To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases have been dropped after an initial charge has been laid by the Director of Public Prosecutions, in each year from 1992 to 2000. [145221]

The table shows the number of proceedings dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in each year since 1992.

Prosecutions dropped 1992–2000
	Magistrates courts		Crown court
Year ending December	Discontinued	As a percentage of completed cases	Prosecutions dropped	As a percentage of completed cases
1992	193,110	13.3	8,825	7.8
1993	175,025	12.8	7,430	7.8
1994	159,803	11.7	7,298	8.0
1995	156,628	12.0	8,148	8.1
1996	153,274	12.0	7,109	7.4
1997	161,461	12.2	7,514	7.2
1998	162,661	12.0	8,680	9.4
1999	164,682	12.1	9,331	10.7
20001	127,078	12.6	7,619	11.9
1 January-September only

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list those contracts with a value in excess of £1 million entered into by the New Millennium Experience Company which have not complied with public procurement procedures. [141408]

[holding answer 11 December 2000]: Public procurement procedures are based on the presumption that competitive tendering should apply as the norm but recognise that in certain, exceptional circumstances single tender procurement is justified providing that value for money and probity criteria are met.In these respects the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) has advised that it has complied with public procurement procedures in the thousands of procurements of goods, works and services undertaken for the Millennium Experience project. Over 90 per cent. of procurements have been by competitive tender. Of those that have been single tender 10 were in excess of £1 million. Of those five were awarded to companies who had previously won work on the project through competitive tendering processes and were judged, for

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been paid out in grants in total, from Lottery funds, to (a) London and (b) Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley and St. Helens in (i) cash terms and (ii) as a percentage of the United Kingdom total. [145194]

The table shows the amounts paid to Lottery projects in London and in Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley and St. Helens in cash terms and as a percentage of all awards. This information has been taken from my Department's National Lottery awards database, using information provided by the National Lottery distributing bodies.

National Lottery awards made to the areas of London, Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley and St. Helens since the Lottery began, by local authority
Region/local authority	National Lottery grant totals awarded in cash terms (£)	Percentage of the United Kingdom total
London	2,356,719,474	25
Liverpool	121,368,909	1.3
Wirral	15,489,349	0.2
Sefton	14,894,452	0.2
Knowsley	10,319,142	0.1
St. Helens	16,785,298	0.2
Total1	168,538,008	2.0
1 Total for Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley and St. Helens

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had on the future of the Millennium Dome; and what estimate he has made of the effects on tourism in the area of the future use of the Dome site. [144912]

The Government are currently in negotiation with Legacy plc, as preferred bidder for the Dome. If negotiations go well we hope to be in a position to exchange contracts in February. Legacy plc's proposals are for a high technology industrial campus or workspace, leisure and retail uses. No estimate has been made on the potential effects of Legacy plc proposals on tourism to the surrounding area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to protect the physical security of the contents of the Millennium Dome prior to the conclusion of its sale agreement. [145016]

[holding answer 15 January 2001]: The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) has enhanced on-site security and has implemented comprehensive checking and authorisation procedures to ensure that any assets leaving the site have proper sign-off. This includes the establishment of an Asset Protection Team whose role is to oversee the movement, protection, secure storage and eventual disposal of assets whether owned by a third party or by NMEC. A special vehicle inspection bay has been created to screen all vehicles leaving the site and there is now only a single exit point from which vehicles can leave.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if the successful bidder for the site will be forbidden to demolish the Millennium Dome. [145417]

The Millennium Dome is safeguarded for a minimum of 15 years, as specified in the Competition brief, and as previously agreed under terms negotiated with Nomura.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much European funding has been obtained for tourism in (a) England, (b) north-west England and (c) Merseyside for 2001. [144909]

There are numerous potential sources of European funding that could benefit tourism in this country. For instance, economically depressed areas in the UK will benefit from over £6 billion of European regional funding under Objectives 1 and 2. Merseyside will receive £840 million of Objective 1 funding during the seven year programme to help economic development. Objective 2 funding totalling £500 million over this period will be providing help to parts of Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and Cumbria. It is difficult to identify the precise amount of an award that would benefit a specific sector such as tourism. However, we have been advised by the North West Tourist Board that tourism in Sefton and Liverpool will benefit from an award of £1.5 million under Objective 1. There will also be support for Liverpool's bid for European Capital of Culture, Sefton's integrated tourism marketing initiative and the Merseyside Partnership's Merseyside Advantage strategy from the European Regional Development Fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has for improving tourism in the Merseyside area in 2001. [144945]

This Department's national strategy, "Tomorrows Tourism", sets out a framework for the sustainable development of tourism throughout England, including Merseyside. As part of that strategy we provide funding via the English Tourism Council to support projects in the regions. The North West Tourist Board and local partners are responsible for delivering the regional strategy for their area. We have been advised by the Board that tourism will benefit from an award of £1.5 million to Sefton and Liverpool under Objective 1 (Sefton's share of the award is £400,000) and from European Regional Development Fund support for Liverpool's bid for the European Capital of Culture, for Sefton's integrated tourism marketing initiative and for the Merseyside Partnership's Merseyside Advantage Strategy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if he will publish the membership and biographical details of his Department's Advisory Committee on Public Appointments; [145168](2) on what basis appointments are made to his Department's Advisory Committee on Public Appointments. [145172]

[holding answer 15 January 2001]: My Department does not have an Advisory Committee on Public Appointments, but has a pool of Independent Assessors who provide independent scrutiny within the public appointments process as laid down in guidance from the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Commissioner's guidance allows Departments the flexibility to decide the criteria for selecting Independent Assessors and the method by which they are selected. We look for people with a wide range of backgrounds and appropriate experience who are able to bring an independent view to the appointments process. We also ensure that the list is representative of the public as a whole in terms of gender, ethnicity, age and disability.My Department currently has a list of 40 independent Assessors and details are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on proposals to establish an alternative to the National Lottery. [145139]

[holding answer 15 January 2001]: The Government are happy for organisations or individuals to operate lotteries providing they comply with the provisions of the existing legislation. Under section 5 of the National Lottery etc. Act 1993 there can be only one operator of the National Lottery, although other organisations can run individual games with the agreement of the section 5 operator (which must act reasonably in its dealings with a section 6 applicant). The Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 allows for four distinct types of lottery; society lotteries, local lotteries, private lotteries and small lotteries incidental to exempt entertainments. The larger society lotteries run by charities, sports clubs and local authorities must register with the Gaming Board for Great Britain. The maximum sale value of the tickets which may be sold in a single lottery is £1 million. The top prize which may be offered is £25,000 or 10 per cent. of its proceeds, whichever is the higher, and each lottery may sell no more than £5 million worth of tickets in a single year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the percentage funding is for each artistic discipline specified by the Arts Council to the regional arts boards. [145835]

The Arts Council allocated funding to the regional arts boards on the basis of the RABs own business plan for the support of the arts in their respective regions and not on the basis of specified funding for individual art forms.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when officials in (a) his Department, (b) the Cabinet Office and (c) the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions were informed of Mr. Robert Bourne's donations to the Labour Party. [144716]

[holding answer 11 January 2001]: Donations to political parties are not a factor in the assessment of bids or tenders for Government work. Decisions on the competition for the future use of the Dome have been taken on the basis of objective and independent advice on what bids best met the published competition criteria. I declared an association with Robert Bourne to my officials before consideration began in December 1999 of the bids which qualified under the competition. I included in my subsequent written declaration that Robert Bourne had made contributions to my Constituency Labour Party. On the advice of my officials, I removed myself from any part of the consideration of the qualifying bids and from the subsequent decisions on shortlisting and granting of preferred bidder status.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the most recent statistics are that his Department has collated on the level of subtitling of all programmes broadcast on (a) BBC1, (b) BBC2, (c) ITV, (d) Channel 4 and (e) Channel 5. [145377]

From the most recent information available from the BBC, over 70 per cent. of BBC1 and over 65 per cent. of BBC2 is subtitled. From the latest figures available from the ITC, published in the Commission's Annual Report 1999, the level of subtitling of programmes in that year was 66 per cent. on ITV; 50 per cent. on GMTV; 60 per cent. on Channel 4; and 32 per cent. on Channel 5.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to compel United Kingdom manufacturers of television sets to include a tuner that can receive digital signals in every new television set. [145775]

The Government have no such plans, which could be contrary to our international commitments unless it is part of a European agreement. However, the proposal for the Directive on universal service and users rights relating to electronic communications networks and services stipulates in its annexe VI that all the television sets sold in Europe should have at least one open interface socket permitting the connection of a digital receiver.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the Millennium festival in Scotland. [145894]

This is a matter for the Millennium Commission. I will write to the hon. Member in my capacity as Chairman of the Commission, and place copies of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the applications for National Lottery grants and the amounts refused by each (a) parliamentary constituency in Scotland and (b) Lottery board for each of the last five years. [145886]

We have contacted the National Lottery distributing bodies to request such information as they hold, and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available, placing copies of my letter in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to conduct a Quinquennial Review of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [146066]

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is managed by the Board of Trustees established by the National Heritage Act 1983 and has the status of an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body. I am today announcing the Quinquennial Review of this body which will evaluate its performance and status. The Review also meets a commitment under the Government's Better Quality Services initiative which requires Departments to review their services and activities over a five-year period to decide how best to improve quality and value for money.The terms of reference for the Review are as follows:

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made by the European Commission on legislative provisions concerning the adventitious presence of genetically modified seeds in seed 01 conventional plant varieties. [146065]

The Commission has recently published a working paper on the presence of GM seeds in seeds of conventional varieties. The draft proposals include provisions on GM threshold levels, previous cropping requirements, isolation distances and labelling. Copies of the working paper have been placed in the Library of the House.We will be consulting widely on these proposals.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met representatives of the abattoir industry; and what matters were discussed. [143176]

[holding answer 18 December 2000]: The last specific occasion was on 30 November 2000, when the Date Based Export Scheme was the subject of discussion.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the principal changes his Department is seeking on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. [143931]

Action plan for farming
Measure	Value	Accounted for as DEL or AME	Proportion paid to farmers/other intended recipients to date
Introduced a scheme to encourage the restructuring of the pig industry in order to improve its long-term viability. (UK wide)	£26 million (in 2000–01)	DEL	—
Pay to dairy farmers all the agrimonetary aid that EU rules permit this year only. (UK wide)	£22 million (in 2000–01)	AME	99.9 per cent. (£21.9 million)
Pay agrimonetary compensation to beef farmers of £22 million this year only. Payments will be made in connection with Beef Special Premium, Suckler Cow Premium and Extensification Payments for the 2000 scheme year. (UK wide)	£22 million (in 2000–01 and 2001–02)	AME	39 per cent. (£8.6 million)
Agrimonetary compensation to sheep farmers of £22 million this year in respect of 1999 scheme year claims. (UK wide)	£22 million (in 2000–01 and 2001–02)	AME	100 per cent. (£22 million)

Our goal is for agriculture to be:

competitive, diverse and flexible in a world of increasingly open markets;

responsive to consumer demand;

environmentally sustainable;

an integral part of the rural economy.

Specific reforms needed will include:

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the comments made by Professor Harriet Kimbell at a departmental news conference concerning SEAC's meeting on 28 November 2000. [144345]

[holding answer 8 January 2001]: No. Professor Kimbell's personal opinions do not fall within my ministerial responsibility.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will indicate, in respect of each component item of the farm aid package announced on 30 March 2000, (a) if it has been accounted for as DEL or AME expenditure and (b) what proportion has been paid to (i) farmers and (ii) other intended recipients to date. [144398]

[holding answer 8 January 2001]: The Action Plan for Farming, launched at the Farming Summit on 30 March was supported by £203.5 million. The components of this, how they have been accounted for, and the proportion paid to farmers and other intended recipients to date are as listed.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from Mr. Hugh Leman concerning the entry of imported over-30-month meat into the British food chain. [144318]

[holding answer 8 January 2001]: None that I am aware of.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many prosecutions there were for breaches of (a) meat hygiene regulations and (b) pesticide safety regulations in each year from 1992 to 2000. [145246]

In the year 1992 there were no prosecutions for breaches of meat hygiene regulations and four for breaches of pesticide safety regulations for which my Department was responsible. Other authorities will have had responsibility, especially up to 1 April 1995 when the Meat Hygiene Service was established and after 1 April 2000 when the Food Standards Agency was established. The relevant figures for subsequent years are:

Year	Meat	Pesticides
1993	0	11
1994	0	8
1995	0	10
1996	7	0
1997	7	4
1998	28	4
1999	28	9
2000	21	1

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reports his Department has received on the death of a 12-year-old lion at Newquay Zoo from feline spongiform encephalopathy; what estimate he has made of the number of animals which have died from FSE; and if he will make a statement. [145351]

The lion, which was born on 25 July 1987, and acquired by Newquay zoo in October 1997, had been suffering from lameness and increasing inco-ordination of the hind limbs from May 2000. It was euthanased in August 2000 and the carcase examined at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), Truro. Tissues were sent to pathologists at VLA Lasswade where the diagnosis of feline spongiform encephalopathy was made. This diagnosis was supported by further examinations carried out at VLA Weybridge.Post mortem examinations of domestic and exotic cats are routinely carried out by the VLA on behalf of MAFF, as part of the surveillance for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.Cases confirmed to date are as follows:

	Domestic cat	Cheetah	Lion	Ocelot	Puma	Tiger
1990	12	—	—	—	—	—
1991	12	—	—	—	—	—
1992	10	1	—	—	1	—
1993	11	1	—	—	—	—
1994	16	—	—	1	—	—
1995	8	—	—	1	2	1
1996	6	1	—	—	—	—
1997	6	1	—	—	—	—
1998	4	1	1	—	—	1
1999	2	—	1	1	—	1
2000	1	—	1	—	—	—

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the non-departmental public bodies responsible to him which have duties relating to Scotland, indicating their budget and staffing levels. [145892]

A list of the non-departmental public bodies that are sponsored by my Department and which have a remit covering Great Britain or the United Kingdom is set out in the annex.The remaining information is not held centrally in the form requested, but generally information on expenditure and staffing is published annually in the Cabinet Office publication, "Public Bodies". Copies of "Public Bodies 2000" have recently been placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the Defence Diversification Agency. [145997]

We remain fully committed to defence diversification—the "spin-out" of defence technology to the civil sector for wider benefit. The Defence Diversification Agency (DDA) has made a very successful start in delivering that policy objective since its establishment in 1999. The implementation of our Public Private Partnership proposals for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) will make a further and very substantial contribution to defence diversification. It will be in the interest of "NewDERA" to exploit opportunities for the "spin-out" of defence technology to the civil sector. At the same time we shall want to ensure that the Defence Scientific and Technical Laboratory (DSIL), the part of DERA to be retained in the MOD, also contributes fully to defence diversification activity.Since the DDA currently operates as part of DERA, some reorganisation over the next few months is inevitable. Responsibility for the agency, we propose, will be transferred from DERA to MOD headquarters, from where it would continue to facilitate the achievement of our defence diversification objectives. It would ensure that opportunities for "spin-out", and also the "spin-in" of civil technology to the MOD, are disseminated and exploited, and that industry is assisted with its own diversification planning. A major part of diversification activities would in future be undertaken from within NewDERA and DSTL, by existing DDA staff operating from their current locations, continuing the work that they do now, and transferred to NewDERA and DSTL for that purpose.We shall work closely with industry and other stakeholders to ensure that the DDA continues to secure our policy objectives. Detailed new arrangements will now be worked out and we shall consult about the staffing implications in the normal way. In the light of experience of the new organisation, we shall consider further the establishment of a Defence Diversification Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what depleted uranium rounds were discharged for training purposes in Saudi Arabia on the Devil Dog Dragoon ranges in 1990–91; and if the ranges were cleared after firing. [145128]

[holding answer 15 January 2001]: According to records held by my Department, a small number of DU rounds were fired at Devil Dog Dragoon Ranges in Saudi Arabia during January 1991. These munitions were fired for commissioning purposes, that is, firing at a soft canvas target in order to form a Mean Point of Impact, from which data could be obtained on the accuracy of the tank's main armament when firing this type of ammunition. The rounds fired were L26 120 mm Armour Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot (APFSDS) Challenger tank DU rounds, which were first deployed operationally during the Gulf Conflict.We do not have details of the numbers of rounds which may have been fired, or the precise dates of any such firings but contemporary authoritative records show that two areas within Devil Dog Dragoon Ranges were designated for the firing of tank main armaments, as well as for other large calibre rounds which contained no DU material. These ranges were designated T1 and T2. Contemporary records indicate that the clearance of any UK Unexploded Ordnance from these ranges was completed during March 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if animals will be used in the development of thermobaric weapons. [145370]

I have nothing to add to the answer provided by my hoe. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces on 5 June 2000, Official Report, columns 17–18W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Mr. Wyatt).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his policy towards the (a) development and (b) use by British armed forces of thermobaric weapons. [145371]

The Ministry of Defence does not have any weapons based on `thermobaric' munitions in its inventory. However, such weapons exist and it would therefore be irresponsible not to keep developments in this field under review, not least to develop protective measures for our personnel.We have asked industry to consider how best to provide an anti-structure capability for use by the infantry in the urban environment. It is possible that this solution may involve using blast rather than fragmentation effects.Should we decide to acquire such a weapon, we would ensure that this was fully in accordance with international law and our treaty obligations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on Army overstretch over the past three years. [145901]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 October 2000, Official Report, column 276W, to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow). Since that time, the percentage of the Army committed to operations has fallen a further percentage point to 21 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the (a) trained strength and (b) trained requirement of the UK (i) regular armed forces, (ii) reserve forces and (iii) Territorial Army. [145902]

The information is as follows.

Full timed trained	All services	Naval service	Army	RAF
Full time trained strength	189,318	38,604	100,442	50,272
of which:
Trained UK Regulars	184,671	38,127	96,523	50,021
FTRS personnel1	1,312	477	584	251
Trained Gurkhas	3,335	—	3,335	—
Trained requirement	198,043	39,921	106,133	51,989
for:
Trained UK Regulars	194,795	39,921	103,086	51,788
FTRS personnel1, 2	201	—	—	201
Trained Gurkhas	3,047	—	3,047	—
1 FTRS: Full Time Reserve Service personnel. Royal Air Force FTRS personnel are divided into Full Commitment (FC), Limited Commitment (LC and Home Commitment (HC)
2 FC individuals serve in vacant regular posts, but LC and HC individuals count towards a separate requirement. The RAF requirement for FTRS personnel is for LC and HC only

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with American officials on (a) the upgrading of Fylingdales and (b) the upgrading of early warning facilities other than Fylingdales. [145244]

The Government have had a regular dialogue with the US Administration on the issue of National Missile Defence, and looks forward to continuing this with the next US Administration. The current US Administration has not sought our agreement to the use of facilities in this country for National Missile Defence. Nor would we expect any such request from the United States until and unless the next Administration decided to proceed with deployment of such a system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the ro-ro ship construction contract recently awarded to the winning consortium can be sub-contracted from the German Flensburg yard to a Polish sub-contractor. [145245]

The ro-ro shipbuilding contracts are a commercial matter between AWSR Shipping, the preferred bidder for the Strategic Sealift competition, and its subcontractors. However, I understand that Flensburger Shiffbau-Gesellschaft intend to build all of the four ships ordered from them by AWSR in their Flensburg yard.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fatal accidents have occurred on board Vanguard-class submarines since they entered into service; and what health and safety procedures have been introduced following such accidents. [145359]

Since the introduction of the Vanguard class, there has been only one instance of an onboard fatality. This was on 6 October 2000. As is usual in these circumstances, rigorous formal inquiries were instigated. These included a Board of Inquiry. The report from the Board of Inquiry is currently being considered by Senior Officers. Following the accident, and in advance of final recommendations, some additional precautionary measures have been introduced.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the size of the Territorial Army. [145900]

The latest available official figures give the strength of the Territorial Army as 41,671.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about trends in (a) Territorial Army centre closures since 1992 and (b) proposed closures of Territorial Army centres in 2000–01. [145904]

Between 1992 and the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), the number of Territorial Army Centres (TAC) remained almost constant, with any closures part of routine management of the Volunteer Estate. SDR resulted in a fundamental reorganisation, reduction and in some cases redeployment of the Territorial Army. Prior to SDR, there were 455 TACs. 342 have been retained for use by the TA, and 27 to accommodate cadet forces units. Of the 86 that will be disposed of, 14 of these have already been sold and a further 42 were scheduled for disposal in financial year 2000–01. It is now unlikely that all these will be sold in the current financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people were recruited into the (a) RAF, (b) Army and (c) Royal Navy on cadetships and how many of them (i) had their fees paid and (ii) received a salary, in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [145903]

I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of the defence budget was spent in Scotland in the most recent year for which figures are available (a) in actual terms and (b) as a percentage of the total defence budget. [145898]

The Department is organised financially into Top Level Budgets reflecting major outputs rather than geographical location. Expenditure records reflect this organisation and are maintained for only commodities and Top Level Budgets. While we do not record all departmental expenditure by region, the Defence Bills Agency paid defence contractors based in Scotland some £691 million during 1999–2000, some 3 per cent. of Defence expenditure. The figures do not take account of purchases by sub-contractors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people from (a) Scotland and (b) the United Kingdom are serving in Her Majesty's armed forces. [145905]

Examination of available personal records of currently serving personnel¹ has revealed the following information:

	Number
(a) Scotland
Naval service	2,534
Army	12,853
RAF	5,698
(b) The United Kingdom
Naval service2	42,505
Army	107,211
RAF	50,858
1 Naval service data are based on current place of residence. This information is provided at the individual's discretion, therefore the records are unlikely to be complete. Army and RAF details are based on nationality at birth.
2 Naval service total strength as at 1 December 2000 was 42,505 but this includes an unspecified number of Commonwealth citizens and Republic of Ireland nationals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each health authority in England the budgeted allocations for disease modifying therapies for relapsing/remitting MS. [144860]

Health authorities are expected to meet the costs of drug treatments from their unified budgets. We do not hold centrally information on the amount each health authority may have allocated for specific treatments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the impact of the recent judgment in the case of the contaminated turkey and chicken meat in Hull; and if he will review the adequacy of penalties under food safety laws. [144861]

Putting condemned meat in the human food chain is a very serious matter and one that could affect human health.The charge in this case was one of unusually serious criminal activity involving food safety, based on an intention to defraud others for financial gain. The fresh meat sector is one of the most strictly regulated sectors of the food industry. Penalties under the Food Safety Act 1990 reflect the nature of the regulatory offences generally prosecuted under it. In this case, the appropriate charge was a common law conspiracy to defraud, where the penalties available are greater than those under specific food legislation. If the law needs strengthening to ensure better protection of human health, we will not hesitate to do this.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the Chief Medical Officer's Annual report was not published in autumn 2000. [145008]

The last Chief Medical Officer's report was published in August 1998 by Sir Kenneth Calman shortly before he left office. The present Chief Medical Officer came into post in late September 1998. He has taken stock of the publications issued by the CMO and introduced a number of changes. He is currently exploring the opportunities for greater use of web-based publishing methods.After listening to a wide range of views he also intends to introduce changes to the format of his annual report. Although the previous format served its purpose well in the past, it is very detailed and it is not always clear in what areas action is being called for. The practice of the CMO's annual report containing descriptions of a wide range of Government policies which are contained in other documents added to the detailed nature of the reports.It is the intention of the CMO to produce a new format of the report. Although it was intended that the new report would be ready for the end of 2000, due to other pressing commitments it is hoped that it will now be published in the first quarter of this year. It will be shorter, with a clear focus on areas for action and in a more accessible form. The CMO has produced a number of major reports in the last eighteen months including: "An organisation with a memory: report of an expert group on learning from adverse events in the NHS"; "Supporting Doctors, Protecting Patients"; and "Stem Cell Research: Medical Progress with Responsibility".

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS consultant posts are unfilled; and if he will list the 10 consultancy categories with the most unfilled posts. [145305]

The information requested is given in the table.

Department of Health Vacancies Survey, March 2000. Vacancies in National Health Service trusts in England
NHS consultants	3 month vacancies	3 month vacancy rates (%)
Total consultants	590	2.7
Anaesthetics consultant	30	0.9
Obstetrics and Gynaecology consultant	10	1.0
Surgical group consultant	60	1.5
Dental group consultant	20	1.8
General Medicine group consultant	90	2.0
Paediatrics consultant	40	2.8
Pathology group consultant	50	2.8
Radiotherapy consultant	10	3.3
Radiology group consultant	70	4.7
Accident and Emergency consultant	30	5.8
Psychiatry Group consultant	190	6.9

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research into retinitis pigmentosa (a) is being and (b) has been recently funded by the Government. [144932]

The Medical Research Council (MRC) which receives its funding via the Department of Trade and Industry is currently funding two research projects into retinitis pigmentosa, at a cost of £494,000. In 1999–2000 MRC spent an estimated £4.10 million on projects relating to vision. The MRC also funds broader research programmes into genetics, an estimated £57 million in 1999–2000, which is of relevance to retinitis pigmentosa and many other diseases.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish a response to the Stewart report on mobile telecommunications. [145366]

The Stewart report was published on 11 May 2000. On the same day we published our initial response on the Department of Health website welcoming the report and setting out its plans for implementing the recommendations. In December 2000 we published a public information leaflet on mobile phones and base stations and announced the start of a new mobile phones and health research programme. Other initiatives that are already in place include information to local education authorities and schools and a programme of measurement and audit of mobile phone base stations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the membership is of the mobile phone review group; what interests they have declared; and how many meetings of the group have been held since it was set up. [145864]

The Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP) (the Stewart group) was set up to investigate the public health implications of mobile phone technologies. The members were as follows:

Chairman:

Professor Sir William Stewart, FRS, FRSE

Members:

• Professor L. J. Challis, OBE
• Professor L. W. Barclay, OBE, FREng
• Mrs. M.-N. Barton, MBE
• Professor C. Blakemore, FRS
• Professor D. N. M. Coggon
• Professor Sir David Cox, FRS
• Mr. J. Fellows
• Dr. M. Repacholi
• Professor M. Rugg, FRSE
• Professor A. J. Swerdlow
• Mr. T. R. K. Varma, FRCS (Ed.).

Brief resumés for the members of the IEGMP were published in the report and are on www.iegmp.org.uk. They held a total of 15 meetings. Five of these meetings were open and their minutes are on the website. All members declared their interests at the outset. These records along with submitted written evidence to the group will shortly be lodged at the Public Record Office where they will be available for inspection. Their report was published on 11 May 2000. Copies are available in the Library. The report included a recommendation for a substantial research programme to be set up. This programme, jointly funded by Government and industry, was announced in December 2000 and will be launched at a meeting in central London on 9 February. The research will be undertaken under the direction of an independent programme management committee chaired by Sir William Stewart. Further details will be made available shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the result of his Department's review of the list of medicines that ambulance paramedics are allowed to administer on their own initiative; if he will indicate the time scale for implementing proposals arising from the review; and if he will make a statement. [145356]

On 16 November 2000, I announced changes in the law which allowed ambulance paramedics to administer parenterally a wider range of medicines to provide emergency treatment for patients suffering heart attacks and other life-threatening conditions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients are on NHS waiting lists in the Brent Health Authority area; how many were on such lists in May 1997; and if he will make a statement. [145881]

The following figures relate to the total inpatient waiting list. Data for May 1997 are not available as data were collected only quarterly at that point. Therefore data are provided for the two nearest quarter months for Brent and Harrow Health Authority:

	Number
March 1997	11,481
June 1997	11,428
November 2000	8,421

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many acute NHS trusts there are in England; and what population is served by each trust. [145625]

The number of acute National Health Service trusts in England is 197. Population figures are not available as the se trusts do not serve fixed catchment areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the acute NHS hospitals which have an MRI scanner on their premises. [145624]

A list is given in the table of those acute National Health Service trusts which currently have an MRI scanner on their premises. The provision of 33 new MRI scanners to support the accurate diagnosis and staging of cancer patients is being funded through the New Opportunities Fund. As a result of the NHS Plan by 2004 there will be a further 50 new MRI scanners.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his reply of 20 December 2000, Official Report, column 196W, (1) what steps he plans to take to provide a secure regulatory framework on the market for those products which are safe combinations of herbal remedies and food ingredients; and if he will make a statement; [145568](2) pursuant to his answer of 20 December 2000,

Our priority in continuing European discussions on the proposed directive is to achieve a secure regulatory regime for traditional herbal remedies. We are aware that there are also some traditional medicines which consist wholly or partly of non-herbal ingredients. Our current position is that, once the directive goes beyond relatively discrete categories such as traditional herbal remedies, it may become more difficult to contain the wider public health and regulatory consequences. We therefore wish to continue to review the developing shape of the directive and the implications for overall medicines regulation before firmly committing ourselves to supporting the principle that coverage should extend more widely.We are also considering carefully our detailed position on the definition of traditional use, including the qualifying time period, and on criteria which might apply in the case of combinations. One general consideration is that the normal regulatory requirements for medicines include demonstration of efficacy. While we have advocated in Europe the specific case for lifting the requirement for efficacy in the case of genuinely traditional herbal remedies, we would have concerns about the potential implications if the parameters for traditional use were set so loosely that a very wide range of medicinal products were no longer required to demonstrate efficacy.At this stage we do not yet know the views of other member states on specific issues relating to combination products. We would expect a clearer picture to emerge over the coming months as European discussions continue. The Medicines Control Agency (MCA) has submitted our initial response to the European Commission on the preliminary draft of the proposed directive. Copies of the MCA's letter will be placed in the Library. We will continue our current consultative approach with herbal interest groups.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the recently financed extra money for cancer care will be targeted in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry. [144973]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently announced a national investment of £450 million earmarked for cancer and heart services which will help to raise standards of care and cut waiting times for treatment.Each health authority, in consultation with National Health Service trusts, will need to draw up an agreed policy for cancer services and report on their plans to use the money through the service and financial framework process.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the recently announced extra money for cancer care will be targeted at specific forms of cancer; and which research institutes and sites of excellence will benefit from the additional money. [144974]

The NHS Plan announced that health authorities will receive an additional £280 million in 2001–02, £407 million in 2002–03 and £570 million by 2003–04 for improving cancer services as set out in the National Health Service cancer plan.The plan sets out the priorities for cancer services including improved prevention measures; increasing the cancer work force; reducing waiting times for diagnosis and treatment; introducing the most effective treatments (including implementing recommendations by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence on anti-cancer drugs and implementing evidence-based guidance on effective service delivery); updating cancer equipment, and reorganising delivery of care. The aim is that, as the plan is implemented, patients with all forms of cancer will experience prompt access to treatment and care based on up-to-date evidence. Early action will include implementation of recent and forthcoming guidance on upper gastrointestinal, urological and haematological cancers; new waiting times targets to ensure rapid access to treatment for people with breast cancer, childhood cancers, testicular cancer and leukaemia; and the start of the roll out of the breast screening programme to women aged 65–70.All centres of research excellence will benefit from the extra money announced for cancer care. In addition by 2003, we will be investing an additional £20 million each year in the new National Cancer Research Network

Health authority	1999–2000 allocation per unweighted head of population £	2000–01 allocation per unweighted head of population £	Increase between 1999–2000 and 2000–01 Percentage
Avon	580	639	10.1
Barking and Havering	658	726	10.4
Barnet	637	690	8.3
Barnsley	670	733	9.4
Bedfordshire	554	608	9.7
Berkshire	530	583	10.0
Bexley and Greenwich	681	748	9.9
Birmingham	658	724	10.0
Bradford	642	707	10.2
Brent and Harrow	670	736	9.9
Bromley	613	670	9.2
Buckinghamshire	524	575	9.7
Bury and Rochdale	649	721	11.0
Calderdale and Kirklees	641	696	8.6
Cambridgeshire1	—	595	n/a
Cambridge and Huntingdon1	517	—	n/a
Camden and Islington	856	953	11.3
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly	647	702	8.5
County Durham	677	745	10.1
Coventry	625	690	10.4
Croydon	606	663	9.3
Doncaster	671	734	9.4
Dorset	640	694	8.3
Dudley	593	650	9.7
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow	698	764	9.5
East and North Hertfordshire	558	611	9.5
East Kent	667	726	8.9
East Lancashire	683	749	9.6
East London and The City	775	860	11.0
East Norfolk1	602	—	n/a
East Riding	616	677	10.0
East Surrey	596	653	9.7
East Sussex Brighton and Hove	680	738	8.5
Enfield and Haringey	683	746	9.1
Gateshead and South Tyneside	713	777	8.9
Gloucestershire	595	645	8.4
Herefordshire	591	643	8.9
Hillingdon	627	683	8.9
Isle of Wight	730	793	8.6
Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster	730	815	11.6
Kingston and Richmond	621	680	9.5
Lambeth Southwark and Lewisham	779	868	11.5
Leeds	638	701	9.8
Leicestershire	557	611	9.7
Lincolnshire	615	664	7.9
Liverpool	747	814	8.9
Manchester	759	830	9.3
Merton Sutton and Wandsworth	670	734	9.5

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 18 December 2000, Official Report column 43W, on Government funding to health authorities, how much the funding allocation has been to each health authority per unweighted head of population for (a) 1999–2000, (b) 2000–01 and (c) the percentage rise or fall between the two years. [145368]

Health authority allocations per unweighted head of population for 1999–2000, 2000–01, and the percentage increase between the two years are given in the table.