To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what checks are applied to confirm the identities of new employees in his Department and its agencies. [117705]

This Department undertakes rigorous recruitment checks on all staff prior to employment. The checks undertaken confirm not only identity, but character, nationality, right to work and employment suitability. Work is currently ongoing to identify, as part of the recruitment checking process, any possible conflicts of interest with new recruits.To confirm identify, the checks follow the Cabinet Office guidance. The documentation required to do this vary according to nationality.British Nationals require a full 10 year passport, or combination of two other identification documents.EC nationals require either a full EC passport or an identity card issued by the EC country.Commonwealth citizens require either a full passport issued by the country concerned or a document issued by the Home Office establishing the individual's immigration status in the UK.Steps are taken to examine the documentation to verify its authenticity.Assurance mechanisms for pre-appointment checks are built into our recruitment process. These include management checks to ensure they are being carried out and our internal audit team regularly carry out their own checks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if, he intends under the draft stakeholder pension regulations, the separate arrangement to charge for individual detached advice to be regarded as a pension contract; and if he will make a statement. [117600]

No. It is important that everyone considering a stakeholder pension understands and is confident that the only charge to be taken out of their pension fund will be within the 1 per cent. annual management charge. Schemes may offer financial advice within the 1 per cent. charge if they wish. The draft stakeholder pension regulations are designed to ensure that any contract for the provision of financial advice (and any other services apart from the management of the scheme and its funds) above the 1 per cent. limit must be optional and separate from the pension contract.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many single mothers with dependent children are making pension contributions through (a) National Insurance, (b) SERPS and (c) private pension schemes; how many are making no such contributions; and if he will estimate his Department's unfunded liability, assuming present levels of pension payments, in (i) 2020, (ii) 2040 and (iii) 2060. [117530]

There are 2.2 million single mothers with dependent children making pension contributions through National Insurance. Of these 1.3 million (60 per cent. of those paying National Insurance) have private pension cover, while 0.9 million (the remaining 40 per cent. of those paying National Insurance) are contributing to SERPS. Around three million single mothers were making no pension contributions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners have savings (i) below £3,000, (ii) between £3,000 and £6,000, (iii) below £6,000, (iv) between £6,000 and £12,000 and (v) between £12,000 and £47,100. [117703]

The information is in the table.

Number of all pensioner units who have savings
Thousand
Categories	Number
Below £3,000	3,500
Between £3,000 and £6,000	670
Below £6,000	4,170
Between £6,000 and £12,000	700
Between £12,000 and £47,100	1,200

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much has been spent on (a) the upkeep and (b) the purchase of works of art in his Department for each financial year since 1992. [117470]

I refer the hon. Member to the written answer my hon. Friend the Minister for the Arts gave him on 4 April 2000, Official Report, columns 392-93W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the three months' extension of the time limit for claiming Income Support will be allowed in the case where a pensioner's failure to claim earlier can be ascribed to the delay in launching the Government's take-up campaign. [117591]

We have no plans to change the current backdating rules.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the accuracy of the annual industrial injuries disablement benefit assessment data for the 1998–99 financial year. [118548]

A new model for forecasting caseload and expenditure on Industrial Injuries Benefits has been developed. A comparison of encashment data with new expenditure forecasts for 1998–99 has identified an undercounting of around 6 per cent. in the number of assessments.Future assessment forecasts have assumed that this 6 per cent. undercounting is constant over the forecast period.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he is taking in the short term to tackle the problems faced by pensioners whose incomes are marginally above the Minimum Income Guarantee. [116628]

We have taken action over a wide front to help all of today's pensioners. Initiatives include Winter Fuel Payments, free eye tests to the over 60s and free TV licences for the over 75s from autumn next year. Also from April 2001, capital limits in the Minimum Income Guarantee for those over 60 will be increased from £6,000 to £12,000. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has also announced a review

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the categories of pensioner who will receive letters as part of his Minimum Income Guarantee take-up campaign. [117873]

As part of the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) take-up campaign we will be writing to around two million pensioners whom our records suggest are most likely to have underlying entitlement. This targeted group will be pensioners who our pension records suggest have incomes below the MIG level. However, we do not know how many of these pensioners will have capital or other income that could affect their entitlement to benefit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the proportion of (a) new recipients and (b) existing recipients of each main social security benefit who receive payment by automated credit transfer. [117874]

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

Percentage
Benefit type	New customers receipt of ACT	Existing customers in receipt of ACT
Child Benefit	54	38
Disability Living Allowance	33	36
Industrial Injuries and Death Benefit1	n/a	17
Income Support	10	13
Invalid Care Allowance2	n/a	9
Incapacity Benefit	41	27
Retirement Pension and Widows Pension	50	44
War Pensions	56	53
n/a = not available
1 Introduced April 1996
2 Introduced June 1997

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the loans offered by his Department for the BAe project at Broughton in Flintshire was based on an assumption that the National Assembly for Wales will make a parallel grant; and if he will make a statement. [117681]

The launch investment announced on 13 March secured substantial UK involvement in the development of the Airbus A3XX aircraft. No assumption was made by my Department about BAe Systems's

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how often he met the Minister for Science between 1 October 1999 and 19 January 2000 to discuss the synchrotron. [117926]

Between 1 October 1999 and 19 January 2000 I met my noble Friend the Minister for Science on many occasions to discuss a wide range of topics. Since the New Synchrotron represents the largest single investment in science in the UK for more than a decade it was often included in the topics under discussion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 3 April 2000, Official Report, column 277W, on the diamond synchrotron, who represented the French Government in the private discussions in October 1999 and who represented the UK. [117979]

On 14 October 1999 my noble Friend the Minister for Science had private discussions with the French Minister for Research and Education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the Government Ministers who have visited Sellafield since 1 May 1997. [118013]

My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment visited Sellafield on 3 September 1997 and my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle), the then Minister for Energy, visited Sellafield on 15 February 1999.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the provision of export guarantees for Romania. [118482]

I have instructed the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) to make cover available to Mivan Ltd. and Kier International who have won a contract to construct low cost housing and provide water services to villages in Romania. The export credit guarantees will amount to $120 million. In addition, a further $47 million is being provided in support of the project by commercial banks not covered by ECGD. This project will bring benefits to many ordinary Romanians and provide an important export order for Northern Ireland where Mivan is based.ECGD has now exhausted cover capacity under its exposure ceiling for Romania. They will review cover policy in the light of the progress Romania makes in negotiating and implementing its IMF backed economic programme and its external debt servicing capability.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to make a decision

The UK Government are committed to dealing with the remaining liabilities at Dounreay safely, securely and in a way that represents value for money to the taxpayer. In order to achieve the long-term restoration of the site, a solution needs to be found to deal with the remaining fuels, including PFR fuels.Following a comprehensive review of options for managing Dounreay PFR fuels, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has identified three options:

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Minister in his Department has responsibility for regulatory reform; and if he will make a statement. [117427]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr. Quinn) by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 4 April 2000, Official Report, column 385W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he proposes to promote enterprise within disadvantaged areas in the West Midlands region affected by BMW's decisions on Longbridge. [116609]

I announced the creation of the Rover Task Force on the day after BMW's news that it is to sell the Longbridge plant.The Task Force is making good progress and is to produce a report within the next four weeks which looks at the impact of BMW's decision and also makes

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress has been made towards the achievement of Commonwealth Heads of Government target relating to the proportion of women in decision-making roles in political, public and private sectors by 2005. [114778]

[holding answer 16 March 2000]: At their 1996 meeting, Commonwealth Ministers of Women's Affairs recommended that member countries achieve a target of no less than 30 per cent. of women in the political, public and private sectors by 2005 and those countries already close to achieving this target should aim for gender parity.It is up to individual countries to use ways most appropriate to their national circumstances to achieve these targets and there are no figures available regarding the public and private sector.The Commonwealth Secretariat undertook a number of initiatives to assist governments in their efforts to increase women's participation in political decision-making, including:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list by spending initiative for each local education authority in Hampshire (a) the number and value of funding bids submitted to his Department and (b) the number and value of grants made by his Department from (i) the Standards Fund, (ii) Class Size Reduction funds and (iii) other sources of direct funding for schools since May 1997. [115966]

[holding answer 23 March 2000]: Tables are today being placed in the Library showing the figures requested for each financial year since May 1997 for Hampshire county council, Portsmouth city council and Southampton county council. For the Standards Fund only, the number and value of the grants are shown in the tables. The number and value of bids under the Standards

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the impact of increases in the Standards Fund on the equitable distribution of funding for schools in addition to the funding of schools via the standard spending assessment for education. [117133]

None. The Standards Fund enables the targeting of funds on specific programmes, areas or schools, to support the Government's drive to raise standards. Local education authorities are required to devolve around 75 per cent. of the Standards Fund to schools. In addition, all maintained schools will receive a share of the additional funding through the £50 million School Standards Grant and the £290 million School Budget Support Grant. Both of these special grants are fully funded by the Government and are only for schools.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people have been employed to date by local councils through the New Deal initiatives for (a) young people, (b) people aged over 50 years, (c) disabled people and (d) lone parents. [117081]

We do not hold figures which show separately how many people from the New Deal have been employed by local councils.However, independent research by the Local Government National Training Organisation has shown that local councils are fully involved in all aspects of New Deal. This research suggests that over 3,500 young people have taken part on New Deal Options including over 900 on the Employer Option. In addition there is evidence to show that local council are employing people under the New Deals for the Disabled, for Lone Parents and for 50+. We continue to work closely with Local Authority Associations and the New Deal Task Force to encourage local council take up of New Deal. The Local Authority Associations themselves are actively promoting the take up of New Deal among their members.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate his Department has made of the increased demand for school places in the south-east that will come about as a result of the building of an additional 215,000 dwellings in the south-east by 2005. [117792]

It is for local education authorities to plan and keep under review the supply of school places in the light of proposed housing development, so as to ensure that there is sufficient provision to meet demand. The recent announcement of Regional Planning Guidance for the south-east will assist local education authorities in

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate his Department has made of the costs to London boroughs of providing education for the children of asylum seekers in 1999–2000. [117930]

It is not possible to estimate the total costs of this provision in London boroughs in 1999–2000, as the information is not recorded centrally. However, London boroughs receive funding for the cost of providing education for the children of asylum seekers in the same way as for all other children on the school roll. Children of asylum seekers can also benefit from assistance with the acquisition of language skills through the Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Grant.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make provision for free school meals for children whose parents receive Working Families Tax Credit. [117852]

We have no current plans to extend eligibility for free school meals (which would require primary legislation), but we are working closely with the Child Poverty Action Group on ways of increasing take-up by entitled pupils.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of school pupils took school meals in (a) 1979, (b) 1987, (c) 1997 and (d) 1999. [117825]

The information is not available in the form requested. The latest available information is shown in the table.Prior to 1989, data on school meals were not collected by the Department.

School meal arrangements in maintained Nursery, Primary and Secondary schools and all special schools—England
Percentage
Position as at January of each year	Pupils who bought a school meal	Pupils who received a free school meal	All pupils who took a school meal
19991	3—	14.1	4—
19971	26.8	15.7	42.5
19892	31.9	11.2	43.1
1 Day pupils only
2 Includes boarders
3 Data not available
4 Not applicable

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on admissions policy at Mill Hill County High School, Mill Hill. [117855]

Following a judicial review against an Adjudicator determination that partial selection at Mill Hill County High School should be reduced, the court made an order on 27 March for a second Adjudicator to make a fresh determination. Mill Hill's admission arrangements for 2000–01 are dependent upon the new determination which will be notified to all parties and published in a local newspaper in the usual way.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement regarding the future of grammar schools in the borough of Trafford. [117860]

The Government have always been clear that we do not wish to see the 11–plus extended. However, we believe it is for parents to decide whether or not they want a vote, whether or not to keep the 11–plus. The decision is and remains one for parents in Trafford as anywhere else.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 30 March 2000, Official Report, column 205W, what definition he uses for training; what amounts will be spent on training in each financial year from 1996–97 to 2001–02; from which budget these are paid; and if he will make a statement. [117829]

Expenditure on training includes expenditure on work-based training for young people, the careers service, adult information and guidance, Career Development Loans and other related programmes. These are all funded from within the DfEE's Departmental Expenditure Limit. This table shows spending on training in England in cash terms for the years requested.

	£million
1996–97	972
1997–98	975
1998–99	963
1999–2000	1,178
2000–01	1,281
2001–02	1,377

The figures do not include education and training through the New Deal for Young People helping those who enter the Full Time Education and Training option, which we estimate is more than £50 million a year. There is also additional resource being spent on education through the Lottery New Opportunities Fund, although this does not count as Government spending.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to establish a Learning and Skills Council for Wales with similar powers to the Learning and Skills Council for England; and if he will make a statement. [115590]

:I have been asked to reply.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to his oral answer of 27 March 2000, Official Report, columns 10-11, on a new national athletics stadium, for what reasons he informed Radio 5 Live on 2 March that he took the decision to earmark at least £60 million specifically for athletics and the future of athletics. [117711]

[holding answer 4 April 2000]: No money has been committed. We have established the principle with Sport England that, subject to the details being worked out and a viable application coming forward, the £20 million coming back from the Football Association and up to £40 million which will not now he required for the conversion of Wembley may be available to fund world-class athletics facilities.In addition, athletics receives funding from the World Class Performance Programme, which totalled £9.2 million up to September 1999, and Exchequer funding totalling over £460,000 for the last calendar year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will establish a lottery-supported fund available to organisations promoting sporting events of international status in the United Kingdom which could share the risks associated with such projects with this fund. [117633]

This Government recognised the importance of staging major international sporting events in this country in our manifesto for the 1997 general election. UK Sport launched its Major Events Strategy in February 1999, with Lottery funding in place, supporting events through UK Sport's World Class Events Programme. This is now providing a coherent framework of support and experience for organisations bidding for and staging events throughout the UK. One of the recent fruits of this coherent approach has been UK Athletics' successful bids for the 2003 World Indoor Championships and the 2005 World Athletics Championships.

:To ask the secretary of state for scotland what was the amount of non-domestic rates

The amounts of non-domestic rates collected from and distributed to Scottish local authorities for years 1996–97 to 1998–99 are shown in the table.

Non-domestic rates collected by and distributed to authorities: 1996–98 to 1998–99
	Contributable	Distributable
1996–97 NDRI
Aberdeen City	86,909,230	56,050,000
Aberdeenshire	44,835,817	57,834,000
Angus	17,881,385	28,589,000
Argyll and Bute	24,905,858	23,409,000
Clackmannanshire	10,409,625	12,497,000
Dumfries and Galloway	27,831,687	37,812,000
Dundee City	39,584,602	38,695,000
East Ayrshire	16,508,548	31,608,000
East Dunbartonshire	14,695,819	28,308,000
East Lothian	24,079,491	22,206,000
East Renfrewshire	9,699,357	22,314,000
Edinburgh, City of	169,526,631	113,487,000
Eilean Siar	4,482,845	7,498,000
Falkirk	45,196,145	36,464,000
Fife	99,952,162	90,079,000
Glasgow City	219,409,650	159,507,000
Highland	51,131,606	53,085,000
Inverclyde	14,111,817	22,866,000
Midlothian	11,729,201	20,469,000
Moray	18,100,377	22,347,000
North Ayrshire	34,462,286	35,584,000
North Lanarkshire	63,138,676	83,596,000
Orkney	5,962,906	5,068,000
Perth and Kinross	31,684,643	33,770,000
Renfrewshire	43,513,331	45,318,000
Scottish Borders	16,299,596	27,042,000
Shetland	15,915,411	5,853,000
South Ayrshire	25,664,737	29,257,000
South Lanarkshire	63,847,135	78,671,000
Stirling	23,350,956	20,983,000
West Dunbartonshire	20,572,119	24,857,000
West Lothian	36,658,220	37,912,000
Scotland	1,332,051,869	1,313,035,000
1997–98 NDRI
Aberdeen City	92,077,265	56,571,000
Aberdeenshire	45,794,645	58,484,000
Angus	17,667,960	28,856,000
Argyll and Bute	23,925,238	23,574,000
Clackmannanshire	10,604,813	12,604,000
Dumfries and Galloway	31,037,389	38,184,000
Dundee City	39,377,604	38,987,000
East Ayrshire	20,664,896	31,784,000
East Dunbartonshire	14,936,428	28,691,000
East Lothian	24,224,075	22,624,000
East Renfrewshire	8,102,884	22,758,000
Edinburgh, City of	179,348,233	115,545,000
Eilean Siar	4,636,830	7,497,000
Falkirk	41,533,242	36,867,000
Fife	93,983,725	90,774,000
Glasgow City	203,939,379	159,662,000
Highland	50,237,633	53,777,000
Inverclyde	15,684,943	22,897,000
Midlothian	11,998,115	20,623,000
Moray	19,300,029	22,500,000
North Ayrshire	35,580,437	36,020,000
North Lanarkshire	56,933,088	84,355,000
Orkney	5,639,008	5,130,000
Perth and Kinross	32,776,628	34,290,000
Renfrewshire	44,499,634	46,042,00
Scottish Borders	17,340,330	27,418,000
Shetland	14,235,802	5,961,000

Non-domestic rates collected by and distributed to authorities: 1996–98 to 1998–99
	Contributable	Distributable
South Ayrshire	26,253,041	29,579,000
South Lanarkshire	57,732,714	79,367,000
Stirling	23,435,752	21,242,000
West Dunbartonshire	22,853,790	24,859,000
West Lothian	40,843,193	38,607,000
Scotland	1,327,178,743	1,326,129,000
1998–99 NDRI
Aberdeen City	101,318,328	59,112,000
Aberdeenshire	49,466,288	61,879,000
Angus	19,568,920	30,141,000
Argyll and Bute	28,299,338	24,716,000
Clackmannanshire	10,495,047	13,280,000
Dumfries and Galloway	31,789,211	40,159,000
Dundee City	42,071,071	40,880,000
East Ayrshire	21,876,160	33,289,000
East Dunbartonshire	14,797,539	30,133,000
East Lothian	24,911,565	23,981,000
East Renfrewshire	10,126,348	23,965,000
Edinburgh, City of	186,151,389	122,123,000
Eilean Siar	4,632,944	7,858,000
Falkirk	44,466,106	38,918,000
Fife	101,297,014	95,038,000
Glasgow City	231,326,059	167,718,000
Highland	53,075,991	56,783,000
Inverclyde1	16,455,511	23,698,000
Midlothian	12,944,938	21,777,000
Moray	19,672,200	23,538,000
North Ayrshire	36,854,012	37,961,000
North Lanarkshire1	68,164,545	88,682,000
Orkney	6,209,691	5,387,000
Perth and Kinross	32,924,976	36,070,000
Renfrewshire1	46,023,557	48,580,000
Scottish Borders	18,548,281	28,868,000
Shetland	12,351,868	6,263,000
South Ayrshire	28,296,107	31,189,000
South Lanarkshire	69,496,242	83,651,000
Stirling	26,955,963	22,515,000
West Dunbartonshire1	22,396,416	26,054,000
West Lothian	44,096,478	41,022,000
Scotland1	1,437,110,103	1,395,228,000
1 1998–99 audited contributable amount not yet available—based on most recent estimate received from council.

Collection and distribution of non-domestic rates in Scotland became a devolved matter from 1 July 1999.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the consultation exercises so far undertaken to evaluate the environmental impact of the proposed MOX Plant (SMP) at BNFL Sellafield. [114796]

In November 1996 BNFL sought approval from the Environment Agency to bring the Sellafield MOX plant into operation. The Environment Agency consulted on issues associated with the justification of the MOX plant, including its environmental impact, between February and April 1997.Respondents to this consultation raised a number of environmental issues and, in addition, some expressed concern about the lack of information provided by BNFL

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when his Department and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food expect to publish the results of their last round of consultations on the operation by BNFL of its MOX plant (SMP) at Sellafield. [114816]

[holding answer 20 March 2000]: Ministers will announce their decisions only when they have fully considered all responses to the consultation exercise and the implications of all recent evidence, including the data falsification incident at the Sellafield MOX Demonstration Facility.Ministers will announce their decisions as soon as they are made. At the same time my Department will publish a decision document, setting out the reasons for their decisions in full.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what factors are currently preventing BNFL from operating commercially the Sellafield MOX plant (SMP). [114817]

[holding answer 20 March 2000]: The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food are still considering whether to intervene in the Environment Agency's draft decisions on the Sellafield MOX plant. They will make a decision only when they have examined all the evidence before them, including the responses to the consultation exercise held by Ministers last year and the implications of the recent data falsification incident at the Sellafield MOX Demonstration Facility.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what conclusions were reached in the PA Consultancy Group report on the BNFL proposal to operate the MOX plant (SMP) at Sellafield. [114818]

[holding answer 20 March 2000]: The report by PA Consulting Group on the economic case for the Sellafield MOX plant formed part of the consultation package on which comments were invited, copies of which were placed in the House of Commons Library on 11 June 1999.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 16 March 2000,Official Report, columns 322-23W, relating to the public-private partnership contracts for the London Underground, what arrangements were made for potential contractors or consortia of contractors not specifically asked to consider submitting a bid for the work to ascertain the details of the work to be bid for; how potential contractors in other European Union countries were able to ascertain the work to be bid for; if the arrangements complied with European Union requirements; and if he will make a statement. [116686]

The invitation to pre-qualify for the London Underground service contracts was published in the usual way, in the Official Journal of the Economic Communities (OJEC References 1999/S 118-87811EN and 1999/S 25408995). The invitation was open to all potential contractors and full details were supplied to those who responded to the OJEC notice and executed a confidentiality and tender process agreement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the total sum expended by London Underground Ltd. on the recent re-conditioning of Piccadilly line trains; what the further sum of £500 million for Piccadilly line trains referred to in his answer of 2 March 2000, Official Report, columns 331-32W relates to; what the estimated life of the proposed and current Piccadilly line stock is; and if he will make a statement. [117268]

London Underground are currently spending £136 million on re-conditioning the Piccadilly line rolling stock. They estimate that this will extend the effective working life of the rolling stock to 2014.The £500 million referred to in the question was taken from a briefing document published by London Underground when the Public Private Partnership competition was launched in June 1999. They were LU's estimate of how much they then believed it would cost to implement the performance regime under development of the first 15 years of the PPP. The new rolling stock is anticipated to have a life expectancy of 40-50 years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to introduce performance indicators for road safety in local authority transport plans; and how he intends to evaluate their effectiveness. [116704]

The guidance on full local transport plans (LTPs), published on 27 March, advises local authorities that their LTPs must include a set of indicators and targets for measuring performance against objectives. The guidance describes the indicators for road safety. These will be used for monitoring progress towards the local casualty reduction target. Authorities are required to submit their LTPs for 2001–02 to 2005–06 by 31 July. In subsequent years, authorities will be required to submit annual progress reports. The first progress reports will be submitted in July 2001. Authorities will report on the indicators contained in the plan and progress towards achieving the targets set.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list in rank order the figures for killed and seriously injured road casualties per 100,000 head of population by county and unitary authorities in England for the last five years. [116703]

The rates requested are shown for 1998, the most recent year for which figures are available, based on area boundaries at the beginning of that year. However, there have been a number of changes in administrative areas during the preceding four years. This would make it difficult to produce a comparison over time and such analysis would involve disproportionate time to provide.

Road accident casualties by county and unitary authority (UA): 1998
Rate per 100,000 population
County/unitary authority	Killed or seriously injured
Redcar and Cleveland UA	36
City of Leicester UA	37
Greater Manchester	39
Berkshire	40
Stoke on Trent UA	40
South Gloucestershire UA	40
Tyne and Wear	41
Southampton UA	43
Luton UA	43
Middlesbrough UA	43
City of Bristol UA	44
Poole UA	45
Durham (excludes Darlington)	48
Bath and North East Somerset UA	48
Gloucestershire	48

Road accident casualties by country or unitary authority (UA): 1998
Rate per 100,000 population
County/unitary authority	Killed or seriously injured
City of York UA	50
Swindon UA	51
Staffordshire (excludes Stoke on Trent)	51
North Somerset UA	51
Stockton on Tees UA	52
Milton Keynes UA	54
Merseyside	54
South Yorkshire	56
Devon	56
Oxfordshire	57
Suffolk	58
Bournemouth UA	58
Portsmouth UA	58
Darlington UA	58
Buckinghamshire (excludes Milton Keynes)	59
Hartlepool UA	59
Leicestershire (excludes Rutland and City of Leicester)	60
City of Derby UA	61
Brighton and Hove UA	61
West Yorkshire	64
Kingston upon Hull UA	69
Cornwall	71
Somerset	73
Northumberland	74
Isle of Wight UA	76
Hampshire (excludes Portsmouth and Southampton)	76
West Sussex	78
Kent	78
West Midlands	78
Essex	83
Wiltshire (excludes Swindon)	85
Derbyshire (excludes City of Derby)	86
Bedfordshire (excludes Luton)	86
Surrey	88
Lancashire	88
Dorset (excludes Poole and Bournemouth)	89
North East Lincolnshire UA	92
Norfolk	93
Greater London	96
Hereford and Worcester	97
East Riding of Yorkshire UA	97
Cambridgeshire	97
Shropshire	102
Cheshire	105
Nottinghamshire	108
Cumbria	109
North Lincolnshire UA	110
Hertfordshire	111
Northamptonshire	116
Rutland UA	120
East Sussex (excludes UA)	122
Warwickshire	125
Lincolnshire	126
North Yorkshire (excludes City of York)	165

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals he has to introduce a licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation; and if he will make a statement. [117586]

We issued a consultation paper last year setting out detailed proposals. Key conclusions and a summary of responses will be published in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the avenues open to members of the public, whose accommodation has no rateable value and who therefore cannot have a water meter installed, when they cannot reach agreement with a water company on the level of their bill. [117314]

Any customer may have a water meter fitted for their home free from 1 April, unless this is impracticable or excessively costly, in which case the company should offer another alternative basis of charging. The answer that I gave to my hon. Friend's question on 3 April 2000, Official Report, column 322W, sets out the avenues open to customers who do not want to have a meter fitted but are not happy with the company's proposals for setting their water charges.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what responsibilities are to be given to the (a) mayor and (b) Greater London Assembly with regard to matters relating to (i) Grade I, (ii) Grade I* and (iii) Grade II listed buildings, respectively. [117719]

As part of the Spatial Development Strategy (SDS), the Mayor may frame policies for the conservation and protection of London's built environment, working closely with English Heritage (EH) and the boroughs. The Assembly will be consulted by the Mayor before formal public consultation on the draft strategy.Primary responsibility for dealing with listed building consent applications remains with the boroughs, in consultation with EH. Neither the Mayor, nor the Assembly will have a role in deciding applications.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for what reasons he plans to amend the regulations in Greater London to permit consent for works to Grade II listed buildings to be handled by individual London boroughs. [117720]

At present, most applications for listed building consent for all grades of listed building within Greater London must be made to the relevant London borough who must in turn notify English Heritage. Also, certain cases are referred by English Heritage to the Secretary of State. However, since the Greater London Council was abolished, English Heritage has been working with the London boroughs to build up their expertise in relation to such applications. We are satisfied that the London boroughs are now in a position to take on full responsibility for determining the majority of listed building consent applications on a similar basis to the arrangements outside London. We therefore issued proposals for consultation last year for changes that would lead to a significant reduction in the number of listed building cases that would need to be notified to English Heritage and the Secretary of State and thus enable decisions on applications to be made more quickly. Copies of the consultation paper 'London Heritage Notifications' were placed in the Libraries of both Houses at the time. English Heritage would, however, continue to be consulted on applications for works to Grade I and

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the allocation of resources to tackle fuel poverty in the five years from April 1997. [116611]

This Government are committed to tackling fuel poverty, particularly among those households most at risk to ill health due to cold homes; the old, children, the disabled and the chronically sick. The two main causes of fuel poverty are low income and poor energy efficiency in the home.The Government's main measures to help households more easily meet their heating costs are as follows.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the Defence Vetting Agency for 2000–01. [118375]

The Defence Vetting Agency carries out some 200,000 personnel security vetting checks and investigations each year. Since it was launched in 1997, the Agency has embarked on an ambitious modernisation programme aimed at creating a highly responsive, efficient and integrated organisation, exploiting the capabilities of modern information technology to the benefit of its customers. FY2000–2001 will be a period of particular upheaval as the Agency begins to collocate its four separate vetting units to York. Collocation involves much more than the move on to a single site. New accommodation, processes, IT systems, and a substantially new workforce will be introduced, as the existing vetting units close. Consequently, while the quality of its outputs should be unaffected, it is expected that there will be a notable reduction in the Agencies

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the Naval Manning Agency for 2000–01. [118376]

The Key Targets that have been set for the Chief Executive of the Naval Manning Agency (NMA) for the financial year 2000–01 are as set out. The targets build upon progress made by the Agency since it formed on 1 July 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the Naval Recruiting and Training Agency for 2000–01. [118377]

The following Key Targets have been set for the Naval Recruiting and Training Agency (NRTA) for 1999–2000:

• To deliver personnel to the trained strength (or to other training organisations) with 4 per cent. variance from the tasked requirement.
• To obtain 96 per cent. "Satisfactory" assessments from the employers of NRTA trainees.
• To maintain success rates of 95 per cent. in Career Training and 97 per cent. in examined Pre-joining training.
• To reduce the variance between RNR Trained Strength and Total Requirement to 35 per cent.
• To retain tasked capacity while operating NRTA within its 200001 resource allocation.
• To achieve net benefits of £11.9 million in FY 2000–01 from the partnering arrangement with Flagship Training Ltd.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the principal concerns expressed by AWE staff in relation to the potential takeover of sensitive work responsibilities by an American company. [116242]

AWE ML is not an American company but does include Lockheed Martin among the three equal partners making up the consortium. The consortium operating AWE up to 1 April was also made up of three partners, one of which is owned by an American parent company.When my noble Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement visited Aldermaston recently members of staff asked her a number of questions only one of which expressed concern over Lockheed Martin's involvement with the establishment. That question related to Lockheed Martin's ability to meet UK safety standards.In a message delivered on 4 April 2000 to their members who worked at AWE the AEEU, GMB, IPMS, MSF, TGWU and UCATT trade unions described the decision to proceed with the new contract as "controversial but correct".

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long would it take for (i) an Antonov 124 and (ii) a Boeing C-17 to carry an equal amount of supplies, based on the maximum that the lesser carrying aircraft can carry, to (a) East Timor and (b) Mozambique. [116501]

The estimated flight times to East Timor and Mozambique for the two types of aircraft would be similar, since both cruise at roughly the same airspeed. En-route, both aircraft would require refuelling stops of about two hours and one crew change. However, the C-17 is capable of being refuelled in the air and, therefore, apart from having to land for a crew change, it could avoid the intermediate refuelling stops.The flying time to East Timor is about 26 hours. Two stops would be required by the An-124 and four stops by the C-17. The total journey time would be 30 hours for the An-124 and 34 hours for the C-17 (or 28 hours with air to air refuelling for the C-17).The flying time to Mozambique is about 15 hours. The An-124 would require one stop and two for the C-17. The total journey time would be 17 hours for the An-124 and 19 hours for the C-17 (or 17 hours for the C-17 with air to air refuelling).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) volume and (b) weight of cargo a single (i) Antonov 124 and (ii) Boeing c-17 could have taken to (a) East Timor and (b) Mozambique. [116500]

The An-124 and the C-17 would have the same cargo capabilities to East Timor as they would to Mozambique; these would be:

(i)An-124 could carry (a) a volume of 1,160 cu m or (b) a weight of 120 tonnes.

(ii)C-17 could carry (a) a volume of 580 cu m or (b) a weight of 76.8 tonnes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the types of experiments carried out on human volunteers at the chemical and biological defence establishment at Porton Down in the last four years. [117091]

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 when the CVR(T) tank is due to be withdrawn from service. [117130]

The Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) (CVR(T)) is planned to be withdrawn between 2006 and 2014 as it is replaced by the next generation of vehicles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons exemptions from procurement rules have been granted to the David Brown Group for the supply of transmissions for the CVR(T) tank. [117135]

The David Brown Group has been granted no exemptions from procurement rules for the supply of transmission mechanisms for the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) (CVR(T)).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the conversion kits needed to convert the CVR(T) tank from petrol to diesel (a) will be issued free to the contractor and (b) will be purchased from his Department. [117132]

The conversion kits are being procured by the Department and will be provided as Government Furnished Equipment to the contractor.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place copies of the invitations to tender regarding the conversion of the CVR(T) tank from petrol to diesel in the Library. [117129]

The Invitation To Tender document contains classified information. I am withholding its release in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, which relates to Defence, Security and International Relations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has for additional improvements to the CVR(T) tank. [117131]

The Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) (CVR(T)) fleet has been subject to many improvements, a number of which are ongoing, including a major programme to convert the vehicles from petrol to diesel. This will reduce whole life costs. Additionally, studies are in place to assess the viability of introducing Battle Group Thermal Imagers and the BOWMAN communications system to the vehicle.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many kits to convert the CVR(T) tank from petrol to diesel have been (a) ordered and (b) delivered to date. [117137]

A contract was placed with Alvis Vehicles Ltd. for the production and delivery of 1,107 Modification Kits. As at the end of February 2000, 532 Modification Kits had been delivered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many former staff of the Porton Down chemical and biological defence establishment were in contact with Professor Peter Lachmann and his panel

I understand that Professor Lachmann's team had a number of telephone conversations with one former member of staff at Porton Down. No record of these conversations was made and any advice supplied was used in the final report, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent reports he has received about the presence of radioactive dust as a result of NATO bombing in Serbia. [117109]

[holding answer 3 April 2000]: None. The most recent independent and objective report on the environmental consequences of the Kosovo conflict that I am aware of is the UN Environment Programme report: "The Kosovo Conflict: Consequences for the Environment". The report concluded, inter alia, that an environmental catastrophe had not taken place in Kosovo. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the United States about the use of depleted uranium-tipped shells in Serbia. [117112]

[holding answer 3 April 2000]: I have had no recent discussions with the United States Government about the use of depleted uranium-based munitions in Serbia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will obtain a copy of the study by the Institute of Health Protection in Nis, concerning the measurement of the levels of radioactivity in soil samples. [117110]

[holding answer 3 April 2000]: We are willing to consider carefully any peer-reviewed studies based on appropriately validated data.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent reports he has received about concentrations of radioactive heavy metal in (a) Pljackovica, (b) Bratoselce, (c) Cerenovac and (d) Rehjan. [117111]

[holding answer 3 April 2000]: I have received no recent reports about concentrations of radioactive heavy metal in the areas quoted.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the Royal Air Force's role in the A400M Project; and if he will make a statement. [117846]

The Royal Air Force has been involved at every stage in the Department's work to fulfil our Future Transport Aircraft requirement, for which one of the candidates is the Airbus A400M.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what authorisation there is for low flying in the Saddleworth area; and if any part of the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency is designated as a Royal Air Force training area. [117922]

In principle the whole of the UK is available for military low flying training. A number of areas, including controlled airspace and towns with a population of over 10,000, are unavailable. Military low flying training is not permitted over the western half of the hon. Member's constituency as it is located within controlled airspace. The eastern half of the constituency, including the Saddleworth area, is, however, available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on (a) the upkeep and (b) the purchase of works of art in his Department for each financial year since 1992. [117475]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 4 April 2000, Official Report, columns 391-93W, by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Arts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the contribution funded from his Department to the United Nations force in Kosovo; and what have been the levels of contribution made by other countries. [117158]

UNMIK is a Foreign and Commonwealth Office responsibility. The Ministry of Defence has incurred costs of £1,500 in financial year 1999–2000 which are expected to be repaid by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Information on the costs incurred by other nations is not available.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement about the availability of the community legal service in Hendon. [117856]

Hendon, as part of the London Borough of Barnet, is covered by the Barnet Community Legal Service (CLS) Partnership, which will plan how best to fund and co-ordinate legal services to meet priority local needs more effectively. In the constituency of Hendon, there are nine solicitors' firms which have one or more contracts with the Legal Services Commission to supply services under the CLS Fund and hold the CLS Quality Mark. Details of the nine solicitors' firms and other legal service providers in Hendon can be found in the CLS Directory of legal services, which is accessible on the "Just Ask" website at www.justask.org.uk, or by phoning 0845 6081122. The CLS Directory is also available in hard copy in a number of public locations, including all public libraries and county and magistrates courts.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department which organisations took part in the consultation on the development of the Motor Accident Solicitors Society Road Traffic Accident protocol; how much time was allowed for public consultation; and when the protocol will enter into force. [117371]

Working groups of interested parties are responsible for developing pre-action protocols, with the Lord Chancellor's Department acting as a facilitator. The proposed Road Traffic Accident protocol is still in the development stage and has not yet been subject to full public consultation.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total value of UK organic farm produce in each of the past 10 years. [117542]

[holding answer 3 April 2000]: The estimated retail sales value of UK organic produce in the 1997 Mintel Market Intelligence Report on Organic and Ethical Foods is given in the table:

Year	£ million	£ million (at 1992 prices)
1992	93	93
1993	105	103
1994	121	118
1995	140	131
1996	200	179
19971	260	228
1 Estimate

The Soil Association's Organic Food and Farming Report 1999 estimates the retail value of UK sales in 1997–98 and 1998–99 as £260 million and £390 million respectively.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many organic farms there were in the UK in each of the past 10 years; [117540](2) how many farms have been converted to organic farming in each of the past 10 years. [117541]

[holding answer 3 April 2000]: The numbers of registered organic farmers and growers are given in the table:

Year	Number of farmers/growers
December 1994	715
December 1995	828
December 1996	865
December 1997	1,026
December 1998	1,462
November 1999	2,322

We do not have statistics for the years preceding December 1994.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the underspend in the Treasury's budget for the last financial year for BSE-related expenditures. [113864]

In the 1998–99 financial year, MAFF underspent its provision for BSE-related expenditure by £2 million and the Intervention Board by £17 million. The unspent amounts which were ring-fenced for spending on BSE measures only, were returned to Treasury.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reasons primates were exported to Gabon and Croatia in (a) 1999 and (b) 2000 to date. [116709]

Exporters are not required to notify this Department of their reasons for exporting consignments of primates.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many primates were exported through Dover on the Cap Afrique on 20 and 21 March. [116708]

Inquiries indicate that five primates were exported through Dover on the Cap Afrique on the night of 20-21 March.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many primates, of which species, were carried on the Cap Afrique in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) 2000 to date; how many were captive bred; and what was their (i) origin and (ii) destination. [116287]

The import licences issued by the Department do not identify the names of vessels or craft used to import consignments of primates. The number of licences actually used to import primates, as distinct from being issued (import licences are valid for six months after issue), in each year since 1997 together with the number of premises of destination involved is as set out:

Year	Number of licences used	Number of premises of destination involved
1997	80	19
1998	86	20
1999	67	18
2000	6	4

Consolidated information on the origin and total number of primates by species imported into the UK in each year since 1997 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The destination of all such consignments are quarantine premises authorised by the Department, which may be located in zoos, wildlife centres or research premises.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 8 March 2000, Official Report, column 716W, on primate exports, if he will list the reasons, as listed on their permits, for the import and export of the types of primates listed. [116710]

Exporters are not required to notify this Department of their reasons for exporting consignments of primates.Those applying for licences to import primates into the UK are asked to indicate the purpose for which animals are being imported. The categories are: research, exhibition, as pets, for breeding, or other.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the likely location of the European Centre for organic fruit and nursery stock. [117688]