To ask the Minister for Women if she will make a statement on how she intends to contribute to the creation of a Commission for Equality and Human Rights. [149753]

Establishing the Commission for Equality and Human Rights reflects this Government's commitment that equality matters to everyone—it is not a minority concern. The Commission will give greater support and joined-up advice to individuals, businesses and communities to crack down on discrimination and to promote equality and diversity.This afternoon I will be chairing the third meeting of the Taskforce that we have brought together to consider the priorities and role of the new Commission. It brings together people with experience, expertise and knowledge on equality and human rights issues.

To ask the Prime Minister when he will reply to the question tabled by the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West on 20 January, ref. 149941. [153090]

I replied to the hon. Member on 3 February 2004, Official Report, columns 757–58W.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library all correspondence between his press secretary and the Director General of the BBC relating to the lead-up to and conduct of the war in Iraq. [153012]

To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library correspondence from (a) himself and (b) other members of his office to the BBC relating to (i) the conduct of the war in Iraq and (ii) interviews with Dr. Kelly by BBC reporters. [152967]

I refer my hon. Friend and the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for West Derbyshire (Mr. McLoughlin) in the debate on Lord Hutton's Report on 4 February 2004, Official Report, column 768.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will establish an independent United Kingdom inquiry to investigate the intelligence which led the United Kingdom to take military action in Iraq in 2003; and if he will make a statement. [153930]

To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will take steps to establish a cross-party joint committee of both Houses to inquire into the foreign and domestic intelligence regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction; [153082](2) if he will establish an independent inquiry into the foreign and domestic intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. [153083]

I refer the hon. Member and my hon. Friend to the statement given by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on 3 February 2004, Official Report, columns 625–28.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make an announcement about the re-appointment of the right hon. Sir John MacDermott as Surveillance Commissioner under Part III of the Police Act 1997. [153773]

In accordance with Section 91 of the Police Act 1997, I have agreed to re-appoint Sir John MacDermott as Surveillance Commissioner for Northern Ireland with effect from 1 October 2003 to 30 September 2004. The remit of each Surveillance Commissioner covers the whole of the United Kingdom so that any Surveillance Commissioner can act in jurisdictions other than his own.The right hon. Sir John MacDermott has served as a Surveillance Commissioner since 1998.The Commissioners are appointed under the provisions of Part III of the Police Act 1997. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 extended the Commissioners' remit. Since the authorisation of intrusive surveillance operations forms a key component of the Government's response to serious and organised crime, I attach considerable importance to these appointments and I am delighted that Sir John has accepted his re-appointment. In conjunction with Sir Andrew Leggatt, their substantial judicial experience, particularly of the criminal justice system, will provide independent oversight of surveillance operations, which although operationally important, must also be subject to stringent safeguards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the business support schemes being operated by the Government. [148193]

All DTI funded business support schemes are being replaced with a small set of more strategically focussed products. Four of these new products (Small Firms Loan Guarantee, Grant for Research and Development, Grant for Investigating an Innovative Idea and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships) have been available since spring 2003. Further products will be made available from April this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who the members of the (a) Advisory Committee on Coal Research, (b) Energy Advisory Panel, (c) Measurement Advisory Committee, (d) Overseas Project Board and (e) London and South East Industrial Development Board were on 1 January; what their term of office is in each case; and what their remuneration is. [151299]

The Measurement Advisory Committee (MAC) consists of the following members. Members are not remunerated.

Members	Period of Appointment
Colin Gaskell—Chair	1 April 2002 to 31 March 2005
Penny Allisy-Roberts	1 July 2001 to 30 June 2004
Peter Bleasdale	1 May 2003 to 30 April 2006
Mike Buckley	18 March 2002 to 31 March 2005
Peter Cowley	18 March 2002 to 31 March 2005
Les Ebdon	1 July 2002 to 30 June 2005
David Ellix	18 March 2002 to 31 March 2005
Richard Freeman	1 May 2003 to 30 April 2006
Ken Grattan	18 March 2002 to 31 March 2005
David Holmwood	18 March 2002 to 31 March 2005
Alan Johnson	18 March 2002 to 31 March 2005
Roger Jones	18 March 2002 to 31 March 2005
John Latham	18 March 2002 to 31 March 2005
Steve Lower	18 March 2002 to 31 March 2005
Janet Townsend	1 May 2003 to 30 April 2006
John Tyrer	1 May 2003 to 30 April 2006

London and South East Industrial Development Board consists of the following members. Members are not remunerated.

Members	Period of appointment
John McCready—Chair	1 January 2003 to 31 December 2005
Thomas William Cohen	1 January 2002 to 31 December 2004
Peter Edwin Croucher	1 January 2002 to 31 December 2004
Praful Davda	1 February 2001 to 31 January 2004
Bryan Davies	1 June 2003 to 31 May 2006
Gurbrinder Gill	1 July 2003 to 30 June 2006
Jim Hicks	1 July 2003 to 30 June 2006
Wendy Hyde	1/08/2001 to 31 July 2004
Mei Sim Lai	1/08/2001 to 31 July 2004
Helen Sasson	1 January 2002 to 31 December 2004
Indeer Jeet Sodhi	1 July 2003 to 30 June 2006
Robert Stiles	2 January 2001 to 31 January 2004
Graeme Wyles	1 January 2003 to 31 December 2004

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 74W, on Regional Development Agencies, what the costs of the arrangements for each Regional Development Agency were in the last year for which figures are available. [152022]

I have been advised of the following answers by the individual Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).Many RDAs share the costs and management of overseas offices with partner organisations in order to maximise efficiency. Total annual outlay for each RDA in 2002–03 was:

	£
Advantage West Midlands	867,488
East of England Development Agency	329,500
East Midlands Development Agency	950,000
London Development Agency	50,000
One North East	969,045
North West Development Agency	698,000
South of England East Development Agency	910,000
South West Regional Development Agency	848,016
Yorkshire Forward1	11,196,000
1 2003–04 data

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many miles of new power lines will be needed in (a) Yorkshire and (b) other parts of England as a result of the planned development of wind farms; and what estimate she has made of the costs. [152450]

The plan for remodelling the transmission grid to accommodate new renewable energy generation is currently being prepared by National Grid Transco, Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern Electricity. They are upgrading the initial estimates prepared for, and published by, the Transmission Issues Working Group in June 2003. (a) There are no planned upgrades of the transmission system required in Yorkshire. (b) For the rest of England there will be a need to upgrade transmission lines but the final plans have not been presented. The costs of adding an additional 6 GW of wind energy in England were estimated at £605 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what evidence he has collated on the effect of airport expansion on foreign direct investment. [152846]

[holding answer 4 February 2004]: We recognise the importance of aviation to the economic prosperity of the United Kingdom. The effects of airport expansion on foreign direct investment were considered in the studies which led to the publication of our recent White Paper, 'The Future of Air Transport'.Our work suggested that net inflows of foreign direct investment in 1999 were estimated to be almost 50 per cent. of total investment in the UK, and that the strategy set out in the White Paper—including two additional runways in the South East and expansion in the regions—would meet 95 per cent. of foreign business demand. Although our economic appraisal of airport options focused on direct benefits for airport users, enabling more foreign business travellers to fly to and from the UK will only have a positive effect on foreign direct investment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people (a) were killed, (b) were seriously injured and (c) suffered less severe injuries on roads in Wales, broken down by (i) police force, (ii) constituency, (iii) safety camera partnership and (iv) local authority area, for each year since 1997. [151749]

I have been asked to reply.Since 1999, this is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales. Some of the information requested has been published by the Welsh Office and the Assembly in the annual series of "Road Accidents: Wales" publications, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many alcohol-related deaths there were in each year since 1980. [152822]

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 changes have been made to the Barnett Formula with regard to the updating of population statistics; and when he expects the Barnett Formula to equalise spending per head between England and Scotland. [151762]

The Barnett formula is updated periodically to take account of population estimates produced by the Office for National Statistics. As set out in the Statement of Funding Policy, the latest mid-year estimates are used; the ONS published mid-year estimates for 2002 in September 2003. Spending plans for Scotland were published in the "2002 Spending Review: New Public Spending Plans 2003–06" (Cm 5570, July 2002) and plans for the 2004 spending review period will be published later this year.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish for each year from 1998–99 to 2005–06 a table showing the levels of expenditure in England comparable to that expenditure in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales that is both within the assigned budget and within the scope of the Barnett formula, at the same level of programme detail as is provided in the analysis of 2002–03 provision in Annex C of the third edition of Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly: A Statement of Funding Policy. [152446]

The Barnett formula is used to determine increases in spending of the devolved Administrations, rather than the previous levels of spending in England or the devolved Administrations. Information on subprogrammes for earlier years was published in Annex C of the first and second editions of the Statement of Funding Policy in 1999 and 2000.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many and what proportion of claims for the child care tax credit have been subject to follow-up checks in each year since its introduction to establish whether the child or children are being cared for by (a) registered childminder, nursery, play scheme, or out of school club, (b) a child care scheme run on Crown property which does not need to be registered, (c) schools and other establishments exempt from registration, (d) providers of care for children aged eight years and over which is approved by specifically accredited organisations and (e) an approved home child care provider; and how many of those checks resulted in (i) investigations, (ii) penalties, (iii) prosecutions, (iv) convictions, (v) end of year overpayment recovery and (vi) cessation of the award; [152739](2) what assessment he has made of the level of fraud in the child care tax credit element of the working tax credit; [152740](3) how many allegations of non-compliant application for child care tax credit have been reported to

The child care tax credit was part of the working families and disabled person's tax credits (WFTC and DPTC), which were available between October 1999 and April 2003. It contributed to the cost of eligible child care for working families. It was replaced in April 2003 by the child care element of working tax credit (WTC).Applications for WFTC and DPTC could be investigated for a number of reasons, including where there were concerns about claims for the child care tax credit within the applications. However, this was only one component part of the award. An inquiry may involve more than one element of non-compliance, and it is not possible to say how many investigations related only to this particular aspect. However, the Inland Revenue successfully prosecuted and convicted 14 cases where child care was a consideration. Of these, six were solely concerning child care.For WTC, the Inland Revenue will be able to arrive at an error rate for the tax credit population when it is in a position to carry out a full random inquiry programme on a complete set of finalised awards for 2004–05.A dedicated telephone line was set up in February 2000 for child care providers as a result of consultation with the National Child Minders Association. This gave child care providers the opportunity to tell the Inland Revenue about any concerns regarding claims for child care costs. Up until 31 March 2003, over 2,100 allegations were received in respect of WFTC and DPTC.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will make a statement on the reasons for the decision to have two different initial payment values into Child Trust Funds; [152644](2) what assessment he has made of the likelihood of Child Trust Funds discouraging teenage children from saving through other means; [152645](3) what targets his Department has set to encourage

The objectives of the Child Trust Fund are to:

ensure that in future all children have a financial asset at the start of adult life to invest in their futures;

help people understand the benefits of saving and investing;

encourage parents and children to develop the savings habit and engage with financial institutions; and

build on financial education to help people make better financial choices throughout their lives.

All children will receive a Government endowment of £250 when their Child Trust Fund account is opened. Families on child tax credit, with an income below the threshold (currently £13,230) will receive an additional £250. The additional endowment for children in low income families will help give their Child Trust Fund accounts a good start and ensures that the Child Trust Fund is both a universal and progressive policy—helping to extend opportunity to all, while targeting support to those that are most in need. The Government have confirmed that there will be a further progressive payment at age seven. This structure provides a foundation on which the Government will build in future.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the total cost to the economy of economic inactivity. [152935]

The performance of the UK labour market over recent years has been strong by both international and historical standards. In 2002 the standardised inactivity rate for persons aged 15–64 was 23.4 per cent. for the United Kingdom, well below the EU average of 30.2 per cent.Sharp declines in the unemployment rate have boosted UK GDP growth, and a falling inactivity rate would increase labour supply and add further to the growth rate of the UK economy. That is why this Government attach priority to reducing the inactivity rate. In addition to helping the unemployed back to work, and increasing the skills of the lowest skilled workers, Government policies aim to encourage inactive people who are able to work back into the labour market.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the major causes of economic inactivity. [152936]

The Government have published an analysis of the extent and causes of inactivity and unemployment, and of the policies in place to address them, in "Full employment in every region" (HM Treasury/Department of Work and Pensions, December 2003).

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) men aged 64 and (b) women aged 59 are in paid employment; and if he will estimate the average earnings of each group. [153010]

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 amount has been recovered since 1994 in unpaid income tax and national insurance contributions from gangmasters operating in the agricultural sector. [152878]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk, East (Mr. Connarty) on 30 January 2004, Official Report, column 567W.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the levels of inward investment in Wales for each year since 1990, broken down by (a) source country and (b) destination by (i) constituency and (ii) local authority area. [151758]

I have been asked to reply.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the Financial Services Authority of regulating the United Kingdom spread-betting industry was in 2003–04. [152530]

In 2003–04 the Financial Services Authority (FSA) estimates that it charged fees of approximately £600,000 to the main firms for which spread-betting represents a large part of their regulated activities. More details are not available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regarding the effect of stamp duty land tax on leases on the licensing trade. [152609]

There have been no recent discussions with officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Meetings have been held previously with representatives of various parties with an interest in stamp duty land tax as applied to leases, including the licensing trade.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff of (a) the Inland Revenue and (b) its contractors have been allocated to work on tax credits for each year since their introduction. [145947]

The following table shows the number of staff (full-time equivalents) working in the tax credit office or in the Inland Revenue contact centres dealing with new tax credits.

Number of staff (full-time equivalents)
As at	TCO	TCO (NI)	NTC contact centres
1 October 1999	3,656	1—	—
1 April 2000	3,568	134	—
1 April 2001	3,455	163	—
1 April 2002	3,357	173	—

£000
Grants by area of activity	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
Audience Development/New Audiences	4,442	5,289	5,151	1,262	493
Collaborative Arts/Cross Artform	16,541	16,866	42,092	41,711	46,119
Dance	23,236	25,521	17,982	17,634	24,729
Drama/Theatre	27,165	29,987	29,947	30,289	71,670
Literature	1,551	1,707	1,498	1,469	3,408
Music1	43,348	47,790	29,924	29,911	48,549
Visual Arts	5,148	9,599	6,067	5,483	22,279
1 The figure for music includes Opera—a separate figure is not available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what elements of the new tax credits IT system will require systems testing before April; and when that systems testing will (a) commence and (b) conclude. [150533]

[holding answer 26 January 2004]: The new tax credits IT system will be upgraded in April 2004 to allow awards for 2003–04 to be finalised and awards for 2004–05 to be renewed. This will require both new software and changes to existing software. The first stage of IT testing started in September. Further stages of testing have subsequently followed and are planned to be completed for April.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what grants were paid by the Arts Council to arts organisations in the past five years, broken down by (a) opera, (b) dance, (c) theatre and (d) other art, and by company. [152324]

The following table supplied by Arts Council England provides a breakdown of their Grant-in-Aid funding by area of activity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the size of the UK's fishing fleet has changed in the last five years. [152863]

The number of UK fishing vessels has fallen by 13 per cent. since the beginning of 1999.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the status is of her Department's guide to public procurement. [152880]

The Department publishes a number of guidances on public procurement, and contributes to others that are available publicly.The Department has published extensive guidance on the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative—a strand of work arising from recommendations in the Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy.More guidance is in preparation. I am happy to write to my hon. Friend with details of where the guidance can be found.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultation she has had in the past six months with Essex county council over its waste management plan. [152881]

None. County Waste Management Plans are a matter for the relevant county. It is for them to decide, following consultation with local stakeholders, what options they include in line with the Waste Hierarchy and Best Practicable Environmental Option as set out in 'Waste Strategy 2000'.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to extend the Energy Efficiency Commitment in line with the commitments made in the Energy White Paper. [152883]

In the Energy White Paper the Government acknowledged the continued important role of the Energy Efficiency Commitment in meeting energy efficiency and carbon abatement targets in the domestic sector and made a commitment to publicly consult on an expansion of the EEC to run from 2005 to at least 2008, at possibly twice its current level of activity. We aim to launch the public consultation in spring this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to promote the wider use of sustainable and recycled materials in the construction industry. [152884]

The Government established a Sustainable Buildings Task Group in order to identify ways to improve the sustainability of our building stock. It is due to report to Ministers in the spring.Steps already taken range from economic instruments, such as the Landfill tax and the Aggregates Levy which encourage the recycling of waste, to the Waste and Resources Action Programme, to increase the use of secondary and recycled aggregate in the construction industry.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, what discussions she has held with the Scottish Executive about the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. [152885]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State remains in close and regular contact with Scottish Executive Ministers on this and other matters.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the regulation of sewage plants in relation to mosquito infestation. [152908]

The High Court ruled, on 23 May 2003, that odour from sewage works is within the scope of the statutory nuisance regime and that mosquito nuisance is not. Thames Water has appealed against that ruling. If the appeal is successful, further legislative change may be necessary. The Government are now waiting for a decision by the House of Lords.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Department for Transport on the environmental impact of transport. [152886]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, and other Defra Ministers have regular discussions with the Ministerial team in the Department for Transport on many matters, including the environmental impacts of transport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the levels of imports of poultry meat from (a) Thailand, (b) Pakistan, (c) Indonesia, (d) Vietnam and (e) other countries in South East Asia were in each of the last 24 months for which records are available. [151965]

[holding answer 30 January 2004]: The importation into the EU of poultry meat from third countries must be in accordance with European Community legislation. The exporting country must be approved to export to the EU, there must be agreed animal and public health conditions in place and the meat must be produced in EU approved establishments.The levels of imports of poultry meat from the following countries as follows:

Units: Tonnes
	Thailand	Indonesia	Hong Kong	Singapore
2001
November	2,639	—	—	—
December	2,936	—	—	—
2002
January	2,783	—	—	—
February	2,656	—	—	—
March	3,170	—	—	—
April	1,218	—	—	—
May	3,077	—	—	—
June	2,412	—	—	—
July	2,919	—	—	—
August	3,377	—	1	—
September	3,103	—	—	—
October	2,255	—	—	44
November	2,450	—	—	87
December	4,404	24	—	66
2003
January	4,593	—	—	107
February	4,194	—	—	88
March	4,099	—	—	69
April	2,142	—	—	86
May	3,010	—	—	—
June	3,267	—	—	17
July	3,472	—	—	—
August	4,281	—	—	34
September	2,818	—	—	57
October	4,772	—	—	106

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress she is making in the application of the Birds and Habitat Directives to the UK's offshore waters. [152882]

Consultation on draft Regulations to apply the Birds and Habitats Directives to the UK's offshore waters ended on 29 October 2003. Responses highlighted the complexity of transposing these Directives to the offshore area. We nevertheless hope to lay the Regulations in the summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list those individuals and organisations to whom (a) her Department, (b) its Executive Agencies and (c) the non-departmental public bodies for which her Department is responsible sent a copy of the consultations (i) sustainable farming and food: meeting the new data needs: a consultation document and (ii) consultation on the implementation of the dairy elements of the Common Agricultural Policy reform package; and from whom each received a response in each case. [152249]

The Consultation Document on new data needs for sustainable farming and food was published on the Defra and Office for National Statistics websites and widely circulated. Copies were also placed in the House Library. 36 responses were received from outside the Department. They have informed the National Statistics Strategic Review of Farming and Food Statistics, which is nearing completion. It is expected that a report of this review (together with the results from the consultation) will be published shortly.The consultation on the implementation of the dairy elements of the CAP reform package closed on 3 February. Details of responses received will be published shortly.A list of those who were sent a copy of these consultations has been placed in the Library of the House. Respondents are identified with an asterisk.In answer to Parts B and C of this question, this information is not held centrally and to do so would incur disproportionate costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will ensure that future measurements of emissions from crematoria will be monitored by independent organisations. [151303]

Crematoria are one of many categories of process regulated under the Local Air Pollution Control regime. It is normal practice for local authority regulators to include in LAPC authorisations conditions requiring monitoring of relevant emissions. It is open to operators to undertake such monitoring themselves or to contract out to external organisations. Local authorities may also commission their own compliance monitoring where they consider there is a case for doing so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many investigation officers are employed by her Department; and how many investigation officers were recruited in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003. [152382]

Defra currently employs 13 Investigation Officers, one Senior Investigation Officer and one Chief Investigation Officer.The number of Investigation Officers recruited in

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will set out the purpose and job description of an investigation officer. [152383]

Defra's Investigation Officers work in the Investigation Branch of the Legal Services Directorate General. The overall aim of the Branch is to provide the Department, its agencies, the National Assembly of Wales Agriculture Department and the Forestry Commission with a criminal investigation service of high professional and ethical standards delivered in a manner that is consistent with the law including the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.The key duties of an Investigation Officer involve detailed investigation into fraud and irregularities covering a wide range of subjects including animal welfare, cattle identification, tree felling, veterinary medicines, pesticides use and plant health. Officers undertake detailed investigations and prepare cases with a view to prosecution, by Defra's in-house team, where appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total annualised cost to public funds is of her Department's force of investigation officers in 2003–04. [152384]

Defra's Investigation Branch is forecast to spend £481,600 on pay and £103,500 on non-pay running costs in 2003–04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place in the Library a copy of (a) the July 2003 recruitment advertisement and (b) the required skills and qualifications for investigation officers. [152385]

Copies of the 2003 recruitment advertisement for Investigation Officers, and the accompanying information pack that contained details of the required skills and qualifications have been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for North-West Norfolk (Mr. Bellingham) of 8 January 2004, Official Report, column 391, on rural businesses (payment), if she will break down the £800 million of public money saved as a result of investigations into the validity of invoices submitted by foot and mouth contractors by main budget headings. [152699]

[holding answer 3 February 2004]: In his answer to the hon. Member for North-West Norfolk (Mr. Bellingham), on 8 January 2004, Official Report, column 391, my right hon. Friend the Minister for Rural Affairs and Environmental Quality made reference to "… about £800 million" and "… some £800 million" being saved for the public purse.The public money saved as a result of investigations into the validity of charges submitted by foot and mouth contractors is broken down into the following main budget headings:

	£ million
Cleansing and Disinfection	672.8
Logistics	47.
Claims Surveying	7.1
Value Recovery	4.0
Forensic Quantum and Accounting	48.8

The public money saved to date does not include the £52.9 million being withheld from businesses in connection with disputed charges arising from the provision of goods, services and works during the outbreak.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people employed in her Department have claimed statutory sick pay for (a) less than one week, (b) one to three weeks, (c) four to six weeks, (d) seven to 12 weeks, (e) 13 to 20 weeks and (f) 21 to 28 weeks in each year since 1997. [148632]

Defra only came into being in June 2001. Figures for the number of staff in the Department and its Agencies who received payment of Statutory Sick Pay in each of the following categories for calendar years 2002 and 2003 are as follows:

	2002	2003
Less than one week	1,963	1,859
1–3weeks	1,301	1,178
4–6weeks	327	287
7–12weeks	310	260
13–20weeks	343	215
31–28weeks	5	4

Figures for the part year June 2001–December 2001 are not available. The Department is committed to managing sickness absence effectively and meeting its targets for reduced sickness absence as set out in departmental plans.This response covers the core-Department and its Agencies, which comprise the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Pesticides Safety Directorate, Central Science Laboratory, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Rural Payments Agency and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 21 January 2004, Official Report, column 1251W, on Chechnya, what plans his Department has to make direct representations to the Chechen authorities regarding human rights conditions in Chechnya. [152347]

The respect of human rights in Chechnya is primarily the responsibility of the Russian Federal Government. Consequently UK Government representations have been, thus far, to the Federal Government. That said, we are currently considering appropriate representations to the local authorities in Chechnya regarding human rights. However, this is complicated by the fact that our diplomats in Moscow are precluded by security considerations from travelling to Chechnya.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence he has collated of Chechen involvement in (a) conflicts in (i) Afghanistan, (ii) Iraq and (iii) Kashmir and (b) terrorism against (iv) EU and (v) USA interests since 1 January 2001. [152575]

Some Chechen extremists had clear links to terrorists in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime. Chechen groups set up an "embassy" in Kabul in early 2001. Some Chechens fought with the Taliban and al-Qaeda against the Northern Alliance and subsequently against Coalition forces. We have no strong evidence of Chechen involvement in Iraq, although some media bulletins have reported Chechens in military action there. We have no evidence of Chechen involvement in the conflict in Kashmir.EU and US nationals have been kidnapped by Chechen militants. Arjan Erkel, a Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) worker and Dutch citizen, was kidnapped in Dagestan in August 2002 and remains in captivity to this day, and Kenneth Gluck, a MSF worker and US citizen, was held by militants for a short time in January 2001. A number of EU (including UK) and US nationals were taken hostage during the Dubrovka theatre siege in October 2002. One US, one Dutch, and one Austrian citizen died during the rescue attempt by Russian security forces.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of recent developments in the terrorist tactics employed by Colombia's revolutionary armed forces, with particular reference to urban terrorism. [148950]

We are concerned that some recent Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) attacks have been carried out in urban areas. FARC activity had hitherto been concentrated primarily in rural areas. We have taken account of these latest developments in our Travel Advice for British nationals visiting Colombia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in the study considering the feasibility of repopulating the atolls around the Diego Garcia; what representations the Government have made to the US authorities to allow some Illois to visit the islands around Diego Garcia; what steps the Government are taking to ensure that vessels chartered for such visits are made available; and if he will make a statement. [152540]

A study by independent experts into the feasibility of resettlement of the Chagos islands was commissioned in April 2000. The report on the first phase of the study was completed in June 2000 and the report on the second phase, which incorporated findings from the first, was completed in June 2002. Copies of these reports are in the Library of the House. The study concluded that short-term habitation for limited numbers would be possible but only on a subsistence basis while any long-term settlement would be precarious, and costly. No final decisions have been taken on any further phase of this feasibility study.We have twice put in hand preparations to arrange a visit by the Chagossians to the islands around Diego Garcia, but these fell through for reasons beyond our control. We remain in contact with the US authorities on the re-instatement of a visit once the situation permits and provided that suitable arrangements can be made, including the charter of a suitable vessel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any British companies bidding for reconstruction work in Iraq have been blacklisted under the United States Iran-Libya Sanctions Act 1996. [152089]

No sanctions have been imposed against any UK companies under the United States Iran-Libya Sanctions Act 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence has been found by the Iraq Survey Group of the destruction of the material and equipment dedicated to weapons of mass destruction listed under the clusters of unresolved disarmament issues published at pages 19 to 133 of his Department's White Paper 'Iraq: UN Documents', Cm 5785. [152316]

The Iraq Survey Group has found no clear evidence to support Iraqi claims that it unilaterally destroyed any such material or equipment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff in his Department in the last 12 months. [151567]

Over the last 12 months the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has had 33 passes lost and 12 passes reported as stolen.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place in the G8 ad hoc group on the disposition of surplus military nuclear materials on the forthcoming shipment to France from the United States of surplus weapons plutonium in France; and whether the United Kingdom has (a) been asked to and (b) offered to participate in this programme. [150831]

The forthcoming shipment was noted at the last G8 ad hoc group on plutonium disposition on 4 December 2003. As part of its commitment to co-operative threat reduction, the UK has committed £70 million towards multilateral efforts to secure the disposition of surplus weapons-grade plutonium in Russia. This follows a US-Russia agreement to each dispose of 34 tonnes of weapons-grade plutonium. The forthcoming shipment contributes to these efforts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what meetings the Minister of State for School Standards has held since 1 December 2003 with (a) the hon. Member for Cambridge (Mrs. Campbell) and (b) the opposition group leader on Cambridgeshire county council to discuss budgetary problems in Cambridgeshire schools. [150836]

I have met the hon. Member for Cambridge (Mrs. Campbell) and the opposition group leader on Cambridgeshire county council and separately the head of the council and his senior staff on one occasion since 1 December to discuss school funding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in each local education authority area received Excellence Challenge funding in the current financial year; and what the total funding made available in the current financial year under the programme was in each local education authority area. [145432]

The Excellence Challenge programme is now known as "Aimhigher". The answer is given in the table. The figures in column 3 include funding for schools, sixth form colleges and further education colleges within each LEA area.

LEA name	Number of schools receiving Aimhigher funding in 2003–04	Total Aimhigher allocation in 2003–04 (£)
City of London	0
Camden	10	470,001
Greenwich	14	560,000
Hackney	9	360,000
Hammersmith and Fulham	8	332,000
Islington	9	404,000