Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Thursday 12 July 2001

Defence

Defence Export Services Organisation

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will amend the means by which charges for services provided by the Defence Export Services Organisation are calculated to ensure that the full cost is recovered. [2709]

The policy of the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) is to raise charges against industry for activities undertaken on its behalf where Government independence from industry is not essential and when costs can be directly identified, calculated and recovered from individual companies. On this basis charges are raised for a proportion of the costs of demonstrations of defence equipment; market research and publications; DESO symposia and seminars; and inward visits.In addition, the full costs of operating project offices in support of Government-to-Government sales are offset by receipts from customer Governments. In 2000–01 DESO's costs were as follows:

	£ million
Expenditure	56.01
Receipts	41.68
Net Operating Costs	12.36

These net operating costs are more than offset by benefits to the Defence budget, estimated at over £400 million a year, arising from DESO's activities. These benefits include reductions in overhead costs for UK Procurement as a result of longer production runs, receipts from Commercial Exploitation Levy and disposal of surplus MOD equipment. Against this background, there are no plans to amend the charging policy for services provided by DESO.

Itar Exemptions

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which issues in the negotiations on ITAR exemptions (a) have been agreed and (b) remain unresolved; and if he will make a statement. [2718]

The Government warmly welcome the decision of the US Administration to continue to pursue the Defence Trade Security Initiative, including a limited International Traffic in Army Regulation Waiver for unclassified US exports to the UK announced in May 2000. These measures, if put fully into effect, would be significant steps towards achieving the objective agreed between the Prime Minister and President Bush at Camp David in February 2001 of

"… increased co-operation in transatlantic defence trade and to the removal of unnecessary barriers and impediments to such trade."

Negotiations resumed with the new Administration in May.Progress has been made in establishing that US and UK export control systems are comparably effective and that there is a high level of commonality between the US Munition List and the UK Military List. The proposals for the introduction, under the Export Control Bill, of UK export controls over electronic transfers of military technology will further increase convergence between the two systems. Key issues remain to be resolved concerning detailed terms for implementation of an agreement. Given their complexity early progress is not to be expected but discussions are continuing, constructively and amicably.

Defence Estates

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many defence estates have been sold since 1997; and if he will make a statement on the adequacy of training areas and accommodation space for British forces. [3008]

[holding answer 10 July 2001]: Since 1997 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has conducted in excess of 500 disposals. These range in size from airfields and barracks to small areas of land and individual houses.Following the publication of "In Trust and On Trust: A Strategy for the Defence Estate" in June 2000, the MOD has embarked on a major "core sites" review covering all our 4,000 or more sites. This will determine how the estate can best be used to satisfy our long-term military needs and also guide future investment. Associated with this work, we are also considering the supply and demand for training as part of a Strategic Planning Study for the Army Training Estate (SPATE), which is largely concerned with the rural training estate. This should not be confused with the Defence Training Review, which is an advanced element of the "core sites" review and relates largely to the built estate.While the MOD has no current plans to acquire significant additional areas of land, we do from time to time purchase land adjacent to existing training areas where this allows more efficient or effective use of the land we already own.We recognise that some single living accommodation is below modern standards and the Secretary of State recently announced a huge programme of new investment in this kind of property, amounting to £1 billion over 10 years.

Sonar 2087

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what particular mitigation measures have been implemented to take account a marine life, human divers and swimmers in the operational procedures relating to Sonar 2087; and if he will make a statement; [3296]

(2) when the Environmental Impact Assessment relating to Sonar 2087 will be completed; what evidence from outside bodies will be taken with regard to this assessment; what assessments have been made of the United States Navy's studies into the environmental impact of low frequency active sonar; and if he will make a statement; [3295]

(3) what frequencies Sonar 2087 and Sonar 2193 will operate at; and if he will make a statement; [3293]

(4) what independent studies his Department has commissioned or intends to commission into the effect on marine life of Sonar 2087 and Sonar 2193; at what cost; and if he will make a statement; [3292]

(5) which areas have been identified for the use and testing of Sonar 2087 in the United Kingdom and surrounding waters; what exclusion zones have been implemented; and if he will make a statement. [3291]

Sonar 2087 is designed to detect submarines at distances greater than those from which potentially hostile submarines could engage our forces. Sonar 2193 is a mine-hunting sonar and will operate at short ranges. The exact frequencies the sonars will use are classified. I am withholding this information in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, which relates to defence, security and international relations. I can tell you, however, that in order to achieve detection at long distances, Sonar 2087 will operate at frequencies lower than systems currently employed by the Royal Navy, whereas Sonar 2193 will operate at high frequencies to achieve fine discrimination between objects.As underwater noise can adversely affect the marine environment, the MOD is committed to using both Sonar 2087 and Sonar 2193 in an environmentally responsible manner.The draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Sonar 2087 was conducted for the Department by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency at the Southampton Oceanography Centre (SOC). The EIA was informed by a number of other studies of the possible effects of sonar noise on humans, mammals and fish. The total cost was in excess of £2 million. The EIA will continue to be developed during the demonstration and manufacture phases of the project, taking account of trials information. It will continue to be informed by evidence from leading experts both in the UK and US; this includes exchange of information on studies conducted by the US Navy. We also monitor relevant scientific and environmental research around the globe. The final EIA will be completed by the planned 2006 entry into service and will be subject to independent review. An EIA for Sonar 2193 has been commissioned, to be undertaken by QinetiQ at the SOC, at a cost of £143,000.Sonar 2087 is designed to be used world-wide. To date, the EIA indicates that, for initial trials, the vicinity of the North-West Approaches would be a suitable area. All our trials will be preceded by EIAs specific to the area concerned and they will be conducted using mitigation measures to take account of marine animal life and human divers/swimmers. These measures will be integral to our operating procedures and will include monitoring of the area which will begin before active transmissions are started and continue while the activity is under way and also for a period after transmissions have finished. Exclusion zones will he operated around known sensitive sites such as breeding grounds and sanctuaries; and we will begin transmissions at low output levels to give marine life the opportunity to move away. Similarly, a minimum range will be established from known diving sites.These measures will provide a sustainable balance between the requirement for essential trials and training and the equally important need to avoid causing significant adverse it impact on the marine environment.

Kenya

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the lot numbers of the munitions used by the British Army at Archer's Post and Dol Dol in Kenya. [2781]

I am withholding information regarding the lot numbers of the munitions used by the British Army at Archer's Post and Dol Dol in Kenya, in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Missile Defence

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the threat of attack on the Menwith Hill radomes that would result from UK participation in the proposed US Missile Defence system; [3380](2) what assessment he has made of the threat of attack on upgraded X-band radar sites at Fylingdales that would result from UK participation in the proposed US Missile Defence system. [3381]

The US has stated that it has not yet decided how it will seek to proceed with deployment of a missile defence system and has made no request for the use of either RAF Menwith Hill or RAF Fylingdales for missile defence purposes. We have made clear we would consider any such request carefully in light of the circumstances at the time and taking into account all relevant factors, including security implications.

Porton Down

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the report produced by the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down, in 1989 entitled, "The effect of Sarin (GB) on Contrast Sensitivity". [3400]

No. The report to which the hon. Member refers was drafted but not completed. It is therefore unsuitable for publication.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if service personnel who took part in experiments at the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down, are entitled to receive a copy of films recorded by the establishment of the experiment in which they participated. [3403]

Not all trials undertaken as part of the service volunteer programme were filmed, nor are the films catalogued in a manner which would assist the identification of volunteers. Porton Down volunteers are entitled to receive a copy of any film footage in which they alone are clearly identifiable. However, under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 footage which identified other volunteers could not be released. Requests for film footage will be dealt with on an individual basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer on 2 July 2001, Official Report, column 2W, on Porton Down, what the purpose was of the study involving RAF service volunteers at RAF Honington in 2000; what the conclusion of the study was; on what dates it was conducted; and for what reason it was conducted at RAF Honington. [3409]

During August 2000 a study involving RAF volunteers took place on the Rapier Detachment Engagement Trainer at RAF Honington. The aim of the study was to assess the possible effects of miosis and ciliary spasm of the eye, from simulated exposure to low dose nerve agent, on the ability to operate the Ground Based Air Defence System Rapier.The study concluded that both miosis and ciliary spasm of the eye has profound effects on any military task involving target detection and/or identification under low illumination conditions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer on 28 June 2001, Official Report, column 133W, on Porton Down, if he will place in the Library copies of the minutes, agenda and papers of the meeting between his Department's staff and the Medical Research Council staff on 30 May. [3402]

No. No agenda or formal notes of the meeting were produced.

Bermuda Regiment

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what amendments to the Queen's regulations and rules relating to disciplinary matters apply to members of the Bermuda Regiment. [2499]

[holding answer 11 July 2001]: The Bermuda Regiment is not part of the British Army, therefore The Queen's Regulations for the Army do not have any authority over this Regiment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which units of the armed forces are largely recruited from an overseas territory, and whose funding and command and control structure are comparable to that of the Bermuda Regiment. [2505]

[holding answer 11 July 2001]: None. The Bermuda Regiment is not part of the British Army.

Hms Daedalus

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the future of HMS Daedalus. [3636]

It is expected that a decision on the future of HMS Daedalus will be made within the next few weeks. At that stage I will write to the hon. Member and all other MPs and stakeholders to inform them of the way forward.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from outside bodies about the future of HMS Daedalus. [3635]

Many representations have been received from a wide range of statutory and commercial outside bodies and local interest groups, including those tenants currently residing on the airfield. Much of the commercial interest was generated through our agent's marketing campaign and subsequent referrals.Defence Estate, through the Daedalus Working Group, has always endeavoured to keep Gosport borough council, Fareham borough council and Hampshire county council informed of developments.

Mod Sites

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria are used to determine which MOD sites not used by the armed forces should be sold. [3637]

It is our policy that the Defence Estate should be no larger than necessary to meet the operational and training needs of the armed forces. To this end, the overall size of the estate is kept under continual review, and rationalisation of our landholdings and the early sale of surplus property remains a key priority. Normally, surplus sites are identified through estate rationalisation studies, as a result of changing operational requirements or from changes in policy. Before a site is offered for sale steps are taken to ensure there is no alternative defence use.In the future, the rationalisation of the estate will be shaped by the emerging 'core sites' approach which is currently being developed as part of our Estate Strategy ("In Trust and On Trust: A strategy for the Defence Estate") which was launched on 7 June 2000. It is the intention that 'core sites' will become the focus for future development and investment.

Cyprus

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the applicability of (a) the European Court of Human Rights and (b) the Human Rights Act 1998 to sovereign base areas in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [R] [2976]

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

International Development

Palestine

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the UK Government have contributed to the food aid provided by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to Palestinians in and around the Israeli-occupied parts of the West Bank and Gaza. [3235]

We have contributed £10 million to UNRWA' s Emergency Appeals in response to the growing social and economic hardship in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a result of the current conflict. Our funds are not specifically earmarked for food; UNRWA's emergency operations also include employment generation, and other urgent social welfare provisions.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Diplomatic Car Licences

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the diplomatic car licence plate numbers allocated to embassies and high commissions in the United Kingdom used to identify the country. [1683]

I am unable to release the information requested into the public domain as this could compromise the security of diplomatic missions and their personnel in the United Kingdom.

United Nations Security Council

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the occasions in the last five years in which the United Kingdom's veto power in the United Nations Security Council has been (a) used and (b) threatened publicly to be used; and what the subject matter was on each occasion. [2708]

This Government have not used the veto since coming to power in May 1997. However the United Kingdom has used the veto 30 times since 1946, with regard to the following issues:

October 1956 (twice) The Palestine question (Suez)
September 1963 Syrian-Israel Dispute: Palestine
March 1970 Rhodesia
November 1970 Rhodesia
December 1971 Rhodesia
February 1972 Rhodesia
September 1972 Rhodesia
May 1973 Rhodesia
October 1974 Relationship between UN and South Africa
June 1975 Situation in Namibia
October 1976 Situation in Namibia
October 1977 (three times) Question of South Africa
April 1981 (four times) Question of Namibia
June 1982 Question of the Falklands
July 1985 Question of South Africa
November 1985 Question of Namibia
April 1986 US raid on Libya
May 1986 South African raids into Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe
June 1986 South African attacks on Angola
February 1987 South Africa
April 1987 Question of Namibia
March 1988 Sanctions against South Africa
January 1989 Shooting down of Libyan aircraft
December 1989 The invasion of Panama.

It is not Government practice publicly to threaten the use of the veto.

Iraq

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for imports to Iraq have been blocked in the United Nations Sanctions Committee for (a) less than three months, (b) three to six months, (c) six to nine months, (d) nine to 12 months and (e) more than one year. [2712]

Most applications to export goods to Iraq are made under the 'oil for food' programme established by United Nations Security Council resolution 986 (1996). The vast majority of applications are approved by the United Nations sanctions Committee. As at 6 July 2001 around 19,700 applications worth over $28.7 billion had been received by the UN since the programme began in 1996. Only 1,350 were on hold by the Committee (see table for breakdown). The majority of Committee holds are imposed because applications are submitted with insufficient information for the Committee to be able to assess whether the goods could be used in Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) programmes. Where there are serious concerns in this regard, assurances of end-use or in-country monitoring are often sufficient to lift the hold.

Months on hold	Number of holds	Value of holds (US$ billion)
0–3months	301	1.24
3–6months	197	0.62
6–9months	220	0.62
9–12months	170	0.32
Over 12 months	461	0.59
Total	1,349	3.39

Embargoes

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the arms embargoes implemented by the United Kingdom prohibit the temporary export to embargoed destinations of protective clothing by UN personnel, representatives of the media and humanitarian workers for their personal use. [4271]

The Government do not interpret those arms embargoes implemented by the UK as prohibiting the temporary export for personal use by United Nations personnel, representatives of the media or humanitarian workers of protective clothing on the UK Military List, which forms Part III of Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994 as amended. The Government will therefore consider, or a case by case basis against the consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing criteria, all applications for licences for the temporary export of military helmets, body armour, bullet-proof or bullet-resistant clothing, flak suits and specially designed components for any of these goods.

Biological And Toxin Weapons Convention

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures the Government will take at the 24th Session of the Ad Hoc Group on the draft protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention to enable a legally binding compliance regime to be agreed at the fifth Review Conference; what changes to the chairman's text the Government will be proposing at the 24th Session of the Ad Hoc Group; and if he will make a statement. [3297]

At the next session of the Ad Hoc Group in Geneva, the UK will continue to press for completion of the BWC protocol and resolution of the outstanding issues identified by the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Group, Ambassador Toth. There are a limited number of specific items in his "composite text" where further work is required. These are to be found in the sections on Definitions, Declarations, Visits, Measures to strengthen the implementation of Article III of the Convention, Investigations and Legal issues. The UK will continue to work closely with the Chairman and other Delegations to attempt to find solutions to these issues which are acceptable to all.

Health

Strategic Health Authorities

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his timescale for the introduction of the new strategic health authorities. [1840]

Strategic health authorities are to be in place by April 2002, with all related changes to the intermediate tier of National Health service management completed by April 2003.

Health authority¹	Composite Years of Life Lost index²	Health inequalities for health authorities at or above 137 on Years of Life Lost index £000	Health inequalities funding for health authorities with Health Action Zones £	Total health inequalities adjustment £
Manchester	181.30	2,013	2,428	4,441
Liverpool	178.57	1,997	2,350	4,347
Gateshead and South Tyneside	174.07	1,476	1,678	3,154
East Lancashire	167.76	2,069	0	2,069
West Pennine	167.63	1,827	0	1,827
County Durham	166.41	2,424	0	2,424
St. Helen's and Knowsley	165.35	1,374	1,602	2,976
Barnsley	164.33	925	1,061	1,985
Bury and Rochdale	163.45	1,528	1,705	3,233
Wirral	163.15	1,246	1,398	2,644
Tees	162.92	2,166	2,547	4,713
Sandwell	162.02	1,180	1,364	2,544
Sunderland	162.01	1,112	1,376	2,488
North West Lancashire	161.36	1,748	0	1,748
Salford and Trafford	160.90	1,723	2,009	3,732
North Cumbria	160.73	1,226	1,256	2,482
South Humber	160.67	1,188	0	1,188
Newcastle and North Tyneside	159.24	1,778	2,201	3,979
Northumberland	159.00	1,175	1,249	2,424
Doncaster	156.99	1,106	1,307	2,412
North Staffordshire	156.40	1,752	1,608	3,360
Wigan and Bolton	156.18	2,158	0	2,158
Sefton	155.00	998	1,161	2,159
North Cheshire	153.17	1,151	0	1,151
Wolverhampton	151.42	872	1,081	1,953
North Nottinghamshire	150.63	1,376	0	1,376
Wakefield	150.46	1,190	1,414	2,604
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly	150.29	1,744	1,842	3,585
Lincolnshire	149.82	2,301	0	2,301
Morecambe Bay	149.79	1,101	0	1,101
North Derbyshire	149.60	1,308	0	1,308
Isle of Wight	149.30	436	0	436
East Riding	148.75	2,054	2,350	4,404
Walsall	148.42	900	1,102	2,003

Long-Term Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the interim report on the supply of residential and nursing home care in England will be published. [2673]

The study of the supply of residential and nursing home care that we are undertaking involves a number of research projects commissioned from the Personal Social Services Research Unit. We are currently considering an interim report on the rate, causes and consequences of home closures. A final report on this issue is expected later this year.

Health Inequalities

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each health authority the rate on the Years of Life Lost index used for the interim health inequalities adjustment in 2001–02 allocations, indicating which health authorities received an allocation under the health inequalities adjustment. [2956]

The table ranks health authorities by the Years of Life Lost index used for the health inequalities adjustment and shows the adjustment received with 2001–02 allocations.£70 million was shared between the 47 health authorities with rates at or above 137 on the Years of Life Lost index. This supplemented the £60 million health inequalities funding for health authorities with Health Action Zones.

Health authority ¹	Composite Years of Life Lost index ²	Health inequalities for health authorities at or above 137 on Years of Life Lost index £000	Health inequalities funding for health authorities with Health Action Zones £	Total health inequalities adjustment £
Rotherham	147.16	854	1,065	1,919
Camden and Islington	144.22	1,358	1,841	3,199
South Lancashire	143.79	1,081	0	1,081
Bradford	143.52	1,686	2,165	3,851
Calderdale and Kirklees	141.51	1,967	0	1,967
Herefordshire	140.53	560	0	560
Shropshire	140.36	1,450	0	1,450
Coventry	139.82	1,067	0	1,067
Sheffield	139.72	1,787	2,377	4,164
East Kent	139.69	1,962	0	1,962
Leeds	139.38	2,471	3,142	5,614
Nottingham	138.29	2,124	2,668	4,792
Dudley	137.32	1,010	0	1,010
East London and the City	136.92	0	3,217	3,217
South Cheshire	136.81	0	0	0
North Yorkshire	136.79	0	0	0
Warwickshire	136.57	0	0	0
Birmingham	136.51	0	0	0
South and West Devon	135.63	0	994	994
Stockport	134.85	0	0	0
South Staffordshire	134.83	0	0	0
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham	133.99	0	3,607	3,607
Barking and Havering	133.71	0	0	0
East Sussex, Brighton and Hove	133.66	0	0	0
Norfolk	133.11	0	0	0
Northamptonshire	131.38	0	0	0
South Derbyshire	131.26	0	0	0
Dorset	130.58	0	0	0
Hillingdon	130.45	0	0	0
Worcestershire	130.18	0	0	0
Somerset	130.18	0	0	0
Bexley and Greenwich	129.67	0	0	0
North and East Devon	129.42	0	0	0
Leicestershire	128.60	0	1,149	1,149
West Kent	127.65	0	0	0
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire	126.48	0	0	0
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow	125.71	0	0	0
Solihull	125.39	0	0	0
Suffolk	125.38	0	0	0
South Essex	124.75	0	0	0
Gloucestershire	124.39	0	0	0
Bedfordshire	122.80	0	682	682
West Sussex	122.52	0	0	0
Wiltshire	122.42	0	0	0
Avon	121.96	0	0	0
Enfield and Haringey	121.10	0	0	0
North Essex	121.07	0	0	0
Southampton and South West Hampshire	120.88	0	0	0
North and Mid Hampshire	118.96	0	0	0
Bromley	118.18	0	0	0
Cambridgeshire	117.88	0	0	0
East and North Hertfordshire	117.82	0	0	0
West Surrey	117.75	0	0	0
Redbridge and Waltham Forest	117.56	0	0	0
Croydon	116.24	0	0	0
East Surrey	115.76	0	0	0
Buckinghamshire	115.54	0	0	0
Brent and Harrow	115.01	0	1,002	1,002
West Hertfordshire	114.44	0	0	0
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth	113.10	0	0	0
Berkshire	112.96	0	0	0
Oxfordshire	109.71	0	0	0
Kingston and Richmond	108.58	0	0	0
Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster	105.57	0	0	0
Barnet	100.00	0	0	0
England total	—	70,000	60,000	130,000
¹ April 1999 boundaries
² The Years of Life Lost index is a composite of the three-year average (1996–98) of rates of years of life lost under 75 for circulatory diseases, all cancers, accidents, suicides and undetermined injury.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will rank all health authorities in England and Wales on the basis of an age-standardised Years of Life Lost index, indicating which health authorities received an allocation under the health inequalities adjustment.

Health authority¹	Age standardised Years of Life Lost index²	Health inequalities adjustment for health authorities at or above 137 on Years of Life Lost index £000	Health inequalities funding for health authorities with Health Action Zones £	Total health inequalities adjustment £
Manchester	195.4	2,013	2,428	4,441
Liverpool	173.6	1,997	2,350	4,347
East Lancashire	159.2	2,069	0	2,069
West Pennine	159.1	1,827	0	1,827
Bury and Rochdale	155.8	1,528	1,705	3,233
Gateshead and South Tyneside	154.5	1,476	1,678	3,154
East London and the City	153.1	0	3.217	3,217
St. Helens and Knowsley	152.4	1,374	1,602	2,976
Sandwell	151.8	1,180	1,364	2,544
Tees	151.5	2,166	2,547	4,713
Barnsley	150.2	925	1,061	1,985
Newcastle and North Tyneside	148.6	1,778	2,201	3,979
Salford and Trafford	148.4	1,723	2,009	3,732
Sunderland	147.9	1,112	1,376	2,488
County Durham	147.9	2,424	0	2,424
South Humber	146.3	1,188	0	1,188
Wirral	145.1	1,246	1,398	2,644
Camden and Islington	144.6	1,358	1,841	3,199
Wigan and Bolton	144.4	2,158	0	2,158
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham	144.2	0	3,607	3,607
North Cheshire	143.8	1,151	0	1,151
Doncaster	142.8	1,106	1,307	2,412
Bradford	142.7	1,686	2,165	3,851
North West Lancashire	141.1	1,748	0	1,748
North Staffordshire	140.4	1,752	1,608	3,360
North Cumbria	140.4	1,226	1,256	2,482
Wolverhampton	140.4	872	1,081	1,953
Birmingham	137.9	0	0	0
Wakefield	137.7	1,190	1,414	2,604
Northumberland	136.7	1,175	1,249	2,424
Coventry	135.9	1,067	0	1,067
East Riding	135.1	2,054	2,350	4,404
Rotherham	134.7	854	1,065	1,919
North Nottinghamshire	134.6	1,376	0	1,376
Calderdale and Kirklees	133.3	1,967	0	1,967
Walsall	132.8	900	1,102	2,003
Morecambe Bay	132.4	1,101	0	1,101
Sefton	132.0	998	1,161	2,159
Leeds	131.6	2,471	3,142	5,614
South Lancashire	130.1	1,081	0	1,081
Sheffield	129.5	1,787	2,377	4,164
North Derbyshire	129.3	1,308	0	1,308
Nottingham	129.3	2,124	2,668	4,792
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow	129.2	0	0	0
Hillingdon	128.6	0	0	0
Lincolnshire	128.3	2,301	0	2,301
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly	128.0	1,744	1,842	3,585
Bexley and Greenwich	126.1	0	0	0
Shropshire	125.6	1,450	0	1,450
Isle of Wight	125.0	436	0	436
Northamptonshire	124.5	0	0	0
East Kent	123.4	1,962	0	1,962
Barking and Havering	123.0	0	0	0
Enfield and Haringey	121.9	0	0	0
Herefordshire	121.1	560	0	560
Leicestershire	120.8	0	1,149	1,149
Warwickshire	120.8	0	0	0
Dudley	120.5	1,010	0	1,010
South Derbyshire	120.4	0	0	0
South Staffordshire	120.0	0	0	0
South Cheshire	119.9	0	0	0

The table ranks health authorities in England on the basis of an age-standardised Years of Life Lost index and shows the health inequalities adjustment received with 2001–02 allocations.Questions about health authorities in Wales are a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Health authority ¹	Age standardised Years of Life Lost index ²	Health inequalities adjustment for health authorities at or above 137 on Years of Life Lost index £000	Health inequalities funding for health authorities with Health Action Zones £	Total health inequalities adjustment £
North Yorkshire	119.8	0	0	0
Stockport	118.7	0	0	0
South and West Devon	118.7	0	994	994
Bedfordshire	118.5	0	682	682
East Sussex, Brighton and Hove	117.9	0	0	0
Redbridge and Waltham Forest	117.7	0	0	0
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth	117.3	0	0	0
West Kent	117.2	0	0	0
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire	116.8	0	0	0
Worcestershire	115.6	0	0	0
Norfolk	114.4	0	0	0
South Essex	113.7	0	0	0
Croydon	113.3	0	0	0
Wiltshire	113.3	0	0	0
Somerset	113.2	0	0	0
Suffolk	113.0	0	0	0
Dorset	113.0	0	0	0
Brent and Harrow	112.8	0	1,002	1,002
Cambridgeshire	112.3	0	0	0
Avon	112.1	0	0	0
Gloucestershire	111.7	0	0	0
North and Mid Hampshire	111.3	0	0	0
Solihull	110.6	0	0	0
Berkshire	110.6	0	0	0
Buckinghamshire	110.4	0	0	0
Southampton and South West Hampshire	110.3	0	0	0
North and East Devon	109.6	0	0	0
East and North Hertfordshire	108.5	0	0	0
North Essex	107.8	0	0	0
West Sussex	107.5	0	0	0
West Hertfordshire	107.2	0	0	0
West Surrey	106.9	0	0	0
Bromley	105.3	0	0	0
Oxfordshire	104.5	0	0	0
Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster	104.3	0	0	0
Kingston and Richmond	103.7	0	0	0
East Surrey	102.4	0	0	0
Barnet	100.0	0	0	0
England total		70,000	60,000	130,000
¹ April 1999 boundaries
² The Years of Life Lost index is a composite of the three-year average (1996–98) of rates of years of life lost under 75 for circulatory diseases, all cancers, accidents, suicides and undetermined injury.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list health authorities in order of their distance from target in 2001–02, showing (a) the cash amount and (b) the percentage increase on their baselines directed towards moving under-target authorities closer to their weighted capitation targets for (a) 1999–2000, (b) 2000–01 and (c) 2001–02. [2958]

The table lists health authorities in order of their distance from target in 2001–02 and shows, in cash and percentage terms, the increase on their baselines

	Distances from targets	Increase directed towards moving under target health authorities closer to target
Health authority¹	2001–02 Percentage	1999–2000 £000	2000–01 £000	1999–2000 Percentage	2000–01 Percentage
Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster	-10.90	7,919	6,605	3.01	2.28
East London and the City	-7.15	8,868	6,051	1.95	1.22
Bedfordshire	-4.40	5,071	3,968	1.74	1.26
Berkshire	-3.36	6,696	4,834	1.67	1.09
Oxfordshire	-3.14	4,635	2,901	1.52	0.87

directed towards moving under target health authorities closer to their weighted capitation targets for 1999–00 and 2000–01.

For 2001–02, the distribution of extra resources was on the following basis:

(a) every health authority received a general increase to meet the pressures they all face calculated pro rata to their baselines;

(b) funding for implementing the NHS Plan was issued pro rata to their weighted capitation targets.

(No funding was specifically directed towards moving under target HAs to target.)

	Distances from targets	Increase directed towards moving under target health authorities closer to target
Health authority ¹	2001–02 Percentage	1999–2000 £000	2000–01 £000	1999–2000 Percentage	2000–01 Percentage
Cambridgeshire²	-3.10	NA	3,673	NA	0.91
Barnsley	-2.95	2,252	1,664	1.55	1.07
Wigan and Bolton	-2.84	5,511	3,883	1.58	1.04
Buckinghamshire	-2.83	4,926	3.805	1.43	1.02
Barnet	-2.82	0	0	0.00	0.00
Leicestershire	-2.44	6,988	5,224	1.45	1.00
Walsall	-2.35	1,778	1,193	1.17	0.73
South Derbyshire	-1.91	4,247	2,509	1.33	0.73
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow	-1.77	4,533	2,012	1.02	0.42
West Pennine	-1.73	3,453	2,260	1.24	0.76
Nottingham	-1.55	5,273	3,533	1.45	0.90
Shropshire	-1.39	2,247	1,676	0.97	0.67
Croydon	-1.33	2,198	1,290	1.16	0.63
South Essex	-1.26	6,426	3,073	1.65	0.72
Avon	-1.25	6,233	3,733	1.14	0.63
South Staffordshire	-1.24	0	1,358	0.00	0.42
County Durham	-1.20	5,363	3,326	1.40	0.80
North Staffordshire	-1.10	4,152	2,329	1.46	0.76
North Essex	-1.04	4,894	2,133	1.04	0.42
Enfield and Haringey	-1.03	0	0	0.00	0.00
East and North Hertfordshire	-0.98	2,842	1,933	1.04	0.66
Bradford	-0.96	3,770	1.981	1.29	0.63
Hillingdon	-0.88	0	794	0.00	0.51
Wolverhampton	-0.82	1,803	1,275	1.20	0.79
Coventry	-0.79	3,101	2,001	1.66	0.99
North Yorkshire	-0.74	3,975	2,178	0.97	0.50
North Nottinghamshire	-0.65	2,540	2.059	1.15	0.86
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham	-0.58	5.471	0	1.02	0.00
Tees	-0.57	3,813	2,349	1.10	0.63
Dudley	-0.53	1,893	1,312	1.10	0.71
St. Helen's and Knowsley	-0.49	2,175	1,345	0.98	0.57
Bury and Rochdale	-0.49	2,717	1,191	1.17	0.47
Rotherham	-0.47	1,543	1,006	1.04	0.63
Norfolk²	-0.46	NA	0	NA	0.00
Stockport	-0.43	0	0	0.00	0.00
Sunderland	-0.34	1,978	1,223	1.05	0.61
West Sussex	-0.34	4,603	2,345	1.05	0.50
Lincolnshire	-0.33	0	2,266	0.00	0.57
North and Mid Hampshire	-0.18	0	0	0.00	0.00
West Hertfordshire	-0.11	0	0	0.00	0.00
Sandwell	-0.09	2,267	1,202	1.18	0.59
North Cumbria	-0.07	0	0	0.00	0.00
Brent and Harrow	-0.06	0	0	0.00	0.00
Wakefield	0.04	0	0	0.00	0.00
Worcestershire	0.20	0	0	0.00	0.00
Camden and Islington	0.21	0	0	0.00	0.00
Herefordshire	0.23	0	450	0.00	0.45
East Lancashire	0.29	3,393	1,925	1.03	0.55
Northamptonshire	0.30	0	0	0.00	0.00
Gateshead and South Tyneside	0.32	2,514	1,557	1.05	0.61
Southampton and South West Hampshire.	0.35	0	0	0.00	0.00
Wiltshire	0.46	0	0	0.00	0.00
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire	0.49	2,939	0	0.95	0.00
Calderdale and Kirklees	0.51	0	1,571	0.00	0.42
North Derbyshire	0.58	2,021	1,104	0.94	0.48
Kingston and Richmond	0.68	0	0	0.00	0.00
Northumberland	0.75	1,701	896	0.92	0.45
West Kent	0.76	0	0	0.00	0.00
Somerset	0.85	0	0	0.00	0.00
South Lancashire	0.92	0	0	0.00	0.00
Solihull	0.92	0	0	0.00	0.00
Suffolk	1.06	0	0	0.00	0.00
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly	1.12	0	0	0.00	0.00
Doncaster	1.14	1,706	856	0.92	0.43
Warwickshire	1.14	0	0	0.00	0.00
Birmingham	1.18	0	0	0.00	0.00
Leeds	1.27	0	0	0.00	0.00
North and East Devon	1.27	0	0	0.00	0.00
Barking and Havering	1.45	2,525	0	1.05	0.00
East Riding	1.46	3,473	1,512	1.03	0.42

	Distances from targets	Increase directed towards moving under target health authorities closer to target
Health authority ¹	2001–02 Percentage	1999–2000 £000	2000–01 £000	1999–2000 Percentage	2000–01 Percentage
North West Lancashire	1.52	2,952	0	0.98	0.00
South Cheshire	1.58	0	0	0.00	0.00
Bromley	1.63	1,631	0	0.95	0.00
West Surrey	1.74	0	0	0.00	0.00
East Surrey	2.15	0	0	0.00	0.00
North Cheshire	2.22	0	0	0.00	0.00
Newcastle and North Tyneside	2.25	0	0	0.00	0.00
Salford and Trafford	2.48	0	0	0.00	0.00
South Humber	2.52	0	0	0.00	0.00
East Kent	2.69	0	0	0.00	0.00
South and West Devon	2.80	0	0	0.00	0.00
Sheffield	2.81	0	0	0.00	0.00
Dorset	2.86	0	0	0.00	0.00
Manchester	2.89	0	0	0.00	0.00
East Sussex, Brighton and Hove	3.01	0	0	0.00	0.00
Liverpool	3.13	0	0	0.00	0.00
Redbridge and Waltham Forest	3.39	0	0	0.00	0.00
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth	3.60	0	0	0.00	0.00
Wirral	3.65	0	0	0.00	0.00
Gloucestershire	3.71	0	0	0.00	0.00
Sefton	4.18	0	0	0.00	0.00
Morecambe Bay	4.37	0	0	0.00	0.00
Bexley and Greenwich	7.27	0	0	0.00	0.00
Isle of Wight	7.70	0	0	0.00	0.00
¹ April 1999 boundaries
² New health authorities established 1 April 1999.

Drug Addicts

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the treatment protocol is for long-term injecting drug addicts over the age of 40. [2819]

Treatment is provided on the basis of clinical need. Hence, treatment of adult drug misusers should not vary according to age. Guidance on the standard to which treatment should be provided is contained within the Department of Health publication "Drug Misuse and Dependence—Guidelines on Clinical Management", which is available in the Library.Ambitious targets have been set under our 10-year anti-drugs strategy to prevent drug misuse, and to help those with drug problems overcome them. A key target is to increase the participation of drug misusers in drug treatment programmes that have a positive effect on health and crime by 66 per cent. by 2005 and 100 per cent. by 2008.

Car Parking

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the provision of car parking for (a) staff, (b) patients and (c) visitors as part of new hospital building schemes. [3223]

The Department's policy is to require a transport plan that incorporates car parking arrangements for staff, patients and visitors as part of the business case approval process for new hospital building schemes. This will take into account local circumstances and the need to maximise accessibility by public transport to minimise the need for car parking, particularly for staff, while at the same time providing good access arrangements for emergency vehicles and those who need to use cars.

It is also important that those considering new health facility developments have early discussions with the local authority on car park requirements and transport planning as a key part of the planning approval process.

Herceptin

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to direct NICE to issue guidance on the use, of Herceptin in combination with taxanes for the treatmeat of women with breast cancer who are over-expressing the HER 2 marker; and if he will make a statement; [3264](2) if he will li5t the health authorities in England and Wales that are awaiting a decision from NICE on Herceptin before they will fund the drug for the treatment of women with breast cancer who are over-expressing the HER 2 marker; [3265](3) if NICE has completed its appraisal of the use of Herceptin in combination with taxanes for the treatment of women with breast cancer who are over-expressing the HER 2 marker; [3263](4) when he expects NICE to issue guidance on the use of Herceptin in the treatment of women with breast cancer who are over-expressing the HER 2 marker. [3290]

[holding answers 11 July 2001]: We understand that the publication date for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's guidance in the use of trastuzumab (Herceptin) and vinorelbine for breast cancer has yet to be confirmed but is unlikely to be before the end of the year. Once the date is confirmed, details will be published on the Institute's website. We would expect NICE guidance to relate to the current licensed uses of trastuzumab.

We do not hold a central list of the authorities which are awaiting a decision from the National Institute before they will fund trastuzumab. However, we expect that health authorities will continue an arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies in line with Health Service Circular 1999/176 issued in August 1999, copies of which are available in the Library.

Colorectal Cancer

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the health authorities in England and Wales that are awaiting a decision from NICE on Irinotecan, Oxaliplatin and Raltitrexed before they will fund these drugs in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer; [3287](2) what plans he has to direct NICE to issue guidance on the use of Irinotecan as second-line treatment of advanced colorectal cancer; and if he will make a statement; [3285](3) what assessment he has made of the length of time between the decision to uphold the appeal against the appraisal by NICE on the use of Irinotecan, Oxaliplatin and Raltitrexed in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer and the next review of draft guidance by the Appraisal Committee of NICE; and if he will make a statement; [3281](4) when NICE will issue guidance on the use of Irinotecan, Oxaliplatin and Raltitrexed in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer; [3282](5) when the appeal against the appraisal by NICE on the use of Irinotecan, Oxaliplatin and Raltitrexed in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer will be heard; when the Appeal Board decided to uphold the appeal; and when this decision was announced; [3279](6) what guidance he intends to give to health authorities following the appeal being upheld against the appraisal by NICE on the use of Irinotecan, Oxaliplatin and Raltitrexed in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer, and prior to formal guidance being issued by NICE; [3283](7) if NICE has completed its appraisal on the use of Irinotecan as second-line treatment or advanced colorectal cancer; [3284](8) when the appraisal committee of NICE will meet to review the draft guidance on the use of Irinotecan, Oxaliplatin and Raltitrexed in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer. [3280]

[holding answers 11 July 2001]: We referred the appraisal of Irinotecan to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) on 12 July 2000.Details of the process for a particular treatment are a matter for NICE. However, we understand that an appeal panel heard appeals against the final appraisal Determination on the use of Irinotecan, Oxaliplatin and Raltitrexed in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer on 23 May 2001 and that the panel's decision was forwarded to the Institute on 27 June 2001. The panel's decision was distributed to consultees on 28 June and was published on the Institute's website on 2 July.

The appraisal committee will review its final appraisal determination on the use of Irinotecan, Oxaliplatin and Raltitrexed in the light of the appeal panel's decision and recommendations. It was asked to do so on 27 June when the Institute received the appeal panel's final decision. The date on which it will meet to review its final appraisal determination is to be confirmed, as is the proposed date the Institute will issue its guidance. We understand that when these dates are agreed they will, in line with the Institute's usual practice, be published on the NICE website.

The length of time between the decision to uphold the appeal and the next review of draft guidance is a matter for NICE. It is aware that the final guidance should be issued as soon as possible but that due process should be followed.

We do not hold a central list of the authorities who are awaiting a decision from NICE before they will make these drugs available. However, we expect that health authorities will continue arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies, in line with Health Service Circular 1999/176 issued in August 1999, copies of which are available in the Library.

Follicular Lymphoma

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the health authorities in England and Wales that are awaiting a decision from NICE on rituximab before they will make this drug available for the treatment of eligible patients with follicular lymphoma; [3277](2) when the next Appraisal Committee of NICE to review draft guidance on the use of rituximab for the treatment of follicular lymphoma will meet: [3272](3) when the appeal against the appraisal by NICE on the use of rituximab for the treatment of follicular lymphoma was heard; when the appeal board decided to uphold the appeal; and when this decision was announced; [3271](4) when NICE will issue guidance on the use of rituximab for the treatment of follicular lymphoma; [3274](5) what assessment he has made of the length of time between the decision to uphold the appeal against the appraisal by NICE on the use of rituximab for the treatment of follicular lymphoma and the next review of draft guidance by the Appraisal Committee of NICE: and if he will make a statement. [3273]

[holding answers 11 July 2001]: Appeals are a part of the process used by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence for developing robust and reliable guidance. Details of the process for a particular treatment are a matter for the Institute. However, we understand that an appeal panel heard appeals against the final appraisal determination on the use of rituximab for the treatment of follicular lymphoma on 21 May 2001 and that the panel's decision was forwarded to the Institute on 27 June 2001. The panel's decision was distributed to consultees on 28 June and was published on the Institute's website on 2 July.The appraisal committee will review its final appraisal determination on rituximab for follicular lymphoma in the light of the appeal panel's decision and recommendations.

It was asked to do so on 27 June when the Institute received the appeal panel's final decision. The date on which it will meet to review its final appraisal determination is to be confirmed, as is the proposed date the Institute will issue its guidance. We understand that when these dates are agreed they will be published on the Institute's website in line with normal practice.

The length of time between the decision to uphold the appeal and the next review of draft guidance is a matter for the National Institute. It is aware that the final guidance should be issued as soon as possible but that due process should be followed.

We do not hold a central list of the authorities who are awaiting a decision from the Institute on rituximab before they will make this drug available. However, we expect that health authorities will continue arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies, in line with Health Service Circular 1999/176 issued in August 1999, copies of which are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he intends to give to health authorities following the appeal upheld against the appraisal by NICE on the use of rituximab for the treatment of follicular lymphoma and prior to formal guidance being issued by NICE. [3275]

[holding answer 11 July 2001]: None. We issued Health Service Circular 1999/176 in August 1999. It asks National Health Service bodies to continue with local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies where guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence is not available at the time the technology first becomes available. It also advises that these arrangements should involve an assessment of all the available evidence.

Waiting Lists

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will rank health authorities in England in order of the highest waiting times for hospital operations, using as the measures (a) those waiting over six months for inpatient treatments and (b) those waiting over 12 months for inpatient treatments. [3052]

[holding answer 11 July 2001]: Patients awaiting operations are not identifiable separately. The table shows, for all patients awaiting admission to hospital, numbers of patients waiting more than six months and more than 12 months in each health authority in England as at 31 May 2001.As part of the NHS Plan, the National Health Service is working towards reducing the current maximum inpatient wait of 18 months to 15 months by March 2002, 12 months by March 2003, nine months by March 2004 and then ultimately six months by the end of 2005.

Patients waiting more than six months for admission to hospital as on 31 May 2001
Health authority	Number
West Kent	7.796
West Sussex	7,141
Avon	6,603
North Essex	6,537
Hertfordshire	6,167
East Sussex, Brighton and Hove	5,910

Patients waiting more than six months for admission to hospital as on 31 May 2001
Health authority	Number
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham	5,806
West Surrey	5,484
East Kent	5,348
Barnet, Enfield and Haringey	5,101
Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich	4,628
South Essex	4,571
Norfolk	4,481
Suffolk	4,406
Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East	4,380
Hampshire	—
Lincolnshire	4,028
Southampton and South West Hampshire	4,019
Cornwall and Isles of Silly	3,961
South and West Devon	3,929
Leeds	3,908
South Cheshire	3,896
Buckinghamshire	3,808
South Staffordshire	3,792
Redbridge and Waltham Forest	3,758
Berkshire	3,667
Salford and Trafford	3,587
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow	3,579
Northamptonshire	3,507
Wiltshire	3,491
Cambridgeshire	3,472
North and East Devon	3,448
North Yorkshire	3,434
East Riding and Hull	3,400
Barking and Havering	3,191
East London and City	3,171
Leicestershire	3,143
East Surrey	3,102
Wigan and Bolton	3,077
Bedfordshire	3,049
South Derbyshire	2,977
North Cheshire	2,973
East Lancashire	2,962
Somerset	2,954
Manchester	2,947
Oxfordshire	2,901
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth	2,778
Liverpool	2,702
North and Mid Hampshire	2,689
Worcestershire	2,664
Sheffield	2,496
Nottingham	2,465
Birmingham	2,419
Tees	2,398
Brent and Harrow	2,360
County Durham and Darlington	2,325
Bradford	2,262
Croydon	2,196
West Pennine	2,175
Kingston and Richmond	2,105
South Lancashire	2,019
Warwickshire	2,019
Wakefield	2,005
North West Lancashire	2,003
St. Helens and Knowsley	1,995
North Cumbria	1,976
Bury and Rochdale	1,894
South Humber	1,877
North Derbyshire	1,808
North Nottinghamshire	1,779
Sefton	1,769
Stockport	1.726
Gateshead and South Tyneside	1,690
Shropshire	1,657
Calderdale and Kirklees	1,618
Newcastle and North Tyneside	1,477
Morecambe Bay	1,412
Camden and Islington	1,367

Patients waiting more than six months for admission to hospital as on 31 May 2001
Health authority	Number
North Staffordshire	1,333
Gloucestershire	1,316
Sunderland	1,256
Hillingdon	1,096
Wirral	983
Northumberland	972
Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster	961
Dudley	875
Coventry	869
Wolverhampton	709
Herefordshire	693
Barnsley	588
Solihull	578
Sandwell	565
Doncaster	507
Rotherham	475
Walsall	399
Dorset	106

Patients waiting more than 12 months for admission to hospital as on 31 May 2001
Health authority	Number
West Sussex	1,816
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham	1,603
West Kent	1,551
West Surrey	1,522
Avon	1,436
Hertfordshire	1,353
North Essex	1,331
East Sussex, Brighton and Hove	1,160
East Kent	1,122
Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East	1,040
Hampshire
Barnet, Enfield and Haringey	1,040
Southampton and South West Hampshire	1,011
Norfolk	994
Salford and Trafford	849
Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich	839
Redbridge and Waltham Forest	811
South and West Devon	783
Buckinghamshire	777
East Surrey	754
Wiltshire	745
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow	726
Bedfordshire	725
South Staffordshire	721
North Cheshire	717
Manchester	697
North and East Devon	689
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly	685
Northamptonshire	623
South Cheshire	622
Suffolk	617
Croydon	606
Cambridgeshire	603
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth	594
Lincolnshire	561
East London and City	536
North and Mid Hampshire	530
Barking and Havering	521
Berkshire	516
Liverpool	504
South Essex	493
Oxfordshire	487
Wigan and Bolton	484
Kingston and Richmond	448
Brent and Harrow	439

Patients waiting more than 12 months for admission to hospital as on 31 May 2001
Health authority	Number
Worcestershire	414
Leeds	367
Leicestershire	364
Somerset	357
East Riding and Hull	321
St. Helens and Knowsley	319
Sefton	287
West Pennine	285
Shropshire	280
Camden and Islington	263
South Lancashire	258
Bury and Rochdale	258
Hillingdon	250
Stockport	248
Birmingham	238
North Staffordshire	225
South Derbyshire	212
Nottingham	195
North Cumbria	188
Morecame Bay	183
Wakefield	173
North West Lancashire	171
North Yorkshire	168
East Lancashire	154
Calderdale and Kirklees	148
Gloucestershire	131
Wirral	128
Newcastle and North Tyneside	112
Herefordshire	107
Tees	104
Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster	99
County Durham and Darlington	94
Bradford	88
Dudley	80
Coventry	77
Warwickshire	73
North Nottinghamshire	60
Sheffield	60
Northumberland	56
North Derbyshire	55
Gateshead and South Tyneside	43
Wolverhampton	43
Sunderland	38
South Humber	37
Sandwell	28
Walsall	27
Solihull	21
Barnsley	18
Dorset	12
Doncaster	9
Rotherham	8

Source:

QFO1 quarterly returns

Nhs Complaints Procedure

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 5 July 2001, Official Report, column 290W, on NHS complaints procedure, on what date his Department received the report from York Health Economics Consortium. [3562]

The final report of the national evaluation of the National Health Service complaints procedure by the York Health Economics Consortium and NFO System Three Social Research (formerly Public Attitude Surveys) was received by the Department on 28 February 2001.

Education And Skills

Teacher Vacancies

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teacher vacancies there were on 31 March (a) 2000 and (b) 1999, in each county of England and Wales. [2595]

[holding answer 9 July 2001]: The available information, showing vacancies at January each year, has been published in table 42 of the DIES publication "Statistics of Education: Teachers, England and Wales, 2000 edition". A copy is held in the House of Commons Library, and is also available on the DfES website at www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics/DB/VOL/v0220/ index.html.

Assessment

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the recent statement by the chief executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority on the current assessment system. [3119]

[holding answer 9 July 2001]: The chief executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) made a wide-ranging speech at the QCA Annual Conference on 26 June in which he made a number of observations about the possible future direction of the assessment system.QCA conducted a review of statutory assessment (ie at Key Stage 1, 2 and 3) last year at the request of Ministers. This review covered three areas: strengthening and improving the current tests; enhancing the role of ICT in the tests; and improving teachers' own skills in assessment. Ministers welcomed the range and scope of the recommendations which officials in QCA and the Department for Education and Skills are now taking forward.

Head Teachers' Forums

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the remit of the new head teachers' forums within local education authorities will be; what guidance her Department has issued to local education authorities on setting up these forums; and if she will make a statement. [3024]

[holding answer 10 July 2001]: My Department has no plans to establish head teachers' forums.

Free School Meals

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of children are entitled to free school meals in (a) Church of England schools, (b) Roman Catholic schools, (c) schools of other Christian denominations (d) other religious schools, (e) non religious foundation schools and (f) other maintained schools. [3164]

[holding answer 11 July 2001]: The information requested is shown in the table.

Maintained primary and secondary schools: percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals by religious character, January 2000
Religious character	Maintained primary schools	Maintained secondary schools
Church of England	12.2	11.8
Roman Catholic	17.2	16.5
Other religious schools¹	10.2	7.1
Non-religious schools	20.2	16.8
¹ Includes Methodist, shoots of mixed denomination or other Christian belief. Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and other religions.

Connexions Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many advisers have been recruited to date, and how many more will be recruited by 2005, to operate the Connexions Service; and if she will make a statement. [3365]

The 12 Partnerships that went live on 1 April 2001 are in a transition stage, building up their personal adviser staff from partner organisations, including the Careers Service and Youth Service and by recruitment of new staff. It is very early days, but preliminary figures reported by Partnerships at the end of May 2001 indicate that 991 full-time equivalent personal advisers were in post.The Connexions service will be rolled out nationally during 2002–03, but it has always been recognised that the service, including the number of personal advisers, would build up gradually over time. Significant additional funding—£177 million above the Careers Service baseline in 2000-01—has been announced for 2002–03. How this will translate into additional personal advisers will depend on a range of factors including locally determined rates of pay and the additional resources that Partnerships are able to secure from partner organisations. Funding for future years will be determined by the outcome of the CSR2002 exercise.

Further Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the contribution of the further education sector in raising the skills base in the United Kingdom. [2988]

[holding answer 9 July 2001]: The further education sector makes an essential contribution to delivering the skilled work force our nation requires. We are working to ensure that it is flexible and responsive to employers' changing skills needs. The sector plays a particularly important role in delivering the skills we need for craft, technician and equivalent level jobs—skills that are vital to raise our skills base and to boost productivity. Over recent years we have widened participation and increased achievements while maintaining retention rates. We have also seen significant improvements in performance and a reduction in variations in quality across the sector. Nevertheless, we have ambitions to achieve more. We have significantly increased the Standards Fund, to support raising standards in colleges, and we are spending £100 million over the next three years to develop Centres of Vocational Excellence in the sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of staff morale in the further education sector; and if she will make a statement. [2992]

[holding answer 9 July 2001]: The assessment of staff morale is a matter for colleges, as independent employers, to address in consultation with the relevant unions, just as the terms and conditions for staff are a matter for colleges to determine in discussion with relevant unions. We acknowledge that colleges need help to ensure that they have the right arrangements to recruit, reward and retain excellent teachers. Starting this year, significant extra resources amounting to an additional £300 million over the next three years have been made available to the further education sector to reward high calibre staff through our Teaching Pay Initiative, £44 million of which will be shared by sixth-form colleges. The total figure is over and above the annual pay round. In addition, we plan to implement arrangements for FE teachers of shortage subjects to benefit from 'golden hellos' comparable to those already in schools and from arrangements we are piloting to help new entrants to the profession to pay off their student loans.

Sure Start

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to authorise a further round of local sure start programmes. [3705]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills and I have today invited the following 105 districts in England d to set up 177 new sure start programmes:

District	Number of programmes
Amber Valley	1
Arun	1
Ashford	1
Barking and Dagenham	1
Barnsley	2
Barrow-in-Furness	1
Birmingham	6
Blackburn with Darwen	2
Blackpool	1
Bolton	2
Bradford	3
Brent	1
Bristol	1
Burnley	1
Calderdale	1
Cambridge	1
Camden	2
Cheltenham	1
Colchester	1
Coventry	1
Crawley	1
Crewe and Nantwich	1
Darlington	1
Dartford	1
Derby	2
Doncaster	3
Durham	1
Easington	1
Eastbourne	1
Erewash	1
Gateshead	2
Gedling	1
Gosport	1

District	Number of programmes
Gravesham	1
Great Yarmouth	1
Greenwich	2
Hackney	3
Halton	2
Hammersmith and Fulham	1
Haringey	3
Hartlepool	1
Hastings	1
Hyndburn	1
Islington	3
Kensington and Chelsea	1
Kettering	1
Kingston upon Hull	3
Kirklees	2
Knowsley	2
Lambeth	3
Leeds	2
Leicester	3
Lewisham	2
Lincoln	1
Liverpool	4
Manchester	4
Mansfield	1
Merton	1
Middlesbrough	2
Newcastle upon Tyne	3
Newham	4
North Cornwall	1
North East Lincolnshire	2
North Tyneside
Norwich	1
Nottingham	3
Oldham	2
Pendle	1
Penwith	1
Peterborough	1
Plymouth	2
Preston	2
Redcar and Cleveland	2
Rochdale	2
Rother	1
Rotherham	1
Salford	2
Sandwell	3
Sefton	2
Sheffield	3
South Tyneside	2
Southampton	1
Southwark	3
St. Helens	2
Stockton-on-Tees	2
Stoke-on-Trent	3
Sunderland	3
Tameside	1
Taunton Deane	1
Teignbridge	1
Thanet	1
Torbay	1
Torridge	1
Tower Hamlets	3
Wakefield	1
Walsall	2
Waltham Forest	1
Wansbeck	1
Wear Valley	1
Wellingborough	1
Westminster	1
Wirral	1
Wolverhampton	2
Worcester	1
York	1

We have placed a copy of the guidance for this fifth wave of programmes in the Library.

These new programmes are an addition to the 260 programmes which are already delivering services to young children and their families in disadvantaged areas or developing their plans for delivery from the autumn. This announcement brings the total number of sure start programmes so far announced to 437. They will become operational from summer 2002 when we will be well on schedule to meet the Public Service Agreement target of 500 programmes operating by 2004, reaching one third of all poor children aged under four and their families in England. This will be a significant contribution to the Government's aim of eradicating child poverty by 2020.

Home Department

Extraditions

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals have been extradited from the United Kingdom in each of the last five years. [2528]

No record is kept of the nationalities of those extradited from the United Kingdom. Total numbers extradited from the United Kingdom in each of the last five years are as follows:

Year	Total
2000	¹47
1999	38
1998	45
1997	43
1996	35
¹ The figure for 2000 does not include one further fugitive who was delivered to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

The figures relate to extraditions under the Extradition Act 1989 and do not include cases governed by the provisions of the Backing of Warrants (Republic of Ireland) Act 1965. The latter are not collected centrally.

Economic Crime

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department is taking to combat economic crime; and if he will make a statement. [2687]

The Government fully recognise the harm which economic crime inflicts on its victims, not only in terms of the financial loss but in terms of the frustration and inconvenience caused. Living off the proceeds of crime cannot be tolerated in a fair and just society, and the Government are determined that crime should not pay.The Proceeds of Crime Bill, which was announced in the Queen's Speech, will attack the profit motive which drives organised criminals. The Bill will contain measures to deprive people of money and property which they have obtained through criminal activity. These measures include reforming confiscation procedures and modernising the criminal law on money laundering and the creation of a new agency, the National Confiscation Agency (NCA), which will co-ordinate the activity of the police, Customs, the Inland Revenue and prosecutors to remove assets obtained illegally and to encourage international co-operation in this. Removing illegal gains from criminals not only acts as a deterrent but reduces their ability to fund further crime.A large proportion of economic crime involves credit card fraud. The Home Office is currently working closely with the financial institutions and the retail sector to reduce credit card fraud by the introduction of chip cards and personal identification numbers as security safeguards. My right hon. Friend the Minister of State responsible for policing of crime and community safety will be chairing a meeting with senior members of these industries to discuss credit card fraud issues later this month.In addition to this, a working group led by the Serious Fraud Office has been formed to investigate how we can improve the overall response to fraud. The group will be reporting to Ministers later in the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made for the cost of (a) credit card fraud, (b) other fraud and (c) all economic crime in each of the last six years. [2686]

The information is as follows:

(a) The banking industry (the Association of Payment Clearing Services) estimated that the cost of total reported losses due to credit card fraud in each of the last six years was:

	£ million
1995	83.3
1996	97.1
1997	122.0
1998	135.0
1999	188.4
2000	292.6

(b) A report commissioned by the Home Office and the Serious Fraud Office entitled 'The Economic Cost of Fraud' (copies of which have been placed in the Library) was published in March 2000 by National Economic Research Associates. This report recognised that the available data were patchy and infrequently gathered, but offered a low estimate of £6.6 billion and a high estimate of £13.6 billion for the total economic cost of other fraud (excluding credit card fraud) for the year ending 1999. These estimates include amounts defrauded, investigation and deterrence costs

(c) There is no accepted definition of "economic crime". However, Home Office Research Study no. 217 "The economic and social cost of crime" (copies of which have been placed in the Library) estimated that in total, fraud, commercial and public sector victimisation and property crimes against households and individuals cost around £32 billion in 1999–2000. Estimates have not been made for previous years.

Privacy Screens

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide finance for privacy screens in cells which are used for eating, sleeping and integral sanitation. [2842]

In June this ye; r the Prison Service approved funding of £1 million for a programme to install privacy screening in 6,500 or so cells across its estate currently without such provision. Arrangements are in hand to manufacture the screens to the newly approved standard. A programme of installation is expected to begin in this financial year and take about 12 months to complete.

Office Of The Immigration Services Commissioner

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) individuals and (b) organisations giving immigration advice for profit are registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner; and how many such organisations are in the process of registering with the OISC; [3299](2) what the planned total expenditure budget is of the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner in 2001–02; [3301](3) what the projected total income budgets of the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner are for

(a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; [3302]

(4) how many complaints against an immigration adviser have been (a) received and (b) determined by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner since 30 April; [3303]

(5) if he will provide a breakdown of the staff complement of the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. [3300]

I understand that, as of 10 July 2001, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) had received 150 registration applications from immigration advisers in business for profit. Of these, 94 were from sole practitioners, of which 55 are now registered, and 56 were from organisations comprising two or more practitioners, of which 43 are now registered. Forty-nine applications are still under consideration; three have been withdrawn.The OISC total expenditure budget for the current financial year awaits approval by the relevant Minister of State. I will write to the hon. MemberAs of 10 July, the OISC had received 56 complaints since 30 April, of which five have been determined.In addition to the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, the OISC currently employs 46 people, broken down as follows:

	Number
Casework	21
Complaints	9
Registry	4
Support	12
Total	46

Based on the number of registration applications received so far, it is expected that total income from registration fees this financial year will be around £400,000. This may increase, depending on how many more registration applications are received. Registration fee income is expected to be broadly similar in 2002–03 but this will be augmented by fees from designated professional bodies, which are to be set by the Secretary of State after the first full year of the OISC' s operation.

Anti-Drugs Co-Ordinator

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the future role of the UK Anti-drugs Co-ordinator and his deputy. [193]

[holding answer 25 June 2001]: We are currently in the process of re-appointing Keith Hellawell to a part-time role assisting with the investigation of, and advice on, international drug-related issues. Mike Trace, the former Deputy Co-ordinator, has taken a short-term appointment with the National Treatment Agency and will also continue to provide advice on relevant issues.

Feltham Young Offenders Prison

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were employed at Feltham Young Offenders Prison in each of the last five years. [3128]

The information requested is set out in the table.

Full-time equivalents
	Number of staff in post at 31 March
1997	523.7
1998	538.7
1999	518.4
2000	622.6
2001	627.8

Natural Cannabis

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to re-schedule natural cannabis for medicinal use. [2371]

[holding answer 9 July 2001]: We have no plans at present. The Government have made it clear that they would be willing to amend the misuse of drugs legislation, to allow the prescribing of a cannabis-based medicine, if current clinical trials into the therapeutic benefits of cannabis are scientifically established and lead to a medical preparation which is approved by the Medicines Control Agency (MCA).It would be premature to amend the legislation unless and until the quality, safety and efficacy of such a medicine have been demonstrated and a marketing authorisation has been issued for it by the MCA.

Aircraft Accidents

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines and procedures govern the ability to hold an inquest in respect of (a) military aircraft accidents and (b) civil aircraft accidents (i) in advance of and (ii) following an air accident inquiry report. [3176]

It is a matter for the coroner to decide on the conduct of his or her investigations and to proceed to an inquest. Where a death arises from a civil aircraft accident, the coroner will generally seek to ensure that inquiries are informed by any relevant reports or written statements from other agencies, including the Air Accidents Investigation Branch and, in relation to military aircraft, any reports produced by a Ministry of Defence Board of Inquiry.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the number of antisocial behaviour orders that have been successfully sought since their introduction. [612]

[pursuant to his reply, 2 July 2001, c.7]: The figures for antisocial behaviour orders issued between 1 April 1999 and 31 March 2001 have been revised from 214 to 215 and the number of police force areas where such orders have been issued now stands at 34 not 33.

Forensic Science Service

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will lay before Parliament the annual report for the Forensic Science Service. [4240]

Copies of the Forensic Science Service's Annual Report and Accounts for 2000–01 have today been laid before Parliament.

Performance against Agency Targets 2000–01:

The Forensic Science Service had eight targets in 2000–01, of which seven were met.

Financial targets:

An 11 per cent. return on capital employed was produced against a target of 10–15 per cent.

A three-year rolling efficiency gain of 9 per cent. was achieved against a target of 10 per cent. However, there has been a 10 per cent. improvement in efficiency gain in the last two years since Trading Fund.

Timeliness targets:

An average turnaround time of 26 days was achieved against a target of 27 days; this target was rebased from the original target of 24 days to take account of the change in mix of business and work content per job.

93 per cent. of agreed delivery dates were achieved against a target of 90 per cent.

A feasibility study on a target to achieve 99 per cent. agreed delivery dates on cases classified as urgent or critical was successfully piloted. As a result, an agreement was reached with the Association of Chief Police Officers on the definition of critical cases and procedures implemented to ensure cases submitted are correctly prioritised.

Service level target:

Three service level agreements, three best value agreements and 27 drugs best value agreements have been put in place with police forces.

Customer satisfaction target:

Improvements in customer satisfaction have been shown in a pilot of a transactional-based approach. This will be introduced as an Agency Target next year.

Quality targets:

External quality accreditation has been achieved and extended, including achieving the Investors in People award.

Agency Targets for 2001–02:

The targets for 2001–02, the agency's third year of trading fund, are as follows:

Financial targets:

Achieve a 10 per cent return on capital employed.

Achieve a 3-year rolling target of a minimum 10 per cent. efficiency gain.

Timeliness targets:

Achieve a 26 day average turnaround time.

Meet agreed delivery dates in 97 per cent. urgent and critical, 100 per cent. of Persistent Young Offenders.

Achieve 93 per cent. of agreed delivery dates in all categories.

Service level targets:

Put in place agreements on levels of service with 90 per cent. of police forces.

Customer Satisfaction targets:

Establish a baseline overall measure putting into place routine and robust customer satisfaction measurement processes based on transactional approach, and for demonstrating year on year improvements in police (customer) satisfaction.

Conduct a biennial customer satisfaction survey.

Quality targets:

Maintain external quality accreditation to International Standards Organisation (ISO) standards.

Achieve 50 per cent. accreditation to the Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners in areas which it is registering people.

Trade And Industry

Communications White Paper

14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she plans to introduce legislation to implement the reforms to the regulatory structure proposed in the communications White Paper. [2045]

I am pleased to announce that this afternoon the Government will introduce in another place the Office of Communications Bill. This Bill will be a paving measure related to the draft Communications Bill that was announced in the Queen's speech. The Communications Bill itself will be published in draft later this session.

Manufacturing Industry

15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken by her Department to support manufacturing industry. [2047]

34.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken by her Department to support manufacturing industry. [2068]

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 industry.

Industrial Diseases (Compensation)

16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress on the settlement of claims for compensation for chronic bronchitis, emphysema and vibration white finger. [2048]

My hon. Friend the "Minister for Industry and Energy has recently visited the respiratory disease testing centres in Newport and Ayr, as well as the Department's claims handling agents in Sheffield, to meet some of the 1,000 medical and claims processing staff employed by our contractors in the settlement of these claims and to discuss the progress that has been made over the last six months.In total we have now paid out nearly £470 million in compensation for respiratory and vibration related diseases, with over £33 million being paid in Scotland alone.

Offshore Oil And Gas Production

17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the level of new capital investment in UK offshore oil and gas production to date this year. [2050]

The latest figures provided by the industry show capital investment in UK oil and gas production at some £860 million for the first quarter of 2001. This is 37 per cent. higher than investment in the first quarter of 2000, giving encouragement that the efforts of the Government/industry PILOT initiative are bearing fruit.

Women (Public Life)

18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to ensure Government Departments encourage more women to participate in public life. [2052]

We are determined to achieve more equal representation of men and women in public appointments. Each Government Department has an action plan containing clear goals and objectives to help them achieve this aim. I will be encouraging my ministerial colleagues throughout Government to ensure that their Departments meets its goals.We are also committed to preparing legislation to enable political parties to make positive moves to increase the representation of women in public life.

Energy Supply

19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on long-term changes in sources of UK energy supply. [2053]

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 25 June 2001, Official Report, column 18W, that he has asked the performance and innovation unit to undertake a review of the options for meeting our long-term energy objectives. A key issue will be ensuring continued security and diversity of energy supplies over the long term, while addressing the challenge of climate change. I shall be chairing an Advisory Group for the project which will report to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister by the end of the year.It would therefore be premature for me to make a statement on the long-term changes in sources of UK energy supply now.

Renewable Energy

20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on support for the renewables energy industries. [2054]

The Renewables Obligation on licensed electricity suppliers will provide a strong regulatory and financial incentive to the renewable energy industries. An order setting up the Obligation will be placed before Parliament later this year.The Government have exempted electricity from renewable energy from the climate change levy and are also providing over £260 million of direct financial support over the next three years for research, development and deployment of renewable energy technologies.

Broadband Telecommunications (Rural Areas)

21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the availability of broadband telecommunications in rural areas. [2055]

The Government have made a commitment to work to ensure that broadband is accessible in all parts of the country. In May, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced a major new project to determine how to speed up the roll-out of broadband services to individuals and businesses in rural and other areas that individual suppliers currently see as uncommercial. The project will establish how, by aggregating the public sector's demand for broadband services, we can best encourage telecoms companies to roll out broadband infrastructure to these "hard to reach" areas.

Parliamentary Candidates (Women)

22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to increase the number of women candidates for Parliament. [2056]

We have a made a commitment to prepare legislation to enable political parties to make positive moves to increase the representation of women in public life.

Minimum Wage (Wales)

23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of how the national minimum wage is benefiting people in Wales. [2057]

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that 100,000 workers in Wales became entitled to a higher rate of pay when the national minimum wage (NMW) was introduced on 1 April 1999. The ONS estimates that around 90,000 workers in Wales will benefit from the increases in the NMW main rate and development rate to £4.10 and hour and £3.50 respectively on 1 October 2001.

Miners' Compensation

24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking to speed up coal-related compensation payments in the former east Kent coalfield area. [2058]

As my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Mrs. Liddell), informed my hon. Friend at the end of last year, we recognise that the start-up of the respiratory disease scheme was too slow. We took a number of initiatives to tackle this and get money out more quickly.Significant progress is now being made, and since the beginning of the year the number of medical assessments GB-wide has risen to around 830 a week, with the total number increasing from 8,500 in January to over 24,000 now.In the south of England alone we paid out nearly £7 million in compensation for respiratory and vibration related diseases.

Scientific Research Councils

25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to review the joint workings of the scientific Research Councils. [2059]

A quinquennial review of the six grant-awarding Research Councils was announced by my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 13 February 2001, Official Report, columns 82–83W. This review is in progress, and expects to report in the early autumn. The councils are being reviewed together as a group. One of the issues under consideration is how to encourage joint working among the councils, both at a strategic and operational level.

Retail Businesses (Town Centres)

26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking to encourage new retail businesses to start up in town centres. [2060]

The Small Business Service, through the networks of 45 Business Links, encourages entrepreneurship across society and is placing particular emphasis on start-ups and micro-businesses. Business Link advisers are actively involved in helping such start-ups, including new retail businesses and in so doing address various factors, including finding a suitable location. This is often done in partnership with local authorities, who will have a detailed knowledge of town centre sites.

Consumer Protection

27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what further steps her Department is taking to protect the interests of consumers. [2061]

The Enterprise Bill will promote the interests of consumers through creating a more enterprising economy, taking swift action against rogue traders and clamping down on anti-competitive practices.

Coal Industry

28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the future of UK deep-mined coal in the context of competitive energy markets. [2062]

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 25 June 2001, Official Report, column 18W, that he has asked the Performance and Innovation Unit to undertake a review of the options for meeting our long-term energy objectives. We will examine all aspects of energy policy, including the role of coal in our future energy balance. I shall be chairing an Advisory Group for the project which will report to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister by the end of the year. It would therefore be premature for me to make a statement on the future of UK deep-mined coal now.

Hat Industry

29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the UK hat industry about its prospects. [2063]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has not yet had an opportunity to discuss competitiveness issues with representatives of the UK hat industry but I can confirm that the Chairman of the British Hat Guild wrote to my right hon. Friend on the 19 June informing her of the problems facing the industry and seeking financial support.Officials in the Department's Consumer Goods and Services Directorate have been in dialogue with the Guild and as part of that process had a meeting with the Guild earlier this year. Officials are currently updating a competitiveness analysis of the sector with a view to identifying appropriate project opportunities for the Guild to develop. The letter from the Guild Chairman contributes to developing and continuing this constructive dialogue.

Climate Change Levy

30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received from business about the impact of the climate change levy on business. [2064]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given earlier today by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for E-Commerce and Competitiveness to the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess), Official Report, column 914.

Mobile Telephones

31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with Oftel concerning the cost of landline to mobile telephone connections. [2065]

Oftel and DTI Ministers regularly discuss their respective responsibilities for telecommunications. In this context, the Director General of Telecommunications has briefed me on current Oftel issues. These include Oftel's mobile market review and calls to mobile review. Landline to mobile telephone connections costs are covered in the latter. A decision on this issue is solely a matter for Oftel

Gas Prices

32.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of increased non-domestic gas prices upon UK manufacturing. [2066]

The Government are very much aware that, despite the recent easing of wholesale gas prices, many manufacturing companies have seen a substantial increase in their gas bills over the past year. We consider that the main reason behind this price increase is arbitrage across the UK-Belgian interconnector with high oil related gas prices in Europe. This has been made worse by the lack of liberalisation in Europe and the consequent absence of competition between gas suppliers.The Government are pressing a three-point strategy to address this issue—working for greater liberalisation in Europe, improving the GB market, and taking action against any anti-competitive behaviour.

Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises

33.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken to provide support to small and medium-sized enterprise. [2067]

The Government's support for small and medium enterprises is delivered through the Small Business Service, which was created in April 2000 to act as the focal point within Government for all small business issues and services. During its first year, it has developed a number of new services in areas such as venture capital, support for farmers and services to tackle social exclusion and encourage enterprise. It has restructured the local Business Link network and developed a national Business Link network and developed a national Business Link contact centre and website. It has also ensured that the concerns of small firms are understood and promoted within Government. It will be further developing and extending these services in the current year.

Trade Unions

35.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she last met representatives of the TUC to discuss trade unions. [2070]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry met Mr. John Monks, General Secretary of the TUC, on Monday 11 June.

Huntingdon Life Sciences

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and industry what plans she has to publish details of her Department's financial support for Huntingdon Life Sciences; what precedent she intends her support to set; and if she will make a statement. [2322]

My Department has undertaken to operate banking facilities for Huntingdon Life Sciences, which—owing to intimidation of bank staff by animal rights extremists—has been unable to find commercial facilities in the UK, while negotiations with banks continue. It is not giving overdraft facilities or other financial support to Huntingdon Life Sciences. My Department will be recovering the direct costs of providing this service from the company.My Department is operating the banking facilities in particularly unusual circumstances. The intimidation and harassment of providers of financial services to a particular company carrying out a legitimate and strictly regulated business is, the Government believe, unique. It is not intended that Government should become a "supplier of last resort" for any company that experiences temporary difficulties. However, the Government as a whole are determined that vital research and safety testing should not be disrupted and legitimate businesses should not be forced out of business by the criminal activities of animal extremists.

Petrol Retailing

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent analysis she has made of the state of competitiveness within the petrol retailing sector. [2049]

Under UK Competition legislation, the Director General of Fair Trading is responsible for monitoring markets and considering allegations of anti-competitive behaviour.The DGFT has investigated the petrol retail industry a number of times in recent years and has found it to be competitive. He has said that he will continue to monitor the market very closely.

Compulsory Share Purchase

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is her estimate of the value of shares which privatised companies were given the power to obtain compulsorily but which the shareholder refused to sell since 1991; what has happened to those shares and what the arrangements are under which they are held; what plans the Government have to end this compulsion element; and if she will make a statement. [2721]

No figures relating to the value of shares in privatised companies which have been compulsorily purchased under the terms of the Companies Act 1985 are readily available and any estimate of the value could only be ascertained at disproportionate cost. Shareholders who have refused to sell shares which have been subject to a compulsory purchase notice will have had their shares transferred to the purchaser and the money to buy the shares held in trust until it is paid over to them.The compulsory purchase of shares has been considered by the Company Law Review. The Review's conclusions will be set out in its final report which is due to be published in the summer.

Consumers' Rights

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to promote consumers' rights. [2042]

The Enterprise Bill will promote the interests of consumers through creating a more enterprising economy, taking swift action against rogue traders and clamping down on anti-competitive practices.

Retail Code Of Practice

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she has taken to implement a retail code of practice; and if she will make a statement. [2945]

[holding answer 9 July 2001]: In its October 2000 report on the supply of groceries, the Competition Commission recommended that a code of practice be established governing the way leading supermarkets treated their suppliers. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry asked the Director General of Fair Trading to agree a code with the relevant supermarkets. He has recently submitted his advice to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

Cheque Shops

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proposals she has for monitoring the operations of cheque shops. [3061]

[holding answer 11 July 2001]: This is a matter for the Director General of Fair Trading.

Money Lenders

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received about extortionate credit; and if she will make a statement on her policy in this area. [3057]

[holding answer 11 July 2001]: My Department has received many representations on this issue, mainly from consumer groups. I recognise that it is vital that consumers are protected against exploitative lending practices and I am now considering what action the Government can take to ensure this.

Work And Pensions

Working Families Tax Credit

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many Housing Benefit recipients are in receipt of Working Families Tax Credit; [1564](2) what assessment he has made of the impact on the estimated number of Housing Benefit claimants also in receipt of Working Families Tax Credit, if the Working Families Tax Credit threshold was increased to

(a) £120, (b) £150 and (c) £200. [1565]

Details of the number of people claiming the Working Families Tax Credit who also receive Housing Benefit will be included in the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Annual Summary Statistics May 2000. These will be published on 26 July 2001 and a copy will be placed in the Library.These figures will be the first drawn from actual claims data. Any estimates made in advance of their publication will be substantially less accurate.Estimates of the change in numbers of Housing Benefit recipients also in receipt of the Working Families Tax Credit caused by hypothetical changes to the Working Families Tax Credit threshold can be derived from the Department's Policy Simulation Model (2001–02). This information is in the table.

Estimated number of recipients of both Housing Benefit and Working Families Tax Credit
Working Families Tar Credit threshold	Number
£120	30,000
£150	50,000
£200	70,000

Notes:

1. The estimated number of Housing Benefit and Working Families Tax Credit recipients is rounded to the nearest 10,000.

2. The estimates calibrate survey totals using the numbers of non-Income Support working age families [with earnings] receiving Housing Benefit picked up on the Policy Simulation Model compared to administrative data, as a proxy for the Working Families Tax Credit and Housing Benefit group.

Housing Benefit Fraud

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the estimates of Housing Benefit fraud detected, expressed is a proportion of Housing Benefit expenditure for each local authority for 1999–2000, will be released. [2261]

The weekly benefit savings scheme provides a measure of benefit fraud detected by local authorities. A table providing the information requested expressed in terms of weekly benefit savings for the year 1999–2000 has been placed in the Library.We have announced that the weekly benefit savings scheme is to be replaced by a new, more comprehensive anti-fraud incentive scheme which aims to provide greater financial rewards to authorities which uncover more fraud and prosecute fraudsters. The new incentive scheme will also make extra prevision for those local authorities who operate the Department's Verification Framework. 63 local authorities lave adopted the new scheme from April 2001 with the remaining local authorities switching to the new scheme from April 2002.

New Deal

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of those aged over 50 years in each region and nation of the UK have returned to work with the support of the New Deal for the over-50s programme. [3091]

The information is in the table:

Results of the New Deal 50+ programme (April 2000-May 2001)
Region	Number returning to work
Northern	2,300
North West	4,700
Yorkshire and the Humber	4,300
West Midlands	3,700
East Midlands and Eastern	4,300
South West	4,000
London and the South East	7,700
Scotland	4,900
Wales	2,900
Northern Ireland	800

Notes:

1. All figures are rounded to the nearest hundred

2. The Department for Work and Pensions is not responsible for the operation of the New Deal 50 + in Northern Ireland

Incapacity Benefit

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage and how many Incapacity Benefit claimants were re-tested after (a) six months, (b) 12 months, (c) 18 months, (d) two years and (e) three years in the period April 1995 to June 2001. [3157]

[holding answer 10 July 2001]: Information on the number of people claiming Incapacity Benefit who are re-tested is not collected separately.

Eltec

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the assets and financial surpluses that were transferred from ELTEC to the Learning and Skills Council for Lancashire. [3441]

I have been asked to reply.East Lancashire TEC (ELTEC) has transferred £7,000 worth of its computers and other equipment to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) for Lancashire as well as providing similar support to the new Business Link in Lancashire. The transfer of any c ash surpluses will be finalised after the TEC has completed its statutory accounts for the year ended March 2001 and appointed a liquidator to wind up the company.Current estimates suggest that some £1.4 million will be made available to the Lancashire LSC to take forward local initiatives in east Lancashire and a further £1.3 million will go to support Individual Learning Accounts for local people.

Environment, Food And Rural Affairs

Sheep Quota

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with her European counterparts regarding the possibility of buying up sheep quota. [1714]

We have had no discussions with the Commission on buying up sheep quotas. We will be discussing more generally with the Commission the problems of the sheep market as a result of foot and mouth disease.

Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire will receive a reply to his letter of 9 April on behalf of his constituent Ms Halford. [3566]

I replied to the letter from the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire on 10 July 2001.

Fur Farming

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will issue the order that will specify the deadline for the end of fur farming. [3143]

[holding answer 10 July 2001]: The Government anticipate that the commencement order setting the date of the ban on fur farming under the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000 will be made at the same time as the order setting out the details of the compensation scheme. This is expected to be later this year, following consultation on the compensation scheme during the summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fur farms are (a) licensed and (b) currently operating in England and Wales; and if he will list their locations by county. [3144]

[holding answer 10 July 2001]: As at 9 July 2001, there were the following mink farms in England:

County	Number of licensed mink farms	Number of licensed mink farms currently operating
Cornwall	1	—
Dorset	1	—
Hampshire	1	1
Isle of Wight	1	—
Lancashire	5	4
Northumberland	1	—
Staffordshire	1	—
West Yorkshire	1	1
Total	12	6

The number of fur farms in Wales is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales. However, I understand that there are currently no licensed fur farms in Wales.

Departmental Title Change Costs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate is of the total cost of (a) design, (b) stationery, (c) new name plaques and (d) other costs of the naming of her Department; and if she will make a statement. [3032]

[holding answer 10 July 2001]: Our records currently show the following expenditure as being related to the naming of the New Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

£
(a) Design	Conceptual design and graphics	4,200
(b) Stationery	Print-related expenditure	21,804
(c) New name plaques	New name plaques	4,763
(d) Miscellaneous	Production, installation of signage and photographic charges	1,977
	Forms control costs (including software)	950
	The preparation of designs, graphics manufacture and the production of signage with alternative departmental names, which were not chosen.	14,798

Note:

All expenditure is in sterling and exclusive of VAT.

Foot And Mouth

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will make a statement on the causes and transmission of the foot and mouth epidemic. [1668]

[holding answer 3 July 2001]: The current epidemic has been caused by a specific strain of the foot and mouth virus (PanAsian Strain O) which has occurred in a number of countries around the world. The precise means of the introduction of the virus into Great Britain is unknown and the subject of continuing investigations, but is most likely to have been introduced in imported meat or meat products. The virus was primarily transmitted throughout a large proportion of the susceptible farm livestock population of Great Britain via sales of subclinically infected sheep through markets, via dealers and local sales between farms before 23 February when all animal movements were banned. The specific means of transmission between herds and flocks has been the subject of detailed epidemiological investigations of each infected premises. The results of these investigations are summarised in the following table.

	Number of cases	Percentage of cases
Airborne¹	7	³1
Dairy tanker	5	³1
Infected animals	84	5
Local spread	1,381	81
Other fomite²	9	1
Person	60	4
Truck	18	1
Under investigation	142	8
Total	1,706	100
¹ Cases infected by windborne spread from infected pigs
² A fomite is defined as any inanimate object capable of carrying the virus
³ Less than

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of the proposal to prevent the movement of new animals from a farm for 20 days during the short market season, on farmers owning rams and breeding sheep; and if she will make a statement. [2670]

A standstill would have slowed down the rapid livestock movements that helped spread foot and mouth disease. The Government are reviewing their proposals in the light of responses to the consultation exercise; they have decided to make this issue part of a total approach to future disease control, which will also include biosecurity, animal identification and licensing. This will allow fuller veterinary and economic assessments to be carried out. In the meantime, current movement licensing controls will continue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the verification procedures used in countries with foot and mouth disease to ensure that meat exported to the United Kingdom from the non-infected part of the country is not contaminated. [2748]

Community law requires any member state that has an outbreak of foot and mouth disease not to export fresh meat from within an infected area to any other member state. Responsibility for ensuring compliance lies with the competent authority of the affected member state. For third countries, EC rules require exports of all foot and mouth disease susceptible products to be accompanied by veterinary health certification that guarantees that the meat does not come from a region infected with foot and mouth disease. All imports from third C3untries of foot and mouth disease susceptible products must enter through UK Border Inspection Posts where they undergo checks to verify they comply with Community import conditions. It is the responsibility of the Food and Veterinary Office of the European Commission by means of inspection visits to ensure that member states are complying with Community law and that third countries have in place appropriate disease control measures to ensure they meet Community import conditions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs what inspections her officials have made of countries with foot and mouth disease which are exporting meat and meat products to the United Kingdom; and if she will place the inspector's report in the Library. [2749]

The responsibility for animal and public health inspections of member states and third countries which export meat and meat products to the EU lies with the Food and Veterinary Office of the European Commission. The report of their inspections, which may include countries which have foot and mouth disease are available from the Commission's website at the following address: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/inspections/vi/reports/index_en.html.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the countries which have had foot and mouth disease in the last six months from which Britain is importing meat or meat products. [2747]

The following countries have had outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in the six-month period from 1 January 2001 and may export meat and meat products into the European Community including Great Britian:

Brazil
Uruguay
South Africa
France
The Netherlands
Republic of Ireland.

"Vipers"

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place in the Library the report entitled "Vipers", which was presented to the EU in August 2000. [2770]

My officials would be happy to assist the right hon. Member but it is regretted that a thorough search has been found no trace of a report entitled "Vipers" presented to the EU in August 2000. If the right hon. Member could provide further information my officials would be happy to look into this matter.

Petrol Safety

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many underground storage tanks are considered to be at risk of leakage in the UK. [1580]

I have been asked to reply.The Environment Agency estimates that there are approximately 14,000 petrol stations in England and Wales with some 60,000–70,000 underground storage tanks. The risk of leakage at these facilities not only from the storage tanks but also pipework and pump delivery systems, including delivery of fuel to the site. HSE does not have information on the number of underground storage tanks at risk of leakage in the UK. However, local authority petroleum enforcement officers issue licences under the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928 to retail petrol outlets to ensure the safe storage of petrol. Conditions attached to these licences specify arrangements to prevent and detect leaks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to introduce a new licensing agreement for petrol retailers using underground storage tanks. [1590]

I have been asked to reply.HSE has no plans to establish new licensing arrangements but this topic will form part of the review currently being conducted into modernising petrol legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many leakages from underground storage tanks have been reported in each of the past five years; how many have resulted in prosecution; how many have caused environmental damage; and if she will make a statement. [1583]

I have been asked to reply.

HSE does not collect statistics on how many leakages from underground storage tanks have been reported. The Environment Agency's prosecution database runs only from January 1999 and does not provide narrative in respect of prosecutions. The failure to report leakage or the fact of such leakage from a storage tank would not therefore be specifically identified and case-by-case information would be disproportionately expensive to obtain. If leakage from a petrol tank occurred a prosecution would be likely to be based on the leakage itself and the resulting pollution or a breach of a licence condition.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to commission a full condition audit of underground storage tanks in the UK; and if she will make a statement. [1578]

I have been asked to reply.HSE and the Environment Agency have no plans to commission a full condition audit of all underground storage tanks in the UK. There are a number of Environment Agency initiatives aimed at preventing pollution from such tanks and associated facilities. In general, these approaches focus on factors such as the condition of the facility, their age and environmental sensitivity, and the potential consequences of leakage in Environment Agency groundwater protection zones. In addition, local authority petroleum enforcement officers issue licences under the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928 to retail petrol outlets to ensure the safe storage of petrol. Conditions attached to these licences specify arrangements to prevent and detect leaks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many field visits and inspections were made by environmental health officers to petrol retail outlets using underground storage tanks during each of the past five years. [1581]

I have been asked to reply.HSE does not collect statistics on the number of field visits and inspections made by environmental health officers to petrol retail outlets using underground storage tanks. Local authority petroleum officers issue licences under the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928 to petrol retail outlets to ensure the safe storage of petrol.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will establish a new petroleum authority (a) to regulate and (b) license companies providing offsite wetstock monitoring to ensure they have adequate professional indemnity insurance. [1576]

I have been asked to reply.HSE has no plans to establish new petroleum authorities but this topic will form part of the review currently being conducted into modernising petrol legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received proposing the introduction of a regulatory regime for underground storage tanks used by petrol retailers; and if she will make a statement. [1589]

I have been asked to reply.

HSE has not received any representations about the introduction of a regulatory regime for underground storage tanks but this topic will form part of the review currently being conducted into modernising petrol legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what financial aid is available to small independent petrol retailers to help upgrade underground storage tanks and pipes to avoid future leakages; and if she will make a statement. [1579]

I have been asked to reply.There is no financial help available in England and Wales. The Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise do offer assistance through the Rural Petrol Stations Grant Scheme, which is aimed at improving the environmental performance of such sites, by replacement and upgrade. Grants are available up to 50 per cent. of the cost of work. They are able to do this because Environmental protection is a devolved power (to Scotland).

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will issue a code of practice for petrol retailers using underground storage tanks from which site managers can benchmark their performance. [1972]

I have been asked to reply.DEFRA is currently preparing a Code of Practice, with a view to public consultation, which should help petrol retailers comply with the requirements of the groundwater regulations as they impact on the storage of petrol in underground tanks. It is intended that the Code of Practice will be issued in due course. In addition, there is substantial guidance material available in the Institute of Petroleum/Association for Petrol and Explosive Administrators' document "Guidance for the Design, Construction, Modification and Maintenance of Petrol Filling Stations".

Transport, Local Government And The Regions

Railtrack

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what progress has been made by Railtrack in the creation of an in-house comparator for engineering work. [1021]

Railtrack has acknowledged that changes are needed to its relationship with its contractors as part of its new approach to infrastructure engineering. I understand that the company is undertaking a full review of this contractual interface, to establish what changes are needed to clarify responsibilities for safe and effective delivery, which asset management activities Railtrack should continue to outsource, and which can be managed more effectively by bringing them in-house.

A565

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to maintain the A565 between Bootle and the Seaforth flyover. [3250]

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

Letter from Tim Matthews to Mrs. Curtis-Thomas, dated 12 July 2001:

The Transport Minister, David Jamieson, has asked me to reply to your recent question about plans to maintain the A565 trunk road between Bootle and the Seaforth Flyover.

I am aware of your previous concerns about the appearance of the A565—which is currently a trunk road maintained by this Agency. As you may I know, we have announced proposals to "detrunk" this section of the A565 and it is planned that ownership and management responsibility for the road will transfer to the Local Authority, Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, by June 2003. Until then we will continue to maintain the road through our Managing Agent, Lancashire County Council's Highways Consultancy.

In my letter of 6 February (copy enclosed) I said that we intended to work with Sefton's Cleaning Services Manager to improve the standard of street sweeping and litter removal. Unfortunately, progress on improving the appearance of the Bootle to Seaforth Flyover section of the read has not been as swift as I would have liked, for which I apologise. We have inspected this stretch of road on several occasions since I wrote to you. The only significant issue concerns the ongoing problems with the standard of sweeping and cleaning of the road provided by Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council. As a result, we have, as an extra measure, instructed our Term Maintenance Contractor, Edmund Nuttall Ltd., to remove all weeds by hand and to clear the detritus within the next fortnight. In addition to this, we are in discussion with the Council's Cleaning Services Manager with regards to road sweeping and cleaning. Regular cleaning is important to inhibit weed growth, preventing the build up of material that allows them to grow, and increasing the effectiveness of spraying them. We expect to see improvements to the road's appearance as a result of these measures in the near future.

If you would like any further information about this matter, you may wish to contact the Agency's Project Sponsor for this section of route, Alex Millet, as Sunley Tower, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester, M1 4BE (telephone 0161 930 5627).

Mobile Phone Masts

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress concerning the revision of planning rules and guidelines for mobile phone masts. [3150]

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Oaten) on 2 July 2001, Official Report, column 17W.

Farm Diversification

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if (a) car boot sales, (b) the use of existing farm buildings for commercial or residential purposes and (c) the development of small-scale residential buildings on existing farmland fall within his definition of farm diversification projects. [3174]

National planning policy for the diversification of farm business into non-agricultural activities is contained in Planning Policy Guidance note 7 (PPG7): Countryside—Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development. PPG7 does not include a definition of farm diversification, although Annex C to the guidance includes a non-exclusive list of examples of potential farm diversification. PPG7 was amended on 21 March to encourage local planning authorities to be more supportive of well-conceived farm diversification schemes for business purposes that are consistent in their scale with their rural location. Local planning authorities should set out in their development plans the criteria to be applied to planning applications for farm diversification projects. It is a matter in the first instance for local planning authorities to consider each application on its own merits, taking into account their development plan policies and national guidance.The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (GPDO) grants a general planning permission for the temporary use of land for up to 28 days in any calendar year, subject to a number of restrictions and conditions. From car boot sales, the permitted use is limited to 14 days.

Millennium Dome

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2001 Official Report, column 140W, on the dome, what recommendations have been made by the Health and Safety Executive regarding public access to the dome building. [3202]

No recommendations have been made by the Health and Safety Executive it this regard. While decommissioning works are taking place at the dome, it is covered by the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994, which relate to the execution of works and management of the site. As a result, there is currently no public access to the dome site.

London Underground

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when the preferred bidders for the London Underground will be handed operational control of their franchises. [3545]

The private sector will not be handed operational control of the Underground. London Underground will continue to own and run the Underground. The successful bidders for three infrastructure contracts will work for London Underground, bringing their construction and project management expertise to achieve the modernisation and maintenance of the Underground, on time and on budget. The Government want to see London Underground complete its work to finalise the contracts as quickly as possible so that work can start soon to deliver a 21st Century Tube.

Transport Direct

To ask the Secretary c f State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he expects to introduce the transport direct booking and information system. [3456]

Transport Direct is designed for people to plan their journeys and to compare routes and prices. It will cover all types of transport within the UK—air, rail, coach, bus and car.Transport Direct will do three things:

tell the traveller what choices they have when they are planning their journey;

allow the traveller to book and pay for their journey at the time of making their inquiry, and receive their travel authority/ticket(s); and

advise the traveller about how their chosen travel option is performing in real-time before they set off.

Transport Direct will be delivered in phases over a number of years. By 2003 we expect it to include:

real-time train operating information (that is actual rather than timetabled);

real-time information on many local bus services;

internet travel information, covering road journeys as well as all forms of public transport at a single point of contact;

internet booking of long-distance journeys involving different forms of transport; and

development of internet-based maps that allow travellers to examine public transport options both for visiting a specific venue and for general travel around an area.

Traveline, the national public transport information system and a precursor to Transport Direct, is now available throughout Great Britain. It provides route and timetable information for bus, coach, tram, underground, train, ferry and metro through a national-rate call to a single telephone number—0870 608 2 608.

Bus Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what actions his Department has taken in the past 12 months to improve bus frequencies and enhance off-peak and night bus services. [3544]

Outside London, it is primarily for local authorities to secure any necessary bus services not provided commercially. We are assisting by providing additional funding for buses through the continuation of the rural bus grant and challenge schemes—with 20 per cent. of the former now available to support existing services rather than entirely new ones—and the launch this year of the urban bus challenge scheme. These schemes help authorities to secure additional services where they are most needed. In London, responsibility rests with the Mayor.

Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire will receive a reply to his letter of 1 June on behalf of his constituent Mr. Ogles. [3563]

I have now replied to the right hon. Member.

Multi-Modal Studies

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement about the multi-modal study programme. [4026]

The Multi-Modal Studies are looking at some of the most severe transport problems around the country. They are considering the contribution all modes of transport can make to solving these problems. They are also looking at the contribution existing, previously considered and new transport infrastructure can make. The key objective is to give decision makers the information needed to identify tailored, integrated and sustainable transport solutions. The studies will drive major investment decisions over the period covered by our 10-Year Plan for Transport.The studies are founded on our New Approach To Appraisal, launched in 1998 in our Integrated Transport White Paper. They weigh strategies and their component projects according to their economic, environmental, safety, accessibility and integration impacts. This ensures that costs and benefits are fully explored and understood before decisions are taken. This new approach to decision making is an important step forward. We will consider the contribution all types of transport can make to solving problems, not just roads.Each study is addressing very different problems so the strategies and the decisions that emerge will be unique. The impact on the environment must be a key consideration and in each case we will have to weigh up the benefits of a particular road or rail link and balance it against the environmental impact. The conclusion will vary in each case. No individual decision will set a precedent for others to follow.Decisions will be taken through the new arrangements for the development of Regional Transport Strategies within Regional Planning Guidance. Ministers need not accept all recommendations from Regional Planning Bodies. There may be instances where strategies or individual projects raise issues of national importance. Where this is the case my priority will be to ensure that final decisions reflect, and are properly co-ordinated with, our wider national policy objectives.

South Coast Corridor Multi-Modal Study

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if the Isle of Wight is covered by the terms of reference of the South Coast Corridor Multi-modal Study; and for what reason no representative of the Isle of Wight is a member of the steering group of the study. [3701]

The overall aim of the study is to investigate congestion, safety and environmental problems of transport on the south coast between Southampton and Thanet. The Isle of Wight is not included in the core study area but is included in the study's "Area of Influence" to enable assessment of the effects that any proposed schemes might have on the wider area. Although no representatives from the Isle of Wight are present on the study's Steering Group there is a wide-ranging consultation exercise currently being undertaken which enables input from all interested parties. A number of representatives from the Isle of Wight were invited to a consultative working group in Fareham on 29 June and there is an opportunity to feed into the process via newsletters, and a website. In addition a briefing meeting for local MPs has been arranged for 17 July: the Member has been invited.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he has considered the recommendations of the South East England Regional Assembly following completion of the Access to Hastings multi-modal study; and if he will make a statement. [4025]

The Secretary of State has today replied to the Chairman of the South East England Regional Assembly, and I am placing a copy of his letter in the House of Commons Library.Multi-modal studies represent a wholly new approach to the consideration of transport provision. The Access to Hastings Study is the first of these multi-modal studies to have been completed, and I am grateful to all who have contributed to it.The study contains a large number of recommendations designed to relieve congestion and safety problems in Kent and East Sussex and to contribute to the regeneration of the economy in the area around Hastings and Bexhill. I have considered the study's recommendations in light of the guidance for handling multi-modal studies outlined in the Secretary of State's parliamentary answer of today. I am able to accept most of these recommendations, although in some areas further work is required to develop proposals before any finding commitments can be given.The study has shown a wide measure of agreement that, in place of the proposed six lane off-line scheme on the A21 between Tonbridge and Pembury, the Highways Agency should consider the feasibility of a four lane on-line scheme. I have asked the Agency to progress that work. There is also broad consensus that the proposed A259 Pevensey to Bexhill scheme may now be dropped, given the safety improvements which have now been put in place. I have asked the Highways Agency to continue to monitor safety on this stretch of road.I have also asked the Agency to prepare a draft programme of work to identify possible further measures on the A21 South of Pembury. I have stressed, however, that this work will need to bear in mind the environmental sensitivity of the area.The study has demonstrated the potential merits of public transport investment in bus and rail. GoVia has agreed to the electrification of the Ashford to Hastings rail route and to looking at the scope for further improvements. As a result of this study, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) have also agreed to look at improvements to the service between Wadhurst and Tonbridge and investigate what further measures are required on the rout to provide faster, better quality of service. I have asked the SRA to work with the local councils to consider proposals for a new station at Glyne Gap and proposals for Ore-Bexhill metro rail service.I am also inviting East Sussex county council to come forward with well thought out proposals for improving bus services in Hastings to tackle regeneration. They are now reviewing their Local Transport Plan and I look forward to considering their proposals.Although I recognise the strong views held by the Regional Assembly and others in favour of the proposed A259 Western and Eastern bypasses, I have decided not to proceed with these schemes. The study did not build a convincing regeneration case for the by-passes—it concluded that although the by-passes could possibly help to generate employment in the area this would not necessarily help those in most need. There would be reduced congestion in some areas of the town but the position would get worse in other areas. Against these rather weak arguments we had to place the evidently severe implications for the environment—two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and an inter rationally recognised wetland surround Hastings.I believe, therefore, we must look for alternative means to prevent the further decline of the area and to optimise its economic potential. Regeneration is an important priority for the Government—some wards in Hastings suffer from some of the most severe deprivation in England—but we do not believe the by-passes are the solution. A regeneration strategy for Hastings needs to be developed which shows clearly how transport and other measures may be implemented to ensure a sustainable economic future of the area. I have asked my officials to work closely with the South East England Development Agency and local partners on that.

Representation Of The People Regulations

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he intends to lay the draft Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations. [4024]

The consultation on the draft regulations, which ended last month, has shown that there remain widespread and often conflicting concerns about the proposals. The Government, therefore, do not consider it right to proceed now with the proposed draft, and as discussed with the Electoral Commission intend to consult further with interested parties with a view, subject to parliamentary approval, of making regulations in the autumn which will provide for a full and edited electoral register with effect from the 2002 canvass. The Government believe that this will allow an orderly and well-planned introduction of the new arrangements.To allow this year's electoral registration canvass to take place on the existing basis, we intend to make as soon as possible, subject to parliamentary approval of a draft, regulations prescribing for this canvass a registration form in the traditional format.

Affordable Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government an in the Regions if local authorities can use Major Repairs Allowance to fund new affordable housing. [4104]

I refer to the answer that I gave in the Housing (London) debate on 3 July 2001, Official Report, column 21WH, which is unfortunately incorrect—the reference to:

"extra money through the new Major Repairs Allowance (MRA)"

should have referred to the overall increase in resources available for housing investment. Where resources are made available for the provision of additional housing by RSLs this must come from authorities' Housing Investment Programme allocations or their own resources. The MRA is being provided to meet the on-going capital costs of maintaining council housing and is essential to delivery of the target to bring all council housing up to a decent standard by 2010.

Prime Minister

Government Annual Report

To ask the Prime Minister for what reasons the Government have chosen to stop publishing its annual report. [3483]

The Government will continue to report to Parliament and the public on their performance through a variety of means such as reports, statistical bulletins, ministerial statements and parliamentary questions. The information in the annual report was in any event a collation of existing, publicly available material.

Echelon Communications Group

To ask the Prime Minister if the United Kingdom is a member of the Echelon communications group. [3472]

The Prime Minister: It is long-standing Government policy not to comment on these matters.

Engagements

To ask the Prime Minister on what dates he visited the United States of America in an official capacity since I January 2000; and on which of these occasions he met the President of the United States of America. [3401]

I have visited the United States on two occasions since 1 January 2000. I attended the UN Millennium Summit in New York from 5 to 7 September 2000. On that occasion I met President Clinton for bilateral talks on 6 to 7 September 2000.I also visited the United States from 22 to 24 February this year and met President Bush for bilateral talks at Camp David during that time.

Culture, Media And Sport

"Mein Kampf"

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will review the availability of "Mein Kampf" in public libraries; and if she will make a statement. [58]

I have responsibility under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 to ensure that library authorities in England meet their statutory duty to provide a "comprehensive and efficient" public library service, but the day-to-day management of public library services remains for library authorities, who must make their own decisions about the detailed nature of the library service they provide, based on local resources and priorities. Decisions on book selection are, therefore, entirely for each library authority, provided that their selections keep within the law.

Foot And Mouth

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received regarding an independent public inquiry into the impact of foot and mouth disease on the tourism industry; and if she will make a statement. [2414]

[holding answer 5 July 2001]: I have received no representations specifically regarding an independent public inquiry into the impact of foot and mouth disease on the tourism industry. The Prime Minister has said there will be a proper inquiry into the outbreak once it is over. I am sure this will consider the implications for tourism.

William Roberts

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures she is taking to safeguard the contents of the house of the late William Roberts R.A. for public display. [2413]

[holding answer 5 July 2001]: Since John Roberts' death in 1995 the works of art of the late William Roberts R.A. have been stored free of charge by the Tate, a national gallery funded by my Department. The William Roberts Society is negotiating to purchase William Roberts' house from Treasury Solicitors, the administrators of the estate, with a view to establishing a museum to display his art. The Tate Gallery also has indicated its interest in acquiring some of the works of art. The Treasury Solicitors Department have given both these parties first refusal on purchasing the house and works of art respectively with a deadline set for proposals to be submitted. My right hon. and noble Friend the Minister for the Arts has urged the William Roberts Society to obtain professional advice to help them with their proposal to turn the house into a museum.

National Museums And Galleries

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many overseas visitors there were to each of the national museums and galleries in the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion this represented of visitors in each case. [2693]

[holding answer 9 July 2001]: The estimated numbers and proportions of overseas visitors to each of the national museums and galleries sponsored by my Department in 1999–2000 are contained in the table.

Estimate of overseas visitors to national museums and galleries sponsored by DCMS 1999–2000
Museum/Gallery	Overseas visitor numbers(thousands)	As a percentage of total visitors
British Museum	4,204	77
Natural History Museum	638	38
Imperial War Museum	526	39
National Gallery	2,500	50
National Maritime Museum	391	46
National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside	41	6
National Portrait Gallery	110	11
National Museum of Science and Industry	400	14
Tate Gallery	850	34
Victoria and Albert Museum	611	48
Wallace Collection	73	40
Royal Armouries	11	5
Total	10.354	43

Note:

These figures are based on visitor surveys.

Swimming Pools

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what recent representations her Department has received about the state of repair of swimming pools; [3484](2) what steps she is taking to improve levels of access to swimming pools for young people. [3486]

Since my appointment, the Department has received nine representations regarding the provision of swimming pools, although none of these has concerned their current state of repair. The Amateur Swimming Association and the Amateur Swimming Federation of Great Britain have, in conjunction with Sport England, produced a National Facilities Strategy which is due to be published shortly. The aim of this strategy will be to increase participation in swimming through the provision of swimming pools that meets the needs of the population, and will address the seed for a network of teaching pools throughout the country.The Department for Education and Skills has established a Swimming Advisory Group, involving representatives from my Department, the swimming associations, Ofsted and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to discuss what more can be done to create even more opportunities for children to swim. Proposals will be announced by the end of the year.

Solicitor-General

Royal Sign Manual Procedure

To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the cancer research rota used in deciding how to distribute funds under the Royal Sign manual procedure. [4241]

The Royal Sign manual procedure is used where a testator makes a bequest in his or her will to charity but the charity is unnamed or unclear. In the circumstances, the Attorney-General, on behalf of the Queen, exercises the Royal Prerogative to direct that the bequest be made to a specific charity, which most nearly represents the testator's intention. A common bequest is for the purposes of "cancer research" but there are several charities which carry out this object. In the absence of any indications of the particular charity, the Treasury Solicit, s Department who administer the scheme has established a rota so that each one of our chosen cancer research charities receive approximately the same amount in any given year. This rota has now been running for almost 20 years, and the Attorney-General and I are seeking the views of the public on its composition. I have today placed a paper describing the issues in detail in the Library. It will be sent to all the registered cancer re search and relief charities for their observations and comments.

Deputy Prime Miniester

Business Regulations

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures he is taking to simplify and reduce the number and cost of regulations on business. [2069]

The Government are taking a number of measures to control the regulatory burden.A Regulatory Impact Assessment is required for each new proposal for regulation affecting business to ensure it is necessary and not cumbersome. The Panel for Regulatory Accountability, now given Cabinet Committee status, meets monthly to discuss regulatory performance with departmental Ministers.At European level we are working closely with other member states and the Commission to build on the real progress my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister reported to the House on 26 March following the Stockholm European Council.The Regulatory Reform Act 2001 now provides a new and powerful tool for reforming over-burdensome, over-complex and outdated primary legislation. We have identified over 50 examples of reforms that could be delivered by the order-making power in the Act and already issued seven consultation documents on prospective RROs, with more to follow shortly.

Government Offices For The Regions

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the (a) budgets and (b) administrative costs were for each of the Government offices for the Regions for each

Government office administrative running costs
£ million
GO	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02¹	Total
North East	8.843	8.687	8.617	8.619	8.312	8.222	9.016	60.316
North West	9.984	9.839	9.443	13.690	13.049	13.398	14.562	83.965
Merseyside	4.754	4.350	4.200	0.012	—	—	—	13.316
Total NW/M	14.738	14.189	13.643	13.702	13.049	13.398	14.562	97.281
Yorkshire and Humberside	9.061	8.765	8.475	8.684	8.889	9.184	9.966	63.024
West Midlands	10.436	10.040	9.758	9.474	9.330	9.794	9.693	68.525
East Midlands	7.117	6.617	6.436	6.754	6.951	7.177	7.726	48.778
East England	6.123	6.169	6.271	6.269	7.005	7.391	8.514	47.742
South West	7.574	7.141	6.826	6.985	7.797	8.227	10.069	54.619
South East	8.331	8.406	8.545	8.561	8.659	8.953	9.748	61.203
London	11.106	14.106	13.459	13.238	13.716	13.747	12.617	91.989
RCU	1.137	1.696	4.356	3.095	3.703	3.130	9.717	26.834
Total	84.466	85.816	86.386	85.381	87.411	89.223	101.628	620.311
¹ Allocations for 2001–02

Note:

GO-North West and GO-Merseyside merged during 1998–99

Energy Policy

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if the policy and innovation unit review of energy policy will examine the options for demand management. [1971]

financial year since their establishment; and what their planned budgets and administrative costs are for the next two years. [1435]

The Government offices for the English regions were established in 1994 and their work was originally overseen by the Government Office Management Board (GOMB). Following the Performance and Innovation Unit report, "Reaching Out", published in February 2000, the role of the Government Office Management Board passed to the Regional Co-ordination Unit (RCU).The administrative running costs for each Government office and for RCU/GOMB for the period 1995–96 until 2000–01 are detailed in the table. The table also shows the administrative running cost allocations, including a very small allocation for capital expenditure, for the current financial year. Since 1 April this year, the RCU has managed a single running cost budget for itself and the nine Government offices. This funding is transferred from sponsor Government Departments to cover the running costs of the Government offices for the work that the latter undertake on behalf of sponsor Departments. As at 1 April this year the sponsor Departments were DETR (as was), DfEE (as was), DTI and MAFF (as was). From 1 April 2002, Home Office and DCMS are expected to become sponsor Departments.The total indicative administrative running cost budget for the RCU and the Government offices for financial year 2002–03 is £98.63 million and £95.66 million for the 2003–04 financial year. There will be a resource planning exercise that will precede each of these financial years, and this will allocate these figures between individual Government offices and the RCU.Programme budgets administered by the Government offices are the responsibility of the Secretaries of State for the relevant sponsor Departments.

I am replying to this question as it relates to matters for which I am responsible.The role of demand side management and energy efficiency in reducing energy use in Great Britain will form a key part of the Energy Review, which will develop a strategy for achieving greater energy efficiency.

Treasury

Financial Services And Markets Act

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to bring into force the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. [3804]

My predecessor announced in March that "N2", the date for commencing the main provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, would be no later than the end of November 2001. I can now confirm that, in lay terms, the new regime will come into effect at midnight on 30 November. For legal reasons, the date named in the Commencement Order will be 1 December. Naming this day will have the effect of commencing the main provisions of the Act from the beginning of that day, which complies with the timescale set by my predecessor.So far, the Government have secured Parliament's approval for seven statutory instruments subject to affirmative resolution, and made a further 27 statutory instruments subject to the negative resolution procedure.We will shortly be making other statutory instruments with a view to enabling the FSA Board to make further provisions of its rulebook at its Board Meeting on 19 July. The key provisions of the rulebook, of course, were made by the FSA at its Board Meeting on 21 June.It particular, we expect shortly to make the statutory instrument that provides mechanisms by which firms having authority under old law to do financial services business will be "grandfathered" across into permissions to do equivalent business once FSMA commences. The FSA will then be responsible for letting individual firms know their grandfathered permissions.From Monday 3 September, we will commence FSA powers to consider applications from financial services firms to modify their grandfathered permissions or the grant of new permissions. Monday 3 September will also

Source information sought by the Office for National Statistics
Title of source	Business/individual	Frequency
Economic
Annual Business Inquiry (Distribution and Services)	Business	Annually
Annual Business Inquiry (Production and Construction)-UK	Business	Annually
Annual Survey of Financial Assets and Liabilities	Business	Annually
Asset Finance Annual Income and Expenditure Inquiry	Business	Annually
Asset Finance Quarterly Balance Sheet and Transactions Inquiry	Business	Quarterly
Building Societies Inquiry	Business	Monthly and quarterly
Business Enterprise Research and Development Survey-UK	Business	Annually
Central Government Net Cash Requirement-UK	Business	Monthly
Construction Inventories-UK	Business	Quarterly
Consumer Prices Collection-UK	Business	Monthly
Earnings of UK Insurance Brokers in overseas currencies	Business	Quarterly
Exported Producer Price Indices	Business	Monthly
Family Expenditure Survey-UK	Business	Continuously
Finance Houses and Consumer Credit Grantors (Outside the Monetary Sector) and Specialist	Business	Quarterly
Finance Leasing Companies and Partnerships Quarterly Inquiry into Capital Expenditure
Foreign Direct Investment Inquiries	Business	Quarterly
Fund Managers and certain other members of IMRO	Business	Annually
GB Cinema Exhibitors Inquiry	Business	Quarterly
Government Research and Development Survey-UK	Business	Annually
Gross Trading Surplus of Local Authority Trading Enterprises-UK	Business	Quarterly
Imported Producer Price Indices	Business	Monthly
Index of Production-UK	Business	Monthly
Insurance Companies Balance Sheet Annual Inquiry	Business	Annually

be the date from which the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal will consider appeals on decisions taken by the FSA in respect of those applications.

By the summer recess, therefore, the task of implementing the Act will pass substantially to the financial services frims. They will need:

to become familiar with the secondary legislation passed by Government;

to absorb the provisions of the rule book made by the FSA;

to analyse their grandfathered N2 permissions, and consider whether to seek modifications to those permissions;

to adapt their procedures; and

to train their staff.

The date set for N2 ensures that the new regime for financial regulation starts after the close of business on the day, week and month, and should further assist financial services firms in making their adjustment.

Statistics

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the categories of information and statistics sought by the ONS from businesses and individuals by way of requests for information. [2512]

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

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Nick Gibb, dated 12 July 2001:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the categories of information and statistics sought by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) from businesses and individuals by way of requests for information. (2512)

Statistical and Registration inquiries conducted by the ONS for its own purposes are listed in the attached table. The table shows three main types of information; economic, collected from businesses, social, collected from individuals and socio-economic collected from both businesses and individuals.

The table also inch des inquiries conducted on behalf of other Departments and Agencies, but excludes statistical information derived as a by-product of administrative systems.

Source information sought by the Office for National Statistics
Title of source	Business/ individual	Frequency
Insurance Companies Income and Expenditure-Quarterly Inquiry	Business	Quarterly
Insurance Companies Income and Expenditure Annual Inquiry	Business	Annual
Insurance Companies Transactions in Financial Assets Inquiry	Business	Quarterly
International Trade in Services	Business	Annually and Quarterly
International Transactions of the Film and Television Industries	Business	Annually
Investment by other financial intermediaries	Business	Quarterly
Investment by UK Monetary Financial Institution	Business	Quarterly
Investment Trusts Annual Return of Liabilities and Assets	Business	Annual
Investment Trusts Quarterly Return of Transactions Inquiry	Business	Quarterly
Local Authority net Cash Requirement-UK	Business	Monthly
Monthly Inquiries into the Distribution and Services Sector	Business	Monthly
Monthly Inquiry to Credit Grantors	Business	Monthly
Monthly Sales Inquiries-UK	Business	Monthly
Monthly Short-term Turnover and Employment Survey-Production Industries	Business	Monthly
Motor Traders' Inventories-UK	Business	Quarterly
Motor Vehicle Production Inquiry-UK	Business	Monthly
Overseas Direct Investment	Business	Annually and Quarterly
Pension Fund Annual Balance Sheet Inquiry	Business	Annually
Pension Fund Quarterly Income and Expenditure Inquiry	Business	Quarterly
Pension Fund Quarterly Transactions Inquiry	Business	Quarterly
Pension Funds Quarterly Income and Expenditure Inquiry	Business	Annually
Producer Price Indices-Inquiries	Business	Monthly
Production Inventories-UK	Business	Quarterly
PRODucts of the European COMmunity (PRODCOM INQUIRY)	Business	Annually and Quarterly
Property Unit Trusts Annual Return of Liabilities and Assets	Business	Annual
Property Unit Trusts Quarterly Return of Transactions Inquiry	Business	Quarterly
Public Corporations Net Cash Requirement-UK	Business	Monthly
Quarterly Capital Expenditure Inquiry	Business	Quarterly
Quarterly Credit Grantors Inquiry	Business	Quarterly
Quarterly Inquiries into the Distributive and Service Sector-GB	Business	Quarterly
Quarterly Inquiry into Companies, GB Operating Profits	Business	Quarterly
Quarterly Inventory (Stocks) Inquiries	Business	Quarterly
Quarterly Short-term Turnover and Employment Survey-Service Sector	Business	Quarterly
Quarterly Survey of Financial Assets and Liabilities	Business	Quarterly
Retail Sales Inquiry-GB	Business	Monthly
Retailers' Inventories-UK	Business	Quarterly
Securities Dealers Quarterly Income and Expenditure Inquiry	Business	Quarterly
Securities Dealers Quarterly Return of Liabilities and Assets and of Transactions in Securities	Business	Quarterly
Specialist Finance Leasing Companies and Partnerships Annual Income and Expenditure Inquiry	Business	Annually
Specialist Finance Leasing Companies and Partnerships Quarterly Balance Sheet	Business	Quarterly
Unit Trusts Annual Return of Liabilities and Assets	Business	Annual
Unit Trusts Quarterly Return of Transactions Inquiry	Business	Quarterly
Wholesalers' and Dealers' Stocks-UK	Business	Quarterly
Socio-Economic
Annual Employment Survey-Great Britain	Business	Annually
Average Earnings Index-GB	Business	Monthly
Census of Employment	Business	Biennial
Centralised Returns	Business	Monthly and Quarterly
Labour Disputes Statistics	Business	Monthly
Labour Force Survey	Individual	Continuously
New Earnings Survey-GB	Business	Annual
New Earnings Survey Panel Dataset (NESPD)	Business	Annually
Pay and Working Time-Collective Agreements for Manual Staff	Business	Monthly amendments
Workforce and Employee Jobs	Business	Quarterly
Social
Census of Population and Housing-United Kingdom 2001	Individual	Decennially
General Household Survey-GB	Individual	Continuously
International Passenger Survey-UK	Individual	Continuously
Survey of Student Achievement	Individual	Triennially
The ONS Omnibus Survey-GB	Individual	Monthly
Expenditure and Food Survey	Individual	Continuously
Registration of Births-England and Wales	Individual	Continuously
Registration of Births-England and Wales	Individual	Continuously
Registration of Births-England and Wales	Individual	Continuously
Inquiries Conducted on behalf of other Departments and Agencies
Social
Family Resources Survey	Individual	Continuously
National Travel Survey	Individual	Continuously
Local LFS	Individual	Continuously

Source information sought by the Office for National Statlstics
Title of source	Business/ individual	Frequency
Economic
Bricks-GB	Business	Monthly
Concrete Blocks-GB	Business	Monthly
Concrete Roofing Tiles-GB	Business	Quarterly
Quarterly Inquiry into Oil and Natural Gas-UK	Business	Quarterly
Retail Turnover Statistical Inquiry	Business	Biennially

Census Results

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what powers he has to sell the results of the census to private companies. [3315]

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

Letter from Len Cook to Ms Julia Drown, dated 12 July 2001:

As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what powers there are to sell Census results to private companies (3315).

Under the provisions of Section 4(1) of the Census Act 1920, the Registrar General is required, as soon as may be after the census, to prepare reports on the Census returns and to present such reports to Parliament. Copies of all such reports from previous censuses have been published and made publicly available either through the Stationery Office or from the Census Office by delegated authority.

Access to census results will mainly be through free access to information on the National Statistics website, with additional information being provided on a cost recovery basis.

Additionally, under the provisions of Section 4(2) of the Act, the Registrar General may, at the request and cost of any local authority or person, prepare abstracts containing any such statistical information not contained in the reports to Parliament, which, in his opinion, it is reasonable for that authority or person to require. It is under this provision that most small area statistics or specially commissioned output from the census are made available to private companies and other customers either directly from the Census Office or from other agencies licensed to sell census information to third parties.

For both free and cost recovery services, the same measures are applied to all such statistical results to ensure that there is no disclosure of information relating to identified individuals or households. No information is available on an exclusive basis, and repeated requests for information that has yet to be published are likely to lead to that information being placed on the National Statistics website.

Endowment Policies

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will encourage the Financial Services Authority to inform those with endowment mortgages that are at risk of not growing sufficiently to pay off their mortgages of the methods of seeking help from the Ombudsman and gaining compensation. [3471]

The FSA has been active in informing those with endowment mortgages of the methods of seeking help and, if required, how to make a complaint. The FSA fact-sheet, "Your endowment mortgage—what you need to know"—sent to all affected mortgage endowment holders in January 2000—set out what advice consumers should have been given when they were sold their endowment policy as well as how to complain. In addition, the FSA's consumer information has evolved in the light of developments and further fact-sheets have been published as follows:

December 1999—Is an endowment mortgage right for you?
April 2000—Guide to repaying your mortgage
October 2000—Endowment Mortgage complaints
January 2001—Guide to making a complaint
June 2001—Is an endowment mortgage right for you? (Revised)
July 2001—Guide to moo gages
July 2001—Your endowment mortgage—time to decide.

All these fact-sheets are available free from the FSA Consumer help-line on 0845 606 1234.

Correspondence

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire will receive a substantive reply to his letter of 9 May to the Chairman of HM Customs and Excise on behalf of his constituent Mr. Wilson. [3569]

I understand that the Chairman of HM Customs and Excise replied to the right hon. Gentleman on 11 January.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire will receive a reply (1) to his letter of 26 March on behalf of his constituent Mrs. Hall; [3565](2) to his letter of 30 May on behalf of his constituent Mrs. Murray. [3564]

The Treasury has no record of having received these letters. If the right hon. Gentleman would send copies to me, they will be answered as quickly as possible.

Petrol Duty

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much income the Government have received from petrol duty in each of the last three years. [3211]

The amount of income the Government have received from duty on petrol in each of the last three years can be found in the HM Customs and Excise's "Hydrocarbon Oils Factsheet", a copy of which is in the Library.

Euro

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 2 July 2001, Official Report, column 67W, how long he estimates it will take to complete the preliminary technical work relating to an assessment of the five economic tests; if he will list the Treasury officials involved in this work; and if he will make a statement. [3011]

[holding answer 10 July 2001]: I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer of 2 July 2001, Official Report, column 67W. A wide range of officials will be contributing.

Working Families Tax Credit

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from small firms about the administrative arrangements for the Working Families Tax Credit. [2046]

Payment of tax credits by employers plays an important part in reinforcing the link between tax credits and the rewards of work.The Inland Revenue is in continuous consultation with employers' representatives, and has been since 1998, to ensure any extra administration because of the tax credits is kept to a minimum and, where possible, reduced. The Inland Revenue is continually monitoring and assessing the tax credits scheme and involving employers' representatives at all stages.

Tax Credits

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each tax credit those other (a) benefits and (b) concessions for which the tax credit is a passport. [3624]

The decision as to which benefits or concessions Working Families Tax Credit recipients are passported is not a matter for the Inland Revenue, but lies with those responsible for the individual benefits or concessions. Working Families Tax Credit, like its predecessor Family Credit, may be used as an indicator of entitlement to certain benefits or concessions by central Government, the devolved executives, local government and voluntary organisations. In this way, families entitled to other help can be identified without them having to make a full application. The major central Government passports for many Working Families Tax Credit recipients are helped with NHS costs such as prescription charges, dental treatment, sight tests and hearing aids and Social Fund payments to help with maternity costs or funeral expenses.

Bank Accounts

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of households do not have access to a bank account; and how this varies in the nations and regions of the United Kingdom. [3055]

[holding answer 11 July 2001]: Various surveys indicate that the percentage of adults who do not have either a current account or a savings account is in the range 6 to 10 per cent. A breakdown of these data can be found in the Financial Services Authority's report, "In or Out? Financial Exclusion: a literature and research review", a copy of which is in the Library.

Euro Assets (Purchase Costs)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason he will not publish the numbers and the cost of the euros which have been purchased by the Bank of England in consequence of gold sales. [3233]

The purchase of euros assets with proceeds from the gold sales programme forms only part of the restructuring of the United Kingdom's foreign currency reserves. As the National Audit Office Report on "The Sale of Part of the UK Gold Reserves", published on 12 January 2001, states

"a meaningful value for money assessment of the financial benefits to sell gold could only be undertaken over the medium to long-term, since a misleading impression of the benefit, or otherwise, of the restructuring may arise if too short a period is used. Over the short-term, temporary fluctuations in assets prices may tend to impact".

However to give an indication of the change in the value of the UK's foreign currency reserves as a result of the gold sales, the National Audit Office Report provides a snapshot figure as at 18 December 2000 of a gain to the reserves of US$34 million (around £23 million).

Lord Chancellor's Department

Damages

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what consultations he had prior to the setting of the rate of return under section 1 of the Damages Act 1996 with (a) the Government Actuary, (b) the Treasury, (c) organisations representing claimants and (d) organisations representing insurers; and if he will make a statement. [2837]

The Treasury and the Government Actuary were consulted in accordance with section 1(4) of the Damages Act 1996.Of the other responses to the Consultation Paper, "Damages: The Discount Rate and Alternatives to Lump Sum Payments", three were received from organisations representing claimants: the Personal Injury Bar Association, the TUC, and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers. One was received from an organisation representing insurers: the Association of British Insurers; and one from an organisation representing insurance lawyers: the Forum of Insurance Lawyers.Of the remaining 77 responses, some were from insurers and it is likely that many were from organisations or individuals who normally represent claimants or insurers. But as the Consultation Paper did not seek this information, it is not possible to provide a complete breakdown.

Conditional Fees

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans the Lord Chancellor has to extend the operation of conditional fees to cases based on the Human Rights Act 1998; and if he will make a statement. [3149]

None. Conditional fee agreements have been available for all forms of civil business other than family proceedings since 1998. Thus conditional fee agreements are already available for civil cases concerning human rights.

Correspondence

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton will receive a reply to the letter he sent to the Lord Chancellor on 21 May with regard to Miss Anthea Gordon. [3151]

My noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor has replied to my right hon. Friend in a letter dated 9 July.

Transsexual People

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what action he proposes to take in response to the report of the Interdepartmental Working Group on Transsexual People. [3155]

The report is being carefully considered within Government and by other interested groups. The Government are sympathetic to the issues raised in the report and will be considering further how to take the matter forward.

Volume 371: debated on Thursday 12 July 2001

Written Answers To Questions

Defence

Defence Export Services Organisation

Itar Exemptions

Defence Estates

Sonar 2087

Kenya

Missile Defence

Porton Down

Bermuda Regiment

Hms Daedalus

Mod Sites

Cyprus

International Development

Palestine

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Diplomatic Car Licences

United Nations Security Council

Iraq

Embargoes

Biological And Toxin Weapons Convention

Health

Strategic Health Authorities

Long-Term Care

Health Inequalities

Drug Addicts

Car Parking

Herceptin

Colorectal Cancer

Follicular Lymphoma

Waiting Lists

Nhs Complaints Procedure

Education And Skills

Teacher Vacancies

Assessment

Head Teachers' Forums

Free School Meals

Connexions Service

Further Education

Sure Start

Home Department

Extraditions

Economic Crime

Privacy Screens

Office Of The Immigration Services Commissioner

Anti-Drugs Co-Ordinator

Feltham Young Offenders Prison

Natural Cannabis

Aircraft Accidents

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Forensic Science Service

Trade And Industry

Communications White Paper

Manufacturing Industry

Industrial Diseases (Compensation)

Offshore Oil And Gas Production

Women (Public Life)

Energy Supply

Renewable Energy

Broadband Telecommunications (Rural Areas)

Parliamentary Candidates (Women)

Minimum Wage (Wales)

Miners' Compensation

Scientific Research Councils

Retail Businesses (Town Centres)

Consumer Protection

Coal Industry

Hat Industry

Climate Change Levy

Mobile Telephones

Gas Prices

Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises

Trade Unions

Huntingdon Life Sciences

Petrol Retailing

Compulsory Share Purchase

Consumers' Rights

Retail Code Of Practice