To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many instances of gold plating have been brought to the attention of the Cabinet Office Regulatory Impact Unit, with particular reference to the Cabinet Office Transposition Guide, 2003, page 17 [168646]

The Government's policy is to transpose Directives so as to achieve the objects of the European measure, on time and in accordance with other UK policy goals, including minimising the burden on business. It is Government policy not to over-implement ("gold-plate") directives unless there are exceptional reasons for doing so.The Regulatory Impact Unit has regular discussions with departments concerning policy development, including, on occasion, possible over-implementation. Records of the number of times such discussions have taken place are not available. Since November 2001, Transposition Notes have normally accompanied all legislation laid before Parliament that transposes any European directive. These show how all the main elements of the directive have been or will be transposed into UK law.In accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines, Departments discuss with the Regulatory Impact Unit the range of options that might be included in regulatory impact assessments. These include options that could go beyond the minimum necessary to comply with a European directive, bearing in mind that, particularly where the original directive is unclear, it is not always straightforward to know in advance whether a proposed method of implementation might represent over-or under-implementation.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what sum has been expended on consultants by (a) the Department and (b) its predecessors since May 1997. [169848]

From April 1997 until March 2003, my Department's net expenditure with consultants was as follows:

£million
1997–98	0.7
1998–99	1.2
1999–2000	1.9
2000–01	2.6
2001–02	6.5
2002–03	5.7

The recent increase reflects the wide-ranging and fast-paced programme to modernise the Department's work, to increase efficiency, and provide better customer service and value for money for the taxpayer.Delivering such a programme in the most effective and efficient way has necessitated the use of external expertise and skills to supplement the Department's own resources.Expenditure details for the financial year 2003–04 are not yet available.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Immigration Appeals Authority has received from the Home Office the papers relating to the case of Mr. S. M., husband of Mrs. S. K. of Aylesbury (GV100/86120; decision maker's reference: 643686; Gerrys/Fedex no: 90083389; appeal reference: 90063159); and if he will make a statement. [167245]

The Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) took receipt of the appeal papers of Mr. S. M. on the 14 April 2004. The appeal has been listed by the IAA for a substantive hearing before an Immigration Adjudicator on 3 June 2004. Notice to this effect was promulgated to the relevant parties to the appeal on 19 April 2004.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will set a time limit on the maximum length of time between an appeal against the withdrawal of United Kingdom nationality being lodged with the Special Immigration Appeals Commission and the appeal being heard. [169811]

It is important that appeals before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) are dealt with quickly and efficiently and the Government are keeping the position under very close review. But there are risks to setting rigid time limits that stipulate appeals must be heard within a defined period. The complexities of a case, and the need to ensure that SIAC has the full facts at its disposal, mean there are always instances where it would not be possible. We are committed to decide each appeal on its individual merits and give that appeal the necessary time for a fair decision to be given.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what action he proposes to take to reduce delays in hearings before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission in cases of appeals against withdrawal of UK nationality; and if he will make a statement. [169813]

The administrative processes for appeals against Deprivation of Citizenship proceedings are subject to on-going review to ensure compatibility with both the public interest and the independence of the judicial process.Interlocutory decisions in relation to individual proceedings are the preserve of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will name all hon. Members who, since 1 August 2003, have been sent a standard departmental reply concerning the 1911 Census returns in which the Department has advised them that the period of closure in Great Britain is normally 100 years; and if he will list the decennial population Census for (a) England and Wales, (b) Scotland and >(c) the whole of Ireland which have been released after less than 100 years of closure to public inspection. [167310]

Between 1 August 2003 and 31 March 2004 the following hon. Members have received letters explaining why the 1911 Census returns for England and Wales are subject to a closure period of 100 years:

Andrew Smith, John Baron, Ann Winterton, Andrew MacKay, Judy Mallaber, Paul Burstow, Claire Ward, Nick Hawkins, Kevin Barron, Steven Webb, Andrew Tyrie, Sandra Gidley, Gerald Kaufman, Andrew Rosindell, Joe Benton, Nick Harvey, Mark Oaten, Helen Jackson, Robert Jackson, Andrew Murrison, John Grogan, David Borrow, David Taylor, Doug Naysmith, Roger Williams, Richard Ottaway, Alan Howarth, Philip Sawford, Vernon Coaker, Tim Yeo, Patricia Hewitt, Stephen Pound, Michael Mates, Michael Portillo, Jeff Ennis, Robert Key, Michael Wills, Siobhain McDonagh, Nick Gibb, Martin Caton, Ian Taylor, James Arbuthnot, Norman Lamb, Candy Atherton, Nicholas Winterton, John Hutton, Kenneth Clarke, Tim Loughton, Linda Gilroy, Hilary Benn, Michael Foster, David Drew, George Young, Paul Truswell, John Randall, Ian Stewart, Teddy Taylor, Wayne David, Ashok Kumar, Richard Burden, Andrew Turner, Mike O'Brien, Andrew Miller, Hazel Blears, John Horam, Edward Leigh, David Blunkett, Gwyneth Dunwoody, David Lidington, William Cash, Jim Cunningham, Robert Ainsworth, Shona McIsaac, John Taylor, David Winnick, Michael Wills, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Gregory Campbell, Martin Salter, Andrew Hunter, and Paul Clark.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her answer of 31 March 2004, Official Report, column 1454W, on BBC (commercial advertising), how much the BBC spent in each of the last five years on (a) billboard advertising and (b) other commercial advertising. [168817]

[holding answer 26 April 2004]: The cost of promoting BBC services is a matter for the BBC. However, the figures show the BBC's media spend over the last five years.The BBC's total bought media spend for the last five years has been as follows:

	£ million	Of which: billboard advertising
2000	8.6	negligible
2001	9.6	negligible
2002	14.7	10.85
2003	13.8	11.7
2004	112.0	111.5
1Estimate

I understand that the BBC made a significant change to its strategy in 2002 by developing a permanent holding of poster sites and switching much of its spending from other media, such as Press.The BBC's spend has also of course risen significantly since 2002 in order to support the launches of its new digital TV and radio services and to promote digital take up in accordance with its commitments to the Secretary of State.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 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. [158208]

The total expenditure on communications in my Department in 2003–04 was £927,744. This figure includes staff costs for the Group Head, the Press Office, the Promotions and Publicity Unit and administrative support staff. A break down of this figure between competencies, or by membership of the Government Information and Communication Service could be provided only at disproportionate cost.The totals, do not include costs for special advisers, figures for which are given on an annual basis. Information for the year 2003–04 will be published in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff were employed in the Department to work in the communications field, and what the total expenditure on communications for the Department was, 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, in (a) 1994–95 (b) 1996–97, (c) 1997–98 and (D) 2001–02. [168683]

The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many press officers were employed in her Department in each year from 1990–91 to 2003–04; what the total cost was in each year; and if she will make a statement. [162854]

Numbers of press officers employed in each year from 1992–93 when the Department came into existence are as follows. Total cost for each year is available only for 2002–03 and 2003–04 as the information requested for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

	Number	Total cost (£)
1992–93	7	—
1993–94	7	—
1994–95	7	—
1995–96	7	—
1996–97	7	—
1997–98	7	—
1998–99	9	—
1999–2000	8	—
2000–01	9	—
2001–02	8	—
2002–03	9	459,952
2003–04	10	552,677

To ask the Secretary of Slate for Defence if he will list for each civil service grade within his (a) Department and (b) Department's executive agencies, the total number of staff employed, broken down by (i) gender, (ii) ethnic group and (iii) age group; and how many are registered disabled. [166394]

Information on Ministry of Defence civilian staff is given in United Kingdom Defence Statistics 2003 a copy of which is available in the House

Number of civilian staff in Ministry of Defence by age and grade (excludes trading funds and agencies): As at 1 March 2004
Grade	16–24	25–29	30–34	35–39	40–44	45–49
SCS	—	—	—	10	20	40
Band B	—	20	70	180	220	300
Band C	60	360	730	1,220	1,490	1,450
Band D	380	570	870	1,120	1,220	1,080
Band E	1,540	1,220	1,950	2,520	2,560	2,260
Industrial4	380	300	660	1,070	1,480	1,430
Other5	—	—	—	—	—	—

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent changes have been made regarding the use of free postage for military personnel serving in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [170106]

I refer the hon. Member to my Written Ministerial Statement of 27 February 2004, Official Report, column 7OWS, and subsequent answers of 5 March 2004, Official Report, column 1155W, to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Mr. Hancock), and 1 April 2004, Official Report, column 1605W, to the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk (Mr. Simpson).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers subject to manning control in the last 10 years are (a) still serving on an S-type contract and (b) have been discharged, and under what careers regulations; and if he will make a statement. [169171]

[hoping answer 29 April 2004]: The number of soldiers discharged under Queen's Regulations 9.413 'Not required for a full Army career' following manning control review in the last 15 calendar years to 2002 was given in the answer on 27 November 2002, Official Report, columns 332-34W, as updated by the answers given on 16 September 2003, Official Report, columns 705-06W, and 13 March 2004, Official Report, column 386W.Of these, 319 soldiers are currently serving on an S-Type engagement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers who were subject to manning control and were discharged or signed on to S-type contracts and subsequently discharged since 1994 have been called up for service in UK operational deployment (a) in each of the last eight years and (b) on Operation Telic; and if he will make a statement. [169172]

[holding answer 29 April 2004]:I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the contribution his Department makes to the West Midlands economy. [168466]

Publication of this information in the annual Defence Statistics report was suspended in 2002 because of concerns about its quality. Work is in place to improve the quality of these statistics with a view to their inclusion in the future.Defence makes an important contribution to the West Midlands economy through the presence of service and civilian personnel in their local communities, and through expenditure with companies based in the West Midlands and payments by the Department to local authorities. The Department's Dc fence Bills Agency database records that in 2002–03 the Ministry of Defence spent some £300 million of equipment and non-equipment expenditure to firms based in the West Midlands.The Department also conducts regional impact assessments to inform decisions affecting Defence estate and personnel.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many evictions by housing authorities for antisocial behaviour took place in (a) the last three months of 2003 and (b) the first three months of 2004. [169807]

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not request that local authorities supply information on the number of evictions they have carried out due to the antisocial behaviour of tenants.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he gives to local authorities in consideration of an application for planning permission to open a betting shop from someone who has already successfully applied for a licence to run that business. [170138]

There is no specific guidance on applying for planning permission for a betting shop, although we published "Planning Permission: A Guide for Business" in 1998 which informs applicants that betting offices are in the A2 (Financial and Professional Services) Use Class as set out in the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987. The Use Classes Order makes clear that planning permission is needed to change the use of premises to a betting office. The Order is currently being revised, but the announcement on 27 November 2003 on proposed changes does not include any proposal to change the position of betting offices.Even if an applicant has a bookmaker's permit to run a betting office in a particular location, he will still require permission to change the use of premises under the Town and Country Planning Act. We have no proposals to issue any guidance.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what planning restrictions apply to (a) the erection of flag poles and (b) the flying of national flags; and if he will make a statement; [169752](2) if he will make it his policy to issue planning guidance to remove the need for planning permission for flag poles up to 18 feet in height in or on domestic properties. [169751]

Under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992 ("the regulations"), prior local planning authority consent is not required, in respect of a site where planning permission has been granted for residential development, so long as the flagstaff is vertical, does not exceed 4.6 metres in height, and is not within a conservation area, area of outstanding natural beauty, National Park, the Broads area or an area of special control under the regulations. The flag advertisement can only be displayed for the period of one year. Otherwise express consent from the local planning authority is required.National flags are exempt from control under the regulations provided each flag is flown from a single vertical flagstaff and it does not have anything else added to the design of the flag or any advertising material added to the flagstaff. We shall be amending the Regulations to exempt from control national flags however they are flown from a flagstaff.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much land changing to residential use was within 1997-designated Green Belt in each year since 1997, broken down by region. [169495]

The available estimates are from Land Use Change Statistics for 1997, 1998 and 2000, are in the following table. Much of the development was on land

Land changing to residential use within 1997 designated Green Belt
Region	1997	1998 Hectares	2000
All on Greenbelt land
North East	5	10	0
North West	75	90	65
Yorkshire and the Humber	60	50	30
East Midlands	10	10	20
West Midlands	45	35	55
East of England	40	60	50
London	10	20	25
South East	135	85	145
South West	25	30	40
England	405	395	430
On greenfield (not previously developed) Land
North East	5	10	0
North West	50	65	30
Yorkshire and the Humber	40	35	25
East Midlands	5	5	5
West Midlands	30	20	35
East of England	15	20	25
London	0	10	10
South East	90	50	100
South West	20	25	35
England	255	230	265

To ask Deputy Prime Minister how many new dwellings were built within 1997-designated Green Belt in each year since 1997, broken down by region. [169496]

New dwellings built within 1997 designated Green Belt
Region	1997	Dwellings 1998	2000
All on Green Belt land
North East	50	140	20
North West	930	855	945
Yorkshire and the Humber	630	675	505
East Midlands	225	145	270
West Midlands	660	600	705
East of England	470	845	625
London	180	655	590
South East	855	800	890
South West	155	310	160
England	4,155	5,015	4,710
On greenfield (not previously developed)Land
North East	35	130	15
NorthWest	495	410	330
Yorkshire and the Humber	335	360	370
East Midlands	95	75	35
West Midlands	335	220	335
East of England	105	135	280
London	5	240	205
South East	300	300	220
SouthWest	90	195	70
England	1,790	1,985	1,895

The available estimates are from Land Use Change Statistics for 1997, 1998 and 2000, in the following table. Many of the dwellings were built on land that was already developed and the second part of the table shows the numbers just on greenfield land.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much land within 1997-designated Green Belt changed to developed use each year since 1997, broken down by region. [169545]

Land changing to developed use within 1997 designated Green Belt
Region	1997	1998	hectares 2000
On green field (not previously developed) land
North East	110	10	45
North West	335	295	110
Yorkshire and the Humber	295	290	60
East Midlands	60	75	70
West Midlands	85	65	75
East of England	155	85	50
London	50	20	15
South East	270	100	430
South West	55	70	115
England	1,410	1,005	965

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the locations of each development on (a) Green Belt land and (b) non-Green Belt green field land for which he or his predecessors have given planning permission since 1 May 1997. [169546]

My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister or his predecessors have granted planning permission on 162 sites on Green Belt land between 1 May 1997 and 31 March 2004. A table of the locations of these sites has been made available in the Libraries of the House.Information on non-Green Belt green field land is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Preston since 1997. [169692]

Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we introduced in 2001–02 specifically 1 or the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Preston's allocations in the period 1997 to 2003–04 have risen by over 35 per cent. In addition to this welcome increase there is support through the Community Housing Task Force and Government Office for the North West to help the local authority and its tenants to choose the best strategy for long-term improvement.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the change in the level of council funding for housing has affected the residents of Bootle since 1997. [170076]

Since 1997 allocations of capital funding to local authorities for housing purposes have risen consistently by about 15 per cent. per annum on average. This includes the Major Repairs Allowance we

The available estimates are from Land Use Change Statistics for 1997, 1998 and 2000, tabled as follows:introduced in 2001–02 specifically for the improvement of local authority stock alongside the Decent Homes standard which sets out minimum standards to be met by 2010. Sefton's allocations in the period 1997 to 2003–04 have risen by over 200 per cent. and have been supplemented by the announcement of £86 million to be made available to the Merseyside Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder, NewHeartlands, between 2003–04 and 2005–06. In addition to this, there is support through the Community Housing Task Force and Government Office for the North West to help the local authority and its tenants to choose the best strategy for long-term improvement.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will reply to the questions tabled by the hon. Member for Cotswold on 25 March, ref 163886, on Coverage Care (Gloucestershire) Ltd. [169894]

I replied to the hon. Member on 29 April 2004.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what advice his Department offers local authorities regarding planning for roadside and roundabout advertising. [169247]

Advice to local planning authorities is contained in Circular 5/92: The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992. The Circular advises local planning authorities that particular consideration should be given to proposals to site advertisements at points where drivers need to take particular care, such as junctions, roundabouts or other places where local conditions present special traffic hazards. Local planning authorities are advised to consult the local highways authority (or the Highways Agency in the case of a motorway or trunk roads).

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) when the sites owned by the Department of Health will be sold to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, in accordance with the announcement made by him and the Secretary of State for Health on 7 April; [168327](2)what local consultation there will be on the development of NHS sites to be sold to his Department; [168328](3)when he will announce the programme for the development of the sites to be sold to his Department by the Department of Health; [168329](4)what mechanism he will put in place to prevent a conflict of interest when the Department is seeking either directly or indirectly to develop sites it owns; [168330](5)whether the sites to be sold to the Department by the Department of Health will be sold on to developers to enable them to be developed; [168331](6)whether the sites to be acquired from the Department of Health will be

My right hon. Friends the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health announced on 7 April 2004 an agreement in principle to transfer over 100 surplus NHS sites to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The announcement follows an earlier decision by the Department of Health not to pursue a public/private partnership with Miller Homes/HBOS but instead to open discussions with to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister about the contribution the sites might make to delivering the action set out in the Sustainable Communities Plan (February 2003). Discussions commenced between ODPM and DoH officials after a decision by DoH to reconsider pursuing the proposed Miller/HBOS deal.Following the in-principle agreement to transfer the sites, there will now be an intensive process to establish the terms of the transfer and the implications for individual sites. It is not possible at this stage to say when individual sites, including sites in Hampshire, will be brought forward for development. Those sites which are currently vacant are likely to transfer from the Department of Health later this financial year. The terms of the transfer will be informed by the market value of the sites. An independent valuation is under way to determine an overall value for the portfolio.While many of the sites are already vacant, others remain occupied—if only in part. The timing of individual sites becoming available for development will vary from site to site. Each site will be considered separately in its local planning context before decisions are taken on future development options. The role that English Partnerships (EP), the national regeneration agency, will play in this process has still to be determined but we would expect it o be significant. There will also be a role for other public sector bodies such as the Regional Development Agencies.It is likely that EP will be asked to undertake a master-planning exercise of some of the key sites to maximise their potential to deliver high quality developments. These will be exemplar projects to demonstrate best practice in creating sustainable communities. We would expect EP to engage with the local authorities concerned at an early stage and to involve the wider community and other stakeholders in pre-application discussions. This will help to determine issues such as the number of houses to be developed on each site and the appropriate proportion that should be affordable, as well as the infrastructure required to ensure development is sustainable. Appropriate arrangements will be put in place to ensure that there is no conflict between the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's role in bringing these sites forward for development and its role in the planning process.The public sector will prepare sites for development and ensure their potential to contribute to the establishment of sustainable communities is realised. Development opportunities will then be marketed to the private sector. How individual sites are marketed will be determined through the master planning process and is likely to vary from site to site. The private sector will therefore have a major role in the development of these sites.

To ask the Deputy Prime to Minister how many evictions there were from local authority housing stock for rent arrears during each of the last three years. [169734]

The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the latest figures for rent arrears in council housing stock are, broken down by region; and what the figures were for (a) 2003 and (b) 2002. [169735]

Estimates of total rent arrears due to local authorities as at 31 March for each of the years 2002–04, and aggregated to regional level, ace tabled as follows:

£million
Region	2002	2003	2004
North East	32.8	34.1	32.5
North West	77.5	64.3	65.2
Yorkshire and the Humber	53.8	61.1	53.0
East Midlands	37.5	37.3	36.5
West Midlands	47.8	44.7	40.7
East	32.7	30.4	28.3
London	215.6	185.4	181.7

Country	Location	Date received	Generating capacity	Date approved
Wales	Cefn Croes Ceredigion	24 July 2000	60 MW	23 May 2002
Scotland	Caim Uish, Moray	27 September 2001	56 MW	21 January 2003
	Pauls Hill, Moray	27 September 2001	56 MW	31 March 2003
	Hadyard Hill, South Ayrshire	31 July 2002	130MW	24 December 2003
	Black Law, North and South Lanarkshire	9 August 2001	142.6 MW	13 February 2004

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the installed capacity and location of wind turbines granted planning permission was in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland in each year since 1990; how many wind farms were awaiting planning permission at 31 March; and what the generating capacity is in each case. [168830]

Apart from Northern Ireland, where all applications are dealt with centrally, Government do not hold records of proposals for on-shore wind farms below 50 megawatts (MW) as these fall to be determined by the local planning authority under the normal planning regime. However, proposals to construct and operate generating stations with a capacity greater than 50 MW in England and Wales require my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry's consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. This information is also collated by the devolved Administrations in Scotland. For all such applications, the information requested is in the tables.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he issues on the minimum acceptable distance between sizes of proposed windfarms and the nearest dwelling. [169489]

Paragraph 47 of the annex on Wind Energy in Policy Planning Guidance Note 22 (PPG22) contains guidelines about turbine separation distances from residential dwellings, specifically in relation to noise. This matter was also covered in paragraph 18 of our revision to PPG22, which was issued as a draft for consultation last November.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to (a) amend and (b) relax the planning guidance in respect of planning permission for windfarms. [169490]

The Government's proposals for amending the current planning policy guidance note 22: renewable energy (PPG22) were set out in draft Planning Policy Statement 22 (PPS22) published for public consultation on 5 November 2003. This document covered the handling of all types of renewable energy projects through the planning system. Copies have been made available in the Libraries of the House. The consultation period ended on 30 January. The final version of PPS22 will be published later this year following careful consideration of the consultation responses received.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skin; how many children were placed in residential care by each local authority in the last year for which figures arc available. [167135]

The number of children in residential care in ea Ai local authority at 31 March 2003 is shown in the following table.

Children looked after at 31 March 2003 in residential care1,2,3
Number
England	8,400
North East Shire Counties
Durham	55
Northumberland	50

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) free nursery and (b) pre-school places were available for (i) three and (ii) four-year-olds in Burnley in each of the last seven years. [167918]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) free nursery and (b) pre-school places were available for (i) three and (ii) four-year-olds in Preston in each of the last seven years. [168135]

The information is not available in the form requested.Figures on the number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four year olds in Lancashire local education authority area are shown in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what estimate she has made of the amount of meat illegally imported into the UK in each of the last 10 years; [160630](2) what estimates she has made of the quantity of meat illegally imported into the UK in the last 12 months. [165199]

Estimates of the amount of illegal meat imports may be made on the basis of the amount of such meat detected. However prior to 2001 information on seizures of illegal meat imports by enforcement authorities was not collected centrally. In August 2001, Defra set up the first national database to capture data on seizures of illegally imported products of animal origin ((POAO).The Veterinary Laboratories Agency's 'Risk Assessment for the Import of Meat and Meat Products Contaminated with Foot and Mouth Disease Virus into Great Britain and the Subsequent Exposure of GB Livestock', published in-March 2003, used the seizure database to estimate that the total amount of illegal meat entering GB each year is 7,431 tonnes on average, with 90 per cent. certainty that this is between 2,771 and 14,484 tonnes per year.Information on seizures of illegal imports continues to be collected centrally and will be published in Defra's annual review of controls on imports of animal products.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 16 March 2004, Official Report, column 156W, on abattoirs, how many individual case files there are in which are recorded the details of charges which are brought against abattoirs that ware withdrawn before they come to court; and where they are kept. [166078]

Details of all charges laid against abattoirs for meat hygiene and animal welfare offences are recorded on individual case files. There are 49 case files relating to prosecutions brought against abattoirs in 2002 and 2003. Details of any charges withdrawn before cases came to court are recorded on the individual files, which are either retained by the Food Standards Agency at their headquarters in London or held in storage in Derbyshire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost was to the Department in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04 of a charge successfully brought against an abattoir for breach of meat hygiene and animal welfare regulations. [166080]

The average legal cost incurred by this Department and the Food Standards Agency in pursuit of a charge successfully brought against an abattoir for a breach of meat hygiene or animal welfare regulations was:

Per charge (£)
2002–03	1,190.04
2003–04	975.79

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost was to the Department in financial years (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04 of a charge brought against an abattoir for breach of the meat hygiene and animal welfare regulations but which it dropped before it came to court. [166091]

The average legal cost incurred by both this Department and the Food Standards Agency in pursuit of charges brought against abattoirs for a breach of the meat hygiene or animal welfare regulations, which were dropped before coming to court was:

Per charge (£)
2002–03	1,426.54
2003–04	390.26