To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what incentives his Department plans to introduce to encourage less expensive methods of access to the Internet for (a) small businesses and (b) home users; and if he will make a statement. [116049]

The Government believe that the best way to encourage the provision of low-cost Internet access is by encouraging competition. The success of this policy was shown recently with the announcement by several companies of free or nearly free Internet access packages (including no per minute call charges).

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made following his meeting with Alchemy of the number of jobs expected to be lost at Longbridge. [115836]

[holding answer 22 March 2000]: Alchemy were unable to give an indication of employment levels.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made towards establishing the central Government national training organisation; and if she will make a statement. [116120]

The Central Government National Training Organisation was launched today. The Government made a commitment to establish a National Training Organisation for the civil service in the Modernising Government White Paper.The CGNTO aims to:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what research the Cabinet Office has undertaken into equality proofing of performance management in the civil service. [116121]

I have today published a research report by the Institute for Employment Studies on Equality Proofing of Performance Review in the civil service.The research was commissioned across 13 representative civil service Departments and Agencies last autumn following concerns about imbalances in performance markings between different groups of staff. This study, and the action to be taken as a result, further underlines the commitment of the civil service to make real progress on diversity.I have placed copies of the IES report in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the BAe Systems contract for an urgent operational requirement in-theatre communications system is intended to replace the current system; what impact it will have on the security of communications of UK forces' security in Kosovo; what is the estimated cost of the system; and if he will make a statement. [113909]

The contract with BAe Systems will provide for wide area communications in support of the UK's contribution to the NATO Multi Divisions in Bosnia and Kosovo. The contract is specific to the Balkans and does not affect the Army's other general and much larger and technically more complex communications requirements, such as Project BOWMAN. It will replace the current wide area systems in the Balkans, including Project PTARMIGAN, and allow them to be redistributed for use in other theatres of operations. In addition, the Army's commitment to operations in the Balkans will be reduced by some 260 Royal Signals soldiers by the end of this year. Of these, around 150 will return and others who were preparing for deployment will not go. Both the soldiers and current wide area systems, which will become available for future tasking, are in high demand by Army commanders.The contract will provide the backbone of a communications network, including voice, data and facsimile links within the Balkans and back to the UK. The system will maintain the level of security of the communications of UK forces by segregating secure UK traffic from secure NATO traffic and unclassified UK traffic. The contract with BAe Systems is worth up to £23 million and the estimated cost of the entire system is some £25 million (exclusive of VAT).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the status of HMS Kent; when she will be ready for service; what are the causes and cost of the delays; and if he will make a statement. [114764]

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 the cost was of producing the RV 'Trinton'; when she will begin sea trials; when she will be put into service; what her mission will be; and if he will make a statement. [115745]

RV 'Triton' is currently being built by Vosper Thorneycroft at Southampton. The cost of the ship is approximately £13.5 million, which is being funded by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA).RV 'Triton' will start contractor sea trials in July of this year and will be delivered later in the autumn to begin two years of sea trials to evaluate the hullform as a contender for future warship designs. On completion of the first two years' trials, the ship's role will be as a trials facility to test and evaluate at sea many different equipments and systems, either commercial or military. As a trials platform, RV 'Triton' will be owned by DERA and will not 'enter service' with the Royal Navy in the military use of the phase.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department plans to do with its stock of Sea Eagle missiles after they have been removed from service; and if he will make a statement. [115752]

Sea Eagle missiles were removed from Royal Navy and Royal Air Force service in April 1999. The missile systems are currently being collected in central locations prior to disposal action being initiated. No final decisions have yet been made about the disposal of the weapons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if permission has been given to dive to the shipwreck of the experimental submarine M-1. [115704]

No permission is required to undertake diving on the wreck of the experimental submarine M-1.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) steps he has taken and (b) plans he has to tighten control of (i) unlicensed diving on war graves and (ii) pillaging of naval wrecks. [115705]

My Department, together with others and Diving Associations, has been assisting with the development of a Code of Practice for diving on wrecks. It is hoped that this code will be introduced shortly. Following its introduction, the impact of this code will be assessed. I am able to report that the Ministry of Defence Police have recently charged a man with theft from a war grave and this case is proceeding through the courts. We will take action through the courts wherever appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the (a) name and (b) location of the shipwreck war graves on which permission has been given to dive in the past 12 months. [115703]

It is not necessary for divers to obtain permission from my Department in order to dive on wrecks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) applications have been made to and (b) permissions have been given in the last 12 months by his Department to dive on undersea war graves (i) in the Dardanelles, (ii) off Singapore and (iii) elsewhere. [115702]

It is not necessary for divers to obtain permission from my Department to dive on undersea war graves.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department's review of the rules relating to annual leave for non-industrial civil servants will report; what the terms of reference of the review are; and if he will publish the results of the review. [115922]

The Ministry of Defence is not undertaking a formal review of annual leave arrangements for its civilian staff. All conditions of service are kept under regular scrutiny and changes made as appropriate to meet statutory and Departmental requirements. We are currently looking at the provisions for various forms of special leave (paid and unpaid) to see if any changes are necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many goats have had to be killed on humane grounds after being used in the submarine escape and rescue research programme in the last six months; and if he will make a statement; [115812](2) if goats that fail to respond to training for the submarine escape and rescue research programme are culled; and if he will make a statement. [115811]

[holding answer 22 March 2000]: This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy for effecting the disposal of the families quarters at RAF Halton which are surplus. [115980]

A number of surplus Families' Quarters at RAF Halton were sold to Annington Homes Ltd. (AHL) in November 1996 with the bulk of the Married Quarters Estate in England and Wales. Under the terms of the sale agreement MOD is committed to releasing a number of surplus properties to AHL for disposal. Any further surplus properties at RAF Halton will also be released to AHL, and 82 properties have been identified for disposal in this way over the coming months.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the locations of the families' quarters at RAF Halton which are surplus. [115988]

The surplus properties at RAF Halton are in the area known as the Hospital Site. The road names are:

• Hospital Circular Road
• Longcroft Avenue
• Lambe Road
• Babington Road
• Trenchard Avenue.

Eighty of these properties are already void and will go back to Annington Homes Ltd. (AHL) for disposal under the terms of the contract agreed with the Ministry of Defence at the time of the sale of the Families' Quarters Estate. Two further properties are currently used for purposes other than housing and will also be offered to Annington Homes for disposal in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what land and property his Department owns in Torquay. [116198]

There is only one property owned by the Ministry of Defence in Torquay. This is the Army Careers Information Office, 180 Union Street, Torquay.

To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will make a statement on the Commissioners' policy in respect of making use of resources in combination with other churches to commemorate the unification of Europe. [115563]

The Church Commissioners are required by statute to use their income for the stipends, pensions and housing of clergy of the Church of England. Their funds are therefore fully committed and are not generally available for other purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on imposing VAT on tolls, with particular reference to the Humber Bridge. [114899]

VAT is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Government have opposed the imposition of VAT on all tolled crossings, not just the Humber Bridge. Whether or not VAT applies to tolls is to be subject of a judgment of the European Court expected this summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the level of debt on the Humber Bridge at the end of April 1997; and how much of the debt has been (a) written off and (b) rescheduled since that date. [114900]

Of the debt of £359,307,192 at the end of April 1997, some £62 million owed by the Humber Bridge Board to the Public Works Loan Board was written off in July 1998. Of the balance, some £240 million owed to the Secretary of State was rescheduled and, on the remainder, interest charges were reduced.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much revenue was received by the Treasury from tolls on the Humber Bridge for each of the last five years. [114898]

The Humber Bridge Board have made the following payments into the consolidated fund as recorded in the Appropriation Accounts:

Year	£
1994–95	41,473,000
1995–96	41,473,000
1996–97	41,473,000
1997–98	41,473,000
1998–99	14,149,000

The figures for the first four years mainly include grant payments to cover interest that would not otherwise have been met since the bulk of the operating surplus was used to meet interest charges and capital repayments of debts owed to the Public Works Loans Board. Net of grant payments the above receipts were as follows:

Year	£
1994–95	3,231,000
1995–96	2,846,000
1996–97	1,600,000
1997–98	1,800,000

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to prevent able-bodied drivers from using parking bays designated for people with disabilities. [115046]

As I announced on 18 November 1999, the Orange Badge Scheme is to be reviewed this year, and one of the areas we will look at is the enforcement of the Scheme.However, it is already an offence under section 47 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to park a vehicle which is not displaying an Orange Badge in an on-street designated disabled persons' parking bay.The Orange Badge Scheme does not, however, apply to off-street car parks, whether local authority or privately owned, and enforcement of those disabled persons' parking bays is a matter for the car park operator concerned. In the case of local authority off-street car parks, normally their off-street parking place orders either make it an offence for someone not displaying a valid Orange Badge to park in a disabled persons' parking bay or make it subject to the payment of an "excess charge". In private car parks, we understand it is possible in law for the owners to agree with the local authority that a parking place order be made in respect of that car park. Conditions of use can then be enforced as if it were a local authority car park, with penalties or excess charges levied on offenders.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what are the total running costs of his Department's Press Office, including staff salaries, for the year 1999—2000; and what is the estimated cost for the next two years; [115761](2) how many press officers, at what civil service grades, are employed in his Department's Press Office; [115762](3) how many of his Department's press officers have been replaced in each of the last three years. [115763]

[holding answer 21 March 2000]: The running costs are:

Year	£ million
1999–2000	13.1
2000–01	23.3
2001–02	333
1 Forecast outturn
2 Provision
3 Estimate provision

These include the staff salaries, overtime, travel and subsistence, training and other administrative costs including regional media activity and press cuttings.The number of press officers (full-time equivalent) currently employed by DETR(C) grade is:

Press officers	Number
Senior Civil Service	1
Band 7	10.8
Band 6	5
Band 5	11
Band 4	18
Band 3	5
1 Part-time

The number of press officers who have joined or left the Media Centre since April 1999 is:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to introduce a marine environment Bill to protect the United Kingdom's marine environment from oil spills. [115784]

None at present. Shipping is an internationally regulated business and accordingly my Department is in discussion with counterparts in the International Maritime Organisation and with the European Union to determine practical measures for enhanced protection against maritime pollution.On 10 February my Department also published a consultants' report as the first stage in a consultative process which could lead to the setting up of Marine Environmental High Risk Areas (MEHRAs) to help protect sensitive marine and coastal environments at particular risk from pollution from shipping.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list for the financial year 1998–99 the number and total value of contracts let by his Department with external consultants and advisers that (a) have been put out to competitive tender, (b) have not been put out to competitive tender and (c) have been let on a non-commercial basis, stating in each case the names of the individuals or organisations that have carried out the work. [115809]

[holding answer 22 March 2000]: The information that has been requested as parts (a) and (b) of the question is not held centrally and cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. All contracts are awarded using competition unless there are compelling reasons for using single tender action.As for part

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for what reasons the Local Government Bill [Lords] is not compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights; and if he will make a statement. [115655]

There are considerable doubts whether section 2A of the Local Government Act 1986 is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Clause 91 of the Local Government Bill amends, but also reaffirms, the provisions of section 2A. It is for this reason that it is doubtful whether the Bill is compatible with the ECHR.This Government have already said that they intend to remove clause 91 of the Bill and, in its place, provide for the repeal of section 2A of the 1986 Act. The Bill will then be compatible with the ECHR.

Zone	Design consultants
(1) Home Planet
Zone design and build	Park Avenue
Flying creatures, airframe and engineering	Skyships
External design of flying creatures	FiT
Soundtrack	David A. Stewart and Steve McLaughlin
Film	Hugh Hudson
(2) Living Island
Designer	At Work Ltd.
Remarkable Pencil Machine	Edward Miller
(3) Shared Ground
Architectural design	Philip Gurmuchdjian and Shigeru Ban
Architect	Stephen Spence Associates
Initial design	HP:ICM

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what change there was in the number of second homes owned between January 1995 and January 2000; and if he will make a statement; [115940](2) what estimate he has made of the change in the prevalence of second home ownership England and Wales over the next

The following table shows estimates from the DETR Survey of English Housing of the number of second homes in England. Like all estimates from sample surveys, they are subject to a certain amount of random variation and are not precise to the level of detail shown. The change between one year and the next should not be regarded as a reliable estimate of longer term trends. Statistics on the number of second homes in Wales are incomplete. No projections of the number of second homes are made.

Second homes in England: 1994–95 to 1998–99
	Thousand
1994–95	215
1995–96	185
1996–97	203
1997–98	224
1998–99	248

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the design consultants contracted to undertake work on each of the zones in the dome. [109722]

[holding answer 11 February 2000]: The companies involved in the design and content of each exhibit zone are set out as follows. The contractual terms of each vary, reflecting the different nature and type of exhibit—both in terms of structure and content.

Zone	Design consultants
Exhibition designer	At Work Ltd.
Construction	Mivan
Website	Common Purpose
(4) Play
Design of zone, exhibits and fit-out	Land Design Studio
Games suppliers are subcontracted to Land Design Studio
(5) Body
Initial concept design	HP:ICM
Design and build of zone and exhibits in Explore	HP:ICM
Architect and designer of Body structure	Branson Coates Architects
Body Show design	Sting Ltd.
Exhibition fit-out	Mice and BNW
Production designer	Andrew MacAlpine
Production team	The Production Office
Special effects	Asylum
Sound	M62
Film (Explore)	Produced by HP:ICM
(6) Work and Learning
Designer	At Work Ltd.
Film (Old Work)	CIC
Film (Learning)	BBC and Tesco
Visuals and computer software (Learning)	StudioFish Ltd.
Schoolnet2000 access and equipment	Tesco
(7) Money
Design of zone and exhibits and fit out (The Bank of England provided the £50 notes on display; and the data feed is provided by Reuters)	Caribiner
(8) Rest
Design	Richard Rogers Partnership
Soundtrack	ArtAngel
(9) Mind
Design and selection of exhibits	Office of Zaha Hadid (OZH)
Design of Engineering our Future	Johnnie Ball
Art installations	Activmedia, Andrew Stevenson, Butterworth and Storm, Debut de Siecle/Big Projects, Escape, Simon Pope, Gavin Turk, GEC Marconi, Helen Chadwick, Hussein Chalayan, Langlands and Bell, Nancy Burson, Neville Brody, New Renaissance, Oven Digital, Richard Brown, Richard Deacon, Ron Muerck, Ryoji Ikeda, Smart Fibres, University of West England, Urs B. Roth
(10) Faith
Architectural Design	Eva Jiricna Architects
Design of exhibits	Jasper Jacob Associates
Film	BBC
Sculpture	David Begbie
Lighting installation	James Turrell
Photographs	Zo-oid and others commissioned by NMEC
(11) Timekeepers
Foam factory equipment	SRS Interactive
Construction and assembly	Mice
Character creation	Foundation and Cosgrove Hall
(12) Self Portrait
Design, exhibits and fit out	Caribiner
The National Portrait	David Mach
Sculpture design	Gerald Scarfe
(13) Journey
The sponsor of this zone, Ford, has been responsible for its design, build and fit-out
(14) Talk
The sponsor of this zone, BT, has been responsible for its design, build and fit-out
(15) Our Town story
Design	Richard Rogers Partnership
Content	Communities across the UK developing performances for their day in the dome

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library minutes of his meeting with UK Sport on 30 November 1999. [115233]

Minutes of discussions between Ministers, civil servants, and third parties who have been invited on a confidential basis, are taken for internal use and record and it is not possible to make them public. I can however confirm that the conclusion of the meeting on 30 November 1999 was that relocating athletics would provide better value for public money than proceeding with the platform design.

£
	1999–2000	2000–01
Grant-in-aid	20,759,000	20,855,000
Free entry—for children (1999) and over 60s (2000)	997,000	1,424,000
Extra funds	1,000,000	1,400,000
Purchase and refurbishment of RNAY Wroughton	Up to 1,000,000	400,000
Total	23,756,000	24,079,000

For 1998–99, the Science Museum was allocated £20,281,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what was the increase in funding last requested by the Science Museum in order to fund free admission for adults. [115327]

The increase in funding last requested by the Science Museum was for £5.83 million to implement free adult admission from 28 June 2000 to 31 March 2001. Of this, £2 million relates to loss of adult admission income, £1.91 million in compensation for loss of recoverable VAT input tax on operating income and £1.92 million for VAT on capital activity. Similar figures for the National Railway Museum are £1.11 million, of which £700,000 relates to lost adult admission income, £210,000 for VAT on operating income, and £200,000 for VAT on capital activity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the dimensions of the RUC crest on police cars in Northern Ireland. [114896]

When applied, the size of the crest is normally 284mm x 166mm on a white panel of 305mm x 186mm.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the reasons for the RUC crest being removed from police cars in Northern Ireland. [114897]

The decision to adopt a new livery was taken after the Royal Ulster Constabulary considered the future livery and the visibility of police vehicles at the scenes of incidents, especially on busy main roads. This work was commissioned by the Association of Chief

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) when his Department will announce the Government grant to the Science Museum for 2000–01; [115325](2) how much funding his Department gave to the Science Museum in the years

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to the Chairman of the Science Museum with details of the Museum's funding allocation for the years 1999-2001 on 14 December 1998. The amounts are as follows:Police Officers (ACPO) from the Police Scientific Development Branch (PSDB) which recommended the adoption of a livery, commonly known as Battenburg, based on highly reflective large blue and yellow checks which cover the sides of the vehicle and red and yellow chevrons on the rear. It was a specific recommendation of the PSDB that, for safety reasons,

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the cost of the police investigations into the death of Mrs. Rosemary Nelson; how much of this is in respect of the costs of RUC officers; and how much is in respect of police officers from Great Britain. [114895]

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave the hon. and learned Member for North Down (Mr. McCartney) on 22 February 2000, Official Report, column 96W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) clinical and (b) medical oncology consultants there are per 100,000 population for each health authority in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [115189]

In Northern Ireland, clinical and medical oncology services are provided by Eastern Health and Social Services Board.Currently there are 0.65 clinical oncology consultants per 100,000 population, and 0.12 medical oncology consultants per 100,000 population.The Campbell report on the reorganisation of cancer services in Northern Ireland set a target of 13 oncology consultants by 2005. This target has already been reached.

To ask the Solicitor-General what is the average time from police referral to (a) decision to prosecute and (b) decision not to prosecute in the case of accusations of assault, in each of the last three years. [115597]

The Crown Prosecution Service holds no central records on the time required to complete particular stages of the prosecution process in respect of particular offences, nor does it hold such records in respect of offences generally.

To ask the Solicitor-General what is his policy on the employment of Queen's Counsel in applications for judicial review. [115969]

Whenever a Government Department in England and Wales wishes to brief counsel to appear in court on a civil matter, including judicial review proceedings, they must first consider whether it is appropriate to use one of the junior barristers included on the Panels of approved counsel. The procedure for selecting counsel to be included in these panels has recently been revised to make sure that the selection process is fair and transparent. Government Departments are therefore required to use the approved junior counsel in all but the most exceptional cases. If the lawyer handling the case believes that the hearing merits the instruction of a Queen's Counsel then they must seek a nomination of a particular Queen's Counsel with the appropriate expertise. Each such nomination has to be approved personally by the Law Officers before instructions can be sent. In considering whether the use of Queen's Counsel is necessary in a particular case factors such as the importance of the case, the complexity of the legal issues involved, whether the case will decide a point of principle of general application and the amount of money at stake are taken into account.

To ask the Solicitor-General if he will make a statement regarding the Code for Crown Prosecutors. [115906]

On 24 November 1999, Official Report, column 105W, I announced that the Code for Crown Prosecutors would be reviewed to take account of the Human Rights Act 1998. The aim of the review is to ensure that the Code for Crown Prosecutors is relevant, clear and accessible, properly considers the rights and interests of victims, and reflects the exercise of the statutory functions of Crown Prosecutors. The review will take into account legislative changes since 1994, particularly the Human Rights Act, changes to the structure of the CPS, and procedural changes to the criminal justice system.The review team has now been established, and will be writing to organisations and individuals with an interest in the Code, asking for comments. The review team also invite views from the general public, who may write to their local Chief Crown Prosecutors, or write to, or e-mail CPS Headquarters. Information on the Code and the review can be found on the CPS website at

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the pay of medical technical staff in the NHS. [112444]

[holding answer 1 March 2000]: We have offered medical technical staff above inflation pay rises not just for one year but for three years. The details of the offer are as follows:

For year 1 (1999–2000) an increase of 3 per cent. or £250, whichever is the higher;

For year 2 (2000–01) an increase of 3.25 per cent. or £300 whichever is the higher;

For year 3 (2001–02) in the context of agreement on the negotiations on Agenda for Change (including the principle of pay linkage as set out in paragraph 7.4 of the Joint Framework of Principles and Agreed Statement on the Way Forward issued on 8 October 1999) and the joint commitment to lifelong learning, a minimum RPI(X) at December 2000 reported in January 2001, plus 0.5 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have suffered injury as a result of having been injected with myodil. [112478]

It is not possible to estimate the number of people who have suffered injury, such as arachnoiditis, as a result of being injected with Myodil, as no data are held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 7 March 2000, Official Report, column 625W, on indemnity cover for general practitioners, if the criteria for approval of medical liability indemnities under section 9 of the Health Act 1999 will include the maintenance of a solvency margin no lower than that applicable to other injuries under the Insurance Companies Act 1982; and if he will make a statement. [115413]

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 7 March 2000, Official Report, column 625W. Criteria for the approval of professional indemnity cover, including the ability to meet the anticipated levels of claims, are currently the subject of consultation with interested organisations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has for the redevelopment of children's services in north-west London, with specific reference to (a) Northwick Park hospital's new paediatric ambulatory care unit and (b) matched funding from north Thames region for the £2.5 million raised from public subscription. [114570]

The Paediatric Ambulatory Care Unit at Northwick Park was completed and opened some 14 months ago. It was funded through a Children's Appeal which met the majority of the costs with the hospital itself making a smaller contribution from their annual block capital allocation. The foundation stone was laid by the Princess of Wales two weeks before her death and the unit is known as the "Princess Diana Ambulatory Care Unit". This improvement further enhances children's services in north-west London.No funding for the unit was sought from the Regional Capital Programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision his Department has made for research into and treatment of Crohn's disease. [114951]

We fund health and medical research in different ways. The Medical Research Council spent around £0.5 million on Crohn's disease in 1998–99. In addition we are currently commissioning, via the Health Technology Assessment Programme, a research project relevant to Crohn's disease, which will assess the impact of patient-centred disease management of inflammatory bowel disease.Funding for the treatment of specific diseases is not separately identified in Health Authority or Primary Care Group allocations. Those commissioning healthcare will do so on the basis of local needs, in the context of priorities set nationally.The treatment of patients with Crohn's disease is increasingly shared between gastroenterologists and General Practitioners. It may include following a special diet, dietary supplements, drug treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics and immunosuppressive drugs; and, in severe cases, surgery. Chronic inflammatory bowel disease is a risk factor for malignancy, and regular assessment is important.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was (a) the annual cost of and (b) the number of people employed in each NHS regional structure in each of the last three years. [114902]

The information requested is in the tables. The regional offices were organised in April 1999. The cash allocations have been mapped from the old to the new structure. The staffing figures are not available in this format.

Cash allocations
NHS executive regional offices	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000
Eastern	6,716,419	6,910,092	6,992,847
London	9,187,167	9,170,161	9,558,307
North and Western	6,983,894	6,999,392	7,397,361
Northern and Yorkshire	6,814,419	6,906,315	7,279,300
South Eastern	8,416,949	8,442,609	9,205,567
South and West	6,907,419	6,935,717	7,048,229
Trent	6,947,425	6,972,425	7,189,736
West Midlands	6,966,889	7,030,291	7,246,700
Total	58,940,581	59,367,002	61,918,047

Staff numbers
NHS executive regional offices	April 1998	April 1999	January 2000
Anglia and Oxford	111	—	—
Eastern	—	110	94
North Thames	105	—	—
South Thames	114	—	—
London	—	122	130
North and Western	117	116	109
Northern and Yorkshire	109	109	105
South Eastern	—	113	123
South and West	107	112	104
Trent	129	138	116
West Midlands	109	102	109
Total	901	922	890

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were occupied at the Ryhope General Hospital, Sunderland, on the first day of each month since 1 January 1999. [115080]

The information requested is given in the table.

Month	Beds occupied
January 1999	121
February 1999	141
March 1999	133
April 1999	113
May 1999	105
June 1999	114
July 1999	118
August 1999	108
September 1999	110
October 1999	119
November 1999	117
December 1999	109
January 2000	121
February 2000	149

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received about including Speech and Language Therapists within the remit of the Pay Review Body; and if he will make a statement. [115083]

We have received several representations from Trade Union Organisations, hon. Members and individuals about whether other professional groups, including Speech and Language Therapists, should be permitted to come under the remit of the nurses and professions allied to medicine Pay Review Body (NPRB).Our proposals for modernising National Health Service pay which were published in February 1999 in "Agenda for Change", include bringing some smaller groups of highly qualified staff within the scope of the NPRB, without changing its fundamentally professional character.Initial discussions with NHS trade unions on pay modernisation resulted in a joint Framework of Principles and Agreed Statement on the Way forward which was published on 8 October 1999. Paragraph 7.2 of the Joint Framework sets out as a starting point for more detailed discussions with trade unions the qualifying criteria for groups to come within the scope of the NPRB.The criteria are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list by region (a) the number of residential properties owned by health authorities and NHS trusts that were empty on 1 April 1999, (b) the number of such properties empty for one year or more

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mixed-sex wards exist in the North and Yorkshire region; where they are; and when they are due to be phased out. [115482]

Health authorities are monitored centrally on their commitment to eliminate mixed-sex hospital accommodation. Data from the latest monitoring exercise were published by the National Health Service Executive in "Health Authority Target Dates for meeting the Objectives to Eliminate Mixed Sex Hospital Accommodation: Position at 30 September 1998", copies of which are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each year since 1994 the number of (a) nurses, (b) doctors, (c) consultants, (d) midwives and (e) health visitors employed by the North Staffordshire Hospital Trust; and if he will make a statement. [115627]

The table illustrates that the number of nursing and midwifery staff employed by the North Staffordshire Hospital National Health Service Trust declined between the years 1994 and 1997. However, nursing staff numbers have increased in 1998 and the numbers of hospital medical doctors employed within the Trust steadily increased since 1994, demonstrating our commitment to increase the number of doctors and nurses working within the NHS. It should be noted that inflated figures for nursing staff in 1994 are not comparable with later years, due to a new classification system introduced in 1995.and

Information as of 1 April 1999 is not available centrally since the last survey was carried out as at September 1998. This showed that out of a total of 2,336 houses, and 5,388 flats owned by National Health Service trusts, 290 houses and 605 flats were vacant. This represented an average of 11.6 per cent. vacant of the total (approximately 2 each per NHS trust).Information is not available on the number of properties empty for one year or more.The regional totals are as follows:

	Houses	Flats	Total vacant
Anglia and Oxford	282	541	128
Northern and Yorkshire	301	744	108
South and West	239	677	98
North Thames	332	712	135
North West	272	868	97
South Thames	340	526	74
West Midlands	183	889	87
Trent	331	643	170

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he intends to review the Domiciliary Oxygen Service in England following the Royal College of Physicians' guidance, "Domiciliary Oxygen Therapy Services". [116304]

Following the publication of the Royal College of Physicians' guidance "Domiciliary oxygen therapy services", we will be reviewing a number of aspects of the Domiciliary Oxygen Service under the following terms of reference.To review the scope and organisation of the Domiciliary Oxygen Service in England in the light of the 1999 guidance of the Royal College of Physicians, including:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total NHS spending per head of population (a) nationally and (b) in Hampshire, including the unitary authorities of Southampton and Portsmouth and (c) in each health authority in Hampshire, including the unitary authorities of Southampton and Portsmouth, in each year since 1979 for which figures are available. [116020]

Health authorities have existed in their current form since 1 April 1996.The table shows spending levels on health per weighted head of population for Hampshire health authorities.Expenditure figures are from health authority audited accounts and are not total National Health Service funding. For 1997–98 and 1998–99 the Prescription Pricing Authority rather than individual health authorities have accounted for the majority of drugs expenditure. Health authorities do not account for the majority of General Dental Service expenditure.Expenditure estimates for 1999–2000 are not available.

Expenditure per weighted head of population
£
Health authority	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99
North and Mid Hampshire	538.86	518.81	541.54
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire	561.65	521.45	586.91
Southampton and South West Hampshire	574.88	577.56	621.60
England total	625.56	607.85	659.76

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what target times his Department set for appeal of new (a) products and (b) pharmaceuticals to be available on NHS prescription. [R] [115959]

Drugs, including pharmaceuticals, may be prescribed on the National Health Service by general practitioners unless and until they are listed in Schedule 10 to the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992 (the "blacklist"). Appliances must be listed in Part IX of the Drug Tariff in order to be prescribed on the NHS by GPs. Representations against proposals to list drugs in Schedule 10, or against the rejection of an application for listing of an appliance in Part IX, may be made but no timescale for the consideration of such representations has been set and will vary depending on the complexity and difficulty of the issues in question.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what amount of public funds was spent (a) on fees and (b) otherwise in respect of the private finance initiative proposals for the Royal Berkshire and Battle hospitals. [106698]

The Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals Trust has been involved in three private finance initiative schemes to date:

Consolidation Project: a new build consolidating services on the Royal Berkshire Hospital site;

Haemodialysis Unit: moving renal services from Dellwood Hospital to the Royal Berks site; and

Information Management and Technology (IM and T) Project: a partnership to develop various interlinked IM and T systems.

The amount of public funds spent on fees and other PFI related costs to date are set out in the table.

Public expenditure on each project to March 2000
£000
To March 2000	Consolidation	Haemodialysis	IM and T
Fees
Legal Advice	26	30	35
Financial Advice	10	19	48
Other Advice	1517	12	13
Sub-total Fees	553	61	96
Other Costs
PFI Partner Exit Costs	2304	—	—
Internal Project Costs3	284	20	—
Associated Estate Works	—	84	—
Sub-total Other Costs	588	104	0
Total	1,141	165	96
1 A significant proportion of the cost for 'Other Advice' arose from seeking planning permissions for the project, some benefits from which have been passed on to the publicly funded project.
2 The trust board agreed to pay Proteam 2 (the private sector partner) this amount under an abortive cost agreement.
3 'Internal Project Costs' covers the additional cost of project management and staff working on the project. The IM and T project is very new and material internal project costs to date are very low. The estimate is that final fees will be £238,000 and internal project costs £265,000, including the figures in the table.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Agriculture Council held in Brussels on 20 and 21 March; and if he will make a statement. [115958]

I represented the UK at the EU Agriculture Council meeting in Brussels on 20 March 2000. Mr. Ross Finnie, Minister for Rural Affairs at the Scottish Executive, and Ms Christine Gwyther, Secretary for Agriculture and the Rural Economy at the National Assembly for Wales, were also present.The Council had an exchange of views on the Commission White Paper on food safety, focusing particularly on the case for horizontal legislation providing for controls across the whole food chain, the need for transparency in the operation of controls, and procedures for the effective handling of the results of inspection visits. Similar debates on the Commission's White Paper are being held in other instances of the Council in order to inform the Commission's eventual report to Heads of Government.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the agricultural shows that he and each of the ministers in his Department have accepted invitations to attend in 2000. [114757]

[holding answer 15 March 2000]: Ministers have received a number of invitations to attend agricultural shows in 2000. These are currently being considered.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the agricultural shows that he and each of the ministers in his Department attended in 1999 and the dates of each such visit. [114756]

[holding answer 15 March 2000]: The table details the agricultural shows attended by Ministers during 1999.

Show	Date	Minister
MUCK 99 Agricultural Show	28 April 1999	Elliot Morley
Devon County Show	21 May 1999	Lord Donoughue
Royal Bath and West Show	24 May 1999	Nick Brown
Beef 99 Show	3 June 1999	Nick Brown
Staffordshire County Show	3 June 1999	Jeff Rooker
East of England Show	18 June 1999	Nick Brown
Three Counties Show	19 June 1999	Jeff Rooker
Lincolnshire Agricultural Show	23 June 1999	Elliot Morley
Highland Show	25 June 1999	Nick Brown
Royal Show	5 July 1999	Nick Brown
Royal Show	6 July 1999	Lord Donoughue
Kent County Show	15 July 1999	Elliot Morley
Welsh Show	20 July 1999	Nick Brown
Ryedale Agricultural Show	27 July 1999	Elliot Morley
New Forest Show	28 July 1999	Elliot Morley

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the (a) Civil Service grade and (b) areas of responsibility of each of the staff employed in the MAFF Press Office. [114754]

[holding answer 15 March 2000]: The MAFF Press Office is headed by the Chief Press Officer (Grade 7). The staff reporting to him and their areas of responsibility are as follows:

• Senior Information Officer
• Information Officer
• Animal welfare, fisheries, countryside matters, flood and coastal defence.
• Senior Information Officer
• Information Officer
• Assistant Information Officer
• Food safety, food standards, meat hygiene, animal health (including BSE), pesticide safety, veterinary medicines, plant health and research, quarantine.
• Senior Information Officer
• Information Officer
• Assistant Information Officer
• Europe, CAP, regions, food and drink industry, marketing and competition, export promotion, administration, horticulture, pigs and poultry.

There are five administrative support staff, one Executive Officer, two part-time Administrative Officers, one Administrative Assistant and one Personal Secretary.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the budget for running the MAFF Press Office in each of the last 10 financial years. [114755]

[holding answer 15 March 2000]: Pay and non-pay running costs, attributable to the MAFF Press Office, for each of the last 10 financial years are as follows:

Year	£
1999–2000	1382,000
1998–99	556,000
1997–98	460,000
1996–97	442,000
1995–96	417,000
1994–95	539,000
1993–94	532,000
1992–93	490,000
1991–92	519,000
1990–91	2n/a
1 Expenditure up to the end of January 2000
2 Comparable figures are not available for 1990–91

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on progress made in the case of the European Union v. Government of France relating to the ban on UK beef. [113399]

[holding answer 16 March 2000]: On 4 January the European Commission brought before the European Court of Justice its infringement action against the French Republic over France's failure to lift its import ban on British beef. Notification of these proceedings (Case C-1/00) was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 4 March. The French Government has now to prepare its defence.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many acres of farmland are owned by local authorities. [113880]

[holding answer 10 March 2000]: Information available relates to land let by English local authorities as statutory smallholdings. The most recent figures, covering the period 1 April 1996–31 March 1997, were published in the "Forty-seventh Annual Report to Parliament on Smallholdings in England". A total area of 119,977 hectares, equivalent to 296,463 acres, was held for smallholdings purposes.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, (1) pursuant to his answer of 28 February 2000, Official Report, column 16W, concerning the number of hon. Members he has met or refused to meet to discuss farming issues, for what reasons he did not provide the numbers requested; [114536](2) pursuant to his answer of 28 February 2000,

[holding answer 14 March 2000]: I meet individual hon. Members and representatives of farming and other organisations frequently to discuss farming issues in both ministerial and party political contexts. The detailed information requested is not held centrally.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other EC fishing nations regarding sport angling and offshore trawling for bass in the English Channel. [115738]

[holding answer 22 March 2000]: My fisheries science advisers at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science are working with their opposite numbers in IFREMER, the French Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea, on studies on the movement of sea bass offshore. If this work indicates that there are threats to the long-term sustainability of the bass stock, I shall seek to persuade the other countries with an interest in the bass fishery and the European Commission of the need to act to protect the stock.Promotion of sport angling rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much Government funding is available to match local authority funding in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall for flood defences; how much has been available in each of the last three years; and how much has been taken up by each local authority in Devon. [115772]

Government funding is provided by way of Revenue Support Grant and MAFF grants on capital works.The flood defence Standing Spending Assessments (for Revenue Support Grant) reflect a range of flood defence costs falling on different classes of local authority, ie levies paid to the Environment Agency, special levies to internal drainage boards and local authorities own expenditure as a flood defence operating authority.

£000
Local authority1	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000
Cornwall CC	2,275	2,252	2,228	2,278
Devon CC 2	4,973	4,955	3,388	3,447
Plymouth	—	—	953	960
Torbay	—	—	577	586
Dorset CC 3	2,711	1,672	1,706	1,773
Somerset CC	3,200	3,563	3,617	3,646
Bath and North East Somerset	412	388	602	415
North Somerset	1,414	1,547	1,595	1,627
1 Some of the above local authorities pay levies to Flood Defence Committees other than Somerset and South West.
2 Devon's SSA was reduced following creation of Plymouth and Torbay Unitary Authorities in 1998–99.
3 Dorset's SSA was reduced following creation of Bournemouth and Poole Unitary Authorities in 1997–98.

MAFF grant is allocated to the Environment Agency by means of Grant Earnings Ceilings (GECs), which represent the total of approved capital expenditure in respect of which grant can be claimed, and not in terms of the grant available. The amount of grant paid is dependent on the mix of

To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what matters were discussed at the meeting

It is not the practice of the Commission to report on its deliberative sessions which are held in private, but the Commission is considering ways of improving the distribution of information about relevant decisions to Members.The Commission reports on all matters that come before it in its Annual Report, published during July. The hon. Member may wish to consult the last Annual Report, the Twenty First, for 1998–99 (HC721) for details of the Commission activities during that financial year.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what ways the fashion modelling industry will benefit from the changes proposed under IR35. [115640]

[holding answer 22 March 2000]: All sectors of industry will benefit from the changes we propose. IR35 will ensure that measures designed to support small businesses are properly targeted, and do not go to people who are really the same as employees.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact of IR35 proposals on the avoidance of tax and national insurance payments in the fashion modelling industry. [115641]

[holding answer 22 March 2000]: The legislation will stop the use of personal service companies and similar intermediaries to avoid PAYE tax and National Insurance Contributions in all industries.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what action he is taking to slow the rise in house prices; and if he will make a statement; [115840](2) what assessment he has made of the impact on the economy of the recent rise in house prices; and if he will make a statement. [115841]

I refer my hon. Friend to Box B4 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 2000", published on Tuesday 21 March.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what, for each of the three most recent financial years, was the average wage of male workers in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) Wales. [115366]

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

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of administering the taxing of aviation fuel. [15301]

No such estimate has been made.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many persons were employed in the manufacturing sector in Wales in each of the years to 31 December 1999, 1998 and 1997, respectively. [115586]

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

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the income distribution is in deciles of (a) lone mothers and (b) women in two-parent families who are in work when they give birth and who are eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay. [114791]

I have been asked to reply.The information is not available in the format requested as past eligibility to Statutory Maternity Pay is not collected in the sample survey used to derive income data. Further, the sample is not large enough to identify sufficient numbers of women in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay at the time of the interview for an analysis by decile.Such information that is available is in the table.

Proportions of women in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay in each half of the equivalised household income distribution , 1996–97 and 1997–98 combined (including the self-employed)
Percentage
Proporation of women in receipt of SMP	Bottom half of income distribution	Top half of income distribution
Before Housing Costs	30	70
After Housing Costs	36	64

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what recent representations he has received on the levels of standard spending assessments for education. [114612]

My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations on the area cost adjustment element of the standard spending assessment. We have already acknowledged that there are valid objections to the current SSA formula. The Government, in partnership with local government, have set up a review to see whether there is a better way of determining the distribution of funds which is simpler, more stable, more robust and fairer than the present arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what discussions his Department plans to hold with the DTI on the recommendation in the second report of the Low Pay Commission that Departments should work together to produce clear guidance on the worker status of individuals undertaking therapeutic activity. [114613]

The Government support the recommendation made by the Commission and welcome their endorsement of the view that disabled people should benefit fully from the National Minimum Wage. As the Commission recognises, the worker status of those undertaking therapeutic activities is a complex issue. We are already working with DSS and DTI, and providers and users of therapeutic activities, on revised guidance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what support has been given to teachers to ensure that they are able to utilise information and communications technology to raise standards. [114614]

The New Opportunities Fund is making available £230 million to support the training of serving teachers and school library staff in the maintained sector in the effective use of information and communication technology (ICT). The training is available to all teachers in maintained schools and is specifically targeted at using ICT in the classroom to support the National Curriculum. The Government are supporting this programme by providing £20 million in 2000–01 to help teachers purchase their own computers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many schools are currently on special measures. [114615]

The number of schools in special measures rose to 515 at the end of the academic year 1997–98 which was the year in which the first round of inspections was completed. Since then the number of schools in special measures has fallen to 424 at the end of the autumn term 1999.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the funding of further education. [114616]