To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the most significant causes of mortality in the badger population in the UK are. [158019]

Post-weaning starvation accounts for 50–70 per cent. of cub deaths per year, and is the single biggest natural mortality factor among British badgers. Starvation, especially during exceptionally dry years, may also account for a significant proportion of the adult population. Over half of all deaths in the Central Science Laboratory's Woodchester Park study area are attributable to collisions with motor vehicles, and it has been estimated that at least 37,500 badgers, out of an estimated British population of about 350,000, are killed in road traffic accidents each year. Motor vehicles, therefore, are probably the greatest unnatural cause of badger mortality.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 8 December fff2003, Official Report, column 216W, on badgers, whether gassing of badger setts is permitted in the Republic of Ireland. [158086]

Gassing is not permitted in the Republic of Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment. Food and Rural Affairs what numerical targets for the reduction in incidence of TB in cattle have been set for the next 10 years. [157955]

This is a subject of our present consultation "Preparing for a new GB Strategy on Bovine Tuberculosis".

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what circumstances the Government would withdraw (a) wholly and (b) partly from intervention in the control of bovine TB. [157960]

Our thoughts on the rationale for Government intervention on the Control of bovine TB are set out in section 4.4 of the consultation document "Preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine tuberculosis" published on 9 February 2004.We are currently seeking the views of interested parties. Question 4 (page 28) specifically asks for views on the extent of Government intervention in the control of bovine TB.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the requirement for public support for wildlife management schemes in order to reduce the incidence of TB in cattle; and what measures she has considered in order to gain such support. [158012]

No such assessment is currently being made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) at what level TB in badgers creates a significant risk to public health through (a) direct and (b) indirect transmission; [158014](2) at what level the incidence of TB in badgers starts to pose a significant risk to human health through indirect transmission via companion animals. [159073]

The risk of direct transmission of bovine tuberculosis from badgers to humans is negligible. However, increased prevalence of TB in badgers would increase the potential for transmission of Mycobacterium bovis(the causative organism for bovine TB) to staff of Defra and its executive agencies who handle badger carcases. Full training is given to staff to minimise this risk.The potential risk of indirect transmission from badger to humans through cattle is also low. This is because of the measures already in place including widespread pasteurisation of milk and regular TB testing of cattle herds.There is no significant risk of companion animals contracting the disease from badgers. There are sporadic cases of cats contracting the disease in Great Britain. Most of these are thought to result from drinking unpasteurised milk, although there is anecdotal evidence of cats contracting the disease from wildlife.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what her definition is of a sustainable control policy for bovine TB; [158493](2) what factors constitute sustainability in the context of a 10-year vision for bovine TB[157950]

A sustainable control policy for bovine TB could be defined as one that takes into account and seeks to balance economic, social, environmental and public health considerations.How the interests of wider society and the principles of sustainability should be recognised in a 10-year vision for bovine TB is a subject of the current consultation on "Preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine tuberculosis".

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she holds on the existence in countries other than the United Kingdom of suitable accommodation for testing badgers in pursuit of development of a vaccine. [158632]

Such facilities exist in the Republic of Ireland to support the Irish badger TB vaccine programme. Defra's Veterinary Laboratories Agency has active research links with staff at the facility.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress is being made in the application of variable number tandem repeats in subdividing known TB spoligotypes; and what the epidemiological significance of this work is. [158662]

"M. bovis" isolates are now being typed by both spoligotyping and variable number tandem repeat techniques. The latter technique has successfully subdivided the most prevalent spoligotype in GB into at least 10 smaller groups. However, it has not divided other spoligotypes to such an extent. This further degree of differentiation, especially when it is found that there is geographical clustering of subgroups, will be useful in disease control by helping elucidate likely sources of infection.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment she has made of the badger culling study conducted in the Republic of Ireland; [158663](2) what information with relevance to determining policy options for the control of cattle TB in the UK she has obtained from the Republic of Ireland in relation to badger control trials; [159054](3) when she expects the results of the badger culling study conducted in the Republic of Ireland to be published. [159131]

The results from the Irish badger culling study have not yet been published, although I understand they are expected shortly. We will look closely at the results once published to establish what we can learn and apply to the situation in Great Britain.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the current state of progress of the TB99 survey is; and when she expects to publish results. [158665]

An analysis of the pre-Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak dataset is being finalised. An analysis of the 2002 dataset is on-going. Data from 2003 is still being collected (primarily outstanding control reports) and will be subject to analysis later in 2004. 2004 data is now being collected, concentrating on only three triplets within the Randomised Badger Culling Trial. A shorter, more focused epidemiological questionnaire is being prepared for use from 2005. The next report of the Independent Scientific group on Cattle TB will include some results from the analysis of the pre-FMD data and, possibly, the 2002 data.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost of (a) processing a successful Section 10 application under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and (b) supervising its execution was in the last period for which figures are available. [158666]

Defra staff who process and supervise licences record time to broad work areas. All time spent in connection with the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 by these staff is recorded under a single heading and the time input, which is required to calculate the costs you requested, cannot be accurately separated into processing and supervisory time. Furthermore, no distinction is made between time spent processing successful and unsuccessful applications.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the size of the infective dose of M. bovis to cattle affects the (a) incubation period and (b) the severity of the disease. [158674]

Experimental challenge work indicates that the size of M. bovis challenge affects the speed of disease development and the extent of pathology. It is likely that a similar relationship exists in natural infections.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what protocol has been adopted for the post mortem examination of reactor cattle for the purpose of detecting TB lesions. [158677]

Post mortem examination (PME) of reactor cattle is carried out in most cases by the Meat Hygiene Service on behalf of Defra and the Devolved Administrations. Occasionally, examinations are conducted by Veterinary Officers of the State Veterinary Service, depending on locally agreed arrangements.In any case, the protocols for PME of cattle in which TB is suspected are set out in Schedule 10, Part VIII of the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995 (as amended).Additionally, chapters 4 (Section 8) and 14 (Section F) of the Meat Hygiene Service Operations Manual contain instructions on sampling and reporting requirements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to her Department of the pre- and post-movement testing regime will be. [158679]

The proposal as set out in the consultation document 'Preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine TB' is for pre-movement testing of cattle moving from one and two year testing herds to other herds. The resource implications of this proposal will be estimated as part of the consultation process which will involve discussions with veterinary and farming interests and Local Government.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what provision she has made for farmers who wish to undertake pre-and post-movement testing who are unable to secure the services of a veterinary surgeon for that purpose within the time frame required. [158680]

It is too early in the consultation process to be able to determine whether or not this will be a problem. Detailed discussions will be held with the veterinary profession on resources.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the use of stop snares. [158685]

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects all wild birds and certain animals from killing and taking. Under Section 11 of the 1981 Act free running snares are permissible provided that the snare is not placed in such a way to allow injury to any animal listed on Schedule 6 of the 1981 Act, which includes badgers. Section 11(3) makes it an offence to set in position, or knowingly cause or permit to set in position, any snare which is of such a nature and so placed as to be calculated to cause bodily injury to any wild animal. The snare must also be inspected at least once every 24 hours, so as to avoid any animal held in the snare suffering unnecessarily through starvation or dehydration. All non-target species must be released from the snare.Stop snares are not prohibited by the 1981 Act.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is necessary to ensure that potential immigrant populations are free from TB infection before culling TB-infected badgers within a specific locality if such a cull is to have epidemiological value. [158715]

Such an approach would be of limited value as M. bovis is endemic in British badgers. It would also be impractical, given the limitations of current live diagnostic tests, and the likelihood that all relevant neighbouring badgers could not be tested.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated population was of (a) corncrakes, (b) woodlarks, (c) nightjars, (d) skylarks, (e) curlews, (f) snipe, (g) redshanks and (h) yellowhammers in Great Britain in 1990; and what the current estimate of the population is. [158011]

Curlew, snipe and redshank are amber-listed. All the rest are red-listed. Red list species are those that are Globally Threatened according to IUCN criteria; those whose population or range has declined rapidly in recent years; and those that have declined historically and not shown a substantial recent recovery. Amber list species are those with an unfavourable conservation status in Europe, those whose population or range has declined moderately in recent years; those whose population has declined historically but made a substantial recent recovery; rare breeders; and those with internationally important or localised populations. Species that fulfil none of the criteria are green-listed.The estimation of the various bird populations is given as follows.

	NCC 1990/1988–91 atlas1	Apep 22
Corncrake	575	589
Snipe	30,000	30,000
Curlew	35,500	No new national estimate available
Redshank	32,500	No new national estimate available
Nightjar	2,000	3,400
Woodlark	220	1,426–1,552
Skylark	2,000,000	1,700,000
Yellowhammer	1,200,000	790,000
1 Figures from Stroud, D. A., Pienkowski, M. W. and Mudge, G. P. (1990). "Protecting internationally important bird sites: a review of the network of EC Special Protection Areas in Great Britain". Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough. 230 pp except for skylark and yellowhammer which are taken from Gibbons, D. W., Reid, J. B. and Chapman, R. A. 1993. "The new atlas of breeding birds in Britain and Ireland: 1988–1991". T. and A. D. Poyser, London.
2 Figures from working draft of the Avian Population Estimates Panel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of pesticide use on the United Kingdom's bee population; and if she will make a statement. [161483]

Pesticides are approved on the basis that they will present minimal risk to non-target species, including bees.Any suspected pesticide poisonings of bees are investigated through Defra's Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WHS). This includes field inquiries, disease assessment of the bees submitted and residue analyses. Results are reported back to the regulatory authorities (the Pesticides Safety Directorate and the Health and Safety Executive) to inform the pesticide approval process.Annual reports of bee incidents are included in reports of the Environmental Panel of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides entitled "Pesticide Poisoning of animals; investigations of suspected incidents in the United Kingdom". Copies of the latest report of investigations in 2002 are available in the House Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British Transport Police officers are planned to be based in each British Transport Police force area for the period 2000–05. [162516]

The British Transport Police have not finalised detailed assumptions of manpower numbers at area level for 2000–05. However, BTP expect the proportional split of manpower to be broadly the same as in the current year shown in the table with the exception of London Underground Area which will expand by 100.

Area	2003–04
Force Headquarters	131
London North	295
London South	314
London Underground	537
North Eastern	201
North Western	258
Western	279
Scotland	207
On secondment	29
Total	2,251

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library an update on progress made since December 2002 on taking forward responses to new representations made by the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee on the blue badge scheme. [162586]

Work is in hand to take forward the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee's recommendations.Changes need to be made to primary and secondary legislation. further research needs to be carried out and revised guidance issued to local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 10 March 2004, Official Report, column 1488W, on rail compensation, if he will list (a) the compensation arrangements for delays and cancellations, of each train operation company's Passenger Charter and (b) the date when each of the franchises is due for renewal. [162013]

Passenger's Charters are available from individual train operating companies. The terms and conditions are based on the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. As a minimum, passengers travelling without a season ticket will be entitled to compensation to the value of 20 per cent. of the fare paid for the effective leg where the journey is delayed by more than an hour because of an operator's failure or infrastructure difficulties. Season ticket holders are compensated if performance over the period preceding renewal falls below the published standards.The following to table provides the expiry dates for each franchise:

	Expiry dates for each franchise
Anglia Railways	Ends April 2004
Arriva Trains Northern	Ends Autumn 2004
Arriva Trains Wales c2c	Ends May 2011
Central Trains	Ends April 2006
Chiltern	Ends December 2021
First Great Eastern	Ends April 2004
First Great Western	Ends February 2006
First North Western	Ends Autumn 2004
Gatwick Express	Ends May 2011
GNER	Ends April 2005
Island Line	February 2007
Merseyrail	July 2028
Midland Mainline	April 2008
Scot Rail	Renewal Planned in Autumn 2004
South Eastern Trains1	Planned to end in 2005
Silverlink	Ends October 2004
South Central	Ends December 2009
South West Trains	Ends February 2007
Thames Trains	Ends April 2006
Thameslink	Ends April 2006
TransPennine Express	Ends February 2012 2
Virgin Crosscountry	Ends March 2012
Virgin West Coast	Ends March 2012
WAGN: West Anglia	Ends April 2004
WAGN; Great Northern	April 2006
Wessex	April 2006
1 Operated for SRA under section 211 of the Transport Act 2000
2 With an option to extend for up to a further five years

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when railway bridge works at (a) Skew Bridge, Salisbury will be completed and (b) Broken Cross Bridge, Ford will be started. [162449]

The Highways Agency, who are doing the A36 Skew Bridge improvement, anticipate the completion date for works as being 'late summer 2004'.The anticipated start date for work on Broken Cross Bridge on the A338 near Ford is early May 2004. The works will comprise skid-resistant surfacing and some kerb realignment. The revised signing was undertaken shortly after the track incursion last November.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how much it cost to maintain Romford railway station in the last financial year for which figures are available; [162459]

The information is not held centrally. The day to day maintenance of railway stations is the responsibility of train operating companies whilst structural maintenance and improvements are the responsibility of Network Rail. No Government grants have been made to either Romford or Guidea Park stations.

To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission what recent steps have been taken to provide fire safety training for (a) hon. Member's, (b) their staff and (c) officials of the House; and if he will make a statement on current fire safety arrangements in place for (i) the Palace of Westminster and (ii) other buildings of the parliamentary estate. [161920]

Annual Fire safety training is available for all those who work on the parliamentary estate. This training is offered to Members and their staff but is compulsory for staff of the House. There is a rolling programme of training staff and contractors' personnel permanently employed on the estate. Since September 2003, 1,083 staff of the House have been trained. 72 of these have also been trained as evacuation marshals.Between June and November 2003 a total of 45 fire safety training sessions were available to Members and their staff; 284 Members and approximately 525 members of their staff were invited to attend. However, only one Member and 30 Members' staff actually took part.

£
Food Aid—World Food Programme	From 1 March 2004	1,000,000
Food Aid—World Food Programme	From 26 March 2003	1,000,000
Emergency Nutrition—Dutch Interchurch Aid	From 23 June 2003	550,000
International Committee of the Red Cross	From 15 March 2004	500,000
Emergency Nutrition—UNICEF	From 9 December 2003	500,000
Health and Nutrition—UNICEF	From 1 March 2003	500,000
International Committee of the Red Cross	From 1 March 2003	500,000
Catholic Fund for Overseas Development	From 21 May 2003	200,000

The conflict with Ethiopia is a contributory factor (poor rainfall being another) to fool insecurity that has made food aid and specialised health and nutritional Interventions necessary. The support to the ICRC is more specifically targeted on addressing the effects of conflict.We and others in the international community are continuing to make clear to both parties that the Boundary Commission's decision is final and binding. We are also urging the two parties to engage in dialogue on all the issues separating them. Only through normalising relations can a lasting peace be secured and

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what help the Department is giving to Eritrea, with particular reference to measures to overcome the effects of recent conflict. [162905]

Agreed UK contributions for Eritrea from the beginning of 2003 are:we therefore call on both Ethiopia and Eritrea to cooperate with the recently-appointed United Nations Special Envoy, Lloyd Axworthy.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make it his policy to raise with the international community the need to deal with the malaria problem in the Nzerekore region in Guinea, with particular reference to the Kouankan and other refugee camps; and if he will make a statement. [162194]

UNICEF is taking the lead on action on malaria in refugee camps in Guinea where, according to the UN, malaria is the second biggest cause of death amongst under-5's.The UNICEF emergency health programme includes provision of insecticide-impregnated bed nets and training in malaria control for 200 health workers. We have recently contributed £500,000 to UNICEF for its emergency health programme in Guinea.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations have been received regarding anti-competitive practices associated with the distribution of bounty bags to new mothers through NHS facilities; and if she will make a statement. [160982]

I have been asked to reply.No representations have been received regarding anticompetitive practices associated with the distribution of bounty packs to new mothers through National Health Service facilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the maximum liability to the public purse arising from BNFL's United States assets. [162368]

[holding answer 18 March 2004]: The performance of BNFL's US businesses has been detailed in successive BNFL Annual Reports. The department is now working with the company to minimise its exposure to further risks in the US clean-up market. Until that process is complete it would be premature to speculate on any residual liability that there might be.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the number of UK call centre employees working for employers who are using VAT grouping arrangements to avoid the ultimate client incurring irrecoverable VAT charges on call centre services. [161467]

My Department has made no estimate of the number of UK call centre employees working for employers who are using VAT grouping arrangements. VAT policy is a matter for Treasury Ministers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on defence knowledge transfer to civil manufacturing. [157714]

The Government is committed to assisting industry to maintain and increase its competitiveness for the wider economic benefits to this country. Transfer of defence knowledge to civil manufacturing is a key facet of this commitment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff are employed in the Department to work in the communications field, broken down by (a) Government Information and Communication service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others. [158162]

On 1 March 2004 there were 47 members of the Government Information and Communications Service (GICS) working in the DTI Strategy Unit's Communications Directorate. The figure includes 19 Press Officers. Other GICS staff worked in Marketing, Internal Communications, Strategic Communications and internet/new media teams.The Special Advisers' Code of Conduct sets out the sort of work a special adviser may undertake on behalf of their Minister, including communications activity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total expenditure on communications for her Department has been in 2003–04, broken down by expenditure on (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others. [158209]

The 2003–04 running costs of the DTI Strategy Unit's Communications Directorate is expected to be £2.9 million. The detailed information is not held in the form requested and could only be provided at disprortionate cost.The Special Advisers' Code of Conduct sets out the sort of work a special adviser may undertake on behalf of their Minister This includes communications activity. Details of the costs of Special Advisers are given on an annual basis. Information for the financial year 2003–04 will be published in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking encourage Government departments and agencies to offer fair trade products in their restaurants and cafeterias. [162082]

It is government policy to promote Fairtrade products, against the background of the need to obtain best value for money, the EC procurement rules and the Department's objectives. Within these guidelines the Department and its Agencies are committed to supporting ethical trading wherever possible.Since September 2002, I have ensured that Fairtrade tea and coffee are available throughout DTI HQ, and many of my Cabinet colleagues have done likewise. I am pleased to announce that Government departmental restaurants and cafeterias are continually adding to their range of Fairtrade products. In addition to Fairtrade coffee and tea, staff, visitors, and ministers can now enjoy Fairtrade cereal and chocolate bars, and Fairtrade hot chocolate, sweetened with Fairtrade sugar.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to encourage more companies to participate in fair trade practices. [162083]

The Government has worked hard to encourage companies to participate in fair trade practices. The Government, through DFID, has provided £0.5 million in support for UK development awareness and education campaigns centred around fair trade over the past two years. This includes £120,000 to the media campaigns of the Fairtrade Foundation to raise both business and consumer awareness of how fair trade benefits poor producers and to increase the exposure of products carrying the Fairtrade mark.Government support for fair trade is part of a wider programme designed to mainstream social responsible business practices in the corporate sector. The Government, through DfID, funds the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI); £1.3 million over the last three years. The ETI, an alliance of Trade Unions, NGOs and private companies, seeks to promote good practices in the implementation of labour related codes of conduct throughout the supply chain.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how long on average former miners (a) represented and (b) not represented by a trade union have waited for their respiratory claims to be resolved. [161339]

The Department does not hold these figures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will instruct Post Office Ltd. to publish a profile of the select teams of personnel involved in walking between each sub-post office proposed for closure in the Wakefield area plan and the named alternative branch indicating how many of the personnel were (a) wheelchair users, (b) physically disabled, (c) aged between 65 to 75 years, (d) aged between 75 to 85 years, (e) aged over 90 years and (f) wheeling pushchairs and accompanied by young children. [162383]

[holding answer 18 March 2004]: No. Post Office Ltd. personnel involved in drawing up closure proposals under the urban reinvention programme undertake a detailed on the ground study assessment of the accessibility of the alternative offices identified as the main receiving branches and their facilities for the disabled. This assessment includes the nature of the terrain between the branches, the distance of the journey on foot, including how busy the roads are, where there are pedestrian crossings, traffic lights or underpasses where these need to be crossed. Access by public transport, predominantly by bus, is also checked giving route numbers and distance of stops from the closing and receiving branches. Availability of parking is also checked. The offices in Wakefield scheduled to close have an alternative office within 0.5–0.6 miles accessible by bus.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she takes to monitor the factual accuracy of information upon which proposals to close sub-post offices are based; what steps have been taken to evaluate the factual accuracy of the Post Office area plan for Wakefield; and if she will make a statement. [162379]

[holding answer 18 March 2004]: The public consultation process enables any factual inaccuracies in the proposals to be identified and Postwatch closely monitors every individual closure proposal including factual accuracy of information from a consumer perspective.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment has been made of the change in the number of road journeys consequent on the proposal to close sub-post offices within the Wakefield metropolitan district; [162380](2) what assessment has been made of the health and social care implications of the proposal to close sub-post offices within the Wakefield metropolitan district; [162381](3) what steps were taken during the development of the Post Office area plan for Wakefield to assess the consequences of the plan for levels of road accidents and fatalities involving pedestrians. [162382]

[holding answers 18 March 2004]: These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to respond direct to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in how many cases Postwatch Scotland has lodged an objection to a proposed post office closure in the context of the Urban Reinvention Programme; and in how many cases Postwatch Scotland has withdrawn such an objection. [161459]

These are operational matters for Postwatch and I have asked the Chairman of Postwatch Scotland to respond direct to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) new and (b) safeguarded jobs are directly attributable to each regional development agency for each year since their inception. [157201]

When England's Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) were established in April 1999, they inherited eleven different programmes, each with their own budgets, objectives and output definitions. So the figures for the three years 1999–2000 to 2001–2002 were reported using a number of different definitions. The following table shows the total number of jobs directly attributable to RDA activity for each of the first three years since their inception. The figures are not split between new and safeguarded jobs.

	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Advantage West Midlands	25,305	12,792	8,587
East of England Development Agency	2,615	3,019	1,546
East Midlands Development Agency	10,092	11,243	9,321
London Development Agency 1	N/a	N/a	13,007
Northwest Development Agency	33,340	34,685	29,523
ONE North East	11,695	15,369	18,786
South East England Development Agency	8,310	16,476	3,063
South West of England Regional Development Agency	3,547	21,766	17,965
Yorkshire Forward	15,720	21,282	14,788

The basis for reporting outputs changed with the introduction of the Single Programme budget in April 2002, when a common targetry framework was introduced, together with a set of agreed outputs for each RDA and common output definitions. Target levels are set through the corporate planning process and each RDA has the flexibility to set targets within the common framework based on the priorities for its region. The following table shows the total number of jobs directly attributable to RDA activity in 2002–03 against the Corporate Plan targets. This information has been previously published -1 refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 7 July 2003. The figures are not split between new and safeguarded jobs.

	2002–2003 Target	2002–2003; Achievement
Advantage West midlands	13,626	13,416
East of England Development Agency	953	2,177
East Midlands Development Agency	5,150	2,940
London Development Agency	14,450	13,873
Northwest Development Agency	14,532	16,764
ONE North East	7,449	7,774
South East England Development Agency	2,066	3,107
South West of England Regional Development Agency	6,450	6,508
Yorkshire Forward	10,500	10,888

All of the above information is taken from each RDA's Annual Report and Accounts, which the eight RDAs outside London are required to produce, and are laid in Parliament. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House. The London Development Agency also produces an Annual Report and Accounts, which is not required to be laid in Parliament, but is available on the LDA's website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many regulations were (a) removed and (b) reformed pursuant to the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 in each year since 1994: and if she will make a statement. [160142]

52 Deregulation Orders were made under the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act between 1994 and 2001, when the Act was superseded by the Regulatory Reform Act. Each of the Orders made under the 1994 Act amended an individual Act of Parliament to remove regulatory burdens.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 3 March, Official Report, columns 963–64W, on business regulation, what the findings were of the 2002 Small Business Service research into the impact of the Climate Change Levy on small businesses; and what specific measures were introduced to reduce the regulatory burden for small businesses as a result. [161549]

The reports overall conclusion was as follows:

'In general the impact of the CCL of SMEs does not appear to be significant, compared with other general business concerns.'

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent on regulatory issues emanating from the EU in each year between 1997 and 2007; and how much full-time equivalent staff time in her Department was spent on EU regulations in each year.[161516]

The Department does not record the cost of or the number of staff required for negotiating and implementing regulatory issues emanating from Europe. The length of negotiation and implementation varies enormously from policy to policy and it would be hard to obtain a meaningful figure. Collating such figures would incur a disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what mechanisms are in place to ensure that electricity supply companies purporting to supply set percentages from renewable sources actually do so. [162370]

[holding answer 18 March 2004]: Licensed electricity suppliers are required to provide Ofgem with evidence of their compliance with the Renewables Obligation by a specified date after the end of each Obligation period.Ofgem implements a number of measures to assess the accuracy of the information received.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made of the ability of renewable energy sources to meet an increase in demand for electricity over the next decade. [161812]

All estimates of the ability of renewable sources to meet a part of future supply take account of predicted changes in future energy demand.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in joint working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the promotion of UK science, engineering and technology. [159007]

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesborough South and East Cleveland ( Dr. Kumar) on 20 November 2003, Official Report, column 1443W.Subsequently, my Department's Innovation Report has been published and I am confident that the measures we have set out in Chapter 7, 'Global Links', of the Report will lead to wider co-ordination on the international innovation agenda across Government which builds on the work already undertaken by the Chief Scientific Adviser's Committee (CSAIC) chaired by the Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir David King, and the International Science Technology Trade and Investment Committee (ISTTIC) chaired by the UKTI Chief Executive, Sir Stephen Brown.The report also identifies specific initiatives, such as 'Global Watch', which will be expanded to help raise the international competitiveness of UK industry and commerce.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will place a copy of the Small Business Survey 2003 in the Library. [161149]

A copy of the final report of the Small Business Survey 2003 will be placed in the Libraries of the House, when the report is published by the Small Business Service in summer 2004.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many proposed regulations have been aborted as a result of the Small Firms Impact Test; [161176](2) if she will list the proposed regulations which have been aborted as a result of the Small Firms Impact Test. [161513]

The Department does not keep records on the reasons for a policy proposal not proceeding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress is being made to resolve outstanding vibration white finger claims for compensation from former employees of British Coal who have suffered from pre-1975 exposure to vibratory tools and who were employed in a Group 3 occupation. [161065]

There have been lengthy discussions, between the Department and the Claimants Solicitors Group, in an attempt to resolve the areas of pre 1975 exposure to vibratory tools and the treatment of low levels of exposure (which falls below the level identified by the Court of Appeal as that which makes British Coal liable).Both the Department and the CSG accept that further discussions are unlikely to settle the issues and have invited the Court to rule on these areas. The court hearing has been listed for 15 and 16 April 2004.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional resources have been allocated to police forces to bring prosecutions for internet grooming under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. [162529]

The grooming offence in section 15 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 will enable the authorities to intervene before the sexual abuse of a child takes place.Between 2000–01 and 2004–05 the policing provision for England and Wales increased by £2.3 billion. While child protection is a priority within the National Policing Plan it is for the police themselves to decide how this additional money is allocated.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effects of a national identity card scheme on the problem of illegal working. [162530]

Identity cards will provide a clear indication of a person's identity and in the case of foreign nationals their entitlement to work. They will give the vast majority of legitimate employers a simpler and more reliable way of complying with the law. Cards will also make enforcement activity against unscrupulous employers more effective.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to support the gating of alleys to tackle anti-social behaviour. [162531]

On 5 March we launched "Operation Gate it"—a new fund to tackle anti-social behaviour in alleyways. This fund is in partnership with Groundwork UK and the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers. It will run from April this year to March 2006.Gating is just one of many solutions to these problems however and will not always be appropriate. So, through "Gate It", local communities will be able to bid for lighting/landscaping/CCTV funding— as well as gates.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.[162533]

Section 55 of the Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 prevents the National Asylum Support Service from providing support to applicants who do not apply for asylum as soon as reasonably practicable after their arrival in the UK. It is designed to tackle abuse of the asylum system and is one of a package of measures which has contributed to the substantial reduction in asylum claims.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will visit Canvey Island to discuss levels of street crime. [162534]

The Home Secretary has no immediate plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to tackle websites hosted outside the UK which contain child pornography and other images of abuse. [162536]

UK law enforcement agencies make every effort to take down sites hosting illegal images, prosecute those responsible, and disrupt supporting functions such as payment mechanisms.The Government continue to discuss these issues with our international partners, including during the Home Secretary's recent visit to the US.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants came to the UK from Eastern Europe in the last 12 months. [162538]

Estimates of total international migration produced by the Office for National Statistics are compiled from a range of survey and administrative sources. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is unable to provide reliable estimate of the immigration of Eastern European nationals to the UK for the latest year for which data are available (2002), as the low sample sizes in the main survey source (the International Passenger Survey) result in such an estimate being subject to a high degree of error. For the last three years, 2000–02, combined it is estimated that 49,900 Eastern European citizens migrated to the UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers, and from how many constabularies, have been trained at the police Nuclear. Chemical, Biological and Radiological Establishment at Winterbourne Gunner. [162540]

Over 5,000 UK police officers nationally have now received training in responding to a CBRN incident. The majority of these have been trained by the Police National CB RN Centre. The numbers of officers trained consist of police personnel from all UK police forces, including the Metropolitan Police who have their own training facility.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings he has had with Prison Service managers to discuss the situation in prisons. [162541]

As Minister for Correctional Services I meet with Prison Service managers on a very regular basis and discuss a wide range of issues relating to the situation in prisons

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers from Zimbabwe were refused asylum in the UK (a) in 2002–03 and (b) since April 2003; and how many failed asylum seekers have been deported to Zimbabwe in each period. [157437]

The following table shows the number of asylum applications and initial decisions for nationals of Zimbabwe (excluding dependants) in (a) 2002–03 and (b) for each month between April 2003 and December 2003, the latest period for which published data are available. Initial decisions do not necessarily relate to applications received in the same period.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed in the Department to work in the communications field, broken down by (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others. [158170]

The Home Office employs four Special Advisers. The Special Advisers' Code of Conduct sets out the sort of work a special adviser may undertake on behalf of their Minister. This includes communications activity.Details of other staff employed to work in the communications field are as follows:

	Government Information and Communication Service staff	Press Officers	Others
Communication Directorate	186	1	2167
Research, Development and Statistics Directorate	0	0	7
Total	86	1	174
1 Press Officers are also GICS members and have been included in the Government Information Communication Service staff figure. There is only one non-GICS member of staff on secondment to the Press Office.
2 Includes six staff employed in policy units and 76 in customer communications.

Details of the numbers of staff employed in the communication field in the wider Home Office are not held centrally and could not be collected without disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total expenditure on communications for the Department has been in 2003–04, broken down by expenditure on (a) Government Information and Communications Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers.(ii) special advisers and (iii) others. [158202]

Expenditure on communications in 2003–04 within the Home Office's Communication and Research, Development and Statistics Directorates is estimated as follows:

£
	Government Information and Communication Service staff	Press Officers	Other
Communication Directorate	3,427	25,000	14,031,000
Research Development and statistics Directorate	0	0	111,000
Total	3,427	25,000	4,142,000
1Included costs of six staff employed in policy units and 76 in customer communications.

Details of expenditure on communications beyond these two directorates are not held centrally and could not be collected with out disproportionate cost.The Home Office employs four Special Advisers. Details of the costs of Special Advisers are given on an annual basis. Information for the financial year 20003–04 will be published in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints his Department has received about the operation of the Youth Justice Board since its inception. [158840]

I am not aware of any complaints having been received about the operation of the Youth Justice Board since its inception.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has a chief scientific adviser. [162476]

Professor Paul Wiles was appointed Home Office Chief Scientific Adviser in November 2002 and reports directly to the Permanent Secretary.The key functions, of the Chief Scientific Officer are:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what his Department's policy is on the provision of drinking water in HM young offenders institutions for (a) staff and (b) inmates; and if he will make a statement; [161354](2) what his Department's policy is on the provision of drinking water in HM Prisons for

All prison establishments have facilities to provide drinking water from the mains supply. Although access points may vary in establishments, drinking water is generally available in accommodation wings and other prisoner areas such as healthcare, gym, workshops and visits. Staff working in these areas would also have access to drinking water as well as having provision in staff areas such as messes and changing areas.Policy on access to drinking water facilities and the provision of additional facilities (for example water coolers for staff) is a matter for individual governing governors.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he will publish the consultation paper for the Home Office Review of firearms legislation; [161761](2) what the purpose is of his Department's review of firearms legislation; [161762](3) how long will be allowed for the consultation on his Department's review of firearms legislation; [161763](4) what representations he has received regarding the current law on firearms in the last three months; [161764](5) which stakeholder organisations he plans to meet to discuss the review of firearms legislation; [161768](6) what discussions he has had with the police regarding the Department's review of firearms legislation; [161769](7) what principles guide the Home Office's relations with stakeholders with regard to firearms legislation; [161771](8) with which organisations he has discussed the Home Office review of firearms legislation. [161772]

We will be publishing a consultation paper shortly as the first step in a comprehensive review of our firearms controls to ensure they meet current needs and reduce the risk of guns getting into the wrong hands. We believe that any system of regulation must be robust, efficient and effective but should not place unnecessary burdens on those who administer and enforce the law or who possess guns for reasons allowed by the law.In drawing up the consultation paper there have been no formal discussions with interested parties although it will seek to reflect a range of issues which have been raised in the past by representative bodies and in public correspondence. We are interested in receiving views from everybody with an interest in the future regulation of firearms and want an open debate of the issues. A period of three months will be allowed for responses.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the penalties for (a) possession and (b) use of heroin. [162180]

There are no current plans to amend the penalties for the possession of heroin. While the possession of heroin is a criminal offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, use or consumption of the drug is not.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to prevent people falsely claiming to be students for immigration purposes from entering the UK. [162532]

Overseas nationals seeking to enter the UK must prove that they meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules as students. Visa officers and immigration officers are supported in making decisions by intelligence networks. In particular, a joint initiative between the home office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office/UK visas has seen special risk assessment units set up to increase our ability to identify and tackle all forms of visa abuse at key British Embassies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to combat fraud on the internet. [162537]

The Home Office works with the police and industry to tackle fraud and other online crime.In January we launched a website to combat fraud over the internet and last October, together with the British Bankers' Association and the Association of Payment and Card Services we issued advice to customers on how to avoid falling victim to online fraudsters.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to his Department of using management consultants has been in each of the last five years. [148024]

The available information held by the Home Office on the cost of using external consultants in each of the financial years; 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03 is as follows:

£
Financial year	Cost of using external consultants
1998–99	4,588,445
1999–2000	10,302,672
2000–01	27,877,286
2001–02	21,147,058
2002–03	n/a

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the timetable is for the establishment of the National Offender Management Service. [162535]

An implementation team has been established and preparations for a detailed programme of work is under way.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether HM Chief Inspector of Prisons has the authority to carry out inspections of police cells when they are being used to hold prisoners under Operation Safeguard. [160698]

Operation Safeguard is currently not active. Any prisoner held in police cells is held under the 1980 Imprisonment (Temporary Provisions) Act. In line with this act, prisoners held in police cells are in the custody of the Chief Police Officer of the region and not subject to prison rules or the Prison Act 1952. The Chief Police Officer will therefore be responsible for the welfare of any prisoners. The Chief Inspector of Prisons could, however, at the invitation of the Chief Police Officer concerned attend at a police station and comment on the conditions in which such prisoners are kept and their treatment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) women and (b) men were being held in prison on 11 March; how many prisoners were released on early release on 11 March; how many prisoners were eligible for early release on 11 March; and how many prisoners were released on 11 March. [161821]

[holding answer 16 March 2004]: On 11 March 2004 there were 4,555 females and 70,414 males being held in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales.Information on the number of prisoners who were released on early release, the number of prisoners who were eligible for early release and the number of prisoners who were released on 11 March 2004 is not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders undergoing Probation Service aecredited programmes (a) breached the programme and (b) were sentenced to custody as a consequence of a breach in each of the last two financial years. [155054]

During 2001–02 a total of 3,962 offenders undergoing accredited programmes failed to complete, of which 1,425 (36 per cent.) were because of breach. As a percentage of those dropouts recorded in 2002–03, breaches accounted for 37 per cent.Offenders may not have completed their programme due to failure to complete other aspects of supervision, not necessarily due to failure to complete the programme itself.Data on the exact number of offenders undergoing National Probation Service accredited programmes who were sentenced to custody as a consequence of a breach is unavailable. At present we only monitor outcomes by sentence and not content. The introduction of Interim Accredited Programme Software later this year will facilitate to the monitoring of sentence by outcomes.The number of offenders who were sentenced to immediate custody for breaches of community sentences in 2001 was 8,094. In 2002 the number was 9,071.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people are employed by his Department's Research and Statistics Directorate; and how many employees there were in each year since 1997; [161787](2) how many research projects have been undertaken by

The Research, Development and Statistics Directorate (RDS) is the main Home Office resource to support performance measurement and delivery of social research and analysis essential to building the evidence base for policy development. The available information on staffing and projects undertaken by RDS are shown in the tables.During the period 1997 to 2004, RDS has evolved and created new teams. This has been in response to the need to meet demands for faster collection and analysis of more comprehensive performance data as well as to carry out more timely and targeted research, particularly in the areas of crime reduction, drugs and alcohol, immigration and communities research as well as enhancing the capacity for economic analysis and modelling.Some of the projects identified will carry forward into two or more years and are included in the figures for both years. Projects undertaken by RDS can vary in size, complexity and scope. In addition to this RDS responds to regular ad-hoc requests for R and D advice from both within the Home Office and from external organisations.

Table 1: Staff compliment for the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate—1997–98 to 2003–04
	Number of staff RDS compliment
1997–8	260
1998–9	260
1999–20001	280
2000–012	360
2001–023	375
2002–034	435
2003–04	445
Current	422 in post
1 The 1999–2000 figures reflect re-structuring of Social Research within the Home Office; the Police Research Group (40 staff) joined together with the Research and Statistics Directorate to form the new Research, Development and Statistics Directorate (RDS). At the same time, 15 staff from Co-ordinating Computing in Criminal Justice System moved out of RDS.
2 The 2000–01 figure includes a new team that was set up to support evaluation of the crime reduction programme. There was also a new programme to expand the evidence base for Immigration research and voluntary/community research.
3In 2001–02 the Machinery of Government changes resulted in the movement of Fire Statistics to Department of Environment, Transport and Regions (now Office of the Deputy Prime Minister).
4 The 2002–03 figure reflects the establishment of a new team to support research into drugs and alcohol research, in particular supporting the development of the Drugs Strategy and further development of the Immigration Research programme and in the capacity for economic analysis.

All totals are based on the RDS complement and are full-time equivalents.

Table 2: Number of Research Projects undertaken by (a) in-house researches and (b) through external contractors in the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate 1998–99–2003–04
	In-house research projects	Externally contracted research projects
1998–99	156	145
1999–2000	1120	165
2000–01	1106	2137
2001–02	1108	2283
2002–03	1171	2294
2003–04	1212	2222
1The figures for these years based on a manual count of projects in the Research Development and Statistics Directorate (RDS) business plan.
2The figures are based on a central record of RDS external contracts

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he will ensure that victims' views are taken into account by the criminal justice system when he sets sentencing guidelines. [162517]

The Criminal Justice Act 2003 established the Sentencing Guidelines Council to provide sentencing guidelines for all courts. The Council includes four non-judicial members, one of whom must have experience of "the promotion of the welfare of the victims of crime". Teresa Reynolds from Victim Support has been appointed to fulfil this role.The victim Personal Statement scheme, introduced in October 2001, provided victims with the opportunity to explain the full extent of the consideration to the contents of the statement when sentencing an offender, although the opinion of the victim as to the specific sentence will not be taken into account.In cases where the offender is given a life sentence for murder, the family of the victim have the opportunity to make personal statements, which should be taken into account by the courts when setting the minimum term to be served.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on how decisions are taken to allocate those accused of sex offences to the bail hostel in Peterborough. [162539]

In common with all 100 approved probation and bail hostels, Peterborough Approved Premises accepts a range of residents, including those on bail or convicted of sexual offences. The decision to admit anyone to an approved premises is only taken after careful consideration of the risks. This includes the risk to the local community. if any of the risk is assessed as too high then no place is offered. Even if a place is offered by the approved premises, this decision then has to be endorsed by the court, a prison governor or the Parole Board.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of young offenders has been diagnosed as suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the last five years. [157478]

We do not have this information at national level but a number of steps are being taken to understand and provide access to treatment for this condition. Research on prevalence and effective practice is being conducted at six sites: youth offending teams have health workers who assess and make referrals, with the support of a specialist mental health screening tool; the Youth Justice Board has issued guidance on mental health practice and is developing training for Youth Offending Teams. The Youth Justice Board, Department of Health and Prison Service are working jointly on improving access to health services within the youth justice system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research his Department has carried out on the health effects of anti-anthrax vaccines given to military personnel and medical auxiliaries involved in (a) Operation Granby in the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991 and (b) Operation Telic in Iraq in 2003. [160856]

No research has been carried out specifically on the possible adverse health effects of the anthrax vaccine given to personnel involved in Operation Granby or Operation Telic.However, the results of a research project on the safety of the anthrax vaccine in randomly selected military personnel due to he deployed on Operation Bolton were published in the journal. "Vaccine", in 2003 (Vaccine vol.21 2003 pp 1348–13 54). The study was funded by the Ministry of Defence, but the MOD had no editorial input into its conduct, methodology, or findings. No serious side effects were observed, and the study concluded that the modest incidence of side effects supported the stance that the anthrax vaccination is safe.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will introduce a medal for those servicemen who served on the Arctic convoys to Russia during the Second World War. [162159]

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 1 March 2004, Official Report, columns 595–96. to my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of the Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle; and when he expects this vehicle to enter service. [160809]

No decisions have yet been made on the numbers and types of vehicles required for the Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle role, nor have final decisions been taken on the procurement route to be adopted. Consequently, overall programme costs are not certain at this time. The in-service date for this project will not be set until the programme passes its main gate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on the procurement of the Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle; and when he expects to make a decision on the awarding of the contract. [160810]

A preliminary assessment has been made of the options to meet the Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle requirement, including the feasibility of converting surplus Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicles to this role. There are no plans for early contract award.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role of the proposed Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle will be. [160812]

It is planned that Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle (ABSV) will be employed as a support vehicle within armoured battlegroups, where its use alongside Warrior and Challenger 2 will improve the coherence of, and ease support to, those fighting units. Potential roles for the ABSV include armoured personnel carrier, ambulance, and command vehicles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effect the proposed future rapid effects system has had on the future requirement for the Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle. [160813]