Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Tuesday 23 October 2001

Defence

Merlin Helicopters

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many Merlin helicopters will be delivered to the Royal Navy in each of the next three years; [9696](2) how many pilots have been trained to fly the Merlin helicopter; [9694](3) when Merlin helicopters will be deployed on an operational basis with the Royal Navy; [9697](4) what the Royal Navy's inventory of Merlin helicopters is; and how many are operational. [9695]

DARA key targets for FY 2001–02
Title	Details	Target
KT 1—Quality	The Quality of Service of the DARA	To have no more attributable Customer Concerns (recorded on F760/761) than the baseline set on the average performance of FY 99–00 and FY 00–01 as a percentage of quantity.
KT 2—Financial	A measure of the Return on Capital Employed (RoCE)	To achieve a 6 per cent. Return on Capital Employed (RoCE)
KT 3—Efficiency 1	A measure of the reduction in Unit Production Price	To achieve at least an annual 2 per cent. reduction (with a target of at least a 15 per cent. reduction over five years) in unit production prices of a basket of products deemed to be representative of DARA business, baselined from the commencement of Trading Fund (1 April 2001)
KT 4—Efficiency 2	Increase in Order Intake (Non-Allocated Work)	To achieve a 100 per cent. increase in Order Intake (for the first three years of trading) from a FY 00–01 baseline
KT 5—Efficiency 3	Increase in Commercial Revenue	To achieve a 15 per cent. increase in Commercial Revenue (from non-UK Armed Forces), from a FY 00–01 baseline

Serco

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the contracts being administered by Serco on behalf of his Department. [8575]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: The following contracts are being administered by Serco Ltd. on behalf of this Department.

SATC2/031
ICSS/1042
DE32/7113
CB/STC5/5010
AARC1B/00034
CDCRBG/1253
NRTA1B/0135
DLO/MTSC/0006
MCP12B/366
STC8/009
N/ISFS/10121
CHOTS/12671

On current plans, the first squadron of Royal Navy Merlin helicopters will be fully operational and ready for deployment in May 2002 with further squadrons progressively achieving this status up to 2005.A total of 44 Merlin HM Mark 1 helicopters has been ordered for the Royal Navy. Of the 34 aircraft already delivered, 14 are in the operational fleet. The remaining 10 aircraft are due to be delivered by the end of financial year 2002–03.To date 31 Royal Naval pilots and eight RAF pilots have been trained to fly the Merlin helicopter, with a further five Royal Naval and two RAF pilots currently undergoing training.

Defence Aviation Repair Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the Defence Aviation Repair Agency for 2001–02. [10122]

Key targets have been set for the chief executive of DARA for financial year 2001–02. The targets reflect the agency's move to trading fund status and are as follows:

MCP12A/102
SMC41B/1917
SMC42B7421
SCSS1A/2029
SCSS1A/2016
CP21B/1236
MCP21B/0312
DEO32/7077
LC1/0031
NUW31A/0015
WS32/7052
WS31/6066
CB/STC2/189
WS32/7050
WS32/7047
CB/STC1/1003
LC1/0020
NWE22A/0114
ABRO1B2/1790

CPI1B/2006
STC1/1000
A/13B/7014
WS31/6027
NMT2B/2003
SL41A/0053
WS32/7002
NUW83A/1820
SL(WS)1/1009
SL20/SC/0583
SLS21A/211
WS12/106
NUW83A/1688
SLS21A/90
SLS32B/1911
ML32B/1462
PTC/CB/00517
CSIS/00033
CSIS/00032
DE031/6078
STRS/00012
MWABC/20052
UWS2C/O035
CASSC/0004
NWC1/004
SMC42D/5025
NLS23B/0034
SCSS1D/010
LC5/235
CB/STC2/385
LC8/380
LC5/044/2
WS22/5881
DEO33/8035
DEO32/7076
DEO32/7073
CB/STC2/284
CDCRBG/1209
NLS25A/0003
LC1/0025
WS33/8025
CSE2B/6037
LC1/0016/2
CB/STC/3041
CDCRBG/1169
WS31/6054
ABRO1A1/1901
NUW81B/1623
WS31/6040
WS31/6037
MT(N)3A/0067
CP11A/1024
WS32/7006
ESW1B/2012
SLS21A/254
SM21A/5022
SLWS2/2011
WS12/109
SL41C/100
WS12/101

CB/SL22B/2006
SL24B/1
ICS2A/113427
DE32/7114
TORPC/1001
CBC/1A/0006
ICS2A/112381
AOSIPT/588
TORPC/01004
CBCS/SC222
CP(PI)0001
NIMES/5004
NWE22B/0153
ABRO1B1/2321
DEO33/8045
NCSM2B/1550
STC5/5001
ABRO1C2/2231
SCSS2B/1112
SCSS1A/1142
DEO32/7074
DEO32/7075
NUW31A/0014
NSM61A/0019
SMC42A/5283
NUW81B/1615
LC4/0320
WS32/7043
CB/STC3/3048
LC7A/00010
NNR/512
SES2B/67
CPUA/1077
CB/STC3/3005
WS33/8002
PROC1C/44345
WS32/7029
WS32/7007
CISE21A/2066
SL41A/0027
SL41C/119
CISP2A/07
SLS21A/252
NUW83A/1746
SL22A/2237
WS12/103
CB/SL21D/0028
8194530/01M.

Further details on this list in its entirety could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Biological Detection Devices

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will open for public inspection at the Public Record Office the files located at DEFE 55/97 and DEFE 55/100 regarding tests of biological detection devices and joint US/UK biological detection experiments in 1977. [6579]

No. The reports include details of US biological detection equipment and I am therefore withholding the information in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Biological Warfare

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many simulated exercises have been carried out in respect of biological and chemical weapon attacks on the UK in each of the last five years. [8622]

The Ministry of Defence is responsible for providing military aid to the civil authorities support to the Home Office in the event of a biological or chemical weapons terrorist attack upon the UK. On average, seven crisis response exercises are carried out by the MOD each year. In addition, a large number of low level training exercises are conducted each year at unit and sub-unit level.The Home Office also supports a counter-terrorist exercise programme for police forces, other Government Departments and agencies. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will write to my hon. Friend with further details of that programme and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces Pension Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to amend the armed forces pension scheme to allow benefits to be paid to partners of service men and women killed on active service; and if he will make a statement. [8204]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: The Ministry of Defence does not currently have any plans to amend the armed forces pension scheme (AFPS) to allow benefits to be paid to partners of service men and women killed on active service. However, following the recently completed consultation period on the review of the AFPS, representations on a range of issues, including this one, will be taken forward for further consideration.

Departmental Contracts

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those sites operated by (a) his Department and (b) contractors responsible to his Department, which are (i) required to comply with and (ii) exempt from compliance with the Radiation Emergency Preparedness and Public Information Regulations 2001. [8761]

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

Civilian Contractors (Insurance)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements his Department has made to provide insurance for civilian contractors deployed on operations; and if he will make a statement. [9393]

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) expects contractors to provide insurance appropriate to the conduct of their business. However, there are a limited number of risks that industry is unable to insure itself against, or where the cost of obtaining such insurance is prohibitive. In such cases the MOD would consider indemnifying industry for these specific and very limited circumstances. Hitherto, consideration of an indemnity for contractors and their personnel on deployed operations has been on a case-by-case basis, but the MOD is considering, with representatives of industry, standard arrangements for these activities.

Anti-Anthrax Drugs

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the supply chain, from MOD stockpile to NHS hospitals, of anti-anthrax drugs. [9541]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: The Ministry of Defence and the Department of Health have discussed the issue of availability of such treatments and arrangements are in place to allow joint access.

Raf Menwith Hill

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the memorandum of understanding between the UK and US Governments in respect of RAF Menwith Hill was signed; and what expiry date was set for this memorandum. [8772]

The presence of the United States visiting forces in the UK is governed by the NATO Status of Forces Agreement of 1951 and additional confidential arrangements. There is no specific memorandum of understanding governing the presence of the USVF at RAF Menwith Hill.

Operation Enduring Freedom

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total cost to date of Operation Enduring Freedom; and how much of the total cost has been met from pre-set departmental budgets. [8769]

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

Porton Down

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the states with which reciprocal arrangements exist for the exchange of material and information relating to them held at Porton Down. [8771]

The Ministry of Defence maintains formal arrangements with a number of different countries relating to the exchange of material and information resulting from research at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down. The relevant countries are the United States of America, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. These arrangements are of the enabling type and do not commit the UK to specific exchanges. Actual exchanges are entered into only on a case-by-case basis and when it is in the UK's interest to do so. Additionally working groups which may exchange information meet under the auspices of NATO.These arrangements prevent the unnecessary duplication of research programmes and maximise the potential of advances in protection against the use of chemical and biological agents.

Education And Skills

Citb Levy

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reason the CITB levy is imposed on tool hire companies and rental companies who are not engaged wholly or mainly in the construction industry; and if she will make a statement. [8468]

The CITB can impose the levy only on employers who are engaged wholly or mainly in construction activities as defined in its governing legislation. This states that construction industry activities include

"the installation, testing, inspection, maintenance or repair of contractor's plant, or the letting out on hire of such plant or scaffolding".

Contractors' plant is further defined to mean

"machinery, plant or equipment of a kind used or intended for use in operations on the site of any building work or civil engineering work".

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reason the CITB levy is not imposed on builders merchants. [8469]

The CITB is able to impose a levy only on employers who are engaged wholly or mainly in construction activities as defined in its governing legislation. Builders merchants are wholly or mainly retailers and retailing is not a construction activity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the Government will review the Industrial Training Act 1982 in respect of the CITB; and if she will make a statement. [8470]

The Industrial Training Act 1982 does not relate specifically to the CITB. It gives the Secretary of State power to set up industrial training boards, which is given effect by the making of an industrial training order. The order includes a definition of the industry for which the board is to exercise its functions.The order that set up the CITB is the Industrial Training (Construction Board) Order 1964, most recently amended by the Industrial Training (Construction Board) Order 1964 (Amendment) Order 1992. I have no plans at the present time to review that order but am, of course, always prepared to consider proposals from any sector of the industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will assess the case for the tool hire sector's liability to pay the CITB levy; and if she will make a statement. [8471]

The Secretary of State does not have the power to assess the case for any sector's liability to pay the CITB levy. Only the CITB has the power to assess liability to pay the levy and this is in respect of an individual construction establishment, not a sector. There is a right of appeal against an assessment to an employment tribunal. A construction establishment is one that is engaged wholly or mainly in the construction industry as defined in the Industrial Training (Construction Board) Order 1964 (Amendment) Order 1992—the order which identifies the activities covered by the CITB.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reason there is no distinction between plant hire and tool hire in respect of the CITB levy. [8472]

The Industrial Training (Construction Board) Order 1964 (Amendment) Order 1992 sets out the activities of the construction industry, ie the industry in respect of which the CITB is required to exercise its functions. One of those activities is the hiring out of contractors' plant, which is also further defined in the order as

"machinery, plant or equipment of a kind used or intended for use in operations on the site of any building work or civil engineering work, but does not include lorries, ready-mixed concrete vehicles or other mechanically propelled vehicles mainly used for the carriage of goods on roads".

It is this definition that determines whether or not a company falls within the scope of the CITB.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reason there is no opt-out clause for the CITB levy scheme; and if she will make a statement. [8473]

The Industrial Training Act 1982—the legislation that governs the functions and operations of industrial training boards (ITBs)—gives an ITB the power to make provision for exempting from the levy employers who make adequate arrangements for training their work force. However it does not require it to do so. The CITB, with the support of the construction industry, has decided not to have a scheme based on exemption. Instead it has opted for a levy/grant system as being the most effective way to ensure that adequate training is carried out. The board does not believe a levy exemption scheme is appropriate for an industry where employers have a mobile work force and fluctuating work loads, making it difficult for them to plan and meet their training needs individually.

Free School Meals

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of children are eligible for free school meals in schools where less than 25 per cent. of the pupils achieve five or more grades A^* to C at GCSE. [8842]

The percentage of children known to be eligible for free school meals in mainstream, maintained schools where fewer than 25 per cent. of the pupils achieved five or more grades A^* to C at GCSE/GNVQ in January 2001 was 37 per cent.

Student Support

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on details of the remit of the Government's review of student support. [8886]

[holding answer 19 October 2001]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills announced on 3 October 2001 that she is leading a review of student funding. The reforms will build on the new arrangements for student support introduced by the Government in 1998. It will be conducted in the context of our new goal to get 50 per cent. of people under 30 into Higher Education (HE) by 2010, our ambition to expand access to HE from under-represented groups, and our continuing concern to deliver excellence in the HE system. We are therefore reviewing the balance between state funding and the contributions made by students and their families. A wide range of options is being considered and no decision is likely to be announced on the proposals until next year.

Ministerial Visit (Brazil)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what is (a) the itinerary for and (b) the cost of the visit of the Schools Minister to Brazil of 6 and 7 December. [9887]

There is no cost and no itinerary as the Schools Minister has no plans to visit Brazil.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Scottish Executive

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library minutes and details of the date and venue of meetings held with Scottish Executive (a) Ministers and (b) officials to discuss Scottish Executive participation in UK delegations to Council of Ministers meetings; how many times Scottish Executive Ministers have sought to lead UK delegations to EU Council of Ministers meetings; how often Scottish Ministers have led UK delegations to Council of Ministers meetings when other UK Ministers have been part of the delegation; if he will make it his policy for Scottish Executive Ministers to be lead UK Ministers at Council of Ministers meetings where the matters are largely the responsibility of Scottish Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [6952]

The devolved Administrations have an important interest in European policy matters in relation to devolved matters, and their Ministers and officials have an important role to play in relevant Council meetings. Decisions on attendance are taken by the lead UK Minister on a case-by-case basis.As yet there have been no occasions when Scottish Executive Ministers have led UK delegations when UK Ministers have been part of the delegation, but this could well be the case if appropriate in the future.

Women's Rights (Palestine)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Palestinian Administration about human rights abuses relating to women. [8070]

We regularly raise human rights issues with the Palestinian Authority and have an active dialogue with Palestinian NGOs about human rights matters.We funded women's rights projects worth £31,300 in financial year 2000–01.The UK's main development programme also supports women in development projects such as providing women's training programmes and creating work opportunities and a gender law and development masters programme at the Bir Zeit University in Gaza.

Iraqi Oil

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries have indicated (a) support for (b) opposition to the UK proposal to alter the interval between the price fixing of Iraqi oil from 30 days to 10 days; and if he will make a statement. [9122]

Russia alone of the P5 has so far been unable to support the principle of the UK's initiative to seek fair market value for Iraqi oil exports (in line with the UN's commitment to do so), by reviewing the price set for Iraqi oil against the oil's market value every 15, instead of 30, days.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his proposal to the United Nations to alter the interval between the price fixing of Iraqi oil from 30 days to 10 days would have (a) positive or (b) negative economic and social consequences in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [9123]

The UK's initiative, to review the price of Iraqi oil more frequently (every 15 instead of 30 days) in order better to match its actual market value, is maximising the revenue available to the "oil for food" humanitarian programme which benefits the Iraqi people. It also limits the opportunity for the Iraqi regime to obtain funds illegally for itself. We have proposed that the UN Sanctions Committee formally adopts this procedure to meet its commitment to obtain fair market value for Iraqi oil exports.

Fundamentalist Paramilitary Groups

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what efforts he is making to establish the number of UK citizens involved with fundamentalist paramilitary groups in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Kashmir, (c) Pakistan, (d) Chechnya, (e) Lebanon and (f) Palestinian Authority territories; and if he will make a statement. [8656]

I can assure my hon. Friend that HMG are determined that this country should not be used as a base for supporting terrorism overseas, in any way. The Terrorism Act 2000 (which entered into force in February 2001) is designed to help the UK police and courts take effective action against those who seek to plan, carry out or support terrorism from or in the UK.

Natural Disasters

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Department is responsible for making applications for aid from the budget of the EU for natural disasters in the UK. [8765]

Decisions to seek financing from the European Union are taken by Departments on an individual basis.

Colonel Gaddafi

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis sought advice from the British Government on his Government's proposed trip to Libya to meet Colonel Gaddafi. [9101]

No.

Entry Clearance

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for each quarter that an appeal has been available against a refusal of a visa or entry clearance to visit the United Kingdom, how many applications were made for a visa or entry clearance to visit the United Kingdom; of these how many were refused; of these refusals, how many were appealed; and of these appeals, how many succeeded, broken down in each category by (a) the country from which the application was made, (b) the gender of the applicant and (c) the age of the applicant (0–10, 11–20, 21–30 and 31 and above). [8730]

We record details of appeals received only in respect of family visit applications. Details are given in the table of the number of appeals received between October 2000, when the right of appeal was reintroduced for family visit visa refusals, and September 2001 for the largest 114 posts.

Applications received, refused and family visit applications received
	October to December 2000			January to March 2001
	Applications received	Applications refused	FVA received	Applications received	Applications refused	FVA received
Abidjan	763	53	0	561	93	0
Abu Dhabi	2,973	52	0	3,112	48	1
Abuja	4,474	561	2	3,734	622	0
Accra	12,314	1,899	10	8,978	3,303	58
Addis Ababa	771	117	0	1,149	193	1
Algiers	—	—	—	850	—	—
Almaty	1,213	69	0	939	51	0
Amman	1,940	37	0	2,225	55	0
Amsterdam	2,268	25	0	1,708	46	2
Ankara	969	14	0	—	14	0
Bahrain	1,319	15	2	2,013	5	0
Baku	691	37	0	535	21	0
Bandar Seri Begawan	197	1	0	—	—	0
Bangkok	5,900	548	0	8,766	521	9
Banjul	1,244	140	0	1,177	159	0
Beirut	1,760	13	0	1,512	19	1
Belgrade	2,727	47	0	2,418	40	1
Bogota	3,890	486	0	3,360	384	3
Bombay	11,353	895	9	15,925	882	39
Bratislava	4,376	129	0	2,870	162	0
Brussels	960	12	1	903	11	0
Bucharest	5,415	350	1	5,059	414	4
Budapest	330	26	0	300	22	0
Cairo	5,940	205	1	5,216	251	3
Calcutta	1,242	30	0	1,713	21	1
Canberra	6,114	9	0	11,943	14	0
Casablanca	1,490	89	1	1,405	52	1
Chicago	1,148	3	0	2,414	2	0
Colombo	4,679	905	1	4,909	1,293	13
Copenhagen	751	14	0	600	22	0
Dakar	—	—	—	382	47	1
Damascus	1,370	160	0	1,561	129	6
Dar Es Salaam	1,805	350	2	1,866	388	2
Dhaka	5,415	1,215	12	5,221	1,749	39
Doha	1,069	42	0	1,413	50	1
Dubai	4,174	257	2	5,657	127	4
Dublin	1,413	9	0	1,361	9	1
Dusseldorf	6,157	39	0	5,405	39	0
Ekaterinburg	476	42	0	521	30	0

The number of applications received and refused between October 2000 and September 2001 are as follows. The figures are based on monthly statistical reports received from the 114 largest posts. The remaining posts submit information on an annual basis, which is not broken down into months. To answer this question for all 165 posts we would have to ask those additional posts to extract the information requested. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.

We do not record the outcome of appeals, but the Lord Chancellor's Department has provided the following information:

	Received	Appeal allowed
October to December 2000	139	22
January to March 2001	540	156
April to June 2001	1,142	422
July to September 2001	1,655	890

We do not record the gender or the age of the applicant. To ask posts to provide this information for statistical purposes now would require them to carry out a manual search of their records. This too could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Applications received, refused and family visit applications received
	October to December 2000			January to March 2001
	Applications received	Applications refused	FVA received	Applications received	Applications refused	FVA received
Geneva	2,197	83	1	1,551	32	0
Georgetown	358	38	1	339	26	1
Guangzhou	2,506	555	4	2,423	1,312	8
Hanoi	469	51	0	375	36	0
Harare	484	81	0	762	121	0
Havana	426	40	0	416	39	0
Hong Kong	1,027	58	0	1,179	56	1
Islamabad	14,085	3,046	35	16,090	5,203	169
Istanbul	15,974	524	6	769	744	13
Jakarta	5,354	73	1	2,121	69	2
Jeddah	2,409	70	0	3,143	88	0
Jerusalem	386	5	0	323	9	0
Kampala	3,015	770	3	2,865	508	5
Karachi	7,251	1,001	13	7,122	1,725	36
Kathmandu	1,099	295	0	1,802	526	2
Khartoum	672	172	2	674	133	2
Kiev	5,491	747	0	5,756	1,151	4
Kingston	744	115	1	748	66	0
Kuala Lumpur	638	71	0	543	74	2
Kuwait	3,730	162	2	4,693	112	1
Lagos	13,620	2,545	60	14,054	1,938	101
Lahore¹	—	—	—	—	—	—
Lima	844	26	1	805	18	1
Los Angeles	4,998	13	0	4,436	15	0
Luanda	402	36	0	389	17	0
Lusaka	1,359	102	0	1,043	102	4
Madras	5,770	269	3	8,716	335	5
Madrid	1,404	7	0	13,171	7	0
Manila	5,937	203	0	7,671	439	28
Mexico City	—	—	—	127	1	0
Minsk	1,164	43	0	1,137	46	0
Moscow	14,467	488	0	14,484	452	2
Muscat	1,374	20	1	1,468	33	0
Nairobi	3,904	386	2	4,016	522	8
New Delhi	11,464	1,971	23	13,811	1,298	62
New York	7,822	31	0	7,296	43	1
Nicosia	1,131	30	0	937	32	1
Oslo	756	5	0	658	1	0
Ottawa	3,899	18	0	3,854	26	0
Paris	5,478	16	0	4,801	13	0
Peking	9,098	1,102	1	8,314	—	4
Port Louis	1,811	112	4	1,730	94	2
Port of Spain	397	32	0	409	30	0
Prague	659	3	0	517	2	0
Pretoria	4,826	532	0	6,801	430	1
Quito	446	20	0	569	28	0
Riga	374	34	0	435	19	0
Riyadh	3,481	100	1	4,048	65	4
Rome	1,832	35	0	1,418	19	0
Sana'a	717	113	0	815	117	0
Santo Domingo	179	11	—	178	10	0
Sarajevo	703	10	0	611	3	0
Shanghai	2,634	136	0	2,551	73	5
Singapore	1,185	16	0	1,171	20	0
Skopje²	—	—	—	649	124	—
Sofia	4,884	311	2	5,083	281	1
St. Petersburg	2,684	87	0	2,249	143	0
Sto Domingo	—	—	0	—	—	2
Stockholm	1,143	19	0	901	12	0
Taipei	5,766	—	0	6,315	230	0
Tashkent	514	36	0	394	57	0
Tbilisi	489	143	0	555	33	0
Tehran	4,079	199	1	5,181	183	8
Tel Aviv	300	39	0	2,758	109	—
Tirana	443	62	0	340	53	1
Tokyo	989	37	0	1,586	387	0
Tripoli	—	—	—	—	—	1
Tunis	1,617	289	3	1,664	227	9

Applications received, refused and family visit applications received
	October to December 2000			January to March 2001
	Applications received	Applications refused	FVA received	Applications received	Applications refused	FVA received
Valletta	269	8	0	1,033	—	—
Vienna	716	10	0	667	9	0
Warsaw	355	17	0	314	25	0
Washington	3,253	0	0	2,538	3	0
Wellington	42	18	0	4,043	7	0
Yaounde	408	109	0	436	56	1
Zagreb	3,263	111	0	2,525	118	4
	324,754	26,812	215	345,047	31,533	703
¹ Opened September 2001
² January 2001

Applications received, refused and family visit applications received
	April to June 2001			August to September 2001
	Applications received	Applications refused	FVA received	Applications received	Applications refused	FVA received
Abidjan	953	60	0	907	121	0
Abu Dhabi	7,484	212	5	7,961	278	10
Abuja	5,973	571	20	8,498	1,035	18
Accra	18,690	4,607	103	18,555	5,194	70
Addis Ababa	1,197	177	3	1,748	291	5
Algiers	942	—	—	1,333	—	—
Almaty	1,333	47	0	1,119	76	0
Amman	2,748	29	0	3,847	76	1
Amsterdam	2,323	14	2	2,507	41	3
Ankara	—	19	0	1,173	12	0
Bahrain	3,715	15	1	5,353	30	0
Baku	764	30	0	851	7	0
Bandar Seri Begawan	—	—	0	—	—	0
Bangkok	8,855	487	23	7,698	648	16
Banjul	1,937	199	5	2,626	328	5
Beirut	2,148	11	0	2,420	22	0
Belgrade	3,596	45	2	3,348	43	1
Bogota	6,744	373	1	4,819	453	2
Bombay	30,135	1,599	136	20,500	1,600	126
Bratislava	6,397	116	0	6,049	151	0
Brussels	986	7	0	1,043	12	0
Bucharest	7,887	370	3	8,702	440	0
Budapest	415	15	0	422	21	0
Cairo	9,537	225	0	10,389	366	2
Calcutta	4,311	43	1	2,753	57	4
Canberra	9,912	13	0	7,885	8	0
Casablanca	1,824	38	0	2,403	75	2
Chicago	3,583	6	0	2,302	7	0
Colombo	6,342	795	28	7,152	1,385	40
Copenhagen	960	18	0	687	33	2
Dakar	129	11	0	—	—	0
Damascus	1,979	179	0	1,413	227	0
Dar Es Salaam	2,628	277	12	2,041	264	13
Dhaka	7,523	949	69	9,134	1,398	91
Doha	3,809	72	0	4,764	104	3
Dubai	11,739	72	6	10,034	104	12
Dublin	1,682	35	1	1,580	46	0
Dusseldorf	6,676	33	0	5,690	45	0
Ekaterinburg	1,257	21	0	923	27	0
Geneva	2,427	26	0	2,479	35	1
Georgetown	699	40	4	620	54	3
Guangzhou	5,336	1,234	12	6,143	396	11
Hanoi	619	48	0	246	22	0
Harare	564	73	0	—	—	0
Havana	573	31	0	481	36	0
Hong Kong	1,961	50	2	1,561	45	2
Islamabad	30,872	5,910	538	20,033	4,153	449
Istanbul	1,131	519	11	13,430	701	23
Jakarta	5,382	73	3	2,590	80	0
Jeddah	8,324	77	0	5,866	71	5
Jerusalem	643	9	0	712	14	0

Applications received, refused and family visit applications received
	April to June 2001			August to September 2001
	Applications received	Applications refused	FVA received	Applications received	Applications refused	FVA received
Kampala	3,859	318	3	3,485	349	5
Karachi	16,964	2,933	29	13,411	2,554	85
Kathmandu	1,561	413	0	2,036	818	20
Khartoum	1,745	134	11	1,230	136	5
Kiev	8,493	916	3	6,226	1,070	4
Kingston	1,194	109	1	1,264	122	3
Kuala Lumpur	716	95	1	844	111	1
Kuwait	10,612	135	1	14,345	196	2
Lagos	23,197	2,261	144	26,056	2,635	174
Lahore¹	—	—	—	1,345	271	2
Lima	1,087	26	0	1,137	24	0
Los Angeles	6,767	5	0	5,364	5	0
Luanda	499	14	0	813	30	0
Lusaka	1,433	65	6	1,218	78	1
Madras	12,272	312	7	8,150	336	6
Madrid	13,207	3	0	1,418	2	0
Manila	7,830	426	60	5,841	344	46
Mexico City	178	0	1	181	0	0
Minsk	2,968	41	0	3,045	80	0
Moscow	22,941	593	5	16,894	619	8
Muscat	4,258	41	3	3,209	40	5
Nairobi	6,582	469	7	6,872	731	17
New Delhi	28,328	1,672	167	21,719	1,525	156
New York	10,263	31	0	8,403	20	0
Nicosia	1,285	34	1	2,053	38	7
Oslo	1,063	1	1	898	2	0
Ottawa	5,582	33	0	5,192	24	1
Paris	6,946	8	0	7,689	11	1
Peking	12,568	—	2	19,175	2,237	0
Port Louis	3,823	100	7	3,050	200	9
Port of Spain	541	40	0	662	39	0
Prague	670	3	0	755	3	0
Pretoria	5,756	386	0	4,526	406	0
Quito	821	20	0	865	19	1
Riga	553	41	0	303	18	1
Riyadh	10,796	114	7	9,836	129	7
Rome	2,097	36	0	3,661	24	1
Sana'a	1,322	104	11	1,448	70	5
Santo Domingo	547	6	0	532	22	0
Sarajevo	780	6	0	684	5	0
Shanghai	4,889	61	0	6,660	702	0
Singapore	1,695	11	0	1,331	19	0
Skopje²	1,205	94	—	839	139	—
Sofia	6,823	555	0	5,726	899	0
St. Petersburg	3,663	129	0	3,010	134	0
Sto Domingo	—	—	0	—	—	14
Stockholm	1,333	8	0	1,119	13	0
Taipei	12,297	429	0	12,282	0	0
Tashkent	599	49	0	885	72	0
Tbilisi	530	30	0	790	33	0
Tehran	6,583	69	9	7,198	167	20
Tel Aviv	4,766	175	—	6,552	394	—
Tirana	704	40	0	853	103	0
Tokyo	1,435	242	1	1,299	81	0
Tripoli	—	—	7	—	—	0
Tunis	1,875	196	15	3,042	166	21
Valletta	1,560	—	—	—	—	—
Vienna	745	11	0	813	7	0
Warsaw	448	19	0	545	24	0
Washington	3,271	0	1	3,030	0	0
Wellington	4,240	10	0	2,026	7	0
Yaounde	710	70	3	476	44	4
Zagreb	3,945	19	1	4,346	32	0
	553,064	34,041	1,506	513,447	38,921	1,552
¹ Opened September 2001
² January 2001

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for each year from 1990 to 2000, how many applications were made for a visa or entry clearance to visit the United Kingdom of these, how many were repeat applications; how many applications for a visa or entry clearance to visit the United Kingdom were refused; and of these, how many were repeat applications, broken down in each category by (a) the country from which the application was made, (b) the gender of the applicant and (c) the age of the applicant (0–10, 11–20, 21–30 and 31 and above). [8729]

We do not maintain records on the number of visa applications received for the years 1990 to 1992. Most records of applications at overseas Posts for those years will have been destroyed.We have the following information for 1993 to 1996:

Year/region	Received	Refused
1993
Equatorial Africa	90,123	18,749
Southern Africa	6,703	266
Near East and North Africa	73,320	4,198
Middle East	110,230	4,156
Far East	75,820	1,205
South Asia	188,453	25,224
SE Asia	98,434	2,821
Australia/South Pacific	19,349	43
Western Europe	92,748	3,074
Central Europe and FSU	103,960	4,569
Southern Europe	66,193	3,212
Northern Europe	63,634	183
West Indies and Atlantic	6,081	1,057
Latin America	4,870	88
1994
Equatorial Africa	97,184	19,998
Southern Africa	9,662	472
Near East and North Africa	76,814	3,261
Middle East	116,940	3,876
Far East	78,798	684
South Asia	210,117	30,504
SE Asia	120,092	2,622
Australia/South Pacific	28,563	53
Western Europe	98,524	2,953
MVD, London	318	0

Applications received/refused
	1997		1998		1999		2000
	Received	Refused	Received	Refused	Received	Refused	Received	Refused
Abidjan	2,053	300	2,343	352	2,176	201	2,865	235
Abu Dhabi	16,532	319	¹—	¹—	17,663	434	18,850	333
Abuja	7,930	1,359	11,487	1,452	16,782	1,777	21,602	2,776
Accra	19,145	4,840	22,901	5,078	28,308	5,355	34,144	7,783
Addis Ababa	5,808	866	4,357	362	4,066	551	3,547	519
Algiers	2,657	0	3,499	0	3,370	0	0	0
Almaty	4,589	133	5,334	84	4,996	114	5,486	220
Amman	9,716	190	9,076	227	8,642	228	10,114	151
Amsterdam	7,095	234	7,470	256	8,198	270	8,905	172
Ankara	4,770	49	4,530	67	4,695	90	5,304	52
Antananarivo	324	6	298	8	359	25	354	31
Ascension Island	52	1	55	0	59	0	80	0
Ashgabat	296	0	335	0	710	12	1,049	6
Athens	1,157	13	991	29	1,167	112	1,273	154
Bahrain	13,338	88	¹—	¹—	11,026	73	12,410	98
Baku	2,358	1	3,217	16	2,755	113	2,702	171
Bandar Seri Begawan	1,097	5	912	4	1,185	18	1,238	5
Bangkok	42,592	1,406	21,906	1,503	29,278	1,950	32,253	2,100

Year/region	Received	Refused
Central Europe and FSU	15,752	4,919
Southern Europe	54,654	3,338
Northern Europe	72,301	213
West Indies and Atlantic	7,431	1,300
Latin America	5,223	75
1995
Equatorial Africa	89,889	19,573
Southern Africa	16,308	507
Near East and North Africa	78,127	4,509
Middle East	122,794	4,969
Far East	82,591	1,222
South Asia	222,954	35,576
SE Asia	130,246	2,362
Australia/South Pacific	35,699	77
Western Europe	96,516	2,480
MVD, London	192	0
Central Europe and FSU	187,991	7,033
Southern Europe	63,610	3,986
Northern Europe	72,434	301
West Indies and Atlantic	6,855	836
Latin America	6,314	145
1996
Equatorial Africa	126,738	199,941
Southern Africa	19,403	844
Near East and North Africa	80,598	5,187
Middle East	199,080	4,751
Far East	88,542	1,458
South Asia	231,499	36,430
SE Asia	138,067	3,046
Australia/South Pacific	3,895	43
Western Europe	96,496	2,613
MVD, London	723	0
Central Europe and FSU	213,984	9,470
Southern Europe	81,091	3,484
Northern Europe	80,783	241
West Indies and Atlantic	7,845	721
Latin America	8,815	200

The numbers of applications received and refused between 1997 and 2000 are as follows.We do not record for statistical purposes whether an application is a repeat application, the gender of the applicant or their age. To ask Posts to provide this information now would require them to carry out a manual search of their records, which could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Applications received/refused
	1997		1998		1999		2000
	Received	Refused	Received	Refused	Received	Refused	Received	Refused
Banjul	3,115	654	3,137	508	3,933	915	4,579	809
Beirut	8,027	381	7,507	271	7,500	230	8,090	130
Belgrade	13,641	437	14,772	285	2,683	55	11,185	207
Belmopan	22	0	24	0	17	0	31	0
Berne	88	0	57	0	40	0	49	0
Bogota	14,734	441	20,683	1,089	17,129	1,303	19,766	1,759
Bombay	56,488	4,813	63,909	5,006	72,203	5,895	73,317	6,684
Bonn	428	0	584	0	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—
Brasilia	90	0	97	0	95	0	164	0
Bratislava	401	36	6,082	69	22,838	773	21,070	496
Bridgetown	701	78	821	71	922	105	987	109
Brussels	6,026	120	4,443	118	4,442	94	4,574	81
Bucharest	18,830	834	23,206	1,180	22,056	1,416	22,270	1,565
Budapest	1,352	45	1,610	74	4,869	174	1,587	103
Buenos Aires	614	4	574	3	635	10	652	6
Cairo	28,869	949	29,616	904	30,602	728	30,940	612
Calcutta	9,264	118	11,629	89	9,636	173	10,087	141
Canberra	28,585	41	32,317	31	34,095	36	34,423	56
Caracas	573	3	445	12	584	10	708	13
Casablanca	7,368	862	7,084	665	7,212	453	7,763	426
Chicago	8,981	18	10,484	17	11,084	24	11,311	9
Colombo	12,288	608	14,594	622	18,449	1,281	21,288	2,480
Copenhagen	2,197	89	2,240	47	2,654	39	3,229	52
Dakar	1,410	229	1,243	189	1,430	183	1,581	160
Damascus	5,857	233	5,976	297	5,404	411	7,389	536
Dar Es Salaam	6,962	238	9,008	856	9,607	1,489	9,253	1,472
Dhaka	18,132	5,829	17,187	4,562	19,752	4,656	22,418	5,342
Doha	14,972	101	¹—	¹—	10,407	303	9,973	278
Dubai	26,364	897	¹—	¹—	27,677	953	28,408	1,130
Dublin	3,496	7	3,313	21	3,613	37	5,039	71
Dusseldorf	24,965	668	19,813	483	21,854	309	25,279	182
Ekaterinburg	423	12	2,941	65	2,083	46	2,803	97
Freetown	624	145	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—	2,815	420
Gaborone	671	17	790	28	820	34	946	44
Geneva	8,936	129	8,266	121	8,075	148	9,384	188
Georgetown	1,589	208	1,582	190	1,521	205	1,881	163
Gibraltar	568	0	625	0	344	10	242	0
Guangzhou	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—	4,234	206	13,453	1,373
Guatemala City	47	0	72	1	89	3	93	6
Hamilton	54	0	289	0	280	3	239	0
Hanoi	1,272	99	2,205	164	1,761	315	2,233	244
Harare	1,530	166	1,955	254	1,900	222	2,960	444
Havana	1,821	106	2,107	96	2,221	163	1,968	108
Helsinki	956	20	1,046	7	948	31	1,367	42
Hong Kong	13,365	332	11,846	380	6,390	399	5,833	290
Honiara	38	0	11	0	23	0	22	1
Houston	4,856	24	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—
Islamabad	33,011	5,974	49,087	7,369	50,816	11,299	64,346	11,047
Istanbul	60,286	2,625	63,338	2,817	58,870	2,240	63,334	2,274
Jakarta	31,980	164	8,855	271	18,539	356	19,340	357
Jedda	25,304	711	¹—	¹—	25,803	1,234	21,844	540
Jerusalem	2,234	43	2,378	88	2,021	138	2,189	43
Kampala	9,309	836	11,203	1,007	11,612	1,224	13,139	2,176
Karachi	26,678	1,832	28,063	3,124	30,286	3,915	32,450	4,942
Kathmandu	3,096	296	3,825	676	4,148	759	5,597	1,263
Khartoum	3,401	533	¹—	¹—	1,494	315	4,224	616
Kiev	22,469	2,626	23,727	2,580	22,693	2,843	26,145	3,121
Kigali	¹—	¹—	105	0	110	0	106	0
Kingston	3,217	232	3,537	230	3,475	389	3,618	408
Kinshasa	686	82	689	44	1,385	143	1,104	255
Kuala Lumpur	3,893	157	2,655	317	2,956	289	2,645	303
Kuwait	40,517	352	¹—	¹—	36,199	397	33,469	661
La Paz	46	2	67	1	49	2	56	0
Lagos	42,648	8,856	44,129	8,621	55,319	8,267	62,123	9,363
Lahore	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—
Lilongwe	337	32	374	33	456	39	437	28
Lima	3,387	91	3,884	161	3,642	190	3,678	159
Lisbon	1,107	15	1,352	27	1,213	19	1,352	27
Los Angeles	17,442	32	24,517	93	24,417	186	25,023	98
Luanda	1,497	38	1,609	30	1,744	44	1,857	138
Lusaka	4,082	251	4,488	208	4,746	225	5,289	334

Applications received/refused
	1997		1998		1999		2000
	Received	Refused	Received	Refused	Received	Refused	Received	Refused
Luxembourg	477	3	397	0	400	0	340	1
Madras	18,970	651	23,868	917	27,003	954	32,531	1,316
Madrid	2,871	137	2,816	184	2,655	132	3,906	84
Managua	17	0	15	0	16	0	21	0
Manila	21,104	1,125	17,868	1,584	19,868	1,274	25,868	1,161
Maputo	652	28	792	23	717	22	933	27
Maseru	104	2	160	6	234	33	195	42
Mbabane	¹—	¹—	152	8	123	1	160	5
Mexico City	1,107	4	1,228	5	1,339	7	1,636	5
Minsk	7,552	90	7,131	168	7,137	120	8,081	201
Montevideo	128	0	139	0	88	0	95	0
Moscow	91,496	2,624	77,323	2,105	56,736	1,248	65,544	1,421
Muscat	8,534	76	¹—	¹—	10,587	124	10,004	131
MVD, London	856	0	483	0	579	0	¹—	¹—
Nairobi	18,060	1,041	17,194	1,578	18,796	2,082	18,949	1,545
Nassau	229	0	244	3	338	3	327	1
New Delhi	54,137	7,200	60,283	8,249	66,822	11,165	70,790	12,481
New York	28,303	170	32,786	268	34,545	169	35,012	166
Nicosia	2,911	233	8,340	422	8,006	461	7,397	325
Nuku'alofa	14	0	20	0	28	0	1	0
Oslo	3,360	62	2,745	34	2,739	39	3,265	22
Ottawa	15,586	159	18,482	111	18,744	66	18,848	61
Panama City	4	0	162	6	161	3	167	3
Paris	22,833	303	21,301	176	19,561	151	22,189	84
Peking	33,743	2,850	33,809	2,602	35,254	2,733	42,804	4,105
Port Louis	8,614	460	9,537	489	9,463	516	10,105	633
Port Moresby	626	4	609	5	676	6	567	3
Port of Spain	1,394	45	1,535	41	1,793	68	1,937	124
Port Stanley	79	0	66	1	49	0	¹—	¹—
Prague	1,201	55	1,642	67	2,127	90	2,181	79
Pretoria	12,700	556	19,328	657	22,437	1,162	19,950	1,718
Quito	1,689	167	3,028	201	2,020	229	2,029	188
Rabat	0	0	526	0	541	0	510	0
Rangoon	847	39	1,095	39	1,028	77	1,259	111
Reykjavik	85	0	88	2	136	2	198	0
Riga	2,393	78	2,513	174	2,173	156	1,943	147
Rio de Janeiro	616	22	735	21	720	36	806	62
Ryidah	30,269	545	¹—	¹—	31,108	800	29,065	569
Rome	5,576	368	6,059	460	5,422	252	7,408	171
San Jose	53	0	77	0	72	0	111	0
San Salvador	8	1	16	0	15	0	23	0
Sana'a	4,005	401	¹—	¹—	4,093	252	5,117	681
Santiago	480	3	543	9	507	6	343	0
Santo Domingo	434	41	1,151	84	1,408	59	1,316	48
Sarajevo	766	68	2,036	139	3,370	163	3,014	73
Seoul	1,536	16	839	15	974	27	1,166	72
Shanghai	¹—	¹—	5,683	¹—	8,353	788	12,833	885
Singapore	3,696	35	4,096	31	4,339	19	5,384	39
Skopje	257	0	417	0	720	1	1,020	0
Sofia	14,867	636	17,241	944	21,182	1,371	22,291	1,303
St. Petersburg	16,610	393	14,382	637	11,347	655	11,981	573
Stockholm	5,890	66	5,865	100	4,582	87	4,598	78
Suva	764	14	763	20	822	14	1,340	20
Taipei	50,133	0	41,089	0	43,042	0	44,959	0
Tallinn	471	9	534	59	827	80	655	168
Tangier	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tashkent	3,115	109	2,915	208	2,581	118	1,946	173
Tbilisi	1,479	36	1,905	22	2,290	59	2,793	399
Tegucigalpa	18	0	23	0	25	0	39	2
Tehran	21,013	821	¹—	¹—	22,613	557	26,750	790
Tel Aviv	1,601	154	1,696	255	1,431	184	1,585	123
The Hague	207	0	118	0	¹—	¹—	¹—	¹—
Tirana	¹—	¹—	206	33	1,703	206	2,071	297
Tokyo	5,590	160	5,443	219	5,044	306	5,131	271
Tripoli	618	0	860	3	1,507	12	8,344	256
Tunis	7,374	1,713	7,507	1,260	7,310	1,097	7,809	1,160
Ulaan Baatar	590	11	818	79	911	130	1,084	184
Valletta	7,726	18	7,419	22	6,876	29	4,964	17
Victoria	198	1	192	3	268	0	282	3
Vienna	2,583	21	2,625	18	2,618	15	3,007	34
Vila	15	0	6	0	9	1	10	2

Applications received/refused
	1997		1998		1999		2000
	Received	Refused	Received	Refused	Received	Refused	Received	Refused
Vilnius	229	16	366	38	325	46	526	65
Warsaw	1,341	142	1,409	116	1,568	115	1,509	213
Washington	10,561	8	12,083	4	11,531	17	12,635	7
Wellington	12,419	20	13,050	24	13,743	43	12,807	72
Windhoek	198	6	363	7	483	15	496	50
Yaounde	1,776	171	2,084	243	2,054	225	2,177	350
Yerevan	667	34	1,022	43	969	28	1,036	101
Zagreb	841	84	342	25	2,435	34	13,490	352
¹ Posts where figures are not available

Biological Weapons Convention

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions have taken place with other Governments on the ratification of the verification protocol amendment to the Biological Weapons Convention 1972. [8621]

None on the ratification of the protocol. The last meeting of the Ad Hoc Group of the States Parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) which had been negotiating a Protocol took place from 24 July to 17 August 2001. The meeting concluded without agreement on a Protocol text or a future negotiating process. We continue to support the strengthening of the BTWC and have regular discussions with like-minded partners about further options to achieve this objective.

Botswana

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations the Government have made to the Government of Botswana concerning their policy of resettling the nomadic San people in villages. [9065]

The Foreign Secretary called on President Mogae of Botswana when he and his Foreign Minister visited London in June. The issue of resettlement of the San people was discussed during the meeting. The British High Commissioner discussed the San when he presented his credentials to President Mogae in September.

Zimbabwe

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is being done to hold President Mugabe to the Abuja Accord. [9434]

Together with our EU partners, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Commonwealth and other concerned members of the international community, we continue to urge the Government of Zimbabwe to abide by the commitments it made in Abuja. My noble Friend Baroness Amos plans to visit Zimbabwe on 25–26 October with Abuja partners, to assess progress on the ground.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Zimbabwe. [8303]

We are very concerned by the continuing breakdown of law and order in Zimbabwe. We are working with our Commonwealth, African, EU and other international partners to urge the Zimbabwean Government to restore the rule of law, respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and implement economic reform. We continue to urge the Zimbabwean Government to abide by the commitments it made in Abuja. My noble Friend Baroness Amos plans to visit Zimbabwe on 25–26 October to assess the situation on the ground, as part of the Abuja process, and in the company of other Commonwealth representatives.

Middle East

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement regarding the release of Israeli soldiers by the Lebanese Hizbollah. [8315]

This Government condemn hostage taking under any circumstances. The Government are doing what they can to help in these cases, and continue to raise them with the relevant countries in the region pressing particularly for access to the hostages for the ICRC. We strongly support all efforts to secure the release of all hostages, particularly efforts led by the United Nations Secretary General.

Burma

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the recent report compiled by Earthrights International regarding the activities of Premier Oil in Burma; and if he will make a statement. [8712]

The report to which the hon. Member refers, published in May 2000, criticised Premier Oil's presence in Burma on the ground that it helped prop up a military regime under which human rights abuses, including forced labour, are widespread. We share that view and have asked Premier to leave Burma as soon as, and to the fullest extent that, it legally can.

Pakistan

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to his Pakistani counterparts concerning the sentencing to death of Dr. Yunis Shaikh for blasphemy on 18 August. [8307]

The then FCO Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Baroness Scotland, raised this with the Pakistani Minister of Law, Ms Shahida Jamil, in April. In May, the local EU Troika raised the application of the blasphemy laws with Ms Jamil. Officials in our High Commission in Islamabad most recently discussed Mr. Shaikh's case with representatives of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in August. We will continue to follow this issue closely.

Tibet

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on (a) the most recent talks between the EU and Chinese regarding Tibet and (b) the situation of Chadrel Rinpoche, Gedun Choekyi, Ngawang Sangdrol, Ngawang Choephel and the anniversary monks. [8310]

The information is as follows:

(a) The EU raised our concerns about Tibet at the EU-China summit on 5 September. The EU-China Human Rights Dialogue on 25–26 October will provide another opportunity to discuss these concerns in detail.

(b) We regularly raise our concerns about political prisoners in Tibet. Chadrel Rinpoche, Gedun Choekyi Nyima, Ngawang Sangdrol and Ngawang Cheophel were among the individual cases raised at the last round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue on 12–14 February. The Chinese gave the following information:

Chadrel Rinpoche was in good health and allowed to study (i.e. watch TV and read newspapers). He was not held in solitary confinement, sharing his room with one other inmate. He was not required to carry out hard labour. We were told Chadrel was due for release on 9 January 2002.

Ngawang Sangdrol was in good health, studies in her spare time and engages in weaving as a hobby. Her release date was 2013, her sentence having been extended three times for engaging in protests.

Ngawang Choephel was in good health physically and mentally.

In response to our call for independent access to Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the Chinese said that his parents wished to preserve his privacy. We continue t press the Chinese for reassurance that Gedhun Choekyi is alive and well, and for independent access to him.

We have no news of the two monks (Phuntsok Legmon and Namdrol) who were sentenced in July 1999 for protesting on 10 March 1999 in Lhasa.

Dublin And Monaghan Bombings

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department has responded to requests for information from the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974 by the delivery of relevant documents; and if he will make a statement. [7950]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 22 October 2001, Official Report, column 16W.

Sri Lanka

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many arms export licences for arms sales to Sri Lanka have been rejected in each of the past five years. [8732]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list how many arms export licences have been granted in each of the past five years for arms sales to Sri Lanka; if he will list the arms exported by each deal; if he will list who has received the arms in Sri Lanka; and what their end-use is. [8736]

I have been asked to reply.Details of all export licensing decisions taken between 2 May 1997 and 31 December 2000 were set out in the Government's 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls, published by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; copies are in the Library of the House.From 1 January 2001 to 8 October 2001, 19 Standard Individual Export Licences and four Open Individual Export Licences were issued covering items on the Military List destined for Sri Lanka.In addition, goods on the Military List may have been exported to Sri Lanka under certain Open General Export Licences; copies of all Open General Export Licences valid at any time during the period are in the Library of the House.Under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, Exemption 13—Third Party's Commercial confidences, I cannot provide the information requested on end use as it has been provided to the Government in confidence. In addition, publication of this information could reveal details of the recipient country's defence strategy, as well as being commercially damaging to the exporter.

Trade And Industry

Ministerial Visits

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many overseas visits and to which destinations have been undertaken by the Minister for Science over the last three years; and how they were funded. [8175]

Over the last three years, the Minister for Science has undertaken 43 overseas visits to the following destinations: Belgium, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and USA. This includes a number of formal and informal EU Research Council meetings.The travel costs have been met from within the departmental budget.

Summer Recess

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) press notices and (b) consultation documents were issued by her Department during the summer recess. [9225]

158 press notices and 17 consultation documents were issued by the Department during the summer recess period. 57 of the releases issued during this period were standard statistical information notes, merger clearances and other company law announcements. Copies of all the documents are available on the DTI website. Press notices are also available from the Central Office of Information.

End Of Life Vehicles Directive

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the implementation of the End of Vehicle Life Directive on MG Rover. [9693]

The DTI Consultation Paper includes a partial regulatory impact assessment that addresses the costs and benefits of the Directive. My Department has had a number of meetings with MG Rover, and with other car manufacturers, about the impact of the Directive. A full assessment of the effect on individual companies cannot be made until the precise method of implementation has been decided.

Regional Development Agencies

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the administrative budget is of each of the English regional development agencies in the current financial year. [8633]

The RDAs' administration budgets this year are as follows:

£ million
	Administration
One North East	10.653
North West Development Agency	14.044
Yorkshire Forward	9.989
East Midlands Development Agency	7.488
Advantage West Midlands	8.793
East of England Development Agency	5.836
South East Development Agency	7.143
South West Development Agency	9.099
London Development Agency	9.470
Total	82.515

Textile Industry (Climate Change Levy)

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the textile industry regarding the climate change levy; and if she will make a statement. [9206]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: Ministers and officials maintain contact with textile industry representatives, where issues of concern to the textile industry are discussed. Prior to the levy's implementation in April this year, the British Apparel and Textile Confederation (BATC) negotiated an Energy Efficiency Agreement with the Government for an 80 per cent. discount from the levy for eligible textile companies.

Hearing Aid Council

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will review the Code of Practice of the Hearing Aid Council relating to protection of persons who purchase a hearing aid in circumstances in which they were misled by the seller. [8679]

The Code of Practice is the responsibility of the Hearing Aid Council, who keep it under review.

Departmental Staff

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will estimate total staff costs for his Department and its agencies by nation and region of the UK; and if she will make a statement. [6835]

The pay bill costs for the DTI, excluding the Patent Office and Companies House Trading Funds, but including the Department's gross and net controlled agencies, in 1999–2000 were £222 million. A more detailed breakdown is given in the Department's Expenditure Plans Report 2001–02 to 2003–04, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House (Cm 5112). The figure is not broken down geographically, and it would incur disproportionate cost to do so, but the Department's current staff, excluding those at the agencies and in Government offices, are distributed as follows:

Based	Number of staff	Percentage
England	4,457	94.7
Scotland	167	3.5
Wales	81	1.7
Northern Ireland	0	0

I have asked the agency and Trading Fund chief executives to reply directly in respect of the expenditure and staff for which they are responsible.

Letter from Chris de Grouchy to Mr. Michael Weir, dated 23 October 2001:

Parliamentary Question—Staff Costs for DTI

I am replying on behalf of our Chief Executive David Hendon who is currently away from the office.

The total paybill costs, including Superannuation, for the Radiocommunications Agency for 2000–01 were £17.9m. The national and regional breakdown was as follows:

	£ million
England	17.2
Scotland	0.3
Wales	0.2
Northern Ireland	0.2

Letter from Claire Clancy to Mr. Michael Weir, dated 23 October 2001:

I am responding on behalf of the Patent Office, an Executive Agency of the DTI, to the Parliamentary question tabled on 23 July 2001 in which you asked the Secretary of State if she would estimate total staff costs for her Department and its agencies by nation and region of the UK.

The paybill costs for the Patent Office in 2000–2001 were £24.5 million. A more detailed breakdown is given in our Annual Report 2000–01, a copy of which is available in the library of the House. The figure is not broken down geographically but the staff are distributed as follows:
895 (98.7%) are based in Wales; and
12 (1.3%) in England; and
0 (0%) in Scotland; and
0 (0%) in Northern Ireland.

Letter from Desmond Flynn to Mr. Michael Weir, dated 23 October 2001:

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to your question about the total staff costs for The Insolvency Service.

The pay bill costs for The Service in 1999–2000 were £36,683,000 and, in 2000–2001 £36,177,000. The figures are included in The Service's annual report and accounts, published in July 2001. The figures are not broken down geographically, and it would incur disproportionate cost to do so, but The Service's current staff are distributed as follows:
1,539 (96.8%) are based in England;
9 (0.6%) in Scotland;
41 (2.6%) in Wales; and
0 (0%) in Northern Ireland.

Letter from John Holden to Mr. Michael Weir, dated 23 October 2001:

I have been asked to reply to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in respect of Companies House Executive Agency.

The total pay bill including pension contributions and employer's National Insurance cost for the financial year ended 31 March 2001 was £17.4 million.

These figures are not readily broken down by Region, but 94% of the workforce is based in Wales, 4% in Scotland and 2% in England. The total employed headcount on a full time equivalent basis was 954 on average for the same period.

Letter from Roger Heathcote to Mr. Michael Weir, dated 23 October 2001:

I refer to your attached Parliamentary Question of 23 July, 2001.

The contribution of the Employment Tribunals Service (ETS) to the total staff costs in question is as follows:

Total costs for 2000–2001 for Great Britain were £22,289,000.00. A more detailed breakdown of numbers of staff and costs is given in the Annual Report and Accounts of the Employment Tribunals Service 2000–2001. The report is available at the ETS website, www.ets.gov.uk. The figure is not broken down geographically, and it would incur disproportionate cost to do so, but the Agency's current staff, as at the end of September 2001, are distributed as follows:
607.9 (90.03%) are based in England
51.8 (7.67%) are based in Scotland; and
15.5 (2.30%) are based in Cardiff, Wales.

Letter from Iain MacGregor to Mr. Michael Weir, dated 23 October 2001:

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of NWML to your question regarding the staff costs for DTI and its Agencies.

The figures for NWML are as follows:
1999/2000= £1 65 M
2000/2001= £1.74 M

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will estimate the number of staff employed by her Department by region and nation of the UK; and if she will make a statement. [6834]

The total staff in post figures for the DTI, including agencies (Companies House, Employment Tribunal Service, Insolvency Service, National Weights and Measures Laboratory, Patent Office and Radiocommunications Agency) is 10,099.This figure is broken down by nation as follows:

	Staff in post	Percentage
England	7,620	75.45
Northern Ireland	6	0.06
Scotland	294	2.91
Wales	2,182	21.58

This figure is further broken down by nation and region (county) as follows:

	Number
England
Avon	102
Bedfordshire	18
Berkshire	49
Cambridgeshire	23
Cheshire	25
Cleveland	95
Cornwall	1
Devon	76
Dorset	15
East Sussex	32
Essex	25
Gloucestershire	26
Greater London	5,282
Greater Manchester	146
Hampshire	78
Hertfordshire	134
Humberside	32
Kent	59
Lancashire	33
Leicestershire	36
Merseyside	68
Middlesex	60
Norfolk	26
Northamptonshire	24
Nottinghamshire	87
Oxfordshire	28
Shropshire	28
South Yorkshire	161
Staffordshire	17
Suffolk	76
Surrey	174
Tyne and Wear	79
Unknown	46
West Midlands	348
West Yorkshire	111
Northern Ireland
Down	5
Londonderry	1

	Number
Scotland
Central	12
Grampian	85
Lothian	83
Strathclyde	109
Tayside	5
Wales
Gwent	919
South Glamorgan	1,244
West Glamorgan	16

Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if she will place in the Library for each year since 1995 the average response time for providing a substantive answer to (a) hon. Member's correspondence, (b) correspondence from members of the public and (c) written parliamentary questions in the (i) House of Commons and (ii) House of Lords; [7049](2) if she will place in the Library for each year since 1995 the total number of

(a) letters from hon. Members, (b) letters from members of the Public and (c) parliamentary questions from (i) hon. Members and (ii) Lords dealt with by her Department; what percentage took (A) more than one month and (B) more than three months to provide a substantive answer; and if she will make a statement. [7050]

I received almost 13,000 items of post in the last year. My Department aims to respond to all letters received within 10 working days.General information on the volumes of correspondence received across Whitehall and on overall performance is published by the Cabinet Office. Figures for 2000 were published on 6 April 2001,

Official Report, columns 324–28W and on 19 July 2001, Official Report, columns 454–56W.

My Department aims to answer all ordinary written parliamentary questions within five working days, and named day written parliamentary questions on the day named.

I have answered 378 written parliamentary questions this session, providing substantive answers for 76 per cent. of them on time.

Business Recovery Fund

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many applications for grants were made under the business recovery fund; and how many have been allocated, for each Regional Development Agency in the last three years; [7800](2) how much money has been made available to provide grants under the business recovery fund; and what the total value of grants made has been allocated so far under the business recovery fund, for each Regional Development Agency. [7801]

I have been asked to reply.

The business recovery fund has been in existence only since May this year as part of our response to the impact of foot and mouth disease on the rural economy. Discretion was given to each Regional Development Agency to use available funds flexibly and quickly to meet the specific needs of their own region. As a consequence information on numbers of applications is not available on any consistent basis. Information on the value of grants is given in the table.

RDA allocations—direct grants to business ¹
All cash figures in £ million
	Allocation	Approved for payment	Number of applications approved	Applications awaiting approval
NWDA	6.6	6.0	1,906	90
SWDA	9.2	8.4	775	0
Yfwd	2.0	2.0	585	0
AWM	4.0	3.3	335	150
ONE	2.3	1.8	570	100
EEDA	0.5	1.6	23	110
SEEDA	1.0	0.6	93	88
EMDA	1.4	1.3	95	385
Total	26.9	20.54	4,382	923
¹ 17 October 2001

Prime Minister

Strategic Communications Unit

To ask the Prime Minister what the cost was of running the Strategic Communications Unit in the financial year 2000–01. [8767]

The total cost of running the Strategic Communications Unit for the financial year 2000–01 was £957,302. This includes the cost of developing and running the No. 10 website which now receives over four million hits a week.

Special Envoys

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the overseas missions undertaken on his behalf since 7 June by (a) Lord Levy and (b) the right hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Mandelson), listing in each case (i) persons and places visited, (ii) the reason for the visits and (iii) the cost to public funds. [8774]

Since 7 June, Lord Levy has travelled as my personal envoy to Israel and the Palestinian Authority from 10 to 13 July, and to Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Jordan from 30 September to 10 October. During his visits he met a range of senior figures including the Israeli Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Defence Minister, the President of the Palestinian Authority, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, King Abdullah and the Jordanian Foreign Minister. The purpose of these visits was to carry messages on my behalf to other leaders. Lord Levy received no remuneration and travels at his own expense. The FCO and diplomatic missions overseas provide him with practical support, the cost of which is not separately itemised.

I have appointed my right hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Mandelson) as Chairman of the UK-Japan 21^st Century Group. He has not undertaken any missions on my behalf.

To ask the Prime Minister in respect of visits abroad undertaken on his behalf by (a) Lord Levy and (b) right hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Mandelson), and if it is his policy to inform the Foreign Office of such visits in advance. [8773]

When Lord Levy travels as my personal envoy, the FCO is informed and he is supported by FCO staff in London and at overseas diplomatic missions.In respect of my right hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have him today.

Regional Government

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the allocation of ministerial responsibilities for aspects of regional Government. [7528]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Waterson) on 9 July, Official Report, column 408W.

Health

Alcohol Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish his alcohol strategy. [7386]

The broad timetable for the strategy is set out in the NHS Plan, which was published in July 2000. The plan said that the Department would be implementing the strategy by 2004. The Department expects to publish a consultation paper in due course.

Asylum Seekers

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to provide a screening service for asylum seekers arriving in Kent; and what finance is being made available. [6066]

[holding answer 15 October 2001]: In Kent, as in the rest of the country, health authorities are responsible for providing health services, including screening, to asylum seekers. There are also national guidelines on what screening health authorities should offer their populations for tuberculosis (TB), and interim guidance on screening refugees and asylum seekers for TB has recently been circulated. In addition, the Department has commissioned the Refugee Council to provide best practice guidance on the health and social care needs (including screening needs) of asylum seekers dispersed through the National Asylum Support Service.More generally, there is provision in immigration legislation for immigration officers to refer any prospective entrant to the United Kingdom to a medical inspector at the port of entry for a medical examination. The Department is considering with the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, whether the current arrangements for controlling cases of imported infection need to be strengthened, and if so how.

Care Home Standards

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance the Government will provide on assessing the physical and mental fitness of (a) a registered provider, (b) a registered manager and (c) care home workers, as required in the Care Homes Regulations 2001; who will carry out the assessments; who will pay for these assessments; and if he will make a statement. [7993]

The requirements for a report on the physical and mental health of registered persons and employees of care homes are set out in both the draft Care Homes Regulations and the National Care Standards Commission Registration Regulations. This is standard practice as required by many registration and inspection units throughout England currently.Reports for registered persons should be requested from a general medical practitioner. Where a general practitioner intends to charge for such a report it will be the responsibility of the person applying for the report to pay any fee. People working or seeking employment in a care home may seek a report from a GP but if the GP is unable or unwilling to provide a report they may sign a statement as to their physical and mental health.

Chiropodists And Podiatrists

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the training places for professions allied to medicine relate to chiropodists and podiatrists in each of the years from 2001 to 2004. [7707]

Between 1999 and 2001 around 340 chiropody/podiatry training places each year were commissioned.As part of the NHS Plan target to provide 4,450 more therapist and other key health professional training places each year by 2004 we would expect to see an increase in the number of chiropody/podiatry training places.Targets for the number of chiropody/podiatry training places for the remainder of the NHS Plan period will be set later in the year.

Mental Health

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which targets in the National Service Framework for Mental Health (a) have been met and (b) are yet to be met. [8177]

The National Framework for Mental Health (NSF) is a 10 year programme to put in place new standards of care. The NSF sets out national standards for mental health, what they aim to achieve, how they should be developed and delivered and how to measure performance in every part of the country. The NHS Plan builds on the NSF by providing extra investment to fast-forward the NSF.So far the following targets have been achieved:

Secure beds

Almost 500 extra secure beds were in place by April 2001

24-hour staffed beds

320 extra 24-hour staffed beds were in place by April 2001

Assertive Outreach Services

170 new teams were established by April 2001.

Over the forthcoming years the following targets will be achieved:

Suicide and undetermined injury

Reduce mortality rate from suicide and undetermined injury by at least 20 per cent. by 2010—on target

Primary Care

1,000 new graduate primary care mental health workers employed to help general practitioners to benefit 300,000 people by 2004—on target

Community mental health staff

5,000 more community mental health staff to benefit 500,000 patients (66 per cent. by 2003. 100 per cent. by 2004)—on target

Early Intervention Teams

Establish 50 early intervention teams (45 per cent. by 2003,100 per cent. by 2004)—on target

Early and intensive support

7,500 young people who experience a first episode of psychosis receiving early and intense support by 2004—on target

Crisis Resolution

Establish 335 crisis resolution teams (23 per cent. by 2003, 100 per cent. by 2004)—on target

All people in contact with specialist mental health services able to access crisis resolution services at any time by 2004—on target

No out of area admissions which are not clinically indicated by 2004—on target

Assertive Outreach Services

Further 50 teams by 2003—on target

All who need assertive outreach services to receive them by 2003 (estimated 20,000)

Women's Services

Women only day centres in every health authority by 2004—on target

Prison In-reach

5.000 prisoners receiving more comprehensive mental health services in prison by 2004—on target

All prisoners with severe mental illness in receipt of treatment by 2004—on target

No prisoner with serious mental illness to leave prison without a care plan and a care co-ordinator by 2004—on target

Carers

700 more staff enabling support for 165,000 carers by 2004—on target

Reform of mental health legislation

White Paper finalised—on target

Reform of Mental Health Act 1983—on target

Personality Disorder

140 additional new secure places for people with severe personality disorder by 2004—on target

75 additional specialist rehabilitation hostel places for people with severe personality disorder by 2004—on target

High secure hospitals

Up to 400 patients to move from high secure hospitals to more appropriate accommodation by 2004—on target.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of progress in implementation of the National Service Framework for Mental Health; and if he will make a statement. [9506]

From data collected on the delivery of the National Service Framework and NHS Plan targets we are able to build a picture of progress. This is achieved specifically through mapping of services, a process of self assessment by local implementation teams, financial mapping, analysis of the service and financial framework process and analysis of common information returns on mental health. Assessment of progress and financial mapping will be an annual occurrence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the extra money for child and adolescent mental health services announced in February 1999 has so far been spent; and where and when. [9527]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: Our strategy for development of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), initiated in 1999–2000, is ongoing with the aim of improving the overall quality and accessibility of local services for children and young people with mental health problems. In the three years ending 31 March 2002 we will have invested some £85 million across the national health service and local authorities, with each authority receiving funding. Health authorities will have been allocated £50 million and local authorities £35 million. The funding to local authorities includes £16 million for the 24 CAMHS innovation projects. These projects are piloting innovative approaches in the provision of mental health services for children and young people.An additional £10 million was scheduled in 2001–02 for health authorities. However in the Spending Review last year it was decided to place as much funding as possible, including the £10 million, into main health authority allocations. This was in response to concerns from the NHS and will provide the benefit to health authorities of being able to manage the totality of resources available to them. This will allow them to determine for themselves how to implement national priorities, of which CAMHS is one.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many secure mental health beds there were (a) in April 1997, (b) in April 2001 and (c) at the latest available date. [9525]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: In April 1997 there were 2,294 secure mental health beds. In April 2001, which is the latest available date, there were 3,584 secure mental health beds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of progress in meeting the Public Service Agreement Target of reducing nationally the emergency psychiatric readmission rate; if he will make a statement. [9521]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: The following assessment of progress on the number of emergency psychiatric readmissions of patients aged 16–64 within 90 days of discharge from the care of a psychiatric specialist as a percentage of such discharges is set out in the table.

	1998–99 Total	1999–2000 Total	2000–01 Total
Number of re-admissions within 90 days	15,461	14,875	14,068
Total number of discharges	113,585	114,616	110,312
Re-admission rate (percentage)	13.6	13.0	12.8

The table shows progress is being made and that the national milestone as stated in the Mental Health National Service Framework to reduce the rate of psychiatric emergency readmission's by April 2002, from 14.3 per cent. to 12.3 per cent. is on target to be achieved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of progress in meeting his mental health target to reduce the 1997 death rate from suicide and undetermined injury; and if he will make a statement. [9526]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: The White Paper "Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation" (OHN) sets out a challenging target to reduce the death rate from suicide and undetermined injury by at least a fifth by the year 2010. OHN targets measure suicide rates using three-year pooled rates. The most recent data available are for 1998–2000 and indicate a small rise over the 1995–97 baseline. However, it is too early to assess progress in meeting the target as the most recent three-year pooled data still overlap the start of OHN, which was published in 1999.We are currently developing, under the direction of the National Director for Mental Health, Professor Louis Appleby, a coherent, national suicide prevention strategy to ensure that we are doing all we can to prevent suicide in pursuit of the "Our Healthier Nation" target.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of young people experiencing a first episode of psychosis received early and intensive support in 2000–01; and if he will make a statement on progress against his target for 2004. [9523]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: Information about the proportion of young people experiencing a first episode of psychosis who received early and intensive support in 2000–01 is not available centrally. The NHS Plan set a target that, by 2004, all young people who experience a first episode of psychosis will receive the early and intensive support they need. Fifty early intervention teams will be established by 2004 to provide this support and it is expected that 7,500 young people will benefit each year. During the current financial year the onus has been on local reviews of services and the establishment of robust plans to meet NHS Plan targets. Implementation of the target for early intervention teams will follow in 2002–03 and 2003–04. Progress on the development of plans is being monitored this autumn through a comprehensive review process.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women-only mental health day centres have been established under the NHS Plan. [9522]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: We have a target to put in place a women-only mental health day centre in every health authority by 2004. A considerable amount of development work is under way to support the delivery of high quality mental health services for women including the production of a national women's mental health strategy. We have as yet no details with regard to services in place although we are measuring progress toward targets with our service and financial mapping.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many early intervention mental health teams have been established. [9524]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: The NHS Plan has set a target for 50 early intervention teams to be established by 2004 in order to provide treatment and active support in the community to young people who develop psychosis, such as schizophrenia. Child and adolescent mental health services will be participating with adult services in developing the new teams. This will help to reduce the problems that can occur at the interface between the services.During the current financial year the onus has been on local reviews of services and the establishment of robust plans to meet NHS Plan targets. Implementation of the target for early intervention teams will follow in 2002–03 and 2003–04. Progress on the development of plans is being monitored this autumn through a comprehensive review process.

Social Services (Client Information)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will require social service authorities to request transfer of information from other authorities when clients move from area to area. [8510]

The Department is currently consulting on guidance that includes the requirement that councils should liaise over the care of service users who move from one area to another to ensure continuity of care.Access to personal assessment information would need to be agreed with the service user, and would take account of common law confidentiality requirements and the provisions of the Data Protection Act. However, information on an individual may be shared by statutory agencies without the individual's consent where there is a sufficient public interest justification to do so, for example where failing to do so would put people at significant risk.

Community Care Assessments

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will require social services authorities to meet targets for the completion of community care assessments. [8509]

In current and forthcoming guidance on assessment, the Department emphasises that people should be told how long the assessment of their needs will take. The guidance also emphasises that assessment should be timely and kept in proportion to individuals' needs.There are no plans to set national targets on the completion of community care assessments for social services authorities.

Waiting Lists (Leicestershire)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are on waiting lists for operations in each specialty in Leicestershire. [8522]

The table shows the waiting lists for elective admission by specialty in the Leicestershire health authority area as at 30 June 2001—the latest published figures that are available:

Specialty	Ordinary admissions	Day cases
General surgery	1,745	1,267
Urology	263	678
Trauma and Orthopaedics	1,738	869
Ear, nose and Throat	1,746	262
Ophthalmology	402	1,886
Oral surgery	121	404
Neurosurgery	24	1
Plastic surgery	522	450
Cardiothoracic surgery	360	—
Paediatric surgery	66	173
Accident and emergency	—	16
Anaesthetics	221	256
Pain management	1	177
General medicine	20	253
Gastroenterology	—	39
Cardiology	239	360
Dermatology	—	9
Thoracic medicine	—	12
Nephrology	1	8
Neurology	20	—
Paediatrics	—	31
Gynaecology	569	440
Mental Illness	19	—
Total¹	8,077	7,591
¹ All specialties

Source:

Hospital Waiting List Statistics: England

Pain Control Clinics

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that pain control clinics are in place in every primary care trust area; and if he will make a statement. [9116]

We are committed to providing equity of access to health care and to reducing variations in the availability of National Health Service services. Patients with pain should have access to services which provide management programmes of proven effectiveness. Chronic pain services exist in 220 acute hospitals, 88 per cent. of acute hospitals in the United Kingdom. However, decisions about pain control clinics in primary care trust areas are to be made locally, based on the needs of the local population. In reviewing local provision account should be taken of the needs of both adults and children, and include patients with acute pain resulting from sudden illness or accident, as well as post-operative pain and chronic pain. A systematic review of pain relieving treatments was undertaken in 1997 through the health technology assessment programme and providers may also find this of use in planning local services.The Clinical Standards Advisory Group report, published in April 2000, shows many NHS trusts have developed excellent services, but we recognise that in some places more needs to he done to drive up standards. We expect the NHS to take full account of this report when reviewing local provision to meet the needs of communities.

Mri Scans

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has to reduce waiting times for MRI scans (a) in Gloucestershire and (b) nationally. [8570]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: Investment through the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) and the NHS Plan will provide 86 magnetic resonance imaging scanners for the National Health Service by 2004. These scanners will support the accurate diagnosis and staging of cancer patients by increasing the number of scans that can be undertaken. The Gloucester Royal Infirmary has been awarded a MRI scanner under the NOF initiative. It is likely to reduce waiting times for MRI scans in Gloucestershire.The length of time which a patient might have to wait for a MRI scan is dependent on their clinical condition with priority given to emergency cases.

Nursing And Midwifery Council

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with rank and file health visitors on the proposals not to include health visitors in the title for the new Nursing and Midwifery Council. [8572]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: The Government are aware of the views of health visitors from their 1,200 responses to consultation on the Government's proposals. I am due to meet my hon. Friend the Member for Brent, North (Mr. Gardiner) with a delegation of health visitors shortly to discuss these.

National Institute For Mental Health

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the budget in 2001–02 for the National Institute for Mental Health in England; and how much has been spent. [9514]

The budget for the National Institute for Mental Health in 2001–02 is £400,000. None of this money has yet been spent.

Expenditure Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the expenditure per head on health was in (a) Tamworth, (b) Telford, (c) Kidderminster and (d) Redditch in each year from April 1996 to April 2001. [8868]

The information is not available in the format requested. Data on expenditure on health per weighted head of population are available for health authority areas, not individual towns. The relevant health authorities are South Staffordshire health authority (Tamworth), Shropshire health authority (Telford) and Worcestershire health authority (Kidderminster and Redditch) and information for these health authorities is given in the table.Expenditure on health per weighted head of population for each relevant health authority, from 1996–97 to 2000–01, is shown in the table.

Expenditure on health per weighted head of population for each relevant health authority from 1996–97 to 2000–01
£
	South Staffordshire	Shropshire	Worcestershire
1996–97	593.40	582.08	602.45
1997–98	580.71	575.19	641.55
1998–99	606.59	610.33	678.65
1999–2000	687.05	716.70	718.87
2000–01	735.88	740.93	801.38

Note:

Expenditure is taken from health authority annual accounts or summarisation forms which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in each year. The expenditure is the total spent on the purchase of healthcare by the health authority. The majority of general dental services for all five years and an element of drugs expenditure for 1997–98 and 1998–99 is not included in the health authority accounts and is separately accounted for.

Source:

Health authority audited accounts 1996–97 to 1998–99

Health authority audited summarisation forms 1999–2000 and 2000–01

Weighted population estimates for 1996–97 to 2000–01

Mr Barrie Such

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress made in the case of Mr. Barrie Such, pursuant to the undertaking given in the Adjournment debate on 7 December 2000, Official Report, column 246, that the NHS executive regional office would monitor the implementation of the care plan and funding arrangements. [8990]

I can confirm that, following the Adjournment debate in the House on 7 December 2000, agreement was reached between Worcestershire health authority and social services on the provision and funding of a 24 hour package of care for Mr. Such following his eventual discharge from hospital.Discussions have been taking place on viable options for providing Mr. Such and his family with a home in an appropriate setting. A decision has been reached and plans are currently being drawn up in consultation with Mrs. Such for a new property to be built. When those plans are agreed, the time scale for completion is estimated to be about four to five monthsI have requested that the health authority, social services and the district council in Worcestershire continue to work together to ensure a timely and satisfactory outcome for Mr. and Mrs. Such.

Solihull Hospital

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the future status of the accident and emergency facilities at Solihull Hospital. [8682]

A service review group comprising representatives from the Birmingham Heartlands and Solihull national health service trust (teaching), primary care trust, health authority, community health council, patient carers and patient representatives is currently undertaking an options appraisal for the future of the accident and emergency department at Solihull Hospital. The group will report to Solihull health authority on its recommendations, with a view to the health authority then launching a public consultation on its preferred option. The review was originally due to report back by the end September, but this has now been extended until early in the New Year.

Primary Care Trusts

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review processes by which public consultation is undertaken on primary care trusts, and the reorganisation of health authorities. [9129]

[holding answer 19 October 2001]: It is not proposed at this stage to review the processes of consultation.Legislation requires public consultation to be undertaken on the establishment of primary care trusts and new health authorities. The aim is that all consultation is open, transparent and inclusive, capturing the views of local stakeholders. While the regulations specify those who must be consulted, it allows for health authorities to consult a wider range of local bodies and individuals on the formation of primary care trusts.With regard to the proposed new health authorities, consultation on their boundaries commenced in September and will be completed at the end of November.

Assertive Outreach Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mental health crisis resolution teams and assertive outreach teams have been established; and how many people are receiving assertive outreach services. [9515]

The latest information held centrally indicates that there were 35 crisis resolution teams in place as at October 2000. The NHS plan has set a target of having 335 crisis resolution teams established by 2004. Progress towards meeting this target is being monitored this autumn through a comprehensive review process.Returns received indicate that there were over 170 assertive outreach teams in place as at June 2001, and that around 9,000 people were receiving assertive outreach services. The NHS plan sets a target for a further 50 assertive outreach teams by 2004 so that everybody who requires assertive outreach, some 20,000 people, will be receiving these services.

Gps

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs there are in post in Leicestershire in the current financial year. [9085]

The number of general medical practitioners in Leicestershire health authority as at 30 September 2000 is set out in the table. September 2000 data are the latest information available: September 2001 data will be available at the end of January 2002.

General medical practitioners in Leicestershire health authority as at 30 September 2000
	Headcount
All practitioners¹	547
Unrestricted principals and equivalents (UPEs)²	500
¹ All practitioners include UPEs, restricted principals, assistants, PMS others, GP registrars, salaried doctors (paragraph 52 SFA) and GP retainers.
² UPEs include GMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs and PMS salaried GPs.

Source:

Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.

Weighted Capitation (Leicestershire)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the extra resources required to bring Leicestershire up to a 100 per cent. of its weighted capitation in (a) cash and (b) percentage terms. [9086]

Leicestershire health authority's distance from weighted capitation target for 2001–02 is £15 million in cash terms or 2.44 per cent. below target. For 2001–02 Leicestershire health authority received an allocation of £616 million, which is an increase of £49 million in cash terms or 8.57 per cent. The weighted capitation formula is used to set targets that inform allocations but the formula does not determine allocations.

Sexual Health

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will recommend the use in England of -Pathways to Sexual Health", published by the Lothian Health Board; [8686](2) if he will recommend the use of "Let's Talk About Sex" by publicly funded organisations in England; [8687](3) if he will recommend the use of "Taking Sex Seriously—Practical Sex Education Activities For Young People" by organisations in England which are funded by his Department. [8688]

[holding answer 19 October 2001]: It is for local agencies and organisations to determine which resources or materials most effectively and appropriately support their work. If they are to be used within a school setting, then this should be in accordance with guidance on Sex and Relationship Education produced by the Department for Education and Skills. The guidance

2001	May	June	July	August
Number waiting over 18 months for inpatient treatment	0	0	0	0
Number waiting less than 18 months for inpatient treatment	8,868	8,850	8,898	8,917
Number waiting less than 15 months for inpatient treatment	8,676	8,674	8,723	8,733
Number waiting less than 12 months for inpatient treatment	8,159	8,150	8,184	8,202

Source:

KH07 quarterly return/monthly waiting list returns

stresses the need for schools to ensure that their pupils are protected from any teaching or materials which are inappropriate, while having regard to the age and cultural background of the pupils concerned.

Mobile Telecommunications

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial provision has been made for the mobile telecommunications health research programme. [9024]

[holding answer 19 October 2001]: The Stewart report on mobile phones and health made a recommendation that a substantial research programme should be set up under the aegis of a demonstrably independent panel and financed by the mobile phone companies and the public sector. This programme has now been set up under the direction of an independent programme management committee. The total sum available for this programme is £7.36 million, the costs being shared 50:50 between Government and the mobile phone industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research projects will be undertaken by the mobile telecommunications health research programme. [9025]

[holding answer 19 October 2001]: The Stewart report on mobile phones and health made a recommendation that a substantial research programme should be set up under the aegis of a demonstrably independent panel and financed by the mobile phone companies and the public sector. This programme has been set up under the direction of an independent scientific management committee. The committee is currently assessing a range of research proposals including those that investigate dosimetry, physiology and epidemiology. The first group projects is expected to start in the next few weeks. When they are approved, the individual projects will be announced on the Department's web site at www.doh.gov.uk/mobilephones.

Hospital Waiting Times (Essex)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust area were waiting for inpatient treatment for (a) more than 18 months, (b) up to 18 months, (c) up to 15 months and (d) up to 12 months, in each month from 31 May until the latest available monthly figures. [8697]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: The information requested is given in the table.The number of patients waiting more than 18 months, up to 18 months, up to 15 months, and up to 12 months for in-patient treatment at Mid-Essex Hospital Services national health service trust on 31 May 2001 until the latest available monthly figures are:

Age-Related Audits

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish for each NHS trust the results of the age-related audits required by the National Service Framework for Older People; and if she will list those trusts that have (a) submitted their audits to the regional office on time, (b) yet to submit and (c) were late to submit their accounts. [8699]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: The date set by the National Service Framework for Older People for completion of the local age-related audit is October 2001. Information at regional and national level will be available later this year. Individual national health service trusts are expected to publish details of the policy reviews undertaken locally in their annual reports covering the current year.

Delayed Discharges

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 1036W, on delayed discharges, for what reason his Department ceased to collect figures on the basis of age. [9145]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: We are continuing to collect figures on delayed discharges for over 75s as a sub-group of delays for all adult patients. The breakdown on reasons for delay are now collected for all ages to give a more comprehensive picture of the reasons for delayed discharges.

National Service Frameworks

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will ensure that voluntary organisations are funded to play a full part in the preparation of National Service Frameworks; [8708](2) if his Department ensures that consultees who are party to drawing up an National Service Framework are also consultees in respect of any related NICE guidance; [8706](3) how his Department ensures that work on National Service Frameworks and NICE guidance which overlap is co-ordinated. [8705]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: Each National Service Framework is developed with the assistance of an external reference group (ERG) which brings together health professionals, service users and carers, health service managers, partner agencies, and other advocates. ERGs adopt an inclusive process to engage the full range of views. The ERGs advice is informed by the evidence base, including National Institute of Clinical Excellence guidance where available, and ERGs' advice have been sought on the development of NICE guidelines. The members of the ERG are reimbursed for travelling and expenses incurred while helping in the development of the National Service Framework. The Department supports the ERGs and manages and co-ordinates the overall process including co-ordination between NICE and NSFs.

Non-Residential Services (Charging Guidance)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish guidance relating to charging for non-residential services; when the closing date for consultation on the draft guidance was; and when local authorities are expected to implement the guidance. [8701]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: We published draft guidance on fairer charging policies for non-residential social services on 3 January, and consultation ran until 30 March. We plan to issue final guidance later this year. This will include a time scale for implementation.

Older People

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will write to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam concerning the National Service Framework for Older People according to the undertaking given by the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper), of 4 July 2001, Official Report, column 90WH. [8698]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 17 October 2001.

Nursing Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the bonds set out in the guidance for free nursing care will be uprated annually. [8700]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: Appendix 6 of the guide attached to HSC2001/17: LAC(2001)26 makes it clear that the amounts of the bands of nursing care will be reviewed after 12 months with a view to any changes becoming operative with effect from April 2003.

Neurology Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to establish the baseline (a) prevalence levels of neurological conditions and (b) position of services for people with neurological conditions; and if he will make a statement on the work to date on the National Service Framework on Neurological Conditions. [8707]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: The Department has numerous information systems that help it to understand the picture of diseases including, for example, the Health Survey for England. This is complemented by academic research which provides more detailed prevalence information of people with neurological conditions. We have also asked voluntary organisations to submit any information they might have.One of the key tasks of the scoping process for the National Service Framework for Neurological and other Long-term conditions will be to establish the position of services particularly concentrating on areas where the need for service improvement is identified. We have established an analytical group to begin to assess the evidence and are also working closely with users, carers, professionals and voluntary organisations.

Community Care Services Grant

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) to what extent social services departments in receipt of the community care services grant are able to commit expenditure in subsequent years; [8917]

(2) if payment of the community care services grant will be conditional on local authorities participating in care trusts. [8916]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: Consultation on the conditions of the grant will end on 24 October. No decisions have been made about allocations of the grant in 2002–03, but Ministers have made the commitment that no council will receive less in 2002–03 than it does in 2001–02.

Dementia Care Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce plans to speed up the diagnosis of dementia sufferers needing personal care. [9033]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: The National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People was published on 27 March this year. It sets, for the first time, new national standards of care for all older people, across all care settings. It focuses on those conditions that mainly affect older people, including dementia.Standard 7 of the NSF relates to mental health and will ensure that those older people who have mental health problems have access to integrated mental health services, provided by the National Health Service and councils, to ensure effective diagnosis, treatment and support, for them and for their carers.In particular it emphasises how an early and accurate diagnosis of dementia enables older people and those caring for them to understand what is happening to them and to access appropriate help, including treatment and personal care. This will require effective integrated specialist mental health services. The NHS Plan provides for an additional 85 old age psychiatrists to ensure a prompt and responsive diagnostic service across the country.In addition, we are streamlining the assessment process to ensure better and more consistent assessments. The single assessment process for older people will be implemented by local health bodies and councils from April 2002.The Department intends to issue detailed guidance on the single assessment process in November. It will ask professionals to work together to ensure assessments are centred on the views and circumstances of older people, and that they are accurate, timely, and proportionate to needs. It will ask professionals to share assessment information, subject to proper observance of confidentiality, rather than duplicate each other's assessments as often happens now.The single assessment should therefore ensure that following a diagnosis of dementia individuals receive the prompt provision of care to meet their needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specialist dementia care services in Coventry have been developed recently. [9032]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: Coventry Healthcare national health service trust in conjunction with Coventry health authority and local primary care groups have agreed to make £180,000 available for instigation of a community-based service specifically for early onset dementia. The team will consist of medical, psychological and nursing staff and will offer advice and support to sufferers, their carers, and agencies and professionals in Coventry.The health authority has also confirmed its agreement to implement the National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommendations regarding anti-dementia drugs from 1 April 2001. An additional drug budget of £250,000 has been made available for 2001–02 with access to drugs controlled by the consultant psychiatric team. Agreements are also in place with regard to future funding up to 2005–06. Additionally, in August 2001 a further £180,000 was agreed to fund a health team to support and monitor treatments of patients using anti-dementia drugs.The trust has initiated discussions with the Alzheimer's Disease Society, health and social services colleagues in Coventry and Warwickshire to further explore the potential for developing a hospital and community-residential element to the early onset dementia service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent measures have been introduced to support the elderly suffering with dementia. [9030]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: It is important that older people with dementia have access to a full range of services that will meet their needs in whatever setting is most appropriate.The National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People was published on 27 March this year. It sets, for the first time, new national standards of care for all older people, across all care settings. The NSF looks at conditions that mainly affect older people, including dementia.Standard 7 of the NSF relates to mental health and will ensure that those older people who have mental health problems have access to integrated mental health services, provided by the National Health Service and councils, to ensure effective diagnosis, treatment and support, for them and for their carers.The Care Standards Act 2000 will have a big impact on raising the quality of care for people with dementia in residential and nursing homes. From April 2002 all care homes will have to have a statement of purpose and be able to demonstrate that they can meet it. Homes catering for people with dementia will have to show that they have suitably trained staff, know, understand and apply the relevant specialist and clinical guidance, provide stimulation and leisure activities that are suited to the needs of people with dementia.The National Institute for Clinical Excellence appraisal of anti-dementia drugs published in January 2001 will ensure that effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease are available on an equitable basis across the country.

Elderly People (Charitable Support)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance he has provided to charitable providers of housing, care and support for the elderly in the last year. [9031]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: For 2000–01 and 2001–02, grants totalling £3,733,000 were paid under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 to 54 organisations for projects concerned with housing, care, or support for older people. In some cases, the projects concern disabled people in general and are not limited to older people.

Summer Recess

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) press notices and (b) consultation documents were issued by his Department during the summer recess. [9231]

During the summer recess period, 20 July to 14 October 2001, 129 press releases and 25 consultation documents were issued by the Department.

Consultants' Secretaries

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the provision of secretarial cover to hospital consultants during periods of absence by permanent secretarial staff. [9698]

It is the responsibility of each individual national health service trust to make all necessary arrangements for secretarial and administrative support. This includes the provision of secretarial cover to hospital consultants.

Care Standards (Young Adults)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations have been made concerning the national care standards for younger adults. [9497]

During the consultation period for the draft standards for Younger Adults and Adult placements the Department received 500 responses, which made 4,776 comments on specific issues within the standards.

Residential Homes

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make financial provision for owners of residential care homes to assist them in complying with the requirements of the Residential Care Act 2000. [8216]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: The Department has no evidence to suggest that large numbers of care homes will be unable to meet the national standards. Many providers already meet or exceed the proposed standards and will have no reason to be concerned about them. None of the standards will be introduced until at least April 2002 and some of the more challenging standards will not be implemented until some time after that. Providers will be given realistic timescales in which to meet any new standards.The detail of contracting arrangements between local authorities and independent sector providers of care is a matter for local decision. The Department does not set or recommend rates at which local authorities contract with nursing and residential homes. We think it is important that local authorities are able to tailor contracts as necessary to specific local circumstances. In doing this we expect local authorities to take into account a range of provider costs such as implementing national standards.We are providing significant additional resources for social services. We have increased social services funding by 17.8 per cent. in real terms since 1996–97 and will be providing an extra 3.7 per cent. in real terms next year. This means that local authorities have the resources they need to purchase services at realistic prices.However, I do accept that some residential and nursing home owners are experiencing financial difficulties. That is why we established a strategic group to give greater direction to the commissioning of care for adults, in particular older people. The group has looked at the state of local commissioning arrangements and the impact they are having on both service users and providers. The members of the group include representatives of central and local government, the national health service, independent (private and voluntary) providers of health and social care, as well as housing. The group published an agreement, "Building Capacity and Partnership in Care", on 9 October, which we shall expect local social services and health authorities to adopt. It will lead to improvements in the planning and commissioning of services in ways that bring confidence and stability to the whole system. We also announced a Government commitment of £300 million over two years to tackle delayed discharge.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many individuals have sold their homes since 1 May 1997 to fund their (a) residential home care and (b) residential nursing home care. [8923]

The information requested is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many residential nursing homes have closed since 1 May 1997; and how many beds have been lost; [8920](2) how many residential home beds

(a) in the private sector and (b) owned by local authorities have been closed since 1 May 1997. [8921]

Table 1 shows the number of residential care homes, the number of nursing homes and the number of beds within these homes in England on 31 March in each of the last four years. Table 2 shows the changes in the number of homes and places based on the information in table 1. These figures take account of new homes, those that closed and those that made changes to their registration status or extended their existing facilities. It is not possible to determine the precise number of homes that have closed, or the number of beds lost as a result of such closures, from this information.Information collected by health and social care consultants Laing and Buisson on the number of care homes, beds and closures in the independent sector in recent years is available in the company's publication, Market Survey 2001, published in July.

Table 1: Residential and nursing homes, places and registered beds, 1997 to 2000 as at 31 March
England				Rounded numbers
	1997 ¹	1998	1999	2000
Residential care homes²	24,500	24,900	24,800	24,800
Residential care places in residential care homes.	338,100	347,900	345,100	345,600
Of which:
Places in independent sector homes³	272,300	283,900	286,000	290,100
Places in LA staffed homes³	65,800	64,000	59,000	55,500
Nursing homes⁴	5,900	6,200	6,100	5,900
Registered nursing beds in nursing homes	196,300	205,600	202,200	193,300
¹ This refers to data collected during the period 1 October 1997 to 31 March 1998 for nursing homes and registered beds. In subsequent years, data collection arrangements were changed and relate to figures pertaining to 31 March each year.
² Includes dual registered homes which are also included in the total number of nursing homes. The residential care homes and nursing homes should not be added together.
³ Consists of voluntary, private, small homes and dual registered homes.
⁴ General and mental nursing homes, hospitals and clinics

Source:

Department of Health annual returns

Table 2: Year-on-year change in the number of residential and nursing homes, places and registered beds, 1997 to 2000, as at 31 March
England			Rounded differences
	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000
Residential care homes¹	+400	-100	Less than 50
Residential care places in residential care homes.	+9,800	-2,800	+500
Of which:
Places in independent sector homes²	+11,600	+2,100	+4,000
Places in LA staffed homes	-1,800	-4,900	-3,500
Nursing homes³	+300	-100	-200
Registered nursing beds in nursing homes	+9,300	-3,400	-8,800
¹ Includes dual registered homes which are also included in the total number of nursing homes. The residential care homes and nursing homes should not be added together.
² Consists of Voluntary, private, small homes and dual registered homes.
³ General and mental nursing homes, hospitals and clinics

Source:

Department of Health annual returns

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many individuals in each year since 1 May 1997 to the latest available date were living in (a) residential care homes and (b) residential nursing care homes; and in each category how many were (i) self-funding the fees, (ii) partially funding the fees and (iii) being funded wholly by the state. [8924]

Number¹of places/registered beds in residential and nursing homes with local authority supported residents in these homes, 1997 to 2000, England (as at 31 March)
	1997²	1998	1999	2000
Number of places in residential care homes³	338,100	347,900	345,100	345,600
Number of LA supported residents in residential care homes⁴	170,300	176,500	181,200	186,800
Number of registered beds in nursing homes⁵	196,300	205,600	202,200	193,300
Number of LA supported residents in nursing homes	66,100	72,900	73,500	74,400
¹ Rounded numbers
² Refers to the period 1 October 1996 to 31 March 1997 for number of registered beds in nursing homes
³ Residential places in local authority staffed, voluntary, private, small and dual registered homes
⁴ Local authority supported residents in local authority staffed and independent residential care homes. A local authority supported resident is a resident whose fees are paid in part or in full by the local authority.
⁵ General and mental nursing homes including private hospitals and clinics

Source:

Department of Health returns

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average length of stay of a resident in an (a) residential care home and (b) residential nursing care home is in the last 12 months. [8925]

The information requested is not collected centrally.

The information available centrally is in the table. The number of people who are resident in residential care homes and paying for their own care is not collected centrally. A survey conducted in June 2001 estimated that around 42,700 residents in general and mental nursing homes were paying wholly for their own care.

Genetics And Insurance

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Government will publish their response to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee fifth report of Session 2000–01 on Genetics and Insurance. [10120]

The Government's response to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee fifth report on Genetics and Insurance is published today as Cm 5286 and copies have been placed in the Library.

Environment, Food And Rural Affairs

Waste Incineration

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to reduce the proportion of waste disposed of by incineration over the next five years. [5194]

[holding answer 19 July 2001]: Our priority is to meet the requirement of the landfill directive to divert biodegradable municipal waste away from landfill by maximising recycling and composting and minimising the need for incineration and landfill. In order to achieve this the Government have set tough statutory targets under best value for local authorities to double the amount of household waste recycled by 2003–04 and treble it by 2005–06, and will set further targets for later years.

Foot And Mouth

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the last case was of foot and mouth disease in the Longtown area; and when restrictions on farms in that area will be lifted. [5346]

The last confirmed case in the Longtown area of foot and mouth was 4 June. Infected Area restrictions were removed from the Longtown area with effect from midnight on 8 October.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's latest assessment is of the necessity to use vaccination in efforts to eradicate foot and mouth disease. [7845]

The current advice of the Chief Scientific Adviser and Chief Veterinary Officer is that the use of vaccination is not the most appropriate measure to eradicate the disease in present circumstances. The number of new cases continues to decline, and as at 18 October there have been no cases since 30 September. The use of vaccination could be reassessed if the disease trend changed significantly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many businesses have (a) applied for and (b) received rates relief in relation to the economic impact of foot and mouth disease. [7873]

[holding answer 15 October 2001]: Full information on the level of take up of hardship rate relief will not be available until local authorities submit their claims next year. However, the latest survey carried out by the Local Government Association shows that, as of 8 October, nearly 6,500 businesses have applied for hardship rate relief with nearly 3,000 of these applications being granted and just over 350 being rejected (data from the 127 local authorities that supplied all sets of information).

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the removal of toxic ash from the Hernscott Hill foot and mouth incineration site in Northumberland has been completed; and what arrangements for monitoring of the site and consultation with local residents have been made. [7446]

[holding answer 15 October 2001]: All visible ash has been removed from Hernscott Hill, Widdrington. Monitoring arrangements are in hand in co-operation with Castle Morpeth borough council and the private landowner to ensure that should there be any residues these are detected and removed. Regular meetings are held between DEFRA, local authorities and residents to hear residents' concerns and to appraise them in broad terms of activity on the site. The site will be returned to its original state, following agreement between DEFRA and the private landowner.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated cost to public funds of the foot and mouth disease outbreak is so far. [7730]

Expenditure on the foot and mouth disease outbreak by my Department currently stands at some £1.531 billion. Costings are being collected from other Government Departments, and we hope to be in a position to be able to provide such information soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will take steps to reduce the time taken to lift the D notice restrictions; [6667](2) if she will take steps to ensure that restrictions in protection zones in which all blood tests have proved negative are lifted immediately following inspections. [6666]

Our primary objective is to eradicate the disease. However, every effort is made to lift the three kilometre zones (the protection zones) as soon as possible after the fieldwork has been completed and negative blood tests have been confirmed.Where there are a number of infected premises in an area and protection zones overlap then it may be necessary to carry out all the testing required within a particular cluster of protection zones before any Form D restrictions can be lifted.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations have been made to the Governments of other countries which have suffered a foot and mouth outbreak in the last five years. [7761]

UK officials regularly discuss such matters with veterinary experts of other countries at the European Union Standing Veterinary Committee, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Office International Des Epizootics.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the risks concerning the control of foot and mouth disease involved in permitting a resumption of hunting with hounds. [9197]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: Hunting with dogs is currently prohibited throughout England and Wales as a precaution against the spread of foot and mouth disease. Hunting with dogs takes a variety of forms, all of which pose different levels of foot and mouth disease risk and which therefore require different risk management measures. A veterinary risk assessment on the possible resumption of hunting in foot and mouth disease free counties has been prepared and is currently being considered by Ministers.

Departmental Responsibilities

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's responsibilities are in relation to land use, planning and management. [7878]

[holding answer 15 October 2001]: My Department has wide-ranging responsibilities to ensure that land is managed and developed sustainably. The Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions has overall responsibility for policies on planning. DTLR consults DEFRA on environmental and rural aspects of the planning system, including on how these should be reflected in national planning policy guidance.DEFRA advises on key planning and related issues that involve farming and wider rural economy and environmental interests. DEFRA works with Regional Planning Bodies and other stakeholders on Regional Planning Guidance and local development plan policies. Consultation with DEFRA is governed by the terms of national planning guidance and a statutory right to consultation.

Sheep Strategy

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Government plan to publish their sheep strategy. [6663]

The Government have no plans to publish a separate strategy for the sheep sector at this stage. The independent Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food, announced on 9 August by the Prime Minister, will be advising how we create a sustainable, competitive and diverse farming and food chain.

Supermarkets

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with supermarkets about their relationship with suppliers; and if she will make a statement. [6611]

There are regular discussions with the supermarkets on all aspects of the food chain. The issue of relations with suppliers was considered in detail. The issue was considered in detail by the Competition Commission in their report on the supply of groceries from multiple stores. One of the recommendations of that report was that a code of practice should be introduced to put relations between supermarkets and their suppliers on a clearer and more predictable basis. A draft code has been drawn up by the Office of Fair Trading in consultation with supermarkets and representatives of suppliers. This is currently being considered by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

Incinerators

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what controls the Government have implemented on emissions from incinerators in the last three years; and if she will make a statement. [8089]

Existing municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) are regulated by the Environment Agency under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Within the last three years the Government have implemented EC Directive 96/61 on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC). All new MSWIs must now obtain an IPPC permit before they can operate. Existing MSWIs must obtain the new form of permit by 31 August 2005.The Environment Agency has also recently varied the authorisations for existing MSWIs to reduce the dioxin emission limit (10 fold) to 0.1 ng/m3. This is ahead of the timetable required by the recently adopted Waste Incineration Directive.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment the Government have made of levels of dioxin emissions from incinerators in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement. [8088]

The Environment Agency's Pollution Inventory is compiled from data submitted annually by operators of IPC-processes in England and Wales, including municipal solid waste incinerators. The level of dioxins and furans emitted from municipal solid waste incinerators in the year 2000 is recorded in this inventory as 1.1g ITEQ. This compares to a level of 413g ITEQ in 1995.

Municipal Waste

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how much municipal waste has been collected in each year since 1996; and if she will make a statement; [8084](2) what assessment the Government have made of the increase of annual municipal waste in the United Kingdom in the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [8093]

Data are available for England and Wales for the last four years. The total amount of municipal waste collected is as follows:

Year	Thousand tonnes
1996–97	25,979
1997–98	27,166
1998–99	27,912
1999–2000	29,332

The increase in municipal waste over this period is nearly 13 per cent. 2000–01 data are currently being collected from local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of UK household waste was disposed of through landfill in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement. [8094]

The latest available data for England and Wales show that 81 per cent. of municipal waste was disposed of through landfill in 1999–2000. Household waste is approximately 90 per cent. of municipal waste.Under the EU Landfill Directive, the UK must divert substantial quantities of waste away from landfill over the coming years. We have put in place a national strategy, 'Waste Strategy 2000', for managing our waste and resources more effectively and will be introducing a system of tradable landfill permits to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste that goes to landfill. The Government have also set tough statutory performance standards for recycling and composting of household waste, requiring local authorities to double the amount recycled or composted within three years and nearly treble it within five years. The setting of these statutory targets is expected to lead to an increase in the availability of kerbside recycling.

Slaughtermen

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what are the qualifications and licensing arrangements required of (a) professional slaughtermen and (b) persons slaughtering animals in herds affected by foot and mouth disease; what training arrangements were in place for forces personnel engaged to slaughter animals during the foot and mouth crisis; and what (i) licensed and (ii) otherwise qualified professional supervision was in place for casual slaughtermen engaged during the foot and mouth crisis. [7499]

Requirements for the training and licensing of slaughterers are laid down in the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995. Everyone engaged in the slaughter or killing process must have the knowledge and skill necessary to perform the tasks humanely and efficiently in accordance with the regulations. Most slaughterers need to be licensed in accordance with Schedule 1 of the regulations, but there are a number of exemptions from this requirement.Members of the armed forces were trained before becoming involved in the foot and mouth cull, and were supervised by qualified veterinary surgeons. Outside of licensed slaughterhouses, the legislation is enforced by Veterinary Officers of the State Veterinary Service. In addition, the RSPCA had an open invitation to visit major culling sites and visited Great Orton several times.

Recycling

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of councils in the United Kingdom have separate recycling collections; and if she will make a statement. [8082]

The latest available data for England and Wales for 1999–2000 show that local authorities operate a variety of collection schemes, through civic amenity sites, bring sites and kerbside collection. The percentages of local authorities that operate such schemes, over some or all of their area, for different materials are as follows:

	Percentage
Paper and card	97
Glass	97
Compost¹	43
Scrap metal/white goods	55
Textiles	90
Cans²	87
Plastics	31
Other³	74
¹ Includes organic materials (kitchen and garden waste) collected for centralised composting schemes from households via kerbside schemes or taken by householders to civic amenity sites. Home composting is not included.
² Includes ferrous and aluminium cans
³ Includes oils, batteries, aluminium foil, books and co-mingled collections

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what measures the Government have taken to meet their target of recycling two thirds of all household waste by 2015; and if she will make a statement; [8080](2) what steps the Government have taken to encourage businesses

(a) to recycle waste and (b) to use recycled materials in the last three years; and if she will make a statement. [8081]

"Waste Strategy 2000" sets a target to recycle or compost at least 33 per cent. (one third) of household waste by 2015. It also sets out targets for doubling the recycling and composting of household waste in three years and nearly tripling it in five years. We have underpinned these targets by setting statutory performance standards for each local authority to achieve by 2003–04 and 2005–06. In due course we will consider setting further Statutory Performance Standards for later years taking account of technological advances.In Spending Review 2000 we provided substantial financial support to local authorities to assist with delivering these targets including a substantial uplift in the relevant Standard Spending Assessment block. £140 million ring-fenced fund for waste and recycling; £40 million for the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP); and £220 million for Private Finance Initiative waste schemes. We expect that approximately £50 million of New Opportunities Fund moneys will also be available over the next two years to support community sector work on recycling.WRAP has been set up to promote sustainable waste management by removing barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and recycling, and by working with businesses to create stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products.We have also imposed measures under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (as amended), requiring certain businesses which handle packaging to recover and recycle specified amounts of packaging waste each year based on the amount of packaging handled by their business.

Packaging Regulations also include incentives for businesses to minimise the amount of packaging they use and businesses are being encouraged to look closely at the type of materials being used in the manufacture of their product and consider the benefits of using greater quantities of recyclate.

The recovery and recycling targets for 2001 under the packaging Regulations are 56 per cent. for recovering and 18 per cent. for material-specific recycling of packaging waste. We are currently consulting on recovery and recycling targets for packaging waste in 2002.

Unadopted Sewers

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent research she has commissioned into the scale of and problems associated with unadopted sewers. [8849]

A research contract will shortly be let to ascertain the extent and condition of unadopted sewers, identify any problems and produce costed solutions. It is expected to take up to 18 months.

Mox Plant

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the timing of the announcement of the approval for the MOX plant in Sellafield. [8292]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: Having considered all relevant information, including the responses to our public consultation which ended on 24 August, the Secretary of State for Health and I decided on 3 October that the manufacture of mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel is justified, and announced it the same day.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to increase payments to contractors operating under the home energy efficiency scheme. [8297]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: The home energy efficiency scheme is managed by Eastern HEES Ltd. in the East of England, and by the Eaga Partnership in the rest of England. The scheme managers are responsible for appointing contractors to work under the scheme, through open competition in accordance with UK public procurement rules and regulations.A number of these installer contracts are coming up for re-tender. The prices paid will depend on the results of the competition and it is possible that the contracts awarded will be at a higher price.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the maximum payment is per housing unit available to contractors operating the home energy efficiency scheme in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales. [8296]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: The home energy efficiency scheme (HEES) offers packages of insulation and heating improvements to those households most vulnerable to cold-related ill health in England. The maximum value of grant-funded work carried out on any single home under the scheme is £2,000. This level of grant is provided to those aged 60 years or more and in receipt of an income-related benefit.As fuel poverty is a devolved matter, it is the responsibility of the respective Parliament and Assemblies to comment on the situation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many properties have benefited from the home energy efficiency scheme since June 2000; and what is the target number for the current year. [8298]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: During the period 1 June 2000 to 30 September 2001, 224,000 householders benefited from HEES in England. We expect 300,000 householders will benefit in the current financial year.

Agenda 21

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the impact of the introduction of Agenda 21 in the UK. [8744]

This country has been prominent in taking action on sustainable development since Agenda 21 was agreed at Rio de Janeiro in 1992. We produced our new Sustainable Development Strategy 'A better quality of life' in 1999, and the first annual report on the strategy earlier this year. In 1999 and 2000 we published reports setting out progress on Greening Government. Almost all local authorities prepared Local Agenda 21 strategies by the end of 2000, meeting a target set by the Prime Minister in 1997.

Renewable Energy

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her Department's policy towards the use of short rotation coppice/forestry in renewable energy. [8536]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: Energy crops and forest material have the potential to make a significant contribution to sustainable development and the Government's climate change and renewable energy targets. We support the development of short rotation coppice in England through the Energy Crops Scheme and promote the use of forest material, working closely with developers of renewable energy projects.

Milk

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will made a statement on her Department's support for the generic campaign to support milk drinking; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of that campaign. [8629]

We are pleased that milk producers and processors have co-operated in jointly funding and overseeing 'The White Stuff', a generic promotion of milk. It is for milk producers and processors to assess the effectiveness of 'The White Stuff campaign and decide how to proceed.

Condensing Boilers

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to promote the use of environmentally efficient condensing boilers [8199]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: The Government currently promote the use of energy efficient condensing boilers in a number of ways. The benefits of condensing boilers are likely to be attractive to energy suppliers in meeting their requirements under the Energy Efficiency Commitment for 2002–05. Under the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (part of our strategy to combat fuel poverty) the new central heating systems provided use condensing boilers wherever possible. The amendments to the energy efficiency aspects of the Building Regulations, due to come into force next year, will require energy efficient boilers to be installed, both in new build and for replacements. The Energy Saving Trust and the "Are you Doing Your Bit?" campaigns also promote the use of energy efficient boilers in the domestic sector.

Meat Imports

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list by country of origin the meat imports into the United Kingdom over the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement on the exposure of the animals from which such meat came to foot and mouth disease. [8063]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: The table shows the amounts of meat from foot and mouth disease susceptible animals imported into the UK for the 12 month period August 2000 to July 2001.Community legislation permits the importation of meat from certain countries where foot and mouth disease is present but only where the disease is restricted to specific areas. Imports are only permitted from parts of the country that are free of disease or under strict conditions that ensure the meat does not come from any animal that may have come in contact with foot and mouth disease before, during and after slaughter. These provisions are in line with the guidelines set out in the Office International des Epizooties International Animal Health Code 2001.All meat imported from third countries must be accompanied by veterinary certification. This must confirm that the meat is derived from animals which have been subjected to an

ante-mortem inspection during the 24 hours prior to slaughter at which the animal showed no signs of foot and mouth disease.

If there is an outbreak of disease likely to present a risk to human or animal health such as foot and mouth disease, Community legislation allows us to take appropriate safeguard action, which may include a ban on imports of meat from all, or parts, of that country. Recent examples include Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Swaziland, Uruguay and Zimbabwe, and within the EU, France, the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland.

UK imports of carcase meat of foot and mouth disease susceptible animals ¹ August 2000-July 2001
Tonnes
Description	Beef	Goat	Pigmeat	Sheepmeat	Total
Irish	82,098	—	28,845	1,901	112,844
Republic	—	—	—	—	—
Denmark	2,608	—	98,678	46	101,332
New Zealand	500	9	—	82,525	83,035
Netherlands	11,060	2	37,279	3,457	51,799
Germany	7,108	—	24,274	1,024	32,407
France	3,022	—	25,043	2,044	30,109
Australia	6,375	—	0	11,043	17,418
Brazil	16,218	—	—	—	16,218
Belgium	1,548	20	11,448	481	13,496
Botswana	10,172	—	—	—	10,172
Zimbabwe	7,638	—	—	—	7,638
Namibia	6,803	—	—	—	6,803
Spain	1,598	—	2,831	1,557	5,986
Uruguay	4,395	—	—	818	5,2136
Italy	2,402	—	1,000	17	3,419
USA	18	—	2,541—	—	2,558
Argentina	1,613	—	—	254	1,867
South Africa	84	—	—	—	—
Other	646	—	2,724	270	3,724
Grand total	165,907	31	234,664	105,436	506,038
¹ Cattle, sheep, pigs goats and reindeer. There were no imports of reindeer meat in 2000–01.

Hunting With Dogs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the views of veterinary surgeons on hunting with hounds; and if she will make a statement. [8986]

No recent assessment has been made of the attitude of veterinary surgeons to hunting with dogs.

Lamb And Sheep Meat (Scotland)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has made to the EU Veterinary Standing Committee with regard to the lifting of the export ban on lamb and sheep meat from Scotland. [8502]

[holding answer 19 October 2001]: Ministers and officials from DEFRA and the Scottish Executive have had extensive discussions with Commissioner Byrne's officials on this issue. Regular reports have been made to the EU Standing Veterinary Committee on progress towards eradication of foot and mouth from Great Britain. The SVC has recently agreed that exports of pigmeat may resume from certain counties from 22 October onwards. The SVC is expected to re-examine the possibility of a resumption of sheep meat exports at its 2 October meeting.

Royal Prerogative

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many ministerial decisions were made where authority for the same derived from the royal prerogative for the most recent calendar month for which information is available. [9373]

Records are not kept of the individual occasions on which powers under the royal prerogative are exercised, nor could it be practicable to do so.

Wildlife Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the measures she is taking to ensure the protection of wildlife. [9017]

[holding answer 19 October 2001]: The protection of wildlife is fundamental to the Department's work. In the recent public consultation on a draft aim and objectives for the new Department, the proposed first objective is:

"To protect and improve the environment and conserve and enhance biodiversity, and to integrate these with other policies across Government and internationally".

The Department has targets to bring 95 per cent. of Sites of Special Scientific Interest into favourable condition by 2010 and to reverse the decline in farmland birds by 2020.The conservation of wildlife is integral to the Department's policies across the range of its responsibilities, including the promotion of sustainable, modern and adaptable farming and the promotion of more sustainable management and use of natural resources such as energy, water, fisheries and forests. The Department is also active in a large range of specific policies and programmes to achieve its objectives including:

Support for and implementation of the relevant international conventions to which the UK is a signatory, in particular the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. Bilateral assistance such as the Darwin initiative grant scheme helps developing countries implement their obligations under the Conventions.

Grant in aid to English Nature, the Government's statutory nature conservation adviser, to finance major programmes on designated nature conservation sites, species protection and recovery, and improving the wider countryside and the marine environment for wildlife.

Implementation of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 which introduced improved means of protection from Sites of Special Scientific Interest and measures to combat wildlife crime.

Management and licensing the taking, capture, killing, keeping and trade of wildlife species, including through support for the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime and Liaison with the police and HM Customs and Excise. For example commercial trade in about 850 species is currently prohibited under CITES and trade in 30,000 other species is only permitted where we are satisfied that it will not be detrimental to wild populations.

Full implementation of the European Wild Birds and Habitats Directives through the designation and conservation of special sites (Natura 2000). Implementation is being extended to include the marine environment to the 200-mile limit of national sovereignty.

Co-ordinating the UK-wide partnership for implementation of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan including the preparation of over 400 individual Habitat and Species Action Plans and the development of a Biodiversity Strategy for England, as announced in the Rural White Paper.

Delivery of agri-environment schemes aimed at conserving and improving the landscape, wildlife and historic heritage of the countryside for which around £1 billion will be available over the seven years of the England Rural Development Programme.

Policy reviews assessing future requirements for marine nature conservation and the management and control of non-native invasive species.

Research to support and inform wildlife policies and programmes.

Public Bodies

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she plans to take to enforce the Cabinet Office Guidance on Codes of Practice for Board Members of Public Bodies. [9023]

[holding answer 19 October 2001]: The latest edition of the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies was published in July 2001 and immediately circulated to all teams sponsoring non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) in my Department. It is mandatory for Government Departments to abide by this Code when making public appointments. The Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) strictly monitors the observance of the Code.Also in July 2001, the Cabinet Office issued a best practice guide for Departments, entitled "Making Public Appointments". This provides practical and helpful advice on the process of making public appointments. It supplements the OCPA Code and the Cabinet Office's own policy requirements, but does not create rules. It has been sent to all our NDPB sponsor teams.

Haskins Report

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she next plans to meet the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss the Haskins report. [9626]

I meet my right hon. Friend frequently. The Haskins report is one item among many that we discuss.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason the Haskins report, dated 2 October, was not published until 18 October. [9628]

The report was published on the earliest date that was possible both for Lord Haskins to launch it and for me to respond to it.We were able to help readers by publishing on the same day the report of the Rural Task Force, which dealt with many connected issues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement about the work of Lord Haskins in assessing and making recommendations about the impact of foot and mouth disease in Cumbria. [7522]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Mr. Martlew) on 18 October 2001, Official Report, column 1301.

Pollution (Warehouse Fires)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the damage to the environment through (a) airborne pollution and (b) pollution of water courses resulting from fires in warehouse, distribution and storage premises since 1990. [8227]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: The responsibility for estimating any impact from such events on the local air and water environment would be a matter for local authorities or the Environment Agency. Records of assessments are not held centrally.

Airports (Landing Charges)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the (a) landing charges for airliners at the main United Kingdom and international airports and (b) changes in Heathrow landing charges since BAA's privatisation. [8467]

I have been asked to reply.My Department does not collect information on airport charges. Comparative information on international airport landing charges is available at BAA's website www.baa.co.uk/pdf/regulation.pdf which shows such information as one of its issues briefs. This ranks airport charges in descending order, and relative to that at Tokyo, for 40 airports. The figures are based on TRL's Index of Charges and the following is a selection from BAA's table.

Comparison of international airport charges TRL index 2000
Airport	Rank	Index of airport charges
Tokyo	1	100
New York—JFK	3	68
Frankfurt	8	41
Paris—CDG	9	41
Amsterdam	11	40
London—Heathrow	21	31
Brussels	25	28
Washington	27	27
Hong Kong	28	27
London—Gatwick	31	23
Los Angeles	39	11

Note:

BAA's commentary states that "Heathrow's charges average a little over £5 per passenger, and those at Gatwick and Stansted average just over £4 per passenger".

There are several elements to airport charges at Heathrow, of which the landing charge is only one. However, dividing the total revenue from airport charges by the total number of passengers to give the average revenue per passenger from airport charges, shows that since privatisation this has risen from £3.64 per passenger (equivalent to £6.00 at current prices) in 1986–87 to £5.23 in 2000–01 at Heathrow. In monetary terms, the change represents an increase of 44 per cent. but, after adjusting for inflation, the average revenue per passenger has fallen by 13 per cent. in real terms over the period.

Telecommunications Masts

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to require planning permission to be sought for the erection of telecommunications masts less than 15 metres high; and if she will make a statement. [9016]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: I have been asked to reply.

We have no plans to require planning permission to be sought for the erection of telecommunications masts less than 15 metres high. Such masts do, however, require approval by local planning authorities under a simplified planning procedure known as prior approval.

We have significantly improved the planning procedures and guidance for telecommunications mast development in order to:

strengthen public consultation requirements on mast proposals of 15 metres and below so that they are the same as for planning applications;

increase the time for an authority to deal with prior approval applications to 56 days;

underline that school governors must be consulted on all proposals for new masts on or near a school or college; and

increase fees to enable authorities to carry out full public consultation.

These changes came into force on 22 August this year.

Water Safety

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if her Department has tested and analysed the quality of (a) the holding lakes either side of Faggs Road and Princes Lake, Bedfont, (b) the River Crane and (c) drinking water supplied to London residents in the last 12 months. [8304]

No. The Environment Agency is responsible for testing and analysing water quality in rivers and lakes; and Water Companies in England and Wales carry out daily testing of supplies to consumers for compliance with regulatory standards. In the London area this duty is fulfilled by Thames Water Utilities, Sutton and East Surrey Water Company and Three Valleys Water Company.

Milk (Packaging Waste Directive)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the implications of the EU Packaging Waste Directive for doorstep milk deliveries and the use of milk bottles. [8338]

The EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste 94/62/EC, requires certain recovery and recycling targets to be met and encourages reuse of packaging. This includes drinks containers such as milk bottles. The UK Regulations implementing the Directive also encourage reuse by allowing obligated businesses to exclude from the calculation of their tonnage recovery and recycling obligation, tonnages of packaging that are being reused. Milk bottles are reused for between 10 and 40 trips, so this provision will apply to the proportion of milk bottles that are being reused.We expect a proposal from the European Commission next month for new targets for 2006. We are not aware that the proposed revisions will in any way threaten the UK doorstep milk delivery service.

Gm Crops

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what monitoring of glufosinate ammonium is being carried out in water courses and supplies in the vicinity of GM crop trials. [4464]

Before glufosinate ammonium was authorised for use in GM crop trials, the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) considered scientific data, which included data relevant to the risk of the compound entering water. The Government accepted the ACP's advice that winter use could be allowed in the trials (which are subject to a number of conditions including a limit on the treated area); the ACP did not advise that monitoring of water was needed.The ACP noted that the data provided did not rule out that one of the metabolites of glufosinate ammonium might locally exceed the 0.1 g/1 standard set for drinking water. Although any exceedance would be localised and short-term, the ACP recommended that winter use should not be allowed on a commercial scale until the company had provided further data.The Pesticides Safety Directorate is working with the Environment Agency to develop arrangements that will ensure that all sites for experimental field use of pesticides are kept away from vulnerable ground waters. This is a precautionary step as existing restrictions on experimental use are designed to prevent damage to the environment irrespective of the location of the experimental site.

Work And Pensions

Pensions

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to increase the 25p addition for pensioners aged over 80. [8347]

This Government have done much to help older pensioners since we came to office. The free television licences for those aged over 75 is worth over £100 a year. The Winter Fuel Payment is worth £200 per household and the Minimum Income Guarantee has been increased this year to £92.15 a week for a single pensioner and £140.55 for a couple. Under this Government, older pensioners are sharing in rising prosperity. The 25p addition for pensioners aged over 80 was introduced in 1971 and, like all benefits, is kept under constant review.

Disability

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to enable the Disability Rights Commission to support disabled individuals wishing to sue under the Human Rights Act 1998. [7400]

As we made clear in "Towards Inclusion", which set out our response to the Disability Rights Task Force's report, we are committed to considering giving to the Disability Rights Commission the power to assist individuals in proceedings under the Human Rights Act. This is also an issue for the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality. We therefore want to take a holistic approach and consider the matter in relation to all equality commissions, in the light of any recommendations the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights may make on whether there should be a Human Rights Commission.

Staff Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training was given to his Department's staff with regard to the regulations under the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations issued on 22 November 2000 before they came into effect. [6741]

This is a matter for Alexis Cleveland, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Mr. Andrew George, dated 22 October 2001:

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what training was given to his Department's staff with regard to the regulations under the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations issued on 22 November 2000 before they came into effect.

Two training events were developed to support the introduction of the Incapacity Benefit Reforms.

A three and a half day course, aimed at all staff who administer and process claims to Incapacity Benefit, was designed and developed centrally and delivered locally through the District Office Training Officer network. This event examined in detail the changes affecting the treatment of Incapacity Benefit claims and provided practice cases to consolidate trainees' learning.

A further event, a half-hour question and answer brief, again developed centrally, was delivered to all other staff by either local line management or training personnel. This product provided awareness of the Incapacity Benefit changes and was aimed at those staff without any direct involvement in the administration of Incapacity Benefit.

In addition to the training events outlined above, the detailed changes to Incapacity Benefits were also conveyed to staff through benefit specific circulars.

I hope this is helpful.

Disability Living Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what consultations he has had with groups representing people with disabilities regarding the proposed changes to the eligibility criteria for the payment of the lower rate mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance; and if he will make a statement; [8975](2) what plans he has to reform the eligibility criteria for the payment of the lower rate mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance; and if he will make a statement; [8974](3) what research his Department has examined relating to fear and anxiety in connection with the eligibility criteria for the payment of the lower rate mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance; and if he will place copies of such research in the Library. [8976]

Proposed regulations to clarify the circumstances in which fear or anxiety about walking out of doors without guidance or supervision from another person may satisfy the conditions of entitlement to the lower rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance are currently being considered by the Social Security Advisory Committee. The Committee recently consulted publicly and asked for comments on the draft regulations by 14 September. The Committee is considering the responses it has received and we await its report.

A SSAC press release that included a copy of the draft regulations and an explanatory memorandum are available in the Library.

The proposed regulations do not alter the basic qualifying criteria for the lower rate mobility component. People with severe physical and mental disabilities will still be able to qualify on the basis of those disabilities alone.

The intention of the proposed regulations is to ensure that people who experience fear or anxiety when walking out of doors on unfamiliar routes without supervision or guidance are entitled to lower rate mobility component only if their ability to walk independently is directly affected by a severe mental disability. This is to ensure that the scope of the lower rate mobility component remains within the parameters set out when the component was first introduced.

We are not aware of any available research which considers fear or anxiety in the context of eligibility for the lower rate mobility component.

Disability Discrimination Act

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what plans he has to change the rules that exclude disabled people from protection under the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act 1995 if they have been dismissed from a company employing less than 15 employees; and if he will make a statement; [8969](2) what plans he has to update the Disability Discrimination Act 1995; and if he will make a statement. [8968]

Our proposals to amend the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) are set out in our response to the Disability Rights Task Force, "Towards Inclusion—civil rights for disabled people", which was published on 5 March. Copies are held in the Library.We will end the exemption of small employers from the DDA's employment provisions in 2004.

Summer Recess (Departmental Publications)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) press notices and (b) consultation documents were issued by his Department during the summer recess. [9221]

The number of press notices issued during the summer recess is in the table.

	July	August	September	October
National	15	35	37	11
Regional	12	44	29	4

Eight consultation documents were issued.

Stakeholder Pensions

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what action has been taken since 8 October against employers who have not made a stakeholder pension scheme available to their employees; [9706]

(2) against how many employers action has been taken since 8 October for failure to make a stakeholder pension available to their employees; [9708]

(3) what estimate he has made of the proportion of employers required to make stakeholder pensions available to their staff who have not yet done so. [9707]

We estimate that there are between 350,000 and 400,000 employers who need to designate a stakeholder pension scheme for their employees. The latest available figures show that around 147,000 employers had designated a scheme by the end of August 2001. Reports from the pensions industry indicate a late surge of designation activity in September and early October leading up to the 8 October designation deadline.The regulation of compliance with the stakeholder pension terms and conditions is a matter for the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra). At 19 October Opra had received 211 reports of alleged non-compliance with the requirement on employers to offer their work force access to a stakeholder pension scheme. It will make contact with each employer to provide education material and guidance, and to establish the facts of the case.If Opra's inquiries indicate that the employer has failed to comply, Opra will send out a statement of facts to which the employer can add any relevant mitigating factors. An agreed statement of facts will then be placed for determination before a committee of the Opra board. The board will then decide if a breach of the legislation has occurred, and if so, what penalty is to be imposed.

Social Security Legislation

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to what extent discretion may be exercised by those charged with taking decisions on the application of the social security legislation such that not only the facts of a particular case may be taken into account, but general circumstances; and under what powers he grants such discretion. [9218]

In the application of social security legislation to social security benefits, decision makers make their decision by considering all the evidence and applying the law, including any relevant case law, to the facts of the case. Discretion does not feature in the decision making process in determining claims and applications for benefit other than in relation to the discretionary social fund. The powers for that Scheme are found in the Social Security Contribution and Benefits Act 1992, the Social Security Administration Act 1992, and in the directions issued by the Secretary of State.Decisions affecting the administration of benefit, such as suspending payment of benefit where a doubt as to entitlement arises and the making of interim payments where administrative processes are delayed are subject to a certain degree of discretion, but only within the constraints of the legislation. The powers are to be found in the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and the Social Security Act 1998 respectively.

Child Support

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the efficiency of the service offered to child support claimants by the Office of the Independent Case Examiner; and if he will made a statement; [9704](2) what the backlog of child support cases to be examined by the Independent Case Examiner is; [9702](3) what the budget is for the office of the Independent Case Examiner for child support cases in the current financial year; [9700](4) what the average waiting time was before a child support case is examined by the Independent Case Examiner in the last three months; [9703](5) if he will make a statement on the delays experienced by child support claimants in having cases examined by the Independent Care Examiner; [9699](6) what plans he has to recruit staff to the office of the Independent Case Examiner for child support cases. [9701]

The budget for the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) was increased in the current financial year to £1,684,311.00.Recently, the number of investigative staff has increased from 25 to 42 and there are plans to appoint two further staff to support the new ICE.The time between a case being received by the ICE and bringing it into action was, on average, 23 weeks for the three-month period ending in September 2001. There are currently 114 such cases awaiting action.The ICE shares our concerns about the length of time it has taken to deal with cases in the past. A recent review of working practices has led to changes in case processing methods. This, together with the additional staff and financial resources already made available, will enable cases to be dealt with more efficiently. The delays currently experienced by parents awaiting action on their case will be reduced.

Cold Weather Payments Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will announce the outcome of the annual review of the cold weather payments scheme; and if he will make a statement. [10167]

Following advice from the Meteorological Office, the annual review of the cold weather payments scheme has now been completed. Amending regulations were laid on 11 October and will come into force on 1 November, in time for the beginning of the winter period.In addition to the amendments necessary due to Royal Mail postcode changes, a new weather station, Cassley, has been introduced to provide data for the scheme following Meteorological Office advice.Cold Weather Payments are separate from, and in addition to, Winter Fuel Payments, which are paid to eligible people from age 60.

Elderly People's Homes

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local authority elderly people's homes have closed since the introduction of the Care Standards Act 2000. [9587]

I have been asked to reply.The Care Standards Act will require the National Care Standards Commission to register and inspect local authority care homes for the first time from 1 April 2002. As this legislation has not yet been implemented there should not have been any impact on local authority homes. The Care Standards Act will regard local authority homes as "existing homes" for purposes of compliance with national minimum standards. This means that local authorities will have until 2007 to comply with the room size and shared room standards. This longer lead in time was set in order to avoid any closures in care homes once the National Care Standards Commission begins to apply the standards. It allows local authorities sufficient time to comply with the standards.

Wales

Summer Recess (Departmental Publications)

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) press notices and (b) consultation documents were issued by his Department during the summer recess. [9222]

Following is the information requested:

(a) 20

(b) None.

Royal Prerogative

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many ministerial decisions were made where authority for the same derived from the royal prerogative for the most recent calendar month for which information is available. [9371]

Records are not kept of the individual occasions on which powers under the royal prerogative are exercised, nor would it be practicable to do so.

Culture, Media And Sport

Devolved Administrations

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her policy is with regard to (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department giving evidence to (i) Scottish Parliament, (ii) Welsh Assembly and (iii) Northern Ireland Assembly Committees; and to what categories of document she gives (A) full access. (B) restricted access and (C) no access to (1) Scottish Parliament, (2) Welsh Assembly. (3) Northern Ireland Assembly and (4) House of Commons Select Committees. [7039]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office to the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (Mr. Salmond) on 15 October 2001, Official Report, columns 1003–04W.

Sports Tests

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many unannounced tests taken on premises not owned by a professional football club have been undertaken in each of the last five years. [8258]

All tests for sports in the UK are unannounced tests, that are collected at short or no-notice to the individual athlete, whether collected in competition or out of competition. For team sports such as football, testing is arranged by collecting samples at squad training sessions or after a match which ensures that players are subject to the same procedures as they would be for an out of competition test.Testing will always take place on football premises, whether a club ground, training venue, or academy. Because of the ease of access to football players it has not been necessary to instigate testing at players' homes.

Number of tests
	In competition	Out of competition
1996–97	63	415
1997–98	57	460
1998–99	69	470
1999–2000	133	928
2000–01	97	919

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many erythropoietin and human growth hormone tests have been undertaken in the last three years by Sport England; if the method of conducting such tests in England is the same as that used by Fina in Sydney; and if she will make a statement. [8260]

As testing for erythropoietin and growth hormone is very much at its infancy the level of testing for these substances has been confined to research and limited screening, making the data regarding test numbers of limited value. Methods have been refined since the protocols introduced at the Sydney Olympics, different methods and protocols are adopted by different sports and the purpose of testing can vary. UK Sport is closely monitoring the different testing systems in order that any national testing programme that would include erythropoietin and growth hormone, particularly if it will be based on blood testing, has integrity and is legally robust.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tests for banned substances have been undertaken on footballers playing in the (a) Premier League and (b) Football League in each of the last five years. [8257]

The anti-doping programmes for the football governing bodies in the UK are delivered through the national anti-doping organisation UK Sport. UK Sport monitors the type and level of testing.For the Football Association, the nature of promotion and relegation within the Football League and Premiership means that it is difficult to present meaningful and accurate figures that separate the Premier League and the Football League testing over the last five years. Teams may have been in numerous different divisions during that period, individual players may have

moved clubs or been included in testing of international competitions or squads. Furthermore, it is not in the interests of an effective testing programme to reveal the testing plan for any sport and therefore the figures are represented below as a total.

Year	Total number of tests for the FA
1996–97	478
1997–98	517
1998–99	539
1999–2000	1,061
2000–01	1,016

The above totals include testing across all divisions of the Football League and Premiership and include testing at women's football and FA Conference football as well as FA Vase testing. Also included in the programme is the testing of national squads (male and female) and target testing through punitive action and that performed at the request of clubs. The programme covers all possible periods of training and, competition for an athlete, as testing can take place on any day of the week.To explain the significant level of testing for the Football Association programmes, it may be helpful to point out that for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 they comprise over one sixth of the total tests conducted within the UK Sport testing programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she commissioned a review of blood tests for the drugs erythropoietin and human growth hormone; and if she will make a statement. [8259]

UK Sport conducts the testing programme for sports in the UK, presently the body fluid used for testing is urine. No formal review of blood testing has been commissioned for the detection of erythropoietin or human growth hormone. The introduction of blood testing to sport is quite recent. The testing protocols are still being revised to ensure that they are effective.Blood testing took place at the World Cycling Championships in Manchester in 2000, this testing was part of the medical check on the cyclist and measured haematocrit. Blood screening was also carried out at the London Marathon this year as part of a research project to consider the operational issues and effectiveness of EPO testing, more recently blood tests were also carried out at the World Half Marathon in Bristol. As research into detection continues it is possible that blood tests may be replaced by urine tests for the detection to erythropoietin. Presently research into growth hormone has been limited, although Professor Peter Sonkson at St. Thomas' Hospital had made significant advances, this work is on-going in other countries with financial support from the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Rowing

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to meet representatives of the Amateur Rowing Association to discuss their plans for the new training centre at Caversham. [8757]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to meet representatives of the Amateur Rowing Association to discuss plans for the new training centre at Caversham.

Sport England

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the funds available to Sport England to support voluntary sector sports clubs over the next five years. [8756]

Sport England estimates that it will distribute approximately £1 billion over the next five years from the Lottery Sports Fund, of which over two thirds will go to community projects, many of which involve voluntary sector sports clubs. The amount distributed will be dependent on the amount generated by the National Lottery.Exchequer funding for Sport England has been set at £43.025 million in 2001–2002, £53.275 million in 2002–2003, and £78.275 million in 2003–2004. Sport England will allocate grants from its exchequer income to governing bodies of sport, who can invest in the development of clubs, community sports programmes and volunteers.In addition, as my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his Budget Statement, the Government will shortly be consulting on proposals to introduce relief from some taxes for those amateur sports clubs which play a role in their community. This will give further assistance to the volunteers who are the backbone of these clubs and encourage more young people to volunteer their services in support of such clubs.

Athletics Funding

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if the Sports Aid Foundation grant responsible for the funding of elite athletics is to be curtailed by Sport England. [8690]

[holding answer 19 October 2001]: Sport England is continuing to provide funding to the Sports Aid Foundation for this financial year with an award of up to £250,000. Future funding is under discussion.

Media Ownership

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to reform the existing rules on media ownership. [9874]

I will announce later today that my Department will be engaging in a consultation exercise to determine the best way to regulate media ownership. A paper will be published shortly for two months formal consultation. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament and will be available on the Department's website at www.culture.gov.uk. Having considered the responses, we will publish our proposals in the draft Communications Bill next year. There will then be a further, three month period of consultation.

Transport, Local Government And The Regions

Regional Government

14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he last met the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss proposals for the reform of regional government. [5582]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State frequently meets my right hon Friend the Chancellor, and other ministerial colleagues, to discuss a range of issues, including regional government.

London Underground

15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will indicate the expected annual rate of return for investment of the infrastructure companies in London Underground over the next 15 years. [5583]

The Government's plans for a publicly run, privately built London Underground will deliver £13 billion of investment over the next 15 years.London Underground is currently negotiating the contracts to deliver this investment. To estimate what the private sector's rate of return might be while these negotiations are still ongoing would undermine London Underground's commercial position and jeopardise its ability to deliver best value.

Biofuels

17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will allocate substantial resources over the next two years to develop clean renewable biofuels for road transport. [5585]

Budget 2001 announced a new duty rate for biodiesel from Budget 2002 of 20p per litre below the rate for ultra low sulphur diesel. It also announced duty exemptions or reductions for pilot projects, lasting up to five years, to establish and assess the benefits of novel road fuels, including ethanol and biogas. The Chancellor will announce the first pilot projects granted duty concessions in the pre-Budget report.

West Coast Main Line

18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the latest estimate by Railtrack of the upgrade of the west coast main line; and if he will make a statement. [5587]

First, I would like to reassure my hon. Friend that the west coast main line upgrade will not be put at risk by Railtrack going into administration. The Government remain committed to providing a revitalised rail network in the UK, and the upgrade of the west coast main line is an integral part of that commitment. Work on the west coast main line upgrade will continue, and we are discussing with the administrators and the Strategic Rail Authority the best way of carrying it forward, without prejudice to the outcome of the public inquiries into specific elements of the project.

Local Government

19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the recent discussions he has had with representatives of local government on improving local services. [5588]

My Department has frequent discussions with representatives of local government about improving local services and other matters. Such discussions will be particularly useful in helping us develop the forthcoming local government White Paper.

25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent discussions he has had with local authority associations on the formula for allocating local government finance. [5594]

I have not had any recent discussions with the Local Government Association on this issue. However, I have met representatives of local government special interest groups, and the LGA attend regular working groups with my officials on formula reform. The most recent of these was on the 4 October this year.

35.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the discussions he has had with representatives of local government on improving local services. [5606]

Bed-And-Breakfast Accommodation

20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people in local authority paid bed-and-breakfast accommodation. [5589]

We have significantly increased money for housing and targeted new affordable housing in areas of shortage. We have also established a bed-and-breakfast unit. Over the next two years the unit will work with partners to introduce measures to reduce the need to place families in B and B.

Bus Services

21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps he is taking to improve bus services to disadvantaged communities in rural areas. [5590]

22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps he is taking to improve bus services to disadvantaged communities in urban areas. [5591]

29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps he is taking to improve bus services to disadvantaged communities in rural areas. [5598]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps he is taking to improve bus services to disadvantaged communities in urban areas. [5586]

The new powers in the Transport Act 2000 will improve bus services throughout the country by raising standards and improving access to services. Furthermore, increased funding for our rural bus grant schemes and the new Urban Bus Challenge will directly assist disadvantaged communities by improving transport links.

28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much subsidy is provided to bus services in west Kent. [5597]

Local authorities are responsible for decisions on bus subsidy within their area. However, I understand Kent county council's subsidy on bus services in west Kent is currently £2.88 million (gross) per year. This includes services supported under the Government's Rural Bus Grant Subsidy scheme. All local bus services also receive fuel duty rebate from my Department.

Road Safety

23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on speed management on the roads. [5592]

The Road Safety Strategy, published last year, set challenging new targets to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads and the measures required to achieve them. These include better speed management through engineering, education and enforcement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps his Department is taking to improve road safety. [5577]

The Government published a comprehensive road safety strategy, "Tomorrow's roads—safer for everyone", in March 2001 and, at the same time, set challenging targets for reducing road deaths and serious injuries in Great Britain by 2010. We are making solid progress on all fronts. Our latest quarterly report will be posted on the Department's website soon.As part of the ongoing implementation of the Road Safety Strategy, the following are examples of recent activities:

The THINK! road safety publicity campaign has included action on speed, drink-drive, seat-belts, and child safety, including the successful "Hedgehogs" advertisements.

A national scheme for child pedestrian training in schools has been launched and the first tranche of 38 authorities to receive funding was announced in September.

The pilot safety camera funding arrangement which started in eight partnership areas has been extended nationally and seven new partnerships have recently been set up. We expect the scheme to cover most areas over the next two years.

Road Safety Good Practice Guidelines were published in June to assist local highway authorities in their efforts to reduce casualties and meet their local target.

The Government will be consulting on various measures to improve the safety of novice drivers through a more structured approach to learning to drive.

Passenger Rail Franchising

24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on passenger rail franchising. [5593]

On 16 July we issued a draft statement of franchising policy for consultation with key stakeholders. Over 60 responses were received. We will publish a final statement in due course.

Rent Restructuring

26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on his proposals for rent restructuring. [5595]

We are committed to the reforms to social rents that are set out in the December 2000 policy statement, "Quality and Choice: A decent home for all—the way forward for housing".Unlike the current structure of social rents, which is confusing and unfair to tenants, the reforms will lead to all social tenants facing rents that reflect size, location and condition. Tenants will have a choice between paying a lower rent on a less attractive property or a higher rent on a more attractive property. Rents will be based upon a coherent approach and remain affordable, at well below market levels.Social landlords should aim to begin reforming their rents in 2002–03 and to complete the process over a 10-year period. Landlords are expected to ensure that the changes in rents as a result of the reforms are no more than £2 per week in any one year above the normal inflation-linked increase.

Local Transport

27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on local transport plans. [5596]

Local transport plans are a major step forward for integrated planning of transport improvements at local level. We have doubled the amount of money available to support the very wide range of schemes that authorities have proposed. We are currently looking at authorities' reports on their progress and will make further announcements in December.

Road Noise

30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the introduction of quieter motorway surfaces. [5599]

Last week we announced criteria for prioritising the surfacing of concrete trunk roads with quieter material. The four criteria that have been adopted are:

Wherever possible the application of quieter surfaces will fit in with normal maintenance needs;

Priority will be given to those sites where treatment would benefit the greatest number of people;

Works will be carried out in such a way as to minimise disruption to general public and users of network;

Priority will be given to roads, opened since June 1988, where actual noise levels have turned out to be significantly higher than predicted at the time of the Public Inquiry.

The list of schemes that satisfy the first criterion and are planned for the following three years (2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05) together with those that are planned for 2001–02 were announced on 17 October 2001.The Highways Agency is currently identifying additional schemes that satisfy the second and third criteria and could be added to this list. The Agency has also identified 17 roads with concrete surfaces that have been opened since June 1988 and has instigated a programme of noise surveys to identify those that satisfy the fourth criterion. The list of these 17 roads was also given in the announcement of 17 October.

Automatic Train Protection

31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress towards installing automatic train protection across the rail network. [5602]

Automatic train protection is already installed on the Great Western main line (London to Bristol), Heathrow Express and the Chiltern line. It is being installed as part of the upgrade of the west coast main line and the channel tunnel rail link. Installation of the train protection and warning system across the rail network will be completed by the end of 2003.The Government expect to receive advice next spring from the Health and Safety Commission on taking forward the recommendations from the joint inquiry on train protection chaired by Professor Uff and Lord Cullen.

Rail Franchise (Wales)

32.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the implementation of the single rail franchise for Wales. [5603]

The Strategic Rail Authority has proposed the creation of a single franchise for Wales. It is considering this alongside the other options for delivering benefits to rail passengers on Welsh routes. An announcement will be made in due course.

Key Worker Homes

33.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the provision of homes for key workers. [5604]

16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps are being taken to provide homes for key workers. [5584]

Our Starter Home Initiative and the Housing Corporation's programme will help 11,000 key workers to buy homes in high cost areas over the next three years. We are also reviewing planning guidance on affordable housing, including the scope for providing more key worker housing within new developments.

London Underground (Northern Line)

34.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans there are to improve services on the Northern line. [5605]

Over recent years there has been enormous improvement on the Northern line. In the last five years, £330 million has been invested in the Northern line stations, tunnels and service, plus a further £400 million of private investment to provide 106 new trains. This investment has already delivered a faster, more reliable train service, eight station modernisations (with three more in progress), 6km of new track, increased security, and more Customer Care Assistants. The percentage of schedule operated reached a record of 97 per cent. in 2000–01—well above the network-wide performance. As a result the Northern line is now one of London Underground's (LU) top three performing lines.Customers are noticing the improvements: Customer Satisfaction Surveys (CSS) show increases in the last five years in overall satisfaction with the Northern line service from 75 per cent. to 78 per cent. However, LU is continually looking to improve customer experience further. The plans for a publicly run, privately built Tube will ensure millions of pounds of substantial investment on the Northern line. Central to these improvements will be the installation of a brand new signalling system. This will allow over 25 per cent. more trains to run in the central area. In addition over 25 miles of track will be replaced in the first seven years of the modernisation contracts. This investment will build on the improvements already made and guarantee better services for years to come.

East Coast Main Line

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions on how many occasions in (a) 2001 (b) 2000 and (c) 1999 services on the east coast main line have been disrupted owing to collapse or other failure of the overhead power cables; and what average length of delay has been caused to passenger services as a result. [6652]

The following lists from Railtrack show the number of overhead line failures attributable to Railtrack and the train operators respectively in 1999, 2000 and 2001:

Minutes delay to ECML passenger services due to overhead line problems period 11 (January) 1999 to end of period 6 (mid September 2001

Overhead line (excluding emergency speed restrictions) Overhead line emergency speed restrictions
Railtrack attributable	1999	2000	2001
Total minutes delay	15,812	20,037	16,445
Number of incidents	143	111	80
Average delay	111	181	206
Percentage of all delays on ECML	5.4	3.0	2.9
Total minutes delay	3,516	4,000	1,352
Number of incidents	14	23	20
Average delay	251	174	68

Pantograph
TOC attributable	1999	2000	2001
Total minutes delay	¹—	387	16,445
Number of incidents	¹—	5	80
Average delay	¹—	77	206
Percentage of delays on ECML	¹—	0.2	2.9
¹ Data relating to these were not collected until 2000.

Elected Mayors

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what his policy is on introducing directly elected mayors in London boroughs. [8520]

Our policy for London boroughs, as for other local authorities, is that local people should be able to elect a Mayor to lead their council where they so choose, and that people should not be denied the opportunity to make that choice. As stated in the Government's Urban White Paper "Our towns and cities: the future"—Cm. 4911, November 2000—our belief is that international experience suggests that directly elected mayors are often the best option to provide the leadership that larger towns and cities need.

Railway Interoperability

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the (a) timetable for and (b) cost implications of meeting European regulations on railway interoperability. [8331]

Following consultation in May-July this year, we are revising the draft Regulations to implement directive 96/48/EC of 23 July 1996 on the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed rail system. We currently expect that the final regulations will be made and then come into force by early next year. The draft Regulatory Impact Assessment included in the consultation document indicated that the estimated cost to UK businesses was £45 million (net present value at 2000 prices) of which £15 million would be incurred in the next three years, plus some smaller-scale costs for conformity assessment. There are also potential benefits, which are difficult to quantify, in terms of the provision of more competitive rail services which would benefit freight customers and passengers and attract more traffic to rail, yielding environmental benefits.Directive 2001/16/EC of 19 March 2001 on the interoperability of the trans-European Conventional rail system is required to be implemented by 20 April 2003. An assessment of the costs and benefits of the implementation of this directive is not yet available.

Speed Signs

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement about the rules which prevent repeater 30 mph signs from being used in 30 mph zones. [8340]

Repeater signs are prohibited on roads with the urban 30mph national speed limit (restricted roads). Here the presence of street lighting is used to indicate the limit. The prohibition is the result of case law which makes it difficult to gain convictions for speeding if some restricted roads and not others have repeater signs.The DTLR is due to review speed limit signing early next year. This will look at the question of repeaters on restricted roads.

Detrunking

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to allocate specific funds for North Yorkshire county council to detrunk the roads; and if he will make a statement. [8145]

The Highways Agency has been and is having regular liaison meetings with North Yorkshire county council, most recently on 11 October, to discuss detrunking. At present, negotiations are progressing well and my Department has offered to make over £1.1 million available to the council for maintenance of those trunk roads to be detrunked in the county. Orders are currently being drafted and the majority should be published before the end of the calendar year.

Local Government Funding

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress of his Department's review of local government funding. [8165]

Following last year's consultation on local government finance we have been working with local government and other stakeholders in developing proposals for reform. The Local Government White Paper is due to be published later this year and will include a daughter document detailing our financial proposals. We have already announced that changes following the review of the revenue grant distribution system will take effect in April 2003.

Pfi Road Schemes

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 18 July 2001, Official Report, column 203W, on PFI road schemes, what the total points awarded is as a percentage of total that could be awarded; what percentage of projects had points awarded; and what the five main reasons were for awarding of points. [8174]

There is no limit to the number of penalty points that can be awarded on the Department's PFI trunk road projects. Penalty points are issued when it is appropriate to do so. Points have been awarded on 87.5 per cent. (7 of 8) of the projects. The five main reasons for the award of penalty points on the Department's DBFO contracts are: testing of construction materials, traffic management, public safety during construction, management of the construction process and road maintenance.

Night Flights

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the adequacy of controls on night noise at UK airports. [8524]

Controls on aircraft noise at night may be imposed voluntarily by the airport operator, in consultation with those affected. They may be subject of informal agreement, for example, with the relevant airport consultative committee, or of enforceable obligations under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or they may be the subject of planning conditions. At airports designated for the purposes of section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, controls may be set under that power: at present, only Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted are so designated.In the consultation paper, "Control of noise from civil aircraft", published last year, we also proposed that the Secretary of State be given a new power to require a noise amelioration scheme to be made and agreed with an appropriate local authority to address particular local issues. Responses to that consultation are being analysed and I hope to announce the outcome shortly.

Airport Security

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what funding his Department has made available for research into improving airport security in the last year; and what criteria are used to assess bids for such funding. [8139]

I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 19 October 2001, Official Report, column 1366W.

Mobile Phones (Motorists)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on motoring offences and the use of hand-held mobile phones. [8588]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: As the Highway Code makes clear, drivers should never use hand-held mobile phones while driving. Using a hands-free phone is also distracting and drivers should always find a safe place to stop when using any type of phone. Drivers who use phones irresponsibly may be prosecuted for failing to have proper control of their vehicle. This offence carries a maximum fine of £2,500. It can also be an offence for employers to require employees to use mobile phones while driving.Drivers may also be prosecuted for careless or inconsiderate driving or even dangerous driving. The penalties for these offences include endorsement and possible disqualification from driving. We therefore share the view of the police that current legislation provides sufficient powers to prosecute drivers who use mobile phones or any other in-vehicle devices, or carry out other activities that may distract their attention from the road. However, as stated in the Road Safety Strategy "Tomorrow's roads—safer for everyone", the Government will keep under review the need for new legislation.

Railtrack

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what meetings he held to discuss alternatives to putting Railtrack plc into administration with (a) Railtrack and (b) financial institutions. [8185]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: My right hon. Friend had a number of meetings with advisers and others before taking his decision to petition for Railway administration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will place in the Library his assessment of the financial position of Railtrack plc which led to the application for an administration order under section 59 of the Railways Act 1993. [8193]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: Copies of the bundle of High court documents relating to the railway administration order of 7 October have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the structure and funding of the company limited by guarantee which he will propose should take over Railtrack plc's role as network operator. [10123]

It is ultimately for the administrator to assess and make recommendations on proposals for how Railtrack's railway assets are transferred out of administration as a going concern. I will have to approve any such transfer under schedule 7 to the Railways Act 1993. As recent press coverage has made clear, there is every possibility that there may be more than one proposal before the administrator. The Government welcome this. At the same time however, it would be irresponsible of us to do nothing and leave it to others to work up a viable successor company to Railtrack plc. We are therefore developing what we would regard as an attractive successor vehicle. We will put a proposal to the administrator for a company limited by guarantee (CLG) to take over Railtrack plc's railway assets and its role as Network Operator.A CLG would be a private sector company run on purely commercial lines but without shareholders and consequently without the need to pay dividends in return for equity funding. Profits from the company would be re-invested in the network. The CLG structure could do much to address the current problems of the industry and could be one way of facilitating increased vertical integration with the possibility of individual TOCs playing a greater role in the maintenance of specific areas of infrastructure, where this was advantageous and appropriate. Any such vertical integration would need to include measures to protect the interests of other infrastructure users.We anticipate that the board of the CLG would comprise 12 to 15 executive and non-executive directors. The executive directors would include a CEO, and engineering, finance, safety and commercial directors. The non-executive directors could include a chairman, one director nominated by the SRA, one director appointed after consultation with both the TOCs and FOCs, and up to seven other independent non-executive directors. As is the case with all companies, the directors would owe their first duty to the CLG itself.This would be a highly professional board, tightly focused on delivering a quality rail network fit for the 21st century, remunerated and incentivised accordingly, and with corporate governance structures comparable to that of a traditional plc. In its early years the company would clearly face a number of key challenges: maintaining very high standards of safety on the railway; retaining the confidence of customers, employees and contractors; diagnosing the cultural and structural problems of the company and planning the best way of overcoming them.We are confident that incentive packages can be devised which would be comparable with those for similar roles elsewhere in the private sector and which would ensure that the CLG recruited and retained the very best people. Incentives would be based initially on safety, meeting financial and efficiency targets, and providing a quality service to customers.Instead of shareholders, a CLG has members. The SRA would be the founder member of this CLG and we anticipate that the majority of the other members would come from the private sector. Individuals drawn from private sector companies with a direct stake in the railways, other interests including passenger groups and employees, and the SRA (or its successor) could all be possible members. Financial interests and construction companies could also be included.Under this structure the members would have a governance role equivalent to that of shareholders but would have no additional powers. They would be well placed to ensure the high performance and full accountability of the board.For funding purposes the CLG would have the same sources of revenue as Railtrack had: property income, track access charges and grant. Some 90 per cent. of the company's income would therefore be covered by stable long-term contracts. Revisions to these contracts, for example to reflect any changes to the regulatory regime, would be subject to independent regulation in respect of the fair price to be paid for the outputs Government wish to purchase.The CLG would not need equity to raise debt finance. The company would have the existing debt from Railtrack transferred to it and would be able to borrow further from the debt markets to the extent necessary. The cost of this borrowing would depend on the company's credit rating and under the proposals we are currently developing we would expect the CLG to have a solid investment-grade (ie at least BBB) credit rating. We anticipate that in practice lenders would view the company as a very low credit risk and a sound basis for their investment.The 'cushion' between the risk of poor financial performance and debt providers that equity would provide under the standard plc model would come from two main sources. First, we would expect to put in place an arrangement by which the company could access a standby, subordinated loan facility. This facility would be enshrined in a contract, providing explicit support in specified circumstances up to a predetermined limit. It would be capped. It would not amount to a Government guarantee of debt, but the repayment of this facility would be 'last in the queue' of creditors for repayment. The possible value of this facility would be determined once the administrator has a better understanding of Railtrack plc's true financial position.Secondly, although the company would not be distributing profits in the form of dividends, it would earn a surplus over direct costs. This would be sufficient over time to build up a significant reserve. Together, the company's reserves and the explicit loan facility, would mean that the CLG would have access to sufficient funds to cover foreseeable circumstances.Under the CLG structure revenues would go further than they would have done with Railtrack. The cost of capital would be lower, there would be no dividends and the company would be able to prioritise cashflows in favour of lenders. In addition the company would operate with much lower risks than Railtrack, concentrating on operating and maintaining the infrastructure as well as undertaking small-scale renewals. The CLG would not undertake major new projects with all their attendant risks of cost overrun. As we announced in April this year, we anticipate that projects such as these, like the east coast main line upgrade, will henceforward be undertaken by special purpose vehicles. These are likely to be bespoke joint venture companies financed by a combination of Government grant and private sector debt and equity.A CLG company structure could be combined with a different, more streamlined, regulatory regime than the one under which the industry has had to labour to date and this would help to underpin its credit rating. As stated, transparent independent economic regulation would continue to be an element in the regulatory regime.There may well be other viable options for the administrator to consider, and we will give any transfer scheme put to us full consideration. Nevertheless, we are confident that the CLG structure we are proposing, along with the associated regulatory changes, would:

produce a focused, professional, private sector company committed to maintaining and improving the rail network;

retain the ability to raise significant private sector investment in the railways at reasonable cost;

rid the industry of the previous tensions between the need to generate short-term increases in share price and the long-term needs of the network;

give those with a stake in our railway infrastructure an input into how that infrastructure is operated and maintained;

allow us to deliver our 10-year plan commitment of some £30 billion of public expenditure on the railways but with much improved value for money;

play its role in levering in the matching £34 billion of private sector investment identified in the 10-year plan;

put an end, once and for all, to the divisions all too apparent in the industry when the network was under Railtrack's stewardship.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what advice he has received regarding the value of the first phase of CTRL to Railtrack Group plc. [8692]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: We will be working with Railtrack and London and Continental Railways Ltd. over the next few weeks to consider valuation issues.

Abandoned Vehicles

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when his review of policies relating to abandoned vehicles is expected to report. [8900]

[holding answer 19 October 2001]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 18 October 2001, Official Report, column 1318W.

Summer Recess (Departmental Publications)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many (a) press notices and (b) consultation documents were issued by his Department during the summer recess. [9224]

The total number of (a) press notices and (b) consultation documents issued by DTLR (C) during the summer recess (20 July 2001 to 15 October 2001) is as follows:

(a) 110

(b) 15.

Standard Spending Assessment

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what his estimate is of the standard spending assessment for highways and transport per kilometre of (a) principal and (b) non-principal road in each shire county in England in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [7963]

A table showing the standard spending assessment for highway maintenance per kilometre of principal and non-principal road in each shire county in England is as follows. The highway maintenance SSA is determined mainly by an authority's length of roads together with the average traffic flow for that authority.

	Highway Maintenance SSA per km
Local authority	Principal roads	Non-principal roads
Cornwall	4,319	3,308
Cumbria	4,690	3,446
Gloucestershire	5,054	3,950
Hertfordshire	12,007	8,548
Lincolnshire	4,774	3,260
Norfolk	5,177	3,848
Northamptonshire	8,253	6,536
Northumberland	5,084	3,563
Oxfordshire	6,533	5,499
Somerset	4,759	3,502
Suffolk	5,564	3,999
Surrey	12,318	9,105
Warwickshire	6,392	4,807
West Sussex	8,444	6,513
North Yorkshire	5,226	3,598
Bedfordshire	8,301	6,612
Buckinghamshire	7,478	5,992
Derbyshire	7,542	5,101
Dorset	4,621	3,827
Durham	6,866	5,197
East Sussex	7,381	5,384
Hampshire	7,339	5,718

	Highway Maintenance SSA per km
Local authority	Principal roads	Non-principal roads
Leicestershire	6,811	5,683
Staffordshire	7,419	5,137
Wiltshire	5,337	4,269
Cambridgeshire	6,483	5,412
Cheshire	6,636	5,109
Devon	4,387	3,142
Essex	9,739	7,685
Kent	8,053	5,661
Lancashire	8,386	6,010
Nottinghamshire	7,999	6,308
Shropshire	4,663	3,265
Worcestershire	6,441	4,930
Isle of Wight Council	6,840	4,718

It is not possible to provide a similar table for the other transport elements (concessionary fares and bus support outside London) included in the Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services block as these elements are not separately identifiable within this block.

Terminal 5

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what studies have been made in the last five years of the effect of the proposed Terminal 5 at Heathrow on flooding in the area. [8305]

The Terminal 5 Inquiry Inspector heard and received evidence during the inquiry on drainage and flooding issues, including the potential flood risk from Terminal 5. The Inspector's report is currently being considered together with the results of the recent consultation on BAA's revised proposals for the diversion of two rivers around the proposed Terminal 5 site and other post-inquiry representations.

Civil Aviation Authority

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he has appointed a new chairman to the Civil Aviation Authority; and if he will make a statement. [10064]

Following an open competition in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointment's guidance, the Government have appointed Sir Roy McNulty to the post of Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority. Sir Roy succeeds Sir Malcolm Field, who retired from the authority on 16 September.

Sir Roy's appointment is for three years. For the first six months, he will work three days per week at a salary of £90,640 per year. Thereafter, he will work two days per week at a salary of £60,427 per year. The appointment is pensionable and, with the consent of the Treasury, an employer contribution will be made to Sir Roy's personal pension of up to 20 per cent. of his actual salary in respect of this appointment. Additional member contributions of 4 per cent. of actual salary will also be payable. As this is a personal pension, the details of the arrangement are a matter for Sir Roy and his pension provider.

Sir Malcolm Field made a substantial contribution to the CAA during his term of office, not least in taking the CAA through the establishment of the public/private partnership for National Air Traffic Services Ltd. and the subsequent reorganisation of the CAA itself into a specialist regulatory body. Sir Roy faces the future challenges of establishing the CAA as the UK's aviation regulator; of ensuring that the CAA continues to promote, in an efficient and cost-effective way, high standards of safety in all aspects of civil aviation; of bedding in the regulatory framework for the provision of air traffic services, and of maintaining good communications with Parliament, the aviation sector both in the UK and abroad, and the public. The Government are confident of Sir Roy's ability and commitment to fulfilling these expectations.

I have written to Sir Roy, giving him guidance on the aims and strategic direction which the Government wish him to pursue during his term of office. A copy of that letter has been placed in the Library of the House.

Central Railway Project

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will place in the Library a copy of the Strategic Rail Authority's report on the Central Railway project. [9198]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: The Strategic Rail Authority does not intend to publish its high level review or the consultants' report which informed that review on Central Railways' proposals. It will, however, be advising Ministers and is giving consideration to publishing an Executive Summary of the consultants' report.

Strategic Rail Authority

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he plans to announce the successor to Sir Alistair Morton as Chairman of the SRA. [8695]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: We expect to make an announcement shortly.

Lord Chancellor's Department

Libel Laws

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on the compatibility of the libel laws and Articles 6 and 10 of the Human Rights Convention. [9104]

The Government believe that the law of libel is consistent with Article 6 (right to a fair trial) and Article 10 (right to freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights.It is the task of the courts to apply and develop the law of libel in a manner consistent with the convention rights. They are also under a duty themselves to act compatibly with these rights, as public authorities under the Human Rights Act 1988, which was introduced by this Government. Additionally, they are under a duty, under section 12 of the Act, to have particular regard to the importance of the convention right of freedom of expression, if they are considering whether to grant any relief which would affect the exercise of that right.

Summer Recess (Departmental Publications)

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many (a) press notices and (b) consultation documents were issued by her Department during the summer recess. [9228]

During the summer recess period (21 July to 15 October 2001 inclusive) my Department issued 83 press notices and six consultation papers. All press notices and public consultation papers are published on the Lord Chancellor's Department website:www.lcd.gov.uk.

Children Act

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will review the Children Act 1989 to grant automatic parental responsibility status to unmarried fathers; and if she will make a statement. [8683]

The Government recognise the wide range of relationships outside marriage and that increasing numbers of children are being born to unmarried couples. The Adoption and Children Bill, as drafted, introduced on 19 October 2001, will have the effect of amending the Children Act to allow unmarried fathers who jointly register a child's birth with the mother to acquire parental responsibility without further formality. The new provisions will not apply retrospectively. Information will be made available to assist parents to understand the implications of joint registration.

Sarwar V Alam

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on the implications of Sarwar v. Alam for funding arrangements of accident cases. [8664]

The findings of the Court of Appeal in Sarwar v. Alam are consistent with the Government's policy that reasonable after the event insurance premiums reasonably incurred are recoverable items.

Hms Thetis

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will place in the Library a copy of the Admiralty and Secretariat case papers relating to the loss of HM Submarine Thetis, reference 3817, 1939, Appointment of Public Tribunal of Inquiry: various papers as brief for Treasury Solicitor including findings of Board of Inquiry under Commander in Chief 5488 vol. 1; 3818, 1939, reports of salvage and life saving services by Rear Admiral (Submarines) and others, 5488, vol. 2; 3819, 1939, Tribunal of Inquiry: minutes days 1–5, 5488; vol. 3; 3820, 1939, Tribunal of Inquiry: minutes days 6–10, 5488; vol. 3; 3821, 1939, Tribunal of Inquiry: minutes days 11–16, 5488, vol 5 and 3822, 1939, Tribunal of Inquiry: minutes days 17–20, 5488, vol 6. [8608]

The papers in question form part of the national archive and are held by the Public Record Office at Kew. They are freely available for inspection there. Details of opening hours, catalogue references and copying services are given on the PRO website at http://www.pro.gov.uk. Because of the substantial nature of the documents in question, placing copies in the Library of the House would incur disproportionate cost.

Treasury

Impounded Goods

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the operation of the appeals procedure used by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in respect of the impounding of goods and transport vehicles deemed by customs officials to be in breach of the law governing imports into the United Kingdom; and how many staff are available to HM Customs and Excise to review appeals made against seizure of property and vehicles. [8872]

All of Customs enforcement action is subject to legal appeal and challenge. The legality of any seizure can be challenged in the magistrates court. In addition, customs decisions not to restore vehicles or goods which have been seized can be appealed in the first instance to a customs review officer and then to the independent VAT and Duties Tribunal. Customs deploy approximately 60 staff years to deal with appeals and reviews.

Institutional Property Market

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to develop the securitisation of the institutional property market. [5999]

Securitisation is used to raise capital for a variety of sectors. Its development is led by market practitioners and their customers. The Government's objectives include securing an innovative, fair dealing, competitive and efficient market in financial services, as described in the Treasury's most recent departmental report (Cm 5116).

Money Laundering

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which London banks were found by the FSA to have handled funds stolen from Nigeria by General Sami Abacha; and which banks were criticised for lax money laundering controls. [7995]

[holding answer 15 October 2001]: The Banking Act 1987 restricts the FSA's ability to make its findings public. Under the new Financial Services and Markets Act, which comes into force on 1 December, the FSA will have wider powers to disclose this information.

Pension Policies

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the implications of the Equitable Life situation on his policy towards the regulation of with-profits pension policies. [8336]

This is an issue which the inquiry being undertaken by Lord Penrose may wish to look at.

Suspicious Financial Transactions

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many referrals relating to suspicious financial transactions have been referred to NCIS in each year since 1997; and how many prosecutions have resulted from these referrals in each year. [8134]

Since 1997 the Economic Crime Unit at NCIS has received the following numbers of suspicious transaction reports:

	Number
1997	14,148
1998	14,129
1999	14,500
2000	18,408
January to September 2001	19,981

Suspicious transaction reports are a vital part of NCIS and other law enforcement agencies intelligence gathering operations and the broader fight against financial crime. However, suspicious transaction reports may be only one small part of a complex investigation that ultimately leads to the arrest and conviction of individuals and the confiscation of assets. Suspicious transaction reports can provide new information and intelligence that can substantially move an investigation forward as well as providing an invaluable insight into the presence or whereabouts of assets for later confiscation. On occasions they may also simply provide confirmation of information already known to the investigators. This means, therefore, that isolating prosecutions that were the result of suspicious transaction reports from those that were not could not be achieved without disproportionate costs.

Article Iv Reports

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it is the policy of the Government to publish the UK's article IV reports to the IMF in future. [8136]

As we said in our Annual Report to Parliament, "The UK and the IMF 1999–2000", the Government are committed to publishing IMF Article IV reports on the UK.

In August 2000, following a successful pilot project, the Executive Board of the IMF adopted a policy of voluntary publication of Article IV staff reports. The UK had participated in the pilot project, authorising publication of our 1999 Article IV report at the earliest opportunity. The UK's 2000 Article IV was published in February 2001, shortly after its conclusion. The Government believe that publication is an important step in enhancing the transparency and credibility of IMF surveillance and will continue to publish the UK's reports in the future. We will also continue to encourage other IMF member countries to do likewise.

Bank Disclosures

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he will take to ensure disclosure by the banking sector of their lending patterns in under-invested communities; and if he will make a statement. [8262]

In the November 2000 Pre-Budget Report and the Budget 2001 the Government stated that they were encouraging banks to disclose details of their individual lending activities in disadvantaged communities on a voluntary basis, and that this improved flow of information should help to identify barriers to and opportunities for growth. The Government also said that they would look at the obligations on banks in the contents of requirements placed on the sector more widely.

Working Hours

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress his Department made towards achieving a declining trend in excessive hours worked over the years 1999 and 2000. [8133]

Information for 1999 and 2000 shows a small reduction in the number of hours worked in excess of conditioned hours for those staff working the most hours, measured against the baseline for the Public Service Agreement target. The information for the period January to August 2001 shows a marked reduction in the numbers of staff working in excess of conditioned hours in general.

Sudden Death Syndrome

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the number of people who die each year from sudden death syndrome. [8862]

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

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Michael Foster, dated 23 October 2001:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for the latest estimate of the number of people who die each year from sudden death syndrome (8862)

In 2000, there were 34 instantaneous deaths with cause unknown, code 798.1 in the International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision (ICD-9) for people aged 1 and over in England and Wales.

For those aged under 1, an analysis of figures on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) for 1996–2000 was published in Health Statistics Quarterly 11 in August 2001. This analysis showed a provisional number of 243 deaths mentioning SIDS in 2000.

Aid (Natural Disasters)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications for financial aid for natural disasters in the UK have been made to the EU in each of the last five years. [8766]

The information requested is not held centrally. Decisions to seek financing from the European Union are taken by Departments on an individual basis.

Abu Qatada

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what countries have sought the freezing of assets in the UK held by Abu Qatada; and if he will make a statement. [8661]

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 requires states to freeze the assets of entities and individuals who are suspected of committing, or posing a significant risk of committing, or providing material support for, acts of terrorism. In accordance with the resolution the Bank of England issued a press notice on Friday 12 October 2001 listing individuals and entities suspected of being involved in terrorist activities. The name Abu Qatada appears on this list.

General Abacha

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures the Government are taking in response to the allegations of money laundering by General Abacha, relating to the use of banks for which the UK has responsibility; and if he will make a statement. [9124]

Following the Divisional Court's ruling of 18 October, the SFO will be able to provide evidence answering the Nigerian and Swiss requests for assistance.An FSA task force is now monitoring seven banks' actions to remedy inadequate money laundering controls. Under the Financial Services and Markets Act the FSA will have wider powers to disclose information and to prosecute breaches of the money laundering regulations.The Proceeds of Crime Bill, introduced on 18 November, will further strengthen the UK's anti-money laundering defences.

Guaranteed Annuities

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are being taken to ensure that the full record of exchanges between the Government Auditor, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Treasury on the subject of guaranteed annuities, and particularly in relation to Equitable Life, are being made available for examination by the Penrose public inquiry. [8481]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: Lord Penrose will have full access to all the information he requires.

Aggregates Tax

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much VAT he forecasts will he raised by the imposition of the aggregates tax in the first full year of its operation. [8859]

No such estimate is available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide a breakdown of how much is forecast to be raised by the aggregates tax in its first full year from (a) low specification aggregates, (b) virgin aggregates and (c) recycled aggregates. [8852]

Forecasts of tax revenues are published each March in the Financial Statement and Budget Report (FSBR) and in the autumn in the pre-Budget report. Forecasts of aggregates levy revenues are not broken down by type of aggregate. Recycled aggregates are exempt from the levy.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the impact which the aggregates tax will have on the cost of housing construction; [8850](2) what will be the cost of the aggregates tax to the rail industry in its first full year of operation. [8853]

No such estimates have been made.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the total impact so far on UK carbon dioxide emissions of the reduction in VAT on domestic supplies of fuel and power from 8 per cent. to 5 per cent. [8851]

The annual figure was set out in Table 6.2 of the Government's Financial Statement and Budget Report published in March 2001, which shows the latest estimates of the environmental impact of measures introduced in recent Budgets.

Eu Tax Companies

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those EU countries which operate taxes broadly comparable to (a) the aggregates tax and (b) the climate change levy. [8858]

There are energy taxes in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden.There are aggregates taxes in Denmark, France and Sweden and the Netherlands is in the process of introducing a tax.

Disabled Person's Tax Credit

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to extend the Disabled Person's Tax Credit to people who work less than 16 hours per week; and if he will make a statement. [8977]

There are no current plans to extend the Disabled Person's Tax Credit to people who work less than 16 hours per week.

Royal Prerogative

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many ministerial decisions were made where authority for the same derived from the royal prerogative in the most recent calendar month for which information is available. [9375]

Records are not kept of the individual occasions on which powers under the royal prerogative are exercised nor would it be practicable to do so.

European Court Of Justice Judgments

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications for (a) UK tax law and (b) Government revenue of the 9 October Judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case C-108/99, Commissioners of HM Customs and Excise v. Cantor Fitzgerald International; and if he will make a statement. [9169]

No change in UK tax legislation is needed as a result of this judgment. Subject to the final decision of the UK courts, this European Court of Justice decision is expected to have prevented a potential tax loss.

Helpline

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the progress made towards the establishment of a virtual call centre structure to support the proposed national helpline for VAT, excise and freight. [9178]

HM Customs and Excise introduced a new National Advice Service on 2 April 2001 that deals with all general telephone inquiries from businesses and the public about taxes and duties they are responsible for.

Pension Fund Surpluses

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to review legislation governing pension fund surpluses; and if he will make a statement. [9757]

The pension fund surpluses legislation is kept under regular review and an announcement will be made if it is decided to change the current rules.

Savings

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what constraints will be placed upon parents' investment decisions on behalf of their children in respect of money made available through the Child Trust Fund; [9753](2) if people without bank accounts will be able to access the

(a) Savings Gateway and (b) the Child Trust Fund, through the Universal bank; [9737]

(3) what plans he has to encourage saving among families on low incomes; [9745]

(4) what recent representations he has received from UK financial institutions on the Child Trust Fund; and of these how many have expressed concern about the implications of the fund for competition in the retail savings sector; [9755]

(5) what will be the estimated cost of policing the Child Trust Fund to ensure that funds are invested in ways permissible under the associated regulations; [9752]

(6) how many additional families he estimates will be subject to means-testing as a result of (a) the Child Trust Fund and (b) Savings Gateway; [9749]

(7) if lump sums made available as part of the Child Trust Fund will be increased annually in relation to (a) average earnings and (b) inflation; [9746]

(8) if he will make a statement on progress in implementing the Child Trust Fund; [9748]

(9) what the cost will be to the Government of the (a) Child Trust Fund and (b) Savings Gateway in their first full year of operation. [9750]

The Government's strategy towards saving and the measures they have taken, including the introduction of Individual Saving Accounts and Stakeholder Pensions, is set out in "Helping People to Save", published by HM Treasury in November 2000.The Government launched consultation on further proposals to encourage saving and asset-building, especially among households with low incomes, in "Saving and Assets for All" published by HM Treasury in April 2001. The consultation is focused on proposals for the Child Trust Fund and the Saving Gateway. As the consultation paper describes, decisions on the design and operation of the proposed initiatives have not been taken. The potential cost of the initiatives would depend on such decisions. Many financial service providers have responded to the consultation. The Government intend to report back on the results from the consultation and on its further intentions for these initiatives around the time of the pre-Budget report in autumn 2001.

Taxpayers

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many UK taxpayers were subject to an income tax rate of 40 per cent. or more on the first day of tax years (a) 1979–80, (b) 1997–98 and (c) 2001–02. [9763]

I refer the hon. Member to "The Survey of Personal Incomes 1979–80", table 16 and "Inland Revenue Statistics", table 2.1. Both of these publications are available in the Library of the House. The latest data on Inland Revenue Statistics can also be accessed on the Inland Revenue website www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats.

Tax Returns (Penalties)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many incorrect penalties were issued to taxable persons who had completed and sent off tax returns on time for the tax years (a) 1996–97, (b) 1997–98, (c) 1998–99, (d) 1999–2000 and (e) 2000–01 by (i) the Inland Revenue and (ii) HM Customs and Excise. [9758]

The information is not available.

Foot And Mouth

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the continuation of deferred tax collection from businesses affected by the foot and mouth outbreak in Cumbria. [7521]

[holding answer 22 October 2001]: The Government keep all taxes under review and decisions will be made as part of the normal Budget process. Throughout the outbreak the Inland Revenue and Customs have been working constructively with businesses and their representatives to reschedule payments where possible. Deferment of payments is just one of the ways in which this can be achieved. Their approach has been to develop solutions that match the needs of individual businesses, rather than adopt a blanket approach.The Inland Revenue and Customs will continue to take a sympathetic approach to businesses which have been affected by FMD, and are aware that some businesses will continue to suffer problems throughout the autumn and winter.

Vat (Small Firms)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which organisations have responded to HM Customs and Excise's consultation on a flat-rate VAT scheme for small firms. [9774]

Responses have been received from:

Chartered Institute of Taxation
Confederation of British Industry
Federation of Small Businesses
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
Institute of Company Accountants
Institute of Directors
Institute of Indirect Taxation
Law Society of England and Wales
Law Society of Scotland
Small Business Service
The Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Birmingham, London, Manchester, and Milton Keynes and North Bucks
VAT Practitioners' Group
Alliance of Independence Retailers
Association of Convenience Stores
Association of Pensioner Trustees
British Association of Removers
British Decorator's Association
British Holiday and Home Parks Association
Construction Confederation
National Federation of Fish Friers
National Hairdressers' Federation
Professional Contractors' Group
Retail Motor Industry Federation.

Replies were also received from 25 individuals, firms or companies.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library the responses to HM Customs and Excise's consultations on a flat-rate VAT scheme for small firms. [9775]

Apart from those which consultees have asked should not be made public, responses will be placed in the Library when Ministers announce the outcome of the consultation. At that time Customs will also publish a summary of the responses received.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to change Government policy following HM Customs and Excise's consultation on a flat-rate VAT scheme for small firms. [9777]

Customs are currently analysing responses to the recent consultation exercise and will be making recommendations to Treasury Ministers in due course.

Scottish Bus Group

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had since June relating to Scottish Bus Group pensioners. [9215]

The Scottish Executive is taking forward matters regarding the Scottish Bus Group pension funds, following its announcement in December 2000 on the pension fund surplus.

Excise Duties

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to increase excise duties. [9217]

Decisions on taxation are considered on an annual basis as part of the Chancellor's overall Budget judgment.

Equitable Life

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Baird report on Equitable Life was made available by the Treasury to Lord Penrose. [R][9216]

A letter was sent to Lord Penrose on 16 October which enclosed a copy of the report as evidence for his inquiry.

Home Department

Mrs Sally Clark

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he intends to refer the case of Sally Clark to the Court of Appeal. [8337]

The Home Secretary's powers to consider alleged miscarriages of justice came to an end on 31 March 1997, and were replaced by new powers vested in an independent body called the Criminal Cases Review Commission. I understand that, to date, Mrs. Clark has not submitted an application to the Commission. It remains open to her, or anyone acting on her behalf, to apply to the Commission for a review of her case.

Absence

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days on average were lost per employee in his Department because of sickness; and how many officials retired early from his Department in each of the past 10 years. [R][5050]

Available comparable information on working days lost due to sickness is given in table 1. Available information on the number of staff having retired early from the Department is given in Tables 2 and 3.Information on sickness absence data for the Civil Service between 1995 and 1998 was published in a British Medical Institute (BMI) Health Services Report, "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service", produced on behalf of the Cabinet Office. These figures were based on staff years and are not therefore comparable with later figures based on the approved method using working days.

Table 2: Annual early retirements of staff within the Home Office and non-Prison Service agencies between 1 January 1992 and 20 September 2001
Leaving reason	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Retirement—ill health	36	61	77	82	97	69	59	41	33	9
Retirement—actuarially reduced	2	3	7	7	3	4	9	6	4	3
Early Retirement/severance on structural grounds or grounds of limited efficiency/postability	7	29	48	36	72	25	22	24	13	17
Compulsory early retirement/severance on redundancy/voluntary redundancy	75	48	57	30	33	60	3	3	2	2
Total	120	141	189	155	205	158	93	74	52	31

Table 3: Early retirements of staff within the Prison Service
Leaving reason	1998	1999	2000	2001
Retirement—ill health	356	321	285	105
Retirement—approved early	25	32	43	25
Retirement—actuarially reduced	11	6	8	4
Retirement—compulsory early	11	13	12	6
Total	403	372	348	140

Special Advisers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the special advisers in his Department and (a) their date of appointment and (b) their responsibilities; if any of them are authorised to speak to the media; and if he will make a statement. [9485]

The number of special advisers working for me had been increased by 0.5 of a full-time post compared with the number working for me in the pre-election period. This, as with the arrangements between 1997 and 2001, reflects the particular circumstances of my position and also the extent of written work associated with my present post. Nick Pearce, Katharine Raymond and Sophie Linden (part-time) took up their appointments as special advisers on 8 June. Huw Evens took up his appointment on 2 July. As part of their duties they will brief the media as appropriate.

The Home Office and its agencies have introduced new guidelines, policies and procedures with a view to reducing sickness absence. The Department's service delivery targets for April 2001 to March 2004, which include a target for sickness absence, were published on Friday 3 November 2000 and are available on the Home Office website. The targets are to reduce sickness absence, and sustain this improvement thereafter in the:

Home Office and its agencies (excluding the Prison Service) to an average of 6.9 days by end of March 2003.

Prison Service to an average of 9.0 days per member of staff by 2004.

Table 1: Average working days recorded as lost due to sickness in the Home Office 1999–2001
Area/year ¹	1999	2000	2001
Home Office and non-Prison Service agencies²	10	7.5	7.2
Prison Service	12.6	13.4	13.9
¹ Data for Home Office and non-Prison Service agencies are given by financial year. Prison Service data are given by calendar year (to August). Comparable data for earlier years are not available.
² United Kingdom Passport Agency, Forensic Science Service and Fire Service College.

Note:

Responsibility for the Fire Service College passed from the Home Office to DTLR in the 2001 machinery of Government changes.

With the transfer of the United Kingdom Anti-Drug Co-ordination Unit from the Cabinet Office, Keith Hellawell is joining the Home Office, on special adviser terms, in an advisory role on international drug issues.

Prisoners (Purposeful Activity)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time per week spent by prisoners in purposeful activity in each category of prison. [9477]

The average time per week spent by prisoners in purposeful activity in each category of prison between April and August 2001 is set out in the table.

category	Time spent in purposeful activity (hours)
Category B	25.4
Category C	26.4
Female closed	27.3
Female local	22.4
Female open	35.6
High Security	19.3
Male closed Young Offenders Institute (YOI)	23.1
Male juvenile	28.0
Male local	19.6
Male open	42.7
Male open YOI	40.3
Male remand centre	21.5

These data are provisional and subject to validation by establishments. Establishments are categorised by their main role only. Establishments that have more than one role have been placed in the category that represents the primary or predominant function of the prison.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is his policy to consider the availability of appropriate training courses in allocating prisoners to particular institutions. [8825]

Yes. The main factor which is considered in determining a prisoner's allocation is the security category of the prisoner. But allocation to a prison within that constraint will take account, among other things, of any need for identified offence-related behavioural programmes to confront assessed risk and the prisoner's educational or training needs or potential.

Coroners Court

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the workings and practices of coroners courts; and if he will make a statement. [9020]

[holding answer 19 October 2001]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question from the Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney) on 5 July 2001, Official Report, column 250W. The chair and members of the review team were subsequently announced on 26 July.

Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department will reply to the letter dated 14 September from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan regarding his constituents, Mr. and Mrs. G Chernov. [8226]

[holding answer 19 October 2001]: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in replying to his letters. My hon. Friend the Minister of State, Home Department, Lord Rooker, has agreed to meet the hon. Member as requested in his correspondence and his office is currently arranging this.

Victim Support

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what help his Department makes available to victim support. [8558]

[holding answer 18 October 2001]: The Home Office grant to the organisation Victim Support in the current financial year will be £25 million. This is over £6 million more than last year, and more than twice the grant paid in 1997. The extra money this year will enable Victim Support to complete the provision of witness support services in all magistrates courts and further enhance their service delivery to victims of crime.

Prisoner Rehabilitation

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets he has set HM prisons for the rehabilitation of offenders; and if he will make a statement. [7295]

The targets set by the Home Secretary for the rehabilitation of offenders are contained in the Public Service Agreement (PSA) between the Chancellor and the Home Secretary, in a Service Delivery Agreement (SDA) between the Home Secretary and the Prison Service, and in Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the Prison Service.The PSA targets that relate to prisoner rehabilitation are:

to reduce the rate of reconvictions:

of all offenders punished by imprisonment or by community supervision by 5 per cent. by 2004 compared to the predicted rate; and

of all young offenders by 5 per cent. by 2004 compared to the predicted rate;

to reduce the levels of repeat offending among problem drug misusing offenders by 25 per cent. by 2005 (and by 50 per cent. by 2008).

The targets contained in the SDA that relate to the rehabilitation of offenders are:

to increase the educational and vocational qualifications of offenders to 23,400 accredited educational/vocational qualifications in 2001–02 and 36,200 in 2003–04. including an increase in the number of level 2 basic skill awards from 18,000 to 21,000;

to increase the number of offenders going through accredited offending behaviour programmes to 8,900 by 2003–04, including 1,240 through sex offender treatment programmes;

to double the number of prisoners getting jobs on release by April 2004;

to reduce the rate of positive results from random drug tests from 20 per cent. in 1998–99 to 10 per cent. by 31 March 2004;

to increase the number of prisoners entering treatment between 2001–02 and 2003–04 in the following categories:

CARATS (Counselling, Assessment Referral, Advice and Throughcare, Services) from 20,000 to 25,000;

detoxification-from 23,000 to 27,000;

drug rehabilitation programmes and therapeutic communities—from 5,000 to 5,700;

to establish, by December 2000, a baseline and targets for the Spending Review period, for increasing the caseload of prisoners on a voluntary drug testing compact.

The four current KPI targets that relate to prisoner rehabilitation are:

to deliver 23,400 accredited educational or vocational qualifications in 2001–02, including 18,000 level 2 basic skills awards;

to ensure that prisoners spend on average at least 24 hours per week engaged in purposeful activity;

to deliver 6,100 accredited offending behaviour programme completions in 2001–02, including 1,160 completions of sex offender treatment programmes;

to ensure the rate of positive results from random mandatory drug tests is lower than 12 per cent. by April 2002.

Special Constables

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables there were in the West Midlands Police Force in (a) 1971, (b) 1981, (c) 1991 and (d) 2000, respectively; how many of these were from minority ethnic communities; and how many special constables were deployed in the Dudley North OCU in 2001.[7088]

The number of serving special constables at force level have only been recorded centrally from 1991 onwards. Figures for the years prior to this are not available. The total number of special constables, including the numbers of those from minority ethnic communities in West Midlands Police for 1991 and 2000 are set out in the table.

Year	Total number of Special constables	special constables from minority ethnic backgrounds
31 March 1991	843	115
31 March 2000	680	75

I am informed by West Midlands Police that in 2001, there was an average of 34 serving special constables deployed in the Dudley North Operational Command Unit (OCU).The Government are committed to increasing the special constabulary and we are looking at radical improvements in their management, welfare and deployment as part of the police reform process.

Police Marksmen (Civilian Casualities)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been shot by police in each of the last 10 years; how many (a) died and (b) were seriously injured; and how many of these were found not to have been carrying firearms at the time they were shot. [7414]

Figures available are as follows:

	Persons shot by police	Died	Injured¹	Unarmed²
1991	5	3	2	—
1992	11	3	8	—
1993	5	3	2	—
1994	6	2	4	—
1995	5	2	3	2
1996	4	2	2	2
1997	1	—	1	—
1998	5	2	3	2
1999	7	3	4	—
2000	6	2	4	—
2001	2	2	—	—
¹ Includes all injuries
² Excludes incidents where the person was subsequently found to be in possession of a replica or imitation firearm or in possession of other dangerous weapons (knives, air weapon etc.)

Departmental Staff

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate total annual staff costs for his Department and its agencies by nation and region of the UK; and if he will make a statement. [6853]

Information on Home Office staff cost estimates for 2001–02 (including the Prison Service Agency, the Passport and Records Agency and the Forensic Science Service) by nation and region of the United Kingdom is provided in the table shown.

£000
Region	Total
Scotland	8,886
North East	86,484
Yorkshire and Humberside	131,821
North West	142,348
Merseyside	28,672
West Midlands	109,463
East Midlands	104,497
Eastern	110,802
Wales	30,052
Northern Ireland	2,177
London	469,024
South East	215,910
South West	98,661
Total	1,538,797

Asylum Seekers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the number and proportion of asylum seekers to the UK who (a) are educated to (i) degree level, (ii) higher A-Level or equivalent level and (iii) Standard/GCSE or equivalent level, (b) are qualified as (i) doctors, (ii) nurses and (iii) teachers, and (c) have skills in high technology and IT related sectors; and if he will make a statement. [7002]

The information available is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only by examining individual case records and by consulting the asylum seekers themselves.

Departmental Spending

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the total annual running costs for buildings used, owned or rented by his Department for each nation and region of the UK, and estimate the average cost per sq m for properties used by his Department as a whole, and by region and nation of the UK. [6855]

The estimated running costs and average running cost per sq m for the Home Office (non-prison) estate by region and nation of the United Kingdom are as follows:

Region	Estimated running costs¹(£000)	Estimated average running cost per sq m²(£)
England
North East	6,414	234
North West	12,217	264
Yorkshire	5,003	280
East Midlands	6,385	376
West Midlands	7,495	115
East England	2,688	105
London	45,227	257
South East	38,537	220
South West	352	156
England total	124,319	225
Scotland	3,734	343
Wales	2,366	123
Northern Ireland	486	239
UK total	130,906	224
¹ Running Costs include the annual rental charge, rates, utility costs, cleaning, maintenance and security guarding
² The floor area figures used are net internal area

These figures do not include the Probation Estate, which became part of the Home Office estate on 1 April 2001. I will write to the hon. Member with these figures shortly.The figures for the Prison Service are collated by the 15 Prison Service Areas, 13 of which are regional. The other two areas are Female and High Security establishments.

Area ¹	Estimated running costs ² (£000)	Estimated average running cost per sq m ² (£)
East Midlands North	2,753	20
West Midlands	3,293	14
Manchester. Mersey and Cheshire	3,681	15
North East	2,775	21
Lancashire and Cumbria	3,996	21
Yorkshire and Humberside	4,677	16
East Midlands South	3,280	20
Thames Valley and Hampshire	5,356	26
Eastern	4,758	20
Kent, Surrey and Sussex	6,430	22
London	3,847	21
South West	7,743	28
Female Prisons	4,088	23
High Security Prisons	5,500	17
England total	52,589	20
Wales	1,277	14
UK total	53,866	20
¹ The figures relate to the Operational Directorate of the Prison Service and cover prison establishments. The Prison Service headquarters figures are included in the main Home Office figures.
² Running costs relate to rents, council tax, utilities and maintenance. Security guarding and cleaning are not identified separately on the Prison Service finance system. The figures do not include rates.
³ Figures for the floor area are gross.

The difference in the running cost between the main Home Office and the Prison estates is due to the fact that most of the Prison Service estate is freehold, whereas most of the main Home Office estate is leasehold. Rent accounts for the major running cost expenditure in the figures for the main Home Office estate.

Crown Court Trials

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of (a) either-way cases and (b) all cases heard in magistrates courts were sent to Crown court for sentencing in each of the last three years. [7852]

	Project £000 at 2001–02 prices
Projects costing over £2 million	FY 2001–02	FY 2002–03	Future years	Total anticipated expenditure	Comments (figures include for fees, VAT and contingencies
Collection Summary:
Prison Service (capital)	27,714	77,978	60,993	166,685
Immigration Service	136,000	3,100	0	139,100
National Police Training	13,300	15,332	20,000	48,632
United Kingdom Passport Agency	85	—	—	—	Planned expenditure not yet known
Total anticipated expenditure	177,099	96,410	80,993	354,417
PF1 Projects:
Home Office Marsham Street	—	—	—	—	PFI contract not yet signed
Ashford Prison	—	—	—	—	PFI contract not yet signed
Peterborough Prison	—	—	—	—	PFI contract not yet signed

The available information, taken from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database, is shown in the table.

Numbers and percentages of defendants committed to the Crown Court for sentence by offence type—England and Wales 1999
	Triable either way	All offences
Number of defendants proceeded against	479,917	1,881,765
Number of defendants committed to the Crown Court for sentence	19,324	20,417
Percentage of defendants proceeded against who are committed to the Crown Court for sentence	4	1

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of those who elected for trial in Crown court in either-way cases, including those found not guilty, had previous convictions. [7853]

Data from a sample of offenders sentenced during four weeks in 1999 show that 68 per cent. of those found guilty for a standard list offence at the Crown court had one or more previous convictions for a standard list offence. No data are available on whether those acquitted had previous convictions.

Refurbishment Projects

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) building and (b) refurbishment projects are planned by his Department in (i) the current year and (ii) the next financial year; and what the costs will be of each project. [6586]

The Department does not maintain central records of every building and refurbishment project. The following table lists currently planned Home Office, including Prison Service capital construction projects (individual projects estimated to cost over £2 million) split between private finance initiative (PFI) and non-PFI which covers the projects on-site or expected to be on-site in 2001–02 and 2002–03. The figures given are total costs, previous expenditure, and estimated expenditure in the current year and future years. The Department is not directly responsible for the construction costs of PFI projects and these costs have not been shown. Projects for non-departmental public bodies are not included.

	Project £ at 2001–02 prices
Projects costing over £ million	FY 2001–02	FY 2002–03	Future years	Total anticipated expenditure	Comments (figures include for fees, VAT and contingencies
Home Office Prison Service
Aylesbury	2,131	2,182	2,581	6,894
Birmingham	800	1,711	64	2,575
Brockhill/Hewell G	352	2,475	56	2,883
Buckley Hall	0	2,000	0	2,000
Camp Hill	1,357	2,485	521	4,363
Cardiff	0	1,744	365	2,109
Dorchester	498	1,932	62	2,492
Downview	3,000	7,000	0	10,000
Drake Hall	0	2,000	500	2,500
Durham	2,728	1,928	4,773	0
Durham	0	2,032	7,634	9,666
Eastwood Park	0	2,600	300	2,900
Everthorpe	210	2,052	55	2,317
Feltham	0	700	2,000	2,700
Feltham	0	1,300	1,300	2,600
Gartree	2,352	2,594	8,359	0
Gartree	0	0	2,225	2,225
Hull	2,124	11,008	336	13,468
Kirkham	200	3,567	60	3,827
Leeds	500	2,223	300	3,023
Lincoln	0	1,909	2,178	4,087
Long Lartin	520	2,089	2,744	5,353
National Programme	8,775	225	0	9,000
Onley	92	1,391	4,257	5,740
Pentonville	0	3,000	7,000	10,000
Portland	0	2,750	7,888	10,638
Preston	0	3,540	2,831	6,371
Wakefield	0	5,015	1,808	6,823
Wakesfield	—	—	7,500	7,500
Wandsworth	1,771	2,917	116	4,804
Wandsworth		1,500	1,500	3,000
Wealstun	—	5,060	1,320	6,380
Winchester	304	1,609	680	2,593
Winchester	—	1,088	1,148	2,236
Ashford (PFI)	—	—	—	—	Contract not yet signed
Peterborough (PFI)	—	—	—	—	Contract not yet signed
Prison Service total	27,714	77,978	60,993	143,951
Immigration Service ¹
Immigration Service	136,000	3,100	0	139,100
Immigration Services total	136,000	3,100	0	139,100
National Police Training ¹
Redevelopment Harrogate	1,000	15,000	20,000	36,000
Cmbran	3,350	91	—	3,441
Ryton	8,950	241	—	9,191
National Police Training Total	13,300	15,332	20,000	48,632
Home Office
Marsham Street PH	—	—	—	—	Contract not signed
United Kingdom Passport Agency
Relocation	85	—	—	—	Future expenditure not yet known
United Kingdom Passport Agency	85	0	0	0
¹ Information on the capital costs of individual projects is not divulged as it is commercially sensitive. The table sets out the total contractually committed expenditure for projects let by this office and relates to the Yarl's Wood, Harmondsworth, Dungavel and Oakington projects. (On both Harmondsworth and Yarl's Wood, there was significant expenditure during 2000–01 which is included in the figure shown in the 2001–02 column).

Volume 373: debated on Tuesday 23 October 2001

Written Answers To Questions

Defence

Merlin Helicopters

Serco

Defence Aviation Repair Agency

Biological Detection Devices

Biological Warfare

Armed Forces Pension Scheme

Departmental Contracts

Civilian Contractors (Insurance)

Anti-Anthrax Drugs

Raf Menwith Hill

Operation Enduring Freedom

Porton Down

Education And Skills

Citb Levy

Free School Meals

Student Support

Ministerial Visit (Brazil)

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Scottish Executive

Women's Rights (Palestine)

Iraqi Oil

Fundamentalist Paramilitary Groups

Natural Disasters

Colonel Gaddafi

Entry Clearance

Biological Weapons Convention

Botswana

Zimbabwe

Middle East

Burma

Pakistan

Tibet

Dublin And Monaghan Bombings

Sri Lanka

Trade And Industry

Ministerial Visits

Summer Recess

End Of Life Vehicles Directive

Regional Development Agencies

Textile Industry (Climate Change Levy)

Hearing Aid Council

Departmental Staff

Correspondence

Business Recovery Fund

Prime Minister

Strategic Communications Unit

Special Envoys

Regional Government

Health

Alcohol Strategy

Asylum Seekers

Care Home Standards

Chiropodists And Podiatrists

Mental Health

Social Services (Client Information)

Community Care Assessments

Waiting Lists (Leicestershire)

Pain Control Clinics

Mri Scans

Nursing And Midwifery Council

National Institute For Mental Health

Expenditure Statistics

Mr Barrie Such

Solihull Hospital

Primary Care Trusts

Assertive Outreach Scheme

Gps

Weighted Capitation (Leicestershire)

Sexual Health

Mobile Telecommunications

Hospital Waiting Times (Essex)

Age-Related Audits

Delayed Discharges

National Service Frameworks

Non-Residential Services (Charging Guidance)

Older People