To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received regarding placing planning for coastal emergencies on a statutory footing in Wales. [59913]

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales about the provision of respite facilities in Wales. [59914]

My right hon. Friend and I discuss health issues on a regular basis with the First Minister and the Health and Social Services Minister.The principal services providers of respite facilities in Wales are: the social services department of local authorities; the NHS; the voluntary sector; and the independent care home sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what facilities are in operation in Wales to recycle refrigerators in accordance with the EU Ozone Depleting Substances Regulations 2037/2000. [59916]

I meet regularly with the First Minister to discuss a range of issues including recycling.It is expected that two facilities for the recovery of ozone depleting substances from refrigerators and freezers will be operational in Wales by the end of the year.Responsibility for disposal lies with the local authorities, with the policy responsibility resting with the National Assembly for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the Home Department about additional resources for the policing of events of national significance at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. [59917]

I have regular discussions with colleagues about a number of issues affecting Wales, including policing matters.In recognition of additional policing costs arising in Cardiff while major football matches are being played at the Millennium Stadium, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has approved special payments of £300,000 to South Wales police in both 2001–02 and 2002–03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with (a) the National Assembly and (b) his Cabinet colleagues about cross-border access to higher and further education. [59919]

My right hon. Friend and I meet regularly with colleagues to discuss a range of issues, including access to higher and further education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received about the recent closures of the M4 and Severn Bridge. [59920]

I recently had the pleasure of meeting my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouth (Mr. Edwards) to discuss this issue. I have received no other representations on this matter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the future viability of small family farms in Wales. [59921]

None. Such assessments are a matter for the National Assembly for Wales, who have responsibility for agriculture in Wales.I do, however, have regular discussions with the First Minister, which include agricultural matters.The National Assembly has launched "Farming for the Future: a New Direction for Farming in Wales"—a distinctively Welsh agriculture strategy produced with the help and support of the industry. The strategy recognises the importance of family farms; gives prominence to developing high quality produce; and most importantly, sets out a vision based on sustainability in all its aspects—economically, environmentally and socially.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the level of unemployment in North Wales. [59922]

The Government's long-term ambition is that by the end of the decade there will be a higher proportion of people in work than ever before.The latest labour market statistics, published last Friday, show that we are making excellent progress—3,000 more people in Wales are in work, compared to a year before. The statistics also show that claimant rates are down compared to a year before across the whole of North Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the effect in Wales of Government measures to create job opportunities for unemployed people. [59928]

Employment measures such as the New Deal have been a huge success in Wales and we have seen a 65 per cent. fall in youth claimants and a 58 per cent. fall in long-term claimants since those policies were introduced. The latest labour market statistics for Wales, published last Friday, show that 3,000 more people in Wales are in work, compared to a year before.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Secretary regarding economic regeneration in towns. [59923]

I have regular meetings with the First Minister to discuss a range of issues including economic regeneration in towns.The Welsh Development Agency published its community regeneration policy for Wales in May 2000. The document sets out an area-based approach to community regeneration, integrating economic, social, cultural and environmental measures.Building on its Market Towns Initiative, Small Towns and Villages Initiative and earlier work on both urban and rural regeneration, the WDA has developed a community regeneration toolkit, providing both revenue and capital support. This allows for mixing and matching of a number of support mechanisms for community regeneration.SMEs in WDA project areas can also access the WDA's mainstream grant schemes, for example town improvement grants and environmental improvement grants.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department about the impact in Wales of measures to reduce crime. [59924]

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department about the impact in Wales of measures to reduce crime. [59930]

I have regular discussions with colleagues about a number of issues that impact on Wales.Tackling crime is a priority for the Government. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales regularly meets the Crime Reduction Director for Wales, Mr. David A'Herne, who is charged with taking forward our key policies and initiatives aimed at fighting crime and disorder. Our co-ordinated approach is making a marked difference in communities throughout Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how often, in the last year, his office has been represented on Cabinet committees dealing with home affairs. [59925]

Both my hon. Friend and I are members of committees dealing with home affairs, which we attend on a regular basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Appeals Service in Wales to ensure that bilingual medical officers are available to users. [59926]

Responsibility for the Appeals Service rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Persons are appointed to the appeal tribunal panel, including those medically qualified, by my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor. Operational matters rest with the chief executive of the Appeals Service.Where an appeal tribunal requires a medically qualified panel member it is normally the case that the panel member will reside locally. However it will not always be the case that the medically qualified panel member will be bilingual. An interpreter will be made available where necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he next plans to meet the Secretary of State for Defence to discuss the Red Dragon project; and if he will make a statement. [59927]

I have regular discussions with my ministerial colleagues at the Ministry of Defence.Very little has changed since my earlier reply to a parliamentary question from the hon. Gentleman. The Welsh Development Agency continues to work with the Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) and Defence Estates on the proposals to develop the site facilities, including the possibility of establishing an aerospace park at St. Athan.There have been seven public meetings so far and I understand that the Ministry of Defence will continue to work closely with the local community, to keep it informed of developments as they take shape.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he next expects to meet representatives of the National Assembly for Wales to discuss agriculture. [59929]

I meet the First Secretary on a regular basis and we often discuss agriculture. I also frequently meet the Welsh Assembly Rural Affairs Minister, as does the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, as part of his rolling programme of quarterly liaison meetings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on employment levels in North Wales. [59931]

The Government's long-term ambition is that by the end of the decade there will be a higher proportion of people in work than ever before.The latest labour market statistics, published last Friday, show that we are making excellent progress—3,000 more people in Wales are in work, compared to a year before. The statistics also show that claimant rates are down compared to a year before across the whole of North Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the extension of the subsidy to coal produced beyond July 2002; and if he will make a statement. [59932]

I have regular meetings with ministerial colleagues and discuss a range of issues including coal state aid, and understand the deep concerns of the people of Wales about the coal industry.A new European framework for coal state aid, post July 2002, was agreed at the Energy Council on 7 June. We are particularly pleased, that we have been successful in negotiating the flexibility to pay investment aid, where appropriate. This allows support to be given for the development of economically viable mines. The new framework provides us with the basis on which to decide the future of coal policy in the UK, but discussion on the future of UK aid is still ongoing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Secretary for Health and Social Services in the National Assembly for Wales about the funding of free care for the elderly in Wales. [59933]

I am aware of this matter but, thus far, I have not received any official request from the Assembly to discuss this issue with the Assembly Minister for Health and Social Services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on Cardiff s bid to become the European capital of culture. [59934]

Cardiff is Europe's youngest capital, a multicultural city which serves a country rich in both traditional and contemporary culture. Sense of place is a defining quality of Welsh culture. Our locality and our community is a strong part of our identity. Cardiff s European capital of culture bid looks at the new ways that the city can work for the people and the cultural communities across the whole of Wales, and my right hon. Friend and I wholeheartedly endorse it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the auditing of the health service in Wales. [59935]

My right hon. Friend has discussed this issue with both the Assembly First Minister and the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn). I have also discussed it with the Assembly Minister for Health and Social Services.The First Minister and the Welsh Assembly Cabinet are content, in principle, to the proposed amalgamation of the Commission for Health and Improvement (CHI) and the Audit Commission which are England and Wales bodies. It will be necessary to make sure that this works properly and effectively for Wales, and those detailed issues will be addressed during the framing of the necessary legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met the First Secretary to discuss farming. [59918]

My right hon. Friend has a weekly meeting with the First Minister at which a range of issues are discussed. I also have regular meetings with the Assembly Rural Affairs Minister.

To ask the Prime Minister if he plans to request a recall of his Commonwealth counterparts to consider the developing situation in Zimbabwe. [59955]

The Commonwealth Troika of Australia, Nigeria and South Africa suspended Zimbabwe from the Councils of the Commonwealth on 19 March 2002. The Troika had been mandated by Heads of Government to address Commonwealth concerns on Zimbabwe. Its decision will be reviewed after 12 months. We welcomed the Troika's decision to suspend Zimbabwe at the time, and support the ongoing efforts of Presidents Mbeki and Obasanjo, and Prime Minister Howard, to resolve Zimbabwe's political problems.The Troika set out what Zimbabwe needs to do for the suspension to be lifted. It also decided to facilitate dialogue between Zimbabwe's two main political parties so that legitimacy could be restored in Zimbabwe. Talks, facilitated by South Africa and Nigeria, were scheduled for 13 May but the ruling party withdrew at the last moment. We await further information on whether or not the dialogue will be resumed.The wider Commonwealth remains engaged on Zimbabwe, as does the Secretary-General. Zimbabwe was discussed at the meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on 15–17 May in Botswana. We continue to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe with a range of Commonwealth partners.

To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions between 31 March 2001 and 31 March 2002 special advisers of (a) the Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and (b) Minister without Portfolio and Party Chairman have travelled abroad in an official capacity. [58752]

None.

To ask the Prime Minister what proportion of ordinary written questions for his Office were answered within a week of tabling in each month since June 2001; and what proportion of questions for named day received a substantive answer on that day in each month since June 2001. [58973]

Information on the written parliamentary questions answered in this period is as follows:

Month	Percentage of named day questions answered on day named	Percentage of ordinary written questions answered within five working days
June	43	73
July	94	95
October	79	90
November	66	85
December	91	100
January	95	85
February	84	72
March	82	75
April	88	84
May	97	83

To ask the Prime Minister what measures are (a) in place and (b) under discussion in his Office in order to ensure compliance with the WEE directive. [60731]

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by the Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry on 12 June 2002.

To ask the Prime Minister how many computers were replaced in his Office in each of the past three years; how the replaced units were disposed of and by which companies; and at what cost. [60730]

The general policy is that computers in No. 10 have a three-year life cycle. On average, 60 have been replaced in each of the last three years. Since 2002, the replaced units, minus the hard drive, are given to charity. Costs of this can be obtained only at disproportionate cost

To ask the Prime Minister if he will prioritise debt cancellation at the G8 summit in Canada; and if he will make a statement. [60766]

The UK has consistently been at the forefront of international progress on debt relief. The Government played a key role in securing agreement for the enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative at the Cologne summit in 1999, that aims to deliver a sustainable exit from debt for the world's poorest countries. At the G8 summit in Canada, the UK will continue to promote this aim and urge the G8, under the leadership of the Canadian Government, to make further progress on debt relief and ensure poor countries have a sustainable exit from debt. Ahead of the summit, the UK has outlined a number of proposals to strengthen HIPC, and in particular, has called for richer countries to provide an additional financial contribution for the HIPC initiative.

To ask the Prime Minister how many staff were employed by his Office on (a) 2 May 1997 and (b) 31 May 2002. [60929]

As of the start of the financial year, at 1 April 2002, there were 190 staff on the No. 10 payroll.I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) on 5 November 2001,

To ask the Prime Minister what evidence he has received of Iraqi involvement in the anthrax mail attacks in the United States; and if he will make a statement. [62012]

We have no evidence linking Iraq with the recent anthrax attacks in the United States.Investigations into who was responsible for the anthrax attacks and into the source of the anthrax itself are still continuing in the United States. We await the outcome of these investigations.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 25 March 2002, Official Report, column 620W, on unpaid advisers, if he will list the steps that were taken to ensure no conflicts of interest arose as a result of these appointments. [62968]

Paragraph 51 of the Ministerial Code sets out the processes for appointing unpaid advisers, including the handling of any conflict of interests.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the performance targets that his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are required to meet, apart from those set out in the public service agreements for 1999 to 2002 and 2001 to 2004; and if he will specify for each target (a) who sets it and (b) who monitors achievement against it. [60467]

The performance targets that the Ministry of Defence is required to meet are those contained in the Department's Public Service Agreement and its underpinning Service Delivery Agreement. These targets are captured in the MOD's performance management framework—the Defence Balanced Scorecard. The scorecard also tracks high-level internal objectives on which PSA performance depends. The Defence Management Board reviews the scorecard annually, and monitors performance against it on a quarterly basis.Key targets for the 36 Defence Agencies are still being finalised for financial year 2002–03, and are being announced to Parliament as and when they are agreed. Defence Ministers approve all agency key targets, taking into account past performance. Agency performance is monitored during the year by the agency's nominated "owner" within MOD, and is published in the agencies' annual reports. More information on performance can be obtained from the appropriate agency chief executive.Information on the performance of the MOD's seven executive non-departmental public bodies is published in their annual reports.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 23 May 2002, Official Report, column 473W, on armed forces personnel (deaths on military premises), (a) how many and (b) what proportion of the suicides involved a person below (i) 18 and (ii) 21. [61389]

The data detailed in the table represent the number of armed forces personnel, whose deaths were recorded as suicides, which involved personnel below 18,21 and over 21 years respectively.

	Number	Percentage
Under 18
1994	0	0
1995	0	0
1996	0	0
1997	0	0
1998	0	0
1999	0	0
2000	0	0
2001	0	0
All years	0	0
Under 21
1994	5	17
1995	2	10
1996	4	17
1997	5	24
1998	2	18
1999	0	0
2000	2	20
2001	1	33
All years	21	17
21 and over
1994	25	83
1995	18	90
1996	20	83
1997	16	76
1998	9	82
1999	9	100
2000	8	80
2001	2	67
All years	107	83

	Number	Percentage
All ages
1994	30	100
1995	20	100
1996	24	100
1997	21	100
1998	11	100
1999	9	100
2000	10	100
2001	3	100
All years	128	100

Figures for reported suicides are subject to revision as further coroner's verdicts are reported to the Defence Analytical Services Agency.Verdicts of suicide are determined by Her Majesty's coroner.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 17 April 2002, Official Report, column 942W, on firearm deaths, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of the members of HM Forces whose deaths were recorded as a result of firearms incidents were (i) also recorded as suicide or self-inflicted deaths and (ii) below (A) 18 and (B) 21 years old. [61386]

Those members of the armed forces whose deaths, as a result of firearm related incidents, were recorded as suicide and those who were below and over 21 years of age respectively, are shown in the table:

	Number	Percentage
Suicide
Under 21
1994	4	15
1995	2	10
1996	4	24
1997	0	0
1998	0	0
1999	0	0
2000	1	10
2001	0	0
Total	11	11
21 and over
1994	8	30
1995	6	30
1996	5	29
1997	3	60
1998	0	0
1999	0	0
2000	0	0
2001	0	0
Total	22	23
Suicide total
1994	12	44
1995	8	40
1996	9	53
1997	3	60
1998	0	0
1999	0	0
2000	1	10
2001	0	0
Total	33	34

	Number	Percentage
Other deaths due to firearms
1994	15	56
1995	12	60
1996	8	47
1997	2	40
1998	1	100
1999	7	100
2000	9	90
2001	9	100
Total	63	66
Total
1994	27	100
1995	20	100
1996	17	100
1997	5	100
1998	1	100
1999	7	100
2000	10	100
2001	9	100
Total	96	100

In total, 33 of the 96 firearm related deaths have been recorded as suicide. Cause of death can by determined only by Her Majesty's Coroner, therefore, deaths due to firearms excluding suicides may include deaths where a coroner's verdict is awaited. There have been no confirmed suicides in personnel aged under the age of 18 years in the years specified.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2002, Official Report, column 175W, on Pakistan ordnance factories, if he has ascertained the exact amount of training provided under the technology transfer and training arrangements with Pakistan ordnance factories for the manufacturing of the 105mm L64 Tungsten core Armour Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot tank ammunition. [62181]

As previously stated, arrangements between the Royal Ordnance Factories (ROF) and the Pakistani Ordnance Factories (POF) related to assistance with the production of 105mm and L64 tank ammunition. As part of this assistance

"suitable periods of training … in the United Kingdom on manufacturing, inspection and proof techniques"

for that ammunition were available to the POF. Despite extensive searches of Defence archives, and the archives of Royal Ordnance Defence plc (ROD), it has not been possible to find definitive information relating to the exact nature or quantity of the training provided.Further inquiries by officials into this subject could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what licence production agreements have been signed with the (a) Ammunition Industries Group (Iran) and (b) Defence Industries Organisation of Iran for the production of L2A2 rubber or plastic baton rounds since 1972; [62183](2) what licence production agreements have been signed with Iran for the production of

The Ministry of Defence does not hold systematic records of commercial licence agreements. A more detailed search in files going back to 1972 could be provided only at disproportionate cost and any commercially confidential information would be protected under third party's commercial confidences in Part II Section 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the total cost in the current financial year of providing and maintaining the Royal Navy's ballistic missile submarine fleet. [62041]

The estimated total cost for the current financial year of providing and maintaining the Royal Navy's ballistic missile submarine fleet including the costs of manpower and facilities is expected to be about 3 per cent. of the total defence budget.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost in the current financial year of maintaining the capability to research, design, produce, store, move and carry out decommissioning of the British stock of nuclear weapons. [62042]

The estimated cost for these items in the current financial year is about one per cent. of the total defence budget.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if AMRAAM has been equipped on Tornado F3 flying on operations. [62237]

There are currently no Tornado F3 aircraft equipped with the advanced medium range air-to-air missile flying on operations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many Challenger 2 tanks are allocated to each tank regiment in the British Army; and how many are off-road in each case; [62223](2) how many Scimitars there are in the British Army; and how many are off-road; [62225](3) how many Warrior armoured personnel carriers are allocated to each armoured infantry regiment in the British Army; and how many are off-road in each case. [62224]

The numbers of Challenger 2 tanks and Warrior armoured personnel carriers allocated to tank and armoured infantry regiments in the British Army and their availability are shown in the tables.

Challenger 2
Regiment	Allocated	Not fully operational
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards	48	9
2nd Royal Tank Regiment	44	8
The Royal Dragoon Guards	44	16
The Queen's Royal Hussars	30	13
The Queen's Royal Lancers	54	18
The King's Royal Hussars	44	0
Total	264	64

Warrior
Battalion (Bn)	Allocated	Not fully operational
1st Bn The Irish Guards	53	7
1st Bn The Duke of Wellington's Regiment	44	22
1st Bn The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers	54	3
1st Bn The Black Watch	53	13
1st Bn The Royal Regiment of Wales	18	0
1st Bn The Light Infantry	35	8
1st Bn The Staffordshire Regiment	39	3
1st Bn The King's Regiment	31	8
1st Bn The Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment	39	14
Total	366	78

The information is recorded quarterly and the figures represent the position as at 31 March 2002.As at 31 March 2002, 64 of the 316 Scimitars in the British Army were reported not to be fully operational.The overall totals for vehicle types are broadly in line with availability targets and, as shown in the following table, vehicle availability has improved significantly, particularly in the case of the Challenger 2, since the last return in December last year.

	Equipment type
	Challenger 2	Warrior	Scimitars
Total fleet	264	366	316
% operational 31 December 2001	62	72	83
% operational 31 March 2002	76	79	80
% target availability	80	75	70

In addition, it should be noted that if any of the units were required to deploy on operations, any shortfalls would be made good to ensure that the units deployed with a full complement of vehicles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with which foreign aircraft types RAF and Fleet Air Arm pilots have participated in fighter combat training in the past 24 months. [62240]

The following list details the foreign aircraft types with which RAF and Fleet Air Arm pilots have participated in fighter combat training in the past 24 months:

• Tornado F3, PA200
• BAe Hawk, Hawk 200
• Sepecat Jaguar
• Dassault Mirage F1, Mirage 2000
• Dassault Super Etendard
• Douglas A-4K Skyhawk
• General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark
• General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
• Grumman F-14 Tomcat
• Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
• McDonnell Douglas AV8B Harrier II
• McDonnell Douglas F-15, F-15C, F-15E Eagle
• McDonnell Douglas F-18, CF-18 Hornet
• Mig-29
• North American F4 Phantom
• Northrop F5 Freedom Fighter
• Saab Viggen
• Sukhoi Su-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which RAF armed Fleet Air Arm squadrons have participated in fighter combat training exercises with overseas air forces in the past 24 months. [62239]

The following table details the fast jet squadrons that have participated in fighter combat training exercises in the past 24 months:

Aircraft type	Squadron number
Tornado F3	11, 25, 43, 111
Tornado GR1/4	2, 9, 12, 13, 14, 31, 617
Harrier GR7	1, 3, 4
Harrier FA2	800, 801, 899
Jaguar	6, 41, 54

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what was the uptake of individual educational allowances in each year since 1997; [62466](2) what categories of educational opportunity the IEA has been used for since 1997; [62338](3) what would be the total cost of individual educational allowances if each serviceman made use of it; [62339](4) what the value is to an individual serviceman of the individual education allowance; [62337](5) if he will make a statement about individual educational allowances for the armed services. [62467]

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to what is now known as the learning credits scheme. This scheme comprises two forms of allowance: standard learning credits and enhanced learning credits.The standard learning credits scheme (SLC) was launched on 1 April 1999 and operates on similar lines to the individual refund scheme (IRS) it replaced, but its value, £175 per year, is 25 per cent. higher. Individuals must contribute at least 20 per cent. of the cost of any learning for which it is claimed. The SLC can, therefore, fund up to 80 per cent. of the cost of learning. This 80/20 split encourages development of individual understanding and buy-in to the learning process.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to continue RAF involvement in (a) the Joint Elementary Flying Training Service and (b) university air squadrons; and if he will make a statement. [62278]

[holding answer 17 June 2002]: The RAF's Director of Elementary Flying Training is, and will continue to be, responsible for the Joint Elementary Flying Training School (JEFTS). JEFTS provides elementary flying training (EFT) for all three services (except for RAF graduate entrants who have completed EFT at a university air squadron), flying grading for the Army and multi-engine aircraft lead-in training for the RAF. RAF EFT is undertaken at RAF Church Fenton, Royal Navy and Army EFT is undertaken at RAF Barkston Heath, multi-engine lead-in training is undertaken at RAF Cranwell and flying grading for the Army is undertaken at the School of Army Aviation at Middle Wallop.JEFTS use Firefly aircraft to meet all their training needs and these aircraft are provided by Babcock HCS. The contract to provide these aircraft expires on 7 July 2003. There is a need for a short four-year replacement contract to allow for the potential change to the way flying training will be delivered under the United Kingdom Military Flying Training System project planned to commence in 2007. The cost-effective way to deliver the task for the next four years is to undertake the RAF element of the EFT task at university air squadrons, where the majority of RAF pilots already undertake their EFT. The university air squadrons can absorb this work with only a small increase in activity at individual air squadrons, and it will result in a significant overall saving on the cost of providing EFT. The balance of the JEFTS task has been completed and the new contract will be let shortly.The RAF will continue to maintain university air squadrons under the command of the Director of Elementary Flying Training. The RAF have recently undertaken a review of RAF university air Squadron flying and ground training to recommend how university air squadrons could better meet the needs of the RAF and of undergraduates. The outcome of this review will be available soon and it is expected to recommend some improvements to the UAS operations, without making changes to the present structure.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has had from the Government of Nepal concerning the Maoist rebellion; what advice his Department has offered; and if he will make a statement. [62893]

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 17 June 2002, Official Report, columns 3–5, to my hon. Friend the Member for Normanton (Mr. O'Brien) and the Members for Newark (Patrick Mercer) and for Aldershot (Mr. Howarth).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the membership of the ministerial group for the Queen's Golden Jubilee; and which members will receive the Golden Jubilee Medal. [61287]

I have been asked to reply.The membership of this group, which I chair, is being adjusted to reflect the recent changes of ministerial responsibilities. The previous membership was as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his meeting with his NATO counterparts on 14 and 15 May in Reykjavik, Iceland. [59821]

I have been asked to reply.The NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Reykjavik was an important step in the Alliance's preparation for the NATO Summit in Prague in November. Ministers agreed on the need further to adapt the Alliance to enhance its capacity to provide defence against the threat of terrorism; on the need to develop new defence capabilities; on the process for the enlargement of NATO; on the creation of a new security relationship with Russia; and on the development of NATO's relationships with Ukraine and its other partners.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will authorise Consignia and Post Office Counters to act as collection points for credit unions; and if she will make a statement. [61372]

Neither Consignia or Post Office Ltd. require the authorisation of the Secretary of State to act as collection points for credit unions. Whether they do so is a commercial matter for Consignia and Post Office Ltd.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employment tribunal claims, where a deposit at a preliminary hearing was required as a condition of proceeding, were proceeded to a full hearing in (a) 2001 and (b) to date; and in how many such cases the (i) claimant won, (ii) case was withdrawn and (iii) case was settled before a full hearing. [62696]

The information requested is displayed in the table.

	2001	12002
Number of cases which withdrew after a PHR deposit order	43	14
Number of cases which settled after a PHR deposit order	4	3
Number of cases which proceeded to a full hearing after a PHR deposit order	17	0
Of which, successful at full hearing	0	0
1Only covers the period from 1 January 2002 to 30 April 2002

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in employment tribunal cases in 2001 where parties were required to pay a deposit, what the mean average deposit was at preliminary hearings as a condition of continuing to proceed with the case. [62694]

The mean average deposit required at a pre-hearing review as a condition of continuing to proceed with the case was £133.40 for 2001.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what licences have been granted for equipment on the military list to Israel in each month of 2002, including military list and dual-use ratings; what equipment is covered under these licences; and if she will make a statement. [60627]

[holding answer 11 June 2002]:The number of Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) and Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs) covering items on the military and dual use lists, issued to end users in Israel in each month since January 2002, is set out in the table. Individual licences might cover a range of items with various ratings. Where this is so, the licence is included in the tables in the total for all of the relevant ratings.

Rating	No. of SIELS issued for Israel	No. of OIELS issued for Israel
January 2002
ML4	1	—
ML5	4	—
ML9	1	—
ML11	1	—
0C004	2	—
1C350	1	—
2B230	1	—
3A001	1	—
6A001	—	1
End use	1	—
February 2002
ML5	4	—
ML9	2	—
ML10	2	—
ML18	1	—
ML22	1	—
PL5031	—	1
1C202	—	1
2B350	1	—
5A002	1	1
5B002	1	—
5D002	1	—
End use	1	—
March 2002
ML4	4	—
ML9	1	—
ML10	1	—
ML11	2	—
ML15	2	—
PL5031	—	1
0C004	1	—
1A002	1	—
1C202	—	—
1C352	—	1
2B230	2	—
2B350	2	—
3A001	1	—
5A002	1	—
7A103	1	—
End use	3	—
April 2002
ML11	1	—
ML15	1	—
PL5031	1	—
4A003	1	—
5A002	—	1
5B002	—	1
5D002	—	1
5E002	—	1
6A203	1	—
May 2002
PL5031	2	—
2B350	1	—
3A001	1	—
3B001	—	1
3D002	—	1
5A002	—	1
5D002	1	—
6A001	—	1
End use	3	—

The summary description of the items covered by these ratings will be published in the Government's 2002 Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls, copies of which will be available in the Libraries of the House. In addition, Israel is a permitted destination on certain Open

General Export Licences, copies of which are also placed in the Libraries of the House. I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the reply from my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to him of 15 April 2002,

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the policy of the Government on the granting of export licences for defence-related equipment to (a) India and (b) Pakistan. [62034]

I refer the hon. Member to the statements made by my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 15 March 2002, Official Report, columns 1296–98W and by my noble Friend the Lord Sainsbury of Turville in another place on 28 May 2002, Official Report, House of Lords, columns 1147–149.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many licences for defence-related exports have been (a) granted and (b) refused to (i) Pakistan and (ii) India in each of the last five years. [62040]

The number of Standard Individual Export Licences and Open Individual Export Licences for defence-related exports that have been granted and refused to Pakistan and India in each of the last five years is published in the Government's annual reports on strategic export controls. Copies of the 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 annual reports are available in the Libraries of the House. The 2001 annual report will be published soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what export licences have been granted since 2 May 1997 for the export of (a) Accuracy International sniper rifles and (b) sniper rifles to Switzerland where the final end-use destination was a different country. [62016]

The export of sniper rifles is controlled under entry ML I in Part III of Schedule I of the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994 as amended. Between 2 May 1997 and 6 June 2002 no Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) were issued covering the rating ML1 where the consignee was Switzerland and the end-user was in a different country.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Government Departments' and agencies are involved in discussions with Consignia about participating in the "Your Guide" scheme to use sub-post offices in a Government general practitioner role when it is introduced across the UK. [57945]

I understand that Post Office Ltd. has engaged in discussions with a wide range of Government Departments and with representatives of local government. Discussions are currently focused on the Department for Work and Pensions, the Inland Revenue, the Department for Education and Skills, and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of her Department's Oil and Gas Directorate posts that are in Aberdeen (a) have been transferred from London and (b) are new posts created in Aberdeen; and if she will list these jobs by grade of employment. [56327]

[holding answer 14 May 2002]: Responsibilities of the Oil and Gas Directorate have changed considerably over the years since the Aberdeen office was first set up in 1993. This has led to many changes in posts in both London and Aberdeen. For example:

a new pay and grading structure was introduced in 1997;

19 posts were transferred to the Oil and Gas Directorate in Aberdeen from British Trade International in 2000;

14 Oil and Gas Directorate Aberdeen posts were transferred to the Inland Revenue's offshore taxation office in Aberdeen in 2000.

Details of the number of Oil and Gas Directorate posts in Aberdeen and London by grade is provided today in my answer to the hon. Member's parliamentary question no. 56326.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of her Department's Oil and Gas Directorate posts are in (a) Aberdeen and (b) London; and if she will list the jobs in each location by grade of employment in each year since 1994. [56326]

[holding answer 14 May 2002]: The number of Oil and Gas Directorate posts located in (a) Aberdeen and (b) London in each year since 1994 were as follows. A breakdown by grade of employment is only available from 1997 onwards:

	Aberdeen	London
1994	44.2	115.3
1995	44.2	120.8
1996	45.5	118.9

Grade of employment	Aberdeen	London
1997
SCS	1	3
R11	1	2
R10	7	17
R9	12	20.6
R8	6	6
FS	0	3
R7	5	12
R6	6.5	12.4
R5	5	6
R4	0	10
R3	8.4	8
R2	1.7	5
Total	53.6	105
1998
SCS	0.6	3.4
R11	1	2
R10	7	17
R9	14	18.6
R8	7	5
FS	0	3
R7	5	12
R6	6.5	12.4
R5	5	6
R4	0	10
R3	8.5	8
R2	1.7	4.9
Total	56.3	102.3

Grade of employment	Aberdeen	London
1999
SCS	1	3
R11	1	3
R10	7	16
R9	15	16.6
R8	9	9
FS	0	3
R7	3	10
R6	7	10.4
R5	6	6
R4	0	8
R3	8.5	8.5
R2	2.8	5.8
Total	60.3	99.3
2000
SCS	2	3
R11	1	3
R10	10	17
R9	13	17.3
R8	15	13
FS	0	3
R7	3	9
R6	8	12.4
R5	2	6
R4	5	9
R3	8	6.5
R2	5.3	4.6
Total	72.3	103.8
2001
SCS	2	3
R11	2	4
R10	10	17
R9	15	15.6
R8	21	13
FS	0	3
R7	2	4.4
R6	11	10
R5	2	5
R4	11	8
R3	3	8.5
R2	5.5	5.1
Total	84.5	96.6

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she last held discussions with British Telecom. [56154]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I regularly meet major UK companies. I have met the Chairman of BT today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Eastleigh dated 18 March regarding the funding for supply chain companies constructing the A380 Airbus. [62311]

[holding answer 18 June 2002]: I apologise for the delay in responding to this letter which is due to an administration error. I will be responding to the hon. Member very shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) of 10 June 2002, Official Report, column 993W, if she will state (a) the preferred bidder, (b) the private sector source for the loan of a Director to the Liabilities Management Unit, (c) whether that source is meeting the staff costs involved and (d) the sources of loans and secondments of all other private sector staff within the LMU. [62934]

I am not yet in a position to give details of the partner contractor but I expect to be able to make an announcement shortly. The Director of the Liabilities Management Unit (LMU) is seconded to the Department from the Ford Motor Company. The Director continues to receive his salary from the Ford Motor Company but the Department is making a contribution towards it. The other secondees currently in the LMU are drawn from BNFL and UKAEA. Costs are being met by the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how often during the past year the Manufacturing Advisory Service has (a) given advice to firms about lean manufacturing and (b) acted as a medium between firms implementing lean manufacturing and (i) lean manufacturing experts and (ii) firms that have already had success in this area. [62681]

The Regional Centres for Manufacturing Excellence (RCMEs) delivering the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) in each region are coming on stream at present and are the responsibility of the Regional Development Agencies in the regions concerned. They are not expected to provide information to the Department in the degree of detail requested by the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are being taken by the Manufacturing Advisory Service to inform domestic firms about lean manufacturing. [62680]

All the Regional Centres for Manufacturing Excellence being established to deliver the Manufacturing Advisory Service in their respective regions will be communicating to manufacturers the merits of lean manufacturing. The associated MAS website (www.dti.gov.uldmanufacturing/MAS) includes a fact sheet on lean manufacturing.In addition the service will refer manufacturers to the lean manufacturing experts within the group of Industry Forum Adaptation Projects that the Department supports.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the lessons to be learned from the Californian energy crisis. [60056]

[holding answer 13 June 2002]: The Department has monitored the situation in California closely, and continues to do so. The underlying cause of the problems in the Californian electricity market appears to have been a shortage of generation capacity. By contrast, capacity margins in Great Britain are healthy and demand growth in GB has been much more modest than it was in California. Overall, the Department believes a similar combination of circumstances is unlikely to occur in Great Britain, although the Department is not complacent. The Department and Ofgem set up a joint Security of Supply Working Group in July 2001 which, among other matters, is monitoring capacity issues carefully.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of public funding of research in UK universities in each of the last five years has been for (a) military application and (b) other purposes. [61091]

The information required can be found in Tables 6.4 and 6.5 on the Science, Engineering and Technology Statistics website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/ost/setstats.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the proportion of research in UK universities in each of the last five years that has been funded (a) privately and (b) publicly. [61090]

The information required is as follows.

per cent
	private1	public2
1999–2000	26	74
1998–99	25	75
1997–98	24	76
1996–97	23	77
1995–96	22	78
1 Private includes income from UK based charities, industry, commerce and public corporations.
2 Public includes income from OST/Research Councils, Funding Councils, UK central Government bodies/local authorities, health and hospital authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what extra funding has been provided to local authorities to finance the end-of-life vehicles directive; and if she will make a statement. [62560]

[holding answer 17 June 2002]: The directive contains no provision which applies directly to local authorities. Additional costs incurred by local authorities as a consequence of our transposition and implementation of the directive would, under the "New Burdens" arrangements, fall to be met by DTI.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what studies have been undertaken by (a) her Department, (b) non-departmental public bodies responsible to her Department and (c) consultants, in respect of the management of plutonium. [61962]

The Department, in collaboration with other interested Government Departments and agencies is currently undertaking a study of the possible options for the future management of UK owned civil plutonium.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 20 May 2002, Official Report, column 50W, on export licences, when she will complete processing the export licence application number 32368 made on 7 March by Pultrex Ltd. of Colchester; what the explanation is for the delay in dealing with the application; and what action she plans to take to improve the timescale of processing export licence applications. [61504]

Licences to export arms and other items whose export is controlled for strategic reasons are issued by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, acting through the Export Control Organisation (ECO). A decision has not yet been reached on export licence application number 32368, but will be taken as quickly as possible, consistent with the need to give full consideration to the issues involved including the status of end-users. The application is currently outstanding with our advisers.The Government recognise that the system for processing export licence applications requires continuous improvement if we are to deliver a more efficient and effective export licensing system, which is both accountable and transparent. The ECO has introduced a number of initiatives to reduce the time taken to process export licence applications. These include the roll-out of new enhanced IT systems that will mean, for example, allowing exporters to apply for a standard individual export licence over the internet.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to equalise rates of pay between teachers in (a) sixth forms and (b) further education colleges. [48222]

[holding answer 10 April 2002]: Teachers in sixth forms are subject to national school teachers' pay and conditions. Further education colleges are free to set their own pay and conditions and my right hon. Friend has no plans to change that state of affairs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list her Department's appointees to DCMS sponsored bodies, broken down by age group. [60037]

[holding answer 10 June 2002]: There are no Department for Education and Skills appointees on public bodies sponsored by DCMS.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to make provision for a GCSE in performing arts and related disciplines. [60877]

As indicated in the Green Paper: "14–19 Extending Opportunities, Raising Standards", the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has been asked by the Department to begin work on the development of additional titles for new GCSEs in vocational subjects. Advice is awaited on the range of possible titles, and timings for implementation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on pupil achievements and pupil teacher ratios in (a) small schools and (b) larger and amalgamated schools. [61200]

[holding answer 13 June 2002]: The latest performance data for the cohorts of pupils taking Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 for all schools was published in May 2002 in the Statistical Bulletin "Statistics of Education: National Curriculum Assessments of 7, 11 & 14 year olds in England: 2001". The GCSE/GNVQ performance was also published in May 2002 in "GCSE/GNVQ and GCE A/AS/VCE/Advanced GNVQ Examination Results 2000/2001-England". Both publications are available on the Department's website http://www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics. The Keystage and GCSE/GNVQ performance of schools with a small cohort is shown.Tables showing the pupil:teacher ratios (PTRs) for primary and secondary schools, by school size are also shown. School size refers to the total number of full time equivalent pupils in the school as reported in the Annual Schools' Census (January 2002).Copies of the relevant tables have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Table 1: Key Stage one 2001—percentage of pupils at Level 2 or above (test)
	Maintained schools1	All schools
Reading2	88	84
Writing	88	86
Mathematics	94	91
Number of schools	1,114	15,937
1 Schools with fewer than 10 eligible pupils.
2 These percentages are based on achievements at Level 2C/B/A in the reading task and Level 3 and 4 in the reading test.

Table 2: Key Stage two 2001—percentage of pupils at Level 4 or above (test)
	Maintained schools1	All schools
English	79	75
Mathematics	75	71
Science	91	88
Number of schools	975	14,780
1 Schools with fewer than 10 eligible pupils

Table 3: Key Stage three 2001—percentage of pupils at Level 5 or above (test)
	Maintained mainstream schools and CTCs1	All schools
English	50	66
Mathematics	55	67
Science	58	67
Number of schools	22	3,163
1 Schools with fewer than 50 eligible pupils.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if schools are required to record whether a pupil is living in (a) a residential care home or (b) with foster parents. [61783]

Schools are not currently required to record this information. However with effect from January 2003 the returns for the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census (PLASC) will include three new data items about looked after children to show:

whether or not the pupil was looked after on the Census day;

whether or not the pupil has, to the school's knowledge, been looked after at any time since they joined the school;

and the identity of the caring authority for the pupil's current (or most recent) looked-after episode.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what provision the Government makes to ensure children in care remain in the same educational institution until the age of 16 years. [61785]

The Government recognise that changes in care arrangements can disrupt the education of children who are looked after, and are determined to promote stability.This Department, jointly with the Department of Health, issued guidance to all authorities in May 2000 on the education of children and young people in public care. The guidance emphasises the importance of a stable care and education placement in order to promote educational success for children in public care. The Department of Health also set targets within the Quality Protects programme to promote stability and reduce placement moves.Under s22(3) of the Children Act, local authorities have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children and young people who are looked after, education being a critical dimension of their welfare. It is for local authorities to decide on a case-by-case basis whether it is in the best interests of a child in public care to remain in the same educational establishment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans the Government have to make access to child care less dependent on families' income, location and their employment status. [62156]

The Government's national child care strategy was introduced in May 1998 to ensure that affordable, accessible and quality child care is available in every neighbourhood and complements early education, schools and other family services. By March 2004, we will have created 900,000 new child care places for 1.6 million children which, taking into account turnover, should allow around 1 million extra children to benefit. We are working in particular to extend child care provision in disadvantaged areas through Neighbourhood Nurseries and other programmes, and to make it more affordable, through measures like the working families tax credit, under which lower income families can receive help with up to 70 per cent. of their eligible child care costs. Support with child care costs is a feature of the New Deal, particularly the New Deal for Lone Parents, and is also available to further and higher education student parents.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Government's long-term objective is for child care by 2010. [62158]

The inter-departmental review of child care being led by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Early Years and School Standards is developing a 10-year vision and strategy for child care, focusing on the provision of quality, affordable and accessible child care. Final decisions on the outcomes of the review will be taken in the context of the 2002 spending review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the PIU review of the national child care strategy will be published. [62159]

We expect that outcomes from the inter-departmental review of child care being led by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Early Years and School Standards will be announced in the 2002 spending review this summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what policy changes she plans for (a) school assemblies and (b) religious education in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools; and if she will make a statement. [61856]

We have no particular policy on school assemblies as it is for schools to decide the frequency, format and content of any assembly which takes place.The current policy regarding religious education (RE) is set out in circular 1–94. The detail of RE is determined locally and we do not have any plans to change that.