of funding 50 per cent. of secondary schools and 25 per cent. of primary schools by 2001 with after-school sports being a major beneficiary. Sport England is now able to solicit applications where it can identify significant need to ensure that young people develop their sporting skills and talent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to set up a youth sports unit within his Department; and if he will make a statement. [112956]

The Unit is dedicated to the implementation of young people's sport and activity, from children's play to sport in schools. It works closely with the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) and other organisations involved in sport and physical education for young people.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when Ministers from his Department last held discussions with the representatives of the British Resorts Association. [113437]

I last met representatives of the British Resorts Association (BRA) when I spoke at their conference on 21 June 1999. I am in regular contact with BRA via their president, my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Marsden), whom I will next be meeting on 13 March. I will also be addressing the BRA conference in Eastbourne this June.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the specifications for number of crew in cockpit required in contracts placed for the Hercules C130J. [113471]

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what quantities of squalene and mercury are used as preservative and adjuvant in anthrax vaccines used by his Department. [113000]

Squalene is not added to or used in anthrax vaccine used by the Ministry of Defence. Mercury is a component of the preservative Thiomersal which is used in the manufacture of anthrax vaccine. The maximum quantity of mercury allowed under the Department of Health Marketing Authorisation is 1.5 microgrammes per dose and the anthrax vaccine used by the Ministry of Defence does not exceed this limit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military transporters that can carry helicopters are in service; and if he will estimate the journey time for them to travel to Mozambique. [113086]

The only UK military aircraft capable of transporting helicopters is the RAF Hercules C130 of which there are currently 54 in service. A C130 can transport one Puma, two Lynx or two Gazelle per flight. The estimated flying time for a Hercules to fly from the UK to Mozambique is 25 hours. However, the estimated total time to transport a Puma to Mozambique in a Hercules, including dismantling, reassembling and stops to refuel and change crew, is a minimum of four days if relief aircrew are prepositioned along the route and up to six days if relief aircrew are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Development about humanitarian aid to Mozambique. [113781]

I have discussed the provision of humanitarian aid to Mozambique with my right hon. Friend on a number of occasions since the onset of the crisis. Other Ministers and officials have been in regular contact with DFID throughout.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total cost of operating (a) an air defence squadron (43 Squadron), (b) a strike attack squadron (12 Squadron), (c) an offensive support squadron (1 Squadron), (d) a photo-reconnaissance squadron (41 Squadron and 51 Squadron), (e) a maritime reconnaissance squadron (120 Squadron), (f) a transport squadron (24 Squadron), (g) a transport flight (C130), (h) a refuelling squadron, (i) a refuelling flight, (j) a support helicopter squadron (18 Squadron and 33 Squadron), (k) an SAR squadron (202 Squadron), (l UAS, (m) JEFTS and (n) No. 3 FTS in the last year for which figures are available. [112854]

[holding answer 7 March 2000]: We do not account for squadron operating costs in this way. Budgets are broken down to station level only. A station's operating budget would include the costs of personnel, fuel, maintenance and works services, infrastructure, utilities and other overheads, all of which contribute to the proper and effective functioning of squadrons based there. The costs for aircraft maintenance and spares would not be included, as these costs are managed separately on a fleet-wide basis.

To ask the Solicitor-General how many pupillages have been offered by the Crown Prosecution Service in the last 12 months. [113420]

The Crown Prosecution Service has not offered any pupillages in the last 12 months. The position is currently under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland further to his answer of 24 January 2000, Official Report, column 6W, on street signs, what is his assessment of the community relations impact of the erection of bilingual street signs in (a) Irish and (b) Ulster Scots; how he will monitor the rise or fall of opposition and support for bilingual signs (i) internally within each tradition and (ii) between different traditions; how many bilingual signs have been erected and if any have subsequently been removed; and if he will issue guidelines to ensure that instances of criminal damage that have a sectarian or racist element are recorded as a distinct category. [111944]

[holding answer 2 March 2000]: Current research, funded by the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, will assess the demand for, and attitude towards, the use of Irish in the provision of services, including bilingual signage. Consideration is being given to commissioning similar research on Ulster-Scots. Otherwise, there has been no separate assessment made of the community relations impact of the erection of bilingual street signs.As the erection of street nameplates is a function of district councils in Northern Ireland, information on the number of bilingual signs erected and on whether any have subsequently been removed, is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Currently, information recorded by the Royal Ulster Constabulary on the motivation of a crime can only be obtained manually. It is intended to introduce, during 2001, an Integrated Crime Information System which will permit the central recording of crime motivation, where this can be determined. The system is presently being designed to record the motive of any crime, be it racial, sectarian, domestic or other designated motive, in line with the Association of Chief Police Officers' guidelines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to Guatamala, in support of the Government of Belize, in relation to the incursion into Belize territory and seizure of officials on 24 February; and what future action is proposed. [113615]

Following the detention by the Guatemalan Armed Forces on 24 February of three members of the Belizean Defence Force and a Belizean policeman, the British Ambassador in Guatemala City was instructed to call on the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry. He stressed our hope for an early and amicable resolution. I am pleased to report that the four Belizeans were conditionally released on 3 March. We shall continue to monitor developments closely.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the waiting time for a person applying for entry clearance for settlement in (a) September 1999, (b) October 1999, (c) November 1999, (d) December 1999, (e) January 2000 and (f) February 2000 for an interview in each queue at each post in the Indian sub-continent; and if he will make a statement. [113587]

The statistics requested are as follows:

Waiting times in weeks on last day of each month
Post	Queue	September	October	November	December	January
Bombay	Q1	0	0	0	0	0
	Q2	4	4	6	5	6
	Q3	4	4	6	5	6
	Q4	4	4	6	5	6
Calcutta	1—	0	0	0	0	0
Colombo	1—	0	0	0	0	0
Dhaka	Q1	17	14	18	16	16
	Q2	26	28	28	30	28
	Q3	11	12	12	16	16
	Q4	49	60	59	61	56
Karachi	1—	8	8	10	14	10
Madras	1—	2	2	3	5	2
New Delhi	Q1	0	0	0	0	0
	Q2	4	4	6	5	8
	Q3	21	22	24	20	8
	Q4	25	28	24	25	8
1 Calcutta, Colombo, Karachi and Madras do not operate separate queues

To ask the President of the Council how much Price Waterhouse is being paid to headhunt applicants for the post of chairman of the Appointments Commission. [112817]

There is no single identifiable cost payable to PricewaterhouseCoopers Executive Search and Selection solely for the "headhunting" of the chairman.The cost for recruiting the whole Commission will be £52,000 plus expenses and VAT. Advertising costs will be in addition to this.

To ask the President of the Council how many hours have been spent by Parliamentary Counsel in preparing (a) Government legislation announced in the Queen's speeches, (b) private members' Bills, (c) Law Commission work and (d) private legislation, and what proportion of Parliamentary Counsel's time was spent on each, in each of the parliamentary sessions (i) 1997–98, (ii) 1998–99 and (iii) 1999–2000 to date. [113349]

The Parliamentary Counsel Office answers to the Prime Minister, but I am replying to this question since it relates to the Government's legislative programme.Information is not available on the number of hours spent by Parliamentary Counsel on different types of legislation. However, a reasonable indication of how the Counsel are deployed is given by their location. Counsel at 36 Whitehall work on Government Bills and on Private Members' Bills supported by the Government. Other Counsel are on loan to the Law Commission, to the Inland Revenue's Tax Law Rewrite Project and to the Department of Trade and Industry's Company Law Review.The following table shows the total number of Counsel in these locations in the 1997–98 and 1998–99 Sessions (as at 1 January) and at present. The figures exclude Scottish and Northern Ireland Parliamentary Counsel.

Deployment of Parliamentary Counsel by type of work (numbers of Counsel, full-time equivalents, as at 1 January 1998, 1 January 1999 and at present
Type of legislation	Counsel	1997–98 Percentage	Counsel	1998–99 Percentage	Counsel	Session 1999–20001 Percentage
Government Bills (est.)	227½	77	224½	73	230	80
Private Members' Bills supported by the Government (est.)	21	3	21½	5	2½	1
Sub-total 36 Whitehall	28½	80	26	78	30½	81
Law Commission	4½	13	5	15	4	11
Inland Revenue	2½	7	2½	7	2½	7
DTI	—	—	—	—	½	1
Total	35½	100	33½	100	37½	100
1 To date
2 Rounded to the nearest ½

Although there are minor fluctuations from year to year, the figures show that, since the start of the 1997–98 Session, about one-fifth of the Parliamentary Counsel have been engaged on work for the Law Commission, for the Inland Revenue Tax Law Rewrite Project or (since the beginning of this month) for the DTI's Company Law Review. Some four-fifths of Counsel work on the Government's Bills and Private Members' Bills, with on average about 97 per cent. of that work concentrated on the Government's Bills.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he will receive the third set of guidelines from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on the provision of specialised infertility services; [108122](2) what have been the findings of his Department's survey to ascertain the current provision of infertility services; [108123](3) if he will make it his policy to ensure that equality of access to infertility services is provided throughout England; [108124](4) what guidelines he plans to issue to health authorities on the provision of infertility services. [108125]

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists published its final set of guidelines on the provision of specialised infertility services on 20 January 2000. The Department has copies.The survey returns are still being analysed. The conclusions will be published shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out his Department's assessment of the hierarchy, by method of transmission, of likelihood of risk of transmission of BSE. [111897]

[holding answer 1 March 2000]: In experiments involving strains of prion that have been adapted to laboratory animals, such as mice, it has been shown that intracerebral inoculation is more likely to cause infection than intravenous injection which, in turn, is more likely to cause infection than intra-peritoneal or sub-cutaneous inoculation. Parenteral exposure is, in turn, more likely to cause infection than oral exposure.Experiments on mice challenged with a strain of scrapie—a Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy of sheep—that had been adapted to mice showed that exposure by placing the inoculum directly into the stomach was about 100,000 fold less efficient than by direct inoculation into the brain.As part of its remit to consider emerging scientific findings the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC), the expert Committee that advises the Government on all aspects of TSEs, has considered

the results of experiments designed to investigate the link between BSE and variant CJD (vCJD). The Committee has stated that

To ask the Secretary of State for Health What funding there is in the current year for medical activities relating to (a) prostate, (b) breast and (c) testicular cancer; if he will break down each figure into (i) treatment, (ii) prevention, (iii) detection and (iv) research; and if he will make a statement. [112331]

[holding answer 1 March 2000]: The information on overall spending on cancer is not currently held centrally. Spending on cancer in-patient care is estimated to account for 6.3 per cent. (£1,479 million) of National Health Service hospital expenditure but there is no measure of the additional spending on cancer services not normally provided on an in-patient basis, for example cancer screening, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and community palliative care services. Breast screening for women aged 50–64 is estimated to cost around £37 million per annum. However, information is not available on the annual spend for cancer diagnosis, treatment and prevention for individual cancer tumour types.Government funding for cancer research is provided through the Medical Research Council (MRC) which receives most of its income via grant-in-aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. The MRC funds medical research as part of the Government's funding of the science and engineering base and is the main agency through which the Government support research on the causes and treatment of disease. The Department also funds research to support policy development in health and social care and manages the NHS research and development budgets.The Department also provides support for research commissioned by charities and the MRC that takes place in the NHS. Over £63 million per year of this funding supports cancer research, with £16 million going to the Royal Marsden Hospital alone.Total Government expenditure on cancer research is estimated to be £110 million per annum. This does not include basic biomedical research, which may lead to breakthroughs for cancer treatment.The latest figures available for annual Government (Department of Health/NHS, MRC and other Government Departments—principally devolved Health Departments) expenditure on breast cancer, prostate cancer and testicular cancer:

	£ million
Breast	9.33
Prostate	1.55
Testicular	0.49

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what planning assumptions he has made on the basis of the additional revenue which the NHS will receive as a result of hypothecation of increased levels of tobacco duty in 2000–01. [112785]

The allocations to health authorities for 2000–01 take account of the possibility that £250 million will be available to the National Health Service as a result of changes in tobacco duty, in the light of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Pre-Budget Report speech last November. Decisions about tobacco duty will be announced by the Chancellor in his Budget Speech.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the incidence of cerebral palsy per thousand of the population (a) nationally and (b) in the north-west Region for each of the past 10 years. [113661]

Data are not collected centrally on the numbers of children in England with cerebral palsy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the key targets for 2000–01 for the Medical Devices Agency. [114357]

We have agreed the agency's key targets for 2000-01 and copies have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the members of the Medicines Control Agency and the interest each one has in (a) local, (b) national and (c) international drug companies. [113614]

The Medicines Control Agency is an executive agency of the Department of Health and is accountable direct to Ministers. It has over 500 staff who are Civil Servants and subject to all the normal Civil Service employment rules, including those on interests in commercial concerns.

To ask the Prime Minister if his proposals to establish fast track chest pain clinics and a National Heart Director apply in Wales. [113635]

The responsibility for health in Wales has been transferred to the National Assembly for Wales.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the occasions when Heads of foreign Governments have made representations to him relating to the allocation of a particular Government contract; who the Head of Government was in each case; and in each case if the contract allocation was in accord with the representations made. [113065]

It is established practice under exemption 1(c) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information not to disclose information received in confidence from foreign Governments.

To ask the Prime Minister what evaluation he has made of the mechanisms presented in the Prior Options Review for opening up the operation of non-departmental public bodies. [113304]

In line with a commitment in the Modernising Government White Paper, we have recently reviewed the entire review process for non-departmental public bodies. We have concluded that the Prior Options stage of the review process should reflect the Government's wider objectives. This includes taking greater account of the views of stakeholders and focusing on delivering services which are of a higher quality, more responsive and better integrated.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) if she will make it a requirement for non-departmental public bodies that they should record the matters discussed and agreements reached in meetings held with other NDPBs in the form of minutes; [113302](2) what proportion of non-departmental public bodies hold open meetings; [113307](3) how many people are board members of non-departmental public bodies in the United Kingdom; broken down between

All executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are encouraged to publish minutes of meetings, either whole or in summary form, and to hold meetings in public. Individual Departments and NDPBs themselves are best placed to determine whether this is appropriate on a case-by-case basis. Information on the number of NDPBs holding open meetings is not held centrally.There are currently over 30,000 men and women serving on the boards of NDPBs (and their equivalents) across the UK. Information on these office-holders, including information on the numbers serving in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, is published in "Public Bodies 1999". Copies of "Public Bodies 1999" are available from the libraries of the House.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the review of public sector ombudsman schemes will be published. [113421]

I expect the report on the review of public sector ombudsman in England to be published by the end of March.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make it his policy to issue advice to local education authorities discouraging against the use of global warming refrigerants, including HFCs, on their estates. [112566]

The Department gives advice to local education authorities and schools in Building Bulletin 83, "Schools Environmental Assessment Method (SEAM)". This recommends specifying refrigerants which do not cause both ozone depletion and global warming.The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions steers policy on issues concerning ozone depleting chemicals and greenhouse gases, and the European Union has issued regulations to phase out the use of certain of these, such as CFCs and HCFCs. HFCs are often used as refrigerants in place of CFCs and HCFCs, and I understand that there are not any plans to prohibit their use at present.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the local education authorities which (a) have and (b) have not made additional funds available to schools for the implementation of the new post-16 curriculum. [113666]

This information is not available. Local education authorities are not required to publish budget statements for school funding until 31 March 2000; and in any case such statements identify funding for 16+ pupils only in terms of the factors used for distribution rather than the curriculum components of sixth-form funding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many young people have stayed at school after the age of 16 years in each of the 12 pilot areas for education maintenance allowance since the scheme was introduced; and what the figures were for the comparable period in 1998. [113120]

[holding answer 6 March 2000]: Comparative data at this level of detail are not yet available for the period of the pilots. However, early indications are promising, with a number of schools and colleges in EMA areas reporting higher post-16 intakes this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the estimated cost of extending the Education Maintenance Allowance to the whole of England (a) if everyone eligible applied and (b) if take-up was the same as in the pilot areas. [111715]

Extending the Educational Maintenance Allowance to the whole of England would cost between £670 million and £940 million for an academic year if everybody eligible applied, depending on which model is chosen. However, we would not expect to achieve 100 per cent. take-up, as some young people would continue to choose alternatives to education such as a modern apprenticeship or a job with training.If take-up is the same as in the pilot areas so far, the cost would be between £440 million and £560 million for an academic year, depending on which model is chosen.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if he will make it his policy that people with a mental illness will not be required to attend a ONE interview, if they do not wish to, for a period of three months following discharge from a psychiatric hospital; [113291](2) how many people with a mental illness have attended for a voluntary ONE interview across the pilot sites in England; [113292](3) if ONE personal advisers will visit places of work to check their suitability for clients with a mental illness prior to placement; [113293](4) if the training of personal advisers and start-up personnel involved in the ONE project has involved directly people with a mental illness; and if he will make a statement; [113294](5) if clients will have the choice of an interview at home with ONE personal advisers. [113295]

ONE puts work, and helping people to overcome barriers to work, at the heart of the benefit system. Everyone of working age making a claim to benefit meets with a Personal Adviser, who works with them to assess their job potential and provides access to a variety of help and information on work, benefit and services. Clients are treated as individuals with their own unique needs, abilities and circumstances, instead of being categorised as "unemployed", "lone parent" or "disabled".It is entirely reasonable to expect all clients to come in for meetings with a personal adviser as a part of their claim so they can stay in touch with the labour market and be informed about the help and support on offer. We want to treat people as individuals, not to categorise people and make assumptions about whether or not they can work.The requirements of ONE should be appropriate for all, including people with a mental illness. In developing the policy and the detailed processes, officials have had in-depth discussions with some of the key organisations dealing in mental illness (including MIND and the National Schizophrenia Fellowship) to ensure that ONE enables the groups they represent to participate in a positive way.All ONE advisers have been trained to work effectively and sensitively with all ONE clients. Those with experience of, or expertise in, mental illness have participated in the training process. Advisers have guidance on working with clients with special needs which has been developed with their help.Where it is appropriate for people to attend interviews, the ONE process is designed to give them sufficient time to make arrangements and sufficient opportunities to attend. Clients can bring an advocate with them to interview if they wish, and home visits can be offered where appropriate. Personal advisers also have the discretion to waive or defer an interview.Personal advisers may consult with a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) and the DEA may accompany the personal adviser on the home visit. If a client has recently stayed in a psychiatric hospital, advisers should certainly consider carefully whether to defer an interview—but should not automatically assume that to be so. For some people the priority may be to sort out the benefits they are entitled to and to ensure their welfare needs are properly identified. Where ONE advisers place clients into work, we have no present plans for personal advisers to visit places of work prior to placement.Finally, it is not possible to provide the information requested on participation in ONE by people with mental illnesses. Separate statistics on the numbers of people with mental health illness attending ONE meetings are not recorded.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which of his Department's regional initiatives will come under the remit of the new unit to co-ordinate the Government's approach to the regions. [113155]

The work of the Government Offices for the Regions on behalf of DfEE will come under the remit of the interdepartmental unit to co-ordinate the Government's approach to the regions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment by what means his Department monitors the quality and range of (a) sports teaching and (b) sports provision in schools; and if he will make a statement. [113058]

Ofsted has the remit to monitor the quality and range of all teaching in schools, including PE activities, and to report on the quality and range of provision in schools. Ofsted's 1999 review of primary schools in England found that overall progress in PE is satisfactory or better in 97 per cent. of schools. The review of secondary schools found that in physical education pupils make good progress in most schools in Key Stage 3. The performance of skills and their application in games are usually satisfactory or better.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list (a) the total enrolments and (b) the full-time equivalent enrolments in further education in England in each year since 1992. [112118]

[holding answer 28 February 2000]: The information requested is shown in the tables.The decline in headcount numbers in 1998–99 reflects the clampdown on the unacceptable aspects of franchising which grew up under the previous Administration.The Further Education Funding Council will be consulting on measures to support recruitment in line with our plans, which provide for an increase of 700,000 students in further education by 2002.

(a) Further education student numbers
	000s
1992–93	—
1993–94	—
1994–951	3,034
1995–961	3,845
1996–971	4,245
1997–981	4,259
1998–992	4,142

(b) Full-time equivalents (FTE) in further eduction
	000s
1992–931	1,101
1993–941	1,140
1994–951	1,179
1995–961	1,262
1996–971	1,295
1997–982	1,263
1998–99	—
1 Actual
2 Provisional

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of the Sure Start pilots. [111666]

I have been asked to reply.Of the 60 Sure Start trailblazers that were announced in January 1999, 47 have now received approval and are now starting to help young children and their families. The remaining 13 will follow shortly. In November 1999 we launched the second wave of Sure Start by inviting a further 69 areas to develop local programmes, and these are now drawing up their outline plans. This brings the number of Sure Start programmes so far announced to 129, more than half-way towards the target of 250 by March 2002.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will replace food technology with home economics in the National Curriculum. [111951]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in September last year the revised National Curriculum which will apply from September 2000. The revisions were the outcome of a wide-ranging review and consultation which considered, among other matters, how pupils are taught about food, nutrition and textiles in the curriculum.Within the revised National Curriculum, food technology (including cooking) and textiles remain within the Design and Technology programmes of study; and nutrition and health eating are covered in Science and Personal, Social and Health Education. Home economics also can play a complementary role, and many schools include it within their curriculum. It is also available as a GCSE option.We are continuing to look at food and cooking in the curriculum with the aim of ensuring a more coherent approach. We will, of course, take into account the role of home economics in this context.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what action he is taking to encourage sporting links between private schools and state schools; and if he will make a statement. [113679]

We are keen to encourage links between independent and state schools in all areas, including sport. The Government are currently considering the future role of sport and PE in schools, and part of that will involve developing links that can be made with the independent sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many meetings of the G8 Development Ministers, Ministers in her Department have attended since 1 May 1997, indicating the Minister involved and the date and location of each meeting. [113090]

Neither the Secretary of State nor myself has attended any meetings of the G8 Development Ministers.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much bilateral aid has been spent on technical co-operation in each of the last 10 years (a) in cash terms and (b) as a proportion of total overseas development aid. [113492]

Technical Co-operation is defined to include expenditure on personnel, training, scholarships, knowledge and research. DFID's expenditure on Technical Co-operation over the latest 10 years is shown in the table, both in cash terms and as a percentage of the bilateral programme in each year.

Technical co-operation
	£000	As percentage of DFID bilateral programme
1989–90	309,335	31
1990–91	354,568	33
1991–92	412,956	38
1992–93	422,975	37
1993–94	423,811	36
1994–95	430,447	38
1995–96	453,149	40
1996–97	467,682	44
1997–98	496,003	47
1998–99	503,878	43

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of technical co-operation contracts are awarded to non-UK companies. [113489]

In the financial year 1998–99 DFID issued just under 3,000 contracts for services with a value of nearly £250 million. Of these 776 contracts with a value of some £14 million were issued by DFID's Overseas Offices to local consultants, i.e. non-UK companies.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the likely impact on the UK economy of (a) unilaterally, and (b) multilaterally untying the UK's aid programme. [113487]

Studies have shown that both unilateral and multilateral untying are likely to bring benefits to the UK economy. Multilateral untying will, however, bring greater development benefits. We are working to encourage all Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries to join the OECD's Development Assistance Committee initiative to untie development assistance to the least developed countries.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the services that management consultants provided to her Department in each of the last 10 years, indicating the remuneration made in each case and the number of person days employed. [113491]

DFID does not collate this information centrally and it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the projected spending plans by her Department in Mozambique for 2000–01 and 2001–02 were first included in a document in the public domain. [113662]

The plans for Mozambique for 2000–01 and 2001–02 were first published on 30 March 1999 in the Departmental Report 1999.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development at what time on what date officials in her Department first discussed sending helicopters to Mozambique with the Ministry of Defence. [113663]

We first asked the Ministry of Defence what military assets were available in the region on Saturday 26 February at 19.30. At that point we were informed that no military assets were available within 3,000 miles.On Tuesday 29 February at 9:00 we held further discussions regarding the use of UK military helicopters with the Ministry of Defence.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what date her Department first requested assistance from the armed services to alleviate hardship in the floods of Mozambique. [113674]

We first asked the Ministry of Defence what military assets were available in the region on Saturday 26 February. At that point we were informed that no military assets were available within 3,000 miles.

To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what access there is to toilet facilities in the House for people who are wheelchair users. [113603]

Specially equipped lavatories for wheelchair users are situated off the Lower Waiting Hall, the Committee Corridor, the Upper Committee Corridor and the Centre Curtain Corridor. The hon. Member may wish to note that there is also a specially equipped lavatory off Peers' lobby.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what data he has collated on current inequalities in pay between men and women in Scotland; and what measures the Government (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to tackle such inequalities. [111346]

I have been asked to reply.Average pay of full-time employees in Scotland and Great Britain, 1999, is as follows:

	Hourly	Weekly	Annual
Scotland
Women (£)	8.03	298	15,001
Men (£)	9.83	406	21,791
Women's pay as a percentage of men's	82	173	169
Great Britain
Women (£)	8.70	327	16,481
Men (£)	10.75	442	23,412
Women's pay as a percentage of men's	81	174	170
1 Widening of pay gap for weekly and annual earnings reflects that men work on average 3.9 hours more per week than women, including 1.9 hours more overtime

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much European agrimonetary compensation scheme funds have been drawn down to the Exchequer; and if he will make a statement. [112230]

A total of £397 million in EU-funded agrimonetary compensation has been paid.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many fields with uncropped margins in excess of two metres were recorded in 1999, as a proportion of the total number of the integrated administrative and control system fields inspections during the year. [112818]

Of the total number of fields inspected by MAFF in 1999 under the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), it is estimated that just under 4 per cent. involved claims for arable area payments which were paid on the basis of full Ordnance Survey field areas but which, because the field margins were found to be wider than two metres, would only be payable on the basis of actual cropped areas in 2000.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the 10 largest recipients of CAP payments made to farms in Herefordshire for the calendar year 1998; and if he will make a statement. [113482]

Amount received by each of the 10 largest recipients of CAP payments in Herefordshire during the 1998 calendar year were:

• £236,601.76
• £217,922.74
• £191,714.98
• £172,860.74
• £168,856.75
• £144,200.16
• £136,475.79
• £119,918.47
• £115,826.01
• £115,646.58

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the estimated acreage of farmland taken out of farming in each of the last five years in the United Kingdom. [111988]

The total area on agricultural holdings in the United Kingdom over the last five years is shown in the table.

thousand hectares
Year	Area	Area difference
1994	17,626	—
1995	17,520	(-)106
1996	17,527	(+)7
1997	17,432	(-)95
1998	17,372	(-)60
1999	17,351	(-)21

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reasons in the proposed draft Seeds (National Lists of Variations) Regulations 2000 consultation he proposes to abolish statutory measures relating to (a) oral representations at a public hearing, (b) the definition of persons affected, (c) rules of conduct for public hearings and (d) the requirement of fees in respect of such hearing; and replace them with ministerial discretion. [111649]

[holding answer 28 February 2000]: The proposed regulations do not abolish statutory rights to make oral representations about proposed decisions on National Listing. The proposal is to transfer the detail of how such rights are exercised from Regulations to the Plant Varieties and Seeds Gazette. It is now more usual to set out such administrative detail separately, rather than include it in legislation. The proposals also provide for all fees associated with National Listing to be set administratively, rather than by regulation, subject to such fees being reasonable. The draft regulatory impact assessment which accompanied the proposals explained that we do not expect them to result in extra costs to industry, citizens or the environment.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what applications in respect of genetically modified wheat and genetically modified maize (a) have been considered and (b) are currently under consideration in respect of inclusion on the European seed list common register; if such applications will be a matter for joint consideration with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions; and if he will make a statement. [111412]

Prior to February 2000, varieties added to a member state's National List could be included on the Agricultural Common Catalogue provided no member state indicated they intended to seek a derogation prohibiting marketing of the variety in their territory. No Genetically Modified varieties of wheat or maize were added to the Agricultural Common Catalogue under these arrangements.Under new arrangements which came into effect in February 2000, varieties may progress automatically from member states National Lists to the Common Catalogue. For genetically modified plant varieties, this progression requires a marketing consent under Directive 90/220/EEC on the Deliberate Release into the Environment of Genetically Modified Varieties and, where appropriate, an authorisation under the Novel Foods Regulation No. 97/258/EEC. No genetically modified wheat varieties have either been considered or added to the Common Catalogue under these new arrangements. There are currently three genetically modified maize varieties included in member states' National Lists which the EU Commission is considering for inclusion in the Common Catalogue. These are CHARDON LL, included in the Dutch National List, and COMPA CB and JORDI CB, included in the Spanish National List. The decision on whether to add these varieties to the Common Catalogue is for the Commission to determine on the basis of whether the necessary regulatory requirements have been met.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent assessment he has made of the cost of BSE to the pig industry. [111706]

No official assessment has been made by Government, but industry assessments have been discussed between Government and industry representatives.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations were made to him in January by representatives of the pig industry regarding legal opinion on the feasibility of state aid for the pig sector under European law. [111709]

My right hon. Friend the Minister received a letter from a group of solicitors acting on behalf of the British Pig Industry Support Group, threatening to bring a Judicial Review of the Minister's failure to grant state aid to the pig sector.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the report of the independent Salmon Freshwater Fisheries Review Group will be published. [114309]

I am pleased to announce that the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review Group's report is being published today. The group has carried out a very thorough and wide ranging examination of salmon and freshwater fisheries policy and legislation in England and Wales. We now intend to seek the views of interested parties; the consultation period will run until 31 July 2000. Copies of the report have been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants have been denied access to any benefits for each month of (a) 1999 and (b) the current year to date. [110486]

[holding answer 21 February 2000]: I have been asked to reply.Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the number of people in the Elmet constituency aged over 60 years who are not claiming benefit to which they are entitled. [113416]

The information is not available. It is not possible to produce reliable estimates of numbers not claiming their entitlement at constituency level.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the compensation and general levies payable under the Pension Schemes Act 1993 by occupational and personal pension schemes. [114334]

I am pleased to announce that the rate of the Compensation Levy will remain unchanged at a maximum of 23 pence per member for the third year in a row and that it will not be necessary to raise a Compensation Levy in 2000–01.Regulations are being laid today for the General Levy that will increase rates for most pension schemes from 1 April 2000 with the exception of occupational schemes with 6,604 or more members. Rates for these schemes have been frozen at their present levels for the coming year. The rates for 2000–01 are shown in the table.The General Levy covers the costs of the bodies that safeguard the rights of pension scheme members or provide them with help, advice and information. These bodies are the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra), the Pensions Ombudsman, the Pensions Advisory Service and the Pension Schemes Registry. It is essential that these bodies have the resources necessary to meet their continuing and new responsibilities so that all scheme members' interests are properly protected.The increase in the General Levy rates for most, but not all, occupational pension schemes reflects that the biggest schemes generate little work for Opra, and have not contributed to the steady increase in the number of cases referred to them or to the complexity of the issues with which they deal. The new rates for personal pension schemes reflect that Opra's regulatory functions are extended to those schemes and to Stakeholder pension schemes by the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999.

General Levy rates 2000–01
Scheme size (Number of members)	Basis	Amount per member (£)	Minimum payment per scheme1 (£)
>Occupation Pension Schemes
2 to 11	£12 per scheme	—	—
12 to 99	Per member	1.25	—
100 to 999	Per member	0.90	125
1,000 to 4,999	Per member	0.70	900
5,000 to 9,999	Per member	0.53	3,500
10,000 or more	Per member	0.37	5,300
Personal Pension Schemes
2 to 11	£5.20 per scheme	—	—
12 to 99	Per member	0.50	—
100 to 999	Per member	0.35	50
1,000 to 4,999	Per member	0.30	350
5,000 to 9,999	Per member	0.20	1,500
10,000 or more	Per member	0.15	2,000
1 Minimum payments ensure that schemes in the lower bands do not pay more overall than those in the higher bands.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to consult on draft regulations on employer payments to personal pensions and stakeholder pensions. [114332]

We are today issuing a consultation document containing draft regulations on employer payments to personal pensions and stakeholder pensions.The new requirements represent a major change for both insurance companies and employers. The consultation document contains a full description of the new arrangements. We want to alert employers and insurance companies now so that they can start planning for the new regime, which we plan to bring into force in April 2001.An important part of our pension reforms is that people should have greater confidence in private pensions. Regulations require deductions from pay to be paid by employers to occupational pension schemes within set deadlines. Today's draft regulations extend this requirement to personal pensions and stakeholder pensions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what changes he plans to make to the all work test in Incapacity Benefits. [114333]

We are laying regulations today which, together with regulations made in November (The Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 1999), give effect to the changes to the All Work Test which were introduced by the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act.The All Work Test provides an assessment of the effect of a person's medical condition on their functional abilities, to determine whether they reach the threshold at which it is appropriate to pay incapacity benefits rather than to treat them as unemployed. It is a negative test in that it currently looks only at people's incapacities and not at why they are able to do despite their illness or disability. The very name gives the wrong impression that people who reach the benefit threshold are unfit to do any work. But many sick and disabled people already work, and many more want to and may be able to, given the right encouragement and support.From 3 April 2000 the All Work Test will be replaced by the Personal Capability Assessment. The threshold for entitlement to incapacity benefits, and the way that incapacity is assessed will not change in any way. But the doctor who advises the decision maker will also be able to prepare a Capability Report, with positive and constructive advice on what the person can do despite their incapacity and on measures such as workplace adaptations which might help them to work. This report will not be seen by the benefit decision maker but will go to Personal Advisers, to help them and their clients plan a return to employment.As part of the ONE pilots, our doctors are already providing Capability Reports in appropriate cases. The process was trialled successfully last summer. We aim to extend the use of Capability Reports as we gain experience through the pilots and as Personal Adviser services are expanded.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the pilot areas for enhanced medical assessment for incapacity benefits in respect of incapability information; and on what basis they were selected. [113046]

From 3 April, the All Work Test for incapacity benefits will be replaced by the Personal Capability Assessment. This will continue to determine benefit entitlement in exactly the same way as now but will also allow the doctor who assesses a person's incapacity to prepare a separate Capability Report with positive information on what they can do despite their medical condition and on measures such as workplace adaptations that might enable them to return to employment.Capability Reports will not be seen by benefit decision-makers. They are intended to assist Personal Advisers in providing advice and support to people who want to plan a return to work. Some initial trialling of the Capability Report was undertaken for a short period last summer in Bolton, and in Bristol, East and Bath, two of the areas in which Personal Adviser services are being piloted as part of the New Deal for Disabled People. Since last November, the new procedure has been included in the 12 ONE service pilots. The ONE pilot areas were selected on the basis of a number of criteria including the need to cover a range of geographical and labour market conditions so as to minimise bias and enable results to be extrapolated nationally.The areas are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when payments will be made to those people under the age of 65 years entitled to receive winter fuel payments. [112656]

Following the European Court's judgment in the Taylor case, we have decided that help through Winter Fuel Payments will be extended to everyone aged 60 or over, regardless of whether they are receiving a pension or another qualifying benefit.We accept the judgment of the Court and intend to comply by equalising the age of the Winter Fuel Payment entitlement to men and women at age 60.The Winter Fuel Payment qualifying age will be increased in line with the increases previously announced in respect of the State Retirement Pension (between April 2010 and April 2020 State pension age for women will be increased in stages until both men and women share a State pension age of 65).We intend to make retrospective payments to all people now included within the scope of the scheme in respect of the previous three winters (1997–98, 1998–99 and 1999–2000).We are carefully considering what arrangements need to be made in order to issue payments securely to customers not already in the scope of the existing scheme. An announcement outlining the full details of how and when these payments will be made will be announced as soon a possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many workers and former workers in the power industry received awards for asbestos-related diseases in the last year for which figures are available; and how many deaths from asbestos-related diseases occurred in this sector for the same period. [113330]

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.

Awards of industrial injuries disablement benefit for asbestos related prescribed diseases in the generation, production and distribution of electricity
Period	Number
January to September 1999	50
January to December 1998	57

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the average cost to local authorities since April 1999 of implementing the Verification Framework; and how much of that cost has been met by (a) central Government and (b) local government since April 1999. [113625]

The information is not available in the form requested. The cost of implementing the Verification Framework (VF) will vary according to the size and nature of each local authority's caseload, and the extent to which they already have systems required under the VF in place.The funds the Department makes available to local authorities are distributed on the same basis as they receive their main administration subsidy. We expect to pay over £29 million in total to 229 local authorities for the Verification Framework during 1999–2000. Some authorities will have received set-up costs, some will have received continuing costs and some will have received both set-up and continuing costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what recent examination of the performance of housing benefit delivery in the London Borough of Islington he has undertaken. [113673]

As part of our determination to drive up the standards of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit administration, we have asked the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate to inspect the 30 local authorities which spend most on these benefits. The London Borough of Islington is included among these authorities and will be inspected this summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what will be the margin of error of the estimate of housing benefit (a) fraud and (b) error to be provided by the on going Area Benefit Review. [113817]

The margin of error expressed as a percentage of estimated losses depends to a degree on the amount of fraud and error found in the review: the less found the wider the margin.The current prediction for the first set of review data covering the period October 1999 to March 2000, is that the margin of error on the estimated value of losses will lie between +/- 10 per cent. and +/- 20 per cent. of those losses. When data for the period October 1999 to September 2000 become available we expect the margin of error to contract.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many local authorities are covered by the Area Benefit Review of Housing Benefit. [113784]

195 Local authorities have volunteered to take part in the Area Benefit Review of Housing Benefit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what data his Department collates on the time taken to process (a) initial and (b) repeat housing benefit applications for each London borough. [113669]

The Department collects data from all local authorities on a quarterly basis in relation to both new and renewal Housing Benefit claims. The data collected for both types of claim includes:

• the number of claims determined successful;
• the number of claims determined unsuccessful;
• the number of these claims ((a) + (b)) determined within 14 days of receipt of all necessary information.

From this April, Best Value performance indicators will be the main yardstick against which local authorities' performance will be judged. The indicators we have set for Housing Benefit delivery include new measures of the average time taken to process new claims and notifications of changes of circumstance, and the percentage of renewal claims processed on time. Local authorities will be required to set challenging targets for improved performance against these indicators year on year.The Department has made arrangements' for data on performance against all the Best Value indicators to be reported periodically by authorities as part of the normal provision of Housing Benefit management information. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced to the House on 6 March 2000,

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many tenants were evicted from (a) local authority, (b) housing association and (c) private rented accommodation in each London borough because of delays in payment of housing benefit in 1999. [113672]

The information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the average cost, for each London borough, of the administration of housing benefit in the last year for which figures are available. [113670]

The information is in the table.

Housing benefit administration costs 1998–99
£
Local authority	Average cost per case
Barking and Dagenham	37
Barnet	110
Bexley	41
Brent	128
Bromley	114
Camden	105