To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many boys who have been assessed by the Placement Panel were recommended as suitable for transfer from Lisnevin to another juvenile justice centre; and if he will make a statement; [142166](2) if children can be legally represented at the Placement Panel; and if he will make a statement; [142170](3) who is responsible for deciding whether to implement the decisions of the Placement Panel; on what criteria this decision is made; and if he will make a statement; [142168](4) how many boys assessed to be suitable for transfer by the Placement Panel were transferred to

In the period 1 February 1999, when the provisions of the Criminal Justice (Children) (NI) Order 1998 came into effect, to 4 December 2000, a total of 537 cases of boys in custody in Lisnevin were assessed by the Placement Panel for suitability for transfer to a different juvenile justice centre. A number of boys would have been remanded several times in the period and accordingly their cases would have been reviewed on a number of occasions.In the same period, 93 recommendations for transfer to another less secure juvenile justice centre were made. Of these recommendations 59 transferred to St. Patrick's and 13 to Rathgael. Rathgael Juvenile Justice Centre is largely reserved for girls but will also accommodate a small number of especially vulnerable boys whereas St. Patrick's accepted boys only.It is the duty of the Secretary of State [under para 1(1) of Schedule 2 of the Criminal Justice (Children' s)(NI) Order 1998] to determine the placement of children sent to custody by the courts. Routinely boys, who are either remanded or committed, go directly to Lisnevin and the Secretary of State obtains advice from the non-statutory Placement Panel. The Panel comprises representatives from the three Juvenile Justice Centres, Probation and Juvenile Justice Branch of the Northern Ireland Office. Other specialists' input is called upon as required, for example from a psychologist who specialises in the treatment of children in custody.The function of the Panel is to advise the Secretary of State and his officials on placements. The Secretary of State's responsibility when deciding on placement has to balance the need of the child in terms of custodial surroundings and the child's own best interests with the wider need to protect the public and prevent the children from reoffending. As the legislation is intended to restrict custody to the most serious and persistent offenders, who present the most challenging behaviour, secure accommodation is more appropriate to their needs in most cases.Children's views of placement are made known to the Panel through the normal assessment process. The issue of placement came before the courts by way of a judicial review challenging a decision of the Secretary of State to place a boy in Lisnevin rather than St. Patrick's. In his judgment, the Lord Chief Justice for NI found that the Secretary of State's decision was not in breach of the standard international rules on the treatment of children, no abuse of power had occurred and there was no evidence that the applicant had suffered any disadvantage arising from the Secretary of State's placement decision. There is no appeals procedure as such; however children are advised of the Secretary of State's decision and during the course of the period when the child is in custody his or her case is kept under review. In the case referred to above, the Lord Chief Justice also found that this element of the procedure also fulfilled human rights obligations.With the consolidation of all juvenile justice custodial services onto a single site, the placement process will become obsolescent in its present form.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list each new publication issued by his Department since 1997; and what the total cost is to the Department of each publication. [141471]

Details of Northern Ireland Office publications from 1997 to the end of March 1999 can be found in the "Northern Ireland, Expenditure Plans and Priorities" reports published by the Department of Finance and Personnel/HM Treasury; CMs 3616, 3916 and 4217 refer. For the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000, this information can be found in the Northern Ireland Office 2000 Departmental Report (Cm 4621). Copies of all four reports can be found in the Library. The information for the current year is being collated and will be published in the spring in the Northern Ireland Office's 2001 Departmental Report.Information on the total cost of each publication is not available centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how the Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations 2000 affect access to benefits for sponsored immigrants whose sponsors have died. [142858]

There is no change to the policy that access to benefits should be available to a sponsored person where the person who undertook to support him has died. A technical defect in the amendments made by the Social Security (Immigration and Asylum) Consequential Amendments Regulations 2000 places an unintended restriction of six weeks on the period for which Income Support is available. We intend to bring forward amending regulations to correct the defect. In the meantime, extra-statutory payments will be made to any affected cases that do arise to ensure that the policy intention is met.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many applications for Attendance Allowance have (a) been subject to reconsideration and (b) successful at reconsideration; and what was the average number of days taken to process appeals in each quarter of the last three years; [141493](2) how many

The information is not available in the format requested as it is not possible, from overall statistics, to track individual claims through subsequent stages. The figures therefore show the total number or reconsiderations. All figures relate to Attendance Allowance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many outstanding claims for payment of SERPs to newly retired pensioners there were in January and June of each year since 1997; and if he will he make a statement; [141515](2) what amounts of arrears of SERPs have been paid to newly retired pensioners in each month since 1997; and how many pensioners have benefited in each case. [141516]

Figures are kept of the number of outstanding Retirement Pension claims of which SERPS is a component of the overall pension. The table provides details of the claims outstanding for the requested months.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many staff vacancies there were in the Benefits Agency in 1999 and 2000 in (a) England and Wales and (b) Greater London. [141941]

The information is in the table.

To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what is his policy in respect of the publication of records of meetings of the Commission. [142132]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Angela Smith) on 14 November 2000, Official Report, column 588W.

To ask the Chairman of the Catering Committee what is the policy of the Refreshment Department towards the supply to customers of shark-fin soup. [142120]

The Refreshment Department has no formal policy about the service of shark-fin soup, but the Director of Catering Services informs me that it has never been served in the nine years that she has worked here.

To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee on what date the Committee authorised expenditure on fig trees for the atrium of Portcullis House; and what budget was allocated for this purpose. [142134]

The proposal to build Portcullis House, which was approved by the House in 1993, from the outset included a covered courtyard with large scale planting. The design for the courtyard subsequently evolved in consultation with The Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art, whose recommendation for the current scheme my Committee accepted. The budget was£183,000.

To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what his policy is in respect of the publication of records of meetings of the Committee. [142135]

The policy is that laid down by the House as regards proceedings of Select Committees—that is, the Committee's formal Minutes are published at the end of each Session of Parliament.

To ask the Solicitor-General how many occasions in the last 12 months the CPS decided not to prosecute drivers suspected of driving in excess of 100 mph. [142108]

The Crown Prosecution Service holds no central records on the outcome of particular offences. The information is held on individual case files, and could be recovered only by examining every relevant file in each CPS office. The costs of such an exercise would be prohibitive.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money the Government have made available to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for emergency relief to the Kosovan Albanians to date. [142160]

The United Kingdom contributed resources worth over£9.4 million to UNHCR's programmes in Kosovo and neighbouring countries during and after the refugee crisis in 1999–2000. We have not contributed additional resources to UNHCR for its work in Kosovo in 2000–01 in reflection of our changing priorities in Kosovo and the increased involvement of other donors, but will continue to monitor the situation in case new needs arise. UNHCR's Kosovo programme provides assistance to Kosovar Albanians, as well as Serbs, Roma and other minority groups.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the British Government have donated to the WTO technical assistance fund. [142194]

The UK has committed a total of£1.5 million to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Technical Assistance fund, through extra-budgetary contributions. This is in addition to the UK's assessed contributions to the WTO' s regular budget, a proportion of which is allocated to technical assistance.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on progress towards the construction of an airfield on St. Helena. [142507]

A comparative study of the options for sea and air access to St. Helena is currently under way. The team undertaking the work visited the island in mid-October. We expect their draft report by the end of this month. We will then need to discuss the report and its recommendations with the St. Helena Government. The results of the study cannot be prejudged and no presumption can be made that it will lead to support being offered for the provision of an airfield. We hope decisions will be reached in early 2001.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects her Department are funding to improve women's rights in East Timor. [142216]

The bulk of my Department's assistance for East Timor is channelled through trust funds established by the United Nations, for the Transitional Administration in East Timor, and the World bank, for reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes. UNTAET has a special gender unit and has set a target of 30 per cent. for the recruitment of women into the East Timorese public service.In addition we fund a small Human Resource Development programme implemented by Oxfam. Through this programme we have funded research by East Timorese women's groups into the obstacles preventing their participation decision making processes; Oxfam are also implementing a small project which aims to improve women's literacy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions his officials have had with the TRIPS Council regarding the compliance of the United Kingdom's intellectual property laws with Article 2 of the TRIPS Agreement relating to the obligation of the United Kingdom to comply with Article 10 of the Paris Convention. [142124]

Having notified its main dedicated intellectual property laws and regulations to the WTO, the United Kingdom participated in reviews of developed country WTO Members' TRIPS implementing legislation carried out by the TRIPS Council throughout 1996 and 997. Records of introductory statements made by the United Kingdom delegation, questions put to the United Kingdom delegation and the responses given were published by the WTO in four documents with references IP/Q/GBR/1, IP/Q2/GBR/1, IP/Q3/GBR/1 and IP/Q4/GBR/1. All of these documents are available to the public on the WTO website, www.wto.org. None of these discussions touched explicitly on the question of Article 10 of the Paris Convention.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment he has made of the health risks posed by (a) mobile phones held next to the ear and (b) mobile phones used where there is a connection provided between phone and ear. [142121]

The Department of Health published a leaflet on 8 December providing information about the health risks from mobile phones. The Department of Trade and Industry has not commissioned any specific measurements of mobile phones held next to the ear. Mobile phones in use in the UK should comply with the exposure guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation. The Department commissioned tests of hands-free kit, and the results of this work were published in August and are available on the DTI website http://www.dti.gov.uk/cii/.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the work his Department is undertaking, in conjunction with the Consumers' Association, into the dangers posed to consumers by mobile phone radiation. [142126]

The Department has held discussions with the Consumers Association and the scientific community about the different results obtained from measurement tests of mobile phones hands-free kit. We have also discussed what further work could be undertaken. We are all agreed that even with the difference in measurement, the phones that were measured with the hands-free kit attached were still inside the exposure guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the quantity of (a) cat and (b) dog fur imported into the United Kingdom in each year for the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [142131]

The information requested is not available because the system of classification used to record trade does not separately identify cat and dog skins.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason Hope FM has been required to reduce its broadcasting power to 15 watts; and if he will make a statement. [142162]

The decision to grant a temporary Restricted Service broadcasting licence to Hope FM and the conditions attached to it (such as the transmitter power) was made, independently of the Government, by the Radio Authority using their powers under the Broadcasting Acts.The scope for licensing Restricted Services, within the arrangements for licensing long-term Independent Radio licences, is very limited and the Radio Authority has to balance the heavy demand for such licences with a finite supply of spectrum. Similarly, in considering the terms attached to such licences (for example, the power, the population coverage and duration), the Authority seeks to ensure, as far as possible, that all Restricted Service licensees are treated equally and fairly, and that no interference is caused to other broadcasters by such services. This allows the limited amount of spectrum to be used and re-used by as many different operators as possible in an area and over a period of time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when further licences for the provision of broadband fixed wireless access at 40 GHz will be awarded by auction. [141662]

We will be consulting industry on a range of options for awarding broadband fixed wireless access licences at 40 GHz. We have not yet decided what method should be used for awarding licences.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what reasons underlay the decision to award by auction licences for the provision of broadband fixed wireless access at 28 GHz. [141660]

In choosing an auction the overriding consideration was that well designed auctions place spectrum in the hands of those who value it most and are likely to develop it most effectively, generating the greatest long-term benefit for UK consumers and the national economy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the reasons for the outcome of the auction for licences for broadband fixed wireless access at 28 GHz; what contingency plans were in place for such an outcome; and how he intends to award the remaining licences. [141661]

I have asked the Radiocommunications Agency for a report on the outcome of the auction and they will be reporting back to me shortly. It is a feature of spectrum auctions that some licences may remain unsold. I will be reviewing whether unsold licences should be awarded at a later date in the light of the Agency's report, which will explore ways of awarding licences in those regions where licences remained unsold.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will announce his decision on Veridian Cogeneration's proposal to build a gas-fired power station at the Rugby Cement works at Barton-on-Humber, North Lincolnshire. [142976]

I have today given clearance under section 14(1) of the Energy Act 1976 to Veridian Cogeneration to build a 14 megawatt gas-fired combined heat and power station at the Rugby Cement works at South Ferriby, Barton-on-Humber, North Lincolnshire. Combined heat and power plants are designed to produce both electricity and usable heat. They have environmental benefits due to their high levels of energy efficiency. The decision demonstrates the Government's continuing commitment to promote CHP, wherever practicable, and our commitment to reducing emissions of carbon to fulfil the promises we gave at Kyoto. Copies of the Press Notice and decision letter are being placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will announce his decision on Montell UK Ltd.'s proposal to build a gas-fired power station at the Montell UK Ltd. works at Carrington, Greater Manchester. [142978]

I have today given clearance under section 14(1) of the Energy Act 1976 to Montell UK Ltd. to build a 60 megawatt gas-fired combined heat and power station at the Montell Polyolefins works at Carrington, Greater Manchester. Combined heat and power plants are designed to produce both electricity and usable heat. They have environmental benefits due to their high levels of efficiency.The decision demonstrates the Government's continuing commitment to promote CHP, wherever practicable, and our commitment to reducing emissions of carbon to fulfil the promises we gave at Kyoto.The decision to give clearance to the proposal on energy policy grounds is without prejudice to any determination under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.Copies of the Press Notice and decision letter are being placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will announce his decision on Scottish and Southern Energy plc's proposal to build a gas-fired power station at the Kimberly-Clark paper mill at Northfleet, Kent. [142975]

I have today given clearance under section 14(1) of the Energy Act 1976 to Scottish and Southern Energy plc to build a 110 megawatt gas-fired combined heat and power station at the Kimberly-Clark paper mill at Northfleet in Kent. Combined heat and power plants are designed to produce both electricity and usable heat. They have environmental benefits due to their high levels of efficiency.The decision demonstrates the Government's continuing commitment to promote CHP, wherever practicable, and our commitment to reducing emissions of carbon to fulfil the promises we gave at Kyoto. The decision to give clearance to the proposal on energy policy grounds is without prejudice to any determination under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.Copies of the Press Notice and decision letter are being placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Government will introduce regulations to amend the Batteries and Accumulators (Containing Dangerous Substances) Regulations 1994. [142977]

The Batteries and Accumulators (Containing Dangerous Substances) (Amendment) Regulations 2000 were made on 20 November and laid in the House on 22 November 2000. The Regulations will be available from the Stationary Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the names and addresses of the sub-post offices which have closed since May 1997. [142465]

[holding answer 12 December 2000]: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given on 16 November 2000, Official Report, column 718W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effect on the Blackpool, South constituency of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [142223]

My Department does not maintain statistical information down to constituency level.Constituents in Blackpool, South will have benefited from my Department's Employment Rights policies, which include the National Minimum Wage, the Working Time Directive, Part-Time Working Regulations and improved Maternity Leave. In addition, Blackpool, South is eligible for the Enterprise Grant Scheme.In the north-west we are also promoting regional innovation including the use of new technology, supporting small business, and developing Manufacturing Centres of Excellence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to require manufacturers of television sets to indicate on the sets that they are capable of receiving digital television. [141623]

Consumers should be able to make an informed choice between purchasing an integrated digital television set and an analogue television set that requires a set top box to receive and decode digital signals. The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 prohibits the false or misleading descriptions of products, whether by means of a label or any other means, such as an oral statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Open General Export Licences covering the export of goods on the Military List do not include Israel as a permitted destination. [142238]

Open General Export Licences (OGELs) allow the export of specified controlled goods by any company, removing the need for exporters to apply for an individual licence, provided the shipment and destinations are eligible and the conditions are met.At present, Israel is not a permitted destination on the following two OGELs covering the export of goods on the Military List:

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of the outstanding applications for Standard Individual Export Licence and Open Individual Export Licence outstanding at 16 November covering the export to Government or commercial consignees or end-users in Israel have been waiting for longer than six months for determination. [142237]

On 16 November, 77 applications for a Standard Individual Export Licence (SIEL) covering the export of goods on the military list to Government or commercial consignees or end-users in Israel were awaiting a decision. Of these 77 applications, three had been outstanding for more than six months.On the same date, 27 applications for an Open Individual Export Licence (OIEL) covering the export of specified goods to a number of specified destinations, including Israel, were awaiting a decision. Of these 27 applications, 14 had been outstanding for more than six months. It should be noted that because of the potentially wide variation in the goods and country coverage of OIELs it is to be expected that these cases will take longer to process than SIELs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many contracts have been underwritten by the ECGD via competitive tendering in each of the last 10 years. [142215]

ECGD does not maintain information on the tender process as part of its business records and as such cannot quantify the number of contracts which it has supported over the last 10 years which have been won via competitive tendering.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, at the World Trade Organisation under the terms of the TRIPS, he will support the use of compulsory licences to reduce the price of drugs to treat HIV/AIDS and related infections. [141744]

This Government support the inclusion of compulsory licensing provisions in TRIPs as a safeguard against abuses of intellectual property rights and as an incentive for pharmaceutical research and development. Access to medicines depends on more than intellectual property rights and drug pricing; a range of other factors, including adequate health care infrastructure, are at least as important.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has made to the South African Government about their proposals to allow the generic substitution of drugs to reduce the cost of treatment for HIV/AIDS and other diseases. [141747]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and I have had contacts with the South African Government aimed at supporting a partnership approach with the pharmaceutical industry to provide greater access to effective treatment for HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The South African Government has underlined its commitment to improve health care provision for all its people, while respecting its international obligations on intellectual property.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has made to Glaxo-Wellcome and Smith-Kline on the generic substitution of drugs for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and other diseases in South Africa. [141745]

I have discussed a wide range of issues with the pharmaceutical industry. I visited Glaxo Wellcome before my recent visit to South Africa. I welcome their commitment to work with the South African Government to improve access to medicines in general and treatments for HIV/AIDS in particular.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received supporting the right of Southern African countries to use parallel importing and compulsory licensing to widen access to HIV/AIDS medicines. [141746]

I have received letters from UK organisations and members of the public expressing concern about access to affordable medicines in Southern Africa. I believe that the best means of enabling this is through partnerships such as the UNAIDS Accelerating Access Initiative which involves the pharmaceutical companies working together with African Governments to provide therapies at substantially reduced cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what provisions he is putting in place to ensure the benefits of local loop unbundling are extended to all areas. [141665]

Local loop unbundling will allow operators to apply for space in any of BT's exchanges. The obligation to allow access to its local loop and to provide co-location at its exchanges applies also to Kingston Communications.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many schools made requests to parents for additional financial support towards school funds in 1999; and if he will make a statement. [141942]

The information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school teaching vacancies there were in (i) 1998–99 and (ii) 1999–2000, by (A) constituency and (B) education authority. [141944]

Vacancy data for parliamentary constituencies are not held centrally. The number of vacancies for qualified teachers is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many new teachers he expects will qualify in 2000. [141946]

Since 1 January 2000, 22,900 people have been awarded Qualified Teacher Status in England.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many extra staff have been employed in the further education sector to deal with the New Deal. [142283]

[holding answer 12 December 2000]: This information is not collected centrally. Staff deployment is a matter for colleges as independent employers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what issues were discussed at the last meeting of the British Overseas Territories Consultative Council; and if he will make a statement. [142471]

At the meeting of the Overseas Territories Consultative Council held in October this year, a full exchange of views took place on the relationship between the UK and the territories, and on international financial initiatives, immigration and nationality matters, internal security including police and prison services, accessible justice and sustainable development.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress on the implementation of the policies set out in the White Paper, Partnership for Progress and Prosperity. [142470]

Considerable progress has been made in key areas covered by the White Paper. Partnership between the political leaders of the territories and the Government has been strengthened by two meetings of the annual Consultative Council and visits by Baroness Scotland, Minister with responsibility for the Overseas Territories, to several territories; constitutional modernisation has been promoted in several territories with amendments already agreed for both the British Virgin Islands and Montserrat; a number of programmes to support good governance in such areas as police and prison services, disaster preparedness, and public service management have been supported, and a number of strategic environmental projects funded in all territories; capital punishment for murder and judicial corporal punishment have been abolished in all territories; an Order in Council to de-criminalise homosexual acts between consenting adults in private is before the Privy Council; and an independent review of the regulation of financial sectors in the Overseas Territories was published in October. Preparations for an Overseas Territories Bill granting British citizenship have reached an advanced stage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to introduce legislation offering British citizenship to citizens of the British Overseas Territories; and if he will make a statement. [142469]

We are fully committed to introducing legislation to give British citizenship to the people of the Overseas Territories. We will make Parliamentary time available to introduce the legislation for this measure as soon as practicable. Preparatory work has been done to agree the principles of such a Bill along with drafting instructions for Parliamentary Counsel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements he is making to allow the return of the Ibis islanders to the British Indian Ocean Territory; and if he will make a statement. [142473]