Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Thursday 5 July 2001

Transport, Local Government And The Regions

London Underground

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he expects to announce the completion of contract negotiations with the preferred bidders for the London Underground public-private partnership. [1034]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when the PPP will be signed for the London Underground. [1603]

Robert Kiley reported to me on 3 July that he had not been able to agree terms with the bidders for the modernisation of the underground consistent with the objectives of his agreement with the Government. Having carefully considered everything Mr. Kiley had to say, the

London boroughs' reported action under the homelessness provisions of Housing Acts
	Decisions made during the period¹January—March 2001
	Accepted as being homeless and in priority need	Eligible, homeless and in priority need, but intentionally so	Eligible, homeless but not in priority need	Households accommodated by the authority on 31 March 2001 in bed and breakfast	Number of households on the Housing Register²as at 1 April 2000
Barking and Dagenham	34	8	12	0	1,925
Barnet	244	4	144	³—	5,489
Bexley	103	7	197	66	3,592
Brent	281	35	68	585	12,603
Bromley	216	9	98	100	3,264
Camden	289	22	102	69	5,884
City of London	3	0	0	23	787
Croydon	514	22	337	420	6,265
Ealing	244	20	255	400	7,709
Enfield	301	3	30	267	6,001
Greenwich	277	10	86	0	5,473
Hackney	³—	³—	³—	³—	7,011
Hammersmith and Fulham	294	5	41	376	4,726
Haringey	299	6	³—	192	9,510
Harrow	189	10	86	131	2,610
Havering	16	5	51	0	1,738
Hillingdon	271	9	121	407	3,656
Hounslow	296	7	204	182	5,017
Islington	445	17	190	3	11,590
Kensington and Chelsea	163	17	42	651	8,206
Kingston upon Thames	125	3	68	8	3,113
Lambeth	304	19	60	187	16,220
Lewisham	247	³—	³—	0	9,774
Merton	45	4	28	35	3,920
Newham	429	24	73	641	11,107
Redbridge	³—	³—	³—	³—	3,555
Richmond upon Thames	118	4	33	66	4,992
Southwark	693	28	52	250	5,543
Sutton	114	17	88	47	2,154
Tower Hamlets	293	13	16	187	6,751

Government have concluded that the best course is to proceed with plans for the modernisation of the underground, to create a 21st century tube which will be publicly run and privately built. I will today be asking London Underground to move quickly to progress negotiations, subject to the requirements to ensure safety, so that work can start as soon as possible. In doing this, and as a result of the discussions with Bob Kiley, London Underground plan to make a number of changes to deliver better public sector control, particularly in the area of safety.

Homelessness

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many (a) families and (b) individuals in bed and breakfast accommodation were placed there by local housing authorities; how many (i) families and (ii) individuals are regarded as homeless; how many (1) families and (2) individuals are on housing waiting lists; and how many (x) families and (y) individuals are on transfer lists, in each London borough. [1049]

[holding answer 28 June 2001]: The latest available information as reported by London boroughs is presented in the table. This represents households without distinguishing between family groups and individuals. Information on local authorities' transfer lists is not collected centrally.

London boroughs' reported action under the homelessness provisions of Housing Acts
	Decisions made during the period ¹ January—March 2001
	Accepted as being homeless and in priority need	Eligible, homeless and in priority need, but intentionally so	Eligible, homeless but not in priority need	Households accommodated by the authority on 31 March 2001 in bed and breakfast	Number of households on the Housing Register ² as at 1 April 2000
Waltham Forest	250	46	69	135	7,476
Wandsworth	258	9	145	259	2,441
Westminster	304	21	178	923	8,099
¹ Decisions during the quarter are those where applicant households were found to be home less and eligible for assistance under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1996 and associated legislation.
² Local authorities have different practices for compiling and managing housing register/waiting lists which mean that simple comparisons between authorities can be misleading.
³ Information not reported

Source:

DTLR quarterly P1E housing activity and annual Housing Investment Programme returns

National and regional information on local authorities' activity under statutory homelessness provisions is published in a quarterly Statistical Release published by the Department. A separate Supplementary Table provides summary data for individual authorities.

Copies of the Release and Supplementary Tables are held in the Library, and the latest edition, published on 15 June, presents statistics up to the end of March 2001.

Motorway-Widening Schemes

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will require the preparation of an environmental impact assessment when the widening of motorways is proposed. [1332]

The publication of an environmental statement assessing the impact of a project for constructing or improving any highway is a statutory requirement under the provisions of Part VA of the Highways Act 1980 if the area of the project exceeds 1 hectare or is situated in whole or in part in a sensitive area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on his policy on the widening of motorways. [1331]

Our 10-Year-Plan, Transport 2010 includes provision for widening some 5 per cent. (360 miles) of the strategic road network. Such widening will be a key element in meeting our objective to reduce road congestion on the inter-urban network and in large urban areas in England below current levels by 2010 by promoting integrated transport solutions and investing in public transport and the road network.

Heathrow

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he expects to make a decision on a fifth terminal at Heathrow airport. [1311]

A decision will be issued as soon as possible consistent with full and careful consideration of the report of the inquiry Inspector.

A5

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what proposals he has for improvement to the A5 between the M69 and A47 Long shoot junction. [1426]

The Highways Agency has a strategy for improving the A5. I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Tim Matthews to Mr. David Tredinnick, dated 5 July 2001:

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, David Jamieson, has asked me to reply to your recent question about proposals for improving the A5 between the M69 and A47 Longshoot Junction.

A strategy for improvements to this section of the A5 was developed following the publication of the Inspector's Report on the Public Inquiry into the Hinckley and Bosworth Local Plan. This strategy indicated the need for improvements to the road as a result of development proposals identified in the Plan and preliminary consultation, undertaken in June 1999, identified a number of possible improvement schemes.

The enclosed leaflet sets out the broad programme although there have been a number of changes since it was published in March. Work is likely to start in the Autumn on two developer-funded schemes, the provision of roundabouts at Nutts Lane and Sketchley Lane, and we hope to start work this financial year on improving signing at Hinckley Railway Bridge and on the traffic signs at Stretton House Bends. Other developer funded schemes, including Dodwells roundabout and proposals at Wolvey Road and the M69 junction, are less advanced and will be dependent in part on the developers' timescales.

More recently, work has started on the preparation of the Route Management Strategy for the trunk road corridor between the M1 and the A38 in the Mid lands, including this length of the A5. This was mentioned in Gwyn Drake's letter to you of 19th January. This will look at the corridor as a whole and will recommend a range of highway improvements for inclusion in future works programmes. It will also review some of the improvements identified in the preliminary consultation, such as the pedestrian and cycle path on the north side of the A5 between the M69 and the Longshoot junction, and enhancements including "no waiting" restrictions, a 40 mph speed limit and street lighting. Public consultation is expected to start early in 2002, with the final strategy being published June.

The result will be a Route Management Plan, which will include a ten-year strategy and a three-year action plan.

I trust that this answers your question but if you wish to discuss any aspect further, the Highways Agency Route Manager for this length of A5 is David Nock. He can be contacted at our offices at Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham, B15 IBL, or by telephone on 0121 678 8362.

Housebuilding Targets

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what plans the Government have to revise the housebuilding targets published in the regional planning guidance for (a) the west midlands, (b) the south-east and (c) East Anglia; and if he will make a statement; [1279](2) if he will make a statement on the extent to which housebuilding targets detailed in a regional planning guidance are binding on local authorities. [1295]

Draft Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) is drawn up by the Regional Planning Body for each region and includes proposed rates of housing provision. Once the RPG has been confirmed by the Secretary of State following public examination, the presumption is that the rates of housing provision are carried through into structure plans or Unitary Development Plans. The housing provision for each region is no longer set as an inflexible long-term target for housebuilding based on a 'predict and provide' methodology b it is expressed as an annual rate of provision for additional dwellings which is subject to regular monitoring and review. The level of housing provision is monitored by the regional planning body with the expectation that it will be reviewed every five years, or sooner if necessary.RPGs for East Anglia and the south-east were issued in November 2000 and March 2001 respectively. The regional planning body in the west midlands is currently preparing new draft RPG.

Best Value

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much public money within central Government has been allocated for administrative costs associated with best value in local government in the forthcoming year. [1291]

For the financial year 2001–02, £1,751,000 has been allocated within central Government for administrative costs associated with best value.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the estimated cost to central Government was of the administration of best value in local government in the last financial year. [1284]

In the financial year 2000–01,£1,524,000 was spent on the administration of best value by central Government.

Electoral Law

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimate he has made of the annual costs to business resulting from the provisions on the availability of the full and edited electoral register in the draft Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2001; and if he will make a statement. [1289]

Officials have been in frequent contact with representatives of businesses and business associations since the beginning of 1998 when changes to the availability of electoral registers were first considered by the Working Party on Electoral Procedures. A summary of the estimates made by companies which responded to the working party was published in Annexe M to the working party's final report of October 1999, copies of which are in the Library of the House and on the Home Office website.A draft Regulatory Impact Assessment accompanied the draft Amendment (No.2) Regulations when these were placed on the internet for public comment.

Local Government

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the Government's plans to undertake local government restructuring (a) before and (b) after the introduction of regional assemblies in England outside London. [1296]

No decisions have yet been taken on what—if any—changes in local government structures might be involved in taking forward the Government's proposals in relation to elected regional assemblies.As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced on 2 July 2001,

Official Report, column 80W, the Government intend to publish a White Paper on Regional Governance in England. This will set out the Government's thinking on these issues.

Good Practice

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps he proposes to take to ensure that good practice in local government can be developed. [2164]

The Secretary of State has introduced a wide-ranging programme of modernisation for local government. We are committed to supporting the capacity of local government to deliver on this programme. The development of best practice is seen as an important element of such support.We have strengthened the Improvement and Development Agency, particularly through the creation of the Performance Support Unit, and we continue to support the Local Government Improvement Programme. We have enhanced the Audit Commission's role in audit and inspection, particularly through the Best Value Inspection Service. The IDeA and the BVIS have key roles in sharing best practice.The DTLR offers help to local authorities directly through (among others) its Modernisation Team, a group of senior staff with local authority experience who work in every region of the country to support councils as they introduce modernisation.The Department is involved in many other initiatives. Examples include the introduction of Local Public Service Agreements. Local PSAs provide councils with the opportunity to discuss with Government Departments new ideas for improving services and try them out. Ideas that work will naturally be of interest to other councils.

In addition, we are making available £350 million funding over three years, to enable local authorities achieve our target of 100 per cent. electronic service capability by 2005. This year we have made £25 million available to support innovative projects which will make a generic contribution to local authority service delivery. This work will be supported by a further £325 million in 2002–04.

Local authorities were able to compete for grant under Rounds 2 and 3 of the Invest to Save Budget. This is a Treasury/Cabinet Office initiative, designed to develop projects which bring together two or more public services in an innovative and more efficient fashion. In Round 3, 46 out of 100 successful projects were led by local authorities, involving some £22.4 million funding from a total ISB Round 3 pot of £60 million. Both e-government and IS projects will provide a valuable source of best practice for local government.

Through the beacon council scheme, councils can improve by learning from those who already provide excellent services. 39 councils, given beacon status in the second round of the scheme, are currently offering opportunities to develop services across 11 themes. Earlier this week—4 July 2001—we published an application brochure inviting further applications in the third round of the scheme. Evaluation studies are showing that the beacon scheme is making a positive contribution to the development of good practice.

The Department has embarked on a major programme to develop best practice in partnership working with public, private and voluntary sector organisations.

Jointly with the Local Government Association, we commissioned a Review of Local Government Procurement under Sir Ian Byatt. We have now received this report. It is an important contribution to the debate on the modernisation of local government and the provision of high quality services to local people. This report will stimulate the development of best practice in procurement.

Rockingham Speedway, Northamptonshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will hold a public inquiry into the process and procedures by which a series of planning consents has been granted for the construction of the Rockingham Speedway, Northamptonshire. [1783]

Homeless households in priority need accepted by London boroughs
	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01
Barking and Dagenham	241	65	257	230	234
Barnet	909	872	1,027	1,103	(3) 868
Bexley	173	285	319	275	359
Brent	1,394	1,164	(3) 721	1,040	1,146
Bromley	657	610	728	839	881
Camden	1,362	1,422	1,555	1,338	1,021
City of London	22	44	53	64	17
Croydon	1,513	956	814	1,219	1,886

A public inquiry will be held this September into the appeal by Rockingham Speedway against some of the conditions imposed by East Northamptonshire council in its permission of October last year. In addition, the council has resolved to take enforcement action to ensure compliance with other conditions. However the Department is not aware of any grounds to suggest the council's consideration of this case requires investigation.

Fire Contingency Arrangements

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what contingency arrangements he has made in the event of strike action by fire fighters on Merseyside; and if he will make a statement. [2129]

At the request of the Merseyside Fire and Civil Defence Authority, I have agreed with my right hon. Friend the armed forces Minister that armed forces personnel should provide emergency fire cover during any periods of strike action by firefighters on Merseyside.

Local Authority Boundaries

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the terms of reference are for the boundary commission's current review of local government boundaries in Merseyside; and if he will make a statement. [2104]

All the Local Government Commission's periodic electoral reviews, including those of the Metropolitan borough councils in Merseyside starting in September, are undertaken in accordance with statutory requirements, including those of securing electoral equality (the number of electors represented by each councillor elected to the authority to be, as far as possible, the same in every ward) and effective and convenient local government, and to reflect the interests and identities of local communities.

Housing (London)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many people were accepted as homeless in each of the London boroughs in each of the last five years; how many of these were accommodated in bed and breakfast establishments; and at what cost. [1737]

Information reported to the Department by London boroughs on the number of households accepted under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 and 1996 Housing Acts as being eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, in each of the past five years, is as follows:

Homeless households in priority need accepted by London boroughs
	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01
Ealing	1,202	1,068	1,016	989	1,026
Enfield	836	743	754	793	1,007
Greenwich	1,053	1,270	1,403	1,242	1,227
Hackney	(2) 454	676	705	963	(3) 594
Hammersmith and Fulham	618	598	709	895	918
Haringey	¹—	1,157	975	(3) 1,101	1,436
Harrow	499	690	720	670	701
Havering	(3) 267	283	(1)98	(3) 326	(3) 160
Hillingdon	888	932	914	686	1,003
Hounslow	1,082	858	(3) 609	1,003	945
Islington	1,113	949	(3)897	1,298	1,556
Kensington and Chelsea	614	594	(3)411	533	658
Kingston upon Thames	323	437	(3) 271	306	421
Lambeth	1,042	779	1,039	1,124	1,112
Lewisham	(3) 601	(3) 574	1,085	1,248	892
Merton	336	186	205	242	168
Newham	224	1	1,383	1,411	1,596
Redbridge	302	322	302	450	(3) 325
Richmond upon Thames	479	584	633	432	343
Southwark	(3) 873	890	(3) 841	1,614	1,702
Sutton	417	274	299	513	429
Tower Hamlets	(2) 369	971	1,070	1,130	1,282
Waltham Forest	771	880	(3) 779	856	981
Wandsworth	639	440	1	(2) 391	886
Westminster	1,259	(3) 839	1,266	1,152	1,074
¹ Blank entries indicate that no returns were submitted by the authority

Note:

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of quarters for which returns were received

Source:

DETR P1(E) housing activity returns (quarterly)

Information reported by London boroughs on the numbers of households resident in bed and breakfast accommodation on 31 March in each year is as follows:

Homeless households accommodated by London boroughs as at 31 March
	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Barking and Dagenham	0	0	0	¹—	0
Barnet	103	88	116	¹—	¹—
Bexley	1	10	19	56	66
Brent	273	369	290	410	585
Bromley	17	30	118	134	100
Camden	100	114	44	56	69
City of London	15	22	33	64	23
Croydon	¹—	122	157	286	420
Ealing	19	33	68	201	400
Enfield	159	208	206	253	267
Greenwich	0	0	0	0	0
Hackney	¹—	40	¹—	366	¹—
Hammersmith and Fulham	99	159	263	317	376
Haringey	¹—	142	151	216	192
Harrow	58	92	183	122	131
Havering	0	0	0	¹—	0
Hillingdon	107	120	295	279	407
Hounslow	11	50	¹—	149	182
Islington	145	65	67	71	0
Kensington and Chelsea	239	250	466	559	651
Kingston upon Thames	9	2	1	26	8
Lambeth	2	0	14	56	187
Lewisham	¹—	¹—	0	¹—	0
Merton	24	9	10	56	35
Newham	¹—	¹—	270	346	641
Redbridge	88	145	165	184	¹—
Richmond upon Thames	39	62	203	224	66
Southwark	0	0	42	180	250
Sutton	24	23	64	123	47

Homeless households accommodated by London borough as at 31 March
	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Tower Hamlets	¹—	124	253	190	187
Waltham Forest	0	0	¹—	32	135
Wandsworth	74	124	¹—	¹—	259
Westminster	851	¹—	1,058	1,135	923
¹ Indicates information not reported

Note:

Figures include households being accommodated pending completion of inquiries by the local authority

Source:

DETR P1(E) housing activity returns (quarterly)

National and regional information on local authorities' activity under statutory homelessness provisions is provided in a quarterly Statistical Release published by the Department. Table 7 presents reported data on households accepted as homeless by each London borough, and a separate Supplementary Table provides summary data, including numbers resident in B&B, for

Local authorities' gross current expenditure on bed on breakfast at accommodation
£000
	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000
Barking and Dagenham	0	0	0	0	18
Barnet	1,679	1,448	1,907	5,700	9,406
Bexley	92	98	111	424	427
Brent	2,095	2,392	3,609	3,848	5,183
Bromley	125	132	144	1,066	1,858
Camden	1,403	1,329	2,825	5,297	5,780
City of London	0	0	0	0	775
Croydon	654	609	846	2,097	3,158
Ealing	409	297	243	527	1,322
Enfield	1,641	1,790	3,663	6,776	11,062
Greenwich	0	0	0	0	0
Hackney	691	3,467	488	2,046	3,447
Hammersmith and Fulham	3,080	1,779	1,431	2,947	5,090
Haringey	4,475	4,332	5,790	15,356	16,518
Harrow	314	700	976	1,964	2,196
Havering	0	0	0	0	0
Hillingdon	883	808	1,109	2,326	4,766
Hounslow	410	402	726	2,140	6,872
Islington	3,789	3,087	2,945	2,942	4,544
Kensington and Chelsea	2,287	3,222	3,240	4,937	7,215
Kingston upon Thames	171	130	155	52	485
Lambeth	1,623	664	1,391	2,092	2,057
Lewisham	4	0	0	0	0
Merton	340	368	162	271	688
Newham	1,061	824	1,401	4,773	5,388
Redbridge	486	1,182	2,029	3,354	3,486
Richmond upon Thames	217	314	460	4,346	11,184
Southwark	179	127	0	352	4,981
Sutton	193	221	163	434	1,525
Tower Hamlets	1,775	2,155	1,584	2,128	5,104
Waltham Forest	0	2	8	2	237
Wandsworth	890	698	1,626	3,440	3,289
Westminster	4,795	5,024	6,798	13,595	16,321

Source:

DTLR RO6 Revenue Outturn forms

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what has been the average weekly level of (a) council rents in London and (b) rent charges for bed and breakfast establishments used by the London boroughs in each of the last five years. [1736]

all authorities in England. Copies of these are held in the Library, and the latest edition published on 15 June presents statistics up to the end of March 2001.

Information reported to the Department by London boroughs about their expenditure on bed and breakfast accommodation is as follows:

The average weekly unrebated rents for local authority tenants in London as at April in each year, including the latest survey results for April 2001, are as follows.

Average local authority unrebated rents as at April
(£ per week)
	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Barking and Dagenham	39.71	42.10	44.43	49.68	52.24	54.54
Barnet	52.11	52.60	52.59	55.35	56.92	58.52
Bexley	53.02	58.52	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—
Brent	69.81	69.05	70.37	72.59	72.81	73.80
Bromley	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—
Camden	58.71	59.69	60.76	59.77	62.92	63.97
City of London	55.34	55.82	56.83	58.58	58.70	60.80
Croydon	62.10	62.78	62.78	64.20	67.95	65.83
Ealing	59.17	58.72	59.11	60.85	63.26	64.43
Enfield	51.98	52.79	53.50	55.55	57.93	62.75
Greenwich	50.50	51.14	53.95	56.25	54.65	58.99
Hackney	54.79	55.25	56.11	56.62	58.47	61.77
Hammersmith and Fulham	53.77	54.26	56.18	57.98	59.13	61.34
Haringey	57.54	56.02	58.96	58.94	60.48	61.89
Harrow	64.68	65.17	67.21	66.77	68.65	70.97
Havering	44.59	44.95	45.18	46.83	48.26	49.68
Hillingdon	63.24	64.20	65.28	66.71	68.80	70.59
Hounslow	49.81	50.81	52.01	52.89	55.85	57.93
Islington	56.16	57.16	58.36	60.00	62.32	64.38
Kensington and Chelsea	68.72	68.72	68.16	68.17	68.15	70.23
Kingston upon Thames	61.15	61.64	63.43	63.99	66.33	68.50
Lambeth	49.56	54.01	55.24	57.72	59.88	62.00
Lewisham	46.73	48.90	49.82	52.15	55.00	57.35
Merton	52.56	53.05	54.06	54.83	56.02	58.60
Newham	43.72	44.21	44.92	49.40	54.35	56.35
Redbridge	65.89	66.36	67.56	67.65	69.14	70.20
Richmond upon Thames	52.92	54.54	56.09	61.13	62.41	¹—
Southwark	50.07	50.56	49.70	54.74	56.56	58.04
Sutton	50.97	53.08	54.63	54.15	56.88	60.44
Tower Hamlets	45.01	49.21	50.52	58.71	62.86	66.39
Waltham Forest	46.37	49.36	52.17	59.54	62.65	64.15
Wandsworth	59.68	60.17	60.79	65.61	66.95	69.78
Westminster	64.62	66.65	68.62	73.96	76.15	78.19
¹ Large Scale Voluntary Transfer of all borough stock

Note:

Average rents chargeable for the property, excluding any service charges

Source:

DETR Housing Subsidy Claim Forms and March Survey data

Information on average rents charged by bed and breakfast establishments is not collected centrally.

Housing (Lancashire)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimate he has made of the cost of bringing up to acceptable standard, the private sector housing stock in (a) Pendle, (b) Burnley and (c) East Lancashire as a whole. [1989]

We do not make estimates of costs to carry out repairs and improvements to private sector housing stock for individual districts or areas within regions. It is the responsibility of local housing Authorities to assess any problems of private sector housing within their districts. Local authorities supply the Department with their estimates of the numbers of private sector unfit dwellings in their areas, they do not provide cost estimates although this will change in 2001. The latest local authority estimates for numbers of unfit dwellings are:

	Number
Pendle	5,600
Burnley	7,344
Remaining East Lancashire authorities	36,334

Housing (Warsop)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what timescale is foreseen on the use of a special purchase vehicle on private leased housing in Warsop and Warsop Vale. [2223]

The East Midlands Development Agency has been in discussion with the Meden Valley Partnership about this project and it is anticipated that decisions will be made later this year on the scale of funding that might be made available.

Planning (Listed Buildings And Conservation Areas) Act

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what powers are available to him when a local authority fails to enforce the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 against owners who are in contravention of their obligations. [1930]

The Secretary of State has powers to issue listed building enforcement notices and conservation area enforcement notices. He can also take court action against those who carry out works to listed buildings or in conservation areas without the necessary consent, or in breach of a condition attached to a consent. The Secretary of State may also prosecute owners who deliberately damage listed buildings. It is the Secretary of State's policy to take enforcement action or to prosecute only in exceptional cases.

Aircraft Noise

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he will publish his response to his consultation on the control of noise from civil aircraft; and if he will make a statement. [1969]

We will announce our conclusions later this year, after full and careful consideration of the arguments put forward by respondents.

Green Belts

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the status of green belts within planning guidance, with particular reference to those within key transport corridors. [1655]

[holding answer 3 July 2001]: Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) note 2: Green Belts, issued in 1995, sets out the presumption against inappropriate development in green belts. That guidance was amended in March this year by Annexe E of PPG13: Transport which advised that, in certain limited circumstances, park and ride development in green belts was no longer inappropriate.

A30/A303

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which stretches of the (a) A30 and (b) A303 in Somerset have accident rates above the national average for A roads; and if he will make a statement. [1369]

[holding answer 4 July 2001]: The average rate of accidents on non-built-up A roads of the three years 1997–99, published in "Road Accidents Great Britain: 1999 The Casualty Report", was 26 per 100 million vehicle kilometres (mvkm). Only one stretch of the A303 in Somerset had an accident rate above this national average; the stretch of road between the Eagle Tavern and the A358 had an average accident rate of 27.35 per 100 mvkm in 1997–99.The A30 in Somerset is a local road so information on accident rates is not held centrally. Further information the hon. Member requires may be held by Somerset county council.

Mobile Homes And Parks

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to introduce legislation to regulate (a) the sale and (b) the running of mobile homes and parks; and if he will make a statement. [2482]

Changes to the statutory provisions on the sale of mobile homes and other proposals affecting residents of mobile homes and their site owners were included in the recommendations of the Park Homes Working Party, published last year. We consulted on, and are considering, the working party's recommendations.

Defence

Submarines

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which fleet submarines are operational. [965]

HMS Triumph, HMS Tireless, HMS Superb and HMS Trafalgar are currently on operational duties.

Fertility Treatment

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received regarding the availability of fertility treatment for service personnel and their families. [2327]

The Ministry of Defence receives a small number of letters each year from service personnel or their wives on this issue.

Pilot Strength

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will assess the benefits of recruiting RNZAF combat pilots made redundant as a result of the New Zealand Defence Review to fill gaps in RAF combat pilot strength. [972]

The RAF, like several NATO air forces, currently has a shortfall of experienced fast jet pilots. The opportunity to recruit former Royal New Zealand Air Force pilots (who become surplus to requirements as a result of the New Zealand Government's decision to reconfigure their armed forces to undertake peacekeeping duties) is therefore of interest to the RAF. Details of the personnel directly affected by the restructuring have yet to be released by the New Zealand Defence Staff. The RAF are closely monitoring the evolving situation and senior British officers have been in contact with their opposite numbers in Wellington to highlight employment opportunities in the RAF.

Sea Harriers

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Sea Harriers are held in attrition reserve. [960]

These are currently 19 Sea Harrier FA2 aircraft in the sustainment fleet, available to sustain an operational fleet of 28 Sea Harrier FA2s. The sustainment fleet includes those aircraft formerly considered as the attribution reserve fleet.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Sea Harrier airframes have been used for spare parts in order to ensure other aircraft are operational. [959]

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many Sea Harrier conversions are currently under way; and how many more Sea Harriers will be converted to FA2 standard; [966](2) how many Sea Harrier FRS1s have been converted to FA2 standard. [961]

All 33 Sea Harrier FRS1 aircraft operated by the Royal Navy at the time of the conversion programme were upgraded to FA2 standard. The programme was completed in 1999. No further upgrades to FA2 standard are planned. A further 18 new-build Sea Harrier FA2 aircraft were purchased from new.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Sea Harrier engines have been upgraded to 1161 standard. [969]

None.

Warships

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list each operational warship of the Royal Navy, together with its scheme of complement total, and the number of trained men on board each vessel. [962]

There are currently 90 HM ships and submarines in the operational fleet. This includes all vessels on operational duties or engaged in preparing for service, trials or training. The precise manning level of ships available for operations is an indicator of the operational readiness of each individual ship and I am withholding the information under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. The total number of trained personnel on board these vessels as at 25 June 2001, is 9,012 against a scheme of complement total of 9,510.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if all Royal Navy warships put to sea with their full weapon outload; and if he will make a statement. [964]

All Royal Navy ships are equipped with weapon outloads appropriate to their operational tasking.

Fleet Air Arm

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Fleet Air Arm's inventory is of each type of Lynx helicopter; and how many are operationally available. [963]

As at Monday 25 June 2001, the Royal Navy had a total of 38 Mk3 and 36 Mk8 Lynx helicopters. Of these, 25 Mk3 and 18 Mk8 aircraft were operationally available. These figures provide a snapshot on a specific date. Numbers can change as aircraft move in and out of maintenance.

Type 23 Frigates

To ask the secretary of State for Defence if type 23 frigates were procured to replace type 22 frigates; and if he will make a statement. [958]

The type 23 class frigate was conceived in the late 1970s as a light anti-submarine frigate whose primary role was to meet the then Soviet nuclear submarine threat in the North Atlantic. This new class was intended to replace the Leander class frigate, which was developed in the 1950s and the type 21 class frigate, developed in the 1960s, as the backbone of the Royal Navy's surface ship anti-submarine force. The type 23 class frigate was not procured as a replacement for the type 22 frigate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of each of the Royal Navy's type 23 frigates. [967]

The cost of HMS Norfolk, the first of the type 23 class frigates, was £135.449 million. The following 16 vessels have cost, or are estimated to cost where final payments are not yet due, between £60 million and £96 million depending on when the vessel was ordered and the scope of shipbuilder supplied equipment.

Merlin Helicopter

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Merlin helicopter will be cleared for night-time active sonar dipping operations; and if he will make a statement. [957]

The Merlin helicopter is expected to receive appropriate clearance to conduct night-time active sonar dipping operations before the end of 2001.

Link 16

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of studies indicating significant operational advantages in fitting Link 16 to the Tornado GR4 and Harrier GR7 fleets; [968](2) for what reason he has decided not to install Link 16 on the Tornado GR4 and Harrier GR7 fleets. [970]

The operational advantages offered by systems such as Link 16 are well recognised. The capability is already fitted in some aircraft types and it will be fitted more widely in our aircraft and ships. As with any defence equipment capability, decisions have to be made about priorities. Link 16 is not currently planned to be fitted to Tornado GR4 or Harrier GR7 aircraft as we have higher operational priorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason he has decided not to install Link 16 on naval platforms. [971]

No such decision has been taken. On current plans, we will install Link 16 in several in-service naval and air platforms as follows:

In-service platform	ISD with Link 16
Type 42 destroyer (Batch 2 and 3)	2004
CVS (Invincible class)	2004
Sea King AEW	2002
Nimrod (R)	2003
Sea Harrier FA2	2004

Major new naval and air platforms, such as Eurofighter and the Type 45 destroyer, will be provided with situational awareness through secure tactical data links, in many cases by installing Link 16.

Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the prime contractors and their partner companies who have responded to the invitation to negotiate on the future strategic tanker aircraft project; what locations they have specified for their main operating base; and if any of the bids include any role for Dera or Quinetiq at Boscombe Down airfield. [867]

We received bids on 3 July from two consortia: Air Tanker, consisting of Cobham, Thales, Brown & Root, EADS and Rolls Royce, and a consortium consisting of BAE Systems, Boeing, Serco and Spectrum Capital. Evaluation of the bids, which are complex and commercially sensitive, has only just begun. I am withholding further information under Exemption 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. I shall, however, write to the hon. Member as soon as our analysis of the bids permits.

Northumberland National Park

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the future use of Otterburn Training Area in the Northumberland National Park. [868]

Otterburn Training Area is one of the Ministry of Defence's principal training facilities. In common with all training areas, military training was suspended at Otterburn in recent months due to foot and mouth restrictions, but resumed on 29 June.As the hon. Member may be aware the MOD has plans to develop the Otterburn training area and our proposals have been subject to two lengthy sessions of a non-statutory public inquiry. The inquiry Inspector's report is with the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions and we await the decision.

Home Department

Single European Currency

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment the Government have made of the potential increase in (a) organised crime and (b) financial crime in the UK and elsewhere of UK entry into the single European currency, with particular reference to the planned maximum denomination of euro notes; and if he will make a statement; [1259](2) what assessment the Government have made of the increase in

(a) organised crime and (b) financial crime in the United Kingdom resulting from the introduction of the single European currency in other EU member states, with particular reference to the planned maximum denomination of euro notes; what measures the Government are taking as a result; and if he will make a statement. [1242]

Law enforcement and other competent authorities in the United Kingdom are already working with their counterparts abroad in preventing and combating crime in relation to the single European currency. Threat assessments have been carried out, at both the national level by the United Kingdom's National Criminal Intelligence Service and the European level by Europol, to determine the potential impact of organized and financial crime involving the Euro, including counterfeiting and money laundering. These analyses and the experience being gained would be fully taken into account if the Government were to recommend United Kingdom entry into the single currency and Parliament and the people in a referendum were to agree.

Work Permits

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 27 June 2001, Official Report, column 97W, on work permits, if he will place a copy of the affidavit received from a Trinidad and Tobago Football Association medical officer in the Libraries of both Houses. [2086]

No. The affidavit was provided for the purpose of considering applications for work permits and it is not the practice of Work Permits (United Kingdom) to disclose documents submitted in support of applications.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 27 June 2001, Official Report, column 97W, on work permits, what inquiries were made to validate the information contained in the affidavit provided by a Trinidad and Tobago Football Association medical official. [2087]

[holding answer 3 July 2001]: There was no information to suggest that the evidence provided in the sworn affidavit was incorrect and in the absence of such information the Department did not think it necessary to make any inquiries to validate this information.

Telephone Tapping Warrants

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the number of telephone tapping warrants issued in each reporting period since 1980; and if he will make a statement. [1456]

[holding answer 4 July 2001]: The numbers of interception warrants issued in 1980–84 are set out in the White Paper "The Interception of Communications in the United Kingdom" dated February 1985 (Cmnd 9438), prior to the introduction of the Interception of Communications Act 1985 now replaced by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).Numbers of warrants issued annually since 1985 have been published in the reports of the Interception Commissioners, copies of which are placed in the Library. The annual report for 2000 is not yet available.

Asylum Vouchers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he will reform the no-change policy in relation to asylum vouchers; by what date he intends to publish the findings of the review of asylum vouchers; and if he will make a statement; [1511](2) if he will place in the Library a summary of the submissions made in response to the Government's review of asylum vouchers, indicating which individuals and organisations favoured abolition of vouchers; and if he will make a statement. [1638]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington) on 25 June 2001, Official Report, column 50W. We are looking at the no-change rule as part of the review of the operation of the asylum voucher scheme. The Government have undertaken to place in the Library a list of those organisations which have contributed to the review and copies of their representations, once the review is complete.

Young Offenders (Community Orders)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community orders relating to young offenders have been (a) breached and (b) revoked since 1 April 2000; and if he will make a statement. [2360]

40,853 community orders were imposed between April 2000 and March 2001. Of these, 11,760 were breached, the order revoked and the offender resentenced.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to require Youth Offending Teams to collect data for breaches and revocations of the different types of community order made against young offenders. [2359]

The Youth Justice Board is currently in the process of revising its data collection methods. It will shortly be requiring Youth Offending Teams to record breaches for certain types of community orders made against young offenders.

Prisons

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on private companies providing remunerated work-based prison regimes within the prison estate; and if he will make a statement [2120]

The Prison Service is keen to work with outside contractors to provide increased and better quality employment opportunities for prisoners, where local circumstances permit. However, the primary aim of regimes for prisoners is to address their offending behaviour and improve their employability so as to reduce the risk that they will re-offend on release. It is important that regimes provide a mix of offending behaviour, drugs treatment and educational programmes and resettlement activities as well as work and vocational training.The private sector was originally introduced into prison management because of the possible benefits of cost and speed of delivery but also the prospect of improvements in the quality of prison conditions Where a prison is under private sector management, the contract requires employment and other purposeful activity to be provided and specifies the level of provision.

Coroners Courts

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans for the reform of coroners courts. [1729]

We are keen to ensure that coroners can provide a modern, effective, service. A fundamental review of the coroner arrangements was accordingly announced in January, with terms of reference published in March. An announcement about the names of the chair and review members is expected to be made shortly.The review will address the coroner system both in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland, and will consider recommendations for changes to death certification procedures and the arrangements needed for the investigation of suspicious and unnatural deaths. I expect the review to report towards the end of next year.

Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 19 April regarding a constituent, ref. 62793286, PO4790/01. [1096]

[holding answer 28 June 2001]: My noble Friend Lord Rooker replied to my hon. Friend on 26 June. I am very sorry for the delay in replying.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter addressed to his predecessor on 2 April by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Shazia Azhar Alvi. [802]

My officials wrote to my right hon. Friend on 20 June about this case and I will reply to him shortly.

Immigration And Asylum

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the quality of statistics available to him on immigration and asylum. [2093]

Statistics on immigration and asylum are based on administrative sources and their quality is benefiting from the improvements and developments that have been made to the administrative systems over the past year. Further improvements in quality and scope are expected. The data produced monthly shortly after the end of the reference period are subject to quality improvement and revision prior to publication in biennial and annual statistical publications to take account of the delayed reporting of data and data cleansing work.Immigration and asylum statistics are published in a Command Paper and a number of regular statistical bulletins covering general immigration, asylum, and citizenship. All these publications form part of the National Statistics and as such are produced to professional standards set out in a Code of Practice. The formal assessment of data quality is incorporated in the cycle of reviews under the National Statistics Work Programme.

Solicitor-General

Coram Foundation

39.

To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on her policy relating to the Coram family, with special reference to plans to display its works of art and other memorabilia. [912]

I must emphasise at the outset that I am required to act in this matter as protector of charity. Indeed, it would be improper for me to take into account any consideration other than what is in the best interests of charity.The Thomas Coram Foundation is a child care charity—its objects are broadly the support and maintenance of poor children. My predecessor intervened, as he was required to do, to ensure that any plans for the Hogarth paintings and other heritage assets which belong to the foundation are consistent with charity law. Essentially, the assets must be applied for the purpose of benefiting the charitable objects of the foundation, that is to say for child care purposes.I sympathise with the position of the Governors and Coram and am anxious to assist them to find a solution which is in the best interests of the charity.So the Attorney-General will be discussing this, among other issues, with the Charity Commissioners and will meet the Governors of Coram to discuss it with them.

Criminal Justice (Terrorism And Conspiracy) Act

40.

To ask the Solicitor-General on how many occasions the Attorney-General has been asked to consider prosecutions under section 5 of the Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act 1998; and on how many occasions he has not consented to such prosecutions. [913]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, section 5 of the Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act 1998 relates to legislation governing the possible indictment in the UK of individuals who are conspiring to commit offences abroad.So far the Attorney-General has given his consent to the prosecution of two individuals involved in a conspiracy to facilitate the entry of illegal immigrants into the United States of America and the United Kingdom. There were eight defendants involved in the conspiracy and all were successfully prosecuted.There have been no other applications for the Attorney-General's consent under this provision.

Human Rights Act

41.

To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the Crown Prosecution Service. [914]

The Human Rights Act 1998 has undoubtedly affected all aspects of the work undertaken by the Crown Prosecution Service. This was anticipated from a very early stage and a high priority was given to ensuring that the CPS was well prepared for the implementation of the Act on 2 October 2000.

An intensive training programme for prosecutors and selected caseworkers was undertaken before 2 October 2000. Follow-up training is still being undertaken. The quality and intensity of the training has meant that cases giving rise to human rights issues have been dealt with in a professional and effective manner. CPS areas have reported that prosecutors are using convention arguments with greater confidence than ever before.

The Human Rights Act has meant that the courts are considering many new arguments. A number of cases raising human rights points have already been decided by the appeal courts. Fast tracking of cases has enabled cases that have an impact on the criminal justice system as a whole to be heard quickly by the appeal courts. This has assisted in ensuring that blockages in the criminal justice system have not developed.

Crown Prosecution Service

42.

To ask the Solicitor-General what policies she has for tackling racism and promoting equality in the Crown Prosecution Service. [916]

The Crown Prosecution Service is committed to ensuring that it does not discriminate as an employer or as a prosecutor.The CPS has undertaken a series of initiatives to address discrimination and change the culture of the organisation. An Equality and Diversity Unit has been established to ensure that the CPS equality statement is implemented. A training programme in equality and diversity, with emphasis on racial equality, is under way and by March 2002 all staff will be trained.A new range of initiatives undertaken by the CPS internally include a "dignity at work" campaign, aimed at ensuring that cultural diversity is valued. The CPS has developed positive act ion training for minority ethnic staff in areas where they are under-represented. The CPS is also seeking to engage with local minority ethnic communities and leaflets in 12 languages explaining the work of the CPS have been distributed. New guidance has also been provided to prosecutors on their responsibilities under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.The CPS is also examining the findings of the Denman report into race discrimination in the CPS. The CPS hopes to co-ordinate a response to the Denman report together with the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) report into the CPS Croydon branch.

43.

To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on progress of the inquiry by Ms Denman into racism in the Crown Prosecution Service. [917]

Sylvia Denman has recently completed her inquiry and her report has been delivered to the Crown Prosecution Service. It is hoped to co-ordinate publication of the report together with the findings of the Commission for Racial Equality in relation to their investigation of the CPS Croydon branch. This would enable the Crown Prosecution Service to take a coherent and comprehensive approach to its race equality work.

Postal Voting

To ask the Solicitor-General what discussions she has had with the CPS on prosecution policy in respect of forging signatures on applications to vote by post at the last general election. [915]

I have spoken to the Chief Executive of the CPS to discuss current prosecution policy.The police are responsible for investigating any complaints of forged postal applications to vote. As this is a specialised area of law, CPS headquarters handle all cases involving breaches of election law referred to the CPS by the police. All cases are reviewed in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, to assess the sufficiency of evidence and where appropriate the public interest in bringing a prosecution.CPS experience shows that allegations of this kind are received from a number of sources over a period of months. It is still too early to say whether the increase in postal voting has led to an increase in criminal complaints. In addition, the CPS liaises with the Electoral Commission as the Commission is required to publish a report on the conduct and administration of the recent general election.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Israel

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library the agenda for the meeting of the EU-Israel Association Committee in May to review the operation of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. [824]

A copy of the agenda, agreed by the EU and Israel, was deposited in the House of Commons Library on 2 July 2001.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Israeli authorities have responded to the EU post-verification requests for certificates of origin for goods alleged to be from illegal settlements. [825]

The Israeli Customs Authorities have responded to a number of the post-verification requests for certificates of origin for goods exported by Israel under the preferences conferred by the EU-Israel Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement. Under the terms of the Agreement, Israel has 10 months to reply to each request. All the responses should be received within the coming weeks. The EU will consider next steps in the light of the responses received.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the EU will stop the import of suspected settlement products under preference in the absence of the necessary proofs of origin within the internationally recognised borders of Israel, as provided for in the post-verification exercise. [826]

The UK supports the Commission's efforts to establish whether any infringements of the EU-Israel Association Agreement have taken place. EU member states continue to receive responses from the Israeli authorities to their post-verification requests, and all of these responses need to be analysed. The EC will consider next steps and will then discuss the issue with Israel at the EU-Israel Customs Co-operation Committee on 23 July 2001.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what safeguards the EU secured from the Israeli authorities that co-operation on (a) scientific and technological, (b) economic, (c) trade and (d) audio-visual and cultural matters, as discussed at the meeting of the EU-Israel Association Committee on 21 May, would give equal access to Arab, Druse and Jewish citizens of Israel and would not include any institutions operating in illegal settlements outside the international borders of Israel. [828]

The EU-Israel Association Agreement provides for co-operation between the EU and Israel in a number of areas, and also allows Israel to participate in a number of EU programmes. The EU operates a non-discrimination policy in deciding which institutions can access these co-operation programmes.The EU has repeatedly condemned settlement activity in the occupied territories (including east Jerusalem). It is illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace. Therefore, institutions from the Israeli settlements will not be eligible to participate in any EU co-operation or programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the EU proposes to monitor that co-operation between the EU and Israel under the EU-Israel Trade Association Agreement conforms with equal opportunities in benefiting Jewish, Druse and Arab citizens of Israel. [829]

We take human rights issues, including equal opportunity for all, extremely seriously. Respect for human rights and democratic principles is regularly raised during dialogue at all levels, most recently at the EU-Israel Association Committee on 21 May 2001. EU Heads of Mission in Tel Aviv also regularly raise human rights concerns with the Israeli Government.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library the decisions taken by the meeting of the EU-Israel Association Committee on 21 May. [827]

A report of the outcome of the meeting can be made public only with the agreement of the EU member states and of Israel.

Western Sahara

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is regarding recognition of Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara; and if he will make a statement. [1437]

The Government do not recognise Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara. The UK fully support the efforts of the United Nations Secretary General, his Personal Envoy, James Baker, and the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) in finding a just and lasting solution to this issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is towards the right of self-determination of the population of Western Sahara through a United Nations-sponsored referendum; and if he will make a statement. [1436]

We supported United Nations Security Council resolution 1359 which was passed unanimously on 29 June 2001 and which extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 November 2001. This reiterated full support for the on-going efforts of MINURSO to implement the Settlement Plan and agreements adopted by the parties to hold a free, fair and impartial referendum for the self-determination of the people of the Western Sahara.

Nice Treaty

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to renegotiate the Nice treaty to deal with the objections of the Irish people. [1558]

I refer the right hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring) of 28 June 2001, Official Report, column 167W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the implications for the implementation of the Nice treaty on EU enlargement of the Irish referendum result rejecting Irish ratification. [1822]

I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring) of 28 June 2001, Official Report, column 167W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the report to the European Parliament Committee on Constitutional Affairs on the treaty of Nice and the future of the European Union, report number A5-0168/2001 Final, dated 4 May. [1764]

We welcome all contributions to the debate on the future of Europe.However, final decisions will be taken by member states at the inter-governmental conference in 2004.

British Dependent Territories

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made to ensure that all British Dependent Territories citizens have been offered British citizenship and the right of abode. [1304]

The British Overseas Territories Bill, which will grant British Citizenship and the right of abode in the United Kingdom to British Dependent Territories citizens in qualifying territories, was given a first reading in the House of Lords on 21 June. The Second Reading is scheduled for 10 July. The Bill was published on 22 June. Copies, with Explanatory Notes, are available from the Libraries of both Houses.

Africa

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to give greater priority to Africa within his Department's policy. [1821]

The Prime Minister has made clear that Africa is a major foreign policy priority. The Minister for Africa, Baroness Amos, will be working to build on the solid base established over the past few years. Our aim is to promote a stable, democratic and well-governed African continent, which is increasingly free from conflict, disease and poverty and which will be able to play a full role in the global economy. We shall be working with the many African leaders whose goals are similar.

Conflict Prevention

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures his Department proposes to make conflict prevention and peacekeeping more effective. [1833]

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is engaged on a number of fronts to make international conflict prevention and peacekeeping more effective. We are working to push conflict prevention up the international agenda with GB, UN and EU partners; to help make international organisations better at peacekeeping and conflict prevention; to assist other countries with their peacekeeping efforts; and to improve our own contribution.We support the UN Secretary-General's efforts to move the UN:

"from a culture of reaction to a culture of prevention",

and welcome his recent report on conflict prevention, which pursues this aim. We are working closely with EU and UN partners to follow up implementation of the report on UN Peace Operations drawn up by the Panel chaired by Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi in 2000. In particular, we are pressing for improved early warning mechanisms within the UN system, better analysis of where problems might arise and more effective rapid deployment mechanisms. We are also working with UN Security Council partners to improve the decision-making processes leading to the deployment of UN peacekeeping operations.

The Government have established two cross-departmental conflict prevention pooled funds to help maximise our contribution to conflict prevention and peacekeeping work. The pools—one for sub-Saharan Africa and one for the rest of the world—are jointly managed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence Their purpose is to produce a joint strategy to facilitate collective decision making on where and how to focus our conflict prevention efforts, enabling Government to identify ways in which these Departments, by working more closely together can make more a effective contribution.

We are also putting mechanisms in place to improve the effectiveness of our national contributions to peacekeeping. These involve a rapid deployment capability for civilian police and on-call arrangements for military personnel.

Abm Treaty

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on the United States Government's intention to abrogate the anti-ballistic missile treaty; and if the future of the ABM treaty was discussed with the United States Administration delegation at the Gothenburg summit in June.[1823]

The future of the anti-ballistic missile treaty is first and foremost a matter for the US and Russia as parties to the treaty. We welcome US and Russian consultations on strategic issues, and were encouraged by the outcome of the summit between Presidents Bush and Putin and by both sides' commitment to further constructive discussions on the issues.The future of the ABMT was not discussed at the EU-US summit in Gothenburg.

To ask the Secretary, of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what work has been done by his Department to assess the global reaction to a unilateral withdrawal from the ABM treaty by the US. [2297]

The future of the anti-ballistic missile treaty is first and foremost a matter for the US and Russia as parties to the treaty. Presidents Bush and Putin agreed at their recent summit that the two sides should continue their consultations on missile defence and the ABMT. It is therefore premature to make such an assessment.

Us National Missile Defence

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Russian Government concerning the proposed US National Missile Defence system. [2295]

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not yet discussed missile defence with his Russian counterpart. Missile defence is of course the subject of regular exchanges with Russia at all levels.

Export Controls

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what goods, controlled by the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, were approved for export to Iraq in 2000. [3073]

Following consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry approved on 21 July 2000 a licence to export spare parts for use in Iraq's electricity sector under the UN Oil for Food programme. The spare parts included a roller bearing, which is controlled by the Wassenaar Arrangement in line with existing Security Council resolutions. The export of the goods to Iraq was approved by the UN Sanctions Committee. The announcement of this export is in line with the Government's commitment to increasing transparency in the field of export controls.

Death Certificates

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the procedure is for issuing a death certificate for a British citizen who dies abroad. [2484]

Deaths of British nationals overseas may be recorded in the consular register of deaths held by the British mission in the country where the death occurred (with the exception of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the Overseas Territories; deaths which have occurred in Pakistan prior to 19 February 1972 cannot be registered). For a death to be registered the Registration Officer must be satisfied as to the national status of the deceased and the following original documentation presented in support of the application: the civil death certificate issued by the local authorities; evidence of the deceased's claim to British nationality, eg full UK birth certificate or British passport or certificate of naturalisation or registration.A consular fee is levied for this service.

Entry Clearance

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the applicant KB under Dhaka reference 59569 will be called for interview. [2487]

It is not our practice to disclose details of individual entry clearance cases in a public forum. The Joint Entry Clearance Unit will write to my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford, North about this case in the next few days.

Norwegian Whaling

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when and how the Government have opposed Norwegian whaling (a) inside and (b) outside the International Whaling Commission; how the Government have sought to get the Norwegian Government to curtail whaling activities; and whether Norway is permitted to survey minke whale populations in United Kingdom waters. [2078]

I have been asked to reply.The UK Government take every appropriate opportunity, both within the International Whaling Commission and in other relevant forums, to express their opposition to Norwegian whaling and to persuade Norway to cease its whaling activities. After careful consideration the Government have refused Norway's recent application to survey minke whale populations in UK waters as we are not convinced that it is in the best interests of whale conservation.

International Development

World Trade Organisation

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list those Least Developed Countries which are members of the World Trade Organisation; and what progress has been made with the establishment of a fast-track accession process to the WTO. [2289]

I have been asked to reply.Thirty Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are already WTO members. These are Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. Another nine LDCs are currently negotiating to join the WTO (Bhutan, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Laos, Nepal, Samoa, Sudan, Vanuatu, and Yemen) and are at different stages of the process.At the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries in May 2001, the EU (in a joint statement with US, Canada and Japan), reinforced its support for the expedition of the WTO accession processes for the nine LDCs currently negotiating to join. The statement underlined our interest in streamlining the LDC accession process; seeking reasonable market access commitments; making full use of WTO Provisions for LDCs and strengthening technical assistance and capacity building. I have today placed a copy of the joint EU/Canada/Japan/US statement in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made in her Department's commitment to increase its support for WTO capacity building projects. [2288]

Our recent White Paper on International Development (Making Globalisation Work for the Poor) commits the Government to doubling their support for trade related capacity building to £30 million over the next three years. A number of initiatives have been taken forward since the publication of the White Paper in December. These include:

A £7.5 million bilateral commitment to the Africa Trade and Poverty Programme, to begin this autumn in six countries while a further six countries are identified this summer;

A further £1.1 million to provide ongoing support to the Commonwealth Secretariat's Trade and Investment Access facility;

A £700,000 bilateral commitment to support trade capacity development in Ghana:

A £600,000 commitment to support a development capacity building project focused on trade related intellectual property rights with UNCTAD and the NGO ICTSD (International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development);

A further £370,000 to provide ongoing support to the Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Programme (with the WTO, ITC and UNCTAD) which supports a number of East and West African countries on trade policy formulation and implementation;

A £300,000 commitment with ICTSD to support African countries participation in trade negotiations with a special focus on trade and sustainable development;

A £350,000 ($500,000) commitment to support the pilot phase of the enhanced Integrates Framework for least developed countries. We are also working closely with the World bank and other partners to guide this initiative.

Un Aids Conference

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the outcome of the UN Aids Conference in New York. [2290]

The Declaration of Commitment adopted by 189 delegations at the 26th Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly sets out a global consensus on future actions necessary to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The Declaration commits member states to a series of national targets and strategies to achieve them in the areas of leadership; prevention; care, support and treatment; HIV/AIDS and human rights; reducing vulnerability; children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, alleviating social and economic impact; research and development; HIV/AIDS in conflict and disaster affected regions; resources and follow-up. The Declaration does not clearly identify those individuals and groups at highest risk of infection because of blocking action by a group of states. Uganda and Thailand have demonstrated that an open and honest approach to tackling the epidemic can lead to a reduction in the rate of transmission of the disease. Other countries must follow their example.The Declaration confirms what we know needs to be done to begin to contain the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is now time to urgently transform commitments into action at country-level to tackle the epidemic.

Internet Access

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when her Department's study on the cost of internet access in developing countries will be completed. [2287]

The consultants have submitted a draft report which is being discussed by officials of my Department in consultation with officials of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Natural Resources Institute

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what representations she has made to the University of Greenwich concerning reduction in staff at the Natural Resources Institute; and what assessment she has made of its effect on development and food production; [1689](2) what representations she has made to the Natural Resources Institute concerning redundancies of specialists there; [1691](3) what assessment she has made of the effect on agriculture and natural resource management in developing countries following the planned reduction in staff at the Natural Resources Institute. [1690]

It is for the University and the Institute to judge what staff they need. I understand that planned changes at NRI are designed to relate the numbers and type of staff more closely to the present day demand for research and consultancy and hence to equip NRI to contribute more effectively to development in the field of renewable natural resources.

Poverty Reduction

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of poverty reduction strategy papers in reducing poverty. [2292]

Only five countries—Uganda, Burkino Faso, Tanzania, Mauritania and Bolivia have developed full poverty reduction strategy papers. More than 20 low income countries, have produced interim PRSPs and a further 15 could be presented by the end of 2001. PRSPs contain goals and targets for poverty reduction over 3–10 years. One positive early indication is the strong degree of local ownership that has emerged in the course of developing many of the PRSPs.

Technical Assistance

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the enhanced integrated framework pilot project to improve the efficiency of trade-related technical assistance to least developed countries; and what plans she has to develop a more extensive initiative. [2293]

The implementation of the enhanced Integrated Framework (IF) commenced as a Pilot Scheme on 3 May 2001 with the adoption of the Pilot Phase Work Programme by the WTO Steering Committee. The three countries selected for the pilot process are Cambodia, Madagascar and Mauritania. The operation of the scheme will be reviewed prior to the fourth WTO ministerial meeting in November 2001, with a view to extension to other countries.

Montserrat

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made in providing post-16 education for children in Montserrat. [1306]

The Government of Montserrat manage a programme of post secondary education, through the University of West Indies Distance Learning Centre. The Government of Montserrat are considering how to meet the tuition needs of A-level students in the short term. In the longer term, the Government of Montserrat are planning a new Community College and considering possible funding.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations have been made to the Montserrat Government concerning the withdrawal of benefits from elderly people living with their relatives. [1316]

In February 2000, the Government of Montserrat introduced a means tested social assistance scheme to replace the near-universal food welfare scheme which was made available following the onset of volcanic activity.

The introduction of the scheme has been closely monitored and levels of assistance are kept under review by the Social Welfare Board which includes representatives of the Government of Montserrat and civil society.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessments have been made of volcanic activity and dome buildings in the Soufrière Hills volcano in Montserrat. [1315]

The Montserrat Volcano Observatory's assessment is available weekly through local media and published on their website www.mvomrat.com.The formal scientific and hazard assessment was last updated in January 2001. It concluded that the volcano had entered into a second period of prolonged dome growth, likely to last for at least the next few years. The risk to the populated areas of the island is considered low, though a shift in the direction of dome growth, towards the north or west, would make the areas bordering the exclusion zones a high risk. A copy of the full scientific assessment has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to encourage tourism in Montserrat. [1314]

The Government of Montserrat are supporting a number of tourism initiatives, including the development of nature trails, assistance to the Montserrat Tourist Board and the development of volcano-linked tourism.

Un Development Targets

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress is being made towards the UN international development targets for 2015; and if she will make a statement. [1748]

An analysis of progress towards the International Development Targets is shown in DFID's "Departmental Report 2001", pages 11 and 12, a copy of which is in the House Library.Progress is being made against all targets although current trends are not enough to achieve all of them in every region of the world. The income poverty target looks as if it will be met, thanks notably to progress in the large countries of Asia, but some countries are moving less fast. Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, has stagnated for most of the past decade though some African Governments have made significant progress in reducing poverty. Intense efforts will be needed if Sub-Saharan Africa is to reach the targets.Much has been achieved, but much remains to be done—1.2 billion people still exist in extreme poverty, 113 million children are currently out of school and over half a million women still die in pregnancy and childbirth each year.Increased international effort is needed, building on what has already been achieved and on the overwhelming consensus reached at the 2000 Millennium summit last September. This summit reaffirmed the commitment of the international community to achieving the goals as a first step towards eradicating global poverty.

The challenge over the next few years will be to turn this commitment into solid and sustained action. National Governments must take the lead. Industrialised countries must work for a stronger commitment in global institutions and agreements to the systematic reduction of poverty. Development assistance needs to increase and be deployed more effectively on building national capacity to meet the IDTs. Globalisation must be managed if its effects are to benefit the poorest people in the poorest countries. DFID's approach to this is set out in our White Paper published last December, a copy of which is also in the House Library.

DFID is widely seen as playing a leading role in the drive towards the international development targets. The long-term fall in UK development assistance has been reversed and this Government are committed to increasing the oda/GNP ratio from its year 2000 level of 0.31 per cent. to 0.34 per cent. by 2003–04. Our manifesto committed the Government to further substantial increases during this Parliament.

Overseas Development (Investment)

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her estimate is of (a) the total investment in all forms of overseas development by her Department, for each country dealt with by her Department, in the period 1997–98 to 2000–01 and (b) expenditure per head of population for each country. [1393]

Details of all DFID's expenditure on overseas development is contained in "Statistics on International Development".

Development Council

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the outcome was of the Development Council held on 31 May; and if she will make a statement. [1942]

At its meeting on the 31 May, the Development Council:

called for increased poverty focus in EC aid; clear indicators of performance; more effective collaboration with other donors; and coherence between development objectives and other EC policies. It also agreed a mechanism for monitoring performance against such indicators;

called for the EU to improve co-ordination with other organisations on conflict issues without adding to bureaucracy; agreed that development adds the vital longer-term perspective to analysis of conflict and highlighted the importance of building national capacity to prevent and resolve conflict;

agreed conclusions on Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development; Election Monitoring; EC-UN Partnership; and Follow-up to the EC Development Policy;

adopted a Joint Declaration with the Commission on the Global Health Fund.

We will be reporting separately on the outcome of the Council to the Chairs of the House of Lords European Union Committee, the Clerks of the International Development Committee and the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee.

St Helena

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the Government of St. Helena concerning improvements in transport services to and from the island; what further discussions she has had regarding a proposed airport for St. Helena; and if she will make a statement. [1785]

The report of the "Comparative Study of Air and Sea Access" for St. Helena, which addresses the future international passenger and cargo transport needs of the island, has just been finalised. Copies are available in the House of Commons' Library. The study's findings are currently under discussion with the St. Helena Government. We have made it clear that we will support funding for either the cost of replacing the RMS St. Helena or the estimated capital cost of an airport and related infrastructure, depending on which is most cost-effective.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the proposals of the St. Helena Leisure Corporation for the future of that island. [1684]

The St. Helena Leisure Company has held preliminary discussions with the St. Helena Government and my Department about its proposals to provide leisure facilities on the island. At the request of the St. Helena Government, we have made available to the Company a copy of the recent report of the 'Comparative Study of Air and Sea Access' for St. Helena. We understand that the Company wishes to take account of the study's findings in further formulating its proposals to the St. Helena Government.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the results of the comparative study of air and sea access to the island of St. Helena will be published. [1685]

The report of the 'Comparative Study of Air and Sea Access' has just been finalised. Copies are available in the House of Commons Library.

Trade And Industry

Fixed Term Work Directive

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the implementation of the EU directive on fixed term work. [1966]

The fixed term directive is due to be implemented by 10 July 2001, but provides that member states may take up to an extra year to implement if they encounter special difficulties. The public consultation on the implementation of this directive in the UK closed on 31 May and the responses have shown that there are particular difficulties with the implementation of the directive in this country. In particular, the relative lack of existing legal provisions on fixed term contracts in the UK has made it difficult to establish how they are used. We shall therefore be taking extra time to implement the fixed term directive and have notified the European Commission accordingly. Before deciding to take extra time to implement the Directive, we consulted with employer and employee representative bodies, including the CBI and TUC. I am aware that several other member states have indicated they will also be taking extra time to implement the directive.

Productivity

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the United Kingdom's productivity rate compared with that of the United States; and if she will make a statement. [2159]

The Government monitor the productivity gap with the US and other leading industrial countries as part of our Public Service Agreement commitments. The most recent assessment can be found in "Productivity in the UK: Enterprise and the Productivity Challenge", which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor and I published on 18 June 2001. This document sets out the next steps the Government will take to narrow the productivity gap.

Small Businesses (Merseyside)

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department has taken to increase the productivity of small businesses in the Merseyside sub-region. [2015]

[holding answer 3 July 2001]: We have established the Small Business Service on Merseyside to help small businesses enhance their competitiveness and profitability. They work with a range of partners, including the Government Office (especially as the managing agent for the European Objective One Programme, which has a significant resource dedicated to developing business) and the North West Development Agency, to champion entrepreneurship and business improvement and to minimise the burden of regulation.

Manufacturing

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her policies for supporting UK manufacturing industries. [1728]

The platform of economic stability the Government have established, together with our policies to foster enterprise and help firms to innovate and grow, are the best way to secure the long-term success of UK manufacturing industries.

Export Controls

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will publish responses to the consultation on draft legislation on export controls published on 29 March (Cm 5091); and if she will make a statement. [3099]

The Department has received 52 responses to the consultation on draft legislation on export controls published on 29 March. I am today placing copies of the responses in the Libraries of both Houses and in the Library of the Department. I have also arranged for copies of the responses to be made available by the Department's Export Control Organisation on request.

Universal Bank

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Government will make transitional finance available for rural sub-post offices before 2003; and if she will make it her policy that the universal bank will be post office based. [30]

Decisions on the provision of transitional financial assistance for rural sub-post offices will be taken in the context of advice from the Postal Services Commission which we expect to receive in the autumn in line with the recommendations of the Performance and Innovation Unit report. Earlier this year, a new Government fund, with a funding allocation for the current financial year, was announced to help with the costs of relocating and refurbishing rural post offices. Universal banking services is a Post Office based approach which will ensure that those benefit and pension recipients who wish to continue to collect their benefits in cash, in full, across a post office counter, will be able to do so.

Public Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with trade unions in respect of proposals to introduce greater private sector management into the public services. [1757]

I have regular meetings with trade unions at which we discuss a wide range of topics.

Adhesive Label Manufacturing

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of the reclassification of backing paper as packaging material on the competitiveness of the UK adhesive label manufacturing industry. [1236]

The Department has not assessed the impact of this obligation on the competitiveness of the UK adhesive label manufacturing industry. Nevertheless, the regulations should not place UK business at a competitive disadvantage in the domestic market given that imported packaging is equally obligated. Similarly, packaging which is exported from the UK is not obligated under the UK packaging regulations.The Department works closely with representatives of the UK's paper and printing related industries in order to help improve their long term prospects. To this end, we are currently exploring ways to take forward recommendations from recent competitiveness studies for paper related industries, in partnership with the Confederation of Paper Industries and the British Printing Industries Federation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the change in the annual cost to the UK adhesive label manufacturing industry of the reclassification of backing paper as packaging material; and if she will make a statement. [1237]

The Department has not independently estimated the change in the annual cost to the UK adhesive label manufacturing industry.

However, the Environment Agency have estimated that the cost in 2001 to the UK adhesive label manufacturing industry as a whole will be in the order of £430,000.

Miners' Compensation

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many former miners in Merseyside have (a) received final compensation payments, (b) received interim compensation payments and (c) undertaken a medical assessment and are awaiting payment for (i) vibration white finger and (ii) respiratory diseases. [2029]

IRISC, the Department's claims handlers, have registered, in Merseyside¹ 778 claims in relation to Vibration White Finger, VWF. Of these, 428 have attended appointments to undergo the Medical Assessment Process, MAP. To date, IRISC have made 197 interim payments and 128 claims have been settled in full and final settlement.With regard to respiratory diseases, IRISC have registered 1,383 claims in Merseyside

¹ . Of these, 605 claimants have undertaken a screening spirometry test and 132 claimants have undergone the full MAP. To date, IRISC have made 279 interim payments and 82 offers in full and final settlement.

¹ Merseyside is defined by postcodes with prefixes CH 41–49, 60–63, L 3, 9, 10–13, 16–26. 29–31, 34–38, 62–63, PR 8,9, WA 10–12 and WN4–5.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average duration is between medical assessment and final compensation payment for former coal miners seeking compensation for (a) Vibration White Finger and (b) respiratory diseases. [2010]

With regard to Vibration White Finger, VWF, under the Handling Agreement, where there are no outstanding issues, the employment has been agreed and IRISC, the Department's claims handlers are in receipt of all the necessary documents, an offer of compensation in respect of general damages can be made in 56 days. The issues regarding special damages have not been finalised and therefore these payments can not be made as yet.In respect of compensation for respiratory diseases, following spirometry, the first stage of the medical assessment, expedited offers are made within seven days where the results meet the relevant criteria. Payment is made within 10 days of acceptance of offers, subject to agreement of employment history.In relation to settling claims where claimants have undergone the full Medical Assessment Process, where there are no outstanding issues, the employment has been agreed and IRISC are in receipt of all the necessary documents, an offer of compensation in respect of general damages can be made in 28 days. Meanwhile, IRISC are making interim payments wherever applicable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress made in processing miners' compensation claims. [2030]

To date, the Department has received over 272,000 claims in respect of respiratory disease and Vibration White Finger, VWF. Of these, more than 132,000 have been assessed. The Department has made over 91,246 individual payments amounting to £451 million.

Speaker's Committee On The Electoral Commission

Electoral Law

To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, when the Commission intends to publish its plans for spending on public awareness campaigns under section 13 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000; and if he will make a statement. [1445]

The Electoral Commission acquired responsibility for promoting public awareness of electoral and democratic systems under section 13 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 on 1 July 2001. I understand from the Chairman of the Commission that information about the Commission's spending plans under section 13 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 will be included as part of its overall Five Year Plan. This will be published following consideration by the. Speaker's Committee at its next meeting, whose date is currently under discussion. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, (1) what reports the Commission (a) has submitted and (b) intends to submit to the Secretary of State under section 6 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000; if he will place the reports in the Library; and if he will make a statement; [1443](2) if he will make a statement on the Commission's plans to conduct a review of the administration of the general election of 7 June under section 5 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000; and when the Commission estimates that the review will be completed. [1444]

I understand from the Chairman of the Electoral Commission that the Commission intends to publish a report on the administration of the 2001 general election later this month. The report will also deal with wider issues relating to the election. A further report, addressing issues of election expenditure, is planned for spring 2002. These reports will set out the Commission's preliminary views on the need for a review programme for modernising the electoral process.The Commission has not, to date, submitted any reports to the Secretary of State under section 6 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. It is expected to do so following the completion of its review programme.

Work And Pensions

Minimum Income Guarantee

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what circumstances the Minimum Income Guarantee is payable when the claimant is abroad. [2485]

Generally, Minimum Income Guarantee remains in payment for a limited period while the claimant is abroad provided certain conditions are fulfilled. The conditions are set out in the Income Support (General) Regulations 1997 (SI 1987/1967), regulation 4.

Benefits Information Guide

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if the 2001–02 edition of the Benefits Information Guide has been published; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [2263]

A copy of the 2001–02 edition of the Benefits Information Guide has teen placed in the Library.

Pension Credit

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if pensioners who respond to the Government's take-up campaign for the Minimum Income Guarantee will be contacted to advise them of their potential entitlement to the Pension Credit once details of that scheme have been worked out. [1265]

We will develop a comprehensive programme to ensure all those who may be entitled to the Pension Credit are aware of this.

Pensions

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the proportion of a stakeholder pension fund accumulated over 20 years which would be lost by a 1 per cent. charge. [1132]

The proportion of a stakeholder fund taken by a 1 per cent. charge over 20 years would be 11.4 per cent.

Note:

This figure is based on standard assumptions used by the Personal Investment Authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many pensioners are subject to a reduction in their state retirement pension because they have been in (a) an NHS hospital and (b) a similar institution and treated as being an NHS patient, for over 52 weeks; [2303](2) how many pensioners in hospital for 52 weeks or more and subject to the hospital downrating system receive less than 20 per cent. of the basic pension rate; [2305](3) how many people experienced a reduction in

(a) their state retirement pension and (b) one or more means-tested benefits due to being in hospital for (i) six weeks and (ii) 52 weeks in the last year for which figures are available. [2304]

The rule that pensions and other benefits should be reduced when the beneficiary is in hospital has been in force since the National Insurance Scheme was introduced. There is no reduction during the first six weeks in hospital. Thereafter the amount of Retirement Pension is reduced by 20 per cent. of the basic pension rate for those with a dependant and by 39 per cent. for all other cases. (40 per cent. prior to 9 April 2001). The amount of Retirement Pension reduces to 20 per cent. after 52 weeks. No one receives less than 20 per cent. of the basic State Pension.The available statistical information on retirement pensioners with hospital reductions is shown in the table.

Retirement pensioners by category with hospital reductions
Thousand
	September 2000
All hospital reductions	31.5
Reduced by 20 per cent.	6.1
Reduced by 40 per cent.	14.9
Reduced to 20 per cent.	10.5

Notes:

1. The figures are rounded to the nearest hundred

2. Totals may not sum due to rounding

Source:

5 per cent. sample from the Pension Strategy Computer System at September 2000

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Government will publish the revised reports from the Pension Provision Group on pension provision for self-employed people and the impact on pensions of changes in the labour market. [2270]

The Pension Provision Group are currently reviewing both reports in the light of the Government's Pension Credit proposals. It is anticipated that both reports will be ready for publication later in the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Marsden) of 25 June 2001, Official Report, column 33W, on the pension credit, if he will estimate how many of the responses to the formal consultation process did not welcome the proposals. [1559]

The responses contained helpful views, many welcoming our proposals. We will be announcing our response to the Pension Credit consultation in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average amount of state pension and benefits lost by pensioners subject to hospital downrating rules was in the last year for which figures are available. [2307]

It is not possible to provide estimates for the average reduction in income-related benefits.

The average reduction in basic state pension as a result of hospital downrating in 2000–01
£ per week
Category	Average reduction
Benefit reduced to pocket money rate	56.28
Benefit reduced by 20 per cent.	13.53
Benefit reduced by 40 per cent.	27.11

Note:

Data are from the September 2000 administrative sample

Asylum Seekers

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on the issuing of national insurance numbers to asylum seekers who have been given permission to work; and what the average time for issuing of NI numbers has been from the date of application in the last 12 months. [1125]

Asylum seekers who have been granted permission to work should apply for a National Insurance number if they are working or claiming a benefit. A person applying for a National Insurance number will be invited to attend an evidence of identity interview at their local Benefits Agency office and complete the relevant documentation for the allocation of a National Insurance number to be considered.Information about the overall length of time taken for an application for a National Insurance number to be processed is not held.

Council Tax (Pensioners)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of pensioner households paid (a) more than 5 per cent., (b) more than 10 per cent., and (c) more than 15 per cent. of their gross income in council tax in 1999–2000. [2257]

41 per cent. of pensioner households in Great Britain paid more than 5 per cent. of their gross income in Council Tax in 1999–2000, 8 per cent. of pensioner households paid more than 10 per cent., and 2 per cent. paid more than 15 per cent.

Notes:

1. These figures are from the Family Resources Survey (Great Britain).

2. For the purposes of this analysis, Council Tax is taken to be net of Council Tax discount.

3. A pensioner household is one that contains at least one person over State Pension age.

4. The estimates are based on sample counts, which have been adjusted for non-response using grossing factors that control for region, Council Tax band, tenure and a number of demographic variables. Estimates are subject to sampling error and to variability in non-response.

5. All percentages have been rounded to the nearest 1 per cent.

Incapacity Benefit

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications for Incapacity Benefit from residents of (a) Aylesbury and (b) Luton were made, how many applicants were required to take a medical examination, and how many of those medical examinations were undertaken at (i) Luton, (ii) Aylesbury, (iii) Euston and (iv) other in each year since 1997. [823]

The information is in the tables.

Incapacity Benefit claims received in the Aylesbury and Luton Benefits Agency office areas
	Aylesbury	Luton
January to December 1997	2,128	4,147
January to December 1998	1,734	3,697
January to December 1999	1,710	3,978
January to December 2000	1,561	3,723
January to May 2001	709	1,388

Note:

New claims data are from a 100 per cent. count. A new claim may not result in an award of benefit, for example where a claim is withdrawn.

Number of Incapacity Benefit claimants who ere assessed at medical examination centres (MECs)
	Aylesbury	Luton	Euston
Aylesbury
October to December 1998	186	8	1
January to December 1999	710	27	8
January to December 2000	597	21	0
January to May 2001	307	14	1

Number of Incapacity Benefit claimants who ere assessed at medical examination centres (MECs)
	Aylesbury	Luton	Euston
Luton
October to December 1998	5	519	0
January to December 1999	27	2,002	1
January to December 2000	20	1,432	0
January to May 2001	8	683	0

Notes:

1. Initial entitlement to Incapacity Benefit requires the claimant to provide medical evidence of their incapacity (normally a general practitioner's certificate) Subsequently, incapacity is assessed under the Personal Capability Assessment but not all claimants are required to attend a medical examination.

2. Figures are from data supplied by Medical Services and include first and subsequent referrals. Information for individual MECs is not available prior to October 1998.

3. Figures relate to Incapacity Benefit claimants living in the area covered by Aylesbury and Luton Benefits Agency offices respectively.

4. Medical Services have no record of any customers in these areas being referred to other MECs.

Departmental Title Change Costs

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Department's new name is estimated to cost in total, broken down into costs associated with (a) stationery, (b) signs, (c) moving fixtures and fittings, (d) redesigning the website and (e) other costs. [372]

I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) on 26 June 2001, Official Report, column 77W.

State Second Pension

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the second stage of the State Second Pension is expected to be introduced. [2266]

I refer the hon. Member to page 40, paragraph 8 of the Green Paper "A New Contract for Welfare: Partnership in Pensions" (Cm 4179) in December 1998.

Winter Fuel Payments

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate (a) the cost of extending Winter Fuel Payments to households with a disabled person and to householders with children aged under five years and (b) the amount allocated within existing benefits for disabled people towards heating costs. [1118]

Applying current entitlement rules and extending Winter Fuel Payments to households with a disabled person aged under 60 in receipt of Disability Living Allowance and all households with a child under five, would increase the annual cost of Winter Fuel Payment provision by an estimated £780 million.There is no specific amount for heating costs in the benefits available to disabled people under 60 years of age, but Disability Living Allowance (DLA) provides a contribution towards the extra costs associated with severe disability. The care and mobility needs entitlement criteria for the benefit are used as broad indicators of all the extra costs, including the heating costs, of a disabled person. The disability premiums in income-related benefits are paid in recognition that the poorest disabled people need extra help.

Note:

Costs are rounded to the nearest £10 million. They are based on data taken from the 1999–2000 Family Resources Survey and 5 per cent. scans of administrative data from the DLA computer system and Child Benefit computer system. Quoted costs allow for forecast changes to 2001–02 in the DLA caseload and in the number of children under the age of five.

Benefit Rules

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the annual cost of abolishing the rules regarding the reduction of state pensions, other contributory benefits and income-related benefits for (a) claimants and (b) pensioners. [2306]

It is not possible to supply costs for abolition of hospital downrating for income-related benefits.

Estimate of the cost of the abolition of hospital downrating for 2001–02
£million
Benefit	Cost for abolition for 6–52 weeks downrating	Cost of abolition of over 52 weeks downrating	Total cost of abolition
Retirement Pension	30	30	60
Incapacity Benefit	10	10	20
Severe Disablement Allowance	¹—	20	20
Total cost	40	60	100
Cost for pensioners	30	30	60
¹ Means that the costs are greater than 0 but less than £5 million

Notes:

1. Costs are given in £ million, rounded to the nearest £10 million

2. It is not possible to give costs for means tested benefits

3. Costs are based on 2000 administrative data

4. Costs are given in current price terms

Non-Residential Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will exempt people on Income Support from charges for non-residential personal care; and if he will estimate the cost of doing so in each of the next five years [261]

I have been asked to reply.On 3 January 2001 we published a consultation paper and draft guidance on fairer charging policies for nonresidential social services. The draft guidance proposed that charges should not reduce service users' incomes below "basic levels" of Income Support, as defined in the draft guidance.The Department's consultation paper noted that, while some users would pay lesser charges or cease to pay charges as a result of the draft guidance, better off users might reasonably be expected to pay higher charges. The experience of the local council operating the good practice example of charging policy described in the consultation paper suggests that there is scope for councils to maintain charge income in this way.We are currently considering consultation responses and plan to issue final guidance later this summer.

Environment, Food And Rural Affairs

Foot And Mouth

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment the Government have made of psychological trauma caused by foot and mouth disease to rural communities; and what provision they have made to counter this problem; [2191](2) what assessment the Government have made of the psychological effect of foot and mouth disease on farm children; and what provisions have been implemented to ensure that adverse effects on their schooling are resolved. [2179]

I have been asked to reply.The Department is working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in support of the Rural Stress Action Plan (RSAP) which offers support to help alleviate stress in rural areas. Through the RSAP, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has already made available £500,000 to support farmers as part of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's action plan for farming. The second RSAP is focused on the need to respond to the problems facing rural people as a consequence of the foot and mouth disease outbreaks which commenced in February 2001. The Department has also provided the rural stress information service and MIND with funding through the section 64 General Scheme under the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 for projects developing support networks and access to information, care and support for people in rural areas.In addition, local primary care services will be able to provide appropriate support to children and families suffering any adverse psychological problems resulting from measures taken on farms to eradicate foot and mouth disease. The Department for Education and Skills has also issued information on the implications of foot and mouth for schools, in order to help minimise the impact on pupils' schooling. This includes guidance on making arrangements for attendance recording, educational trips games fixtures and national tests. The Department for Education and Skills also worked closely with the GCSE/A-level awarding bodies to allow special considerations to apply where students' participation in exams or completing coursework was affected.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the consequences for agriculture of the foot and mouth outbreak in Essex; and if she will make a statement. [1070]

Foot and mouth disease is having a considerable impact on fanning and a range of industries throughout the UK. The duration of the outbreak and associated restrictions remains uncertain. At present it is not possible to make a reliable estimate of the overall effect.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the figures of those farms and holdings that lost stock due to the contiguous cull under foot and mouth provisions will be published. [1671]

[holding answer 3 July 2001]: To 28 June, 2,617 premises in Great Britain have had a total of 926,912 animals slaughtered as a result of the contiguous cull.Figures for the number of animals slaughtered on contiguous premises, broken down by county and species, are published and updated daily on the DEFRA foot and

Week ending	Cattle	Sheep	Pigs	Goats/etc.	Total
25 February 2001	799	370	1,741	0	2,910
4 March 2001	6,262	38,156	l89	9	44,616
11 March 2001	16,578	60,621	1,304	12	78,515
18 March 2001	32,979	104,596	11,086	43	148,704
25 March 2001	46,852	197,468	28,405	236	272,961
1 April 2001	78,307	364,484	20,864	145	463,800
8 April 2001	85,751	489,509	20,744	777	596,781
15 April 2001	88,435	473,844	25,389	243	587,911
22 April 2001	59,742	357,839	6,418	141	424,140
29 April 2001	24,075	198,866	7,529	89	230,559
6 May 2001	17,582	90,619	419	389	109,009
13 May 2001	10,445	47,652	2,313	15	60,425
20 May 2001	8,651	54,440	78	3	63,172
27 May 2001	15,693	80,256	276	12	96,237
3 June 2001	13,046	50,813	98	7	63,964
10 June 2001	12,533	47,371	56	43	60,003
17 June 2001	10,972	56,072	957	55	68,056
24 June 2001	7,833	42,023	0	1	49,857
Total	536,535	2,754,999	127,866	2,220	3,421,620

Source:

DEFRA Disease Control System Database—latest figures subject to revision, as more data become available

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will conduct a public inquiry into the foot and mouth outbreak. [1863]

[holding answer 4 July 2001]: There will be an inquiry, when the disease is finally over. We have always said we are keen to learn the lessons from this outbreak. The precise nature and scope of the inquiry will, as such, be a matter for the Prime Minister.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what instructions have been issued to veterinary surgeons in respect of wild animals brought to them for treatment during the course of the current foot and mouth outbreak. [1827]

No instructions have been issued at a national level to veterinary surgeons in respect of wild animals brought to them for treatment during the course of the current foot and mouth outbreak.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the deer population is harbouring foot and mouth; and if she will make a statement. [1493]

[holding answer 2 July 2001]: All cloven-hoofed animals, including deer, are susceptible to foot and mouth disease. Wild deer tend to show mild or unapparent disease, resembling the disease in sheep, although some species (eg roe deer and muntjak deer in the UK) may be severely affected.

Mouth disease website www.defra.gov.uk. Work is in hand to add the number of affected premises per county to this report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many animals were slaughtered in each week as a result of foot and mouth disease. [1652]

[holding answer 3 July 2001]: The table lists the number of animals slaughtered each week as a result of foot and mouth disease since the commencement of the outbreak.Deer can be carriers of the foot and mouth virus, and could transmit foot and mouth disease to susceptible livestock during the clinical stages of the disease. However, the Department's current veterinary risk assessment indicates that the risk of wild deer playing any significant part in the spread of foot and mouth disease is very low. There are therefore no plans at this stage to control wild deer populations, although as more information becomes available about the epidemiology of the disease in areas where there are wild deer, the risk assessment will be updated.As of 2 July more than 60 samples have been submitted to the Institute of Animal Health for testing from various parts of England and Scotland. All have tested negative for evidence of the foot and mouth virus, antigens or antibodies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what circumstances she has contingency plans to authorise a programme of vaccination against foot and mouth. [1492]

[holding answer 2 July 2001]: The Government would be prepared to authorise a programme of vaccination based on the advice of the Chief Scientific Adviser and Chief Veterinary Officer. At an earlier stage of the outbreak, their advice was to vaccinate cattle in Cumbria and Devon provided the campaign had the substantial support of farmers, consumers, veterinarians, and the food trade. That level of support was simply not there and, as the number of new cases fell, the signs were that it would not be achieved. Vaccination remains an option, however, and is kept under continuous review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment the Government have made of the implementation of animal welfare standards during the culling of livestock during the foot and mouth disease outbreak. [2195]

All animals culled during the current foot and mouth disease outbreak were required to be killed in accordance with the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 (WASK). These regulations are enforced outside slaughterhouses by veterinary officers of the State Veterinary Service. To the best of our knowledge the vast majority of animals were dealt with humanely and in compliance with WASK. The few cases brought to our attention where it was alleged that animals had not been dealt with humanely have been investigated and appropriate action taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the extent to which the current foot and mouth virus type is spread by (a) air and (b) movements of people and vehicles. [347]

Analyses have been completed for the first 1,706 infected farms, and epidemiological investigations are continuing on the most recent cases to determine the source of infection and method of spread. Seven farms are considered to have been infected as a result of windborne spread over several kilometres. This low number is thought to be because only 10 pig herds have become infected during the epidemic.Short distance aerosol spread cannot be distinguished from other causes of local spread within 3 km of infected premises, which accounts for 81 per cent. of cases. In these cases there are often a number of possible means of spread such as using common facilities contaminated roadways and movement of people and farm vehicles. In addition, however, 83 cases have been specifically associated with lorry movements or movements of people.The breakdown is as follows (as at 21 June 2001):

GB	Number
Windborne (not local)	7
Dairy tanker	5
Truck	18
Other inanimate object	9
Local¹	1,381
Person	60
Infected animals	84
Under investigation	142
Total	1,706
¹ Source of infection within 3 km; exact source unclear

Further epidemiological information will shortly be available on the DEFRA website http://www.defra.gov.uk/

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many laboratory tests for foot and mouth disease were negative after 24 hours, but were subsequently found to be positive. [38]

It is correct that a laboratory test which is negative or inconclusive at 48 hours may give a positive result at 96 hours. This is because some samples may contain a very small amount of virus and it can take a second passage of 48 hours in inoculated cell cultures for the virus to be amplified to a level where it will give a clear result. Each cell passage takes 48 hours—ie 96 hours in total.Of a total of 1,551 tissue samples which have tested positive for foot and mouth disease virus, 1,310 were confirmed in less than 24 hours and 241 were found to be positive after 24 hours. It is not possible to provide similar data for blood samples submitted together with tissue samples because when tissue samples were found positive the testing of the blood samples ceased.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in Worcestershire are still on form D restrictions around farms now known not to have foot and mouth disease as a result of laboratory tests. [44]

Information is only available for Hereford and Worcester. As at 2 July, 119 farms are under form D restrictions, contiguous to 66 infected premises. Of those 66, 43 were tested, of which 30 returned negative laboratory results. These 30 cases remain designated as infected premises.An infected premises is one where foot and mouth disease has either been diagnosed by a vet on the farm, supported by convincing clinical evidence, or where disease is found after testing. However, a negative laboratory result does not necessarily mean that the disease was not present and does not change the status of an infected premises confirmed on clinical diagnosis.Information on the number of farms under form D restrictions within the protection zone around infected premises where negative laboratory results have been found is available only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of premises infected with foot and mouth disease as a result of allowing animals to enter the West Midlands via Penrith, Longtown, Welshpool and Ross markets. [40]

The relatively widespread distribution of infected premises has been due to the movement of infected sheep through markets and the subsequent mixing and further sales through dealers and markets before 23 February. Without this widespread dissemination the number of infected premises would have been considerably smaller.No firm estimates have been made of the number of infected premises that would have occurred if certain markets had not been held during mid-February. However, from analysis of the first 112 infected farms in the area, the breakdown of source of infection in the Hereford epidemiological group, comprising Herefordshire, the Severn Valley and the Forest of Dean is as follows:

	Hereford
Infected animals	7
Local¹	82
Other inanimate object	2
Person	8
Under investigation	13
Total	112
¹ Source of infection within 3 km; exact source unclear

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many rural tourism businesses have (a) applied for and (b) been granted relief from business rates in connection with the impact of foot and mouth disease. [133]

The data provided by the local authorities which administer the rate relief scheme do not distinguish between different classes of business, so the question cannot be answered in precisely the terms of the question. The background is that local authorities have powers to grant rate relief to businesses suffering financial hardship. Normally, the Government meet 75 per cent. of the cost of this and authorities the remaining 25 per cent., but in order to alleviate the problems of foot and mouth disease, central Government agreed to pay 95 per cent. of the cost: to 151 rural authorities; for the three months April—June; and for the properties with a rateable value (RV) of £12,000 or less.The Local Government Association has provided us with the results of the most recent survey, which showed that 46 worst affected local authorities, have received 4,832 applications for rate relief. 41 authorities have so far approved 1,589 cases; in many cases local authorities are still considering applications. Many are also deferring ratepayers' payments. In conjunction with colleagues in other Government Departments, I shall be monitoring the take-up of this scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what progress she has made in publishing the location of each foot and mouth disease pyre and burial site in the UK; [793](2) how many pyre sites there are in each county in the UK; from how many ash has been removed; and how many have been completely restored. [792]

Information on pyre and burial sites is in the process of being collated, cross-checked and validated. In the meantime, arrangements are being made for the safe removal and disposal of ash from those sites where it has not been possible to bury it on site. Information on the number of pyre sites restored is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) cattle and (b) sheep, on how many farms, in each county of England have been slaughtered because they were contiguous to infected premises but where the infected premises later tested negative. [796]

The following table shows the numbers of cattle and sheep slaughtered on premises which are contiguous to infected premises in counties in England and where the infected premises have had negative sample results.

County	Cattle	Sheep	Premises with cattle and/or sheep
Avon	1,291	829	12
Cheshire	386	370	6
Cleveland	202	206	1
Cornwall	35	0	1
Cumbria	3,405	19,738	52
Derbyshire	46	151	3
Devonshire	9,551	44,176	122
Durham	2,278	7,364	26
Gloucestershire	5,512	21,401	123
Hereford and Worcester	4.415	31,338	114
Kent	59	701	3
Lancashire	811	3,210	27
Leicestershire	38	345	2
North Yorkshire	1,962	3,621	25
Northumberland	3,336	33,545	40
Shropshire	939	3,059	18
Staffordshire	976	2,253	20
Wiltshire	0	823	3
England	35,242	173,130	598

A negative test-result does not necessarily mean that disease was not present and does not change the status of an infected premises

Homeopathic Remedies (Foot And Mouth)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she intends to commission to establish the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies, including borax, in relation to the current outbreak of foot and mouth disease. [1424]

Products that are presented for the treatment or prevention of disease in animals, or which have that function must be authorised under the terms of the Marketing Authorisations for Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulations 1994 before they can be legally sold or supplied in the United Kingdom. This ensures that such products are properly assessed and are demonstrated as being safe, of consistent good quality and effective when used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. The manufacturer of any such products may apply for such authorisation. No such application has been made for Borax. The onus for providing evidence that supports the need for research into the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies, including Borax, against foot and mouth disease lies with the manufacturer.

Foot And Mouth (Cheese Production)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations were received by her Department and by its predecessor Department about the impact of foot and mouth restrictions on the use of unpasteurised milk for specialist cheese production; what the scientific basis was for restricting this use of unpasteurised milk; and what response she has made. [1176]

[holding answer 28 June 2001]: The Ministry of Agriculture. Fisheries and Food received a number of representations on the manufacture and handling of unpasteurised cheese. My noble Friend the then Minister of State, Baroness Hayman, responded to those representations as the Minister responsible for animal health.Foot and mouth disease virus can be excreted in milk before animals show clinical signs of the disease. Unpasteurised milk is therefore a potent source of infection, and any milk produced in an Infected Area is required to be heat treated.

Carcase Disposal (Northumberland)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to compensate individual households and communities adversely affected by the Druridge Bay burning site and the Widdrington carcase disposal site in Northumberland. [1175]

[holding answer 28 June 2001]: There is no statutory provision for compensation for any inconvenience caused to residents by the disposal of animal carcases.

Departmental Restructuring

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many civil servants were employed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in April 2001; and how many will be employed by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs once departmental restructuring is completed. [1468]

In April 2001 the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food employed 11,118 civil servants, including staff in its agencies. It is anticipated that there will be 12,190 employed in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, but this figure will be subject to change once the departmental restructuring is completed.

Nuclear Power

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what role nuclear power will play in the UK's climate change strategy; and if she will make a statement. [837]

Nuclear power plays a role in helping the UK to meet our climate change targets. The Government believe that existing nuclear power stations should continue to contribute to the electricity supply and to the reduction of emissions, as long as they can do so to the high safety and environmental standards that are currently observed.Nuclear output is however expected to decline from around 2005 onwards, as the older stations begin to close. Electricity generation is therefore likely to become more carbon-intensive unless other low or zero carbon energy sources can be developed. There are currently no proposals for new nuclear power stations in the UK, largely due to nuclear's inability to compete on cost grounds with other types of generation. Issues related to waste disposal and public acceptability would also need to be resolved before industry put forward any proposals for approval. The Government will shortly be publishing a consultation document on radioactive waste policy. Internationally, the industry is addressing disposal issues through its research and development programmes into current and future technology, recognising that they need to be addressed effectively if nuclear power is to remain an option in the future.The Government announced on 25 June that the performance and innovation unit is undertaking a review of the longer term, strategic issues, including those of climate change, surrounding energy policy within the context of ensuring secure, diverse and sustainable energy supplies at competitive prices.

Livestock Blood Tests

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if livestock owners whose animals are being blood-tested by her Department's vets and officials will be allowed to keep a part of samples taken. [346]

No. Samples of blood taken for testing are potentially contaminated with foot and mouth disease virus, which is a specified pathogen controlled under the Specified Animal Pathogens Order 1998 (SAPO). No one may possess a specified animal pathogen or material which contains a specified pathogen unless they are licensed to do so under SAPO and have the necessary facilities to ensure the safe containment of the pathogen concerned in relation to the risk it poses.

Farmers (Internet)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of livestock farmers in England who have access to the internet. [1490]

[holding answer 2 July 2001]: The latest information available was collected in April and May 2000 as part of a research study into "MAFF's Role in E-Business". At that time the level of internet use among livestock farmers in the survey was estimated to be between 40 and 45 per cent. Further details of the survey results are available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/ebus/maffrole/annexa.htm.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications there have been for home energy efficiency scheme grants since its inception; and how many were successful. [1801]

The new home energy efficiency scheme (HEES) for England was launched on 1 June 2000.Applications for grant are mainly made over the telephone. In the period 1 June 2000 to 30 June 2001, 388,410 householders applied, of whom, 313,623 or 80 per cent. were successful.The separate schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the respective Parliament or Assemblies.

Fuel Poverty

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to meet her counterparts in the devolved administrations to discuss the adoption of a common definition of fuel poverty. [1812]

We intend to consider this, and the other issues raised during consultation on the UK Fuel Poverty Strategy, within the Inter-Ministerial Group on Fuel Poverty whose members include representatives from the devolved Administrations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the final fuel poverty strategy required by the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 will be published. [1811]

Our aim is to publish the final version of the UK Fuel Poverty Strategy in the autumn.

State Veterinary Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many qualified veterinary surgeons were employed by the state veterinary service in each year since 1979. [1983]

The number of veterinary surgeons employed by the state veterinary service at 1 January each year since 1979, is given in the table. The hon. Member may wish to know that since this date the state veterinary service has changed several times. The Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL), which previously formed part of the state veterinary service, became the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) in April 1990. The CVL figures are incorporated in this return for the years 1 January 1980 to 1 January 1990. From 1990 the figures do not include the CVL. The Veterinary Investigation Service became part of the VLA on 1 October 1995 and is not included in these figures from that date. In 2000, there were 99 veterinarians employed by VLA. Much of the information presented here previously appeared on 27 February 1997, Official Report, columns 323–24W.Of the 286 full-time equivalent veterinarians employed by the state veterinary service, 220 are employed as field veterinary officers. The work of these officers is supplemented by about 100 Temporary Veterinary Inspectors (TVIs) from the private sector in normal times.

Year	Number of vets
1979	597.5
1980	580.5
1981	563.5
1982	557.0
1983	549.0
1984	539.5
1985	527.5
1986	506.5
1987	464.5
1988	444.5
1989	422.0
1990	430.5
1991	408.0
1992	414.5
1993	420.0
1994	408.3
1995	394.5
1996	301.2

Year	Number of vets
1997	289.5
1998	302.0
1999	283.0
2000	284.0
2001	286.0

Marsh Report

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to implement the recommendations of the Marsh report into the veterinary profession's right to dispense prescription-only medicines. [1984]

The then Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, my right hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend (Mr. Brown), appointed a group under the chairmanship of Professor Sir John Marsh CBE to carry out an independent review of dispensing by veterinary surgeons as part of the Government's Action Plan for Farming. Its terms of reference were to review the procedures by which prescription only medicines (POMs) for veterinary use are classified and sold in the United Kingdom and the impact current practices may be having on availability and prices, and to make recommendations to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by 31 March 2001.The chairman presented the Group's report to the then Minister on 16 March 2001 and it was published on 11 May. The Government's draft response to the report is under consideration and, in due course, will be circulated for comment to interested organisations and individuals before consideration is given to the implementation of any of the recommendations contained in the report.

Health

Personal Social Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure consistency of charges among local authorities for non-residential personal social services. [262]

We published draft guidance on fairer charging policies for non-residential social services on 3 January 2001. Following consultation, we plan to issue final guidance later this summer.

Residential Care Homes

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residental care homes in (a) the county of Essex and (b) the boroughs of Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea were (i) publicly-owned and (ii) privately-owned in each year from 1995 to 2000 inclusive. [1066]

The information requested is shown in the table.

Number of local authority staffed and independent residential care homes in Essex, Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea local authorities, 1995 to 2000

Number

Essex

Thurrock

Southend-on-Sea

As at 31 March

LA homes

Independent homes

LA Homes

Independent homes

LA homes

Independent homes

1995

464

⁴—

1996

500

⁴—

1997

629

⁴—

1998

583

⁴—

1999

411

122

2000

378

120

¹ Information is presented for the former county of Essex (ie prior to re-organisation) for 1995 to 1998

² Local authority staffed homes

³ Consists of voluntary, private, dual registered and small homes

⁴ Not available as areas did not exist until 1 April 1998

Source:

RA form A, RAC

Nhs Staff Numbers

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors left service in the NHS in the last (a) two and (b) four years. [1610]

Data are not collected on the number of hospital doctors who leave the National Health Service. The number of unrestricted principals or equivalents (who most people will have as their general practitioner) who left the NHS for any reason between 1996–97 and 1999–2000 is in the table. Doctors who 'left' include resignations, retirements and short-term career breaks. Some of these doctors will 'rejoin' the NHS at a later date.

Unrestricted principals and equivalents who left the NHS in England 1996–97 to 1999–2000
(headcount)
	Leavers
1996–97	1,058
1997–98	1,040
1998–99	1,030
1999–2000	1,098

Notes:

1. Unrestricted principals and equivalents includes general medical service unrestricted principals, personal medical service contracted GPs and PMS salaried GPs

2. Leaver data refer to those UPEs leaving between 1 October and 30 September

3. Leavers are defined as those UPEs who were employed in a particular census but were not registered in the following census. We do not know why these doctors left.

Source:

General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Care Home Beds

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nursing and residential care home beds there (a) are and (b) were in May 1997 in England. [1608]

The numbers of residential care and nursing care home beds at 31 March 2000 and 31 March 1997 are shown in the table.

Number of residential and nursing care home beds in England, 1997 and 2000—as at 31 March
	Residential care	Nursing care
1997	338,140	196,269
2000	345,578	193,330

Source:

Department of Health Annual Statistical returns

Nursing Home Fees

To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons his Department did not meet the deadline of December 1999 set out in circulars on 11 August 1999 (Health Service Circular 1999/180 and Local Authority Circular (99) 30) to give final advice on the lawful way to charge nursing home fees; and what factors underlay the delays in issuing this advice prior to March 2001. [1836]

Health Service Circular 1999/180: Local Authority Circular (99)30 said that the Department would:

"aim to issue any new guidance later this year [1999]".

New continuing care guidance for the National Health Service and social services (HSC2001/015: LAC (2001)18) was issued on 28 June. It replaced nine pieces of guidance on continuing care, stretching back to 1992.

Autism

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the recent change in the incidence of autism. [2248]

The number of children identified as having autism is increasing. Although the full explanation for this increase is not clear, it is at least in part due to improvement in diagnosis by the clinical professions, including child mental health specialists and community paediatricians.The Department has recently asked the Medical Research Council to conduct a detailed review of the current state of knowledge about autism and to suggest possible areas for further research. The aim is to obtain a clear and comprehensive picture of what is currently known about the incidence, prevalence and causes of autism and how strong the evidence is which underpins that knowledge.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce tests for children at an early age to detect autism. [2249]

We have recently announced the establishment of a working party to develop new guidance on how the needs of young disabled children aged 0–2 and their families can be met. This guidance, which will be issued jointly by the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health will cover issues such as early diagnosis, intervention and support.A group chaired by Professor Ann Le Couteur, the National Initiative on Autism, is looking at diagnosis and early interventions in autism. This is being funded by the National Autistic Society. We will consider what, if any, further action needs to be taken in the light of the group's report.A number of diagnostic tools have been developed in recent years. These include the diagnostic interview for social and communication disorders whose further development is being led by the National Autistic Society.

Registered Blind People

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many registered blind people there are in the United Kingdom; and how many have assistance animals. [1725]

The Department receives returns from all local authorities in England on the numbers of blind and partially sighted people registered with local authority social services departments. The latest figures for the year ending 31 March 2000 show 157,820 registered blind people in England.There are 4,763 blind and partially sighted people in the United Kingdom who are guide dog owners. Each year 700 people receive training for new or replacement guide dogs. It is not known how many of these people are registered blind.Data for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are matters for the devolved Assemblies.

"Golden Hello" Payments

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the golden hello payments to general practitioners joining the NHS to come into effect; and if he will make a statement. [11986]

All doctors taking up a first post as a principal, assistant or salaried general medical services general practitioner or as a personal medical services performer on or after 1 April 2001 are or will be eligible for payments under the "golden hello" scheme. The detailed implementation of the scheme is subject to consultation with the profession, which is in progress.We aim to conclude consultation in time to enable payments to be made to all eligible doctors in September.

Efficiency Savings

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the cash releasing efficiency savings procedure within the NHS. [11951]

As set out in the NHS Plan we have introduced a new approach to setting efficiency targets for the National Health Service. In the past efficiency targets were imposed on the NHS without an analysis of what is realistic.

The new approach to efficiency targets does not permit a trade off between cost and quality. The cost of providing care in trusts providing a high quality service is the benchmark for the whole of the NHS with all trusts expected to reach this level within five years.

Nhs Dentistry

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many NHS dentists in Yeovil constituency are accepting new adult NHS patients; and if he will make a statement; [1376](2) what assessment he has made of the steps taken by Somerset health authority to deal with the shortage of NHS dentistry in the Yeovil constituency; and if he will make a statement. [1377]

[holding answer 4 July 2001]: Somerset health authority has prepared a dental access plan to ensure that all residents who wish to can access a National Health Service dentist within a reasonable time and distance by September 2001. The plan has been subject to external assessment and the health authority has been assessed as low risk in terms of its ability to meet its access targets.No dentists in the Yeovil constituency are currently accepting new adult NHS patients. Local availability of NHS dentistry changes frequently. Dentists can open and close lists at short notice. The hon. Member's constituents can access emergency NHS treatment through the Yeovil Dental Access Centre or the emergency dental service.

Health Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the plans of his Department to utilise the private sector to deliver health care. [1636]

[holding answer 4 July 2001]: We believe unequivocally in the principle that the National Health Service should provide care to all, free at the point of use, regardless of ability to pay.The areas where we will seek to use private sector expertise and finance, to help deliver care more quickly, may include: first, using spare capacity in private sector hospitals to perform operations on NHS patients; secondly, getting private sector management to run some of the new stand-alone surgery centres our manifesto commits us to building; thirdly, extending the private finance initiative and public private partnerships beyond the hospital sector into primary care, social services and the provision of imaging and laboratory equipment; and fourthly, using private sector management expertise such as information technology systems.

East Somerset Nhs Trust

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in East Somerset NHS Trust have been waiting more than (a) three, (b) six, (c) nine, (d) 12, (e) 18, (f) 24, (g) 30 aid (h) 36 months for an (i) in-patient operation and (ii) out-patient appointment; and if he will make a statement. [1384]

[holding answer 4 July 2001]: Information on hospital waiting times is published quarterly by the Department of Health in "Hospital Waiting List Statistics: England" and "Waiting Times for First Outpatient Appointments in England: Detailed Statistics". This information is also available on the Department's web site at www.doh.gov.uk/waitingtimes.The numbers of patients waiting for in-patient or day case treatment at East Somerset National Health Service Trust on 31 March 2001 were as follows:

Patients waiting for admission by number of months waiting
Months	Number
0–2	1,089
3–5	538
6–11	314
12–17	2
18+	0
Total	1,943

These figures show a drop of 6 per cent. in the total numbers waiting for treatment compared with 31 March 2000.The number of general practitioner written referral requests seen as a first out-patients in Quarter 4 (1 January–31 March 2001) were:

Of those GP referral requests seen, the number who waited (in weeks)
Weeks	Number
0-less than 4	2,251
4-less than 13	2,267
13-less than 26	758
26+	208
Total	5,484

Information on the total number of patients waiting for a first out-patient appointment on a given date is not collected but the numbers of people waiting over 13 weeks and 26 weeks are. At East Somerset NHS Trust 369 patients had been waiting over 13 weeks and 97 had been waiting over 26 weeks at 31 March 2001. This represents a drop of 51.6 per cent. and 62.3 per cent. respectively compared with the numbers waiting at 31 March 2000.

Nursing Home Residents (Attendance Allowance)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if residents of nursing homes receiving Attendance Allowance will receive that allowance at the same rate after the introduction of the Government's planned contributions to nursing care. [2028]

The rate of benefit currently paid to nursing home residents in receipt of Attendance Allowance or disability living allowance will not be affected by our plans to introduce free nursing care.

Heath Visitors

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which return-to-nursing course covers health visitors. [2486]

The English National Board Return to Practice—Part 11 is a specific return to practice course for health visitors. Work force development confederations are responsible for the commissioning of return to practice courses and will be able to provide further information on where courses are available. A list of the work force development confederations is available in the Library.

Nhs Complaints Procedure

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the report on the NHS complaints procedure produced by York Health Economics Consortium; for what reasons it is a confidential report; and what the expected time scale and action plan is for implementing changes to the complaints procedure. [1985]

We will be publishing the report of the evaluation of the National Health Service complaints procedure in the near future. The report is not confidential. We intend to consult widely on the options for change, following publication of the evaluation report, with a view to implementing a reformed procedure before April 2003.

Education And Skills

Sixth Form Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which learning and skills councils have developed policies on the future of sixth form education. [871]

Responsibility for policy on the future of sixth form education lies with the Government, not with individual local offices of the Learning and Skills Council.

As-Level

15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement about the future of the AS-level. [884]

It is too soon to make any statement about the future of the AS-level. The Secretary of State has asked the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to review the delivery of advanced level qualifications in general. An interim report is due by the middle of July.

Disruptive Pupils

16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what support she will give to schools to help them deal with disruptive pupils. [885]

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given today to the hon. Member of Canterbury (Mr. Brazier).Pupil behaviour is a major issue that will be included in a forthcoming White paper. We are also keeping the exclusions process under regular review.

School Discipline

17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on discipline in schools. [887]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave today to the hon. Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier).

Pupil behaviour is a major issue that will be included in a forthcoming White Paper. We are also keeping the exclusions process under regular review.

30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what meetings she has arranged with Ofsted to discuss standards of discipline in schools. [901]

We meet Ofsted regularly. Standards of discipline and behaviour in schools are important aspects of school standards, and an important part of continuing discussions with Ofsted.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to introduce proposals designed to improve discipline in schools. [872]

We strongly support heads in maintaining order in schools, including using exclusion where necessary. We are providing over 1,000 learning support units and 4,000 learning mentors to support teachers in maintaining order. We will be consulting on a wider use of parenting orders to ensure that parents take responsibility for their children's behaviour at school.

Key Stage 3

18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what priority she will give to raising standards at Key Stage 3. [888]

Our new Key Stage 3 strategy aims to help schools raise standards in secondary education, building on the successful literacy and numeracy primary strategies and the work from our pilot that started in 205 schools in autumn 2000. From this September, we will be phasing in the strategy with the English and mathematics strands, to be followed by science, teaching and learning in the foundation subjects (TLF) and ICT.

Lifelong Learning

19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her plans are for expanding resources for lifelong education. [889]

Total expenditure by my Department on lifelong learning will increase from £11.6 billion in 2000–01 to £14.7 billion in 2003704, an increase of 18 per cent. in real terms. We are also seeking to expand the investment made by individuals and employers in lifelong learning through Individual Learning Accounts and other measures. This is against a background of a forecast increase in total Government expenditure on education in the UK from 4.8 per cent. to 5.3 per cent. of GDP over the same period.

It Skills (Older People)

20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to promote IT skills for older people to increase their work and leisure potential. [890]

The Department leads on a range of measures to promote IT skills for everyone including older people, such as UK online centres, learndirect, and Wired-up Communities. This is part of our activity to encourage lifelong learning for all, to help close the digital divide, to increase peoples' employability, and to use new technologies to enrich peoples' lives.

Higher Education

21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on her plans to widen participation in higher education. [891]

Widening participation is a key goal for this Government We want half of all young people to have the opportunity to benefit from higher education by the end of the decade. In this spending review the Higher Education Funding Council for England have allocated £550 million to widen participation over the next three years. In addition the Excellence Challenge will put £90 million into schools and further education colleges. We shall continue to consider what further steps we need to take to tackle the barriers that inhibit the widening of participation in higher education.

School Administration

22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills; what meetings she (a) has had and (b) plans to have with the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers to discuss the level of administration in schools. [892]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I continue to meet regularly with heads' and teachers' representatives to discuss a wide range of subjects. On 2 July, we met representatives of the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers and other teacher and headteacher associations to take stock of progress on the independent study of teacher workload.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what meetings she has had with the Secondary Heads Association to discuss the level of administration in schools. [874]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I continue to meet regularly with heads' and teachers' representatives to discuss a wide range of subjects. On 2 July, we met representatives of the Secondary Heads Association and other teacher associations to take stock of progress on the independent study of teacher workload.

Workplace Communications

23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has for the improvement of workplace communications through the development of the union learning fund. [893]

We have been greatly encouraged by the response to the union learning fund, including projects supporting basic skills, English as a second language and the development of IT learning centres. Union learning representatives, who communicate with employees, employers and training providers to promote learning in the workplace, have made an important contribution to improving workplace communications. The Government are currently consulting on giving statutory backing to union learning representatives to give them formal recognition and to build up their numbers through the union learning fund.

Teacher Morale

24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action is being taken to improve teacher morale. [894]

A broad range of action being taken will help to improve teacher morale. These include improvements in the pay, status and working conditions of teachers, backed by real-terms increases in funding for schools and measures giving greater automony to successful schools and greater support for schools in more challenging circumstances.

25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she last met representatives of the National Union of Teachers to discuss teacher morale. [896]

My right hon. Friend met representatives of the National Union of Teachers, together with representatives of all the main teacher unions, on 2 May and discussed issues related to teacher morale and the setting up of an independent study into teachers' workloads.

Teachers (Working Conditions)

26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proposals she has to encourage more suitable individuals into teaching, with special reference to improving working conditions. [897]

A range of measures is in place to encourage suitable people into teaching. Improved funding for schools and increased starting salaries have helped to bring about an extra 12,600 teachers in maintained schools in England between January 1998 and January 2001. But greater expectations and extra resources in the system have created more teaching posts and vacancies still exist. Training bursaries worth £6,000 have been introduced to attract more graduates into teaching, with new style golden hellos, of £4,000 for those who go on to teach in shortage subjects. London weighting allowances have been lifted by 30 per cent and recruitment and retention allowances of up to £5,085 are now available to schools. We will also attract experienced teachers back to the profession and welcome back bonuses of between £2,000 and £4,000 are planned. These measures are set against a backdrop of increasing funding for schools, which has risen by £540 per pupil since 1997, and more resources for increasing the numbers of teaching assistants and improving working conditions generally. Grants have been made available to schools, through local education authorities to ensure that all school staff have better working conditions and ready access to the equipment they need to work effectively. The Government have invested more than £5 billion in school buildings since 1997, and £7,8 billion in England over the next three years is the biggest schools capital spending programme in decades.

School Finance

27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if it is her policy to introduce a new system of financing schools in 2002–03. [898]

The Government are currently undertaking a review of local government funding. As part of that wider review we are working with local government and schools partners on the proposals in the September 2000 Green Paper "Modernising Local Government Finance" for a new LEA and school funding system. The Government have not yet decided on the timing or the final shape of any changes to the local government grant distribution system.

Teacher Recruitment

28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to recruit more teachers. [899]

Our recruitment and retention measures have already secured more teachers than for over a decade and the number of trainee teachers has risen for the first time in eight years. We have pledged at least 10,000 extra teachers by 2006.To achieve this, we have announced a teacher retention and recruitment fund to support schools in areas where there are difficulties; an extension to English of the £4,000 golden hellos for newly-qualified teachers of shortage subjects; an expansion of the Graduate Teacher Programme; and new courses for those returning to teaching. We are also proposing a welcome back bonus for people returning to teaching this year and a scheme to help pay off, over time, the student loans of new teachers in shortage subjects who commit themselves to a career in the maintained sector.

Further And Higher Education Funding

29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will review the arrangements in England and Wales for payment of tuition fees and student loans in further and higher education. [900]

The student support arrangements for higher education in England and Wales are kept constantly under review. As announced in the recent "Opportunity for All" White Paper, we are currently reviewing the financial support available for learners in further education and we will make an announcement on this soon.

Pupil Funding (Worcestershire)

31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will set a timetable to bring funding per pupil in Worcestershire closer to the English average; and if she will make a statement. [903]

The Government are currently undertaking a review of local government funding. As part of that wider review we are working with local government and schools partners on the proposals for a new LEA and school funding system. We want that system to ensure funding better matches the separate responsibilities of local authorities and schools and reflects fairly, on the basis of up to date evidence, the needs of authorities in different parts of the country. The Government have not yet decided on the timing or the final shape of any changes to local government grant distribution system.

Local Education Authority Funding Formula

32.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessments she has made of the ability of the local education authority funding formula to reflect need and costs. [904]

The Government are currently undertaking a review of local government funding. As part of that wider review we are working with local government and schools partners on the proposals for a new LEA and school funding system. We aim to create a simpler, more transparent and fairer formula for distributing education funding to authorities that better reflects the separate responsibilities of LEAs and schools and the needs of their pupils.

School Admissions

33.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on her proposals to change policy on school admissions. [905]

We are considering whether changes to the school admissions framework should be proposed, but no decisions have been made yet.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what advice she gives to parents of children who have applied to go to a particular school, failed to gain a place, failed at an appeal and are due to attend a school they did not choose. [895]

Recent research into secondary school admissions shows that 96 per cent. of parents are offered a place at a school for which they have expressed a preference and that 85 per cent. are offered a place at their favourite school. But we cannot guarantee that every parent will secure a place for their child in their favourite school. Where they do not, they have a right of appeal. During 1999–2000, the latest year for which figures are available, 34 per cent. of all appeals were decided in parents' favour. Parents can ask for their child to stay on a waiting list for their favourite school, although the school is not obliged to keep one.

Numeracy And Literacy Targets

34.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what targets for numeracy and literacy the Government will set for the next school year. [906]

We remain committed to the 2002 targets we set in 1997 of 80 per cent. of 11-year-olds achieving the expected standard in literacy and 75 per cent. in numeracy at Key Stage 2. The literacy and numeracy strategies are clearly raising standards in primary schools. Since 1998 there has been a 10 per cent. point improvement in the English results from 65 per cent. to 75 per cent., and in mathematics a 13 per cent. point improvement from 59 per cent. to 72 per cent.

Adult Basic Skills

35.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment she has made of the levels of basic skills among adults. [907]

The latest wide-scale assessment of the level of basic skills among adults was carried out in 1996 as part of the international Adult Literacy Survey. This found that around 20 per cent. of adults in Great Britain performed at the lowest of five levels of literacy skill. Lord Moser drew upon this in his report, "A Fresh Start", to estimate that up to seven million adults have difficulties with literacy and perhaps more with numeracy.The Government launched their strategy for improving adult literacy and numeracy skills on 1 March this year. As part of our strategy we intend to collect better information on the scale of basic skills need, including through pathfinder projects already established in the nine English regions and through a national survey.

Tuition Fees

36.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations she has received on the effect the introduction of tuition fees has had on applications for, and recruitment to, higher education courses from areas with high levels of social deprivation. [908]

My right hon. Friend receives many representations about a wide range of higher education issues, including the effects of the introduction of student contributions to tuition fees. There is no evidence to date that their introduction has had any demonstrable effect on applications by, and recruitment of, students from the three lowest socio-economic groups.

Teacher Vacancies

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vacancies for teachers in Leicestershire are anticipated for the start of the school year in September. [879]

We do not collect data on anticipated vacancies in schools. Information on the number of teacher vacancies is collected once a year in January as part of the annual census of teachers and vacancies. In January 2001, Leicestershire LEA recorded 30 teacher vacancies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time teaching vacancies there are in (i) secondary, (ii) primary and (iii) special schools in Surrey; and if she will make a statement. [2415]

In 2001 the numbers of vacancies for full-time teachers in maintained schools, reported by Surrey local authority, were as follows:

	Number of vacancies
Secondary	62
Primary	25
Special	17

Information on part-time vacancies is not collected centrally.

Teacher Recruitment And Retention

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to improve teacher recruitment and retention; and if she will make a statement. [880]

The number of teachers in maintained schools in England has risen by more than 11,000 since 1997. We have pledged a further increase of at least 10,000 by 2006. Various incentives are in place, and applications for postgraduate teacher training are rising. We have also proposed a welcome back bonus for returners to teaching this year and writing off, over time, the student loans of new teachers of shortage subjects in maintained schools.

Early Years Places

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reason Somerset has a lower proportion of three-year-olds in free early years places than the average figure for England; and if she will make a statement. [1385]

[holding answer 4 July 2001]: Our commitment is to provide every three-year-old, whose parents want one, with a free nursery education place by September 2004. Local education authorities have chosen to make different levels of provision in the past. They have also been influenced by the fact that allocations of places, funded directly by the Government through the nursery education grant, were made on the basis of social disadvantage.The Government are making available over £2 million to provide Somerset with 1,704 early education places for its three-year-olds. We are the first Government to make such funding specifically available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will publish a table showing the percentage of three-year-olds with free nursery places in each education authority in England in each of the years 1998–99 to 2003–04 (planned); and if she will make a statement on her plans for increasing provision of free places for three-year-olds. [1632]

[holding answer 4 July 2001]: We are committed to providing all three-year-olds, whose parents want one, with a free nursery education place by September 2004. Estimates of the percentage of three-year-olds already provided with a place in each area are not available to the Department, although local authorities may choose to make their own estimates based on local data.

Standard Spending Assessments

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to reduce the differentials in levels of funding support provided through SSAs. [1866]

[holding answer 4 July 2001]: The Government are currently undertaking a review of local government funding. As part of that wider review we have set up two working groups, with local government and schools partners, to develop proposals for a new LEA and school funding system. We aim to create a simpler and more transparent formula for distributing education funding to authorities that reflects fairly, on the basis of up to date evidence, the needs of authorities in different parts of the country.

Education Maintenance Allowances

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what analysis her Department has made of the impact of education maintenance allowances on staying-on rates post-16; [1956](2) if she will make a statement on the education maintenance allowance pilots. [1958]

[holding answer 3 July 2001]: The education maintenance allowance pilots now cover around 30 per cent. of the country and have reached over 80,000 young people. An extensive three-year evaluation programme is under way, with both quantitative and qualitative research, including interviews with 20,000 young people. We published the first evaluation reports in March.Results from the first year of the pilot have shown an increased participation among the target group of 5 percentage points. Early anecdotal evidence suggests that the young people who receive an EMA appreciate the independence this affords them and they benefit from the experience of managing their own money.

Exam Marking

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people were employed in (a) 1999 and (b) 2000 to mark A-level papers; and how many people have been employed this year to mark (i) AS-levels and (ii) A-levels. [1961]

[holding answer 3 July 2001]: The number of examiners recruited by the awarding bodies at advanced level over the period in question was as follows:

Year	Number
1999	7,000
2000	7,000
2001	14,000

2001 is a special year, as it is the last year for the old style A-levels and the first year for the new AS examinations. This transitional situation is reflected in an increase in the number of examiners recruited, the total comprising 7,000 for A-levels and 7,000 for AS-levels.

Drug Abuse

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to enable schools to fund more programmes to tackle drug abuse. [2088]

Funding to support drug, alcohol and tobacco education will rise from £14.5 million in 2001–02 to £15.5 million in 2002–03 and £17.5 million in 2003–04. This funding will improve the quality and coverage of drug education programmes in schools, provide funding for every school to have access to an LEA drug adviser and will fund drug education training for teachers and Connexions advisers. In addition to this specific funding, schools will receive £15 million in 2001–02 to support personal, social and health education and citizenship, which they can choose to spend on programmes to tackle drug misuse.

Teachers

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reason newly qualified teachers (a) who trained and qualified in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and (b) from countries within the European Economic Area are allowed to teach in maintained schools in England without having to sit the national numeracy test. [2141]

The requirements for achieving Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not include passing a national numeracy test. That is a matter for the devolved Administrations of those countries to decide.Teachers who are nationals of other countries within the European Economic Area (EEA) are entitled to be awarded QTS in this country on the basis of teaching qualification status recognised elsewhere in the EEA. Similarly, those teachers would not have to pass a numeracy test to teach in this country.

School Sport

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if she will make a statement on the amount of time dedicated to sport in schools each week; [2142](2) what plans she has to increase the amount of time given to sport in schools. [2143]

The National Curriculum for Physical Education has an aspiration that all pupils should receive two hours of physical activity a week. Officials are considering with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport how we could assist schools in delivering a two-hour entitlement to all children, as set out by the Prime Minister on 11 January this year. This commitment was included in our Green Paper, "Building on Success". We are also consulting with Ofsted, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, PE associations and teachers. The QCA have published examples of best practice on their

	School	LEA	Urdu	Bengali	Gujarati	Hindi	Chinese
1	Arden school	Solihull	—	—	—	—	Yes
2	Ashcombe school	Surrey	—	—	—	—	Yes
3	Bishop Heber county high school	Cheshire	—	—	—	—	Yes
4	Bournemouth school	Bournemouth	—	—	—	—	Yes
5	Bullers Wood school	London borough of Bromley	—	—	—	—	Yes
6	Chatham grammar school for boys	Medway	—	—	—	—	Yes
7	Clevedon community school	North Somerset	—	—	—	—	Yes
8	Cranford community high school	London borough of Hounslow	Yes	—	Yes	Yes	Yes
9	Dallam school	Cumbria	—	—	—	—	—
10	Dartford grammar school	Kent	—	Yes	Yes	—	—
11	Elizabeth Garrett Anderson school	London borough of Islington	—	Yes	—	—	—
12	Gosforth high school	Newcastle upon Tyne	Yes	—	—	—	—
13	Haydon school	Hillingdon	—	—	Yes	—	Yes
14	Hele's school	City of Plymouth	—	—	—	—	Yes
15	Hockerill Anglo-European school	Hertfordshire	—	—	—	—	Yes
16	Hummersknott school	Darlington	Yes	—	—	—	—
17	Ian Ramsey CE school	Stockton on Tees	Yes	—	—	—	—
18	Judgemeadow community college	City of Leicester	—	—	Yes	—	—
19	Katharine Lady Berkeleys school	Gloucester	—	—	—	—	Yes
20	King Edward VII school	Sheffield	Yes	—	—	—	—
21	Kingsthorpe community school	Northamptonshire	Yes	Yes	Yes	—	Yes
22	Levenshulme high school	Manchester	Yes	Yes	—	—	Yes
23	Little Lever school	Bolton	Yes	—	—	—	Yes
24	Lord Grey school	Milton Keynes	Yes	—	—	—	Yes
25	Lymm high school	Warrington	—	—	—	—	Yes
26	Millais school	West Sussex	—	—	—	—	Yes
27	Monkseaton community high school	North Tyneside	—	Yes	—	—	Yes

website, from schools that are already providing two hours or more PE and school sport. School sports co-ordinators, of which there will be 1,000 by 2004, are already working with families of schools linked to specialist sports colleges to help schools meet this entitlement.

Bownham Park School, Stroud

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions Ministers from her Department have had with the adjudicator in connection with the timing of the announcement about closing Bownham Park School, Stroud; and if she will make a statement. [2226]

[holding answer 4 July 2001]: Ministers from this Department have had no discussions with the adjudicator in connection with the timing of the announcement about closing Bownham Park School. Ministers were informed on 6 June that the Office of the Schools Adjudicator would be announcing its decision on 8 June. The Office of the Schools Adjudicator is independent of the Department and Ministers have no role to play in what decision the adjudicator makes on a particular proposal.

Community Languages

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 2 July 2001, Official Report, column 36W, on community languages, if she will list those specialist language colleges which offer (a) Urdu, (b) Bengali, (c) Gujarati, (d) Hindi and (e) Chinese. [2356]

I understand that of the 99 specialist language colleges in operation as of September 2000, 46 offer one or more of the languages in question to an accredited level: Urdu (17), Bengali (10), Gujarati (7), Hindi (1) and Chine se (31). The names of the 46 schools are given in the following table.

	School	LEA	Urdu	Bengali	Gujarati	Hindi	Chinese
28	Montgomery high school	Blackpool	—	—	—	—	Yes
29	Moseley school	Birmingham	Yes	Yes	—	—	—
30	Northgate high school	Suffolk	—	Yes	—	—	—
31	Oulder Hill community school	Rochdale	Yes	—	—	—	—
32	Prince Henrys grammar school	Leeds	—	—	—	—	Yes
33	Queen Mary's high school	Walsall	Yes	Yes	Yes	—	—
34	Royal grammar school	Buckinghamshire	—	—	—	—	Yes
35	Shireland language school	Sandwell	Yes	—	—	—	Yes
36	Sir Thomas Rich's school	Gloucestershire	—	—	Yes	—	—
37	St. Edward's college	Liverpool	—	—	—	—	Yes
38	Tavistock college	Devon	—	—	—	—	Yes
39	The Harwich school	Essex	—	—	—	—	Yes
40	The Holy Family school	Bradford	Yes	—	—	—	—
41	The John Bentley school	Wiltshire	—	—	—	—	Yes
42	The Sir John Cass's Foundation and Rid Coat CE school	Tower Hamlet	Yes	Yes	—	—	Yes
43	Tile Hill Wood school	Coventry	Yes	—	—	—	—
44	William Ellis school	London borough of Camden	—	Yes	—	—	Yes
45	Wolverhampton Girls' high school	Wolverhampton	—	—	Yes	—	Yes
46	Woodbridge high school	Redbridge	Yes	—	—	—	Yes
	Total		17	10	7	1	31

Culture, Media And Sport

Regional Cultural Consortiums

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what has been the cost to public funds to date of the regional cultural consortiums; and if she will make a statement. [69]

[holding answer 15 June 2001]: The cost to date of the Regional Cultural Consortiums is as follows:

Expenditure
	£
1999–2000¹	15,200
2000–01	210,796
2001–02	²3,437
¹ The Regional Cultural Consortiums went established in October 1999
² Expenditure calculated to 22 June 2001

The Consortiums also receive support from my Department's staff based within the Government offices in the regions. The Regional Development Agencies and the various regional agencies have all been encouraged to help with funding and other means of support.The Consortiums use their resources to support their strategic role in the regions and promote joint working with other regional partners in order to ensure that cultural and sporting interests make a significant contribution to economic development, regeneration and social inclusion in each region.

Radio Licences

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list all applications for local radio licences which are under consideration by the Radio Authority, indicating when each was lodged. [72]

[holding answer 25 June 2001]: The following is a list of all applications for local radio licences which are currently under consideration by the Radio Authority:

Local Analogue licences

South and West Yorkshire regional—lodged: 6 February 2001

Sixteen applications:
The Arrow (Chrysalis Radio (Yorkshire) Ltd.)
Century Yorkshire Ltd.
Deja vu Radio (Oldies Radio (Yorkshire) Ltd.)
Flair FM (White Rose Radio Ltd.)
Flix Radio (Yorkshire) Ltd.
Forever 106 (Forever Broadcasting (Yorkshire) Ltd.)
Jazz FM Yorkshire Ltd.
Nova 106 (Yorkshire Radio Enterprises Ltd.)
106.2 The Rose (White Rose Regional Radio Ltd.)
Route FM (Yorkshire Sound Ltd.)
Saga Radio Ltd.
Sunrise Radio (Yorkshire) (Bradford City Radio Ltd.)
Variety FM (Radio Variety Ltd.)
Y107 (Yorkshire Regional Radio Ltd.)
Y-Radio (SMG Regional Radio Ltd.)
Yorkshire FM Radio Ltd.

Omagh and Enniskillen—lodged: 13 March 2001

Four applications:
Fast FM Ltd.
Southwest Radio (Southwest FM Ltd.)
Radio West FM (Radio West Ltd.)
Westside 101 (Lisara Ltd.)

Rugby—lodged: 10 April 2001

Four applications:
Fosseway Radio (Jet FM Ltd.)
The Lion (Lion Radio Ltd.)
Rugby FM (Rugby Broadcasting Company Ltd.)
Rugby 1 (Rugby on Air Co. Ltd.)

North London (current operator: London Greek Radio)—lodged: 8 May 2001

Two applications:
Fusion FM Ltd. (Di' Fusion)
London Greek Radio Ltd.

Thamesmead (current operator: Millennium FM)—lodged: 8 May 2001

Three applications:
Millennium FM Ltd.
Starmela.co.uk Ltd.
Unity FM Ltd.

Stockport (current operator: Imagine FM)—lodged: 12 June 2001

Three applications:
Imagine FM Ltd.
Stock FM Ltd.
RAKA Asian Radio Ltd.

Local Digital Multiplex licences

Ayr—lodged: 24 April 2001

Two applications:
Score Digital Ltd.
Switchdigital (Scotland) Ltd.

Bournemouth—lodged: 15 May 2001

One application:
Now Digital Ltd.

Dundee and Perth—lodged: 19 June 2001

Two applications:
Score Digital Ltd.
Switchdigital (Scotland) Ltd.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to end the current restrictions on religious broadcasters wishing to apply for new radio licences. [78]

[holding answer 25 June 2001]: The White Paper "A New Future for Communications" announced that the Government will bring forward legislation to allow religious bodies to hold a local terrestrial digital licence. The White Paper also invited views on whether the restrictions on ownership of other terrestrial licences by religious bodies should be relaxed, and we are currently considering the responses. The Government will publish details of their proposals in a draft Bill as announced in the Queen's speech.

New Opportunities Fund

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will state the income to date of the New Opportunities Fund together with cash disbursements made to projects. [113]

[holding answer 25 June 2001]: At 31 May 2001, the New Opportunities Fund had received £814.9 million in income and committed £794.7 million to projects. £189.1 million had been made as cash disbursements to projects. A further £79.6 million in grants was awarded at the June Board meeting, and details of these will be announced in the near future.

Bbc Board Of Governors

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure political neutrality in appointments to the BBC Board of Governors. [114]

[holding answer 25 June 2001]: Department for Culture, Media and Sport appointments follow the rules of the Commissioner for Public Appointments, which state that appointments should be governed by selection on merit and that political activity is not a consideration for appointment.

The Golden Jubilee

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what plans she has for Her Majesty the Queen's Golden Jubilee to be celebrated in the regions; [128](2) if she will make a statement on preparations for the celebration of Her Majesty the Queen's Golden Jubilee. [127]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to my hon. Friend the Member for Preston (Mr. Hendrick) on 22 June 2001, Official Report, columns 7–9W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans there are for the use of Lottery funds in relation to Her Majesty the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations. [126]

[holding answer 25 June 2001]: Voluntary organisations and local groups in the community will be able to apply through the cross-distributor Awards for All scheme for grants of between £500 and £5,000 for Jubilee-related projects. Projects must meet existing criteria and involve one or more of the Lottery good causes of the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education or the environment. Larger applications associated with the Jubilee will be considered by Lottery distributors if the project meets the criteria and timetable of an existing programme or scheme.

Bbc Chairman

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the timetable for lie appointment of the new Chairman of the BBC. [104]

[holding answer 25 June 2001]: My Department has advertised the post for a new Chairman of the BBC, and the deadline for submission of applications is 9 July. The appointments process will follow the rules of the Commissioner for Public Appointments and the position will be filled once those processes have been completed and a suitable candidate has been identified.

Arts Boards/Arts Council

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the number of employees (a) currently and (b) in May 1997 of each of the Regional Arts Boards and of the Arts Council of England. [75]

[holding answer 25 June 2001]: The number of full-time equivalent employees of each of the Regional Arts Boards and the Arts Council of England in May 1997 and June 2001 is set out as follows.

	Full-time equivalent employees
	May 1997	June 2001
Arts Council of England	240.5	205
Regional Arts Board
East England Arts	41	35.5
East Midlands Arts	36	42
London Arts	44	69
North West Arts	46	53
Northern Arts	36	38
Southern Arts	33	39
South East Arts	29	40.6
South West Arts	33	39.5
West Midlands Arts	42	45
Yorkshire Arts	40	45.1

Culture Online

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement about the future of Culture Online. [98]

[holding answer 25 June 2001]: Culture Online is a manifesto commitment and we remain committed to press ahead with the programme by the target date of 2002. We are in the final stages of the preparation of our business case for Culture Online and are currently considering the most appropriate way to establish the new organisation.

Regional Arts Boards

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is her Department's policy towards the regional arts boards. [116]

[holding answer 25 June 2001]: The Arts Council is due to report to me very shortly on its plans for reorganising the arts funding system in England and I am looking forward to discussing the proposals with it and other interested parties in more detail once I have received them.

News Scheduling

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the Government's policy towards the scheduling of news bulletins on (a) independent television channels and (b) the BBC. [136]

[holding answer 25 June 2001]: Under the current arrangements, the scheduling of television news bulletins on independent television channels and the BBC is the responsibility of the Independent Television Commission and the BBC Governors, respectively. We set out in the Communications White Paper—A New Future for Communications (CM 5010)—our intention to include within the proposed new regulatory structure an obligation on public service broadcasters, including the BBC, to safeguard the provision of news and current affairs in peak time.

Underwater Archaeological Sites

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to enhance the protection of underwater archaeological sites. [100]

[holding answer 25 June 2001]: The Government are actively seeking a legislative mechanism to allow the transfer of responsibility for underwater archaeology to English Heritage at the earliest opportunity. In the meantime my Department will continue to support initiatives, such as the Nautical Archaeological Society's excellent training scheme, to raise awareness of the importance of our underwater cultural heritage and promote best practice in its protection, investigation and the public's enjoyment of it.

New Millennium Experience Company

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what legal discussions she has had regarding trade names and trade marks used by the New Millennium Experience Company. [77]

[holding answer 25 June 2001]: I have had no legal discussions regarding trade names or trade marks used by the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC).

Wembley Stadium

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Football Association regarding the future development of Wembley Stadium. [2153]

Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor I have had any discussions with the Football Association since coming to the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the future plans for Wembley Stadium. [2152]

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Mr. Pickthall) on 25 June 2001, Official Report, column 37W.

Sponsorship (Tobacco Companies)

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what discussions she has had with sponsors of Formula One regarding the proposed ban on tobacco advertising; and if she will make a statement; [141](2) what discussions she has had with representatives of

(a) Formula One and (b) other sports regarding the proposed ban on sponsorship by tobacco companies. [142]

[holding answer 2 July 2001]: I have not yet had discussions with either sponsors or representatives of Formula One or representatives of other sports regarding the proposed ban on tobacco advertising.

Commonwealth Games

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what advice she has received about the proposed funding of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. [1341](2) what estimate she has made of the adequacy of funding arrangements for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester; [1340]

(3) what representations she has received from Manchester 2002 Ltd. and Manchester city council about the funding of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. [1342]

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement about the 2002 Commonwealth Games. [2198]

Pursuant to the answers given to my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Central (Mr. Lloyd) and the hon. Member for Ryedale (Mr. Greenway) on 2 July 2001, Official Report, columns 78–79W, the figure for Manchester city council's contribution to the further funding for the 2002 Commonwealth Games is a further £45 million and not £35 million as given in the answer.

Treasury

Pensions

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals contribute to (a) defined benefit occupational pension schemes, (b) defined contribution occupational pension schemes, (c) group personal pension schemes, (d) additional voluntary contributions and (e) free-standing additional voluntary contributions. [1141]

I have been asked to reply.The latest information available is in the table.

million
Type of pension provision	Number of active members
Defined benefit schemes	8.8
Defined contribution schemes	1.1
'Hybrid' schemes¹	0.3
Group Personal Pensions	1.4
Additional Voluntary Contributions	0.9
Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contributions	1.4
¹ Mixed defined benefit/defined contribution

Notes:

1. All figures are rounded to nearest 0.1 million

2. Active members are those currently accruing pension rights

3. The information on occupational pension schemes is drawn from the Government Actuary's Department (GAD) Survey of Occupational Pension Schemes (1995). The number of members will include those whose scheme does not currently require member contributions. It is estimated that the number of members contributing are 8.2 million for defined benefit and 0.8 million for defined contribution schemes.

4. The information on Group Personal Pensions is drawn from the New Earnings Survey (2000).

5. The information for Additional Voluntary Contributions covers private sector schemes only.

6. The information on Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contributions is drawn from Inland Revenue Statistics (2000). Individuals can have more than one Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.

Employment Rates

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of people of working age (a) with disabilities, (b) aged over 50 years, (c) of ethnic minority background and (d) who are single parents, have been in employment for each of the last 10 years in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Somerset and (iv) Yeovil constituency; and if he will make a statement. [1389]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. David Laws, dated 4 July 2001:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your parliamentary question about various groups of people employed for last 10 years in UK, England, Somerset and Yeovil. I am replying in his absence. (1389)

Estimates of the number of people in employment in the various groups that you requested are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). It has not been possible to supply estimates for the Yeovil constituency in any of the tables as the sample size for this area would be too small to provide a reliable estimate.

Table 1 below shows the proportions of disabled people of working age in employment, from spring 1998 to spring 2000, estimates are not available prior to this. Table 2 shows the proportion of people between 51 arid working age in employment from spring 1991 to spring 2000, however the regional breakdown is only available for the latest quarter. The proportion of the ethnic minority population of working age in employment is shown in Table 3 below. The sample size is too small to provide reliable estimates for the regional breakdown. Table 4 shows the proportion of lone parents of working age in employment. This table shows data for spring 1990 and then spring 1992 to spring 2000 as data for 1991 are not available on a consistent basis. Estimates for Somerset are not available from 1991 to 1999 and the sample size is too small to provide a reliable estimate for spring 2000.

Table 1: Proportions of disabled people of working age ¹ in employment; spring 1998 to spring 2000; not seasonally adjusted
Percentage
	UK	England	Somerset
Spring 1998	43.1	45.2	60.3
Spring 1999	45.8	47.8	60.2
Spring 2000	46.4	48.6	53.2
¹ Men aged 16–64 and women aged 16–59

Source:

ONS Labour Force Survey

Table 2: Proportion of people aged 51–59/64 years in employment; spring l991 to spring 2000; not seasonally adjusted
Percentage
	UK	England	Somerset
Spring 1991	63.4	64.7	¹—
Spring 1992	61.9	62.8	¹—
Spring 1993	60.4	61.6	¹—
Spring 1994	61.2	62.2	¹—
Spring 1995	61.6	62.8	¹—
Spring 1996	62.2	63.4	¹—
Spring 1997	62.7	64.0	¹—
Spring 1998	63.8	65.3	¹—
Spring 1999	64.8	66.1	¹—
Spring 2000	65.6	67.0	68.8
¹ Data not available

Source:

ONS Labour Force Survey

Table 3: Proportion of the ethnic minority population of working age ¹ in employment; spring 1991 to spring 2000; not seasonally adjusted
Percentage
	UK	England	Somerset
Spring 1991	²—	57.3	²—
Spring 1992	54.8	54.8	³—
Spring 1993	52.7	52.6	³—
Spring 1994	51.4	51.6	³—
Spring 1995	52.5	52.6	³—
Spring 1996	53.5	53.5	³—
Spring 1997	56.5	56.6	³—
Spring 1998	56.4	56.4	³—
Spring 1999	56.2	56.4	³—
Spring 2000	57.5	57.5	³—
¹ Men aged 16–64 and women aged 16–59
² Data not available
³ Sample size too small for reliable estimate

Source:

ONS Labour Force Survey

Table 4: Proportion of lone parents of working age ¹ in employment with dependent children; spring 1990 to spring 2000; not seasonally adjusted
Percentage
	UK	England	Somerset
Spring 1990	44.6	45.1	²—
Spring 1992	43.0	43.5	²—
Spring 1993	42.8	43.4	²—
Spring 1994	44.0	44.3	²—
Spring 1995	44.0	44.4	²—
Spring 1996	43.7	43.8	²—
Spring 1997	44.7	45.4	²—
Spring 1998	46.1	46.6	²—
Spring 1999	46.9	47.1	²—
Spring 2000	49.7	50.5	³—
¹ Men aged 16–64 and women aged 16–59
² Data not available
³ Sample size too small for reliable estimate

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the (a) male and (b) male and female working age population have been in (i) full-time employment and (ii) part-time or full-time employment in each year since 1975; and if he will make a statement. [1388]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. David Laws, dated 4 July 2001:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question about the proportion of males and males and females in full and part-time employment since 1975 (1388). I am replying in his absence.

Estimates of the proportion of the working age population in employment are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The table below shows non-seasonally adjusted LFS estimates of the proportion of the working age population in employment and full-time employment from spring 1984 to spring 2000. Estimates for 1979 to 1983 are not available on a consistent basis and prior to this there is no LFS data available.

Proportions of the working age ¹ population in employment and in full-time employment; United Kingdom; spring 1984 to spring 2000—not seasonally adjusted
Percentage ²
	All persons (male and female)		Males
Spring	In full or part-time employment ³	In full-time ⁴ employment	In full or part-time employment ³	In full-time ⁴ employment
1984	68.3	55.0	77.4	74.7
1985	69.2	55.5	77.9	75.0
1986	69.4	55.5	77.4	74.2
1987	70.1	55.6	77.7	74.1
1988	72.4	57.6	80.1	76.3
1989	74.2	59.1	81.8	78.1
1990	74.7	59.4	82.1	78.1
1991	73.0	57.8	79.6	75.5
1992	71.1	55.4	76.3	71.8
1993	70.2	54.4	74.8	70.1
1994	70.6	54.3	75.3	70.2
1995	71.1	54.9	76.4	70.8
1996	71.6	54.7	76.4	70.6
1997	72.6	55.4	77.5	71.3
1998	73.1	55.9	78.1	71.9
1999	73.6	56.2	78.4	72.1
2000	74.3	56.7	79.1	72.7
¹ Men aged 16–64 and women aged 16–59
² Percentages include those who did not state whether working full/part-time
³ Includes unpaid family workers from spring 1992
⁴ The classification as full-time is based on respondents' self-assessment

Source:

ONS Labour Force Survey

Census 2001

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he has taken to ensure that the volunteers who helped distribute the Census 2001 forms have been adequately remunerated. [1738]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from John Pullinger to Miss Anne McIntosh, dated July 2001:

The Registrar General for England and Wales has been asked to reply to your recent question asking what measures have been taken to ensure that the volunteers who distributed the 2001 Census forms have been adequately remunerated. I am replying in his absence. (1738)

Most of the 70,000 Census field staff were paid for the work carried out by them under the terms of their contractual agreements with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in full and on time. However, there have been problems with making final payments which have lead to delays in settling claims for payments and other outstanding expenses.

In the light of these difficulties ONS has written to Census District Managers explaining the situation, and individually to the field staff concerned, to apologise for the delay and to ensure that they are aware they can contact ONS directly. Arrangements to complete these payments as a matter of urgency are now in hand. ONS has made interim final payments to those affected and has introduced special pay runs to minimise any further delays in making payments. Extra staff have been drafted in to the payroll operation to make sure the remainder of the claims are processed as quickly as possible. All staff will be paid the amounts due to them.

Euro

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the impact of the euro exchange rate has been on UK competitiveness since the launch of the euro. [2206]

[holding answer 3 July 2001]: UK exports of goods to the European Union are now over 15 per cent. higher than at the time of the euro's introduction. The UK also has a modest current account surplus with the rest of the EU.

Surveillance And Security Services

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of total UK expenditure on domestic and foreign surveillance and security services for each year since 1985, expressed in real terms using 2000–01 prices; what public service agreements exist to ensure value for money for such expenditure; and if he will make a statement. [1371]

The level of expenditure by the three intelligence agencies, GCHQ, the Security Service and the Secret Intelligence Service, was first disclosed in 1994. As a consequence of the decision taken at the time not to disclose information for the years prior to 1992–93, I do not have that information. The available information is as follows:

£ million
Year	Cash	2000–01 constant prices
1992–93	860	1,048
1993–94	940	1,116
1994–95	856	1,002
1995–96	782	890
1996–97	742	818
1997–98	704	755
1998–99	686	715
1999–2000	769	783
2000–01	803	803
2001–02	¹876	857
¹ (Resource)

Each of the three agencies has a Public Service Agreement, the contents of which are available to the Intelligence and Security Committee.

Telecom/Computer Sectors

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of growth of telecoms and computer sectors was in the five years to December 2000; and what his forecast is for the next two years. [1643]

Output of computers and computing equipment grew at an average rate of 14 per cent. a year in the five years to December 2000 while manufacture of transmission and telecommunications equipment grew at an average of 26 per cent. a year. The Treasury does not produce output forecasts for specific industries. Forecasts for manufacturing as a whole can be found on page 174, table B6 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report 2001 (HC 279).

Industrial Provident Societies

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new industrial provident societies have been registered in each of the last five years; and in what areas. [2338]

The table provides details of all industrial and provident societies; including credit unions, which have been registered each year since 1996.

	Registered in:
Calendar years/entities	England and Wales	Scotland	Total
1996
I&Ps	183	16	199
Credit unions	35	1	36
1997
I&Ps	175	11	186
Credit unions	39	12	51
1998
I&Ps	175	13	188
Credit unions	40	7	47
1999
I&Ps	187	14	201
Credit unions	43	7	50
2000
I&Ps	147	13	160
Credit unions	34	5	39
2001¹
I&Ps	70	4	74
Credit unions	10	0	10
Total
I&Ps	937	71	1,008
Credit unions	201	32	233
¹ To date

Source:

Registry of Friendly Societies—2001

Local Regeneration Projects

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what policies he has to encourage banks to become partners in local regeneration projects.[1776]

The Government, through their National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal, have brought together many different organisations in response to the problems of deprived neighbourhoods. As part of this strategy, banks are involved in the New Deal for Communities pathfinder projects as well as other initiatives to reduce financial exclusion.

European Central Bank

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the scope available to Ministers to intervene in the decisions of the European central bank in circumstances where they deem that the ECB Board has taken a decision which has a negative impact on EU member state economies. [1762]

According to Article 108 of the treaty, when exercising the powers and carrying out the tasks and duties conferred upon them by the treaty and the statute of the European system of central banks, neither the European central bank, nor any member of its decision-making body, shall seek or take instructions from community institutions and bodies, from any Government of a member state or from any other body.

Office For National Statistics

To ask the Chancellor it of the Exchequer what plans he has to introduce legislation to reform the Office for National Statistics. [18]

The launch of National Statistics in June 2000 marked the largest overhaul of official statistics in the United Kingdom for over 30 years, putting in place new arrangements to deliver statistics that command the trust and confidence of the public.The Office for National Statistics, led by the National Statistician, is central to the Government's drive to improve the nation's statistical service. All of its public access databases and publications are within the ambit of the new arrangements, as set out in the "Framework for National Statistics".Within the new arrangements, the Statistics Commission—independent of both Ministers and the producers of National Statistics—monitors and advises on the quality and integrity of National Statistics. The Framework Document also tasked the Statistics Commission to review the need for statistics legislation after two years (from 2000) and report back to Ministers, and keep the legislative framework under review thereafter.

Pension Rights (Part-Time Workers)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment the Government have made of the impact of the House of Lords ruling on the pension rights of part-time workers on public sector pension schemes. [2268]

Following the House of Lords ruling in February 2001, many part-timers, who made timely claims in the Employment Tribunals, may be eligible for back-dated access to public service pension schemes, once their cases have completed the legal process. In addition, there are many part-timers still in employment covered by public service schemes who may be eligible for back-dated access to their scheme.

Deputy Prime Minister

Duchy Of Lancaster

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what has been the disbursement from the surplus of the Duchy of Lancaster to Her Majesty the Queen in each of the last 25 years. [2075]

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, has provided the following information.

Payments made by the Duchy to the Privy Purse over the past 25 years are as follows:

Year	£
976	415,000
1977	445.000
1978	485,000
1979	626,500
1980	815,000
1981	983,000
1982	1.075,000
1983	1,225,000
1984	1.350,000
1985	1.475,000
1986	1,700,000
1987	1,950,000
1988	2,270,000
1989	3,190,000
1990	3,000.000
1991	3,100,000
1992	3,750,000
1993	3,918,253
1994	3,900,000
1995	¹2,100,000
1996	5,345,000
1997	5,752,000
1998	5,703,000
1999	5,968,000
2000	5,907,711
¹ Change of accounting period

Poverty Alleviation

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proposals he has for co-ordinating Government and EU programmes in areas of high social and economic deprivation to maximise the impact such programmes have on building up social capital, economic activity, environmental improvement and public safety; and if he will make a statement. [2122]

I have been asked to reply.'A New Commitment to Neighbourhood Renewal National Strategy Action Plan' was launched by the Prime Minister in January 2001. It sets out the Government's vision to narrow the gap between deprived areas and the rest of England, so that within 10–20 years no one should be seriously disadvantaged by where they live. Our aim is to deliver economic prosperity, safe communities, high quality schools, decent housing, and better health to the poorest parts of the country.This approach will focus main Government programmes explicitly on deprived areas and will require all sectors to work in partnership. The strategy is being spearheaded by the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit, a cross-cutting unit based in DTLR and staffed by officials from across Whitehall and the public sector, with secondees from the private and voluntary sectors.In respect of European Programmes, we are looking to the Regional Development Agencies. They have the main responsibility for regional economic development, and are key members of partnerships which deliver both domestic and European Funds to the programme areas. We are keeping the RDA role under review as the European programmes develop.

Lord Chancellor's Department

Auld Report

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will place in the Library copies of the evidence submitted to Lord Justice Auld's review of the criminal courts. [2215]

Lord Justice Auld has not yet completed his review of the criminal courts. The Government will make arrangements for the evidence to be made available to the public once the report has been published.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if Lord Justice Auld has completed his review of the criminal courts; and what arrangements the Government have made for the publication of his report. [2216]

Lord Justice Auld will complete his review of the criminal courts shortly. The Government will make arrangements for publication once his report is received.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the Lord Chancellor expects to receive Lord Justice Auld's report on criminal courts. [2214]

The Lord Chancellor expects to receive Lord Justice Auld's report shortly.

Sentencing Policy

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to review the sentencing policy of individual judges whose sentencing he has reason to believe does not reflect the severity of the cases heard. [1352]

It would be improper for the Lord Chancellor to intervene in, or comment on, the sentence imposed in an individual case since to do so would undermine the independence of the judiciary. Within the statutory limits laid down by Parliament, the appropriate sentence in each individual case is entirely a matter for the discretion of the trial judge, who has heard the evidence, listened to the arguments and given in open court his reasons for the sentence imposed.

Judges

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will re-examine his Department's advice to judges on how to avoid any display of partisanship which might be considered party political. [1351]

The current guidance given to judges on appointment advises them against engagement, in any capacity which might undermine, or be reasonably thought to undermine, their judicial independence or impartiality. A statement about the position of the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary was made by the Senior Law Lord in another place on 22 June 2000, Official Report, House of Lords, columns 419–20, setting out the general principles on the participation of the Lords of Appeal in the business of the House of Lords. There are no plans to review the guidance.

Office For The Supervision Of Solicitors

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on the performance of the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors. [911]

The Government continue closely to monitor the situation of the OSS. Progress has been made in clearing the backlog of cases received by OSS prior to 1 January 2000. There is also evidence that in complaints received after that date, the OSS is beginning to achieve the quality and turnaround time targets that were agreed with the Government in December 2000.

Mediation Uk

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what support the Lord Chancellor's Department has given to Mediation UK in each of the last five years. [2135]

In both 2000–01 and 2001–02 the Legal Services Commission has granted £15,000 to Mediation UK as part of a joint funding exercise to provide core funding that also includes the Home Office and the Department of Health.

Human Rights

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) if he will initiate a study into the likely conseque 'Pal effects of establishing a human rights commission on the existing arrangements for upholding laws relating to (a) equal opportunities, (b) sex discrimination, (c) racial discrimination, (d) disability rights and (e) child protection; [1721](2) what assessment he has made of the case for establishing a human rights commission to promote the Human Rights Act 1998 and investigate violations of human rights in the United Kingdom. [1720]

The Government have not ruled out the possibility of a Human Rights Commission. We already have several commissions, however, for example the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Disability Rights Commission, and there may be and case for a single, over-arching human rights commission, with a divisional structure, to cover all these areas. The Government would welcome representations on that possibility. During the last Parliament, the Joint Committee on Human Rights issued a consultation document, seeking views on what form a human rights commission might take. We will consider very carefully any recommendations the reconstituted Joint Committee makes following this consultation.

Bailiff Law

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what progress has been made with the reform of bailiff law. [918]

The area of bailiff law is complex and requires careful consideration as part of a comprehensive enforcement system. The Government's forthcoming Green Paper on enforcement will include proposals for a single piece of bailiff law. The Government continue to believe that the broadened enforcement review, announced on 6 March this year, which includes structures for, and the regulation of civil enforcement agents generally, not just within the High Court and county courts, affords an opportunity for real progress in our enforcement system.

Libra Computer Project

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the current state of the Libra computer project, including the total cost, specifying what sums expended are irrecoverable. [1970]

Work on the Libra project continues. The first stage of the project, to roll out the infrastructure and provide office automation to all courts, is proceeding on schedule.

The second part is the development and implementation of a software application. This is part complete: there is a demonstration version dealing with criminal cases which has been well received by users improving how they operate; and developing the rest of the software is expected to delay full implementation until toward the end of next year, representing an overall delay to this part of the project of 15 to 18 months.

The total value of the Libra contract is estimated to be £319 million over the life of the contract at current prices and workloads. Payments made to date amount to £10 million (ex VAT) of which £7.8 million (ex VAT) are for office automation services delivered to the courts to an acceptable standard, and for which the question of recovery does not arise.

Volume 371: debated on Thursday 5 July 2001

Written Answers To Questions

Transport, Local Government And The Regions

London Underground

Homelessness

Motorway-Widening Schemes

Heathrow

A5

Housebuilding Targets

Best Value

Electoral Law

Local Government

Good Practice

Rockingham Speedway, Northamptonshire

Fire Contingency Arrangements

Local Authority Boundaries

Housing (London)

Housing (Lancashire)

Housing (Warsop)

Planning (Listed Buildings And Conservation Areas) Act

Aircraft Noise

Green Belts

A30/A303

Mobile Homes And Parks

Defence

Submarines

Fertility Treatment

Pilot Strength

Sea Harriers

Warships

Fleet Air Arm

Type 23 Frigates

Merlin Helicopter

Link 16

Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft

Northumberland National Park

Home Department

Single European Currency

Work Permits

Telephone Tapping Warrants

Asylum Vouchers

Young Offenders (Community Orders)

Prisons

Coroners Courts

Correspondence

Immigration And Asylum

Solicitor-General

Coram Foundation

Criminal Justice (Terrorism And Conspiracy) Act

Human Rights Act

Crown Prosecution Service

Postal Voting

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Israel

Western Sahara

Nice Treaty

British Dependent Territories

Africa

Conflict Prevention

Abm Treaty

Us National Missile Defence

Export Controls

Death Certificates

Entry Clearance

Norwegian Whaling

International Development

World Trade Organisation

Un Aids Conference

Internet Access

Natural Resources Institute

Poverty Reduction

Technical Assistance

Montserrat

Un Development Targets

Overseas Development (Investment)

Development Council

St Helena

Trade And Industry

Fixed Term Work Directive