To ask the Solicitor-General how many (a) allegations and (b) reports of bribery of a foreign public official by a UK company or individual have been forwarded to the Serious Fraud Office by the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice in the US since 1997; and on what dates they were received. [151523]

The SFO has received no reports of allegations of bribery of a foreign public official by a UK company or individual from the US Department of Justice since 1997.One request for mutual legal assistance has been made involving a suspicion of bribery. In this instance the alleged offences took place prior to the implementation of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

To ask the Solicitor-General how many allegations of bribery of a foreign public official the Serious Fraud Office received between November 1997 and February 2002; and how many of these allegations led to an investigation. [151403]

The SFO have identified four cases referred to it between November 1997 and February 2002 where bribery of a foreign official has been one of the allegations. None of these cases have resulted in an investigation.

To ask the Solicitor-General how many of the requests for mutual legal assistance on corruption offences received by the Serious Fraud Office have (a) indicated an offence by a UK individual or company and (b) led to an investigation by the SFO into a possible UK offence. [151404]

Prior to the implementation of the Anti-terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001, the SFO did not record the category of offences referred for mutual legal assistance by foreign authorities.Since February 2002, the SFO has identified three mutual legal assistance requests where there may be suspicion of corruption offences of persons overseas involving UK citizens or companies.These requests have not resulted in a domestic investigation. Two of the requests are still being assessed and the relevant offences in the other request took place prior to the implementation of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

To ask the Solicitor-General whether the Serious Fraud Office has received additional resources for enforcing Part 12 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 since February 2002. [151405]

The SFO has received no additional resource since February 2002 specifically for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting using the provisions of Part 12 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.As part of the 2002 Spending Review, the resource budget of the Serious Fraud Office will rise to £35.34 million by the end of the 2005–06 financial year. The Serious Fraud Office plans to use some of this resource to expand its permanent staff numbers from 232 to approximately 300 by the end of that financial year.The Serious Fraud Office does not allocate its staff resource to a particular type of crime or case. Each case referred to the SFO is assessed on its individual merits, and this includes allegations of bribery by UK citizens or companies overseas.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development who the members of the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission were on 1 January 2004; what their term of office is in each case; and whether they are remunerated. [151825]

The 14 members of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission were:

Member	First Appointed	Current Appointment Ends
Professor Trudy Harpham (Chair)	112.12.01	11.12.04
Professor William Hill (Deputy Chair)	201.03.98	28.02.04
Professor Jang B. Dilawari	01.03.98	28.02.04
Mr Sharon Huttly	01.01.02	31.12.04
Professor Maxwell Irvine	01.01.02	31.12.04
Professor David Johns	01.01.02	31.12.04
Ms Caren Levy	01.04.00	31.03.06
Dr Derek Miles	01.04.00	31.03.06
Professor John Morgan	01.08.02	31.07.05
Dr Hilary Perraton	01.05.02	30.04.05
Dr Patricia Richardson	01.04.00	31.03.06
Professor Timothy Shaw	01.05.02	30.04.05
Professor Gurharpal Singh	01.01.02	31.12.04
Professor Martin Snaith	01.01.02	31.12.04
1As Chair. Member of Commission since 1 March 1998
2To the Commission. Appointed Deputy Chair on 12 December 2001

The Chair of the Commission receives an annual honorarium of £5,000. All other Commission appointments are unremunerated, but those serving on the Selection Committee receive an honorarium of £200 per meeting.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will set out the number of employees in his Department who have a disability, broken down by disability type. [148988]

As at April 2003, there were 23 members of staff with a disability.

Type of Disability	Number of DFID Staff
Hearing Impairment	8
Visual Impairment	1—
Speech Impairment	1—
Mobility Impairment	5
Physical Impairment	1—
Reduced Physical Capacity	1—
Severe disfigurement	1—
Learning difficulties	1—
Mental Illness	0
Other	0
Total	23
1—Denotes a figure where the number of staff is less than five. The actual numbers in these categories are not published in order to protect the privacy of individual members of staff.

At DFID, staff with disabilities can often fall into more than one of the above categories; where this is the case, they have been assigned to the category relating to their primary disability. DFID is a member of the cross-departmental Cabinet Office Disability Working Group, the primary purpose of which is to improve data collection, monitoring and declaration within the Civil Service.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of fiduciary risk for direct budget support. [152083]

DFID has developed a comprehensive approach to assessing and managing the fiduciary risks associated with direct budget support, which has been agreed with the UK's National Audit Office.Firstly, a thorough evaluation of the recipient government's public financial management and accountability procedures, systems, practices and associated risks must be carried out. We have set out eight good practice principles and 15 related benchmarks which provide a framework both to ensure that adequate and sufficient information is obtained and that a broad assessment can be undertaken.Secondly, the recipient government must have a credible programme to improve public financial management and if necessary to incorporate temporary safeguards to mitigate identified risks. The decision to provide direct budget support is made where the potential development benefits justify the risk involved. DFID's policy in this area is clearly identified in the published document "Managing Fiduciary Risk When Providing Budget Support".DFID is working with other development agencies and international financial institutions to harmonise approaches to fiduciary risk management, thereby limiting the burden placed on governments to meet the requirements of different donors and lenders. This includes harmonisation of donor assessment procedures.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on humanitarian aid to Iraq. [151683]

DFID has committed £220 million towards humanitarian and reconstruction work in Iraq since the beginning of 2003. In spite of difficulties resulting from the security situation in Iraq, there is no humanitarian crisis in the country. Significant progress has been made since the end of the conflict in restoring essential services, maintaining the Public Distribution System for food rations, reopening hospitals and schools, and beginning the process of longer term reconstruction.US$33 billion in grants and soft loans was pledged for the reconstruction of Iraq at the Madrid Donors' Conference in October, including over US$18 billion from the USA. The Coalition Provisional Authority, together with Iraqi Ministries, are making significant progress with the reconstruction effort.DFID will publish its interim Country Assistance Paper for Iraq shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the impact that the Government of Sudan's rezoning of camps for internally displaced persons around Khartoum is having on (a) levels of homelessness and (b) other humanitarian requirements in the region; and if he will make a statement. [151202]

DFID continues to be concerned about the protection and assistance afforded to all internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan and have provided humanitarian assistance, including to those in camps around Khartoum.During my visit in December 2003 I visited one of the camps and saw how re-zoning has led to the demolition of homes. I raised the need for proper support for IDPs, following the rezoning with the Government of Sudan. HM Ambassador has also raised this issue with the Government of Sudan, including the Wali (Governor) of Khartoum.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total cost of public subsidy for the Dengie Village Link is in the (a) current and (b) next financial year. [152291]

Dengie Village Link service was awarded £271,000 from Rural Bus Challenge funding and £106,274 from the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant for the current financial year 2003–04.The recently announced Rural Bus Challenge award will provide £840,000 of funding to the scheme over the next three years 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07. Announcement of the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant for the next financial year has not yet been made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers the Dengie Village Link carried in the last 12 month period; and how many passenger miles this represented. [152292]

The total number of passengers carried by Dengie Village Link during the last 12 months from January 2003 to December 2003 was 72,191.Passenger mileage figures are not recorded.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of households which will be subjected to (a) a noise level of (i) 63dBa Leq or more and (ii) 69dBa Leq or more and (b) an increase in noise level of 3dBa Leq or more directly as a result of (A) the construction and (B) use of a second runway at Edinburgh airport as outlined in the aviation white paper. [151706]

This information is set out in the Scottish Consultation Document and supporting technical reports. These estimate the number of people who would be affected by different levels of noise under a range of runway options at Edinburgh Airport including maximum use of the existing main runway, greater use of the existing crosswind runway and development of a new close parallel runway. Our analysis suggests that by 2030, the development of a new close parallel runway, assuming a—14 dBA technology improvement, would reduce the number of people affected within the 63 dBA 16 hour Leq contour by 300 with an increase of 200 people affected at the 69 dBA 16 hour Leq contour.The numbers of houses within these contours for a new close parallel runway is estimated to be 200 at 63 dBA and 100 at 69 dBA.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many deaths have occurred on the A40 from (a) the M40 to the A312 junction, (b) the A312 junction to the A4005 junction and (c) from the A4005 junction to Westway in the last three years. [151486]

On the A40 from the M40 to the London Boundary there have been seven recorded injury accidents in the 36 month period to 31 December 2003. All accidents were coded as slight.The section of the A40 inside London forms part of the Greater London Authority Road Network—now known as the Transport for London Road Network—and is the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL). Further information concerning the accident statistics of the road should be obtained from:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on how he intends to encourage through ticketing, particularly where changes in bus contracts for certain routes require a passenger to use different companies for their journey. [151942]

Local authorities have a power under s135 of the Transport Act 2000 to require local bus operators to provide through ticketing. The Bus Partnership Forum, which I chair, has produced four templates intended for use as model ticketing schemes, including one that provides an example of a through-ticketing scheme involving different companies. We are placing the templates on the Department for Transport's website (under "Local Transport"), and I encourage all local transport authorities and bus operators to take advantage of these resources.For services that are operated under contact to the local authority, there is nothing to prevent the authority imposing conditions as to ticket validity on those services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the figures for (a) reliability, (b) punctuality, (c) the public performance measure, and (d) complaints for each train operator operating services in Wales in the last year for which figures are available. [151750]

The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) measures train performance by the Public Performance Measure (PPM), which combines reliability and punctuality. It is published by train operator in the SRA's quarterly National Rail Trends (NRT). The latest publication covers performance to the year ending 30 September 2003 and is placed in the Library of the House.Until March 2003, complaints data by train operator were published in the SRA's six monthly On Track publication. Copies of On Track are placed in the Library of the House. In future, complaints data by train operator will appear annually in Quarter 4 of NRT which will also act as an annual compendium of statistics. This will be published in the summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the rail infrastructure improvement schemes and their projected cost (a) being carried out in Wales and (b) planned for Wales. [151752]

There are no infrastructure improvement schemes currently in progress. The Vale of Glamorgan line is planned to re-open between Barry and Bridgend later this year, with two new stations to be built at Llanwit Major and Rhoose. This scheme is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on aviation in Wales since the publication of the Aviation White Paper. [151753]

Since the publication of the White Paper we have received one representation requesting further information about its conclusions for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what budget has been allocated for the enforcement of employment law in agriculture during the period covering the last two financial years; and how many enforcement officers are dedicated to investigating breaches of employment law in agriculture. [152096]

The only employment law enforced by Defra is the Agricultural Wages Order made by the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales under the Agricultural Wages Act 1948. Initial enforcement is undertaken by the five members of Defra's Agricultural Wages Team at an annual cost of some £133,000. This process is complaint led and complaints are investigated by Agricultural Wages Inspectors based in the Department's Rural Payments Agency. Some 37 Rural Payments Agency staff are authorised to investigate agricultural wage complaints. In the 2002–03 financial year it is estimated that agricultural minimum wage investigations undertaken by the Rural Payments Agency utilised staff resources of just over 0.5 staff years at a cost of £12,000. Rural Payments Agency staff inputs between April and December 2003 totalled some 0.25 staff years at a cost of £6,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what records her Department keeps of outbreaks of avian influenza among (a) poultry flocks, (b) poultry meat processors and (c) egg processors in EU member states in the last five years. [151962]

[holding answer 30 January 2004]: Our records show the following outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in member states in the last five years. These have all been in poultry flocks:

• Italy—1997 until April 2000;
• Netherlands—March to May 2003;
• Belgium—April 2003; and
• Germany—May 2003.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what biosecurity measures the Government have in place to protect (a) poultry farmers and (b) consumers from (i) legal and (ii) illegal (A) poultry meat and (B) egg imports from countries in South East Asia which have reported an outbreak of avian influenza. [151963]

[holding answer 30 January 2004]: Defra issued advice on biosecurity and on health and safety to the farming industry on 5 November 2003. In view of the avian influenza situation, we are writing to all known poultry keepers and to veterinary surgeons to highlight the problem and to reissue the advice.There is no legal trade in poultry meat or eggs from South East Asian countries affected by avian influenza other than from Thailand. Prohibitions have been placed on imports from Thailand of meat, meat products and meat preparations from species susceptible to avian influenza.HM Customs and Excise are responsible for measures to detect and prevent illegal imports into Great Britain of prohibited animal products They have put in place measures to address the possibility of illegally imported products. This included notification to all Customs staff of the new controls prohibiting imports from Thailand and ensuring controls are in place to prevent any trade imports in accordance with the EU Council Directive.The Food Standards Agency advice is that eating chicken and eggs is not considered a risk to consumers. This is because the risk to people arises from close contact with live chickens that have the disease, and not through eating chicken or eggs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 10 December 2003, Official Report, column 522W, on badgers, whether the reference to the gassing of badgers being considered to be inhumane refers only to the use of hydrogen cyanide gas; and what gases are available for use for the slaughter of subterranean animals which have properties that do not engender distress in those animals. [150568]

In his 1980 report, "Badgers, Cattle and Tuberculosis", Lord Zuckerman considered gassing as a method of capture. Having consulted the Government Chemical Defence Establishment at Porton Down, he recorded that:

"the only likely chemical alternatives to cyanide are carbon monoxide and nerve gases. The latter, however, are too dangerous to handle, and the former is, weight for weight, significantly less toxic than cyanide, and therefore likely to prove less effective than cyanide in practice."

He recommended that work be carried out to devise improvements in gassing procedures and this work concentrated on hydrogen cyanide. The Krebs Report points out that the subsequent investigation:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) standard trawl speed and (b) type of trawl gear is used by her Department's survey vessels in carrying out the International Bottom Trawl Survey in the North Sea. [149121]

The trawl used for scientific surveys of bottom living fish in the North Sea is the GOV trawl ('Grande Ouverture Verticale'). This general purpose bottom trawl has a high headline of five to six metres, and is used where the target species are a mix of commercial whitefish such as cod, haddock, whiting, pout and saithe. The net also samples shoaling or pelagic species including herring and mackerel. Design, specification and operation of the GOV trawl are all agreed internationally and co-ordinated by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. The standard towing speed is four knots over the sea bed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the survey vessels employed in carrying out the International Bottom Trawl Survey are (a) stern trawlers and (b) side trawlers. [149122]

They are stern trawlers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the gear used by survey vessels carrying out the International Bottom Trawl Survey in the North Sea differs from the gear used by commercial trawlers in the same area. [149123]

Yes. Commercial gear is rigged by individual skippers to suit local conditions and to maximise the catch of target species. It is regularly modified to follow the changes in the technical conservation legislation, and is frequently adjusted to improve catchability. Survey gear is chosen to fish both a wide range of species and a wide range of sizes including juvenile fish. It is maintained and operated to an internationally agreed specification without modification over time, so that the results of different national surveys can be combined. True comparisons can thus be made from year to year unaffected by technical changes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle were slaughtered on average each year during (a) 1976 to 1982, (b) 1982 to 1988, (c) 1988 to 1997 and (d) 2003

Directive number	Directive name	Transposition date	Date UK transposition completed
2001/047/EC	Placing plant protection products on the market	31 December 2001	25 February 2002
2001/048/EC	Fixing maximum levels of pesticide residues	28 February 02	25 February 2002
2001/049/EC	Placing plant protection products on the market	31 December 2001	25 February 2002
2001/057/EC	Fixing maximum levels of pesticide residues	28 February 2002	25 February 2002
2001/064/EC	Marketing of fodder plant seed and cereal seed	31 August 2001	5 March 2003
2001/080/EC	Limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants	27 November 2002	9 September 2003
2001/081/EC	National emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants	1 March 2002	10 January 2003
2001/082/EC	Community code relating to veterinary medicine products	27 November 2002	31 March 2003
2001/087/EC	Placing of plant protection products on the market to include acibenzolar-s-methyl cyclanilide, ferric phosphate, pymetrozine and pyraflufen-ethyl as active substances	31 March 2002	4 April 2002
2001/088/EC	Laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs	1 January 2003	23 October 2003
2001/089/EC	Community measures for the control of classical swine fever	31 October 2002	6 October 2003
2001/091/EC	Restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations (hexachloroethane)	31 December 2002	30 June 2003
2001/093/EC	Laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs	1 January 2003	23 October 2003

The data requested up to and including 1997 are provided in the table:

Period	Average number of GB cattle slaughtered per year 1	Percentage of GB national herd
1976–82	955	0.01
1982–88	786	0.01
1988–97	2,215	0.02
1TB reactors plus contacts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the EU legislation her Department has had responsibility for implementing since its inception; and what the (a) EU deadline for implementation and (b) date of final United Kingdom implementation were in each case. [148595]

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs plays a leading role in the UK's EU policy on the environment, agriculture, fisheries, animal and plant health. Between 8 June 2001 and 31 December 2003, 89 EU Directives, for which Defra has responsibility for implementation, were adopted.The table lists the directives adopted together with:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average income of (a) arable, (b) beef, (c) dairy, (d) poultry, (e) pig, (f) sheep and (g) mixed farmers was in Lancashire in the latest year for which figures are available. [149936]

The average net farm income for farms greater than eight ESUs in the county of Lancashire was £20,450 for the year ending February 2003. Due to lack of farm numbers in the source survey this can only be broken down into the following farm types:

	£000
Cattle and Sheep in the LFA	15,530
Dairy Farms	16,730
All other farm types	26,260

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers in the United Kingdom received subsidies with a value of (a) €0 to €5,000, (b) €5,000 to €50,000 and (c) more than €50,000 in (i) 2002–03, (ii) 2001–02, (iii) 2000–01 and (iv) 1999–2000. [144456]

The following figures represent payments made in the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) Year (16 October to 15 October).

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proceedings have been brought against shore-side dealers who handle black fish in each of the last 10 years. [150240]

Under the Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Control Measures) Order 2000 (SI 2000 No. 51) proceedings for the submission of false documentation, associated with the handling of black fish, may be taken against the representative (agent) of the master in respect of landing declarations, against the first seller of fish in respect of sales notes or the buyer of fish where the first marketing is not carried out by an auction centre or an authorised person or body and against the transporter of fish in respect of the transport documentation. There is a maximum of up to £50,000 for each offence committed on summary conviction.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) when the Environment Agency will publish maps showing the climate change zone in relation to the one in 100 year floodplain; [148282]

The Environment Agency's Flood Mapping Strategy of July 2003 outlines 2005 as the earliest date for delivery of the 'Flood Zones for year 2050' onto the National Flood and Coastal Defence Database. 'Flood Zones for year 2050' is a dataset to show planners the anticipated extent of a range of flood probabilities (including, for fluvial flooding, a zone showing the one per cent. or one in 100 year probability) in the year 2050, taking account of current guidance on climate change.The Environment Agency follows government policies and guidance for climate change; for floodplain, this is found in PPG25. The 'Flood Zones for year 2050' will incorporate the climate change guidance found in Appendix A of PPG25, namely an allowance for sea level rise and an increase in fluvial flows of 20 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the results of the work commissioned by the Environment Agency to model the impact of a one in 100 year plus 20 per cent. flood on the River Thames will be available. [148284]

I understand that the Environment Agency expect the final results from modelling the impact of various floods on the River Thames, including the one in 100 year plus 20 per cent. will be available by summer 2004.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps have been taken to encourage a consumer shift from cod to haddock; and what assessment she has made of the impact on the British fleet of such a shift; [150853](2) what assessment has been made of whether haddock is an acceptable retail alternative to cod; [150854](3) what plans she has to offer marketing assistance to fish wholesalers and retailers to encourage increased consumption of haddock by British consumers. [150857]

Decisions on which species of fish to buy are for consumers to take. However the Sea Fish Industry Authority undertakes work to promote seafood consumption, and, with Seafood Scotland, is beginning a consumer campaign for marketing haddock.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average income was for a hill farmer in Shrewsbury and Atcham in the last year. [151317]

Estimates of farm business income are obtainable from the Farm Business Survey, but results are not available at constituency level because the size of the sample is too small.Net farm income for full-time farms either wholly or mainly in the less favoured areas in the West Midlands Government Office Region in 2002–03, excluding farms involved in the compulsory FMD cull, was £12,000 per farm. This compares with a net farm income of £13,200 for the West Midlands Government Office Region as a whole and £16,600 for England.Net farm income is the return to the principal farmer and spouse for their manual and managerial labour and on the tenant-type capital of the business.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions have been initiated and are pending, by or on behalf of her Department against (a) contractors and (b) farmers, in respect of alleged fraudulent claims or other irregularities relating to (i) claims made for compensation, (ii) works undertaken on behalf of her Department, and (iii) animals slaughtered; how many court hearings have been completed; and how many of the prosecutions have been successful. [150555]

Since 2001, no prosecutions have been commenced in relation to fraudulent claims by contractors for compensation or works undertaken on behalf of the Department. Three prosecutions were commenced into fraudulent claims for compensation by farmers: one farmer pleaded guilty, two farmers were acquitted. There are no outstanding prosecutions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what value of payments remain unpaid to Welsh contractors employed during and following the foot and mouth disease outbreak. [151727]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare (Brian Cotter), on 6 January, Official Report, column 261W.The Department is in dispute with four Welsh contractors over charges arising, or which are claimed to have arisen, from the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak. As these matters are ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what value of compensation payments remain unpaid to Welsh farmers as a result of the foot and mouth disease outbreak, broken down by (a) constituency and (b) local authority area. [151728]

There are no compensation payments due to Welsh farmers that remain unpaid as a result of the foot and mouth outbreak.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many compensation payments, of what value, have been paid to Welsh farmers as a result of the foot and mouth disease outbreak, broken down by (a) constituency and (b) local authority area. [151729]

We cannot provide a breakdown of compensation payments by either constituency or local authority area. The compensation payments data is not held in that form.However, we can provide the following breakdown of compensation payments made to Welsh farmers by county.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the criteria are for interest payments to be made by her Department on outstanding foot and mouth disease claims; and if she will make a statement. [151839]

The criteria will vary on a case by case basis and will depend on such things as the precise contractual terms providing for interest; the construction of the contract; the terms and applicability of The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998; and the validity and timeliness or otherwise of the applications for payment received.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many outstanding claims for foot and mouth disease clean-up contracts remain to be processed by her Department; and what estimate has been made of the total liability. [151840]

As the Department has paid businesses on the basis of the contractual terms agreed it does not believe there are any valid unpaid and outstanding invoices submitted by businesses to the Department for work undertaken in connection with the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001.The Department is withholding £52.9 million from businesses in connection with charges arising from the provision of goods, services and works during the outbreak. In these cases, it believes on the basis of the quantum, accounting, technical and legal advice it has received that it was overcharged for goods, services and works during the outbreak. In all other cases, the Department has paid businesses for the goods, services and works provided in connection with the outbreak in 2001.As at 29 January 2004 the Department is in serious dispute with 22 contractors and five of these disputes are currently in the civil courts, with more expected to follow.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money has been spent (a) internally and (b) on outside assistance on the disputing and forensic analysis of invoices submitted by Northumberland and Durham Machinery Ring Ltd for foot and mouth disease clean-up contracts. [151841]

The Department has spent (a) £2,480 internally and (b) £336,357 excluding VAT externally on professional services in connection with the forensic examination of the Northumberland and Durham Machinery Ring account pertaining to the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001.This expenditure excludes the costs of the successful mediation on 20 January, which are the subject of standard confidentiality provisions agreed between the parties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements have been made by her Department with organisations or persons rewarded by payment of commission, percentage or other means for securing reductions in invoices submitted by contractors for foot and mouth disease clean-up contracts. [151842]

No such arrangements have been made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many invoices submitted for foot and mouth disease clean-up contracts have been paid in full by her Department without negotiation or dispute as to quantum. [151843]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare (Brian Cotter) on 6 January 2004, Official Report, columns 260–62W. The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost, as it would require a review of all applications for payment submitted over four financial years in connection with the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of the claims made for foot and mouth disease clean-up contracts which have been settled by her Department have been settled within the allocated time period. [151844]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare (Brian Cotter) on 6 January 2004, Official Report, columns 260–62W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many claims made for foot and mouth disease contracts submitted to her Department have been settled to date. [151845]

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare (Brian Cotter) on 6 January 2004, Official Report, columns 260–62W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many claims for foot and mouth disease clean-up contracts have yet to be settled by her Department. [151846]

The Department is withholding £52.9 million from businesses in connection with charges arising from the provision of goods, services and works during the outbreak. In these cases, it believes on the basis of the quantum, accounting, technical and legal advice it has received that it was overcharged for goods, services and works during the outbreak. In all other cases, the Department has paid businesses for the goods, services and works provided in connection with the outbreak in 2001.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many claims for foot and mouth disease clean-up contracts have been submitted to her Department since the outbreak of the disease. [151847]

The Department considers it has received 30 claims for foot and mouth disease clean-up contracts since the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money has been spent (a) internally and (b) on outside assistance on the disputing and forensic analysis of invoices submitted by businesses for foot and mouth disease clean-up contracts. [151848]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare (Brian Cotter), on 6 January 2004, Official Report, column 259W.Internal costs total £430,000 to date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much interest has been paid by her Department on outstanding claims for foot and mouth disease contracts; what estimate has been made of likely outstanding payments; and if she will make a statement. [151849]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare (Brian Cotter), on 6 January 2004, Official Report, columns 259–60W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of the claims made for foot and mouth disease clean-up contracts which have been settled by her Department with (a) companies and (b) individuals based in Somerset were settled within the allocated time period. [152001]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (Brian Cotter), on 6 January 2004, Official Report, column 261W.The Department is in dispute with one contractor in Somerset over charges arising, or which are claimed to have arisen, from the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak. As this matter is on-going, it would be inappropriate to comment further.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what influence trawl speed has on (a) species caught and (b) size of fish caught. [149125]

Trawl speed can influence the capture of different species, with faster swimmers requiring a faster towing speed, and the duration of tow may affect the size of fish caught, since larger fish may be able to swim for longer before they tire and fall back into the net.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on specialist sports colleges in (a) England and (b) the Pudsey constituency. [151931]

There are currently 228 specialist sports colleges in England, and a further 30 will join them from September 2004. The Government aims to establish 400 specialist sports colleges by September 2005, subject to sufficient high quality applications. Within Pudsey, Priesthorpe Secondary School became a specialist sports college in 2002.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the level of financial assistance provided by the Government to Millennium projects in Scotland, with particular reference to the Glasgow Science Centre. [151932]

The Millennium Commission, rather than the Government, has provided £209 million of National Lottery funding for Millennium projects in Scotland. £36.2 million has been awarded to the Glasgow Science Centre. The Glasgow Science Centre as also been funded by public bodies under the Scottish Executive, which is responsible for Science Centre policy within Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received from sports clubs about the impact of the Licensing Act 2003. [151933]

We have received representations from several hon. Members, the Central Council for Physical Recreation, small sports clubs and from individual members of small sports clubs. These representations relate mainly to the issue of the fee levels which we intend to set shortly for small sports clubs under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent studies her Department has conducted on the economic benefits to local communities of investment in arts facilities. [151935]

My Department has commissioned a review of the evidence of the economic, social and environmental impact of culture in regeneration. The findings will be published shortly, alongside a document consulting on proposals for maximising culture's impact on communities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made in merging the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund. [151936]

The New Opportunities Fund (NOF) and the Community Fund are working closely together already. A single Chief Executive has been appointed. Full merger will happen when the legislation is in place.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the sale of playing fields. [151938]

Planning guidance ensures that local authorities must fully consider the sporting needs of communities in decisions involving playing fields.But community need may better be addressed by developing other forms of sports facility. Planning applications involving playing fields in 2001–02 produced 447 new or refurbished sports facilities worth £274 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made on the London Olympics bid. [151939]

The first stage of the bid, the Applicant Questionnaire, was delivered to the International Olympic Committee on 15 January.The Government continues to work closely with the other stakeholders to develop the outline proposals in the Questionnaire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department is giving to the promotion of science and technology via museums. [151929]

We have increased revenue grant-in-aid to our sponsored science and technology museums by 23 per cent. in real terms to over £70 million per annum since 1997–98, including funding for free admission to their permanent collections. The number of visits to these museums has increased by 73 per cent. to 7.6 million.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the average cost of working days lost owing to labour disputes in the (a) public and (b) private sector in each year between 1995 and 2003; and if he will make a statement. [151832]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason the Office for National Statistics does not release (a) New Earnings Survey micro-data since 2000, (b) details of the sensitivity of regression results, (c) alternative estimates using Labour Force Survey data and (d) disaggregated Labour Force Survey data to researchers investigating area cost adjustment calculations; and if he will make a statement. [151128]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value was of the block grant allocation to the (a) Scottish Office and (b) Scottish Executive in each of the last 10 years; and what the projected figure is for the next two years in (a) cash and (b) constant terms. [151967]

Information on the block grant from the Scotland Office to the Scottish Executive and the Scotland Office's own spending is contained in the Scotland Office's Estimates and the Scotland Office Departmental Report (Cm 5927), and prior to devolution in the Scottish Office's Estimates. Information on the Scottish Departmental Expenditure Limit for the period 1998–99 to 2005–06 is contained in table 1.2 of the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses in nominal terms and in table 1.4 in real terms.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the loss to public funds was of gross administrative expenditure in central Government for (a) 1996–97 and (b)2003–04. [R] [145609]

[holding answer 5 January 2004]: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to him on 29 January 2004, Official Report, column 448W.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the last occasion was that a British citizen was charged under (a) section 42 of the Customs Consolidation Act 1876 and (b) section 170(2) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979; and what resulted from these charges. [151855]

Section 42 of the Customs Consolidation Act 1876 imposes a prohibition on the import of indecent and obscene articles. Section 170(2) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 creates the criminal offence of contravening this prohibition. The last occasion on which Customs charged a British Citizen under this legislation was 31 January 2003. This person was sentenced on 12 March 2003 to a three-year Community Rehabilitation Order and ordered to register as a sex offender for five years.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the outcome was of the ECOFIN Council held on 20 January; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement. [150137]

I attended ECOFIN on 20 January.The Irish Presidency presented its work programme. The focus of the first three months would be on the Lisbon economic reform agenda and enlargement for the final three months. I stressed the importance of the Lisbon Agenda, the need for ECOFIN Ministers to be fully engaged in the forthcoming debate on future financing of the EU and the importance of re-invigorating the EU/US economic relationship.The Council agreed opinions on the updated Stability and Convergence programmes for Denmark, Austria, Finland and Sweden.The Council discussed the Report of the Employment Task Force (Kok Report) on the basis of a note prepared by the Economic Policy Committee. The report set out that the EU was likely to miss the 2005 and 2010 Lisbon employment targets without immediate implementation of labour market reforms. I welcomed the report and its recommendations and stressed the onus was now on member states to demonstrate the political will to reform. The Presidency agreed concluding that follow-up to the Kok report was a priority for the spring Council.Following a French request, the Council again briefly discussed VAT reduced rates. There was no consensus and the Presidency concluded that the item would return to a future ECOFIN. The Council also discussed a French paper on raising minimum rates on tobacco tax. The Commission and Presidency agreed there was little prospect of agreeing further harmonisation of rates.The Commission reported to the Council on discussions with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) on proposed revisions to International Accounting Standards 32 and 39, relating to accounting for financial instruments. The Presidency welcomed the setting up of a High Level Group under IASB chairmanship to help find agreement on the outstanding issues.The location of the three Lamfalussy Committees of banking, insurance and securities supervisors was agreed at lunch. The Banking Committee will be located in London, the Insurance Committee in Frankfurt and the Securities Committee will remain in Paris.No votes were taken at the meeting.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been received from the sale of gold since 7 May 1999; how the receipts have been reinvested; and what the current market value of those reinvestments is. [152144]

The proceeds from the sale of part of the United Kingdom's gold holdings between 6 July 1999 and 6 March 2002 totalled approximately $3.5 billion. These proceeds were invested in interest-bearing foreign currency assets in broadly the same proportion as currently held in the net foreign currency reserves (40 per cent. dollars; 40 per cent. euros; 20 per cent. yen). The gold sales reduced risk by around 30 per cent. (as measured by value-at-risk) and are not expected to deliver a loss in return when measured over the medium to long-term, the appropriate time horizon for such a decision.The United Kingdom has been at the forefront internationally in promoting openness and transparency in reserves data. Details, including currency composition, are available from the Bank of England's website: www.bankofenqland.co.uk. The investment policy for the reserves is also outlined in the Exchange Equalisation Account Financial Accounts, most recently published on 1 December 2003 for financial year 2002–03. We do not provide market-sensitive information, however, about individual assets within the reserves portfolio.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the cost of United Kingdom military operations in Iraq. [151656]

Of the £3 billion set aside by the Chancellor in last year's Budget to cover the cost of operations in Iraq, £1 billion was drawn down in the spring Supplementary Estimate for 2002–03. The remaining £2 billion of this special reserve has been carried forward to 2003–04.In the recent PBR the Chancellor announced a further £500 million set aside for this financial year and a further £300 million for 2004–05 as a prudent allowance to cover Iraq and our continuing international commitment to the war on terrorism.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on value for money in public service agreements relating to the environment. [151682]

The latest Public Service Agreement (PSA) for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) was published in "2002 Spending Review—Public Service Agreements 2003–2006" (Cm 5571). DEFRA's PSA included a value for money target, focusing on a reduction in the unit cost of administering Common Agricultural Policy payments, and an increase in electronic service delivery capability. DEFRA published a report of performance against this target in its Autumn Performance Report in November 2003 (Cm 6017), and will update this further in the departmental report later this spring.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with (a) countries which have abolished tax stamp regimes for whisky and other spirits, (b) countries which, after consideration, decided against introducing tax stamps and (c) countries which have tax stamps regimes; and what the outcome of those discussions was. [151694]

Officials are in regular discussions with other countries on these matters. Tax stamps have been introduced in 40 different countries for a variety of reasons ranging from quality assurance to tackling fraud. Of eight European Union and accession countries where direct inquiries have been made, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic have no plans to withdraw their schemes. Greece have withdrawn their 'quality' marker stamp and Belgium decided after consideration not to introduce tax stamps. Additionally, we are aware that the USA withdrew their tax stamps in 1985 when the 1954 law governing marks on spirits was repealed. The variety of reasons for introduction and withdrawal of tax stamp schemes highlight that direct comparisons between different countries' excise regimes cannot be easily drawn.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on free trade of tax stamps. [151695]

Under formal European Union agreements (Council Directive 92/12/EEC) member states may require the use of tax stamps or other fiscal marks on products subject to excise duty. Any such scheme must ensure that the tax stamps do not create obstacles to the free movement of the products.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect he expects the electronic control of movements systems which will be in place in the EU by 2009 to have on tax stamp regimes. [151696]

The EU Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS) should be introduced by July 2009 and should reinforce the Government's strategy to tackle alcohol duty fraud. It will allow member states to monitor, in real time, the despatch and receipt of movements of alcohol, as well as tobacco and certain fuel products, between tax warehouses located in different member states. EMCS will be an improvement on the current paper-based system of Accompanying Administrative Documents. However, tax stamps are still likely to have a useful role to play in the detection of smuggled and diverted products after the full implementation of EMCS.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the balance of trade between Wales and (a) the rest of the United Kingdom, (b) the rest of the European Union and (c) the rest of the world was for each year since 1997. [151757]

Estimates of regional trade
£ million
Wales	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	January to September 2003
Exports to EU	4,171	4,284	4,493	4,884	4,788	4,691	3,422
Imports from EU	1,299	1,649	2,005	2,234	1,999	2,376	1,821
Exports to Rest of the World	1,593	1,521	1,819	2,288	2,311	1,928	1,909
Imports from Rest of the World	2,310	2,671	3,515	3,604	3,709	3,475	2,210

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total amount raised from VAT charged on goods imported into the United Kingdom was in each of the last three available financial years. [151723]

The amount of import VAT received in the last three financial years was:

	£ million
2000–01	17,001
2001‒02	16,194
2003–03	15,523

These figures include ex-warehouse VAT and are published in the Customs and Excise VAT Factsheet at www.uktradeinfo.com.Importers registered for VAT reclaim import VAT on their VAT returns.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has made to the European Commission with respect to their proposal that the "Made in Britain" identification be replaced by Made in Europe; and if she will make a statement. [150776]

No proposal has been made to abolish national trading marks and replace them by a European Union wide trademark. The European Commission has produced a discussion document setting out options in considering possible EU origin marking. The document does not suggest abolition of national markings such as "Made in Britain". The Government are currently finalising its response to the

Figure for trade in goods between Wales and the European Union, and for Wales and the rest of the world are shown in the following table:Commission having consulted interested parties in the UK, including business, trade unions, retailers and consumer organisations. At a meeting with EU Trade Ministers on 25 January I made it clear that British companies would want to retain the ability to say "Made in Britain" or use other current marks and was assured by Commissioner Pascal Lamy that there was no proposal to interfere with companies continuing to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will assess the impact of Business Link on company productivity. [152055]

Two studies of the impact of Business Link have concluded that it provides good value for money in terms of additional jobs, turnover, profits, assets, exports and productivity growth. The work will be updated this summer.An integral part of the new Business Link Performance Management Framework is the inclusion of a Gross Value Added measure. This enables Business Link Operators to quantify—in terms of wealth creation and productivity improvements—the impact of their support to businesses with whom they have built a more intensive relationship. Data will be available later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she intends to publish the competitiveness survey of UK call centres which her Department has commissioned. [151828]