To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will make an announcement on compensation for victims of variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease. [150839]

We are committed to constructing a compensation scheme that is effective and properly meets the needs of those affected. Discussions are under way with the legal representatives of the families affected. In the meantime we will be making interim payments of £25,000 when regulations have been put in place to ensure the payments are not taken into account in the calculation of income-related social security benefits and are exempted from the provisions of the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997. We intend to present this legislation to Parliament as soon as possible. Details of the full compensation package are still under consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what response he plans to make to the recent Scope report, "Speak for Yourself?, concerning communication aids. [150078]

The report is a detailed and very valuable assessment of the importance of communication aids for disabled people and we are studying its recommendations carefully.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on UK aid to North Korea. [150311]

The UK has provided humanitarian assistance in North Korea by channelling modest and well-targeted contributions through UN agencies and international non-governmental organisations—over £2.5 million since 1998. The programmes we support have primarily focused on agricultural rehabilitation and food security. In addition, the UK share of humanitarian assistance to North Korea through the EC was approximately £0.5 million in 1999–2000.Our engagement with North Korea through provision of humanitarian assistance has been instrumental in opening the country up to external influences. It has allowed us to maintain a dialogue with the North Korean authorities on issues of concern such as human rights abuse, the misappropriation of aid, and the problems of access faced by agencies working in the country. We will continue to work through the EU and with the international community as a whole to encourage a process of transformation in North Korea.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about the Brahimi report. [149875]

The Brahimi report makes a number of fundamental recommendations on improving the way the UN and the international community tackle peacekeeping, conflict prevention and peacebuilding, and on clarifying the mandates of UN agencies involved in tackling crises and conflict situations. The UK is very supportive of the Brahimi report and is working with the UN and other member states to take rapid and decision action on its speedy and effective implementation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to place the consultation document on the protection of sunken military vessels in the Library. [150689]

I have today placed a copy of the consultation paper in the Libraries of both Houses.A copy of the consultation paper has been sent to those hon. Members who have shown an interest in the subject of the protection of military maritime graves.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if members of the armed forces who received multiple vaccines in preparation for deployment during the Gulf War, but were not deployed, are eligible to participate in the Gulf veterans medical assessment programme. [150260]

Yes. The Gulf veterans medical assessment programme is open to all present and former Service personnel or Ministry of Defence civilians who believe that their health has suffered as a direct result of the Gulf conflict.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he takes to ensure that publicly funded projects do not cause disruption of television reception for neighbouring households during building works and after completion. [149668]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions is responsible for the Planning Policy Guidance note 8 on telecommunications development in England. This includes advice on the potential in any development to interfere with television reception. The Scottish Executive are responsible for such planning policy issues in Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will ask the BBC to publish figures indicating the (a) funding of and (b) audience figures for (i) BBC Choice, (ii) BBC Knowledge and (iii) BBC 24 hours since their inception. [150213]

The BBC has published figures showing their spending on each of these channels in the Corporation's Annual Report and Accounts every year since they were launched. Audience figures are published independently by BARB, the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board Ltd.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what permission was sought by the BBC from his Department in launching (a) BBC Choice, (b) BBC Knowledge and (c) BBC 24 hours. [150212]

£ million
	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	Total
Discretionary spending on Government measures	200	200	1,270	2,730	4,390	8,800
Net cost of earnings uprating	—	140	500	1,380	1,570	3,580
Extra spending above earnings uprating	200	60	770	1,360	2,830	5,220

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many mothers in Yorkshire and Humberside received maternity grant in (a) 1996–97, (b) 1997–98, (c) 1998–99, (d) 1999–2000 and (e) 2000 to date; and what the value of the grant was in each of these years. [149438]

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

Maternity Payment (MP) and Sure Start Maternity Grant (SSMG) awards for the Benefits Agency's Yorkshire area directorate
£
Financial year	Application type	Number of awards	Amount awarded
1996–97	MP	13,437	1,361,110.55
	SSMG	0	0.00
	Total	13,437	1,361,110.55
1997–98	MP	12,839	1,301,124.37
	SSMG	0	0.00
	Total	12,839	1,301,124.37
1998–99	MP	13,512	1,366,846.65
	SSMG	0	0.00
	Total	13,512	1,366,846.65

BBC Choice and BBC News 24 were approved in principle in March 1997 and BBC Knowledge in January 1998. Specific approvals were given for the carriage of these new services on digital terrestrial television digital satellite and digital cable in February 1998, Ma) 1998 and October 1999 respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will calculate the extra cost if state retirement pensions had been linked to earnings since 1997. [149082]

If our policy had been only to link the basic pension to earnings we would have spent £5.2 billion less over a five-year period. Instead we will have spent an estimated £3.5 billion extra in the five years since 1997–98 as a result of our discretionary measures for pensioners. This is over £5 billion more than uprating the basic state pension by earnings since April 1998.Further details arc in the table.

Maternity Payment (MP) and Sure Start Maternity Grant (SSMG) awards for the Benefits Agency's Yorkshire area directorate
£
Financial year	Application type	Number of awards	Amount awarded
1999–2000	MP	12,950	1,312,264.05
	SSMG	2	300.00
	Total	12,952	1,312,564.05
2000–2001	MP	1,415	144,100.00
	SSMG	9,038	2,071,767.00
	Total	10,453	2,215,867.00

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in Yorkshire and Humberside received the Disability Working Allowance during the last year of its existence. [149440]

Disabled Persons Tax Credit replaced Disability Working Allowance on 5 October 1999.In Yorkshire and Humberside there were 2,458 claimants in receipt of Disability Working Allowance at some time during the period 6 October 1998 to 4 October 1999. Of these, 2,130 were awards made during this period.

To ask the Secretary I of State for Social Security what progress he has made on his PSA target of reducing losses from fraud and error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance. [150793]

In 1998 we set a PSA target to reduce fraud and error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance by 10 per cent. by March 2002. Provisional estimates show that the Department is likely to have met this target some 18 months earlier than anticipated. However, the Department has now set a more demanding target of reducing losses through fraud and error by 25 per cent. by March 2004 rising to 50 per cent. by March 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of increasing the basic state pension to £92 for a single person and £138 for a couple, Liking into account (a) savings in regard to (i) the Minimum Income Guarantee and (ii) other benefits payable to pensioners and (b) the consequent increases in receipts of tax revenue. [147606]

[pursuant to his reply, 8 February 2001, c. 700W]: The information is in the table.

Cost of increasing the basic state pension to £92 for a single person and £138 for a couple
	£ billion
	2001–02
Gross total	8.4
Minimum Income Guarantee savings	1
Other income related benefit savings	0.8
Total income related benefit savings	1.8
Tax yield	0.8
Total net cost	5.8

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much in the form of export credit guarantees has been made available for each year since 1992 to (a) the Hinduja Group and (b) subsidiaries of the Hinduja Group. [149696]

[holding answer 9 February 2001]: No export guarantees have been issued to the Hinduja Group nor, as far as ECGD is aware, to any of its subsidiaries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which members of the Hinduja family he has met since 3 May 1997; where such meetings have taken place; and for what purpose. [149839]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 2 February 2001, Official Report, column 336W, to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and the Weald (Miss Widdecombe).

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many modified sub-post offices there are and how many are run by interim sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses. [150259]

I understand from the Post Office that at the end of the third quarter of its current financial year, there were 655 modified sub-post offices. Of these, 33 were, at that date operated through temporary agents as a result of the resignation or termination of contract of the previous agent. In all such cases, the Post Office seeks to avoid any break in service and to ensure that standards of service are maintained until a new permanent agent can be appointed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many sub-post office closures there were in the third quarter of 2000; and how many closures there were in total up to the end of that quarter in 2000. [148213]

[holding answer 1 February 2001]: 135 sub-post offices closed in the third quarter of the financial year 2000–01. Between April and December 2000 closures totalled 434, of which four are permanent following consultations under the Code of Practice. The figures reflect a snapshot position on one single day and many of these closures will be of a temporary nature only. The Government recognise that this is a serious issue for the communities concerned and a range of measures will be implemented in the near future to address it. Recent research by the Post office into the reasons for sub-postmasters' resignations makes clear that personal circumstances, such as retirement and health, are the main reasons for resigning. Fewer than 10 per cent. cite financial reasons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will break down the funding allocated to the North West for science in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) 2000, by each major project. [146684]

A detailed breakdown of funding allocated to the North West by the Research Councils cannot be provided without disproportionate cost as the information is not held centrally in the format requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much steel was imported into Britain in 2000; where it was imported from; where most of it was used; and if he will make a statement. [150249]

[holding answer 13 February 2001]: Imports of finished steel products in 1999 and the first 11 months of 2000 were as follows.

UK Imports of steel industry products
Tonnes
Region	1999	2000 (January to November)
European Union
Austria	57,765	77,479
Belgium	632,005	598,770
Denmark	59,540	49,075
Finland	223,063	177,827
France	836,679	712,908
Germany	1,353,337	1,251,444
Greece	9,322	20,021
Irish Republic	89,958	89,381
Italy	301,440	281,359
Luxembourg	54,638	61,633
Netherlands	589,298	452,202
Portugal	2,428	2,837
Spain	374,353	385,020
Sweden	494,291	320,897
United Kingdom1	27,388	222,611
Total European Union	5,105,505	4,703,464
Other Western Europe (not EU)	601,234	471,458
Eastern Europe and CIS	454,725	829,004
North Africa	29,990	34,421
Central, East and South Africa	80,353	117,021
West Africa	15	1,569
North America	64,943	75,968
Central and South America	100,024	70,240
Near and Middle East	1,651	5,669
Other Asian countries	402,310	388,724
Australasia and other Oceania	36,841	35,499
Unallocated	7,093	—
Total	6,884,681	6,733,037
1 Re-imports of steel that has been sent out of the UK for further processing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to introduce rules to require the inclusion of a digital tuner in new television sets; and if he will make a statement. [148270]

The Government have no plans to introduce rules requiring the inclusion of a digital tuner in new television sets. EU competition rules could preclude such requirements being made on a unilateral national basis.Annexe VI of the Directive on universal services and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks stipulates that all television sets sold in Europe should have at least one open interface socket permitting the connection of a digital receiver.The Government have recently announced a White Paper on enterprise, skills and innovation entitled "Opportunity For All in a World of Change" which outlines its plans for digital television.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of employers with a policy of allowing reduced working hours for fathers have (a) fewer than 20 employees, (b) 100 employees or less, (c) 200 employees or less and (d) more than 500 employees. [150109]

[holding answer 13 February 2001]: A survey commissioned by the Department for Education and Employment in 2000 reports that 40 per cent. of fathers in workplaces Employing between five and 24 staff said that their employer would allow them to reduce their hours for an agreed period of time at reduced salary. Corresponding figures were 30 per cent. for those employees in workplaces employing between 25 and 99 employees, 34 per cent. in workplaces between 100 and 499 employees and 35 per cent. in workplaces employing more than 500 employees.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many firms in the UK manufacture LPG cylinders for the automotive industry; and how many cylinders were made in each year since 1995. [150197]

No UK manufacturers of LPG cylinders for the automotive industry have been identified, no record of UK manufacture of LPG cylinders could be located since 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what initiatives embarked upon since May 1997 have benefited Pendle; and if he will make a statement. [149913]

Pendle has benefited from the Department's employment rights policies, which include the national minimum wage, the working time directive, part-time working regulations and improved maternity leave.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent by his Department's Ministers on drinks and entertainment in 2000. [146371]

[holding answer 22 January 2001]: The total spent by Ministers' offices on drinks and entertainment in the financial year 1999–2000, including the costs of some official DTI functions, was £19,834.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the accessibility of existing test centres for health compensation claims for former miners in the Leicestershire and South Derbyshire coalfields. [149616]

Claimants in the Leicestershire region are most likely to attend centres in Coventry, Nottingham or Cannock. For claimants in the South Derbyshire region, the centres at Nottingham, Mansfield and Chesterfield are usually suggested. To date, these centres have assessed through the full Medical Assessment Process, MAP, over 1,300 claimants, with a further 511 appointments made.

Show	Invitation received by	Attended by
Beef 2000	Joyce Quin	—
Cereals 2000	Elliot Morley	Elliot Morley
Cheshire County Show	Nick Brown	Elliot Morley
CLA Game Fair	Nick Brown and Elliot Morley	Nick Brown and Elliot Morley
Devon Show	Joyce Quin	Joyce Quin
Driffield Show	Nick Brown	—
East of England Show	Nick Brown	—
Essex Show	Nick Brown	—
European Dairy Farming Event	Nick Brown	Joyce Quin
Great Yorkshire Show	Nick Brown	Elliot Morley
Kent Show	Joyce Quin	Joyce Quin
Lincolnshire Show	Nick Brown	Nick Brown
National Fruit Show	Nick Brown	—
Royal Bath and West Show	Nick Brown	Baroness Hayman
Royal Highland Show	Nick Brown	Nick Brown
Royal Norfolk Show	Nick Brown	Elliot Morley
Sheep 2000	Nick Brown	Elliot Morley
South of England Show	Baroness Hayman	Baroness Hayman
South West Dairy Show	Nick Brown	Joyce Quin
The Royal Show	Nick Brown, Joyce Quin, Baroness Hayman and Elliot Morley	Nick Brown, Joyce Quin, Baroness Hayman
The Royal Smithfield Show	Nick Brown	Nick Brown, Baroness Hayman and Elliot Morley
The Royal Welsh Show	Nick Brown	Nick Brown
Three Counties Show	Baroness Hayman	Baroness Hayman
Westmorland Show	Joyce Quin	—

To ask the Minster of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met his counterparts in (a) France and (b) the Czech Republic; and if he will make a statement. [145921]

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made by his Department on the publication of the draft Export Control Bill. [149904]

Work is continuing to prepare the draft Export Control Bill for publication and the Government will publish the Bill as soon as it is ready. It is not possible at this stage to give a precise date but we hope to be in a position to publish the Bill within the next few months.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the agricultural shows this year (a) to which (i) he and (ii) other Ministers in his Department have received invitations and (b) which shows (i) he and (ii) each other Minister has attended. [144323]

[holding answer 8 February 2001]: The table details the agricultural shows for which invitations were received, and which were attended by MAFF Ministers during 2000.

I meet Jean Glavany regularly at EU Agriculture Council. I last met him for a formal bilateral discussion, in London, on 26 June 2000. My right hon. Friend the Minister of State met Jan Fencl on my behalf on 5 July 2000.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 10 January 2001, Official Report, column 562W, on GM crops, if the Government definition of GM agriculture is restricted to commercial agricultural activities. [147885]

[holding answer 30 January 2001]: Any assessment of the impact of GM agriculture on farmland values, which was the subject of the hon. Member's previous question, would need to consider the impact of commercial cultivation. Only limited GM crop trials are currently taking place in the UK.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what (a) assumptions and (b) projections of agricultural employment and production levels apply to the Government's long-term strategy for agriculture. [150245]

[holding answer 13 February 2001]: The Government's long-term agriculture strategy takes account of the changing economic circumstances facing the sector, including trends in employment and production levels. The underlying economic analysis is summarised in a MAFF publication "Strategy for Agriculture: Current and Prospective Economic Situation", which is available in the Libraries of the House, and associated MAFF working papers produced in March 2000. The key policies underpinning the strategy will be subject to economic evaluation.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the Government have made representations at the EU level on the need for a replacement for the agrimonetary compensation system. [150247]

[holding answer 13 February 2001]: The Council's agrimonetary regulations cover currency movements to the end of 2001 and provide for compensation which could extend over the next three years. No member state has pressed for a replacement at the present time.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the impact on funding of the ERDP if the modulation of agriculture subsidies at the stated percentages yields significantly less than the amounts expected. [150248]

[holding answer 13 February 2001]: The funds raised through modulation of agriculture subsidies will be monitored closely throughout the life of the England Rural Development Programme.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if ERDP funding is subject to annual ring-fencing arrangements similar to those that apply to the money announced in March 2000 for pig farmers. [150329]

[holding answer 13 February 2001]: No.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what an initial consultation visit by the Small Business Service consists of. [150332]

[holding answer 13 February 2001]: An initial consultation visit under the Farm Business Advice Service, which is being delivered for MAFF by the Small Business Service, is conducted by a Farm Business Adviser (FBA) and lasts approximately half a day. The FBA will look round the farm and discuss with the farmer the way the business is run and managed, financial matters and the aspirations for the business of the farmer and his/her family. Information required to undertake a business health check and to prepare a current farm balance sheet will be collected, which the farmer will normally have been forewarned to have ready, to help the FBA prepare an action plan following the initial visit. The FBA may also collect data to benchmark business performance. During the visit or on a subsequent visit the FBA might use the specially developed Connect CD to illustrate the options open to the farmer.In every case FBAs will tailor the service provided to meet the needs of the individual farmer.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the cost of the Small Business Service's agricultural activities have been to date; and how these costs have been met. [150331]

[holding answer 13 February 2001]: Expenditure to date on the Farm Business Advice Service which is being delivered for MAFF by the Small Business Service(SBS) through Business Link outlets is £1,053,092. Business Links will be submitting invoices to cover the costs they have incurred delivering the service, over the period since its launch, at the end of February. All costs will be met from moneys allocated to MAFF under the Action Plan for Farming. Any funds allocated to this service for this financial year and not spent will be carried over to next year.Farmers do have access to the full range of other small business support services provided by the SBS, but the costs involved are not separately identified.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his oral statement of 1 February 2001, Official Report, column 519, if all 10 triplets are running as specified in the Krebs report. [150330]

[holding answer 13 February 2001]: As I informed the House on 1 February 2001, Official Report, column 519, all 10 triplets are in place. Initial proactive culling has been carried out in seven of them. Surveying is in progress in the other three, which are due to be proactively culled later this year. This is in line with the timetable set by the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB, which is overseeing the trial.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the level of payments made through the OTMS in each year of the scheme's existence. [150244]

[holding answer 13 February 2001]: The table shows actual OTMS expenditure for financial years 1996–97 to 1999–2000 and the forecast expenditure for 2000–01.

£ million
	Purchase costs	Disposal costs	Total
1996–971	670	188	858
1997–981	288	144	432
1998–991	264	116	380
1999–20001	265	129	394
2000–012	265	136	401
1 Outturn
2 Forecast

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list (a) the national rules concerning data requirements in respect of applications for the approval of pesticides that were in place in 1990 and (b) amendments to the rules made since then, including the dates of such amendments; and if he will place copies of the rules and amendments in the Library. [149356]

In 1990, the UK national rules on data requirements concerning applications for the approval of pesticides were set out in the "Data Requirements for Approval under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986" issued in October 1986. Amendments to the rules made since then include: in June 1992 a major addition in the form of Part One of "The COPR Handbook"; in December 1996, this was incorporated into "The Registration Handbook"; and in April 1999 the issue of a Volume II (last updated in December 1999) to the Registration Handbook.In June and December 2000, revised electronic versions of Part One, Part Two and Part Three of "The Registration Handbook" were placed on PSD's website www.pesticides.gov.uk as "The Application Handbook" and "The Data Requirements Handbook". Part Four of "The Registration Handbook" is under revision, but is currently available only as hard copy.Copies of these documents (including printouts of those available electronically) have been placed in the House Libraries. "The Registration Handbook", "The Application Handbook" and "The Data Requirements Handbook" are in their most up to date form, incorporating all the amendments made to them. Copies of all of the original pages superseded by these amendments could be provided only at disproportionate cost.I will write to the hon. Member with further details and place copies of my letter in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if it is the (a) policy and (b) practice of Her Majesty's Government to fly the flag of the country of a visiting Head of State (i) over and (ii) on a flag pole within, the precincts of a building which is being visited by a Head of State (1) officially, (2) privately and (3) who is temporarily resident in Northern Ireland. [150307]

The Government's policy and practice is to comply with the Flags Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 which state that where a Government building is visited by a foreign Head of State during an official visit, the flag of that Head of State's country may be flown in addition to the Union flag, where a second flag pole makes this possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the special advisers working for him will relinquish their posts when the next general election is called. [149312]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 13 February 2001, Official Report, column 130W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for (a) 1996–97, (b) 1997–98, (c) 1998–99, (d) 1999–2000 and (e) 2000–01, (i) his Department's total spending on advertising campaigns, (ii) the cost of each individual advertising campaign and (iii) the criteria that were established to gauge the effectiveness of each campaign; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of each campaign based on these criteria. [142712]

The information requested is outlined as follows:

Year	£
1996–97	135,938.07
1997–98	477,726.16
1998–99	887,303.00
1999–2000	330,630.95
2000–01	44,804.71

Although these figures incorporate the total publicity/ advertising budget, there was an on-going campaign during the period in question, the mood/referendum campaign, which culminated with the May 1998 Good Friday Agreement referendum.The criterion used to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign was the response in voter turnout when compared to other recent votes.For example, the average turnout in Northern Ireland constituencies at the May 1997 general election was 67.42 per cent. while the turnout for the referendum was 81 per cent., a 20 per cent. increase. An on-going assessment of the campaign, which was carried out by the advertising company, showed the general public to be very aware of the choices they faced, proving the effectiveness of the campaign itself.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the occasions on which (a) Ministers and (b) officials received (i) formal and (ii) informal representations concerning Iran from (A) the Hinduja brothers and (B) their representatives and representatives of their companies since 2 May 1997. [148385]

[holding answer 5 February 2001]: It is not the normal practice of the Government to release details of meetings or discussions by officials with private individuals or companies. The Foreign Secretary, accompanied by an official, discussed India and Iran with GP Hinduja before and after the Foreign Secretary's visit to India in April 2000. The discussion focused on commercial opportunities for UK business in both countries. There was no mention of the question of nationality.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has to amend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office departmental expenditure limit/running cost limit for 2000–01. [150691]

The information is as follows:

Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate for Class VII Vote I, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office departmental expenditure limit for 2000–01 will be increased by £42,289,000 from £1,210,333,000 to £1,252,622,000 and the running cost limit has been increased by £1,797,000 from £531,982,000 to £533,779,000. This is the net effect of:

(i) a transfer of £16,000 to the Ministry of Defence (Class VI, Vote 2), in respect of our final contribution to the grant-in-aid to the Atlantic Council of the UK;

(ii) an increase of £5,441,000 in respect of an adjustment for Overseas price movements;

(iii) a transfer of £1,920,000 to the Cabinet Office (Class XVII, Vote 2) for drugs assistance programmes;

(iv) a transfer of £880,000 to the Cabinet Office (Class XVII, Vote 2) for revisions to charging regime;

(v) an increase in both running costs and appropriations in aid of £1,248,000 in respect of increased receipts from OGD's;

(iv) a transfer of £32,000 from BBC monitoring service to the Cabinet Office (Class XVII, Vote 2);

(vii) an increase in both running costs and appropriations in aid of £5,300,000 to reflect an increase in our VAT recovery forecast;

(viii) a decrease of £5,500,000 in both capital expenditure and A-in-A for FCO Estates Rationalisation;

(ix) a PES transfer of £1,500,000 to the MOD representing the FCO's contribution to the enhanced package for the Sierra Leone Army;

(x) a PES transfer of £168,000 from the War Pensions Agency to cover the costs of medical examinations for overseas pensioners;

(xi) additional provision of £39,808,000 on Section B for UK contributions to United Nations Missions in the former Yugoslavia (includes UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo) and the former Soviet Union, United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (Iraq), United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission, United Nations Mission for the Referendum on Western Sahara, United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor, United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, United Nations Observer Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Community Monitoring Mission and Western European Union Police Mission in Albania. This is partially offset by an increase of £344,000 in appropriations-in-aid in respect of non-baseline peacekeeping and by £10,761,000 from Section E, General VAT Refunds;

(xii) The supplementary estimate is also required to note an increase in Section C, to reflect PES transfers of £46,000 to the Cabinet Office (Class XVII, Vote 2) and £52,000 to the Cabinet Office (Class XVII, Vote 1);

(xiii) The supplementary estimate is also required to note an increase of £1,998,000 of Section D, in respect of an adjustment for Overseas Price Movement for the British Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the average cost of suspension of (a) a case worker and (b) a teacher investigated for child abuse in the last three years. [149429]

I have been asked to reply.Decisions as to whether an employee is to be suspended, and consideration of the costs of suspension, are matters for employers to consider when faced with allegations of serious misconduct that may necessitate management inquiries. Employers are not required to provide the Government with analysis of the costs of any suspensions of employees. As such, there is no information held centrally about the average costs of suspensions involving social services caseworkers or teachers who are the subject of investigations following allegations of child abuse.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received on the subject of pollution from the use of fireworks over the last Christmas and New Year period; and if he will make a statement. [148168]

I am not aware of any such representations. I have had a letter from a Member concerning noise from fireworks over the holiday period.Levels of air pollution measured by the national monitoring network remained low throughout this time in most parts of England. There were two occasions when levels of particles (PM

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to investigate flue gas emissions from crematoria to ensure they meet the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act 1990; and if he will make a statement. [148304]

Emissions of various pollutants are already regulated and monitored by local authorities under Part I of the 1990 Act.In addition, we have been working with the Federation of British Cremation Authorities since 1999 on the issue of mercury emissions from crematoria. We have commissioned monitoring of mercury in the vicinity of a crematorium in the West Midlands and we know that the federation has recently arranged for mercury monitoring to be undertaken at a number of crematoria. Once we have the necessary information on which to base a decision, we will decide whether to include a limit for mercury emissions from existing crematoria in statutory guidance on the Best Available Techniques Not Entailing Excessive Cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what his Department's policy is concerning the proposed establishment of a European Maritime Safety Agency, with specific reference to the issue of tanker traffic in the Minch; and if he will make a statement. [149428]

We support the stated aims of the EMSA to the extent that it could provide a source of technical expertise to review the operation of existing maritime safety directives and scrutinise the case for any additional regulation. We consider that, to the extent that it improves performance across the Community, it could contribute to enhancing safety and reducing pollution risks. However, we do have concerns about the risk of Commission centralism, and take the view that member states would have to have effective control of the Agency.The EMSA would not replace met members states' national maritime agencies, which would continue to exercise their existing responsibilities. For the UK the relevant national agency is the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).There has been an internationally agreed recommendation on navigation in place for the Minch since November 1993, by which all laden tanks over 10,000 gross tonnage are requested not to pass east of the Outer Hebrides, through the Little Minch and North Minch, except because of stress of weather or any other case of "force majeure". Responsibility for implementing this recommendation rests with the MCA.The current position in respect of traffic through the Minch is that although there has been apparent increase in the number of vessels, based upon the year-on-year increase in reports received by Stornoway Coastguard Station, Coastguard personnel believe that the actual number of vessels shows no significant change. The apparent increase continues to be attributed to vessels that have previously been unaware of the reporting scheme but are now actively participating.However, the number of laden tankers over 10,000 gross tonnage using the Minch route remains low and only 18 were recorded during 2000. In the majority of these cases, the reason given by the vessel's master and accepted by the MCA was forecast adverse weather in the deep-water route to the west of the Outer Hebrides. Where there appears to be no justification for using the Minch, MCA contacts the vessel's operators for an explanation.On occasions where large laden tankers do use the Minch, the Minch Emergency Towing Vessel (ETV) endeavours to escort such laden tankers to minimise any risk involved. At present, the ETV is on station in the Minch during the winter months only (October-March), but, with effect from October 2001, there will be ETV cover all year round.With the phased introduction of automatic identification systems (AIS) under the revision of Chapter V of the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, all tankers on international voyages must have such equipment fitted not later than the first annual safety equipment survey after 1 July 2003, unless they are scheduled to be scrapped within two years of the implementation date. This requirement should further enhance the level of reporting in this particular area.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will publish the Government's response to the recommendations of the Park Homes Working Party; and if he will make a statement. [149750]

We have consulted on, and are considering, the recommendations of the Park Homes Working Party. We will give our response to the recommendations in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what assessment he has made of the governmental inquiry into Mr. Douglas Andrew's role in the privatisation of New Zealand's steel industry in respect of the involvement of Mr. Andrew of the Civil Aviation Authority in advising the Government on the future of the National Air Traffic Services; [149597](2) pursuant to his answer of 5 February 2001,

Before reappointing Mr. Andrew in April 2000, the Government satisfied themselves as to his track record as a member of the Civil Aviation Authority. They saw, and continue to see, no reason to make further inquiries about Mr. Andrew's career prior to joining the CAA.Mr. Andrew's meetings with the bidders for the role of strategic partner in the public-private partnership for National Air Traffic Services were to enable the bidders to discuss questions about the future economic regulatory process.The working groups run by my Department, to which I referred in my earlier answer, were integral to the provision of advice to Ministers on the public-private partnership, and it would not be appropriate to publish the minutes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what consideration he is giving to selecting a strategic partner for the PPP for NATS on the basis of not-for-commercial-profit. [149848]

Bids for the NATS PPP were received by the Government on 31 January 2001 from the three consortiums who were invited to submit offers in November 2000. These are NIMBUS, NOVARES and The Airline Group. These three bids are currently being assessed against the evaluation criteria provided to them in November 2000 and against the Government objectives for this PPP. The evaluation criteria and the Government objectives do not preclude any bid from being on the basis of not-for-commercial-profit.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if a Regulatory Impact Assessment will be undertaken before new standards and controls are introduced in respect of emissions from (a) incinerators of animal waste and (b) pet crematoria. [150010]

A Regulatory Impact Assessment was undertaken of the then proposed Waste Incineration Directive, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has since commissioned a study by ADAS Consulting to assess more accurately how many small animal carcase incinerators are in operation. A preliminary Regulatory Impact Assessment was issued by MAFF last November for the draft EU Animal By-Products Regulation. In addition, AEA Technology has been commissioned by MAFF to measure emissions at a representative sample of small animal waste incinerators to provide a firm basis for determining proportionate standards. MAFF will be making available the two studies when they are completed, subject to commercial confidentiality considerations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the environmental benefits and disbenefits of using different fuels to incinerate animal waste. [150007]

None to my knowledge. The AEA Technology study referred to in the previous answer will examine incinerators using different fuels.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what communications his Department has had with National Industrial Fuel Efficiency Services Ltd. concerning the development of UK standards for emissions from small incinerators of animal waste, in the context of the European Union Waste Incineration Directive and proposed animal waste directive; and if he will make a statement. [150008]

None to my knowledge.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to ensure that the pet crematoria industry is not economically damaged by EU measures. [150009]

Partly at the UK's behest, the adopted Waste Incineration Directive (2000/76/EC) excludes animal carcases from its scope.As regards the current draft EU Animal By-Products Regulation, it is our aim in the negotiation of this regulation to secure requirements akin to those in the Waste Incineration Directive for animal carcase incinerators on premises where there is an incineration capacity of over 50kg/hr, and proportionate, less stringent, requirements where the incineration capacity is smaller. The Association of Private Pet Cemeteries and Crematoria will be among the interested organisations consulted during the negotiation of the regulation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his plans to control leylandii hedges and the proposed timetable for their implementation. [150070]

In August last year, my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment announced our commitment to introduce legislation that would give local authorities powers to deal with complaints about problem hedges, including leylandii. Although it was not possible to make provision for such a Bill in the Queen's Speech, the issue is being taken forward as a private Member's Bill by the hon. Member for Solihull (Mr. Taylor). The High Hedges Bill was introduced on 17 January and is due to have its Second Reading on 9 March.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the levels of spending on strategic planning per head of population in (a) Staffordshire and (b) each other county of England (i) in the current year and (ii) in each of the last three years. [150016]

Local authority expenditure on strategic planning is not separately identified in any of the returns made by local government to central Government, so we are unable to provide the information requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 26 January 2001, Official Report, column 732W, on eligibility criteria for the Powershift programme, what meetings Ministers in his Department have had over the past 12 months with vehicle manufacturers to encourage them to manufacture production line gas vehicles; what other measures his Department has taken in pursuit of his objective; and what the response has been from the vehicle manufacturers. [150000]

I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 7 February 2001, Official Report, columns 535–36W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will codify the way in which the requirements for developments in guideline areas are brought to the attention of planning committees. [149645]

This is an operational matter for local planning authorities' own discretion. The Local Government Association's "Probity in Planning" includes guidelines for officer reports to planning committees. This advises that relevant points will include a clear exposition of the development plan, site-related history, and any other material considerations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how breaches of codes of conduct on relationships between planning officers and (a) applicants and (b) planning consultants are recorded. [149641]

There is no centrally-prescribed method for recording breaches of codes of conduct. However, the Local Government Ombudsman's guidance note "Devising a Complaints System" gives advice to local authorities on conducting an internal investigation of a complaint, including the recording of its outcome. Breaches of codes of conduct may also be the subject of investigation and formal report by the Local Government Ombudsman.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what plans he has to (a) clarify and (b) amend the rules by which application dates are determined in planning cases; [150005](2) if he will make a statement on the rules by which an application date is determined following pre-application discussions in planning cases. [150006]

It is for applicants to decide when to make a formal planning application to the local planning authority. This may or may not follow pre-application discussions. All applications made to an authority are recorded in that authority's planning register. The Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 requires local planning authorities to give an applicant notice of their decision within eight weeks of receipt of a valid planning application. However, the applicant and the local planning authority may agree in writing an extended period for determining the application, unless the applicant has already given notice of appeal to the Secretary of State. We have no plans to amend the existing provisions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the scope that planning officers have for interpreting the provisions relating to guideline areas without the permission of elected representatives. [150027]

Under section 54A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, all planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan for the area unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, provides for planning applications to be determined by an officer on behalf of the council, in accordance with clearly stated and published rules. Elected members decide the policies in the development plan and determine the framework of other policies, standards and guidance within which applications are considered. Elected members also set the terms of any delegation agreement, including the circumstances in which an officer's delegated power to make a decision may not be exercised. The Local Government Association's "Development Control: Delegation Arrangements" advises that common exceptions to delegated powers will be applications which are contrary to the policies in the development plan for the area and contrary to approved council policies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to give objectors in planning cases non-judicial alternative forms of appeal. [149903]

We have no current plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to reduce the number of signatures required for a petition in planning cases in low density areas. [150019]

There is no prescribed number of signatures that constitutes a petition for planning purposes. In determining planning applications, local planning authorities are required to take into account relevant representations made to them within the time limit specified. It is for authorities to decide what weight to give to such representations, having regard to the circumstances of the particular case.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will (a) allow objectors to apply for costs when participating in planning appeals and (b) increase and standardise the timescale for objections to be submitted in planning cases. [150029]

(a) Fundamental to the working of the planning system, including planning appeals, is the fact that each party meets its own expenses. Thus parties to planning appeals going to inquiry normally meet their own costs. However, the Secretary of State has the power to order one party to pay another's costs where one party has behaved unreasonably and has caused another to incur unnecessary expense as a result.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will require local authorities to place a time limit on pre-application discussions between planning officers and applicants or their representatives. [150024]

This is an operational matter for local planning authorities' discretion.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to (a) prevent planning committees from being held in holiday periods and (b) permit objectors to make closing statements at planning appeals. [150020]

(a) We have no plans to do so. This is an operational matter for individual local authorities to determine.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will set out carbon dioxide emission projection figures for (a) 2001, (b) 2002, (c) 2003, (d) 2004, (e) 2005, (f) 2006, (g) 2007, (h) 2008 and (i) 2009 on the same basis as is used for the preparation of figures for Table 1 in Section 2, Chapter 1 of the final Climate Change Programme, Cm 4913. [149872]

Data for 2005 are published in Table 1 in Section 2, Chapter 1 of the final Climate Change Programme. Data for intermediate years are not available because the UK energy model makes projections at five yearly intervals. Intermediate years may be constructed by interpolation, but this does not add additional information and can be misleading because emissions in individual years are affected by statistical factors, including the weather and the economic cycle.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for what reason the figures relating to carbon dioxide emissions and carbon dioxide emission projections in Table 1 of Section 2, Chapter 1 of the final Climate Change Programme, Cm 4913, differ from those in Table 1 of Section 2, Chapter 1 of the draft Climate Change Programme. [149869]

The carbon dioxide emission estimate for 1990 is from the UK emissions inventory and is given as 168 million tonnes of carbon in both the Climate Change Programme and the draft Climate Change Programme. The projections for years 2000, 2010 and 2020 compare as follows:

Million tonnes
Year	Climate change programme	Draft climate change programme
2000	154.3	152.2
2010	153.8	156.3
2020	160.7	164.7

Most of the differences reflect revisions to UK energy projections made following the consultation process described in Energy Paper 68 (see section 1.2, page 8). The main factor influencing the projection for 2000 is a lower expectation of nuclear output together with a higher coal burn. In subsequent years higher power station emissions are outweighed by lower emissions from industry and refineries. Industrial emissions are projected to be lower than previously estimated partly due to lower estimated emissions from offshore activity. Projected emissions from land use change have also been revised downward slightly because of methodological improvements and minor updates resulting from emissions data in the latest greenhouse gas inventory. Provisional data on actual emissions in 2000 will be available in March.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress he has made in the negotiations with the United States on air liberalisation. [149855]

Negotiations with the previous US Administration did not lead to an agreement. We will be pressing the new Administration to liberalise the market on terms which deliver a fair balance of opportunity to the airlines of the two sides, bringing the benefits of increased competition both to the consumer and to the wider UK economy.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact of the A6 bus lane in Loughborough since its introduction. [150021]

I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Tim Matthews, to write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the Government's policy is on the proposals by Central Railway for a new direct freight line to Europe from the north-west; if he will publish the advice that he has received from the Strategic Rail Authority on this matter; and what discussions have taken place with Central Railway about the proposed line. [149840]

Central Railway has requested the Government's support for the approval of its scheme through a hybrid Bill but the company has not yet submitted details of its proposals.The SRA is to undertake a review of Central Railway's proposals. This will examine the project in the context of our 10-Year Plan objectives and the SRA's own strategy for freight. I will follow the review with interest and make a further statement in due course, taking into account the SRA's findings.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the UVA consultants' report on the Hindhead A3 tunnel. [150305]

The consultant's report on the A3 Hindhead study is currently with the South East England Regional Assembly and was presented to its plenary meeting today. It will then be for the A Assembly to make recommendations to Ministers. And decisions on the way forward will be taken in the light of these recommendations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what his policy is on the discussion paper produced by the Environment Directorate of the European Commission on the interface between the Biocidal Products and Cosmetic Products Directives; what timetable has been proposed for consultation on this paper; and if he will place a copy of the paper and the Government's response in the Library. [148713]

[holding answer 12 February 2001]: The European Commission is currently drafting a document in order to clarify the borderline between the Biocidal Products Directive and the Cosmetics Directive. An expert working group that includes experts from member states (including the UK) and industry has discussed it. The working document is being modified and a final version has yet to be put formally to member states for comment. It is anticipated that member states will discuss a final draft next month.With regard to the scope of the Biocidal Products Directive, the UK policy is to encourage the European Commission to bring forward proposals concerning the interface with other Directives so that products are regulated under the most appropriate regime, and those required to comply with European legislation are clear about which legislation applies to their products.Once the working document has been lodged with us it will be placed in the House Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what consideration his Department has given to the implications of construction on flood plains on the south coast; what his assessments are of the increased risk of flooding from such construction; what preconditions have been imposed to guarantee the satisfactory disposal of sewage, wastewater and groundwater resulting from the construction of new housing estates and service roads; and if he will make a statement. [150117]

Policy INF1 in the draft Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG9) states that:

"Development should be guided away from areas at risk or likely to be at risk in future from flooding, or where it would increase the risk of flood damage elsewhere".

The draft RPG advises that management proposals for the costal zone will also need to reflect strategies agreed between relevant bodies for flood defence. Shoreline management plans now exist for the whole of the south coast. These contribute towards the necessary understanding of coastal processes to inform the planning system in its assessment of flood risk and construction.The revised draft of Planning Policy Guidance Note (PPG) 25 "Development and flood risk", published on 6 February, states:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the level of UK emergency towing provision; and if he will make a statement. [150658]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what recommendations he has received from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the all year round siting of an emergency towing vessel in the Pentland Firth; and if he will make a statement. [150401]

A review of UK emergency towing provision has now been completed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and recommends that the current winter-only arrangements for UK provision in the South West Approaches, Dover Strait, Minch, and Fair Isle should be increased to all-year-round cover. I have accepted this recommendation.The new arrangements will start from 1 October this year, with the exception of the Dover Strait, which will commence earlier on 1 April. The Dover Strait provision builds on the partnership arrangements introduced last year with our French maritime colleagues.The report also considered emergency towing provision for the Irish Sea and St. George's Channel area. Although the report concludes that there is insufficient evidence to support an emergency towing vessel for the area on an all-year-round basis by the UK alone, it recommends that provision could be made in partnership with the Government of Ireland. I have accepted this recommendation, dependent upon the Irish Government providing an emergency towing vessel in which the UK Government can share. A dialogue will be maintained with the Irish Government.These improvements to the UK emergency towing vessel provision are good news for the safety of the UK environment and the seagoing community, and demonstrate this Government's commitment to preventing maritime pollution.Copies of the review report have been placed in the House Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what (a) number and (b) percentages of UK ports are owned by (i) Associated British Ports and (ii) Hutchinson Whampoa Europe Ltd.; and what percentage of the UK port trade each of those companies carried out in each year from 1995. [150264]

There are more than 650 ports in the UK, of which about one fifth are commercially active. Associated British Ports (ABP) currently owns 23 ports and Hutchinson Whampoa (Hutchinson Ports (UK) Ltd.) owns three ports.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the funding of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. [150625]

I am today announcing additional funding for the Coal fields Regeneration Trust in England of up to £45 million over the three years to March 2005. This reaffirms the Government's support for the coalfields communities and the excellent work of the Trust.The Coalfields Regeneration Trust is a key element of the Government s long-term programme to bring about the physical, social, economic and environmental regeneration of our coalfields.The Trust provides supports for local community projects. It also sponsors projects, targeted on workers displaced from mining-related industries, who have been unemployed for a long time and who face particular disadvantages in getting back to work. It has an important role to play in community capacity building, providing a forum for good regeneration practice to be exchanged across the coalfield communities. The Trust is actively building partnerships with local, regional and national agencies and reaching out to the private sector.With this addition funding the Trust will be able to maintain and develop further its key role in combating poverty, debt and social exclusion in the former coalfield areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the cost to the Policyholders Protection Board of the financial collapse of Chester Street Insurance Holdings; and if he will recompense those who believed they were covered under employers liability insurance by policies held by Chester Street Insurance. [148917]

I have been asked to reply.This is a matter for the Policyholders Protection Board. I understand that it is working with the provisional liquidators and Chester Street Insurance Holdings, which is currently assessing the information available about existing and potential claims.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of eligible applicants for the New Deal for Disabled People will be excluded in order lo provide a control group for comparative purposes: on what basis they will be selected; and how long the period of exclusion would be before they became eligible for the programme. [147736]

[holding answer 30 January 2001]: In pursuing a very innovative New Deal for Disabled People it is important to evaluate how effective the programme is in bringing people on incapacity benefit into work. The most robust methodology available is one based on random assignment and this will be used to evaluate the NDDP national extension. Once the programme is established one in five clients who register with job brokers will be allocated to a control group and have their eligibility deferred. The deferral period will last for 12 months, after which time members of the control group will be invited to take part in the NDDP extension.The control group will be selected entirely at random. During the deferral period, individuals in the control group will continue to have access to Employment Service programmes, including specialist disability employment programmes, where they meet the eligibility criteria.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the availability of exam markers for next summer's public examinations. [147861]

[holding answer 30 January 2001]: All necessary steps are being taken to ensure a sufficient supply of examiners. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is monitoring the awarding bodies closely to ensure that the system will deliver I his summer's results on time. The awarding bodies' examiner recruitment exercise is well under way. The exact number of examiners needed will not be known until April, when entries have been made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment at what point of net income in tax year 2000–01 a graduate repays more in old-style mortgage loan than in new-style income-contingent loan. [149799]

[holding answer 13 February 2001]: Assuming a student loan debt of £5,000 and repayment of a mortgage-style loan over a five-year period, a graduate liable to repay a mortgage-style loan would repay more of that loan each year until annual gross pay of £21,111 was reached. Repayment thresholds for both types of loan are based on gross pay, not net.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the average amount of student debt was in each of the last five years. [149454]

Data from the Department's Student Income and Expenditure Surveys show that the average debt of full-time students in higher education in the UK was £840 in 1995–96 and £2,530 in 1998–99, after their savings had been taken into account. The debt figures include student loans, commercial loans and overdrafts as well as informal loans from family and friends. Data for the intervening and more recent years are not available from the survey.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will provide a breakdown of the social backgrounds of (a) university applicants and (b) university students for each of the last five years. [149455]

The available information on full-time students, as given in the following table, covers only those who apply for full-time and sandwich undergraduate courses through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS); data on the family background of students applying for part-time courses are not held centrally.

UK domiciled applicants and accepted applicants via UCAS to full-time and sandwich undergraduate courses in the UK
Thousand
	Year of entry
	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Applicants
Professional	49.9	48.4	47.0	46.5	45.8
Intermediate	139.0	150.3	147.3	144.8	144.7
Skilled non-manual	43.0	49.6	47.1	47.1	48.1
Skilled manual	58.2	60.7	58.9	58.5	57.2
Partly skilled	28.3	32.2	31.0	30.8	31.7
Unskilled	7.0	7.9	7.3	7.5	7.3
Unknown	39.4	49.2	51.0	53.5	54.3
Total	364.9	398.3	389.6	388.7	389.1
Accepted applicants
Professional	39.3	39.6	38.5	38.9	38.8
Intermediate	105.0	117.4	115.6	115.7	117.7
Skilled non-manual	31.3	37.3	35.6	36.3	37.8
Skilled manual	40.9	44.8	44.2	44.5	44.4
Partly skilled	19.9	23.5	22.7	23.1	24.2
Unskilled	4.9	5.6	5.3	5.5	5.5
Unknown	27.1	35.0	36.6	39.1	40.3
Total	268.3	303.3	298.2	303.1	308.7

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of students had term-time, part-time jobs during each of the last five years. [149458]

Data from the Department's Student Income and Expenditure Survey show that about half of full-time higher education students had term-time jobs in 1995–96 and in 1998–99. Data for the intervening and more recent years are not available from the survey.A Further Education Funding Council survey of students in further education colleges undertaken in the summer of 1998 found that 73 per cent. of young full-time students (aged 16 to 18) and 41 per cent. of older full-time students worked during term-time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on his Department's decision to exclude positions occupied by supply teachers on a 12–month contract from the definition of teacher vacancies for the purposes of form 618G. [149819]

[holding answer 9 February 2001]: The definition is exactly the same as that used by the previous Administration. It allows sensible comparisons to be made over time—and gives an accurate picture of where schools have vacancies that are either unfilled or covered by short-term supply staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many of the additional 20,000 full-time equivalent classroom assistants which the Government have funded were recruited in 1999–2000; what his projection is for recruitment levels in 2000–01; and if he will make a statement. [149880]

An additional 24,000 education support staff have been recruited in schools since 1997, 11,000 in the last year. Against the target of 20,000 full-time equivalent teaching assistants between 1999 and 2000, between January 1999 and January 2000 over 9,000 full-time equivalent teaching assistants had been recruited. Schools have the funding to recruit more assistants and figures for January 2001 will be available later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he plans to announce funding proposals for the Aiding Communication in Education Centre (North). [149522]

[holding answer 8 February 2001]: The Department for Education and Employment funds both the Aiding Communication in Education (ACE) Centre (North) and the Aiding Communication in Education (ACE) Centre Advisory Trust through the British Education Communications and Technology Agency.We are currently working with the ACE Centre (North) to support its transition to charitable status. We will continue to support the valuable work of these centres in providing services for children and young people who use communication aids.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what take-up there has been of the entitlement to paid educational leave for 16 to 17-year-olds since it was introduced; what the estimated cost has been to (a) state and (b) private employers; and if he will make a statement. [149611]

This information is not collected centrally. The right to time off for study or training is employment legislation which protects and encourages 16 and 17-year-old employees who have not already achieved level 2 qualifications as defined by the regulations. At the end of 1999, there were an estimated 100,000 16 and 17-year-olds in England in employment but not qualified to level 2, and not working towards a level 2 qualification.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the increase in the productivity of higher education teaching staff since 1997. [149922]

The Quality Assurance Agency assesses the quality of teaching in higher education institutions; and the research assessment exercises of the Higher Education Funding Council for England look at both the volume and quality of research. However, there is no direct measure of the productivity of higher education teaching staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what information (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department received on the contents of the Education and Employment Select Committee's report on access to higher education, and the proceedings of the Committee prior to the publication of the report. [150055]

[holding answer 12 February 2001]: In accordance with usual practice, Departments had access to the report from 11.00 am on 6 February 2001, under embargo until 00.01 on 8 February, when it was published. We received no prior information on the contents of the report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the proposed levels are of (a) core funding for education business consortiums in 2001–02, (b) funding for work experience and (c) funding for teacher placements; and what the level of funding of education business partnerships through TECs was in 2000–01. [150063]

Core funding of £23 million has been allocated for education business link (EBL) activity in 2001–02. The funding will go via the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), which will contract with consortiums in each of the local LSC areas for delivery of education business links. Of this £23 million, £9.8 million is for work experience placements for Key Stage 4 pupils; and £1.8 million is for professional development placements for teachers. In addition, the LSC will be able to make allocations from its discretionary local initiatives fund (£90.3 million in total) to support EBL activity.It is estimated that in 2000–01 training and enterprise councils (TECs) provided discretionary support of £17 million in total to EBL organisations. In addition, DfEE provided core funding through TECs for Key Stage 4 work experience (£9.8 million) and teachers' professional development placements (£1.8 million).

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how he plans to encourage and develop a sectoral response to issues in further education raised by the Further Education National Training Organisation's recent Skills Foresight report. [150079]

My Department will discuss the Skills Foresight report with representatives of the further education sector.We have already announced extra funding of £50 million in 2001–02 and £100 million in 2002–03 for further education teachers' pay. Proposals for using the money are expected to include improved pay and career structures for high calibre teaching staff. We have also announced our plans to require all new entrants to the FE teaching profession to gain an appropriate qualification, to boost continuing professional development for all staff, and to support increased training for prospective and serving college principals. This will be supported by up to £80 million from the FE standards fund for 2001–02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students in further education colleges in (a) Halton (b) Cheshire and (c) England and Wales failed to complete their courses in (i) 1997–98, (ii) 1998–99 and (iii) 1999–2000. [150293]

Data for further education colleges are only readily available for 1997–98 and 1998–99 for FEFC-funded students in England and are contained in the following table.

FEFC-funded students in FE sector colleges in England 1997–98 and 1998–99
	1997–98		1998–99
	Withdrawn students1	Total students	Withdrawn students	Total students
Halton District2	4,744	22,647	4,327	21,894
Cheshire3	6,143	41,233	5,925	41,826
England	367,817	2,578,272	350,063	2,342,671
1 Those students who do not continue to attend at the end of the qualification or the end of the teaching year (31 July), whichever is sooner (includes all programmes of at least 12 weeks in length).
2 Halton District includes Widnes Sixth Form College and Halton College.
3 Cheshire includes West Cheshire College, Warrington Collegiate Institute, Macclesfield College, Mid Cheshire College of FE, Priestley College, Reaseheath College, Sir John Deane's College, South Cheshire College.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 7 February 2001, Official Report, column 579W, what arrangements will be made to allocate unique pupil numbers to pupils in England who (a) commence their education in the non-maintained sector and (b) move between maintained and non-maintained sectors during their school career. [150086]