To ask the Secretary of State for International Development by what date the review of country assistance plans in countries with large numbers of orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS will be completed. [217558]

Country assistance plans (CAPs) are reviewed annually by DFID country offices. The purpose of CAPs is to report progress against public service agreement (PSA) targets that includes tackling HIV and AIDS. This year, reviews will have a strong focus on assessing what progress each country has made on AIDS, and what contribution the international community has made, and where further action will be required.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide a second entrance/exit for Ivybridge on the A38; and if he will make a statement. [218054]

I have no plans to provide another junction on the A38 to serve Ivybridge.

Congestion does occur on local roads within Ivybridge during peak periods. However, relief of congestion on the local road network is a matter for the local highway authority.

Facilitating further use of the trunk road to solve these problems would be contrary to Government policy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on (a) entertainment lunches involving civil servants and guests and (b) working lunches, in each year since 1997. [215041]

The Department does not maintain separate records of the expenditure on entertainment lunches and/or working lunches and is unable to provide figures in the breakdown requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 13 January 2005, Official Report, column 599W, for expenditure on entertainment for 2002–03 and 2003–04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice he gives to highways authorities regarding the use of keep clear zones on (a) highways and (b) other roads. [218243]

The Department for Transport's advice on the use of keep clear markings is set out in section 22 of Chapter 5 of the Traffic Signs Manual. A new edition was published in 2003. The guidance is applicable to all roads to which the public has access.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies his Department has conducted on the effect at different times of day and night of noise pollution in Battersea from Heathrow airport. [218516]

The Department and its predecessors have commissioned a range of studies over the years about the effects of aircraft noise on annoyance and sleep disturbance at various times of day and night. These include the large-scale "Aircraft Noise Index Study" (CAA DR Report 8402) in the early 1980s, and the DoT "Report of a Field Study of Aircraft Noise and Sleep Disturbance" in the early 1990s. Neither study included fieldwork in Battersea, but the results of both can be generalized to that area.

On behalf of the Department, a consortium led by the MVA Consultancy is currently engaged in a major study of "Attitudes to Noise from Aircraft Sources in England" (ANASE). If this project proceeds to its second (major fieldwork and analysis) phase, sites will be sampled from a wide range of possible areas around Heathrow and other airports.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action is being taken (a) by his Department and (b) by Network Rail to warn young people of the dangers of trespassing on railway property. [218142]

The cross-industry National Route Crime Group (NRCG), whose membership includes the Department and Network Rail, works with schools to educate young people about the dangers of trespassing on the railway. The NRCG has helped to create a number of interactive educational materials, for example the 'Trakkies' website for younger children and the 'Track Off' website which provides educational materials for teachers and which is accredited under the National Grid for Learning scheme. Network Rail, the British Transport Police and a number of train operating companies also have staff who visit schools on a regular basis to reinforce safety messages. The NRCG's Annual Plan 2005, copies of which will be placed in the Libraries of the House and are available at www.trackoff.org , describes the approach to be taken to increase awareness of railway crime issues during this year. Network Rail will also be launching a campaign before the school Easter break aimed at reminding older children and young teenagers about the dangers of the railway.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all major trunk roads west of Bristol. [218304]

The major trunk roads currently due west of Bristol's north/south line are:

M4

M5

M48

M49

A303

A30

A38

A35.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

(1) what representations she has received from the Racecourse Holdings Trust regarding its plans to build an all-weather horseracing track at Kempton Park; and if she will make a statement; [218106]

(2) if she will review the restrictions on the opening hours of licensed betting offices with a view to increasing opening hours in the summer; and if she will make a statement. [218107]

We have been informed of the company's plans to build such a track, and of its belief that it would benefit from increased betting turnover flowing from an extension later into the evening, during the winter months, of the hours during which licensed betting offices are allowed to open. We have already announced our intention to allow such an extension when the Gambling Bill, if enacted, is brought into force.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many prosecutions of (a) small and medium enterprises and (b) large businesses were brought in 2003–04 for breaches of regulations sponsored by his Department; how much in total was imposed in fines in each case; and how many visits were made in 2003–04 by officials from his Department or agencies for which his Department is responsible to verify regulatory compliance in each case. [217179]

In 2003–04 the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise undertook prosecutions only for breaches of criminal law, and not for breaches of regulations. Details of the criminal prosecution activity undertaken in 2003–04 are set out in the Annual Reports produced by each of those departments, copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library. Those figures do not, however, give details of the number of prosecutions involving small and medium enterprises and large businesses; the amount of fines imposed by the Courts in those cases; nor the number of visits made by officials to verify compliance in those cases.

That additional information is not readily accessible and could be ascertained only at disproportionate cost. In the case of regulations made by the Treasury for financial services regulation, 31 prosecutions were brought in 2003–04 by the Financial Services Authority under powers conferred as a result of the transfer of functions to it by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Mutual Societies) Order 2001 (SI 2001/2617). Of these prosecutions, 16 were for failure to file returns required by s.39 Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965, as amended by the 2001 Order and 15 were for breach of s.43 Friendly Societies Act 1974, also as amended by that Order. The prosecutions were brought for offences contrary to s.61 of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 and section 98 of the Friendly Societies Act 1974. All resulted in convictions. In four cases, 12-month conditional discharges were ordered and in the other 27 cases fines totalling £16,675 were imposed.

It has not been possible in the time available to ascertain the number of visits made in the context of each case in order to verify regulatory compliance, as visits which may be characterised in this way are made on a regular basis by staff of the Financial Services Authority. Nor has it been possible in the time available to obtain a breakdown of prosecutions by size of firm.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of carers in Leicester, South. [217985]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Gill, dated 25 February 2005

As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what estimate he has made of the number of carers in Leicestershire South. (217985)

Figures from the Census 2001 Report for Parliamentary Constituencies indicate that on Census day (29 April 2001) there were 9,099 people providing unpaid care in Leicestershire South Parliamentary Constituency.

The information below has been extracted from the CD supplement to the Census 2001 Report for Parliamentary Constituencies, which is available in the House of Commons Library. The table shows the distribution of these carers according to the number of hours of care provided per week.

Number of people providing unpaid care in Leicestershire, South: 2001

Source:

Table KS08 Census 2001 Report for Parliamentary Constituencies

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cost of the enhanced early retirement scheme for civil servants in his Department and its agencies, to each year from 1997–98 to 2007–08; and if he will make a statement. [211597]

Early retirement costs for past years, and estimates of the costs for 2004–05 and future years, where available, are set out in the following table.

£000

⁽¹⁾ Including the Debt Management Office

⁽²⁾ A dash denotes that an estimate for a future year is not available

⁽³⁾ n/a denotes that the body was not formed in the year in question

⁽⁴⁾ Including the Valuation Office Agency

⁽⁵⁾ HM Customs and Excise figures reflect an accounting change in 2001–02

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average weekly earnings for full-time employees were in (a) London, (b) the borough of Brent and (c) the constituency of Brent East in each year since 1990. [217586]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Sarah Teather, dated 25 February 2005

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the average weekly earnings for full-time employees were in(a) London, (b) the Borough of Brent and (c) the constituency of Brent East in each year since. (217586)

Average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for Annual Survey of Hours and Earning tables. The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.

I attach a table showing the average earnings for full-time employees in London, Brent and East Brent.

The ASHE, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It has a one per cent sample of all employees.

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings publication criteria ensures that all estimates are undisclosive. A number of estimates have been removed from the published tables for these reasons.

Gross weekly pay (£) including overtime, for full-time employee jobs⁽⁶⁾

⁽⁶⁾ Full-time employees on adult rates of pay whose pay for the pay period was unaffected by absence.

⁽⁷⁾ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings data for 1998 to 2003 applies ASHE methodology including imputation and weighting, to existing NES data.

⁽⁸⁾ Data for Parliamentary Constituencies not available until 1996.

⁽⁹⁾ Coefficient of variation is >5 per cent.

⁽¹⁰⁾ Data for 1998 to 2003 are taken from the NES but has ASHE methodology applied, weighting and imputation.

⁽¹¹⁾ 2004 excluding supplementary surveys for comparison with 2003.

⁽¹²⁾ 2004 including supplementary surveys to improve coverage. Further information is available on National Statistics website at: www.statistics.gov.uk

Source:

ONS

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Banking Advisory Committee met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [217906]

The Banking Advisory Committee met in Brussels on 9 December 2003, 27 April 2004, 28 June 2004 and 24 November 2004. Officials from HM Treasury and the Financial Services Authority attended the meetings.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Contact Committee on Combating Money Laundering met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [217907]

The Money Laundering Contact Committee met once during the Italian Presidency on 22 September 2003 in the European Commission's Charlemagne Building, 170 Rue de la Loi, Brussels. UK Government officials from the Treasury and the Home Office attended this meeting.

The Money Laundering Contact Committee met twice under the Irish Presidency. The first meeting took place on 14 January 2004 in the European Commission's Charlemagne Building, 170 Rue de la Loi, Brussels. UK Government officials from the Treasury and the Home Office attended this meeting. The Second Meeting took place on 31 March 2004 in the European Commission's Borschette Building, 36 Rue Froissart, Brussels. UK Government officials from the Treasury and the Home Office attended this meeting.

The Money Laundering Contact Committee met once under the Dutch Presidency on 14 October 2004 in the European Commission's Borschette Building, 36 Rue Froissart, Brussels. UK Government officials from the Treasury, Customs and the Home Office attended this meeting.

The Money Laundering Contact Committee is a Committee established under the aegis of the European Commission to facilitate consultation between member state government experts and European Commission representatives on EU and international policies and standards on combating money laundering.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which of the remaining measures of the EU Financial Services Action Plan not yet implemented into UK law are considered to be minimum harmonisation directives for which the Government may choose to impose additional requirements. [217805]

The Government's record and approach to implementing the EU Financial Services Action Plan was set out in detail in "The EU Financial Services Action Plan: Delivering the FSAP in the UK", published jointly by the Treasury, FSA and Bank of England in May 2004.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) of 9 February 2005, Official Report, column 1598W, on taxation, if he will re-state Table 4.2, page 88, of the December 2004 pre-Budget report, Cmnd 6408, to include figures for the marginal deduction rates of over 40 per cent. [217499]

The table shows estimates of the numbers facing marginal deduction rates (MDRs) in excess of 40 per cent.

Figures are cumulative. This table shows marginal deduction rates for working households in receipt of income related benefits or tax credits, where at least one person works 16 hours or more a week and where higher earnings would lead to reduced benefits or tax credits. They include the marginal effects of income tax and national insurance contributions, and the withdrawal of housing benefit and council tax benefit.

This analysis does not take into account the way in which the new tax credits will respond to rises in income. The new tax credits only respond to rises in income in the current year of more than £2,500, disregarding the first £2,500 of any rise. This means that recipients will not see their tax credits reduced as soon as their income rises, so reducing the effective marginal deduction in any one year.

As a result of the Government's reforms, almost half a million fewer low-income households now face marginal deduction rates in excess of 70 per cent. than did so in April 1998. The increase in the number of households facing marginal deduction rates of between 40 and 70 per cent. is primarily due to the introduction of tax credits, and more recently the extension of support to workers aged 25 or over without children.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the detection rates for domestic burglary in Northamptonshire were in (a) October 2003, (b) March 2004 and (c) November 2004. [203833]

The available figures show that the detection rate for domestic burglary in Northamptonshire in 2003–04 was 15 per cent. Detection rate figures for individual months are not provided as they are potentially misleading. This is because many crimes are not detected in the same month that they are recorded. Detection rates are therefore estimated on the basis of those detected in that month. This tends to provide reliable estimates only for longer periods than one month, and the Home Office therefore prefers to provide figures for twelve month periods at least.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the timescale for the introduction of graffiti removal notices under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. [217720]

The graffiti removal notice powers have been available on a pilot basis to 12 local authorities since April 2004. A consultation on the pilot exercise finished on 31 December 2004. The responses are still being analysed and a regulatory impact assessment of the powers is being produced. A decision on the introduction of the powers nationally will consider the consultation, the regulatory impact assessment, and an announcement will be made shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department

(1) what plans he has to commission an investigation into the findings of the International Labour Organisation report, Forced Labour and Migration to the UK; [216378]

(2) whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department were involved in the preparation of the International Labour Organisation report, Forced Labour and Migration to the UK; [216379]

(3) whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have read the International Labour Organisation report, Forced Labour and Migration to the UK. [216380]

The Government currently are responding to the International Labour Organisation on the content and recommendations of the draft report they commissioned on forced labour and migration. We will consider any further necessary action once these discussions are complete and the report is finalised. Officials in my Department and I have seen the draft report, but we were not involved in its preparation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve the training given to police officers in dealing with mentally ill people in custody. [216166]

The National Learning Requirement for the police service sets out the priorities for training and development for the police service and is agreed by the Home Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Association of Police Authorities (APA). ACPO is undertaking a review of the National Learning Requirement for mental health awareness training in the light of a report on "Mental Health and Social Exclusion" published by the Social Exclusion Unit in June 2004.

A cross-agency group—Justice and Offenders Service, Health, Education and Development (JOSHED) was established in December 2003 to develop cross-agency national occupational standards and accredited training on health awareness issues, including mental health awareness. A scoping study was commissioned by the group in January 2004 to identify common training needs across the criminal justice and correctional services agencies, including the police. The study considered mental health training provision. It identified and made recommendations for the improvement of training which are under consideration by ACPO.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason the average weekly assessments for child support maintenance are different to the average weekly payments made under (a) the old scheme and (b) the new scheme. [200469]

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Mike Isaac to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 25 February 2005

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is currently on leave I am replying on his behalf.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the average weekly assessments for child support maintenance are different to the average weekly payments made under(a) the old scheme and (b) the new scheme.

The Department is undertaking further analysis to permit us to understand the discrepancy better

The average weekly amount assessed is derived from the total value of all assessments. It is calculated by dividing that sum by the number of cases with a non-zero assessment. This includes those cases, for which maintenance is being received on behalf of the Secretary of State, and others which are low in value, plus those that are currently inactive. This definition applies to both new and old scheme figures.

The average weekly payment is derived from the total value of payments received in the period. It is calculated by dividing that sum by the number of cases that have made a payment in the period.

Clearly the information is not directly comparable because of discrepancies in the way it is collected and collated for the two different schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria were used when disability benefits were last uprated. [217712]

As required by sections 150 to 154 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, the level of disability benefits is reviewed annually and is increased in April each year in line with the annual change in the retail prices index (RPI).

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether people who claim disability living allowance before reaching pensionable age can continue to claim it after reaching pensionable age; and if he will make a statement. [218051]

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Disability Living Allowance applications were made for children in each of the last three years; and how many were (a) rejected, (b) renewed, (c) successful reviews and (d) unsuccessful reviews in each year broken down by (i) county and (ii) region. [216936]

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information that is available is set out in the following tables.

DLA first awards broken down by successful claim for children under 16, at August each year -- Thousand

DLA first awards broken down by successful claim and Government office region for children under 16, at August each year -- Thousand

Notes:

1. Figures taken from a 5 per cent. sample at 31 August of each year. Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.

2. Figures marked * are less than 500 and subject to a high degree of sampling variation.

3. '-' denotes nil or negligible.

Source:

InfD Centre.

From November 2002, the methodology for producing these figures was changed to allow statistics to be published much sooner. This has resulted in a small increase in the reported caseload. This is because some cases which have actually terminated but have not yet been updated on the computer system are now included.

County information is not available as the data is not fully populated and therefore would provide unreliable results.

1: Initial claims rejected—all DLA claims (information by age or region not available) new disability living allowance claims by calendar year -- Thousand

2: DLA renewed disability living allowance renewals by calendar year—all DLA claims (information by age or region not available) -- Thousand

3: DLA reviews—all DLA claims (information by age or region not available) disability living allowance reviews, successful by calendar year -- Thousand

⁽¹³⁾ No Figures for December 2004 for the number of reviews registered and successful reviews. Therefore the total will be slightly lower than the actual year.

Notes:

1. Figures are taken from 100 per cent. Management Information System data.

2. Figures are rounded to five.

3. Information from the MIS system works on a 'hit' basis and therefore a case within a year for registration may not also be within the same year for decided or successful, therefore figures are not comparable.

4. Data for unsuccessful reviews are not available, and on the basis of point 3, the number of these claims cannot be calculated from decided and successful reviews.

Source:

InfD

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what date he has set for his summit meeting with EDS. [216765]

My right hon. Friend held a meeting with Michael Jordan (Chief Executive Officer) and Steve Schuckenbrock (Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Client Solutions) of EDS on 1 February 2005. At this meeting he took stock of the present position in relation to EDS' contract to provide computer and telephony services to the Child Support Agency. He concluded that acceptable progress is being made in improving that service and proposes to hold a further meeting later in the year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed incapacity benefit for mental health reasons (a) in the UK and (b) in the parliamentary constituencies of (i) Lichfield, (ii) Tamworth and (iii) Burton in (A) 1997 and (B) 2004; and if he will make a statement. [217520]

The available information is in the table.

Incapacity benefit and severe disability allowance claimants in certain parliamentary constituencies by diagnosis, at the quarter shown

Notes:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

2. Figures include all incapacity benefit, severe disability allowance and credits-only cases.

Source:

Information Directorate; 5 per cent. sample.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who have obtained jobs through the new deal were still in employment 12 months later in each year for which figures are available. [214846]

Information is not available on the length of time individuals have spent in jobs gained through the new deal.

The available information on the number of individuals gaining jobs through new deal, and the proportion of those not returning to claim a working age benefit within 12 months is in the following tables.

New deal for young people

Notes:

1. Information from the DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study is available from July 1999 to March 2004. To enable information to be provided on those not returning to claim a working age benefit within 12 months, these data are provided up to March 2003.

2. Information on the proportion not claiming a subsequent benefit excludes people who continued an existing benefit claim after starting employment.

3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages are calculated on unrounded figures.

Source:

New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information Directorate DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

New deal 25 plus

Notes:

1. Information from the DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study is available from July 1999 to March 2004. To enable information to be provided on those not returning to claim a working age benefit within 12 months, these data are provided up to March 2003.

2. Information on the proportion not claiming a subsequent benefit excludes people who continued an existing benefit claim after starting employment.

3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages are calculated on unrounded figures.

Source:

New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information Directorate DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

New deal for lone parents

Notes:

1. Information from the DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study is available from July 1999 to March 2004. To enable information to be provided on those not returning to claim a working age benefit within 12 months, these data are provided up to March 2003.

2. Information on the proportion not claiming a subsequent benefit excludes people who continued an existing benefit claim after starting employment.

3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages are calculated on unrounded figures.

Source:

New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information Directorate DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

New deal for disabled people

Notes:

1. Information from the DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study is available from July 1999 to March 2004. To enable information to be provided on those not returning to claim a working age benefit within 12 months, these data are provided up to March 2003.

2. Information on the proportion not claiming a subsequent benefit excludes people who continued an existing benefit claim after starting employment.

3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages are calculated on unrounded figures.

Source:

New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information Directorate DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

New deal 50 plus

Notes:

1. Information is not available on the period of time elapsing before people return to claim a working age benefit.

2. Information up to March 2003 is for those gaining a job and receiving the new deal 50 plus employment credit. information from April 2003 to December 2004 is for Jobcentre Plus recorded job entries.

3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10.

Source:

New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information Directorate

New deal for partners

Notes:

1. Information is not available on the period of time elapsing before people return to claim a working age benefit.

2. Information is for people getting a job through the programme.

3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10.

Source:

New Deal Evaluation Database, DWP Information Directorate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many targets have been set in each year since 1997 by the Department; and, of these, which have been (a) met, (b) nearly met, (c) not met, (d) changed and (e) dropped. [215835]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 75W, by the Financial Secretary.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will set out, with statistical information relating as closely as possible to the constituency, the effect of the Duchy's actions and policies on Blackpool, South constituency since (a) 1997 and (b) 2001. [215685]

The Duchy of Lancaster is not a Government Department and, therefore, is not involved in the setting or execution of national policies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the activities of Al-Takfir wa al-Hijra in (a) the EU and (b) North Africa since January 2002; and if he will make a statement. [216733]

We are aware that the Al-Takfir wa al-Hijra movement is active across parts of North Africa and Europe. Her Majesty's Government regularly assess all groups which they identify as posing a potential terrorist threat to UK interests.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures he plans in conjunction with other EU member states for co-operation on essential border controls between the EU and Belarus; and if he will make a statement. [217453]

The UK actively participates in joint EU operations at weak points on the EU's external border. There are plans for such operations at the border with Belarus in the future.

The UK Immigration Service also has regular operational contact with the authorities in Belarus on migration issues, including on border control matters. Home Office officials met recently with representatives from the Belarusian Ministry of the Interior to discuss co-operation on migration issues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of corruption in Cambodia; what assistance is being given to Cambodia to eliminate corruption; and if he will make a statement. [216125]

Cambodia faces a challenging governance agenda of which combating corruption is of central importance, as the president of the World Bank made clear recently.

Strengthening governance remains a key part of UK bilateral assistance for Cambodia. The UK is helping the Government undertake critical reforms that will help tackle corruption. For example, we are helping the Government undertake reforms of management of public funds and we have supported work to tackle illegal logging.

At the annual consultative group meeting between Government and donors in Cambodia in December last year, the Government committed to specific actions to tackle reported corruption, enact anti-corruption legislation and increase Government openness and transparency.

However, these promises need to be backed by faster progress towards reform. I raised this issue with the Cambodian Minister of Justice, Mr. Ang Vong Vathana, on 27 January 2005. Our ambassador in Phnom Penh also raised it with the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on 1 February 2005.

We welcome the Cambodian Government's intention to adopt soon an anti-corruption law. We hope that the political will needed to implement the legislation will be forthcoming.

We will continue to encourage the Government of Cambodia to take concrete action against corruption and are providing practical support to help them do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department will reply to the letters on behalf of Ms Amani Hamadalla (a) to Mr. Goldsmith of the Libya Desk dated 1 September and 19 October 2004 and (b) to Baroness Symons dated 19 November 2004. [217587]

We regret the delay in replying to the hon. Member's correspondence, but note that officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have been in direct contact with Ms Hamadalla several times during this period, including in relation to the issues raised in the hon. Member's letters of 1 September, 19 October and 19 November.

Officials at the British Embassy in Tripoli continue to raise Ms Hamadalla's case with the Libyan authorities. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will write to the hon. Member with a full update shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the (a) gross and (b) net contributions of each EU member state since 1986. [217656]

I have been asked to reply.

Details of member states gross contributions, after taking account of the UK abatement, receipts, and indicative net contributions for the period 1986 to 2003, the latest year for which information is currently available, are set out in the following tables.

Gross contributions by member state 1986–2003 -- € million

Note:

Figures for gross contributions are after account is taken of the UK's abatement and the bringing to account of surpluses and deficits in respect of member states contributions in earlier years. Since 1988, member states' contributions exclude 10 per cent. collection costs (25 per cent. from March 2001) in respect of sugar and agricultural levies and customs duties payments—which are deducted before contributions are made to the Community. Prior to 1988 member states made their sugar and agricultural levies and customs duties contributions available in full. The 10 per cent. collection costs were paid from the expenditure side of the Budget to member states and thus scored as receipts.

Sources:

1. 1986 to 1991 Court of Auditors Reports.

2. 1992 and 1993 European Commission Report on own resources system.

3. 1994 to 2003 European Commission Reports on the Allocation of EU Operating Expenditure.

Receipts paid to member states 1986–2003 -- € million

Notes:

1. With effect from 1988, payments to member states no longer include collection costs in respect of sugar and agricultural levies and customs duties. Since 1988 member states have retained 10 per cent. (25 per cent. from March 2001) of their levies and duties before making these contributions available to the Community.

2. Information for 1986 to 1991, which has been taken from ECA reports, may not include full data on the benefit to member states from spending on administration or "other institutions". Figures for 1986 to 1991 are not therefore fully comparable with those for later years.

Sources:

1. 1986 to 1991 Court of Auditors Reports.

2. 1992 and 1993 European Commission Report on own resources system.

3. 1994 to 2003 European Commission Reports on the Allocation of EU Operating Expenditure.

Net contributions by member state 1986–2003 -- € million

Notes:

1. Negative sign indicates net beneficiary.

2. Information for 1986 to 1991, which has been taken from ECA reports, may not include full data on the benefit to member states from spending on administration or "other institutions". Figures for 1986 to 1991 are not therefore fully comparable with those for later years.

3. Figures in this table should only be regarded as indicative net contributions for the member states.

Source:

Gross contributions minus receipts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total budget of the Europe directorate within his Department is in 2004–05; and how many staff work in the Europe directorate. [217953]

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Europe directorate covers the UK's engagement with the EU's institutions, and our relations with all 24 other EU member states, the four European free trade area countries, those in the Balkans as well as Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus—a total of 41 countries—plus the overseas territory of Gibraltar.

The total budget for the Europe directorate in 2004–05 is £127,473,000. This covers the running costs of operations at home and overseas (including locally engaged staff salaries), capital, and programme expenditure. There are 677 diplomatic service staff who work for the directorate—488 overseas, and 189 in London.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2005, Official Report, column 1455W, on the European Constitution, under what circumstances the charter of fundamental rights might impact upon member states when implementing Union law. [218017]

The Provisions of the charter of fundamental rights are addressed to the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union with due regard for the principle of subsidiarity and to the member states only when they are implementing Union law. Member states implement EU law in various ways, including by adopting legislation, by administrative practice or by enforcing penalties or other appropriate sanctions. The member states will need to take the rights, freedoms and principles set out in the charter, subject to its general provisions and with due regard to the official explanations, into account in carrying out such activities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those items of legislation introduced since 1997 in response to a ruling against the Government at the European Court of Justice. [216451]

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold all the information requested. We have asked other Government Departments to provide us with the relevant information and I will write to the hon. Member once they have done so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions over the last year UK embassy staff have visited Aceh in Indonesia to assess the risk of UK-sourced equipment being used for internal repression; and during which of those visits staff had unrestricted, unimpeded and unaccompanied access to local citizens. [217455]

In the last 12 months, there have been several visits by embassy staff to Aceh. Two members of the British embassy visited Aceh in February 2004. They held meetings with members of the Indonesian army, and with local NGOs. The Defence Attaché visited Aceh as part of an EU delegation in May. On both occasions, there were restrictions on movement, due to the security situation in the province. Since the tsunami disaster on 26 December and the lifting of restrictions, there have been many visits to Aceh where movement was only restricted by the physical devastation following the earthquake and tsunami.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of Joel Boutroue's press briefing on 8 February 2005; what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the UN's view of the role of the provincial authorities, the district authorities and the Acehnese people on the Government of Indonesia and its policy towards Aceh; and if he will make a statement. [216404]

We welcomed Mr Boutroue's comments on 8 February 2005 about the importance of involving the Acehnese in reconstructing their devastated province after the disaster on 26 December 2004. The Government of Indonesia have made clear that their main priority is to rebuild Aceh so that the lives of the people there who have suffered such tragic losses can be returned to normal as soon as possible, and that a political settlement to the long-running conflict is reached. With this objective in mind, the international community including the UN are in discussion with the people of Indonesia, particularly the people of Aceh, as to what help they can provide to assist in the recovery of the province.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of UK (a) companies and (b) individuals receiving mismanaged Iraqi reconstruction funds. [216457]

We have not received any reports of UK companies or individuals receiving mismanaged Iraqi reconstruction funds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he (a) requested and (b) received figures for Iraqi casualties from the Interim Iraqi Government prior to those contained in the statement by the Interim Iraqi Health Minister of 29 October 2004. [217168]

We have had regular discussions on this issue with the Iraqi authorities. We have not received figures for periods earlier than that covered in the Iraqi Minister of Health's statement of 29 October 2004. These covered the period 5 April to 5 October 2004. The Iraqi Ministry of Health only began collating statistics for casualties in April 2004.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his oral statement of 31 January 2005, Official Report, column 584, what the serious methodological difficulties are in relation to the figures of Iraqi casualties provided by the Iraqi Ministry of Health; whether these figures contain any attribution of the number of Iraqi deaths and injuries that have resulted from the actions of (a) multinational forces, (b) Iraqi security forces and (c) terrorists and insurgents; and whether the figures specify the number of Iraqi non-combatants who have been killed or injured by the actions of these three groups. [217442]

The Iraqi Ministry of Health (MOH) released a statement on 28 January 2005, which explained that in its figures, collated from some 180 hospitals:

"Casualties of car bombs and other clearly identifiable terrorist attacks are recorded as being caused by terrorist incidents. All other casualties are recorded as military action. The casualties may include insurgents, civilians as well as Iraqi police who are treated in MOH hospitals. The casualties may have been killed or injured by terrorist or coalition forces. Coalition forces include Iraqi police, Iraqi security forces, and the Multi-National forces".

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK will be sending election observers to Kyrgyzstan for the election on 27 February. [218305]

Yes. We have provided two long-term observers and 16 short-term observers to the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the merits of Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia's call for the UK to join Saudi Arabia in the establishment of an international centre for combating terrorism. [216815]

We welcome HRH Crown Prince Abdullah's encouragement of greater international co-operation on counter-terrorism. The recent conference in Riyadh was of considerable political significance. The Saudi Government have promised a fuller explanation of their proposal for an international counter-terrorism centre. We will look at it seriously.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there has been conflict between NATO and EU contingency plans for military intervention in the Sudan. [217795]

The UN Security Council is currently planning for the establishment of a UN Peace Support Operation for Sudan to begin deployment in the next few weeks. There are no plans for any military intervention by either the EU or NATO but the EU are giving financial, logistical and technical assistance to the African Union Mission in Darfur.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of corruption in Uganda; what assistance is being given to Uganda to eliminate corruption; and if he will make a statement. [216126]

Corruption continues to be a problem in Uganda. In September, the UK, along with other donor partners, raised the issue directly with President Museveni. We called on the Ugandan Government to tackle corruption more effectively, particularly with regard to its failure to act on high-profile corruption cases and the resulting detrimental impact corruption had on development and investment.

Fighting corruption is a priority for the UK development assistance programme in Uganda. Our work aims to enhance the institutional capacity of key anti-corruption agencies, and to develop a more efficient and co-ordinated approach to fighting corruption in Uganda.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 December 2004, Official Report, column 1626W, on West Papua, what format he expects a review of the Act of Free Choice for Papua to take; whether there is a timetable for the review; and if he will make a statement. [216368]

The report of the special representative who oversaw the implementation of the UN backed 1969 Act of Free Choice resulting in West Papua becoming a province of Indonesia was accepted by a majority vote of the UN in November 1969. Any review of it is a matter between the UN and the Indonesian Government.

The British Government, together with other members of the international community, have continued to stress to the Indonesian Government at the highest level the need to fully implement the 2001 special autonomy law for Papua. This law allows for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Committee to look at the incorporation of Papua into Indonesia in the 1960s.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the committee on the service in the member states of judicial and extrajudicial documents and co-operation between the courts of the member states in the taking of evidence in civil or commercial matters met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [217814]

There are two separate committees, one relating to the regulation on the service in the member states of judicial and extrajudicial documents and the other relating to the regulation on co-operation between the courts of the member states in the taking of evidence in civil and commercial matters. There have been no meetings of either committee during the Italian, Irish or Dutch presidencies. However there were two ad hoc meetings convened by the European Commission in Brussels on 17 July 2003 and 14 April 2004 to discuss the regulation on service at which the UK was represented by officials from the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Scottish Executive.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many questions were drafted and considered before the final text of the question for the referendum on approval of the EU Constitution was agreed; and if he will publish the shortlist of questions. [217184]

The wording of the question was decided following collective agreement at ministerial level with relevant Departments.

We currently have no plans to publish material relating to the formulation and internal development of the Government's policy on the terms of the question.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average age of current High Court judges is. [218038]

As at 21 February 2005 there are currently 107 High Court judges in post, whose average age is 58 years and 8 months.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the total education and training budget of the Department is for 2005–06. [218036]

The Departmental allocation for provision of staff education and training for 2005–6 is not yet available. I shall write to my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw once the details of my Department's budget for staff training and education are available.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the training budget for (a) lay magistrates and (b) High Court judges is in 2005. [218037]

Judicial training is the responsibility of the Judicial Studies Board (JSB), an independent body chaired by Lord Justice Keene. Training for magistrates is paid for and delivered at local level in 42 administrative areas. The budget for magistrates training is not ring-fenced and currently cannot be isolated from the overall grant allocation made by the Department for Constitutional Affairs to the Magistrates Courts Service. The JSB provides a core continuing professional education curriculum, the aim of which is to strengthen and deepen the skills and knowledge of existing judicial office-holders. High Court judges are invited to relevant continuation seminars. In addition, the JSB provides a programme of regular after-court seminars for the senior judiciary. There is no ring-fenced budget for High Court judges' training and the resources devoted to it can only be identified at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the costs of cleaning the Department and its predecessors were in each year since 1997. [213833]

The total cost of cleaning the Department for Education and Skills Headquarter buildings both internally and externally are as follows: