To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to assist poor countries to protect their farmers and traders against unfair international competition; and if he will make a statement. [188556]

DFID supports the inclusion of 'Special Products' and the 'Special Safeguard Mechanism' in order to assist farmers and traders in poor countries.Loosely defined, 'Special Products' are those that are of particular importance to the rural development, and food security, of the country in which they are grown. The farmers of these products should thus be subject to lesser liberalisation commitments.The 'Special Safeguard Mechanism' would allow developing countries to temporarily protect agricultural products from sudden import surges, which threaten the viability of domestic producers.Both concepts were included in general terms in the July 2004 World Trade Organisation Framework agreement, setting out the negotiating agenda for the ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December 2005 and will be consolidated and refined as the negotiations progress.DFID is currently funding a project involving developing country delegates, research institutes and NGOs to assist with this process, and to assist farmers and traders in poor countries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent by his Department in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the last year for which figures are available on (i) advertising and (ii) public relations. [186453]

The Department for Transport was formed on 29 May 2002. It has spent £10.3 million on advertising primarily on the THINK road safety campaign.For details of expenditure on public relations, I refer the hon. Member to my predecessor's reply to the hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) on 22 July 2004,

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received regarding the High Court ruling on a judicial review of airports in Britain; and what impact this will have on the Cliffe site in the Thames Estuary. [187968]

The Secretary of State has not received any representations regarding the High Court granting of permission for the three legal challenges to the Future of Air Transport White Paper to proceed to judicial review.The Government's policy was set out in the White Paper, including their conclusions on the Cliffe option.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is regarding proposals to license individual airstrips; and what measures he will put in place to help those airline charities which would be affected by increased charges. [188606]

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is responsible for the day-to-day regulation of airstrips and has no new proposals to license individual airstrips. Existing provisions for the licensing of aerodromes for the public transport of passengers and instruction in flying are contained in Article 101 of the Air Navigation Order 2000.As regards flights in aid of charity, arrangements have been in place since 1988 for CAA permission to be given, for example so that a private individual can donate a flight as a prize in a charity draw. The conditions under which such flights may be conducted are set out in an Aeronautical Information Circular (AIC 76/2003 (White 88)). The CAA makes no charge in relation to this permission.An airline does not need permission for a flight in aid of charity, as its operations are subject to the requirements for public transport flying.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to repeat the trial scheme restricting caravans to the inside lane on the M5 on other motorways in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [188578]

The Highways Agency currently has no plans to repeat the trial elsewhere on the network.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot scheme on the M5 at Bristol which restricts vehicles towing caravans to the inside lane; if he will publish his evaluation; and if he will make a statement. [188579]

The Highways Agency is currently evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot scheme, which ended on 28 August. It is anticipated that an announcement will be made when the evaluation is complete this autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the cost of fraud to (a) his Department and (b) the executive agencies affiliated to his Department in each of the last five years. [186406]

The answer covers the period since the Department was formed on 29 May 2002 and since that date the estimated cost of fraud (including theft) in my Department including the executive agencies are as follows:

	Central department	Agencies	Total(£)
2002–03	757	73,560	74,317
2003–04	8,439	76,164	84,603

Assets have been valued at cost, net book value or replacement cost depending on the circumstances of the individual case. Recoveries from perpetrators or others, e.g. insurance claims, have been netted off. Some incidents are still under investigation and final values may change.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the items that his Department has reported lost or stolen to the police from his Department's buildings and property since 2001. [186405]

The answer covers the period since the Department was formed on 29 May 2002 and since that date the following items listed below have been reported to the police by my Department as lost or stolen:The answer to the question only includes buildings occupied by staff in the Central Department. To obtain a full answer including the executive agencies would involve disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the equivalent monetary cost of theft to (a) his Department and (b) the Executive agencies affiliated to his Department was in each year since his Department was established. [186408]

The answer covers the period since the Department was formed on 29 May 2002 and since that date the estimated cost of theft in my Department including the Executive agencies is as follows:

£
	2002–03	2003–04
Central Department	757	7,659
Agencies	47,043	57,349
Total	47,800	65,008

Assets have been valued at cost, net book value or replacement cost depending on the circumstances of the individual case. Recoveries from perpetrators or others, e.g. insurance claims, have been netted off. Some incidents are still under investigation and final values may change.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the southbound carriageway of the M1 motorway was closed at Junction 11 on 23 August; who authorised the closure; for how long the motorway was closed; and what assessment he has made of the necessity for closure. [188580]

At approximately 14:50 hours on Monday 23 August, a pedestrian jumped from the bridge that crosses the motorway at Hatters Way, Luton into the path of an oncoming lorry. He sustained fatal injuries. The death has been recorded by HM Coroner's office as suicide.Bedfordshire Police immediately closed the southbound carriageway in order to carry out their investigations.A symbol signed diversion route was set up for road users affected by the carriageway closure. Other strategic signs were set further north of the incident warning of the closure.This was a particularly difficult investigation and clear up task for all involved. The body of the deceased was further struck by other approaching vehicles; thus raising both the sensitivity and the complexity of the police operation.The carriageway was re-opened to traffic at 18:10 hours.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that the siting of noise abatement fencing along the M20 between junctions 4 and 5 takes appropriate account of the approval of additional housing in the area. [188920]

[holding answer 14 September 2004]: It is the responsibility of the local planning authority, Tonbridge and Mailing borough council to consider Whether noise mitigation measures should be provided by the developer of sites in their area in line with current guidance on planning and noise.Currently there are proposals for a noise bund within Leybourne Grange development site near the M20 at Junction 4.In addition the Highways Agency is carrying out further studies to determine what noise mitigation measures would be appropriate at existing housing sites between Junctions 4 and 5.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to prevent the implementation of the reduction in the Cannon Street service from Medway to London proposed by the Strategic Rail Authority. [188882]

The Strategic Rail Authority is continuing to develop the train service specification for the integrated Kent franchise in the light of responses to its consultation earlier this year. When final decisions are made, a stakeholder briefing document will be issued giving information on consultees' comments and the final train specification.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications for Powershift grants for the Toyota Prius were (a) submitted and (b) approved in (i) 2002–03, (ii) 2003–04 and (iii) 2004–05 to date; and how many of the approvals were for (A) new and (B) demonstrator vehicles. [188996]

[holding answer 14 September 2004]: The Toyota Prius is listed on the PowerShift Register and is eligible for a £700 grant where used in England/Wales/Northern Ireland. A separate scheme operates in Scotland. The number of applications approved and paid for PowerShift grants for Toyota Prius from year 2002 to date in England/Wales/N Ireland are as follows:

(a) Applications submitted and for which a grant offer letter has been issued1
	Number
2002–03	1
2003–04	412
2004–05	1,045
1Number of applications that have failed before reaching grant offer stage is not recorded onto the applications database.

(b) Grams paid
	Number
2002–03	0
2003–04	146
2004–05	1117
1To end August.

A grant is available to the first owner (person or organisation) to register a PowerShift approved vehicle, subject to meeting the usual eligibility criteria (i.e. must operate in England, Wales or Northern Ireland). This includes dealer demonstrator vehicles that are registered, but the number of applications in respect of demonstrator vehicles is not recorded separately.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many dismantled railway lines in the UK have been (a) re-instated and (b) safeguarded since 1990; and what the cost of re-instated lines was in each case. [188569]

No consolidated record is kept of the position of dismantled railway lines. The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) is aware of 13 re-instated lines available for use by passenger trains. Safeguarding is a matter for local authorities and the SRA is not aware of any central register. The SRA does not maintain a central record of the costs of re-instated railway lines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) why the new signalling system promised for Stockport station is not yet operational; [188226]

These are operational matters for Network Rail. Network Rail will respond directly to my hon. friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent by his Department in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the last year for which figures are available on (i) headhunters, (ii) recruitment consultants and (iii) management consultants. [186403]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor to the hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) on 22 July 2004, Official Report, column 650W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what central Government funding is available in the South West region to meet the cost of compliance with the EU Bathing Water Directive. [186966]

There is no central Government funding available to meet the cost of compliance with the EU Bathing Water Directive for the South West or any other region. It is for sewerage undertakers to comply with the Directive, and the costs are taken into account by Ofwat in setting price limits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on (a) head-hunters and recruitment consultants and (b) management consultants in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available. [185990]

Defra came into being in June 2001. From information held centrally, the Department spent £520,354 in financial year 2002–03, and £619,213 in financial year 2003–04, on recruitment services.The Department also spent £190,212 in financial year 2002-03, and £189,319 in financial year 2003–04, on recruitment advertising.Information on management consultants is not held centrally and the information cannot be provided at proportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Department and its predecessors spent on recruitment consultants in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the last year for which figures are available. [184430]

Defra came into being in June 2001. From information held centrally, the Department spent £520,354 in financial year 2002–03, and £619,213 in financial year 2003–04, on recruitment services.The Department also spent £190,212 in financial year 2002–03, and £189,319 in financial year 2003–04, on recruitment advertising.Information on management consultants is not held centrally and the information cannot be provided at proportionate cost.

	Equal pay	Sex discrimination	Race discrimination	Disability discrimination	Unfair dismissal
2001	–	–	–	–	1
2002	–	1	1	3	4
2003	–	1	–	–	1
2004	1	1	1	6	2
Total	1	3	2	9	8

The one equal pay case is currently on-going pending appeal and no costs have been awarded as yet. One of the six unfair dismissal cases for 2004 has been settled, all other 2004 cases are continuing. For the other cases listed there were no awards made against my Department and its agencies during the years quoted but a total of £30,553 has been paid in agreed settlements.The total amount spent on contesting these claims could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fur farms are licensed in England. [188727]

None. The Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000 has banned fur farming in England since 31 December 2002.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what help is available for the training of parish and town councillors and clerks; and what level of funding her Department provides to assist in such training. [188314]

The Government wish to encourage all town and parish councils to reach the standards of the best. To achieve this, councillors and clerks need a wide range of skills to act as the voice of their communities, deliver services and create strong local partnerships. Therefore, town and parish councils should be actively supporting their councillors and clerks to participate in training and continuing professional development.The Rural White Paper (November 2000) established the "QUALITY" town and parish council scheme and provided £2 million in assistance to help councils meet

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases against her Department, the agencies for which it is responsible and its predecessor organisations have been brought to employment tribunals in each year since 1997 in relation to (a) equal pay, (b) sex discrimination, (c) race discrimination, (d) disability discrimination and (e) unfair dismissal; how many cost awards were made against (i) respondents and (ii) applicants; and how much has been spent (A) settling and (B) contesting claims. [181460]

Defra came into existence in 2001. Since then the number of cases brought against the Department and the agencies for which it is responsible is as follows:the new quality standards and establish a national strategy to provide training and support for parish and town councils.The National Training Strategy for parish and town councils was published in November 2001 in partnership with the Government, the Countryside Agency, the National Association of Local Councils and the Society of Local Council Clerks. Jointly, these organisations have used the £2 million mentioned above to:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department is making for allocating single farm entitlements with authorisation to grow potatoes and vegetables; and what criteria will be applied in the process. [186982]

Forms will be issued in March 2005 for farmers to apply, by 16 May, for the allocation of Single Payment Scheme entitlements and for payment against those entitlements. As part of the application process, eligible farmers will be able to ask for a number of their entitlements to have an authorisation attached. Those allocated entitlements with an authorisation will be able to grow fruit, vegetables and potatoes on the equivalent number of hectares which they will need to have to support their annual claim for payment against those entitlements.Eligibility for the allocation of entitlements with authorisations will be restricted by regional ceilings, which represent the average number of hectares of fruit, vegetables and potatoes that were grown in each region in the period 2000–02. Allocations to individual farmers will be based first on the number of hectares they grew of those crops in 2003. If there is any headroom remaining between the regional ceiling and the number of individual claims based on 2003 production, then 2004 production may also be taken into account. If there still remains headroom under the ceiling then 2005 production may additionally be taken into account. With this in mind, farmers who wish to claim entitlements with authorisations will be asked to provide details of their 2003, 2004 and 2005 production of fruit, vegetable and potatoes on their application forms. Entitlements, including those with authorisations, will be allocated by the end of 2005.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of Common Agricultural Policy reform regulations on the availability of land for let to specialist potato and vegetable growers in 2005. [186983]

Some concerns have been raised that the introduction of the Single Payment in 2005 could affect the willingness of landowners to let land in that year. The Department has discussed these issues with representatives of the farming industry and their professional advisers and our view remains that the interests of both landowners and growers can be protected by appropriate contractual arrangements between the two parties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many refrigeration unit storage and treatment facilities have been found to be in breach of regulations relating to the implementation of European Council Regulation No. 2037/2000 since it came into force; and what action was taken in each case. [187017]

The Environment Agency has concluded three successful prosecutions against operators of fridge storage facilities. These have resulted in penalties of £35,000, £15,000 and a four-month custodial sentence respectively, reflecting the seriousness with which the Government and the Courts regard these offences. In addition a number of warning letters and enforcement notices have been served, requiring fridge treatment plant operators to comply with licence conditions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) storage and (b) treatment facilities for refrigeration units there are in England and Wales; and how many of these have been inspected by the Environment Agency since European Council Regulation No. 2037/2000 came into force. [187018]

78 sites are licensed to store fridges, although all may not be operational. 19 sites are licensed for the treatment of fridges.The sites have been inspected in accordance with the Environment Agency's Operator and Pollution Risk Appraisal (OPRA) system and the Waste Management Facility Site Inspection Methodology. Under OPRA, these sites would initially have been inspected at monthly intervals. The assessments of operators' performance consider both the type and severity of noncompliance and the environmental significance of that breach or non-compliance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total cost to (a) central Government and (b) local authorities of meeting the requirements of European Council Regulation No.2037/2000 as they relate to refrigeration units has been since 1 January 2002. [187019]

The Government were responsible for securing provision for additional costs that local government faced as a result of the ozone depleting substance Regulation 2037/00.A special grant of £40 million was provided for additional costs that local authorities in England incurred as a result of implementing the Regulation for the period 2002–03.£6 million was provided in the 2002–03 local government finance settlement to cover the period 1 January to 31 March 2002.The Spending Review of 2002 included provision within the Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services block for the continuing costs for 2003–04 onwards, which was incorporated into the special/ hazardous wastes allocation.Estimates for future expenditure have also been incorporated into the Spending Review for hazardous wastes. The actual amounts are significantly less than in 2002–03, because of the decrease in cost of the disposal of refrigeration units and the consequences of implementing producer responsibility under the waste electronic and electrical equipment directive (WEEE).

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of the ozone depleting substances covered by European Council Regulation No. 2037/2000 have been recovered from (a) domestic refrigeration and (b) commercial refrigeration units since the implementation of the regulation, broken down by (i) refrigerant fluid and (ii) foaming agent. [187020]

The information is not available in the form requested as the data on the recovery of ozone depleting substances (ODS) do not identify the equipment from which they were recovered. In addition, it is not possible to calculate the percentage of ODS recovered from the refrigerant fluids. This is because, it is not known how much refrigerant fluid is in the unit on arrival at the licensed waste management site, as many units are damaged in use or transit, and fluid will have escaped before the units are received for disposal.The following information is given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what procedures are in place to ensure that (a) handling, (b) removal and (c) storage of refrigeration units results in minimal leakage of ozone depleting substances; and what measures exist to ensure an accurate monitoring of leakage. [187021]

Sites for the storage of fridges are regulated under the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994. A site licence is required and the standard permit requires storage of fridges to comply with a number of conditions, many of which are specifically aimed at reducing damage to refrigeration units while they are in storage. Compliance with these conditions is assessed during routine inspections.Since most storage takes place outside, monitoring of leakage using instrumentation does not take place. However, the Environment Agency visually inspects the conditions under which fridges are stored and compliance with storage conditions minimises the risk of leakage from the coolant circuit.Monitoring equipment is employed at the treatment facilities and emissions are analysed at the destruction facilities for recovered ozone depleting substances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms are located within land designated as (a) moorland within the upland severely disadvantaged area and (b) other land within the upland severely disadvantaged area. [186560]

The number of farms that have submitted an area aid application for 2004 and are located within land designated as (a) moorland within the severely disadvantaged area is 30 and (b) other land within the severely disadvantaged area is 2,778.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms straddle the border between land classified as moorland within the upland severely disadvantaged area and other land within the upland severely disadvantaged area. [186561]

The number of farms that have both land classified as moorland within the upland severely disadvantaged area and other land within the upland severely disadvantaged area is 3,068.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the risk from sudden oak death syndrome to woodlands in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; and if she will make a statement. [187259]

Central Science Laboratory and Forest Research have prepared a Pest Risk Assessment (PRA) for the whole of Great Britain which concludes that a number of tree species are potentially at risk from Phytophthora ramorum, the cause of Sudden Oak Death. The PRA also compared long-term British climatic data with that in Oregon where the disease is also present. This suggests that it is principally the south and the west of the country that are at the highest risk. The Forestry Commission completed a nation-wide survey of trees earlier this year and no evidence of the disease was found in trees at any of the 1,217 sites visited, which included some sites in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Forestry Commission has just completed a second more limited survey of 109 plots in England and Wales. While some of the 73 samples taken are still being processed, to date none of these have proved positive for P. ramorum.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the travel costs were of civil servants in (a) her Department, (b) the predecessor Department and (c) the related agencies in each yew since 1997. [183903]

The following table shows overall departmental expenditure recorded since the Department was formed in 2001. These figures exclude agency figures which are shown in the agency table. There are no figures provided for the period prior to Defra's formation as Defra was formed primarily from two predecessor Departments and as this information could only be provided incurring disproportionate cost.

£000
Year end 31 March	Departmental travel
2001–02	11,192
2002–03	7,170
2003–04	7,069

The figures for 2001–02 and 2002–03 include travel expenses incurred as a result of foot and mouth disease.All travel was in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the total tonnage of veterinary antibiotics used in the UK, in the most recent year for which figures are available, were used for (a) farm animals and (b) domestic and other animals. [187478]

The VMD collects and publishes figures annually on the UK sales of veterinary antimicrobials, including those sold for use in both food producing and non-food producing animals. It is reasonable to assume that there is a close correlation between these figures and the quantities of antimicrobials used in the UK. These figures are collected on a voluntary basis and the reports are available on the VMD web site at www.vmd.gov.uk under the publications and general tabs or from Dr. Kay Goodyear (telephone 01932 338409).The most recent available figures show that of the 457 tonnes of active ingredient of veterinary therapeutic antimicrobials sold for use in 2002, 403 tonnes were products indicated for use in food-producing animals only, 24 tonnes were indicated for use in non food-producing animals only and 30 tonnes were indicated for use in both food-producing and non food-producing animals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has held with Ofwat about recent increases in water rates in the South West. [186964]

The Secretary of State has not met with Ofwat recently. However, I have meetings with Philip Fletcher, Director General of Water Services, from time to time at which we discuss a range of issues including water prices.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what central Government funding is available to defray the cost of replacing and updating water and sewerage pipes in the South West. [186965]

There is no central Government funding for pipe or sewer replacement for any area. It is for water and sewerage undertakers to maintain their networks, and the costs are taken into account by Ofwat in setting price limits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress she has made on implementing the Water Framework Directive; and if she will make a statement. [186356]

[holding answer 13 September 2004]: The Water Framework Directive sets out a staged timetable, up to 2015, for member states to transpose it into national law and implement its requirements.The directive was transposed into English law at the turn of the year and implementation is well under way. Notification of the UK competent authorities was sent to the European Commission on 22 June 2004. The next key stage is the characterisation of river basin districts, identifying the pressures and impacts of human activity on the water environment, which must be completed by 22 December 2004. The Environment Agency, as competent authority for England and Wales, is working hard to ensure timely delivery of this analysis. They published initial characterisation results for public review on 1 September 2004.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications were made to the Woodland Grant Scheme in each of the last three years; how many were successful; and what was the total sum of grant awarded in each year. [187151]

For the Forestry Commission's Woodland Grant Scheme in England the number of applications made, number approved and the value of the grants in the approved schemes since 2001 are given in the following table.

Financial year	Woodland grant scheme applications	Approved schemes	Value of grants in approved schemes (£ million)
2001–02	2,500	2,184	17.9
2002–03	2,801	2,239	18.4
2003–04	3,017	2,333	23.0
Note:
The processing of applications takes a number of weeks so applications may have been received in a different year to that in which they were approved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications under the Woodland Grant Scheme were received between 1 April and 28 June; what the total sum of money applied for was; how many of these applications have been successful; and what the total sum of grant approved is. [187152]

The Forestry Commission received a total of 700 applications for a total of £3.9 million between 1 April and 28 June 2004 of which £1.1 million has so far been approved. The current status of all these applications is given in the following table.

Status	Number
Application withdrawn by applicant or rejected by the Forestry Commission	58

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what grants will be available from her Department or the Forestry Commission between now and 31 March 2006 to assist the creation of new woodlands. [187256]

The Forestry Commission will continue to pay the woodland creation grants approved in existing Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS) contracts. These contracts extend beyond 31 March 2006 and include capital grants for establishment, additional grants for afforestation of improved agricultural land and for creating new woodland with public access. A range of premiums will also be paid to support the National Forest, Community Forests, South West Forest and the North West's 'Forest Futures' initiative.Subject to meeting the technical and administrative requirements of the WGS, grants will also be paid on those applications received before the WGS closed to new applications for new planting, but which have yet to be approved.Payments will also be made under the associated Farm Woodland Premium Scheme operated by Defra. This makes annual payments in accordance with the terms of the scheme for up to 15 years. This scheme will apply to some of the WGS applications which have yet to be approved.It is expected that from mid 2005 new applications for grant aid will be accepted by the Forestry Commission for woodland creation under the English Woodland Grant Scheme. This will be in time for planting to take place in the 2005–06 planting season, with grant payments being made from April 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many woodland grants were made by her Department or by the Forestry Commission in respect of woodlands in (a) the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and (b) Buckinghamshire in each of the last four financial years; what the sum of such grants was in each such year; and if she will make a statement. [187257]

The Forestry Commission made the following payments in the Chilterns AONB and Buckinghamshire under the Woodland Grant Scheme in the last four years.

a) Chilterns AONB
Financial year	Number of claims Paid	Claims Value £000
2001–2002	170	273.7

2002–2003	174	273.5
2003–2004	120	187.3
b)Buckinghamshire
Financial year	Number of claims Paid	Claim Value £000
2002–2001	176	238.8
2001–2002	186	327.6
2002–2003	179	270.0
2003–2004	134	198.6

In addition to the woodland premium Scheme administered by Farm Woodland Premium scheme administered by Defra made annual payment to farmers in compensation for income forgone as a consequence of converting agricultural land to woodland.

To ask the secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications for woodland grants her received during the current financial year in respect of woodlands in (a) the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and (b) Buckinghamshire; what the total sum applied for was; how many such applications, and to what aggregate value, have been approved; and if she will make a statement.[187258]

Between I April and 28 June the Forestry Commission received nine application for a total of £19,000 on land within the Chilterns AONB and 11 application for a total of £22,000 on land below together with the value of those approved.

a)Chilterns AONB
Status	Number
Application withdrawn by applicant or rejected by the Forestry Commission	1
A Waiting information from the applicant in order to continue processing	1
Application currently being processed by the Forestry Commission	4
Grant offer made	1
Offer accepted by applicant	2(Value of £1,600)
(b) Buckinghamshire
Status	Number
Application withdrawn by applicant or rejected by the Forestry Commission	1
A waiting information from the applicant in order to continue processing	4
Application currently being processed by the Forestry Commission	2
Grant offer made	2
Offer accepted by applicant	2(Value of £1,900)

In addition to the Woodland Grant Scheme, the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme administered by Defra and which makes annual payments to farmers in compensation for income forgone as a consequence of converting agricultural land to woodland is included with the one grant offer made in the Chilterns AONB area.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned on the effects of changing the age of criminal responsibility; and if he will make a statement. [186818]

We have no plans to change the current age, 10 in England and Wales, and have not commissioned research on the subject.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful criminal prosecutions were brought for crimes perpetrated in each Norfolk constituency in each year since 1997: and how many criminal charges were pressed for crimes perpetrated in Great Yarmouth in each year since 1997. [186717]

Statistics of defendants charged with offences are not collected centrally, nor is it possible to break down the court proceedings data collected centrally to constituency level.The following table, however, gives the number of defendants

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish (a) the growth forecasts and (b) the forecasts of the number and proportion of young men in the population used as assumptions in the Trends in Crime model, Home Office Online Report 38/04. [187236]

The growth forecasts used as assumptions in the trends in crime model are those published by Her Majesty's Treasury in the Budget report 2004.Projections for the proportion of young men in the population are published on the Government Actuary's Department (GAD) website.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2004, Official Report, column 1053W, on departmental properties/staff, if he will place a list of the properties in the Library. [187338]

The addresses of Home Office properties are not disclosed for national and personal security reasons.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts his Department had with (a) Barclays, (b) Royal Bank of Scotland, (c) UBS Warburg and (d) Bank of Scotland for advice on private finance initiative and public private partnership contracts in each financial year since 2001–02; and what fees were paid in each case. [186694]

From the best information available, there have been no such contracts placed with these organisations in the time period specified.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what hate crime legislation introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 remains to be implemented; and when it will be implemented. [186887]

Sections 145 and 146 are the only provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 specifically relating to hate crime; these provide for courts to treat motivation by racial or religious prejudice, or prejudice related to disability or sexual orientation, as an aggravating factor in sentencing for any criminal offence. These sections are not yet in force, but section 145 is simply a re-enactment of existing legislation, contained in section 153 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, that is already in force. The commencement date for these sections of the 2003 Act is currently under consideration and will be announced in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has made a formal expression of interest in HMS Daedalus to the Ministry of Defence on behalf of (a) the Prison Service, (b) another agency of his Department and (c) Hampshire Constabulary. [188145]

[holding answer 13 September 2004]: I can confirm that my Department has not made a formal expression of interest in HMS Daedalus on behalf of the Prison Service or any other part of the Home Office. The acquisition of properties for use by the police is a matter for the appropriate police authority and Chief Officer of Police.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports sent to his Department for immigration purposes have been lost in each of the last five years; and how many were subsequently found. [181998]

Statistics on the number of letters issued for passports reported lost or mislaid in the Immigration Nationality Directorate would be available only at disproportionate cost.However, in General Group, which processes all applications for variation of leave to remain from in-country applicants and considers applications for Home Office travel documents from non-British nationals, there were 53 issued from April 2001 to March 2002; 335 issued from April 2002 to March 2003; and 469 issued from April 2003 to March 2004. This should be balanced against the number of decisions made in the same period which were 380,000; 403,000; and 534,000 respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Prison Custody Officer certificates have been issued by his Department for staff at HMP Bronzefield. [187102]

		Certificates issued since April 20041
	Certificates issued from January 2003 to March 2004	April	May	June	July
HMP/Y01 Altcourse	31	9	0	8	0
HMYOI Ashfield	123	12	1	1	9
HMP/Y01 Doncaster	33	0	0	14	0
HMP Dovegate	132	2	3	3	9
HMP Forest Bank	69	1	0	20	0
HMP Lowdham Grange	66	11	0	11	0
HMP/Y01 Parc	47	11	3	0	16
HMP Rye Hill	94	9	0	4	1
HMP Wolds	3	4	1	1	0
Total	598	59	8	62	35
Overall total since January 2003		762
1The Office for Contracted Prisons took over responsibility for Prison Custody Officer certification on 1 April 2004.

Her Majesty's Prison Bronzefield opened on 17 June 2004 and 135 Prison Custody officers have been certificated

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) set retirement age applying to all or most personnel and (b) maximum age beyond which applications for employment will not be considered is in (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies. [186375]

The Civil Service Management Code gives departments and agencies the authority to determine policy on normal retirement age for their own staff subject to the conditions set out in Chapter 11.3.In answer to part 'A' of your question all non-industrial Home Office staff working in grades between Administrative Assistant and Grade 6, including equivalent grades will have the option to retire at any point between the ages of 60 and 65. The normal retirement age for the Senior Civil Service is 60. However, Heads of Departments and Agency Chief Executives have the flexibility to retain members of the

Her Majesty's Prison Bronzefield opened on 17 June 2004 and 135 Prison Custody Officers have been certificated.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Prison Custody Officer certificates have been withdrawn by his Department for each privately run prison in each month since 1 January 2003. [187103]

From January 2003 to March 2004, three Prison Custody Officer Certificates were withdrawn from Her Majesty's Prison Dovegate, one certificate at Her Majesty's Prison/Young Offenders Institution Altcourse and one certificate at Her Majesty's Prison/Young Offenders Institution Doncaster.Since April 2004, one Prison Custody Officer certificate has been withdrawn at Her Majesty's Prison Dovegate and one certificate was withdrawn at Her Majesty's Prison Wolds.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Prison Custody Officer certificates have been issued by his Department for each privately run prison in each month since 1 January 2003. [187104]

The information requested is as follows.Senior Civil Service beyond 60 if they judge it to be in the public interest and are satisfied about the fitness and efficiency of the individual to carry out his or her duties.In answer to part B of your question, Home Office policy continues to be that there should be no age discrimination on selecting candidates who have the relevant skills and qualifications and are considered to be capable of delivering value for money (i.e. a return on recruitment costs and training requirements before the normal retirement age). Up to and including Grade 6. European Law also prevents us from imposing age limits as part of the selection procedure.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Sentencing Guidelines Council will review the magistrates court guidelines. [187245]

The Sentencing Guidelines Council will in due course produce guidelines on all criminal offences. These will supersede the magistrates courts guidelines.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners under the age of 18 years were (i) serving a custodial sentence and (ii) on remand in each of the last three years in England. [186523]

The requested information is provided in the table.

Population of juveniles in STCs, LASCHs and prison establishments, by custody type and sex England, 30 June
	Immediate custodial sentence	Remand
male
2002	2,242	549
2003	2,016	518
2004	1,959	544
Female
2002	173	44
2003	156	41
2004	150	32
Source:
Information on population in STCs and LASCHs is from the Youth Justice Board.
Information on population in prison establishments is from the Prison Service information system.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders aged 18 to 21 are in prison (a) under sentence, (b) on remand and (c) in total; and how many there were on average in each category in each of the last five years. [187231]

The table shows information from the Prison Service information system on the number of young offenders aged 18–20 who were in prison establishments in England and Wales (a) under immediate custodial sentence (b) on remand and (c) in total in each of the last five years.

Population of young offenders aged 18–201 in prison establishments, by custody type England and Wales, 30 June
	Immediate custodial sentence	Remand	Total
2000	6,670	2,103	8,780
2001	6,728	1,867	8,597
2002	6,766	2,189	9,018
2003	6,779	1,920	8,789
2004	6,543	1,890	8,513
1The figures include young offenders who have turned 21 but who have not been reclassified as adults.

To ask the Solicitor-General if she will take steps to ensure that those whose convictions are reviewed under the process set up after the Angela Cannings decision with no further action resulting are notified that a review has taken place. [172613]

The review of cases identified following the Angela Cannings judgment follows a three-stage review process. First, the relevant CPS areas identify the key features in cases and then they are passed to a Central Review Team comprising prosecutors who are highly experienced in complex criminal casework. A smaller number of cases are then passed to the Interdepartmental Group for final consideration.The review process is not determinative of whether any conviction is unsafe or not. Offenders legal representatives will be written to where it is felt there may be features which warrant further consideration by either the Court of Appeal or Criminal Cases Review Commission. The Crown Prosecution Service will in each case where an offender is written to make an independent decision on whether to contest the appeal.As the review process initiated by the Attorney-General is not determinative of the safety of any conviction it is not the intention of the Interdepartmental Group to notify each offender whose case does not contain features identified by the Court of Appeal in Angela Cannings. It is however open to any convicted person if it is felt he or she was wrongly convicted to appeal out of time to the Court of Appeal or to bring the case to the attention of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the cost of running her Office's canteen facilities was in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available. [185381]

[holding answer 20 July 2004]: Since April 2002 canteen facilities at the Cabinet Office's core London buildings have operated on a nil subsidy basis.In 2003–04, the Government Car and Despatch Agency, an Executive Agency of the Cabinet Office, incurred some £35,000 for the running of a canteen facility at its London Headquarters site. For the remainder of the Department's estate, either no such expenditure was incurred or figures can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.Owing to changes in the Cabinet Office's accounting system, figures for 1996–97 cannot be readily retrieved without incurring disproportionate cost.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) which elements of the production and operation of the Directgov website are being outsourced to India; [181131](2) for what reason elements of the production and operation of the Directgov website are being outsourced to India; [181132](3) what the security implications are of elements of the production and operation of the Directgov website being outsourced to India; [181133](4) what assessment he has made of the economic effect on the United Kingdom of elements of the production and operation of the Directgov website being outsourced to India; [181134]

Outsourcing is a long established element of business. The UK gains economically from free and open global markets, and the Government believe companies should source from whichever country best fulfils their need.Directgov website, powered by a bespoke content management system and application known as DotP, is government information organised and delivered by multiple departments. Directgov provides consistent information on UK government services for citizens and businesses, at home and overseas.DotP is part of the secure central infrastructure that this Government are putting in place to ensure best value electronic government services. There has always been an outsourced element of DotP involving the private sector—these companies have obligations to make certain such work is carried out adopting government policy on security and competition, whether the work is carried out in the UK or overseas. The central infrastructure will continue to be developed in a way that ensures its viability and in line with government policy on security and competition. The intellectual property belongs to Her Majesty's Government. Any outsourcing under the contract has not resulted in a loss of UK jobs.The approach to production and operation (i.e. the maintenance) of Directgov content is a matter for participating departments. As far as we are aware, at this time none of the elements of content production or maintenance are being outsourced to India.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will list the date of the most recent annual general meeting of each non-departmental public body held in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines. [188811]

Cabinet Office guidelines state that non-departmental public bodies should hold Annual Open Meetings where practical and appropriate. The Cabinet Office does not hold lists of the dates of such meetings.The annual publication 'Public Bodies' indicates which NDPBs hold public meetings. Copies of 'Public Bodies' are available in the Library.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many Community Legal Service franchises have been granted in Wales to firms undertaking (a) criminal work and (b) family work; and if he will make a statement. [188977]

There are currently 212 solicitors' offices in Wales which hold either a full or temporary Specialist Quality Mark for Crime and a General Criminal Contract with the Legal Services Commission to provide legal advice and representation to people accused of or charged with a crime.There are currently 286 solicitors' offices in Wales which hold contracts in the family category of law.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Department has adopted a Welsh language policy. [189085]

My Department is committed to meeting the requirements of the Welsh Language Act. The Court Service, the Magistrates Court Committees in Wales and the Office of the Information Commissioner have schemes in place approved by the Welsh Language Board. The Legal Services Commission is in the process of finalising their draft scheme.Documents produced by my Department are already published in Welsh. as well English whenever there is a clear need to do so.After extensive discussion between the former LCD (and then the DCA) and the Welsh Language Board a draft Welsh Language Scheme for the remainder of the DCA was sent to the Board in September 2003 for final approval. The Beard replied to my officials last December raising a number of new and unexpected issues.A resolution to these issues was reached with the Board in August 2004, and my staff are currently making a few minor amendments to our draft scheme. I hope that we can now move forward to approval of the final scheme very soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding has been allocated for the 2012 Olympic bid. [189052]

As stated in the Command Paper Cm 5867 laid before the House in June 2003, the Mayor and I agreed that DCMS and the London Development Agency should contribute to the costs of the bid organisation and associated planning in equal shares to a combined limit of £30 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many times her Department has consulted members of the academic community with regard to (a) physical activity, (b) gambling and (c) alcohol since January; and if she will make a statement. [188749]

The Department has consulted members of the academic community formally and informally on about 100 occasions so far this year in respect of gambling. There have been no consultations on either physical activity or alcohol since January.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to undertake a review of fixed odd betting terminals; and if she will make a statement. [188857]

I expect to see in November 2004 the report of the independent research on the usage of fixed odds betting machines, which was commissioned by the Association of British Bookmakers at my request. We shall be including provision in our proposed Gambling Bill for the statutory regulation of these and other machines which do not fall within the definition of gaming machines in the current law, but which nevertheless have all the essential characteristics of gaming machines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what procedures are in place to ensure that paper and card products used by her Department originate from a sustainable source; and if she will make a statement. [189300]

The Department takes seriously the commitment to sustainable procurement in respect of the supply of all goods and services. Contracts for the supply of paper and card products specify that content must be at least eighty percent recycled where the product allows. In respect of A4 copier paper only one hundred percent recycled paper is purchased. The onus is upon the supplier to show compliance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the latest available 12 month figures are for the proportion of the Department's redundant documentation, waste paper and card that is recycled; and if she will make a statement on the Department's recycling policy. [188697]

100 per cent. of Confidential Waste is shredded and recycled. Other recyclable office paper is separated from general waste by providing staff with two waste bins and is all recycled. 80 per cent. of all card is also recycled, only high gloss card being excluded. It is the policy of the Department to recycle or compost all usable waste. In procurement the Department seeks to limit the amount of packaging in which goods are delivered, thereby reducing the amount waste to be disposed of.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects digital terrestrial broadcasting to be available in Pendle; and if she will make a statement. [188567]

Ofcom do not hold data on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) coverage in individual constituencies. However, according to Ofcom, DTT services are available to those constituents that receive their television signals from the Winter Hill or Pendle Forest transmitters. This includes viewers in Nelson, Barrowford, Brierfield and most of Colne.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications to build on sites of Scheduled Ancient Monuments have been approved in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [188774]

Scheduled monument consents that are granted by the Department are not recorded by the types of works that are to be undertaken on them. Therefore this information is unavailable.English Heritage inspectors take into careful consideration any works to scheduled monuments that are applied for, assessing the archaeology of the site and its national importance before advising the Department if consent should be granted.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress in winding-up the heritage regulators whose work has been assumed by Ofcom. [188233]

The regulatory functions of the Independent Television Commission, Radio Authority, Oftel, and the Broadcasting Standards Commission were transferred to Ofcom on 29 December 2003; under transitional arrangements the bodies remained formally in existence, principally to provide for completion of the Annual Accounts. These have since been published and laid before the House, apart from those for Oftel, which will be published shortly. An Order formally abolishing these bodies will be brought forward in due course. In addition, the functions of the Secretary of State formerly performed by the Radiocommunications Agency have been transferred to OFCOM, but no winding up will be required in that case as the RA was part of the DTI.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what living accommodation at St. James's Palace was allotted to members of the Royal Family prior to the move by HRH Prince Charles to Clarence House; to which members; and what the current disposition of that accommodation is. [188563]

Prior to the Prince of Wales moving into Clarence House, St. James's Palace provided the official London residences for the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal and Princess Alexandra. The move has had no impact on the apartments of the Princess Royal and Princess Alexandra.The former official residence of the Prince of Wales is being converted into office accommodation which will be used by staff from the Prince of Wales's household. Their previous offices in St. James's Palace are to be taken over by the Royal Collection Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what residential accommodation at Buckingham Palace was allocated to members of the Royal Family, and to which members, (a) in 1999 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available. [188564]

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence for The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke of York and Earl and Countess

Grant in aid at 2002–03 prices
£000
Tourism Board	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
Cumbria	275	266	239	399	646	449
East of England	557	432	427	633	868	806
Heart of England	528	545	494	692	931	793
London1	513	432	382	433	1,964	1,900
Northumbria	284	241	273	394	570	447
North West	331	322	314	438	614	575
South East	363	315	303	385	552	544
Southern	519	526	471	606	759	766
South West	496	536	512	568	842	663
Yorkshire	572	564	504	597	755	655
1In 2001–02 and 2002–03, £1.9 million p.a. was passed from DCMS to the Greater London Authority (GLA). As well as £1.5 million for the promotion of London overseas as a destination and as a gateway to the rest of the UK, this included £400,000 for the development of tourism infrastructure, equivalent to the funding formerly passed to the London Tourist Board via the ETC. This funding is maintained under the current DCMS-GLA Agreement for 2003–06. £1.9 million passed to the GLA in 2003–04.

In 2003-04, DCMS funding for tourism development in the regions passed to the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). The 2003–04 grant in aid payments to the RDAs are shown in the following table:

Grant in aid in 2003–04
Regional Development Agency1	£000
East of England	543
West Midlands	252
East Midlands	252
North East	333
South East England	744
South West England	403
Yorkshire and the Number	360

Grant in aid per head of resident population1 at 2002–03 prices
£
Tourism Board	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
North East	0.11	0.09	0.11	0.16	0.23	0.18
North West and Cumbria1	0.09	0.09	0.08	0.12	0.19	0.15
Yorkshire	0.12	0.11	0.10	0.12	0.15	0.13
Heart of England	0.06	0.06	0.05	0.07	0.10	0.08
East of England	0.11	0.08	0.08	0.12	0.16	0.15
London	0.07	0.06	0.05	0.06	0.27	0.26
Southern and South East1	0.11	0.11	0.10	0.12	0.16	0.16
South West	0.10	0.11	0.10	0.12	0.17	0.13

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the level of Government grant in aid was to each regional tourist board in England in each year since 1997 (a) per head of population and (b) in real terms; and what the proportion was of (i) overseas and (ii) domestic tourists in England in each regional tourist board area in the same period. [188666]

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) provided grant in aid to the English Tourism Council (ETC, formerly the English Tourist Board) between 1997–98 and 2002–03. Grant in aid was paid by the ETC to the Regional Tourist Boards (RTBs) as shown in the following table:

Grant in aid in 2003–04
Regional Development Agency1	£000
North West	713
1In 2001–02 and 2002–03, £1.9 million p.a. was passed from DCMS to the Greater London Authority (GLA). As well as £1.5 million for the promotion of London overseas as a destination and as a gateway to the rest of the UK, this included £400,000 for the development of tourism infrastructure, equivalent to the funding formerly passed to the London Tourist Board via the ETC. This funding is maintained under the current DCMS-GLA Agreement for 2003–06. £1.9 million passed to the GLA in 2003–04.

Grant in aid per head of the resident population for each Regional Tourism Board area is shown in the following table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the level of Government grant in aid was to the English Tourism Council in each year since 2000. [188742]

In April 2003, functions of the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourism Council (ETC) were merged to form VisitBritain. Grant in aid for the ETC for the period 2000–03 was as follows:

Grant in aid to ETC
£ million
2000–01	11
2001–02	9.6
2002–03	11.6

In addition, £3.8 million was awarded to the ETC in 2001–02 and further £1 million in 2002–03 from the Reserve to help tourism recover from the impact of foot and mouth and the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. In 2002–03, the ETC was also awarded £3.6 million over two years from the Invest to Save Budget to support the development of the EnglandNet project to establish an on-line tourism network for England.Grant in aid allocation to VisitBritain for the domestic marketing of England was £10 million in 2003–04 and £12.9 million is available for 2004–05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what TV Licensing's policy is on the number of times a household which has declared that it does not hold a TV licence because it has no television is re-contacted to verify that declaration; how much such re-contacting cost in the latest year for which figures are available; how many households fell within this category in the most recent year for which figures are available, expressed (a) in numerical terms and (b) as a provide estimates for the number of trips, including an overnight stay, made within the UK by overseas and domestic tourists respectively. It should be noted that, at regional level, these surveys have a relatively high margin of error.proportion of UK households; and if she will make representations to TV Licensing to make these procedures less burdensome on householders. [189036]

The BBC has statutory responsibility for the administration of the television licensing system and TV Licensing carries out the day to day administration under contract to the Corporation. I have therefore asked the BBC's Head of Revenue Management to consider the questions raised by my hon. Friend and to write to him direct, placing a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.As part of BBC Charter Review, the Government will be considering how the Corporation should be funded after the expiry of the current Charter, including whether the existing arrangements might be improved.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) whether he has commissioned reports on how customer relationship management technology could be adapted to support local authorities in their development of joined-up services in relation to business; [188133](2) if he will make a statement on his Department's progress in ensuring that single business accounts are in place by the start of April 2006. [188221]

Through the Local e-Government programme, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has supported the development of customer relationship management (CRM) technology appropriate to local authorities' needs. That CRM technology is a fundamental building block for local e-government, helping to transform local authorities' service delivery, including transactions with business. Building on that within the Local e-Government programme, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has also supported a National Project on Working With Business (WWB), to provide a framework, called the Single Business Account, for local authorities to improve specifically their provision of information and transactional services for local businesses. The project completed its work earlier this year.The WWB Project's outputs include a "Single Business Account" toolkit, which draws on data collected via authorities' CRM technology, and a "Single Business Account" pilot. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently supporting the dissemination of these and the Project's other products to ensure that all local authorities in England are aware of them and make maximum use of them. In particular, the products should help to ensure that they meet the shared target to have e-enabled 100 per cent. of their priority services by end 2005 in ways that their customers will use.Further details about the project are available from enquiries@workingwithbusiness.org.uk

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) if he will provide a written ministerial statement outlining the key points on the agenda for each of the Council of Ministers' meetings at which his Department is represented in advance of each meeting; [188212](2) if he will provide a written ministerial statement outlining for each meeting of the Council of Ministers at which his Department is represented as soon as is practicable following that meeting

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member by my right hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn on 13 September 2004, Official Report, column 1452W.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assistance can be given under the Local Government Pension scheme to employees of the Essex Careers and Business Partnership Ltd., owned jointly by Essex, Southend and Thurrock councils, now in liquidation; and if he will make a statement. [188821]

Essex Careers and Business Partnership Ltd. established its own pension arrangements for employees; they were not members of the Local Government Pension Scheme. Consequently, the loss of any pension rights as a result of the company's liquidation needs to be resolved initially on that basis.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will inquire into the decision of Essex, Southend and Thurrock councils to place the Essex Careers and Business Partnership Ltd. into liquidation from 31 March; and if he will make a statement. [188822]

Essex Careers and Business Partnership Ltd. (ECBP) was a private company delivering Careers Company services across Essex, Southend and Thurrock. Up until 31 March 2004 ECBP delivered these services under a contract with the Connexions Partnership (Connexions Essex Southend and Thurrock), and as a private company it is for the shareholders to decide if and when the company should be placed in liquidation.Since the company went into liquidation the full range of 'Careers Service' activities has been delivered by Connexions Essex, Southend and Thurrock, and all ECBP staff working on Connexions activities have transferred under TUPE conditions to the Connexions Partnership.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what time limit he put on his policy that everyone should have access to decent housing; and what progress has been made in delivering that policy. [187964]

The Government's target is to

"By 2010, bring all social housing into a decent condition with most of this improvement taking place in deprived areas, and for vulnerable households in the private sector, including families with children, increase the proportion who live in homes that are in decent condition."

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is making good progress in delivering our target. In 2004 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will have cut the number of non-decent homes by 1 million, while £18 billion will have been invested in existing council and housing association homes since 1997. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has also helped over 130,000 vulnerable households in the private sector to bring their homes into decent condition.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what he determines as constituting decent housing. [187965]

A decent home is one that meets the statutory minimum standard for housing, is in a reasonable state of repair, has reasonably modern facilities and services and provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.Further details are available in the document "A Decent Home—the definition and guidance for implementation" published February 2004, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House of Commons.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what impact the additional funding granted to his Department in the 2001 Spending Review will have on the provision of affordable housing (a) in the Tamworth parliamentary constituency and (b) in the West Midlands. [188114]

The funding provided in the Spending Review will, along with efficiency improvements, produce 75,000 social rented homes and 40,000 homes for essential public sector workers and low cost homeownership over the three years to 2007–08. Decisions have not yet been taken on how Regional Housing Pot funding for 2006–07 and 2007–08 (including the additional funding for affordable housing) is split between regions. This needs to reflect the different pattern of needs across regions and the Government's national housing priorities, including development of the growth areas, and targets. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister aims to complete this work, which raises some complex issues, by the end of the year.The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will announce decisions on allocation of funding within regions next summer in the light of recommendations from Regional Housing Boards, which are due in May next year.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what rules regulate the fitting of windows into houses, with particular reference to FENSA certificates; and if he will make a statement. [188908]

The installation of both new or replacement windows or doors in dwellings in England and Wales must meet all the relevant requirements in the Building Regulations 2000, as amended. In particular, such windows and doors must allow adequate means of escape in case of fire, adequate ventilation for both the occupants of the dwelling and any combustion appliances in it, reasonable provision for the conservation of fuel and power used in the dwelling and, where necessary, safety glazing to protect against injuries from impact. Special considerations may apply in the case of some listed buildings or those in conservation areas.FENSA certificates are documents provided by window and door installers who are registered members of the Fenestration Self-Assessment Scheme. The certificates states to the householder that the windows and doors installed meet fully the requirements of the Building Regulations. Where windows and doors are installed by a person who is not a FENSA registered installer, the installation must be notified to the local authority, which will then have the responsibility for checking that the work complies with the Building Regulations.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what considerations guided him in proposing the change from an 80 to an 85 age/years of service formula in the Local Government Pension Scheme; and when he proposes to implement this change. [188723]

Proposals to phase out the 85 year rule in the Local Government Pension Scheme are part of the Government's general policy to implement an age 65 retirement date for the public sector. They will also ensure compliance with age discrimination legislation, which must be in place no later than October 2006, and assist in our intentions to ensure the affordability and sustainability of the Scheme. The changes are planned to take effect from 1 April 2005.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much expenditure has been allocated to regeneration projects in the North East broken down by parliamentary constituency, in each year since the establishment of his Department and what the planned expenditure is in the next financial year. [188293]

It is considered that the information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reason a preamble is to be included on the proposed ballot paper for the referendum on a regional assembly in the North East of England. [188805]

The purpose of the preamble is to ensure that electors are informed of the implications, particularly for local government, of voting on the establishment of a regional assembly.The form of the ballot paper, including the wording of the preamble, is prescribed by the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003(a), which was enacted by Parliament last year.

To ask the Leader of the House what the latest available 12 month figures are for the proportion of his Office's redundant documentation, waste paper and card that is recycled; and if he will make a statement on his Office's recycling policy. [188699]