To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he will publish the 1999–2000 annual reports and accounts for each of his Next Steps agencies. [133026]

The 1999–2000 annual reports and accounts for the Benefits Agency (HC 640), Child Support Agency (HC 658), Information Technology Services Agency (HC 680) and War Pensions Agency (HC 615) have been laid before Parliament today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the anti-fraud targets announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review are (a) in addition to or (b) instead of, the existing Benefits Agency Security Control Programme. [132400]

The Benefits Agency Security Control Programme ceased in April 1999.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how he plans to measure the success of the anti-fraud measures announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review. [132398]

We are now measuring the level of fraud and error by means of a monthly rolling programme of reviews in each Benefits Agency area. A regular, random sample of cases is investigated thoroughly to establish how much fraud and error they contain.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he will publish his new public service agreements. [132395]

Shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many unfilled vacancies for permanent staff his Department has; what percentage of staff positions in his Department are vacant; what the monthly cost would be to his Department of employing civil servants in these positions; how many and what percentage of staff his Department employs on a temporary basis through employment agencies; how much his Department paid employment agencies to supply temporary staff in each of the last 12 months; and how much he expects to pay employment agencies to supply temporary staff in each of the next 12 months. [131427]

The information is in the tables.

Vacancies
Number
Number of unfilled vacancies	1,187
Percentage of total staff	1.39
Monthly cost of employing civil servants in these positions	1,370,070.00

The numbers of staff the Department employs on a temporary basis through Employment Agencies can vary from day to day. For example, during May 2000, the equivalent of 22 staff were employed, which represents 0.03 per cent. of the Department's staff.

Total payments made to employment agencies for temporary staff for each of the last twelve months
£
Month	Total payments to employment agencies
July 1999	39,481.90
August 1999	22,238.50
September 1999	15,480.35
October 1999	42,162.88
November 1999	34,874.99
December 1999	24,012.67
January 2000	14,412.46
February 2000	24,863.32
March 2000	21,950.25
April 2000	28,498.11
May 2000	26,279.97
June 2000	25,333.14

It is not possible to predict with any certainty what payments will be made to Employment Agencies for each of the next twelve months. It is expected that the amounts and numbers of staff involved will be similar to those detailed above.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much his Department is planning to spend on preparing for the euro in the period to March 2004, broken down between years. [132396]

The Second Outline National Changeover Plan said that this Department will expect to spend up to £5 million on euro preparation in this financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will assess which statistics from the Households Below Average Income series could robustly be produced on a quarterly basis. [132097]

The Department's statisticians have not made a detailed assessment of whether any Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics could be robustly produced on a quarterly basis. However, past experience raises doubts as to whether any robust results could be produced on a quarterly basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many children in Shrewsbury and Atcham he estimates will be taken out of poverty by the end of the present year. [131138]

It is not possible to make estimates at a local level of the numbers of children who will be taken out of poverty. However, children in Shrewsbury and Atcham will benefit from the range of measures we have announced which will lift 1.2 million children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament.

To ask the Solicitor-General how many court days have been occupied in hearing extradition cases in 2000. [130603]

No records are kept of how many court days are occupied in hearing extradition cases, although applications for judicial review in such cases have occupied the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court for 13 whole or part days this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she plans to issue the consultation document on the implementation of the COMA recommendations on the addition of folic acid to flour. [132646]

The United Kingdom Health Departments and the Food Standards Agency have today published a joint public consultation document on the report from the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy which concluded that all flour should be fortified with folic acid to prevent neural tube defects. The consultation period runs until 31 October 2000. The document is available in the Library and on the internet at www.doh.gov.uk/folicacid.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what performance targets have been set for the Meat Hygiene Service in 2000–01. [133030]

Following consultation with interested organisations, the board of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) approved at its meeting on 20 July the following performance targets for the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) for 2000–01:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many unfilled vacancies for permanent staff his Department has; what percentage of staff positions in his Department are vacant; what the monthly cost would be to his Department of employing civil servants in these positions; how many and what percentage of staff his Department employs on a temporary basis through employment agencies; how much his Department paid employment agencies to supply temporary staff in each of the last 12 months; and how much he expects to pay employment agencies to supply temporary staff in each of the next 12 months. [131433]

Responsibility for staffing and recruitment issues has been substantially delegated to individual business units. As a result, the information requested is not held centrally. To collect it would incur disproportionate costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce an early warning system for clinical errors. [131505]

"An Organisation with a Memory", the report of an expert group chaired by the Chief Medical Officer, was published on 13 June 2000. The group examined the extent to which the National Health Service and its constituent organisations had the capability to learn from untoward incidents and service failures so that similar occurrences are avoided in future. The report's main recommendation is the introduction of a mandatory reporting system for adverse health care events and specified near misses. We are taking steps to implement such a system and expect to have made significant progress before the end of the year.

Hernia operations NHS hospitals England, 1998–99
Operation	Coventry1		West Midlands	England
T19	Simple excision of inguinal hernial sac	44	1,051	10,315
T20	Primary repair of inguinal hernia	619	7,670	66,346
T21	Repair of recurrent inguinal hernia	16	610	5,478
T22	Primary repair of femoral hernia	21	445	4,119
T23	Repair of recurrent femoral hernia	0	14	177
T24	Repair of umbilical hernia	75	1,489	12,358
T25	Primary repair of incisional hernia	43	617	5,297
T26	Repair of recurrent incisional hernia	6	87	689
T27	Repair of other hernia of abdominal wall	38	517	4,885
Total		862	12,500	109,664
1 The appropriate area of treatment for Coventry, South is Coventry Health Authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) hip replacement and (b) cataract operations were carried out by the NHS last year (i) in Coventry South, (ii) in the West Midlands and (c) nationally. [131538]

The information requested is given in the table.

Hip replacements and cataract operations. NHS hospitals England, 1998–99
Operation	Coventry1	West Midlands	England
Primary total hip replacements2	275	4,704	37,189
Hip replacement revisions3	24	408	4,013
Total hip replacement operations	299	5,112	41,202
Cataract operations4	1,995	20,602	204,074

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he is making on the National Plan for Health; and if he will make a statement. [131503]

Over 220,000 members of the public and staff and around 100 national and local organisations responded to our consultation exercise. Their comments and ideas have now been analysed, together with the detailed work of the modernisation action teams and the more in-depth public involvement strategy. All this has culminated in the National Health Service National Plan which will be presented to the House later this week.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hernia operations were carried out by the NHS last year (a) in Coventry, South, (b) in the West Midlands and (c) nationally. [131506]

The number of hernia operations carried out by the National Health Service in Coventry Health Authority, the West Midlands and England during the financial year 1998–99 are shown in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce variation in health provision between the poorest and the best-off areas across the UK. [131504]

We are setting standards through the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and the national service frameworks. We are ensuring local delivery through clinical governance and monitoring delivery through the performance assessment framework and the Commission for Health Improvement. On 14 July we published a second set of performance indicators which will enable the local health service to identify where their performance falls below that of the best and we expect measures to be taken to improve poorly performing services. We are working with relevant parties, utilising the record increases in National Health Service funding to improve NHS performance and tackle health inequalities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the nature is of the feeding trials in which animals are being fed GM herbicide-tolerant forage maize treated with glufosinate ammonium. [132649]

The Food Standards Agency knows of no current feeding trials, but is aware that the developers of the crop variety intend to use the maize in an animal feeding study in the future. The company has undertaken to seek our agreement to the protocol for such work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much his Department has invested in neonatal hearing screening for each of the last five years; [131332](2) how much his Department plans to spend on

Investment in neonatal hearing screening over the last five years is estimated to be in the region of £18 million per annum: that is £3 million per annum on targeted neonatal hearing screening and £15 million per annum on health visitors performing the infant distraction test.The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (NSC) has recommended that a universal neonatal hearing screening (UNHS) programme should replace the infant distraction test to screen for hearing impairment. This was based on a report by the health technology assessment programme 'A critical review of the role of neonatal screening in the detection of congenital hearing impairment'.An expert group, which included representatives of professional groups, National Health Service bodies, voluntary organisations, Government Departments and other interested bodies, was convened by the NSC and undertook further detailed work on the benefits, cost-benefits and feasibility and service issues of developing a UNHS programme. The committee took existing and emerging research findings into account in making its recommendations.We have recently agreed to conduct a pilot programme to evaluate the optimum way in which this change in service delivery might be achieved. The pilot programme will run for 12 months at a cost of £750,000. The pilot will help us gain a better understanding of the operational implications of running a national programme, including its potential cost.Project and steering groups will be established shortly to oversee the development of the pilot programme. Key professional, voluntary, NHS and policy stakeholders will be appropriately involved. The Department will be writing to the NHS about participating in the pilot project and the timescales later in the autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 23 May concerning lock purchasing. [132447]

The letter of 23 May was a copy of a letter dated 17 April, to which I replied to my hon. Friend on 22 May.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to provide the Back Book free of charge to patients; [128485](2) how many copies of the Back Book have been sold in each year since its publication. [128486]

[holding answer 3 July 2000]: The Back Book was published by The Stationery Office in 1996. I understand that, to date, 115,157 packs of 10 copies have been sold. We do not have information on how that figure breaks down year by year.We have no plans to provide the Back Book free of charge to patients.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the inquiries his Department has established in each of last two years, indicating for each the form the inquiry was to take, and an estimate of the number of patients it covered. [129022]

The inquiries commissioned by the Department in the last two years are as follows. It is not possible to provide a meaningful estimate of the number of patients affected by the matters under inquiry. In most cases that is for the inquiry to establish.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial assistance he gives to NHS trusts that are undertaking reconfiguration of patient services, approved by him, towards the cost of (a) redundancy and retirement and (b) capital building costs. [130167]

A central special assistance fund has existed since 1996–97. It provides financial assistance to some health authorities to facilitate strategic change, such as reconfiguring patient services at NHS trusts. Special assistance helps fund some of the short-term non-recurrent costs of change, for example double running or redundancy costs. Within London, the London Fund also provides non-recurrent transitional funding to support strategic changes.Capital funding is approved on the basis of information contained in a business case which is considered by regional offices. Access to funding is dependent on competing investment priorities in the region.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the services provided by St. George's Hospital, Tooting, London. [130524]

All National Health Service trusts are subject to a formal annual assessment of their progress and future plans by the relevant regional office of the NHS Executive, and this assessment process was carried out with St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust earlier this year by London Regional Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it remains his policy to ban the spouses of hon. Members from non-executive directorships in National Health Service trusts. [130534]

The Department is currently considering the preparation of new guidance on conflict of interest issues for National Health Service boards and other public bodies for which we are responsible. The issue of appointing the spouses of hon. Members to National Health Service boards will be re-considered as part of this process.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, for each health authority, the number of patients on a waiting list for infertility treatment; and if he will make a statement. [130820]

Waiting list information is not collected centrally for specific procedures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about refurbishment of the accident and emergency unit at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. [131139]

Royal Shrewsbury Hospital was allocated £600,000 from the accident and emergency modernisation fund to develop a scheme to improve facilities in the casualty department. Work is due for completion by 31 March 2001 with specific aims to improve security for staff, access for the disabled, facilities for paediatric assessment and environmental conditions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has received from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for a new medical assessment unit to be funded from the A&E Modernisation Fund; and if he will make a statement. [131702]

Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals National Health Service Trust was allocated £600,000 in the first tranche of accident and emergency modernisation moneys in June 1999. The approved proposals included the development of an assessment unit, decontamination facilities and improved security. Further bids have been invited in June of this year to be funded from an additional £35 million made available nationally, and the trust have applied for funding totalling £2.2 million for an emergency assessment unit, which incorporates a medical assessment unitNHS Executive regional offices are in the process of assessing the applications received. As yet, no decisions have been made nationally on the allocation of this latest tranche of accident and emergency modernisation moneys.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 7 July 2000, Official Report, columns 334–35W, regarding fluoridation, what bodies other than the National Health Service Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York were invited to apply for the commission to report into the safety and efficacy of fluoride in drinking water. [131360]

[holding answer 20 July 2000]: No other bodies were invited to tender for the systematic review on fluoridation. The National Health Service Centre for

Section 64 General Scheme applications submitted and approved in the last five years
Financial year (1)	Number of new applications received (2)	Number of new applications approved (3)	Value of new grants approved(£) (4)	Value of continuing grants approved from previous years (£) (5)	Annual total value of approved grants (£) (6)
1996–97	629	1 Figure not available	1 Figure not available	1 Figure not available	21,000,000
1997–98	627	268	9,034,144	12,405,068	21,439,212
1998–99	784	280	10,065,828	10,545,871	20,611,699
1999–2000	717	284	11,834,839	10,536,731	22,371,570
2000–01	671	216	8,388,848	14,204,905	22,593,753
1 A new database was set up in 1996. Figures for columns (3)+(5) for that year are not available because the database was still being tested.

The amounts approved were not necessarily the amounts paid as some grants, especially project grants,

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 7 July 2000, Official Report, column 335W, regarding fluoridation, what conditions apply to the moneys given by his Department to the British Fluoridation Society. [131331]

[holding answer 20 July 2000]: Since 1975 successive Governments have funded the British Fluoridation Society to help promote and implement their policies on oral health by providing evidence based advice to all interested parties. The Society is required to maintain accounts which show the use to which funds have been put for inspection by the Department's auditors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations his Department has received regarding the pay scales of speech and language therapists relative to other professional groups in the NHS. [131738]

Following extensive negotiations with staff side representatives, on 19 May a revised grading structure for speech and language therapists was introduced extending the existing pay spine to match that of clinical psychologists. Since then no representations have been received.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will (a) list the successful applicants for grant aid under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 for the last year for which figures are available, (b) the value of each grant and (c) what the grant was for. [131732]

The information requested has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications for grant aid under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 were (a) submitted and (b) approved in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what the total value of such grants was in each year; and if he will make a statement. [131733]

The information requested is contained in the table.may have started late and payments were therefore made pro-rata.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 13 July 2000, Official Report, column 684W, what the values of the public sector comparator and PFI alternatives are in (a) pre-risk and (b) risk-adjusted terms at full business case and financial close stage for the (i) Rochdale, (ii) Royal Berkshire, (iii) Central Sheffield and (iv) Guys and St. Thomas's hospital projects. [131614]

[holding answer 20 July 2000]: Private finance initiative was considered in all four schemes, and in each case did not produce a suitable solution. For the schemes at Rochdale and Central Sheffield PFI was identified as unsuitable early in the procurement process and not pursued further. Comparative figures are therefore unavailable. The figures for the schemes at Royal Berkshire and Guys and St. Thomas's are shown in the tables.

£000
	Public Sector Comparator	PFI Option
Royal Berkshire
Whole scheme (1994)	No realistic PFI proposal identified	—
Partial PFI (1997) NPC over 60 years—(not risk adjusted)	10,096	13,180
Guys and St. Thomas's
Net present value—pre-risk adjusted	357.8	497.1
Net present value—post-risk adjusted	377.2	497.1

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will establish an inquiry into the role of SCOPE under section 81 of the Children Act 1989. [131969]

I have no plans to establish an inquiry into the role of SCOPE under section 81 of the Children Act. I understand that allegations concerning a school run by SCOPE near Leeds were thoroughly investigated by the police and child protection services in 1995. They concluded that there was not sufficient evidence for criminal prosecution. The Department for Education and Employment subsequently considered the allegations and, as a result one former care worker was barred from working in relevant employment and placed on List 99.The school closed in 1998.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 17 July 2000 to the right hon. Member for South-West Surrey (Mrs. Bottomley), Official Report, columns 69–70W, concerning the numbers of patients waiting over 12 months for elective admission between March 1997 and March 2000, if he will provide the figures for West Sussex for each of those dates. [131829]

[holding answer 21 July 2000]: We are determined to reduce waiting lists and times for all patients from the rising numbers we inherited. As waiting lists have fallen, so have waiting times. The number of over-12-month waiters is almost a third lower than the peak at June 1998 and the average waiting time of patients on the list is 13 weeks—Two weeks lower than at June 1998.The numbers of patients waiting over 12 months for elective admission in West Sussex at March 1997, March 1998 and March 2000 are shown in the table.

West Sussex health authority
	Number of patients waiting over 12 months at March
1997	902
1998	3,952
2000	1,848

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Dorset Health Authority patients had been waiting for over 12 months for elective admission in (a) March 1997, (b) March 1998, (c) March 1999 and (d) March 2000. [132333]

[holding answer 24 July 2000]: The information requested is shown in the table.

Patients waiting more than 12 months for elective admissions, Dorset health authority
Month end	Number of patients
March 1997	0
March 1998	0
March 1999	0
March 2000	2

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many MRSA incidents have been voluntarily reported in each NHS region since 1996 (a) in total and (b) as a ratio to the population in that region. [131648]

[holding answer 24 July 2000]: The Public Health Laboratory Service compiles aggregate data on numbers of incidents of MRSA which are voluntarily submitted by National Health Service trusts for specialist microbiological tests. These are given in the table. Also shown is the rate per 100,000 population.

Incidents of MRSA and rates per 100,000 population 1996–2000
	Incidents of MRSA	Population	Rate per 100,000
1996
Anglia and Oxford	237	5,360,925	4
North Thames	539	6,933,690	8
North West	176	6,605,118	3
Northern and Yorkshire	150	6,338,285	2
South and West	206	6,594,376	3
South Thames	421	6,819,118	6
Trent	99	5,120,988	2
West Midlands	121	5,316,585	2
Wales	158	2,921,075	5
Total	2,107	52,010,160	4

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the judgment on the Shipman Inquiry. [132643]

Families who have been victims of Dr. Shipman have suffered enormously and we have great sympathy for them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has plans to carry out routine screening for hepatitis C. [132429]

There are currently no plans to carry out routine screening for hepatitis C.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 10 July 2000, Official Report, column 425W, on appointments, if he will list the official historians he has appointed since 1 May 1997; and if he will make a statement on each. [132329]

[holding answer 24 July 2000]: Since 1 May 1997 I have appointed two official historians: Professor Lawrence Freedman and Professor Alexander Kemp.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the matters discussed at and the outcome of the G8 Summit in Okinawa. [132025]

I refer my hon. Friend to the Statement I gave to the House on 24 July 2000, Official Report, columns 763–65.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the situation in Kosovo. [132514]

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) on 18 July 2000, Official Report, columns 140–41W, to our hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Mr. Coaker).

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1999–2000 annual report for the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. [132879]

The 1999–2000 annual report and accounts for the Veterinary Medicines Directorate have been laid before Parliament. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1999–2000 annual report for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science. [132880]

The 1999–2000 annual report and accounts for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will publish the 1999–2000 annual report for the Veterinary Laboratory Agency. [132881]

The 1999–2000 annual report and accounts for the Veterinary Laboratory Agency were laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he has received from the Environment Agency on the possible earlier opening of the Haf net fishing season on the Solway in 2001. [131405]

We have not received any advice from the Environment Agency on the possible earlier opening of the Haf net fishing season on the Solway in 2001.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what regulations deal with fertilisers and soil improvers; and what plans he has to decrease regulation in this area. [131809]

[holding answer 21 July 2000]: Fertilisers and soil improvers are regulated in Great Britain by the Fertilisers Regulations 1991, SI 1991/2197 (as amended by SI 1995/16, SI 1997/1543 and SI 1998/2024). The regulations implement EU Directives 76/116/EEC, 80/876/EEC, 88/183/EEC, 89/284/EEC, 89/530 and 93/69/EEC. A Commission-led working group is examining consolidation of the existing Directives into a single Directive, but it is unlikely to propose any decrease in regulation in this area.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the publicly-funded organisations which provide advice to farmers about diversification; and if he will make a statement. [131803]

[holding answer 21 July 2000]: MAFF will be publishing a free advisory booklet on farm diversification in the autumn as part of the Prime Minister's Action Plan for Farming. The booklet will contain a comprehensive list of organisations which can provide advice to farmers on diversification. The action plan also included a new programme of business advice for farmers through the Small Business Service.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with his European counterparts about ensuring (a) uniform implementation of integrated pollution prevention and controls and (b) that disproportionate burdens are not placed on British farmers as a result of these controls; and if he will make a statement. [131899]

[holding answer 21 July 2000]: Discussions about the Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) have taken place between EU Environment Ministers. Measures to comply with the requirements of the IPPC Directive will be based on Best Available Techniques reference (BREF) documents, which will be agreed at Community level. These documents aim to ensure all member states adopt measures that offer equivalent environmental protection.Under the Action Plan for Farming, announced by the Prime Minister following the Agriculture Summit on 30 March, the Government are committed to implementing environmental legislation that impacts on the farming industry in the least bureaucratic and burdensome way. Farmers with existing installations in England and Wales will not be required to implement these measures until 2007. Some other member states already apply environmental controls similar to those required to be implemented under IPPC.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the changes to be applied to the poultry industry under the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control regulations for (a) England and Wales and (b) each EU country; and if he will make a statement. [131710]

The measures that we expect will apply to most of the poultry industry in England under the IPPC Directive will be set out in general binding rules. These are currently under discussion between the Environment Agency, the Government and representatives of the poultry sector and will be put out for public consultation shortly. Poultry farmers with existing installations will not be required to implement these measures until 2007.Some member states already impose environmental controls similar to those required to be put in place under IPPC. Others plan to implement IPPC for the poultry sector before 2007. The EU-wide Best Available Techniques reference (BREF) document for the intensive livestock sector is expected to be in place in 2001 and will set out measures to control emissions which all EU member states will be expected to apply.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the costs of administering rural enterprise schemes through (a) his Department and (b) regional development agencies. [131816]

[holding answer 21 July 2000]: My Department will be running the new Rural Enterprise Scheme as part of the England Rural Development Programme.The cost of its administration will depend in part upon the level of demand, but in 2001–02, its first full year of operation, we estimate the cost to be £1.375 million; this includes £0.628 million for technical support by the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency. This is additional to the programme cost for the scheme.The cost of schemes run by the Regional Development Agencies is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the costs of increasing the proportion of less favoured areas covered by the Countryside Stewardship Scheme from 3 per cent. to 10 per cent. [131814]

[holding answer 21 July 2000]: It is estimated that the cost of increasing the proportion of less favoured areas covered by the Countryside Stewardship Scheme from 3 per cent. to 10 per cent. would be approximately £5 million per annum.

FSS Agency Targets:	1999–2000	2000–01
Financial indicators:
Return on Capital Employed	Minimum 3 per cent.	10 per cent.
Efficiency Gain (three year rolling)	Minimum 10 per cent.	Minimum 10 per cent.
Quality of service indicators:
Turnaround time	24 days	24 days
Exceed 99 per cent. of urgent and critical classified cases	N/A	Pilot
Achieve 90 per cent. agreed delivery dates	Yes	Yes
Put in place service level agreements with police forces (BVAs)	Yes	Yes
Put in place routine and robust customer satisfaction measurement processes	Yes	n/a
(milestone 1999–2000 only)
Demonstrate year on year improvements in police (customer) satisfaction	—	Yes
Quality indicators:
Achieve external quality accreditation to ISO9000 and NAMAS standards	Yes	Yes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has made further appointments to the Police Complaints Authority. [133024]

I have invited Mr. Duncan Gear, Mrs. Anne Boustred and Mrs. Alison McDougall to serve as Members of the Police Complaints Authority. Mr. Gear took up his appointment on 1 June and Mrs. Boustred on 5 June. Mrs. McDougall will take up her appointment on 18 September. All appointments are for a three year period initially.Mr. Gear was previously a Senior Inspector with the Magistrates Courts Service Inspectorate. Mrs. Boustred joins the Authority after serving as Principal Advocate in the Legal Services Directorate of Essex County Council and Mrs. McDougall was previously the Deputy Head of Equity Research, Europe for Lehman Brothers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will lay before Parliament the annual report for the Forensic Science Service. [132883]

Copies of the Forensic Science Service's annual report and accounts for 1999–2000 have today been laid before Parliament.The Forensic Science Service (FSS) met and exceeded its financial target to achieve a three per cent. return on capital employed and maintained accreditation through external bodies. However, it did fail to achieve the stretching efficiency gain target and service delivery targets. This was a challenging year for the FSS—further expanding its work force, absorbing the associated recruitment and training costs and devoting large human resources to the DNA expansion project. It was also the organisation's first year as a Trading Fund. The targets and plans agreed for 1999–2000 were ambitious, and while the FSS failed to achieve targets in two key areas, it demonstrated a significant improvement in both turnaround times and delivery dates met.The targets for 2000–01 are set out in the table, alongside those for 1999–2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to attract to the United Kingdom entrepreneurs offering exceptional economic benefit but who do not meet the current criteria under the immigration rules. [133025]

There are already specific categories in the Immigration Rules designed specially for entrepreneurs. These ensure that those who wish to make significant personal investments in creating employment can enter to engage in business. There are also clear routes for corporations wishing to establish branches and subsidiaries here. But the Government's Competitiveness White Paper signalled the economic importance of a dynamic approach to building a knowledge driven economy and the need to attract people with scarce skills and those willing to set up businesses which create jobs. That paper included a specific commitment to examine the scope for further encouraging certain entrepreneurs to consider migrating to the United Kingdom.

it is intended to attract and select outstanding entrepreneurs whose business proposals will result in exceptional economic benefits for the United Kingdom; selection will take place on a rigorous and demanding basis but one that is designed to be flexible to accommodate a wide variety of applications with different strengths and weaknesses; no minimum investment is required; and there is no requirement for personal funds to be invested, but third party funding will be permitted.Applicants will need to submit a business plan and a curriculum vitae with supporting documents.Initial information about the scheme will be made available on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate website. I will place copies of guidance for applicants and information leaflets in the Library as soon as they are available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a decision will be made in the case of Ms A. (Reference 1013112) whose appeal was allowed by the adjudicator on 22 February. [131571]

Authorisation to issue an entry clearance was sent to the entry clearance officer on 19 July.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he plans to remove non-conviction information from the requirements in the checks on volunteers and staff dealing with young people. [132245]

We attach particular importance to protecting young persons from those who would do them harm. This underpins the arrangements which we are putting in place to implement Part V of the Police Act 1997, under which information about criminal convictions will be more readily available to employers and voluntary organisations. The highest level of certificate that will be available under these arrangements will relate principally to those regularly caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of persons under the age of 18. In such cases, in addition to information about criminal convictions, police forces will be required to disclose any other information which, in the chief officer's opinion, might be relevant, and, under a "one-stop shop" arrangement, checks will also be made of a Department for Education and Employment list of persons who are barred from employment in the education service, and a Department of Health list of persons who are considered unsuitable to work with children.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been released to date under the home detention curfew scheme in Cumbria; and how many have re-offended. [132254]

This information is not available centrally. Data on releases under the Home Detention Curfew scheme are broken down by contract region but not by country.However, I will make further inquiries of the electronic monitoring contractor for the Northern region and write to the right hon. Gentleman with this information as soon as it is available. A copy of my letter will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the (a) date, (b) nature and (c) action he has taken as a result, of each infringement of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 since 1 January 1995 relating to xenotransplantation research; and if he will make a statement; [130708](2) what

Xenotransplanatation includes the transplantation of organs, such as hearts and kidneys, between different animal species and from animals into humans. Organ transplantation is a hugely successful medical procedure—one that has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of people across the world. The critical shortage of human donor organs has led scientists to investigate xenotransplantation as an alternative potential source of organs. This is a policy on which the Department of Health leads.It is not Home Office policy to provide detailed information in respect of infringements relating to specific establishments or programmes of work. Summary information on the total numbers of infringements reported in all establishments for the years 1995 to 1998, inclusive, is provided in the relevant Animal Procedures Committee report. Similar summary information for 1999 will be reported in the Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 1999, which will be published in August 2000.As to applications for authorities for xenotransplantation research granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, Section 24 of the 1986 Act prevents disclosure of detailed information about specific programmes of work where this has been given in confidence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what research his Department has undertaken concerning the fate of the wild-caught baboons imported from Kenya to the UK in May 1999; and if he will make a statement; [130710](2) what measures his Department has taken to ensure that imported primates for use in xenotransplantation procedures are used for the purposes stated in applications for such procedures; and if he will make a statement; [130711](3) what his Department's policy is regarding the killing of imported primates not subjected to xenotransplantation procedures; and if he will make a statement. [130712]

All but a small number of primates used in scientific procedures in the United Kingdom are captive-bred and not taken from the wild. Under measures introduced in 1996, authority to use wild-caught primates will be given only if the applicant can establish exceptional and specific justification. Such cases are rare.The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate has maintained a close interest in the condition of the wild-caught baboons imported into the United Kingdom from Kenya in May 1999 and has been kept informed by the relevant designated establishment of its plans for their use and disposal.Inspectors appointed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regularly visit all designated establishments to monitor standards and compliance with licence and certificate authorities.If primates imported for use in xenotransplantation procedures are killed, but have never been used in the programme of work, it must be by a method listed in Schedule 1 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 or as defined in a condition attached to the relevant Certificate of Designation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what factors are taken into consideration when making the cost benefit analysis under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; and to what extent these include (a) healthcare costs, (b) corporate profitability and (c) status of the individuals carrying out the procedures; [132576](2) what plans he has to revise the operation of the cost/benefit test contained in section 5(4) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; and if he will make a statement. [132577]

To meet section 5(4) of the 1986 Act, any application to use protected animals in research must be subjected to a detailed cost/benefit assessment by Home Office Inspectors. The likely adverse effects on the animal concerned must be weighed against the benefits likely to accrue as a result of the proposed programme of work. In making this assessment, the general categories of potential benefits that are currently considered are: human, animal and ecological benefits: improved health or welfare, plant protection, food hygiene, safeguarding of the environment; scientific benefits: resolution of controversies, increasing scientific knowledge; educational benefits: meeting educational objectives which cannot be satisfied using non-animal methods; and other benefits: including forensic inquiries.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement regarding the rate of successful convictions obtained in magistrates courts in Staffordshire in the last 12 months. [130597]

The number of defendants convicted in magistrates courts in Staffordshire was 31,891 in 1998 and 22,372 in 1999 (provisional figure for January-September only). In both periods, convictions represented 76 per cent. of the total number of defendants prosecuted for all offences.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on measures to bring existing statute law into compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights. [130604]

I refer to the reply I gave to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) on 19 July 2000, Official Report, column 180W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the safeguards his Department plans to introduce to protect personal privacy following the enactment of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill. [132525]

Privacy and personal information is now well protected by the provision of the Data Protection Act 1998; more generally, the right to a private life is a convention right contained within the Human Rights Act 1998. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill contains within it all the protections necessary in the event of the use of these vital powers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional funds have been made available to his Department in the past month to develop systems for the detection of people and animals in freight vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [131778]

[holding answer 24 July 2000]: No funds have been received, or set aside by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, for research and development of systems for purposes mentioned by the hon. Member in this financial year. However, one Chief Immigration Officer is tasked with the evaluation of such technology, including conducting trials of equipment which is commercially available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated rate of return on capital is to the contractors under the PFI contracts in his Department. [131349]

I am unable to give precise detail of rates of return on capital due to the commercial sensitivity of the information required. However, I can tell the hon. Member that for the following contracts the rate of return varies between 12 per cent. and 20 per cent.

• Immigration and Nationality Directorate Caseworking
• Medway Secure Training Centre (STC)
• Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre (STC)
• Hassockfield Secure Training Centre (STC)
• Park Prison
• Fazakerley Prison
• Ashfield Prison
• Forest Bank Prison
• Ryehill Prison
• Dovegate Prison
• Lowdham Grange Prison
• Energy Tranche I Boilerhouses
• Quantum
• Police Service Radio Communications Project.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers are available to him to allow the police on-line access, via the Police National Computer, to databases held by private sector insurance companies; and what plans he has to introduce legislation on this issue. [129139]

I have been asked to reply.Provisions in Regulations made under the Road Traffic Act 1988 require insurers to keep records of their policyholders and the policies they have issued. Information from those records must be provided without charge on request to the police. Legal advice is that these powers are sufficient to allow the information to be collected on a database and to allow the police access, subject to safeguards, on a case-by-case basis. The insurance industry are setting up an electronic database in order to help the police enforcement effort.I have accepted, however, the Data Protection Commissioner's advice that Parliament should have the opportunity to consider the matter and we will be laying an Order later this year to allow the keeping of information electronically and to provide access to the insurance information for the police on a case-by case-basis. Safeguards to prevent misuse of the information, agreed with the Data Protection Commissioner, will be included.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (a) how many bus lane cameras were established in the last year and (b) how many there are in total in (i) the Metropolitan police area and (ii) in England and Wales; and how many (A) successful and (B) unsuccessful prosecutions there were in (1) the last 12 months and (2) since the introduction of bus lanes. [132285]

[holding answer 24 July 2000]: I have been asked to reply.The London Bus Lane Enforcement Camera Project (introduced by the Traffic Director for London and now transferred to Transport for London in partnership with the Metropolitan police) uses video cameras, mounted either on buses or at the roadside, to enforce bus lane regulations in the Metropolitan police area. The project has reached the halfway stage with some 300 bus lanes being enforced by camera. 90 bus mounted and 19 fixed cameras had been installed by 1999, rising to 151 and 29 respectively by 31 March 2000. There are no bus lane enforcement cameras outside the Metropolitan police area.Six thousand one hundred and seventy-five notices of intended prosecution were issued in the year to 30 June 2000, and 9,543 have been issued since this project started in December 1998. To date only one prosecution has been successfully challenged in a Magistrates court.In addition, five London boroughs have been piloting a scheme using CCTV cameras, to enforce bus lane contraventions. In the financial year 1999–2000, the authorities issued approximately 57,000 penalty charge notices and warning letters. Of these, there were 314 appeals for adjudication, all of which were upheld.Figures are not available for the number of prosecutions or fixed penalty notice offences issued by the police for bus lane offences outside London, nor for the 30 years that bus lanes have been operating.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the number of accidents caused by cyclists bumping into pedestrians on (a) pavements and (b) public carriageways in the last year for which figures are available. [132096]

I have been asked to reply.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the market share of retail magazines carried by WH Smith, Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Safeway. [132486]

None. Under UK competition legislation, responsibility for monitoring markets and investigating complaints of anti-competitive behaviour lies with the Office of Fair Trading. The Office of Fair Trading would look at market share figures if they were relevant in any particular case.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will refer the proposed agreement between W. H. Smith News and Tesco over the supply of magazines to the Office of Fair Trading. [132483]

The Office of Fair Trading is aware of the proposed supply arrangements between Tescos and W. H. Smith News. The Director General considers it premature to speculate on the outcome of these or other proposals. However, he will continue to monitor developments in the industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Competition Commission inquiry into supermarkets will look at the distribution and supply arrangements of newspapers and magazines to Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Safeway. [132482]

The Scope of the inquiry into supermarkets is a matter for the Competition Commission. The Commission is due to deliver its report to the Secretary of State on 31 July.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action the Government are taking to extend the scheme he announced on 20 June 2000, Official Report, column 137W, for banks to waive charges relating to holocaust payments from Germany to Austria. [132152]

[holding answer 24 July 2000]: I am pursuing this matter with the banking industry and will make an announcement about the outcome.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what performance targets he has agreed with BNFL in the last three months; and when he expects the company to publish its new corporate plan. [130873]

[holding answer 24 July 2000]: No new targets have been agreed for BNFL within the last three months. The company's corporate plan is a management tool which contains commercially confidential information, and is not published.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the cost and effectiveness of (a) retrofitting dry store facilities to magnox reactors and (b) using dry store canisters in his consideration of the closure process of the magnox reprocessing line at Sellafield. [130872]

[holding answer 24 July 2000]: None. These are commercial matters for BNFL.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 18 July 2000, Official Report, column 106–07W, on export licences, how many of the standard individual export licence applications and open individual export licence applications outstanding for over a year were made by small firms. [132359]

[holding answer 24 July 2000]: The Export Control Organisation of the Department of Trade and Industry does not request details of the size of a company when it makes an application for an individual export licence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 18 July 2000, Official Report, column 106–07W, on export licences, what the approximate value is of the potential exports subject to decisions on standard and open individual export licences which have been awaiting a decision for more than a year. [132358]

[holding answer 24 July 2000]: Applicants for Standard Individual Export Licences are required to record on the application form the value of the goods for which a licence is sought. The approximate total value of the goods as stated on the applications for a Standard Individual Export Licence which have been awaiting a decision since before 7 July 1999 is £10,700,000. The actual value of exports made under a licence is often less than the value stated on the corresponding application.Open Individual Export Licences allow the exporters concerned to make multiple shipments of the specified goods to the specified destinations in accordance with the licence conditions. Such licences do not normally impose any limit on the volume of exports that may be made under the licence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many ex-employees of British Coal have (a) made claims and (b) been paid under the Government's scheme for respiratory disease litigation. [131745]

The Department's claims handlers have registered over 110,000 claims for chronic bronchitis and emphysema from former miners and their families. To date, we have made nearly 23,000 payments in full and final, and part settlements, totalling £65 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many compensation claims to date there have been by former miners for (a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger in the North Staffordshire Area; and how many have been settled since 1995. [131800]

The Department's claims handlers have registered 2,679 claims for chronic bronchitis and emphysema and 1,007 claims for Vibration White Finger (VWF) from former miners and their families in the North Staffordshire area. To date, in the North Staffordshire Area, we have made 916 payments in full and final, and part settlements to respiratory disease claimants, and 277 payments to VWF claimants, totalling £3.7 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he received the report of the Euratom Safety Assessment and Radiological Protection Mission team visit to Dounreay; and what actions he plans to take arising from the report's conclusions. [131996]

The Scottish Executive has devolved responsibility for environmental issues relating to licensed nuclear sites in Scotland. I understand that the final text of the Main Findings and Technical Report documents was submitted by the European Commission to the Scottish Executive on 31 May 2000. The publication of these documents, together with the schedule of follow-up action taken or ongoing in response to the Commission's conclusions, was announced by Written Answer in the Scottish Parliament on 6 July.Copies of these documents, incorporated into an overall report, have been placed in the Libraries of the House and in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. The report can also be accessed through the Scottish Executive web-site at:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/ library3/environment/art35. asp

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the outcome of the review of the ECGD's risk management systems, the Terms of Reference for which he announced on 26 May. [133099]

Following a competitive tendering process, KPMG Management Consultants were appointed to carry out the review.KPMG's main findings were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made on various reviews of the ECGD; and if he will make a statement. [133100]

I am pleased to announce the Review of ECGD's Mission and Status, which I announced to the House on 27 July 1999, Official Report, columns 305–06, is now complete and the Government have accepted its conclusions.When I announced this Review, I referred to a number of other concurrent reviews of ECGD's activities. These are also complete and I refer my hon. Friend in particular to a separate announcement on the outcome of the Risk Management Review, in answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth (Mrs. McKenna) today,

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has received the 1999 annual reports of the recognised supervisory bodies for company auditors under Part II of the Companies Act 1989; and if he will make a statement. [133101]

I have received the 1999 annual reports of the five recognised supervisory bodies for company auditors: a combined report from the Institutes of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and one each from the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants and the Association of Authorised Public Accountants. Copies of the reports have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.