To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many full-time equivalent staff are employed in (a) the Department and (b) each of the agencies it sponsors; and what the figures were for 1997. [90662]

Full-time equivalent numbers for staff in all civil service departments and agencies is released twice-yearly by press notice. The latest data, for April 2002, was published on 31 October 2002. Data for April 1997 appears in the annual publication "Civil Service Statistics". Copies of the press notices and annual publication are available from the Library of the House.It is not possible to make exact comparisons over time because of changes in the make up of the departments and agencies comprising the civil service. Not only do new organisations appear and old ones disappear, but staff changes may reflect the transfer of work between departments and agencies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department is doing to support the Government's policy on accreditation. [88090]

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is recognised by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry as the sole national body for the accreditation, against international standards, of certification and inspection bodies, testing and calibration laboratories. My Department uses UKAS accreditation services whenever it is appropriate to do so.Examples include our ISO 14001 environmental management systems and the certification work undertaken by the Vehicle Certification Agency in the motor trade industry and proposed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in the shipping industry. The Highways Agency also continues to work closely with UKAS to help establish benchmark standards within the industry for certification purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to publish the Government's response to the Central Railway's proposals for a freight line; and if he will make a statement. [91027]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 November, Official Report, column 455W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle).

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the distribution of his Department's whole-time equivalent staff was, including the staff in agencies and other bodies reporting to him, in each Government office region and nation of the UK (a) in 1996 and (b) at the most recent available period. [90471]

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 15 January 2003, Official Report, column 609W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total cost to his Department was of the use of external consultants in 2002. [90515]

My Department was formed on 29 May 2002. Expenditure on external consultants by my Department during the remainder of 2002 was £93.1 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was paid in freight facilities grant in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [91547]

The following table shows UK Freight Facilities Grant payments by financial years:

	£ million
1997–98	8.4
1998–99	9.6
1999–2000	12.1
2000–01	19.9
2001–02	46.5

I believe this year-on-year increase in the amount of money paid in grant to be clear evidence of our continuing commitment to transferring freight from road to rail or water, wherever it is practical and environmentally beneficial to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the extent of job sharing in his Department. [90859]

Approximately 7 per cent. of staff in DfT Central Units work part time. Information specifically on job sharers is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Job sharing forms just one strand of a range of possible alternative and flexible working arrangements. Under DfT central posting arrangements, all posts are open to part-time workers or job sharers. In very exceptional cases where line managers consider that a post cannot be filled on a part- time/job share basis, they must make a case to HR setting out compelling reasons for this. The vast majority of such requests are denied.The central Department, in conjunction with ODPM, supports a part-time workers network.The DfT agencies, in almost all cases, also operate a policy of advertising all posts as open to part-time workers or job sharers. All operate a range of flexible working options. Several also support part-time working or carers networks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of expenditure by Network Rail on public expenditure commitments; and if he will make a statement. [90613]

The Rail Regulator is currently conducting an interim review of Network Rail's access charges. This began on 15 November 2002 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2003.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 9 December 2002, Official Report, columns 38–41W, on statutory harbour authorities, which statutory harbour authorities (a) have not completed and (b) have not indicated that they have completed implementation of the Port Marine Safety Code. [90801]

The following competent harbour authorities have neither (a) completed nor (b) indicated that they have completed implementation of the Port Marine Safety Code because they have not yet issued a formal statement of compliance:

• Eastbourne (Sovereign Harbour)
• Irvine Harbour Company
• Porthleven Harbour and Docks Company
• Canterbury District Council (Whitstable)
• Carmarthenshire County Council (Llanelli/Burry Port)
• Exeter City Council
• Isle of Wight Council (Newport)
• Waveney District Council (Southwold)
• Worthing Borough Council
• Crouch Harbour Authority
• Looe Harbour Commission
• Maryport Harbour Commission
• Mousehole Harbour Commission
• Sandwich Port and Haven Commission
• Duchy of Cornwall (Isles of Scilly)
• Broads Authority

My Department is reviewing the quality of compliance by harbour authorities and will be making further investigations of the above authorities and any others where there is an indication that they may not have given proper consideration to the principles embodied in the Code.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the risk assessment of the safety implications of moving the Portland search and rescue helicopter to Lee-on-Solent. [90409]

An operational analysis of the Portland area helicopter was carried out for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) by consultants for internal purposes. The analysis is technical in nature and is considered to be commercially sensitive and is therefore exempt from disclosure under Section 13 of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. Discussions about the future of the helicopter base are continuing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will require the Strategic Rail Authority to publish regional freight strategies. [90846]

The SRA's Strategic Plan, due to be published shortly, will provide some area-based information on the current use of the rail network for passenger and freight traffic throughout the country. There is no immediate plan to publish separate regional freight strategies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many statutory instruments have been issued by his Department in each calendar year since 1979. [89836]

The Department for Transport was formed on 29 May 2002. During the remainder of the calendar year 2002 it issued a total of 639 statutory instruments comprising 78 general instruments and 561 local instruments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on progress made to meet his target of (a) an increase of 75 per cent. investment in the transport service through the Transport 2010 programme and (b) a reduction of 15 per cent. in traffic congestion. [90793]

No such targets were included in the 10 Year Plan for transport. Progress against the objectives in the Plan are set out in 'Delivering Better Transport: Progress Report' which was published 17 December 2002, a copy of which has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met members of the Strategic Rail Authority to discuss the provision of cycle storage on trains; what the outcome was of these discussions; and if he will make a statement. [88942]

The Secretary of State for Transport, and other Departmental Ministers, meet the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) on a regular basis and discuss a range of issues. The SRA is continuing to encourage the provision of secure storage for bicycles at railway stations and for their carriage on trains where this is feasible. The SRA encourages all train operators to tailor their bicycle provision to the demand and latent demand on each route.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the levels of (a) public and (b) private money being used to fund Transport 2010 in London. [90797]

Total public and private spending for London over the period of the 10 Year Plan are set out in the Finance Annex to "Delivering Better Transport: Progress Report" which was published on 17 December 2002 and placed in the Libraries of the House.In addition, Transport for London and the London Underground will have fares income available to them, and the Mayor will also have the revenues from his congestion charging scheme to spend on transport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many possible vehicle registration numbers exist, and how many were issued, in each of the series 51 and 02. [90990]

In each of the series 51 and 02 there are 7,312,896 registration numbers. For the 51 series 2,108,111 numbers were issued and for the 02 series 2,205,995 numbers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many possible combinations of letters in the pattern of current vehicle registration numbers exist; and of those, how many are available for allocation in any six month period. [90991]

There are 7,312,896 possible combinations in the current registration number system. From this total, combinations are withheld if they are likely to cause offence or are reserved for sale and in each six-month period the number available for allocation fluctuates. In the periods September 2001 to February 2002 and March 2002 to August 2002 there were 5,072,976 and 5,082,391 combinations available for allocation respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the comparative effectiveness in their air defence roles of (a) fixed-wing carrier-borne aircraft, (b) modernised Type 42 destroyers and (c) future Type 45 destroyers. [90103]

United Kingdom maritime forces normally operate as part of a Task Group, which protects itself against air attack through a series of 'layered' defences. Task Groups typically include carrier and/or land based fixed wing aircraft as an outer layer. Inside and complementary to this, the Type 42 Anti-Air Warfare Destroyers (and also Type 22 and 23 Frigates) are equipped to provide an air defence capability for both Force and self protection. The Type 42 Destroyers systems are being enhanced to ensure they remain effective in the air defence role.The Type 42 Destroyers will be replaced by the Type 45 Destroyers, fitted with the highly capable Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS). PAAMS will represent a significant improvement in Air Defence capability compared with that provided by the current Type 42 Destroyer fitted with Seadart. Key improvements will include better surveillance, increased channels of fire, a larger magazine capacity and a faster, more manoeuvrable missiles.The comparative effectiveness of these complementing layers has been successfully demonstrated in many recent National, NATO and Allied exercises and proven in the Gulf and Adriatic conflicts to adequately protect a Task Group.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will introduce a policy whereby defence contracts awarded to foreign companies require 50 per cent.of the work to be carried out in the United Kingdom. [90430]

I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave on 13 January 2003 Official Report, columns 405–06W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the initial capital spend for relocation of Dstl staff from Farnborough to Portsdown Main. [89814]

The costs of house moves for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) staff relocating from Farnborough to Portsdown Main, together with the additional travelling costs for staff choosing not to move house, are estimated to be £13.3 million.Dstl considered many different site rationalisation options. The selected option delivers the greatest improvements in synergy while remaining affordable.The estimated capital value of the contract to refurbish the Portsdown Main site is commercially sensitive and is withheld in accordance with Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if an environmental sustainability assessment was made of factors that may result from the relocation of Dstl staff in Farnborough to Portsdown Main, with particular reference to changes in the level of commuter traffic; and if he will make a statement. [89815]

A Strategic Environmental Appraisal (environmental sustainability assessment) was prepared in accordance with MOD Policy for each of the site relocation options considered by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the financial appraisal and independent review by the MoD Senior Economic Advisor of the decision to move Dstl staff from Farnborough to Portsdown Main. [89831]

The appraisal referred to contains information that is commercially sensitive, it is withheld in accordance with Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is currently requesting bids from contractors for the refurbishment of the Portsdown Main site and information contained in the appraisal may weaken Dstl negotiating position.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the loss to Dstl of experienced staff who are unable or unwilling to relocate from Farnborough to Portsdown Main. [89832]

The move of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) staff from Farnborough to a new site at Portsdown is planned for 2006. At this comparatively early stage it is difficult to predict whether or not Dstl will lose staff and if so in what numbers. We hope that all staff currently employed by Dstl at the Farnborough site will choose to stay with the Laboratory and move to the new site.In October 2002, after the relocation decision had been announced to staff, Dstl commissioned MORI to carry out an independent Staff Opinion Survey. The response of staff, particularly at Farnborough, was very positive and had improved in key areas over the previous survey in 2001. There are no indications at this time that Dstl will lose significant numbers of staff because of its relocation plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel and from which departments or agencies within his Department, currently employed by his Department, would be transferred to the employ of DynCorp should the company's bid prove successful; and if he will make a statement. [90776]

Landmarc Support Services (LSS) have been selected by the Ministry of Defence as the preferred bidder to act as the strategic partner in the management and running of the Army Training Estate. LSS is a special purpose company owned by Interserve Defence Ltd and DynCorp International.Approximately 1,450 Civil and Crown Servants from the Army Training Estate, Defence Estates and Reserve Forces and Cadets Association would transfer, with their jobs, to LSS between April and August 2003, should a contract be placed. These staff will have their employment rights protected by both Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 and MOD's codes of practice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts have been concluded as a result of the Government's commitment to support ethical banking. [89942]

The Government believe it is important for consumers to have choice in financial products, including the availability of 'ethical' products. However, it would not be appropriate for the government to exclusively support the development of one specific group of financial service providers. It is for individual consumers to decide the attributes they most value from their financial services and for financial services firms to be transparent about their use of funds and investments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) for what purposes beyond humanitarian relief, peacekeeping and crisis management British hardware and personnel committed to the European Rapid Reaction Force may be used; [89587](2) what the British

There is no standing European Rapid Reaction Force. Under the European Security and Defence Policy, national forces will come together for specific, EU-led crisis management operations (the 'Petersberg tasks') where NATO as a whole is not engaged. These incorporate humanitarian and rescue tasks, peacekeeping tasks, and tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking.We are not committing British forces to a standing structure—we and other member states are, on a voluntary basis, offering to make forces available to meet requirements identified in the Helsinki Headline Catalogue as necessary to enable the EU to undertake the full spectrum of Petersberg tasks. The potential British contribution could be up to 12.500 troops, 72 combat aircraft and 18 warships, with a full range of supporting capabilities. At the Capabilities Improvement Conference in November 2001, along with other member states, the United Kingdom increased its potential contribution in areas where capability shortfalls were identified. There has been no change since then.Headline Goal shortfalls are identified by comparing the combined total of forces offered by member states with the Headline Goal requirements and are therefore collective; it is not the case that the United Kingdom contribution is intended to meet the shortfalls of others. Implementing solutions to shortfalls is a matter for nations or groups of nations to undertake voluntarily.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the 202 Field Hospital Volunteers have been called up; what their profession is in each case; and in which NHS facility they are employed. [90911]

To date no members of 202 (Volunteer) Field Hospital have been called up, nor are there any immediate plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) briefing and (b) other assistance personnel from his Department gave to The Sunday Telegraph in respect of its report of 22 December 2002 about preparations for a military campaign against Iraq. [89883]

No authorised briefing or assistance was given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidelines he has given to the media about what is not appropriate to report in advance of possible military action against Iraq. [89884]

No guidelines have been issued to anyone detailing what would not be appropriate to report should there be any military action against Iraq. However, the specific issue of reporting restrictions is dealt with under the DA Notice procedures, further details of which can be found on the Defence Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee website at:The Ministry of Defence will shortly be in touch with editors of the mainstream media about the arrangements for reporting during any possible future military action against Iraq.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many children have been killed in Iraq as a direct result of bombs and missiles used to enforce the no-fly zones in Iraq since the policy of implementation was started. [90234]

We are not aware of any child fatalities resulting from responses made in self-defence by coalition aircraft patrolling the no-fly zones.Coalition aircrew only ever respond in self defence against military targets. When attacks by Iraqi air defences force coalition aircraft to respond in this way, we go to great lengths to ensure that the risk of civilian casualties is minimised. Targets are selected with extreme care and precision-guided weapons are used.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the cost to date of mobilisation of British troops and medical auxiliaries for prospective military activities in the Gulf. [90239]

The information requested is not yet available. I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role he expects the Fairford air base in Gloucester to play in any conflict with Iraq. [90255]

RAF Fairford is a NATO designated standby base that is made available to the United States Visiting Force and from which a wide range of aircraft types can be deployed. The United Kingdom Government must be fully consulted and agree before any US Air Force aircraft are deployed operationally from any RAF base, including RAF Fairford.No request has been received to activate RAF Fairford for operational purposes and it would be inappropriate to speculate what role, if any, the base might play in the event of any conflict with Iraq.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many MOD personnel are engaged in (a) translating and (b) analysing the dossier submitted by Iraq to the UN; and if he will make a statement. [88959]

The Iraqi declaration in response to United Nations Security Council resolution 1441 is being analysed by the Ministry of Defence in conjunction with other Departments. Parts of the declaration are being translated into English by Ministry of Defence personnel and by personnel drawn from other Departments. I am withholding the number of personnel engaged in the tasks of translating and analysing the declaration in accordance with Exemption la of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when a decision is to be made on the additional purchase of Future Joint Combat Aircraft; and if he will make a statement. [90159]

We do not expect to make a decision on how many Joint Strike Fighters are required to meet our Future Joint Combat Aircraft requirement until 2006. Work to inform this decision is ongoing and in the meantime our planning assumption remains that up to 150 Short Take Off and Vertical Landing Joint Strike Fighters will be required.A purchase of additional Joint Strike Fighters is one of the options being considered to fill any manned aircraft requirement within the Future Offensive Air System. A range of potential mixes of platforms is currently being looked at, including Long Range Cruise Missiles, Uninhabited Combat Air Vehicles and manned aircraft. No decisions have yet been taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the sites being considered for new barracks. [88571]

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 16t December 2002, Official Report, column 518W, on RAF bases, for what reason no budget is shown for RAF Menwith Hill. [90153]

RAF Menwith Hill is owned by the Ministry of Defence and made available to the US Department of Defense under the NATO Status of Forces Agreement of 1951. Administration of the base is the responsibility of the US authorities.Information on detailed operational matters at RAF Menwith Hill, including funding issues, is withheld under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information on the grounds of national security.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the contracts signed by his Department requiring the service provider to employ sponsored reserves; how many sponsored reserves are required in each case; and if he will make a statement. [90774]

As of 14 January contracts have been signed for the RORO Strategic Sealift which has a requirement for 180 Sponsored Reserves (SRs), the Survey Vessels Project which has a requirement for four SRs, the Mobile Met Unit which has a requirement for 48 SRs and the Heavy Equipment Transporter which has a requirement for 85 SRs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many call-out notices have been sent out recently; how many call-out notices were sent to reservists and under what legal headings prior to and during (a) the Kosovo crisis, (b) the first Gulf war and (c) operations in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [90798]

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence stated in his announcement to the House on 7 January 2003, Official Report, column 24, we envisage initially sending out sufficient call-out notices to secure about 1,500 Reservists and we will issue further notices as appropriate. As of 13 January, some 615 call-out notices had been sent under the authority of the call-out order made on 7 January 2003 under Section 54 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 (RFA 96). For operations in the former republic of Yugoslavia (including Kosovo) and Afghanistan, Reservists were also called out under Section 54 of RFA 96. For Operation Granby (the Gulf conflict 1990–91), Reservists were called out under Section 10 of the Reserve Forces Act 1980. Information regarding call-out notices served for these operations is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether reservists are awaiting call-up to come from (a) the Territorial Army and (b) the Civilian Regular Reserves; what reserve liabilities exist for each category of reserve in each of the three services; which situations must exist before recall can be permitted; what procedures have to be followed in order to implement the call-up in each case; and if he will make a statement. [90799]

Initially we envisage to secure about 1,500 reservists under the call-out Order made on 7 January 2003. That Order was made under section 54(1) of the Reserve Forces Act 1996. The vast majority of those being called out will come from the volunteer reserve forces, ie. the Royal Naval Reserve, the Royal Marines Reserve, the Territorial Army and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. However, some reservists, particularly those who have skills not readily available in the volunteer reserve forces, will be called out from the ex-regular reserve forces, ie. the Royal Fleet Reserve, the Army Reserve and the Royal Air Force Reserve.The general liabilities for members of the reserve forces, both volunteer and ex-regular, are set out in Part VI of the Reserve Forces Act 1996, particularly sections 52, 54 and 56. The liability of certain officers and former servicemen who are not members of any reserve force to be recalled for service is set out in Part VII of the Act and the power to authorise their recall is laid down in section 68. The call-out Order made on 7 January does not authorise the mobilisation of such individuals and there are no plans to make a recall Order. Such an Order could only be made in time of national danger or if a great emergency had arisen.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons reservists can refuse to serve; what powers the MoD has to compel reservists to serve; and if he will make a statement. [90800]

The Reserve Forces Act 1996 (RFA 96) requires Reservists who are served with a call-out notice to report for service at a specified time and place. Failure to comply may result in the Reservist being charged with desertion or absence without leave and may be tried by court-martial or summarily by a civil court. However, RFA 96 also contains safeguards for individuals, including the right to apply for exemption from or deferral of call-out. The detailed regulations are contained in the Reserve Forces (Call-out and Recall) (Exemptions Etc) Regulations, Statutory Instrument 1997/307. Schedule 1 of those regulations sets out the grounds on which a Reservist may make an application. Reservists are made aware of their right to apply for deferral or exemption at the time of their call-out. There are separate arrangements for conscientious objectors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservists are being called up who reside in Scotland. [90391]

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence stated in his announcement to the House on 7 January 2003 Official Report, column 24, experience shows that the number of call-out notices issued needs to be significantly larger than the number of individual Reservists likely to be required. Under the call-out order made on 7 January 2003, we envisage initially sending out sufficient call-out notices to secure about 1,500 Reservists and we will issue further notices as appropriate. As of 13 January, some 615 call-out notices had been issued, of which 32 were sent to addresses in Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many statutory instruments have been issued by his Department in each calendar year since 1979. [89850]

The information requested is not held for the years prior to 1999. The Ministry of Defence issued the following number of statutory instruments:

Date	Statutory Instruments Issued
1999	4
2000	18
2001	10
2002	12

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the (a) current and (b) projected future strategic sea lift capability of the armed forces. [90102]

Currently the Ministry of Defence has four Roll-On/Roll-Off vessels available full-time to meet our strategic sealift requirement. It is MOD policy is to charter merchant shipping from the commercial market to meet additional demands. In addition to this capability five Landing Ships Logistic (LSL) provide additional lift capability if not required for amphibious operations.For the future, with the full introduction of our new strategic sealift service by the summer, we will have six RoRo vessels available at various degrees of readiness. Four of these vessels will be employed by MOD to meet day-to-day requirements with the remaining two vessels at lower states of readiness being available to MOD when operational situations warrant. This capability will also be augmented by four Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary) (LSD(A)) which again, will be available when not required for amphibious operations. These vessels, which have a significantly enhanced lift capability, will replace current LSLs and are scheduled to come into service from 2004.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to sell RN Type 23 frigates to the Chilean Navy; and if he will make a statement. [90160]

I refer the hon Member to the answer my hon Friend the Under Secretary of State for Defence gave on 30 April 2002 Official Report, column 746W to the hon. Member for Essex, North (Mr. Jenkin).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of UK veterans from conflicts since and including World War II have claimed war pensions (a) three years, (b) five years, (c) 10 years and (d) more than 20 years after they would have been entitled to start receiving the benefit since 1972. [91049]

The information requested is not available in the format required and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.The War Pensions Scheme is unique in that there are no time limits for claiming a war pension. As a consequence of this, the onus has always been on the veteran to make a claim and entitlement is normally only given from the date of claim.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will write to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South regarding his answer of 7 November 2002, Official Report, column 457W, concerning the Warship Modernisation Project. [84153]

I replied to the hon. Member today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the contracts that have been awarded to the Capita Group by the Office. [89977]

No contracts have been awarded to the Capita Group by my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many letters the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State received from members of the public in relation to his ministerial responsibilities in 2002. [90729]

During 2002 the Parliamentary Under-Secretary answered 46 letters from members of the public in his Ministerial capacity. In addition 258 letters, which had been addressed either to myself or to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, were answered on our behalf by officials.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many letters he received from members of the public in relation to his ministerial responsibilities in 2002. [90959]

During 2002 my predecessor and I answered 307 letters from members of the public in our Ministerial capacity. In addition, 258 letters which had been addressed to either the Secretary of State or the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, were answered on Ministers' behalf by officials.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his Department's performance against each of its public service agreement targets. [89922]

My Department is not required to have a public service agreement because of the nature of its role and its size.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the assets of the Welsh Office valued at more than £50,000, identifying in each case (a) the nature of the asset, (b) the latest estimated value of the asset and (c) the rationale for possession of the asset; and if he will make a statement. [89952]

(a) Land and Buildings, that is, Gwydyr House in Whitehall, London SW1;

(b) £1,7 million; and

(c) it is the London headquarters of my Department and the location of my London office.

Freehold Land and Buildings were valued on 31 March 2000 on the basis of open market value for existing use in accordance with the "Appraisal and Valuation Manual" produced jointly by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers and the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation. The valuation has been adjusted to its level at 31 March 2002 in accordance with accounting conventions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his estimate is for the latest year for which information is available of the cost to the Welsh Office of (a) its press office, (b) its legal office, (c) its private office, (d) its briefing unit, (e) its social policy unit and (f) its finance and administration unit; and if he will make a statement. [89956]

The net administration costs of my Department in 2001–02 were £2.839 million. The costs of the constituent branches are not separately identifiable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total expenditure of her Department was on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in 2002. [90519]

The Department's spend on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in 2001–02 was £28,234.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many full-time equivalent staff are employed in (a) the Department and (b) each of the agencies it sponsors; and what the figures were for 1997. [90678]

The number of full-time equivalent staff employed in the Department and the Royal Parks Agency are set out in the following table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what contracts have been concluded as a result of the Government's commitment to support ethical banking. [89946]

My Department uses the Bank of England for banking services and there have been no other relevant contracts concluded.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total cost to her Department was of the use of external consultants in 2002. [90500]

11 contracts were awarded to external consultants in 2002 totalling £323,820. This includes the Royal Parks Agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the extent of job sharing in her Department. [90868]

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has a range of policies intended to help staff to better manage work-life balance, including support for part-time and job-share opportunities. All posts are open to those wishing to work part-time or job share although there are currently no posts being filled on a job-share basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much lottery money remains unspent, broken down by the distribution body. [91113]

The amounts not yet drawn down from the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF) are shown in the following table.

Distributing body	Unspent balance as at 31 December 2002 (£)
Arts Council of England	233,021,761.89
Arts Council of Northern Ireland	35,014,526.62
Arts Council of Wales	31,016,874.65
Community Fund	303,497,261.54
Film Council	72,119,368.59
Heritage Lottery Fund	1,020,616,023.34
Millennium Commission	330,359,968.55
New Opportunities Fund	937,329,787.85
Scottish Arts Council	50,812,445.67
Scottish Screen	2,839,957.24
Sport England	295,290,905.58
Sport Scotland	77,913,479.92
Sports Council for Northern Ireland	21,008,670.19
Sports Council for Wales	34,445,319.32
UK Sport	4,166,877.84
Total	3,449,453,228.79

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will estimate the impact of increasing the minimum wage (a) in line with average earnings, (b) to £4.17 per hour, (c) to £4.87 per hour, (d) to £5.00 per hour and (e) to £5.30 per hour, on the cost of salaries of departmental employees (i) in total and (ii) for each nation of the United Kingdom in the next financial year. [90598]

There would be no impact on the cost of salaries of DCMS employees in any of the scenarios (a) to (e) as all DCMS employees are paid at a higher hourly rate than £5.30 per hour. All DCMS employees work in England.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much on average was paid out annually through Public handling Rights over the last five years; and what the administrative cost was. [89857]

[holding answer 14 January 2003]: The average total amount paid out annually by the Public Lending Right fund to registered authors between 1997 to 2001, the last five years for which payments have been made, was £4.3 million. During the same period, the average annual administrative cost of the scheme was £745,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many public libraries have (a) closed and (b) opened in each local authority in England since 1997. [90733]

This information is not held centrally. However, the total number of service points in each local authority open 10 hours or more per week, is contained in the annual Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Annual Public Library Statistics, copies of which are in the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many public libraries there are in each local authority in England. [90961]

This information is not held centrally. However, this information is contained in column 18 (Total Service Points open 10 hours or more per week) of the annual Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Public Library Statistics, copies of which are in the House of Commons Library. The latest Actual figures available are for 2000–01. Estimates are available for 2001–02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many days were lost due to sickness absence in the Department in 2002. [90536]

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many working days were lost due to illness in her Department in (a) 2002 and (b) each of the preceding five years. [90745]

Cabinet Office publishes an annual report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service". The most recently published figures for the calendar year 2001 were announced by Ministerial Statement on 19 December 2002, and copies placed in the Libraries of the House.For DCMS the 2001 average working days absence per staff year figures were:

	Number
Certified Sickness	3.8
Self-Certification	2.1
Total	5.9
Staff years	420

The 1999, 2000 and 2001 reports are available on the Cabinet Office website: www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/civilservice/publications/sickness/index.htm. The sickness absence figures for 2002 will be announced in due course.DCMS is committed to managing sickness absence effectively, and in meeting the 2003 target for reduced sickness absence as set out in the Service Delivery Agreements (SDA).

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Independent Football Commission, (b) football supporters' associations, (c) football clubs. (d) the Football Association and (e) the Football League regarding supporter and other stakeholder involvement with clubs; and if she will make a statement. [90735]

I met Professor Derek Fraser, the Chairman of the Independent Football Commission, on 7 January to discuss a range of football issues including the involvement of supporters with clubs. DCMS officials regularly discuss issues of supporter involvement with the football authorities and supporters' representatives, most recently at the Football Association's meeting with supporters' groups on 13 January. The Football League and the Football Federation Supporters' Federation were represented at that meeting.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of children were achieving (a) five or more GCSEs at A*-C grade, and (b) at least one GCSE at A*-G grade in (i) specialist schools, (ii) city technology colleges, (iii) all other comprehensives, (iv) grammar schools and (v) secondary modern schools. [89299]

The information requested for the 2001 results is shown in the following table. The 2002 performance tables are due to be published later in January and I will write to the hon. Member with the updated information as soon as the data are available. I will also place a copy of the 2002 data in the Library.

	Average percentage of children gaining:
Type of school	5 or more A*-C GCSE/GNVQ3	1 or more A*-C GCSE/GNVQ3
Specialist schools1,2	54.4	96.9
City technology colleges	78.0	99.0
All other comprehensive schools4	45.6	95.8
Grammar schools1	97.5	99.6
Secondary modern schools1	36.8	95.8
1 Includes 27 grammar schools and 20 secondary modern schools that are specialist schools. These schools are also included in the data for grammar and secondary modern schools.
2 Maintained schools (excluding special schools) designated and operating as specialist schools as at September 2000.
3 Results shown on same basis as Secondary Performance Tables i.e. adjusted for refugees and admitted pupils.
4 Excludes specialist schools, grammar schools and secondary modern schools.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Centres of Vocational Excellence have been established and in what specialisms; and how many have been established by (a) colleges, (b) private training providers and (c) employers. [90927]

Excellent progress has been made in establishing Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs). 157 CoVEs have been created so far and in the Spending Review we announced additional funding to establish a total of 400 CoVEs by 2006.These CoVEs cover a range of specialisms and have a geographical spread to ensure local, regional and national skills needs are addressed. The following table sets out the range of specialisms (by number and percentage of current network):

Specialism	Number of CoVEs	Percentage of current CoVE network
Engineering	36	23
Construction	23	15
Hospitality/Tourism	22	14
Creative Industries	20	13
Health/Care	17	11
ICT	16	10
Land Based	7	4
Business/Management	5	3
Retail/Distributive	4	3
Sport/Leisure	3	2
Food Manufacture	2	1
Hair/Beauty	2	1

Of the 157 CoVEs established to date 138 are in Further Education colleges. 19 are in work based learning providers. Of these 8 are in private training providers, 8 in group training associations and three in large companies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many child care staff have been trained through learning and skills councils. [87983]

This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. John Harwood, the Council's chief executive will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his reason was for the duration of the consultation on the code of practice on admissions which concluded on 11 October 2002. [91244]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 14 January, Official Report, column 562W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (a) which projects will be funded and (b) how much will be spent on each project, in areas covered by each sub-category in table 4.2 of the Departmental report 2002 in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) 2003–04. [89306]

We are in the process of finalising expected programme expenditure for the current year and will make any necessary changes through the spring supplementary estimate which will be presented to Parliament in due course. Overall expenditure is likely to exceed the provision set out in the Departmental report through the planned use of accumulated end-year flexibility.My Statement to the House of 19 December 2002,

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) names, (b) salaries and (c) responsibilities of each special adviser employed by his Department are. [89337]

The Special Advisers in the Department for Education and Skills are Robert Hill and Lisa Tremble. They advise on the full range of education and skills issues for which the Department is responsible.The salaries of Special Advisers are determined by a job evaluation process undertaken by the Special Advisers' Remuneration Committee.Details of individual Special Adviser salaries are not given in order to protect the privacy of the individual concerned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on underspend for his Department in (a) the current financial year and (b) each of the last five financial years. [89364]

Final expenditure figures for 2002–03 are not available until the publication of the Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper in July 2003.Figures for 1997–98 to 2001–02 are presented in the following table:

£million
	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Total in year underspend	72	261	615	1,128	1,246
Of which:
DfES	72	259	536	998	1,111
Sure Start	—	2	76	129	71
Ofsted	0	0	4	1	3
Children's Fund	—	—	—	—	61

The main reason for these in-year variances from plans stems from the nature of the Department's budgets and the difficulties this causes in forecasting spending accurately. For example: new and innovative programmes such as Sure Start rely on the pace of build up of local partnerships; capital projects can also take longer than anticipated to get off the ground; and the Department has a significant number of demand led budgets. The availability of End-Year Flexibility is designed to allow us to manage such fluctuations sensibly over a number of years.This year my Department intends to utilise approximately £600 million accumulated End-Year Flexibility, across a range of priorities, this will be drawn down at the spring Supplementary Estimate in February. The planned use of over £880 million accumulated End-Year Flexibility for years beyond 2002–03 was tabled in my statement of 19 December 2002,

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made in the teaching of development issues in state schools; and if he will make a statement. [90904]

Pupils study international development issues as part of both the citizenship curriculum—now statutory in secondary schools—and within geography. Primary pupils learn about living in a diverse world through citizenship, and about less economically developed countries through geography as part of studying water, settlements and environmental issues. As they progress to secondary level, they are taught about the world as a global community, including the political, economic, environmental and social implications of this, both through geography and citizenship. We have worked with educational bodies in this field, such as the Development Education Association, to produce a teaching resource: "Citizenship, the Global Dimension". QCA has also sent detailed guidance to all schools to help teachers to develop pupils international understanding at various stages of their learning.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what level of funding has been required from secondary schools in relation to offering Mandarin on the curriculum in the next financial year; and what level of funding has been allocated to the subject; [90383](2) how many secondary schools that are

The Department does not allocate funding for the teaching of specific individual languages. The National Curriculum requirement is that all maintained secondary schools should offer one of the working languages of European Union. Over and above that, it is for schools to decide which and how many additional languages they choose to offer. There are no specific resources allocated by the Department to train teachers in Mandarin. It is up to Initial Teacher Training providers to choose which languages to include in the courses they offer. However, the Government does allocate £300,000 per year to the British Council run UK-China Educational Co-operation programme, which includes language immersion courses in Mandarin Chinese for teachers and pupils and the exchange of language assistants.Although there is a strong language learning element to the programme, the UK-China Educational Cooperation programme, which has been running since 2000, also provides grants for school linking visits, joint curriculum projects, electronic curriculum links and head teacher study visits.There are no figures available on how many language colleges offer Mandarin but 50 of the 157 language colleges offer Chinese. Aspiring language colleges are not required to give advance notice to the Department of the languages they intend to include in their applications so it is not possible to indicate how many intend to teach Mandarin. However language colleges are encouraged to diversify their language provision and Chinese continues to be a popular choice for applicant schools. Specialist applications are assessed by independent assessors and are not approved by the Department on the basis of a specified range of modern foreign languages.From an analysis of OFSTED inspection reports for 1997–98, no mention is made of Mandarin. From the reports of secondary schools inspected by OFSTED for 2001–02, it is noted that four schools taught Mandarin as part of the curriculum, four taught Mandarin as an extra-curriculum subject and three other schools taught Chinese as part of the curriculum.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many employers with (a) 25 employees or more and (b) less than 25 employees, were involved in modern apprenticeships in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2002. [90925]

Data are only available for 2001. The Learning and Training at Work Survey in England for that year indicates that 12,000 employers with 25 or more employees had participated in modern apprenticeships in the previous 12 months and 24,000 with between one and 24 employees. The results of the 2002 survey are due to be published by the Department shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many new schools have been funded by private companies since 1997; and how many are planned. [90902]

All new maintained schools are funded principally through public funds, but promoters of voluntary aided schools generally provide 10 per cent. of the capital costs. The Department does not maintain any records of the source of the 10 per cent. funding for the establishment of any new voluntary aided schools, or any significant contribution to the costs of establishing any other maintained school.Academies are publicly funded independent schools with private and voluntary sector sponsors contributing up to 20 per cent. of the capital cost. Three Academies opened in September 2002, one of which is sponsored by a private sector company. A further nine will open in September 2003. At least 33 Academies will be open by 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on his Department's performance against its public service agreement targets on truancy, literacy and numeracy. [90552]

The Department publishes progress against all its outstanding public service agreement targets (PSAs) in its annual departmental report and autumn performance report. Progress against PSAs was most recently reported in the 2002 autumn report, published in November 2002, together with commentary where appropriate. A copy of the report is available from the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with the Construction Industry Training Board about the levy made on plant hire construction. [91223]

I have had no discussions with the Construction Industry Training Board about the levy made on plant hire construction.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to meet representatives of the Hire Association Europe to discuss the Construction Industry Training Board levy made on members' companies in the hire industry. [91224]

One of my officials met with Mr. John Coyne, Managing Director of the Hire Association Europe on 27 November last. I have no plans to meet with them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action he proposes to take arising from the judgment of the hon. Mr. Justice Keith in the High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, on 23 November 2001, about Gibbon Equipment Hire Ltd. and the Construction Industry Training Board. [91225]

The judgment by Mr. Justice Keith concluded that the definition of 'contractor's plant' in the Industrial Training (Construction Board) Order 1964 (Amendment Order) 1992 was clear, unequivocal and unambiguous. Also that Gibbon Equipment Hire was an employer in the construction industry, and therefore, required to pay the CITB levy.However, I have agreed to consider whether the hiring out of plant and equipment should continue to be included in the definition of the construction industry, and am awaiting proposals from the hire service sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many ring-fenced grants (a) are provided and (b) were provided in each of the last five years to (i) each school in England and (ii) each local education authority in England; and what the (A) name, (B) purpose and (C) financial value of each was. [89342]

The following ring-fenced grants have been provided by the Department since 1997–98:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate the additional costs of achieving the targets contained in his Department's report, "Time for Standards", on recruiting (a) extra teachers and (b) extra support staff. [89294]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many new schools have been funded by faith organisations since 1997, broken down by faith; and how many are planned. [90903]

The following table gives numbers of new grant maintained and voluntary aided faith schools that have opened, or have been approved to open, since 1997. These include independent schools approved for establishment as new maintained schools; but do not include former community schools which closed and reopened with a religious character. All these proposals, except one Jewish school, involved some capital building work and a financial contribution by the promoters.

We are committed during this Parliament to the recruitment of at least an extra 10,000 extra teachers. We also estimate that there will be 50,000 new support staff in the same period. Both figures are for full-time equivalents.The additional pay bill costs

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what support the Government have committed to the Sector Skills Council for the logistics industry. [90321]

The Skills for Logistics Expression of Interest for a Sector Skills Council (SSC) was accepted, on 18 December 2002, by the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA). This will result in the SSDA committing development funding of up to £100,000 to help the sector prepare its bid for SSC status. If the resulting SSC bid is successful, Skills for Logistics will receive a full SSC licence and be eligible for up to £1 million a year from the SSDA to meet its core costs.In addition to the financial support the SSDA has provided advisory support to the logistics sector in the form of a dedicated business consultant who has been giving support and guidance to the sector since December 2001. This support has included advice on preparing their expression of interest and will continue throughout the six month development stage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what mechanisms have been set up to ensure that schools set up by private companies and faith organisations (a) do not select their pupils, (b) follow the national curriculum, (c) teach science, including Darwin's theory of evolution and (d) protect the human rights of female students. [90905]

The information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to harmonise (a) pay rates and (b) pay scales between teachers in schools and further education, and if he will make a statement. [90696]

Further education colleges are independent corporations responsible for determining the pay and conditions of their staff. Therefore, it is not for the Government to harmonise FE and school teacher pay scales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many school days were lost due to truancy in Lancashire in each year since 1997. [90741]

The number of school days lost due to truancy in Lancashire since 1997 are as follows:

Academic year (September-May)	Number of day pupils of compulsory school age	Number of school days lost due to truancy
1996–971	201,219	176,296
1997–98	159,143	129,313
1998–99	162,583	150,654
1999–2000	162,979	140,519
2000–01	160,768	135,585
2001–02	159,398	136,053
1The figures for 1996–97 are pre local government reorganisation and are not directly comparable with the other years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Union Learning Representatives there are within his Department; and if he will make a statement. [88831]

There is currently one Union Learning Representative in the Department. My officials are working with the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), the main civil service union, on how best to promote the development of Union Learning Representatives within the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Government's budget is for the promotion of Union Learning representatives in the (a) public and (b) private sectors; and if he will make a statement. [88832]

The Government does not have a specific budget for the promotion of Union Learning Representatives in either the public or the private sector. We recognise, however, that trade unions and their learning representatives have a key role to play in promoting the development of learning and skills in the workplace. To help them do this, my Department has provided financial support through the Union Learning Fund since 1988. This year (2002–03) £9 million is available and a further £33.6 million has been allocated for the next three years up to 2005–06.When it was launched, the Union Learning Fund was a new and innovative experiment, but it has now become an established part of the lifelong learning agenda. It is helping trade unions use their influence with employers, employees and others to encourage greater take up of learning at work and boost their capacity as learning organisations. It has so far benefited over 28,000 people in the workplace through a wide variety of projects ranging from tackling basic skills needs to advanced professional development. It has also led to the development of a new breed of activist, the Union Learning Representative, and has helped to establish and train a growing network which now stands at more than 4,000 learning representatives nationwide.Union Learning Representatives are ideally placed to help and encourage workers to improve their skills, particularly amongst the very lowest skilled workers and those with literacy and numeracy problems. That is why we have included a clause in the new Employment Bill that will give statutory backing to Union Learning Representatives. It will reinforce the invaluable role that Union Learning Representatives are currently playing in the workplace to promote workforce development and open up new training opportunities for their colleagues.Any trade union based in England can submit an application to the Union Learning Fund. A prospectus inviting bids for Union Learning Fund projects for the coming year was sent to trade unions at the end of November. This information is also available electronically via the DfES or TUC Learning Services websites. The closing date for applications is 24 January.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether Union Learning representatives will be made available in job centres; and if he will make a statement. [88833]

There are around 70 ULRs working in the Department for Work and Pensions. It is not known how many of these are working in Jobcentre Plus.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) Beacon Schools, (b) Specialist Schools, (c) Centres of Vocational Excellence and (d) Education Business Links are involved in the part-time vocational placements announced in the Green Paper "14–19: Extending Opportunities, Raising Standards". [90928]

The Department is in the process of collecting this type of data about the "Increased Flexibility for 14–16 Year Olds" programme—analysis of the baseline will be available in the spring.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how long after receiving the final report from the Boundary Commission for Scotland she intends to lay (a) the report and (b) the orders required to implement it before the House. [90404]

The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 requires me to lay the Boundary Commission for Scotland's report before Parliament, together with the draft of an Order in Council for giving effect, with or without modifications, to the report's recommendations, as soon as may be after receiving it from the Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many full-time equivalent staff are employed in the Department; and what the equivalent figures were for 1997. [90668]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many electors there are in each Westminster parliamentary constituency in Scotland as set out in the latest electoral registers. [90494]

The Office for National Statistics is responsible for the collection and annual publication of data on the electorate. I understand that the figures for the electorate as at December 2002 will be published on 27 February 2003.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what her estimate is of the cost of the Friends of Scotland initiative; and if she will make a statement. [90376]

The Friends of Scotland initiative was launched in November 2001. The total cost of the initiative since then, not including staff costs, is £239,000.