To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which rights and benefits enjoyed by UK and Commonwealth Forces under the treaty relating to the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus do not extend to non-Commonwealth Forces operating on the bases; and if he will make a statement. [190429]

The rights and benefits accorded to United Kingdom and Commonwealth Forces under the 1960 Treaty of Establishment are set out in Annex C to the treaty papers, which is effectively a Status of Forces Agreement between the UK and Republic of Cyprus (RoC) for UK and Commonwealth forces operating in and visiting the Republic. The benefits the treaty confers include: freedom of movement between the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) and the RoC, jurisdictional protection for certain offences committed in the RoC, exemption from RoC taxes and import duties, and the right to bear arms. Non-Commonwealth forces are not covered under these arrangements and would need to negotiate their own status of forces arrangements with the RoC.

Any Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth forces entering and operating within the SBAs who are covered by the Visiting Forces Act 1952 (which has been extended to the SBAs) are accorded generally the same rights and benefits as similar forces visiting the UK. These include jurisdictional protection and exemptions from taxes and import duties. Our ability to grant full tax and duty exemptions to non-Commonwealth forces is restricted by our treaty commitment to collect taxes, rates and fees from non-entitled persons on behalf of the RoC. Countries not covered by the Visiting Forces Act do not enjoy any privileges within the SBAs other than consent to operate within the bases and the use of SBA facilities. However, minor concessions, such as access to military messes and bars, can be agreed case-by-case for practical purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel are (a) deployed and (b) stationed in (i) Germany, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) Bosnia-Herzegovina, (iv) Croatia, (v) Kosovo, (vi) Albania, (vii) the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, (viii) Sierra Leone, (ix) the Gulf Region, (x) Turkey, (xi) Gibraltar, (xii) Belize, (xiii) Kenya, (xiv) Canada, (xv) the Falkland Islands, (xvi) Cyprus, (xvii) Brunei and (xviii) Afghanistan. [189805]

This data is compiled from a number of sources. As at late September the approximate numbers of British service personnel deployed or stationed in the locations specified were:

⁽¹⁾ Training team only.

Note:

All figures rounded to the nearest 10.

The figures in the table do not include personnel serving in loan and diplomatic posts or on training detachments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the incident involving HMS Grimsby in the Thames, close to Tilbury on 29 September when a rating fell overboard as the vessel collided with other craft. [190239]

HMS Grimsby was undertaking routine survey work in the River Thames. She suffered a problem with her propulsion system while preparing to rescue a crew member who had fallen overboard, and struck two civilian vessels that were alongside a jetty. Neither of the two civilian vessels had people on board and there were no Royal Navy casualties.

The crew member was recovered unharmed by an RNLI rescue boat from Gravesend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role of the UK armed forces in helping survivors of Hurricane Ivan. [191659]

In recent weeks, the United Kingdom armed forces have provided significant emergency humanitarian assistance in the Caribbean following Hurricane Ivan. The personnel of the Royal Navy frigate HMS Richmond and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Ruler provided emergency humanitarian assistance for Grenada and the Cayman Islands.

Emergency assistance was provided with communications, essential infrastructure, damage assessment, medical support and food distribution. The Royal Navy's role in the aftermath of natural disasters that afflict the region is to provide immediate assistance until such time as full scale humanitarian relief can arrive and the civilian rebuilding effort can begin.

In support of reconstruction efforts on the Cayman Islands, the RAF also supported a deployment from the Bermuda Defence Force with a C-130 aircraft.

As the hurricane season continues, HMS Richmond and RFA Wave Ruler remain in the region, ready to respond in the event of another humanitarian crisis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the numbers of armed forces personnel HM Government will commit to the United Nations monitoring force in Sudan during the six-year interim period; and if he will make a statement. [189546]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 October 2004, Official Report, column 1891W, to the hon. Member for Guildford (Sue Doughty).

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many applications there have been for education maintenance allowances for the academic year 2004–05 in the Morley and Rothwell constituency; and how many have commenced payment. [190808]

Information on the number of young people who have applied, enrolled and been paid EMA is available at local authority level. By the end of September 2,557 young people in the Leeds local authority area were enrolled for EMA by their school or college, with 2,281 having received an EMA payment. The Assessment and Payment Body is currently turning around correctly completed applications within 10 working days and 3,682 young people in Leeds have now received a Notice of Entitlement to EMA. By the end of September 5,994 young people had applied for EMA from the Leeds local authority area, and of these just over a quarter had applied in September. Incorrect applications are returned to the applicant, some of whom will be ineligible for EMA, while others may have decided to enter full-time work or work based learning. We expect the number of young people receiving EMA to increase over the next few weeks as those who applied late or whose applications needed to be returned, have their applications assessed and are enrolled for payment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what financial help his Department offers mature students wishing to study for a degree. [190261]

[holding answer 11 October 2004]

Eligible full-time undergraduate students are entitled in 2004/05 to income assessed grants for fees (up to £1,150) and HE grants (up to £1,000); and if aged under 50, or between 50 and 54 and planning to work after their course, to student loans (up to £5,050 in London) with 25 per cent. of the loan income assessed. While the rates are the same as for younger students, mature students benefit disproportionately because the income assessed for independent students is normally lower and more get the higher levels of support. For example, we expect around a third of all those getting the full HE grant to be independent students, although such students make up only around 15 per cent. of the total student population.

For students with dependants, additional grants include adult dependants grant (worth up to £2,335), Parents Learning Allowance (worth up to £1,330) and a Childcare Grant (worth up to £8,840). As the grants are targeted at students with dependants the main beneficiaries are mature students.

Part-time undergraduate students of any age, and this will include many mature students, may receive income assessed fee grants of up to £575 and course grants of up to £250.

In addition, student parents are eligible to receive Child Tax Credit from the Inland Revenue and disabled students are eligible for DfES disabled students allowances which are not income assessed. Students may also receive additional financial assistance through the Access to Learning Fund, which is funded by the Department and administered by institutions. Priority groups for payments from the fund include student parents and other full-time mature students (especially those with existing financial commitments).

To ask the Prime Minister what rules govern the public provision of security support for relatives of Ministers when such persons are abroad on personal trips. [191184]

It has been the practice of successive governments not to comment on security issues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the budget for the Access for All fund is, broken down by rail region; and if he will list the criteria for prioritising its distribution. [190219]

Planned Government expenditure on rail for the next three years will be published in due course. The Strategic Rail Authority expects to consult on a Disability Strategy by the end of this year. The consultation document will propose criteria for prioritising the Access for All fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport

(1) what assessment has been made of the accuracy of figures for rail use; and whether this takes account of non-payment of fares; [191116]

(2) what plans he has to discuss non-payment of rail fares; and what account is taken of non-payment of fares in planning for future rail use, including the expansion of services; [191117]

(3) how many rail users there were on the Cheltenham to London service in the last period for which figures are available; and what estimate has been made of leakage of usage arising from non-payment of fares. [191129]

The calculation of rail use by passengers does not take account of ticketless travel as it is based on the numbers of tickets sold. In the year to 18 September 2004, figures provided by First Great Western show that there were 191,006 passenger journeys between Cheltenham and London terminals. It is estimated that the fares evasion level on the network is between 3 per cent. and 7 per cent. overall.

The Government are currently engaged in a consultation on ticketless travel and the penalty fare level. The consultation period ends on 26 October.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will instruct the Strategic Rail Authority to withhold permission for further removals of rolling stock from the Fenchurch street line. [190746]

The Strategic Rail Authority, working with the rail industry, must have the ability to make decisions on the best deployment of rolling stock across the whole network. However there are currently no plans for any further re-deployment of rolling stock from the Fenchurch street line.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions the Strategic Rail Authority has had with c2c about the removal of rolling stock from the Fenchurch Street line; and what approvals they have given to c2c. [190747]

I refer the hon. Member to the written reply given to him on 13 September 2004, Official Report, column 1383W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targeted funding Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Royal Hospital NHS Trust has received for the provision of acute stroke care; and if he will make a statement. [190576]

The information requested is not collected centrally. Allocations of funding for particular treatments are matters for the local primary care trust.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he gives to primary care trusts concerning the length of time a patient should wait between regular chiropody appointments. [190138]

No advice has been given. This is a matter for clinicians to address at a local level.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list hospitals in England whose primary cleaning contract is performed by in-house staff. [189438]

The information requested has been placed in the Library. The data provided was collected during the 2003–04 patient environment action team (PEAT) programme. It lists 706 hospital sites where it was reported that cleaning was undertaken by in-house staff. Some sites reported that the responsibility for cleaning was split between in-house staff and contract cleaners and these sites are not listed as we do not hold information centrally on which is the primary contract.

The 2003–04 PEAT programme ran from December 2003 to May 2004. The arrangements for cleaning in hospitals are a matter for local managers and it is possible that some of the information provided has since changed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made on the effects on costs of cleaning contracts to (a) hospitals in England and (b) Worthing and Southlands Hospitals Trust of rises in (i) national insurance contributions and (ii) the minimum wage. [189439]

Information is not routinely collected or held centrally on the pay element of the costs of cleaning contracts awarded to either national health service teams or external contractors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost to the Department of (a) clinical excellence awards and (b) higher level clinical excellence awards in the last year for which figures are available. [189260]

This is the first year of the clinical excellence awards scheme and it is not yet known how much the Department will be spending on the awards. The advisory committee on clinical excellence awards will ratify the decisions on new awards at the forthcoming meeting in October.

Last year, 2003–04, was the final year of the distinction awards scheme and the total spent by the Department on new and existing national distinction awards was £139,673,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Torbay of 26 August regarding NHS work permits. [189650]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Citizenship and Immigration at the Home Office (Mr. Browne) on 11 October 2004, Official Report, column 165W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make 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. [188196]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Straw) on 13 September 2004, Official Report, column 1451W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the hospital trusts which do not offer an egg freezing service to women who have a radical hysterectomy following cervical cancer. [190964]

The information requested is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients received funding from the NHS for haemodialysis treatment in Jersey in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2002–03. [189778]

This information is not collected centrally. The administrative arrangements which support the Health Service Convention between the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands explicitly exclude the provision of maintenance renal dialysis treatment free of charge for temporary visitors.

Primary care trusts in England may, however, pay for treatment abroad for UK residents, but the guidelines for assumption of the costs of such treatment normally exclude holiday haemodialysis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to assess the prevalence of hepatitis C in the UK population. [189820]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 11 October 2004, Official Report, column 144W.

The prevalence of hepatitis C in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the respective devolved administrations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) community hospitals and (b) disabled units in England and Wales have closed since 1997. [190216]

Information on hospital closures, including specialist units, ceased to be collected in 1991 following the introduction of the national health service internal market and NHS trusts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 9 September 2004, Official Report, column 1354W, on life expectancy, what the baseline is for progress against the detailed target for life expectancy; and what progress has been made towards meeting the target. [189879]

The detailed life expectancy target is:

"Starting with local authorities, by 2010 to reduce by at least 10 per cent. the gap between the fifth of areas with the "worst health and deprivation indicators' and the population as a whole."

The baseline is the average life expectancy at birth, for males and females separately, for the three years 1995, 1996 and 1997, for the group of local authority (LA) areas identified as having the "worst health and deprivation indicators". This group of areas is identified as the LAs that are in the worst quintile for at least three of the following variables:

male life expectancy at birth;

female life expectancy at birth;

cancer mortality in under 75s;

circulatory disease mortality in under 75s;

deprivation, as measured by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's index of multiple deprivation 2004, average ward scores.

We are awaiting publication of the revised data for these variables and will be able to report on progress against the target on a robust basis following publication of these data.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make Malavane available on the NHS as an anti-malaria treatment; and if he will make a statement. [191351]

There is no drug called Malavane. The anti-malarial drug Malarone is not available on the national health service. Regulation 24, Schedule 5(I) of the national health services (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2004, states that general practitioners can charge patients for

"prescribing or providing drugs or medicines for malaria chemoprophylaxis".

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost to the NHS of all central returns of information and statistics to (a) the Department of Health and (b) the Department's arm's length bodies in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [187858]

To discharge public accountability for the about £69.4 billion spent on the national health service in 2004–05, the Department will require certain information and statistics. By the end of the year, it will take the equivalent of about 400 NHS administrative and clerical staff, out of a total 1.3 million NHS staff, to provide this information to the Department. This represents a significant reduction in the burden as a result of improving the systems for collecting information.

Similar information is not available in respect of the Department's arm's length bodies but, as was announced in July, the number of these bodies is being reduced and arrangements are being put in place to reduce their capacity to impose demands on the NHS frontline.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health

(1) what percentage of auctions for contracting work in the NHS have been cancelled owing to lack of significant bidders; [190038R]

(2) what assessment he has made of the use of auctions for contracting work in the NHS; [190039]

(3) how many eAuctions have been undertaken in the NHS in each of the last two years. [R] [190040]

No eAuctions undertaken by the National Health Service Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA) have been cancelled due to lack of supplier participation.

NHS PASA undertook a pilot study of eAuctions during 2003–04, in which 13 eAuction events were completed. A report on our assessment of this pilot is available on the NHS PASA website.

There is no central record of eAuction events undertaken by NHS organisations. NHS PASA itself undertook one eAuction event during 2002–03 and 13 eAuction events during 2003–04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses left the NHS in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [190032]

The information requested is not collected centrally. The Department's non-medical workforce census collects information on the number of nurses employed in the national health service each year; consecutive years' data therefore show the net change in the workforce, taking account of leavers and joiners.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) publishes an annual statistical report which includes information about the number of nurses and midwives leaving the register. This data can be found on the NMC website at www.nmc-uk.org.uk.

Between September 1997 and March 2004, there has been a net increase in the number of nurses employed in the NHS of 77,500. The Government have met and exceeded the NHS Plan and Manifesto targets for increasing the nursing workforce and has also exceeded the expectation for 35,000 more nurses by 2008. The Government acknowledge that there are still more staff needed in these areas and we shall focus on increasing training places, retaining nursing staff and filling existing vacancies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to reduce the number of primary care trusts. [191754]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, presently has no plans to reduce the number of primary care trusts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reconfiguration service reviews have been undertaken by Sir Ara Darzi, broken down by (a) date and (b) services covered. [189263]

[holding answer 16 September 2004]

Professor Sir Ara Darzi has undertaken or is undertaking the following service reviews:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has paid towards nursing costs for those in residential care in the past 12 months; and what proportion this represents of the total amount spent on residential care from all sources. [189002]

The total amount spent in 2002–03, the latest year for which figures are available, by councils and primary care trusts (PCTs) in providing nursing care for adults was £1.95 billion. In that year, PCTs were allocated £220 million to meet the assessed nursing needs of people in care homes providing nursing care. This was to cover the nursing care costs of people who met the full cost of their care. The corresponding costs for people financially supported by councils is not separately identifiable. Thus, a valid comparison cannot be made.

In 2003–04, PCTs became responsible for the nursing care costs of all residents in homes providing nursing care. PCTs were allocated £584 million for this purpose. The total amount spent by councils and PCTs in that year is not yet available to make a comparison.

We would expect this to be about 25 to 30 per cent. of the amount spent on residential care. The balance comprises principally the costs of personal care provided to residents and their board and lodging costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of diagnosed sexually transmitted diseases there were in each primary care trust in London in each year since 1997. [190478]

The numbers of cases of diagnosed sexually transmitted diseases for each primary care trust in London for each year since 1997 are shown in the table.

Diagnoses of sexually transmitted diseases by primary care trust (PCT). London: 1997–2003 1

⁽⁴⁾ Overall figures may be lower than stated for the London region in the annual report because the data presented here have not been imputed.

2 One clinic in each of these PCTs did not submit all the KC60 returns for 2003.

3 The Alexis Clinic closed in June 2001. No GUM clinics currently open in this PCT.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were born at under 24 weeks gestation in the last two years for which figures are available; how many were still alive one year later; how many were handicapped; and from what handicaps they suffered. [190167]

The Department estimates that 450 babies were born from 400 deliveries before 24 weeks gestation in 2001–02. In 2002–03, about 600 babies were born from around 650 similar deliveries. Deliveries at low gestational age are often, but not always, precursors to disability. We do not have any information on the number of babies born in the most recent years who have physical or sensory impairments or learning difficulties. Neither do we know how many of those babies were still alive a year after birth. However, results of a United Kingdom and Ireland longitudinal study conducted at Nottingham University based on babies born before 26 weeks in the nine months from March to December 1995 is available at http://www.nottingham. ac.uk/human-development/EPICure/study2.htm .

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average expenditure per head of population on (a) children and (b) older people was by each social services department in the last year for which figures are available. [191120]

The table shows the average gross expenditure per head of population on children and older people for each social services department in England in 2002–03, the latest year for which data are available.

Gross expenditure per capita on older people and children by social services departments 2002–03 £

UA = Unitary authority.

⁽⁵⁾ The population figures used to calculate the per capita expenditure are those for the same age groups as the headings in the table.

Sources:

Expenditure data, form PSS EX1;

Population data, mid 2002 Office for National Statistics estimates.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to encourage the food industry to use the Vegan Society's sunflower logo on food products complying with vegan standards; and if he will make a statement. [190137]

The Vegan Society's sunflower logo is a registered trademark used for commercial purposes and as such, it is not appropriate for the Government to encourage its use.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received about the costs of remunerating medical staff who have signed a formal opt-out from the Working Time Directive. [186366]

I am not aware of any such representations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the procedures for dealing with persons applying or the enhanced or accelerated pension administered by the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers Superannuation Committee have been revised in the past five years. [191634]

The pension scheme administered by the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers' Superannuation Committee does not make provision for an accelerated or an enhanced pension arrangement. The Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002, Part III, which came into operation on 1 February 2003, did, however, make provision for optional additional benefits. One of which was to allow employing authorities to increase total membership (the number of years which count for pension purposes) of members leaving employment at or after 50. It is the responsibility of each employing authority to formulate and review their policy in respect of Part III of those Regulations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of (a) men, (b) women and (c) men and women were (i) unemployed and claiming benefits, (ii) long-term unemployed, (iii) youths unemployed and (iv) claiming incapacity benefit or predecessor invalidity benefits in (A) the UK, (B) England, (C) Yorkshire and the Humber, (D) City of York Council area and (E) City of York and York parliamentary constituency in each year since 1979. [188955]

The available information has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which services within his Department will be (a) affected by and (b) subject to job losses consequent on the cuts in the civil service announced in the Spending Review. [189641]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 16 September 2004, Official Report, column 1659W

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on (a) headhunters and recruitment consultants and (b) management consultants in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available. [185531]

DWP was formed in June 2001 from the former Department of Social Security (DSS) and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) including the Employment Service (ES). Consultancy procurement prior to the formation of DWP was the responsibility of the individual Agencies within DSS and DfES. The information requested was not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

During 2003–04, DWP spent £0.71 million on headhunters and recruitment consultants. During 2002–03, the latest year for which figures are available, expenditure on management consultancy was £47.57 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost of printing departmental headed notepaper was in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available. [185527]

In 2003–04, the latest year available, the Department for Work and Pensions spent £425,219 on headed notepaper. Headed notepaper is used for most external communications with our customers, who include most of the UK population, our suppliers and business contacts. Because the Department was formed in 2001 there are no comparable figures for 1996–07. Figures for 1996–07 for the Department's predecessor organisations, principally the Department of Social Security and the Employment Service agency are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the projected annual costs of his Department's contract payments to LandSecurities Trillium are. [189417]

The total projected contract payment to LandSecurities Trillium for 2004–05 is £482.3 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners have opted for a (a) Post Office and (b) bank or building society account for the receipt of pension payments; and how many have still to make their preference known. [190286]

[holding answer 13 October 2004]

As at 20 August we had written to almost 5.4 million pensioners. Almost 2 million have provided their bank account details, and almost 2.5 million have requested a Post Office card account.

Those customers who have not yet provided their account details will be contacted again to discuss their options, unless they have already advised the Department that they genuinely cannot open or manage an account.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many meetings of the Ministerial Sub-Committee of Green Ministers were attended by the Department's Green Minister in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04. [190850]

According to Cabinet Committee protocol, I can confirm only that I have represented the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on this committee since July 2003.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will estimate the percentage of households in each of Northern Ireland's constituencies in possession of a valid television licence. [191628]

As explained in my reply to the hon. Member on 11 October 2004, Official Report, column 69W, TV Licensing do not record the numbers of licences issued by parliamentary constituency. It is therefore not possible to estimate reliably the percentage of households in each constituency in possession of a television licence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what rights the television licensing authorities have to make pre-emptive calls upon the residents of newly built properties when there is no clarity as to whether they yet own a television; and if she will investigate correspondence issued by the authority with regard to this practice. [190210]

The BBC, as licensing authority, and its agent, TV Licensing, have the same rights and responsibilities in relation to newly built properties as in respect of any other property. Parliament has entrusted the administration of the television licensing system to the BBC and the Government have no power to intervene in operational matters of this kind. However, the BBC has explained that TV Licensing receives regular updates of the Postal Address File maintained by the Post Office. This information is checked against licensing data and, if an unlicensed property is identified, inquiries are made first by letter, then by telephone and if necessary by a home visit to establish if a television licence is required.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households in the city of Glasgow are in receipt of the free television licence for over-75s. [191004]

TV Licensing, who administer free television licences for people aged 75 or over as agents for the BBC, are not able to provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, 2001 Census data indicate that there are approximately 44,400 people aged 75 or over living in Glasgow.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of incidence of bovine tuberculosis in deer; and how much her Department has spent on research into this in each of the past 10 years. [190107]

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) has been confirmed in five of the six established wild and feral species of deer in GB.

Defra has carried out one research project in the last 10 years which has included work on isolating TB in deer and other mammalian wildlife species (excluding badgers). The wildlife survey, carried out by the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) in the South West of England, confirmed infection in four deer species—roe deer (1.0 per cent. of 885 samples), red deer (1.0 per cent. of 196 samples), fallow deer (4.4 per cent. of 504 samples) and muntjac (5.2 per cent. of 58 samples). The prevalence of infection was significantly higher in adult fallow and roe deer. The final report of the CSL research was published on the Defra website in July and can be viewed at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/science/project data/ DocumentLibrary/SE3010/SE3010 1628 FRP.doc

A breakdown of the costs for the Central Science Laboratory research are given in the following table:

Note:

The CSL survey looked at TB in a number of mammalian wildlife species and did not focus specifically on deer.

While isolations of Mycobacterium bovis (the causative organism of bovine TB) from deer are a concern it is not clear what, if any, contribution any of the species examined in the study make to the problem of TB in cattle. We are currently considering the requirements for our future research programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect on the resilience of the critical national infrastructure of a second independent national emergency service communications network operating in parallel to Airwave. [190221]

We are working with the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Association of Police Authorities, the Police Information Technology Organisation and commercial partners to increase further the resilience of Airwave. A single, resilient network has very significant cost and technical advantages over the building and operation of two independent networks.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he was informed (a) of the death of three primates en route to Huntingdon in 1998 and (b) that the crates in which they were carried broke International Air Transport Association regulations; and if he will make a statement. [189113]

The animals were found dead on arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris from the Philippines on 5 August 1998. Their deaths were reported to Home Office Ministers on 28 August 1998. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the department responsible at that time for the enforcement of regulations governing the transportation of animals to the United Kingdom, was also informed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of policing the Great Gorilla Run in London on 19 September was. [190449]

The Commissioners of Police for the City of London and for the Metropolis inform me that no additional policing costs were incurred for this charity event.

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund organised the event and provided the majority of stewards.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Government are doing to improve trust of the police among black people. [190136]

Citizen-focused policing, a key strand of the police reform programme, is about improving the way police forces understand, communicate with and engage with their communities. Race and diversity are a key element of this.

Recent national initiatives aimed at improving public confidence in the police are the Police Race and Diversity Learning and Development Programme, which aims to help officers meet the individual needs of diverse communities, and the work of the Stop and Search Action Team which aims to increase the confidence that the black and minority ethnic (BME) community has in the way the police use the stop and search power and, where appropriate reduce disproportionality.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women police officers in the Metropolitan Police force come from a minority ethnic background. [190255]

I refer my hon. Friend to the recently published Home Office Statistical Bulletin on Police Service Strength 31 March 2004.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to ensure that police forces that choose not to employ community support officers do not lose out in the distribution of the Neighbourhood Policing Fund. [190305]

The aim of the Neighbourhood Policing Fund (NPF) is to support the development of local policing teams to work with residents on policing priorities in their area. The NPF will enable forces to recruit 24,000 Community Support Officers (CSOs) by April 2008.

£50 million from the NPF is to be allocated to police forces in 2004–05 in to fund the salaries of new CSOs. We are expecting all 43 forces England and Wales to submit bids for funding. We will be discussing with police authorities and forces the terms of funding in subsequent years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) complaints have been received and (b) investigations were carried out by the office of the Police Complaints Commission for England and Wales in each of the last four years. [188652]

It is assumed that the question refers to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) which was established under the Police Reform Act 2002 and commenced operations on 1 April 2004. It replaced the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) which ceased operations on 31 March 2004.

A breakdown of the complaints for the years 1999–2000 to 2002–2003 are as follows.