To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many bookings for dining rooms in the House received a 10 per cent. discount for block bookings in the last 12 months. (111612)

No discounts have been given for block bookings in the House of Commons dining rooms in the last 12 months.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the total cost was of the recent staff conferences held by her Department. (117456)

The total cost of the recent staff conferences is currently being calculated. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the merits of a ban on the advertising of alcoholic drinks (a) on TV and (b) in print media; and if she will make a statement. (111008)

The Government take the issue of alcohol misuse seriously, particularly among young people, and set out a programme of measures in the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England in 2004. The strategy noted the work being undertaken by Ofcom to review the rules on alcohol advertising on television.

Ofcom conducted and assessed research about the impact of alcohol advertising and concluded there was insufficient evidence to support a ban. However, Ofcom’s code amendments, which came into effect on 1 January 2005, significantly strengthened the rules on broadcast alcohol advertising in many areas particularly to protect the under-18s.

In parallel with the changes to the TV Advertising Standards Code, the non-broadcast code was tightened to ensure that the content of all advertisements was socially responsible and that they did not contain a particular appeal to youth culture or links to sexual success and did not encourage antisocial behaviour. These new rules were introduced in October 2005 and have been monitored and enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). I understand the ASA and the Committees of Advertising Practice will be conducting further research this year to assess the effectiveness of the new code rules and will assess whether any further changes are required.

The Department has made no separate assessment of the merits of an alcohol advertising ban.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many complaints her Department has received about the allegations of racism on the Channel Four programme Celebrity Big Brother; and what representations she has received on this subject. (111101)

By 25 January, the Department had received 65 written complaints and a small number of telephone complaints.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she last met Ofcom to discuss its complaints procedure. (111189)

Parliament charges Ofcom directly to establish procedures to handle and resolve complaints (under the observance of standards, under Section 325 of the Communications Act 2003).

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects her Department to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for South-West Surrey dated 26 September and 15 November 2006. (116999)

[holding answer 22 January 2007]: I apologise for not replying sooner to the letter dated 27 September from the hon. Member for South-West Surrey. This is due to an administrative error. I can confirm that I have responded to this letter on 24 January 2007. The letter dated 15 November 2006 has not been received by the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to publish the proposed Green Paper on the creative industries; and if she will make a statement. (111861)

The Creative Economy Programme Green Paper is due to be published before the summer recess. It will set out the strength of the creative industries to the UK economy, challenges and opportunities, and areas where Government can enable greater productivity.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department has taken as a result of the work undertaken by the Creative Industries Entrepreneurship Task Group on entrepreneurship in the creative industries. (111862)

The Entrepreneurship Task Group recommendations have been taken forward by the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship and will feature in the policy development of the Creative Economy Programme Green Paper, due for publication in the summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much programme expenditure sponsored by her Department was spent via each of the Government Offices for the Regions in the most recent year for which figures are available. (116753)

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which fixed assets her Department sold for more than £10,000 in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06; and what the (i) sale value, (ii) purchaser and (iii) date of sale was of each asset. (110787)

In July 2005 the DCMS sold the freehold of the north east corner of the Royal Garden Hotel, London for the sum of £2.5 million to the Imperial Tobacco Pension Fund.

In 2004-05 the DCMS sold the freeholds of 30, 31 and 32 Park street, Windsor, to its lessees. The date and sale price for each was as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of her Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether she plans to increase the use of open source software in her Department. (111164)

It would not be meaningful to provide an answer in percentage terms as my Department uses open source software mainly on backend systems which in themselves only make up a small percentage of total computer systems but which can be potentially accessed by a high percentage of staff.

Open source software used by my Department includes Linux, MySQL and FireFox. We will continue to use open source software in the future where it makes business and economic sense to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which 10 consultancy fees charged to his Department since May 1997 were the most expensive. (107182)

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many value for money exercises on the use of (a) management consultants and (b) professional advisers have been conducted by his Department in each of the last five years for which information is available; and if he will make a statement. (103014)

My Department has not conducted a formal Department-wide value for money review focusing specifically on management consultants or professional advisers in any of the last five years. However, the role and contribution of consultants and advisers is considered as part of reviews of specific projects and programmes and as part of standard contract management practice. We have also conducted a number of internal audit reviews and co-operated fully in external audit reviews of consultants during the period in question.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department spent on (a) conducting and (b) commissioning educational research in 2005-06. (117408)

In 2005-06 the Department commissioned, via its central research budget, research totalling £6.33 million of which £2.59 million was spent in the financial year. The total expenditure in 2005-06, including the cost of research commissioned in previous years, was £13.7 million. Other research is commissioned from other funds within the Department but details of the actual expenditure in year are not held centrally.

Details of the Department's current research programme are contained in its Analytical Strategy 2006, copies of which are available from our website (www.dfes.gov.uk/research).

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of schools have a designated enterprise adviser. (103421)

[holding answer 27 November 2006]: The information requested is not collected and is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average salary was of an (a) secondary school head teacher and (b) deputy head teacher in (i) 1997, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2006. (111777)

The following table provides the average salary of head and deputy head teachers in maintained sector schools in England and Wales in March 1997, 2001 and 2005, the latest year available. The figure for deputy head teachers for 2005 includes assistant head teachers because the data source does not allow these grades to be separately identified. Provisional information for March 2006 is likely to become available in July 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what local authority social services nurseries the city of Newcastle upon Tyne provided under the Children Act 1989 in (a) 2004, (b) 2005 and (c) 2006; (111904)

Newcastle upon Tyne city council has been given no guidance on the closure or outsourcing of its existing local authority day nurseries and no representations have been received in relation to the outsourcing or closure of local authority social service day nurseries in Newcastle. Details of local authority social services nurseries in Newcastle are not held centrally.

Section 8 of the Childcare Act 2006 provides that a local authority may not deliver new child care provision itself unless it is satisfied that no other provider is willing to do so or, if another provider is willing to do so, that in the circumstances it is appropriate for the local authority to provide the child care. We intend section 8 to come into force in October 2007. It will not affect the provision of child care by the governing body of a maintained school, and it will not apply to day care for children in need provided under section 18 of the Children Act 1989.

We intend to begin consulting on draft statutory guidance which will cover section 8 of the Childcare Act 2006 (and other sections relating to the new local authority duty to secure sufficient child care for working parents which will come into force in April 2008) within the next few weeks. That guidance will make clear that the restriction in section 8 relates only to new or expanding local authority child care. There is no requirement for local authorities to close their existing provision, or change it when section 8 comes into force. If, however, a local authority wishes to expand existing child care in terms of the number of places or the hours offered, or if it wishes to open new provision, the requirements of section 8 will need to be met.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many parenting contracts were issued in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) West Bromwich East in the most recent year for which figures are available. (111858)

Between 1 August 2005 and 1 September 2006 (latest published data) local authorities in England have reported that 12,105 education-related parenting contracts have been agreed with parents, of which 1,256 were agreed by local authorities within the Government office for the West Midlands region. In Sandwell, of which the West Bromwich East constituency is part, 195 such contracts were agreed in the same period. We do not collect data below local authority level.

Data on parenting contracts in cases of antisocial behaviour and criminal conduct are collected by the Youth Justice Board, from youth offending teams (YOTs). Between April 2005 and March 2006 (based on latest published data) YOTs in England have reported 421 such parenting contracts. During the same period 33 parenting contracts were reported by YOTs within the West Midlands region. One parenting contract was reported by Sandwell YOT. Data is not reported below YOT area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the 20 largest procurement projects initiated by his Department since May 1997 have been; what the (a) original budget, (b) cost to date and (c) consultancy fees have been; and what the final cost was of each project which has been completed. (106578)

This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions are planned with Peterborough city council prior to the allocation of the dedicated schools grant for 2007-08, with particular reference to funding for children in maintained schools (a) whose first language is not English and (b) who are from ethnic minorities and are underachieving; and if he will make a statement. (110737)

[holding answer 25 January]: Mainstream school funding is provided through the dedicated schools grant (DSG) which sets local authorities allocations for 2006-07 and 2007-08: the allocations for 2007-08 will depend on pupil numbers in schools in January 2007 and the guaranteed unit of funding per pupil set in December 2005, which took account of the number of children for whom English is an additional language and those pupils from ethnic minorities who are underachieving.

The increase in Peterborough's DSG guaranteed unit of funding was 7 per cent. in 2006-07 and will be 6.8 per cent. in 2007-08.

The guaranteed unit of funding per pupil was set in December 2005 to provide authorities with predictability and stability over a multi-year period; local authorities were fully consulted as part of this process. I am therefore not planning discussions with individual local authorities on their DSG allocations for 2007-08.

In addition to DSG, schools also receive funding through the ethnic minority achievement grant (EMAG) for pupils for whom English is an additional language and pupils from ethnic minorities who are underachieving in the authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much Travelling to School: A Good Practice Guide on children’s behaviour cost (a) to produce and (b) to promote; how many copies have been distributed in each year since publication; and what assessment he has made of the impact thereof. (105367)

I have been asked to reply.

The production cost was £18,861. However, as it is now more than three years since the guide was published, it is not possible to give an accurate estimate of the manpower costs incurred by the Department for Transport and the Department for Education and Skills in researching and writing the guide.

A total of 8,238 copies of the guide have were distributed up to the end of December 2006, 2,206 in 2003, 2,751 in 2004, 2,662 in 2005 and 619 in 2006.

Both Departments have promoted the Travelling to School project to bring about a step change in home to school travel patterns. School travel plans are seen as the key strategies in cutting congestion and pollution while allowing more pupils to take regular exercise, and the objective is for every school in England to have an approved school travel plan in place by the end of the decade. At the end of March 2006, just over 10,000 schools had a school travel plan.

An initial evaluation in 2005 of the Travelling to School project found a strong evidence base that school travel plans can be effective mechanisms for reducing car dependency on the journey to school. They can also deliver wider benefits including improvements in pupil behaviour, increased confidence and independent mobility for pupils with special educational needs, improved punctuality and school attendance, engaging schools and pupils from deprived areas, building positive relationships with local authorities and local communities and improved safety.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many foreign students attended universities in England in each year since 1996; (111372)

The latest available information is shown in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of food served in buildings occupied by his Department was of British origin in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006. (111119)

The DTI has a policy of supporting the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI) through the contracted catering services. During the years in question on average 63 per cent. of food products purchased and served in 2005 was produced in the UK and in 2006 the equated to an average of 65 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library the aims and objectives sent to Michael Gibbons when he was asked to conduct his independent review on dispute resolution. (111643)

I have today placed a copy of the terms of reference of the review of dispute resolution in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which external consultants were used by (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in relation to private finance initiatives in 2005-06; and what the nature and cost of the work was in each case. (115196)

Neither the Department nor any of its Executive Agencies initiated any new private finance initiatives in financial year 2005-06 and accordingly did not employ any external consultants on such work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the level of UK exports to Libya was in 2005-06. (112142)

UK exports of goods to Libya amounted to £210.6 million in 2005, and £181.2 million from January to November 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many workers in Copeland have had their incomes increased as a result of the introduction of the national minimum wage. (111387)

Data at the parliamentary constituency level are not available. However, the DTI estimates that around 160,000 people in the North West of England (including Merseyside) stood to benefit from the October 2006 uprating of the national minimum wage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effect the introduction of the national minimum wage has had upon income levels in Copeland. (111389)

Data at the parliamentary constituency level is not available. However, according to the Office for National Statistics’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, median hourly pay excluding overtime in the north-west of England (including Merseyside) rose 34 per cent. since the introduction of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) (from £6.95 in 1998 to £9.32 in 2006). Though the NMW would have made some contribution to this increase, no quantitative assessment of its impact has been made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will make a statement on the funding of British Nuclear Fuels’ nuclear liabilities; (117200)

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a non-departmental public body responsible for the decommissioning and clean-up of the UK’s historic public civil nuclear legacy. Safety is clearly a Government priority and the NDA is responsible for ensuring this in managing its budget.

The NDA is funded by a mixture of grant in aid from my Department and income from its commercial operations. Grant in aid for the NDA in 2007-08 was settled in the 2004 Spending Round. The figure is £1,381 million. There is no question of this funding being cut.

For the last two years the level of spend by the NDA has been running at a significantly higher level that that assumed in the 2004 Spending Round. This was made possible because of unexpectedly high additional commercial income.

The performance of some of the NDA’s commercial operations is subject to uncertainty and the NDA now expects less commercial income for the financial year 2007-08 than it originally forecast. As a consequence, the NDA has asked my Department to provide additional grant to cover its additional spending plans.

The Department is in discussion with the NDA about its funding request as part of routine annual budgeting discussions, and is considering how much additional NDA expenditure (that is, above and beyond that provided by the 2004 Spending Round) can be sustained through increases in grant in aid.

The NDA’s Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06 were published on 26 October 2006 and copies were placed in the Libraries of the House. The Accounts are also available on the NDA website at: www.nda.gov.uk

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what effect he expects trends in the price of uranium to have on the final sale value of Urenco; (110538)

The valuation of Urenco is influenced by a range of different factors.

Options for selling all or part of BNFL’s stake are still being explored with BNFL’s fellow shareholders in the business and with the Dutch and German Governments. We will decide on our preferred way forward once the issues have been thoroughly explored.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by what date he expects British Nuclear Fuels to divest itself of all its business holdings. (110540)

By March 2008, we would expect Project Services, British Nuclear Group reactor sites and the interest in the Atomic Weapons Establishment to have been sold and the National Nuclear Laboratory set up based around the British Technology Centre in Sellafield, West Cumbria, and Nexia Solutions, which the Secretary of State announced on 24 October.

Options for selling all or part of BNFL’s stake in Urenco are still being explored with BNFL’s fellow shareholders in the business and with the Dutch and German Governments. We will decide on our preferred way forward once the issues have been thoroughly explored.

BNFL will maintain its involvement in the Sellafield Site Management Company until the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has transitioned the Sellafield contract to a new contractor.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of his Department’s computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether he plans to increase the use of open source software in his Department. (111172)

The Department supports the use of open source software where it would provide long-term benefits to the Department.

The Department has outsourced its core IT services under a long-term PFI deal to Fujitsu.

Fujitsu is responsible for making technical decisions about which software and hardware to use to meet the Department’s business needs. One of Fujitsu’s objectives is to provide the Department with best value for money and, with that in mind, Fujitsu considers whether the use of open source software would be appropriate, taking into account such issues as support costs, interoperability, migration costs and retraining.

To date, there is minimal use of open source software in the Department’s core IT services, but Fujitsu regularly reviews whether its application would benefit the Department and if this is found to be the case, its introduction will be supported.

The Office of Government Commerce has published a policy on the use of Open Source Software and the DTI’s use of Open Source Software follows this policy where appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in his Department and its executive agencies; and if he will make a statement. (113804)

The cash equivalent transfer value of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in the DTI and its executive agencies is £3,755,000.

Each year the DTI and other departments publish details of the pension benefits and CETVs of each of the members of the senior management team in a remuneration report. This can be accessed by members of the public on the DTI external website. Details of six of the 10 highest paid members of staff are included in the last remuneration report which was based on a closing date of 31 March 2006. Of the remaining four highest paid members of staff not included in the remuneration report accounts, the CETVs of two are included in the above total; the remaining two did not have any benefits in the scheme at the close of the accounts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many representations he has received on the Government's announcement that up to 2,500 sub-post offices may close. (111374)

Ministers have received a large number of responses to our national consultation from a wide range of people. There was a debate in the House on the post office network on 10 January and the question was also raised and discussed in the House on 18 January.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the post offices which are planned to be closed. (111566)

No decisions have yet been made on individual post offices. When the Government reach their final decision on their proposals following the outcome of the national consultation we will task the Post Office with beginning the detailed planning needed to implement the required restructuring.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what response he has made to Postwatch's proposal that post office closures be divided equally between urban and rural areas. (111848)

I am not aware that Postwatch has made any such proposal.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to encourage people to participate in the Post Office network consultation; how many people in his Department are working on the consultation; and how much has been allocated to advertise the consultation. (111183)

The Department made copies of the consultation document on the Post Office network available to Members of Parliament on 14 December. The document is also available electronically through the DTI and Directgov websites. Copies have also been sent to a wide range of stakeholder groups. Copies of the document may be copied and circulated freely.

Welsh language copies of the document are available. Versions have also been prepared and distributed to the RNIB and individuals in Braille, audio tape and large print.

A team of eight officials are involved in developing Government policy for the Post Office network and have been involved in preparing the consultation document. Some 50 members of staff are available to deal with the handling of responses to the consultation document.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices there are in Cotswold constituency; and what support the network there receives from the Government, broken down by post office. (111404)

The question the hon. Member has asked relates to operational matters for which Post Office Ltd (POL) is directly responsible. The company has provided the following figures relating to the numbers of post office branches in the constituency. There are 42 post office branches in the Cotswold constituency, 40 classified as rural and two classified as urban. The information is placed in and available from the Library of the House.

The Government’s support helps Post Office Ltd to cover the fixed element of sub-postmasters’ pay and to meet infrastructure costs such as IT operating costs, cash distribution, direct marketing, and the agents’ information help line. As the Government’s subsidy for the network is used to cover the costs incurred by Post Office Ltd in maintaining an uncommercial network rather than specific branches, the funding is not directly attributed to individual post offices.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices in (a) Cotswold, (b) Cheltenham, (c) Forest of Dean, (d) Gloucester, (e) Stroud and (f) Tewkesbury fall within the access criteria. (111429)

The entire network will be subject to the Government’s proposals on access criteria.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2007, Official Report, column 815W, on renewable installations, how companies may be placed on the framework as suppliers; and if he will make a statement. (111509)

The Framework suppliers for the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 have been selected, following a competitive tender process carried out in accordance with European Union procurement rules. This process is closed and no further companies may be placed on the framework. The seven framework suppliers may deliver services through sub-contractors. These sub-contractors must be within the microgeneration certification scheme that supports the programme and are selected at the sole discretion of the framework suppliers. Sub-contractors may change through the life of the programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2007, Official Report, column 815W, on renewable installations, what process was used to select the companies chosen as suppliers on the framework; and if he will make a statement. (111644)

The framework suppliers were chosen through a competition carried out in accordance with European Union procurement rules. A notice was placed in the Official Journal of the European Union calling for “expressions of interest”. Out of the 53 companies expressing an interest, 43 were formally invited to tender. From the 28 full bids received, 15 companies were invited to interview before the final seven companies were selected. Framework suppliers were chosen on the basis of those tenders offering best “value for money” evaluated against (i) technical merit (ii) relevant experience (iii) overall price (iv) level of understanding of the challenges involved in the large scale provision of high quality micro generation installations in a relatively short period of time (v) quality management (vi) innovative ideas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Sage Report on Cautionary Principles on Power Lines will be published. (117337)

I have been asked to reply.

The stakeholder advisory group on extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) (SAGE) is jointly sponsored by the Department of Health, the charity Children with Leukaemia and National Grid plc. The aim of SAGE is to bring together stakeholders to identify and explore the implications for a precautionary approach to ELF EMF and make practical recommendations for precautionary measures. Its terms of reference and ways of working are described on the website www.rkpartnership.co.uk/sage. The SAGE process has been running since 2004 and the website indicates that it is expected to produce its first report this year although no specific date has been set.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations put forward by Sir Gareth Roberts in his 2002 report SET for success. (111196)

Since 2002 the Government have set out a series of policy commitments and provided funding to realise the recommendations of Sir Gareth Robert's report ‘SET for Success’.

The 10-year science and innovation investment framework emphasised the importance of science, engineering and technology (SET) skills for the future of the UK. This was reinforced by the further programme of commitments in the March 2006 science and innovation investment framework next steps.

Research Councils are implementing those recommendations in the Roberts report on improving the attractiveness of postgraduate study and careers in higher education. For example, the minimum PhD stipend was raised to £12,000 in the academic year 2005 and to £12,300 in 2006, and has been increased since in line with the GDP deflator; a study has been undertaken to assess the impact of enhanced stipends and salaries on the recruitment and retention of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers in key shortage areas; mechanisms have been put in place to support PhDs of longer duration than three years; funding for nearly 800 academic fellowships has been awarded to 79 universities throughout the UK; research councils are working with the higher education sector to enhance personal and professional skills development for research staff based on research grants; and, the concordat for contract workers is also being reviewed.

In addition to this, initiatives to secure a firm and sustainable pool of qualified people in science have included SETNET (the science, engineering, technology and mathematics network) and the science and engineering ambassadors (SEAs)programme with currently over 13,000 SEAs enthusing young people about science which will increase to 18,000 by March 2008. The UK Resource Centre for Women in SET has been set up and is working with over 70 employers to increase numbers of women in SET, and 38 schools are currently participating in an initiative run by SETNET to increase the participation of ethnic minority school children in science.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the balance of trade between the UK and Laos was in each of the last five years. (111622)

Figures are only available for trade in goods on an Overseas Trade Statistics basis. They are shown in the following table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what documents his Department and its agencies translate for people in the UK who do not speak English; into which languages such documents are translated; and what the cost was of producing such translations in each of the last five years, broken down by language of translation. (113878)

In accordance with the Department's ‘Race Equality Scheme 2006-2008’ DTI documents may be made available in languages for people in the UK who do not speak English to support appropriate access to information, at the Department's discretion and subject to demand. Examples of documents published in other languages include employee rights and fireworks safety information.

From the information available centrally, languages and costs of such translations include:

Other languages, into which some documents have been translated, include Greek, Polish and Portuguese. For other languages, as for Arabic and Chinese prior to the current year, it has not been possible to identify separately, from the information available centrally, the costs of such translation work from work carried out in support of DTI business and UK Trade and Investment overseas activities, without incurring disproportionate costs.

We also produce employment RTS leaflets to migrant workers in their own language, predominantly Polish and Portuguese.

I have asked each of the agency chief executives to reply direct to the hon. Member and place copies in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what services provided by his Department and its related agencies translation services are provided. (113879)

Policy on, and examples of, services for which translations may be considered are set out in section 3 of the Department's ‘Race Equality Scheme 2006-2008’, which is available on the DTI website.

I have asked agency chief executives to reply direct to the hon. Member and place copies in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the implications of Venezuela’s rate of inflation for (a) British investment in Venezuela and (b) foreign direct investment in the UK from Venezuela; and if he will make a statement. (111616)

No such assessment has been made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 1 November 2006, what the timetable is for the completion of tests involving live goats of safe procedures for evacuating disabled submarines, with particular reference to the ‘safe-to-escape curve’; and if he will make a statement. (113932)

QinetiQ is contracted to carry out the research programme on behalf of MOD until March 2007. As part of the contract renewal process the MOD is currently reviewing the need for, and further scope of, further research involving live goats. This will include an assessment of the completeness of the data set required to construct a “safe-to-escape curve” that will meet our safety requirements. If the review concludes that the remaining uncertainty in our knowledge is unacceptable then the research programme will continue. We will examine alternative approaches to those currently undertaken but will use goats if no acceptable alternative is available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the cost of (a) combat and (b) peacekeeping operations in Iraq in each year since 2005-06; and if he will make a statement. (117374)

[holding answer 23 January 2007]: Major combat activities commenced on 20 March 2003 and ceased on 1 May 2003 spanning two financial years 2002-03 and 2003-04 totalling £2,158 million. All subsequent years are considered to be peacekeeping operations.

The costs of operations are calculated on a net additional basis and audited figures are published each year in the MOD's Annual Report and Accounts. The total of the annual audited figures for the costs of operations in Iraq for the years 2002-03 to 2005-06 was £4,026 million, the sum for 2005-06 being £958 million. An estimated cost of £860 million for 2006-07 was included in the Winter Supplementary Estimates published in November. Final figures will be published in the MOD's Annual Report and Accounts for 2006-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to pay the other claims for compensation to civilians interned by the Japanese associated with the class action against his Department won by Mrs. Elias. (117025)

Mrs. Elias was awarded damages by the Court to compensate her for injury to her feelings caused by having been discriminated against on the grounds of her national origins when her claim for an award from the Ex-Gratia Payment Scheme for Far East Prisoners of War and civilian internees was rejected under the birthlink criterion. To date, the Ministry of Defence has received eight other claims for damages for injury to feelings from individuals whose claims under the scheme were also rejected on birthlink grounds and who claim to have been discriminated against on the grounds of their national origins. These claims are currently the subject of discussion between the Department and those representing the claimants.

The Ministry of Defence is prepared to consider claims for compensation for injury to feelings resulting from discrimination on national origins grounds from any person whose claim was rejected on birthlink grounds and who, like Mrs. Elias, was of non-UK national origins.

Claimants who think that they are entitled to compensation on the same basis as Mrs. Elias should write to the Veterans Agency setting out the basis on which they consider themselves to be a person of non-UK national origins or otherwise entitled to make a claim for indirect discrimination under the Race Relations Act 1976.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has evaluated on the failure rate of M85 sub-munitions; and if he will change the classification of L20A1 munitions from not dumb. (117157)

All munitions undergo rigorous and comprehensive testing prior to entering service and are subject to regular in-service trials once they become part of the UK stockpile.

The trials indicate that the current failure rate of the M85 remains within acceptable service bounds, although we continue to explore ways of reducing this failure rate further, in partnership with the Prime Contractor, BAE Systems Land Systems Munitions.

The M85 sub-munition is fitted with a self-destruct mechanism, and therefore the L20A1 shell which contains M85 sub-munitions is not regarded by the UK as being a ‘dumb cluster munition’. As a result, we have no current plans to change its classification.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) maximum and (b) normal personnel carrying capacity is of the Panther vehicle after Bowman has been fitted. (110704)

Panther is being procured as an armoured Command and Liaison Vehicle. It has been designed to be operated with a minimum crew of two and a maximum of four dependent upon the role and hence so is the Bowman fit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many recruits were trained by the (a) RAF Recruit Training Squadron and (b) Airmen’s Command Squadron at RAF Halton in each of the last five years. (110940)

The following table shows the student take-up for Recruit Training Squadron (RTS) and Airman’s Command Squadron (ACS) courses at RAF Halton from financial year 2001-02 to date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) civilians and (b) military personnel comprise the (i) RAF Recruit Training Squadron and (ii) Airmen’s Command Squadron at RAF Halton. (110941)

The current strength figures for permanent staff are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) civilians and (b) military personnel are employed in delivering logistics training to students at RAF Halton. (110942)

Logistics training at RAF Halton is conducted by two elements of the Defence College of Logistics and Personnel Administration (DCLPA); the Supply and Movements Training Wing (SMTW)¹ and Catering Training Squadron (CTS)².

¹ SMTW is part of the Defence Logistics and Supply School, which is part of the DCLPA. It also has elements at RAF Brize Norton and RAF Cranwell.

² CTS is part of the Defence Food Services School (DFSS), which is also part of the DCLPA.

The current strength figures for permanent staff are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many students received logistics training at RAF Halton in each of the last five years. (110943)

Logistics training at RAF Halton is conducted by two elements of the Defence College of Logistics and Personnel Administration (DCLPA); the Supply and Movements Training Wing (SMTW)¹ and Catering Training Squadron (CTS)². SMTW provides initial professional logistics training for RAF officers and airmen, as well as advanced and specialist supply training for both RAF and other service and civilian personnel. Similarly, CTS provides initial and advanced catering and catering accounting training for RAF officers and airmen and, exceptionally, the other armed services. Both units also provide training for international students and contractors employees, where capacity permits.

The following table shows the total student take-up for logistics training courses at RAF Halton from financial year 2001-02 to date.

¹ SMTW is part of the Defence Logistics and Supply School, which is part of the DCLPA. It also has elements at RAF Brize Norton and RAF Cranwell.

² CTS is part of the Defence Food Services School (DFSS), which is also part of the DCLPA.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many active service personnel come from Swansea East. (110912)

The location of recruitment and residence of armed forces personnel is not held centrally in databases of individual records and it is therefore not possible to give figures by either location of recruitment or place of residence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the maximum number of training days is with pay allowed which are allocated for Territorial Army personnel, broken down by battalion; and whether this number varies. (110705)

There is no upper limit on the number of training days placed on any Territorial Army (TA) officer or soldier. We ensure that all TA officers and soldiers are allocated sufficient training days to meet an annual minimum training requirement in accordance with current TA regulations. Once trained, TA personnel become eligible for a training bounty. The number of training days consumed by a unit in any given year will vary in accordance with its strength and its place in the operational cycle.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average tour intervals were for each of the units deployed as part of TELIC 9. (110435)

Average tour intervals for formed Army units deployed on Op TELIC 9 are shown in the following table:

RAF units operate differently from those of the Army. While a unit might be deployed for four months, RAF personnel can rotate through the unit rather than remain with it throughout. Therefore unit and personnel tour intervals are not necessarily the same.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were carried between Glasgow airport and (a) London Gatwick, (b) London Stansted and (c) Luton airport in the last 12 months, broken down by economy and business class. (111491)

The estimated number of passengers carried between Glasgow airport and London Gatwick, London Stansted and Luton airports in 2005 were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were carried between Prestwick airport and London Stansted airport in the last 12 months, broken down by economy and business class. (111496)

The estimated number of passengers carried between Prestwick airport and London Stansted airport in 2005 were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Government expect to decide on the provision of extra runway capacity at the three main London airports owned by the successor company to BAA. (110627)

The White Paper “The Future of Air Transport”, published in December 2003, sets out the Government’s support for the development of two new runways in the south-east. This approach is reiterated in the Progress Report on the White Paper published in December 2006. The Government support the development of a second runway at Stansted Airport, and a third runway at Heathrow, provided that stringent environmental conditions can be met.

We expect BAA to make a planning application for a second runway at Stansted later this year. In addition, we expect to consult this year on further expansion of Heathrow in the light of the outputs of environmental assessment work. Following the outcome of the consultation, it will, however, be for BAA, as the airport operator, to bring forward any development proposals for Heathrow for consideration through the planning system in the normal way.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of motorway there are in the UK; and what estimate he has made of the number of miles of motorway in (a) Germany, (b) France and (c) the USA. (111561)

The lengths of motorways in the UK and other countries requested are published in Table 10.2 of ‘Transport Statistics Great Britain 2006’. A copy of this report, published on 2 November 2006, was placed in the House of Commons Library and is available at:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_transstats/documents/downloadable/dft_transstats_613483.pdf

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) who authorised the salvage operation for the MSC Napoli; and if he will make a statement; (111769)

In accordance with the Anglo-French Joint Maritime Contingency Plan (Mancheplan), the Secretary of State's representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention (SOSREP) and the French maritime authorities made an on-scene assessment of the condition of the MSC Napoli, and the French authorities assessed a number of possible locations for a place of refuge in French waters. The conclusion arising out of these assessments was that the least environmentally risky option was to tow the vessel to a place of refuge in UK waters. The south coast of England provided better options for a place of refuge than the French coast, where there were no suitable places of refuge within reasonable distance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide financial assistance for local authorities that incur costs as a consequence of the pollution caused by the beaching of the MSC Napoli. (111771)

The Department does not provide financial assistance for local authorities that incur costs as a consequence of pollution from ships. Local authorities and others who have incurred costs as a result of pollution from a ship-source pollution incident may seek to recover their costs by lodging a claim in court in accordance with the domestic law which applies in the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976 (LLMC).

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will urgently convene a meeting of the prospective funding partners for the lock and water-control structure on the Bow Back Rivers required to allow water freight access to the Olympic Park site in order to secure agreement that it will be built; and if he will make a statement. (111759)

British Waterways is leading on this project and convened a meeting of the major funding partners last week. Discussions are continuing.

The Department has offered to contribute to the costs of the lock through the Freight Facilities Grant scheme. Our contribution is based on the environmental, congestion and safety benefits expected to be achieved by the transfer of Olympic construction traffic from road to water.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much tax the Government receives from 1 litre of petrol sold for 90 pence at the pump. (110730)

I have been asked to reply.

Information on current and historic duty rates for petrol and diesel can be found in Table 4 of the HM Revenue and Customs ‘Hydrocarbon Oils Bulletin’, which can be found on the HM Revenue and Customs website:

http://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bullhydro

The standard rate of VAT, 17.5 per cent., is charged on main road fuels.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) fatalities and (b) casualties there were in road crashes in each of the last five years where failure to wear a seat belt was recorded as a contributory factor to the injuries caused. (111185)

The information requested is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve the accessibility of taxis for disabled people. (111738)

The Government recognise the vital role taxis play in the transportation of disabled people, and is committed to bringing forward requirements for accessible taxis. Consideration is currently being given as to how best this might be achieved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trust port board members have served (a) two, (b) three, (c) four, (d) five, (e) six, (f) seven and (g) eight or more terms of office. (111263)

The Department holds information only for those appointments made by the Secretary of State, the details of which are as follows:

(a) Four

(b) Nine

(c) One

(d) One

(e) Nil

(f) Nil

(g) One

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trust port board members were (a) nominated or (b) appointed by trade unions, broken down by trust port. (111306)

The Department holds information only for those appointments made by the Secretary of State. Of these, none are made by nomination or directly by trade unions, although one appointment to the Milford Haven Port Authority is made, as set out in the Milford Haven Port Authority Act 2002, after consultation with such persons appearing to the Secretary of State to be representative of organised labour in Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many members of each trust port board are nominated by local authorities. (111308)

The Department holds information only for those appointments made by the Secretary of State. Of these, none are made by nomination by local authorities, although two appointments to the Milford Haven Port Authority are made, as set out in the Milford Haven Port Authority Act 2002, after consultation with Pembrokeshire county council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trust port board members there are. (111309)

This information is not held centrally by the Department. Each of the 51 trust ports in England and Wales is governed by its own local legislation which stipulates the number of board members.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps (a) local authorities and (b) trust ports are required to take to ensure that appointments of councillors to trust board boards are made through transparent and competitive process. (111680)

Our guidance issued to Trust Ports, “Modernising Trust Ports – A Guide to Good Governance”, did not lay down any additional regulatory requirements in respect of appointments of local authority councillors. It set out a basic set of standards around which individual ports could build an appointment process tailored to their specific requirements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library copies of the plans received from trust ports for achieving compliance with the corporate governance as required by “Modernising Trust Ports”. (111681)

Yes. The plans, which will need collating, will be placed in the Library by mid February.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars are registered in the UK; and what estimate he has made of numbers of registered cars in (a) Germany, (b) France and (c) the USA. (111560)

The number of licensed cars in the UK and the other countries requested is published in Table 10.3 of ‘Transport Statistics Great Britain 2006’. A copy of this report, published on 2 November 2006, was placed in the House of Commons Library and it is also available at:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dfttranstats/documents/downloadable/dft_transtats_613483.pdf

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's policy is on responding to vessels in international waters requesting assistance from UK coastguards. (111772)

In accordance with the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR), 1979, the UK has declared a maritime SAR region which—in broad terms—covers half the North and Irish seas, half the English channel, and much of the north eastern Atlantic. This includes large areas of international waters. The UK has specific bilateral agreements with neighbouring states about mutual support in SAR incidents. HM Coastguard co-ordinates the response to civil maritime emergencies within this region and will also support any SAR incident internationally if requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will investigate complaints of abuse of conscript recruits by non-commissioned officers in the Bermuda Regiment; and if she will make a statement. (111490)

The Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment has confirmed that he has not received any complaints of abuse.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the practice requiring conscript recruits in the Bermuda Regiment to urinate in plastic bags after 11pm was ended; and if she will make a statement. (111553)

It has never been the practice for Bermuda Regiment recruits to be required to urinate in plastic bags.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Governor of Burmuda will authorise a stay of enforcing the conscription of those recruits to the Bermuda Regiment who are seeking judicial review of their conscription until the review has been determined in the courts; and if she will make a statement. (111554)

On 19 January, Counsel for the Crown undertook to the Supreme Court of Bermuda that no action would be taken against the plaintiffs pending resolution of the matters before the Court.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why it is necessary for a section commander to escort conscript recruits to the Bermuda Regiment to the toilets after 11pm; and if she will make a statement. (111555)

The Bermuda Regiment has a lights out policy during recruit camp in order to enable recruits to sleep undisturbed between the hours of 11pm and 5.45am. Should a recruit need to use the toilet during these hours, he is escorted to the ablution block by his section commander. This ensures the security of sensitive camp areas, ensures that the section commander is accountable for his recruits and helps to ensure the safety of the recruit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has made to China on (a) China's ratification of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, (b) the release of dissidents jailed for involvement in the 1989 demonstration at Tiananmen Square and (c) the re-education through labour system of imprisonment without trial. (110717)

The Government regularly raise human rights issues with the Chinese Government. I urged China to commit itself to a timetable for International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ratification, and give renewed impetus to reform of all forms of administrative detention, including re-education through labour, in a letter to the Chinese ambassador in August 2006. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised ICCPR ratification with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in September 2006. These issues were also raised at the last rounds of the UK- and EU-China Human Rights Dialogues, and will be covered at the next round of our bilateral Dialogue in February. The cases of the remaining Tiananmen dissidents were raised at the last round of the EU-China Dialogue in October 2006, and bilaterally through previous rounds of the UK-China Dialogue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her policy is on a referendum on the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe. (111498)

I refer the right hon. Member to the statement by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 20 April 2004, Official Report, columns 155-157.

The treaty establishing a constitution for Europe, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, would only be ratified after a referendum.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the legal base is for budgeted EU expenditure of €14,000,000 in 2007 for European Union special representatives. (111300)

Article 18(5) of the Treaty on European Union provides the legal base for the appointment of EU Special Representatives by the Council. Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Joint Actions (Articles 14,18(5) and 23, Treaty on European Union) provide the legal base for the mandates of the EU Special Representatives themselves and their expenditure against the CFSP Budget.

The Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament agreed in December 2006 that €14,000,000 should be committed to the EU Special Representatives sub-heading of the 2007 European Community Budget.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there are proposals that she would adopt from the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe without a referendum. (111558)