asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they remain committed to the right of self-determination for the Gibraltarian people and how they propose to give effect to this right in the light of the provisions of the UN Charter, General Assembly Resolutions on decolonisation and the Treaty of Utrecht.

Our position remains unchanged. We support the right of self-determination reflecting the wishes of the people concerned, and exercised in accordance with the other principles and rights in the UN Charter as well as other treaty obligations. In the case of Gibraltar, as we have stated on many occasions, that includes the Treaty of Utrecht.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there is a contradiction in Northern Ireland between the research evidence which suggests that there is a close relationship between low achievement and social deprivation and the administration of the Social Deprivation Factor which assumes that these are in all cases and circumstances identical.

While social deprivation does not always lead to low academic achievement, it is the Government's view, backed up by national and local research, that it is a reasonable and robust proxy for such low achievement. Other indicators, including standardised tests and performance in the transfer tests, are also used in skewing resources towards specific schools.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether in its document COM 328(96) Final the European Commission has proposed: (a) a uniform system of VAT throughout the European Community, and (b) that the power to impose VAT under such a uniform system at rates between 15 per cent. and 25 per cent. should be ceded by member states to the VAT Committee in Brussels; and whether, if those proposals are adopted, the United Kingdom would lose its present derogation to impose a zero VAT rate on food, children's clothes, books and newspapers, transport fares and new buildings, including houses.

In its document COM 328(96) the European Commission outlines a suggested programme for progress towards a so-called "common system" of VAT to apply throughout the European Community. The programme, which contains no specific legislative proposals, envisages a substantial degree of harmonisation of rates, and a substantially enhanced role for the VAT Committee. The programme does not specifically propose that the VAT Committee should have the authority to fix VAT rates. The Government would be opposed to any such idea. It believes that unanimity in the Council should remain the basis for all decision-making on EC VAT matters. The UK's zero rates are fully safeguarded under existing EC agreements. Any change to the EC VAT system requires the unanimous agreement of member states, and so there is no question of the UK being forced to give up any of its zero rates.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether at the Inter-Governmental Conference they will veto any proposals which might modify the requirement for unanimity among member states before a common system of VAT could be adopted by the European Communities.

In the White Paper on the Inter-Governmental Conference, published last March, the Government made clear that we will oppose the extension of qualified majority voting. This includes VAT matters.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether at the Inter-Governmental Conference they will resist any extension of the Qualified Majority Vote on matters affected by Article 99 of the Treaty on European Union and Article 35 of the sixth VAT Directive, and if so, whether they believe they will succeed in that resistance, and why.

In the White Paper on the Inter-Governmental Conference, published last March, the Government made clear that we will oppose the extension of qualified majority voting. This includes VAT matters covered by Article 99. As decisions taken at the end of the Inter-Governmental Conference will themselves be subject to unanimity no change to the Treaty can be made without our agreement.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the immigration status of Mr. Alaathin Cakici; whether he holds a passport issued by the Turkish Embassy in London; and whether he is wanted by the Turkish police and by Interpol.

It is not the policy of the Immigration and Nationality Department to disclose any information it may hold on an individual to third parties. Whether an individual is wanted by the police is an operational matter for the police themselves.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they can confirm that Mr. Nurettin Guven, born 4 March 1957, of 11 Beech Hill, Hadley Wood, Barnet EN4 OJN, is wanted by Turkish and French police and also by Interpol; whether he was imprisoned in Brixton and Wandsworth Prisons for nine months in 1994; whether he was sentenced in absentia in France to 16 years' imprisonment in 1993; whether he was sentenced to 24 years' imprisonment in Istanbul in 1997; whether any request for Mr. Guven's extradition has been received; and why he remains at liberty.

It is an operational matter for the police whether an individual is wanted. Mr. Guven was remanded in custody at Wandsworth and Brixton Prisons between April 1994 and January 1995.I understand that Mr. Guven was sentenced in absentia to sixteen years' imprisonment in France in 1995. I cannot confirm whether he has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment in Turkey.I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of an extradition request until it is in the public domain.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their policy on mental health.

Our policy is to promote good mental health by reducing sickness and death caused by mental illness; and to encourage the provision of a comprehensive network of local health and social services sensitive to the needs and wishes of all those suffering from mental health problems but with particular focus on patients with severe mental illness.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether a Chairman of the Council for the Professions Supplementary to Medicine (CPSM) has been appointed.

Professor Brian Edwards CBE, has been appointed by the Privy Council to serve as Chairman of the Council for the Professions Supplementary to Medicine.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What arrangements have been made for providing financial support to local authorities' efforts to encourage home composting.

As part of my Department's public expenditure plans for 1997–98, £2.193 million was set aside for Supplementary Credit Approvals to support the provision by local authorities of home composting facilities. Local authorities were invited to bid for those resources, setting out their plans for encouraging household involvement. We received a total of 137 bids. I have decided provisionally to allocate resources as set out in the list below.

asked the Chairman of Committees:On which dates in the present Session the House adjourned after 10 pm; and at what time the House of Commons adjourned or began its adjournment debate, whichever was the earlier, on each of those days.

In the present Session up to and including Friday 14 March, the House of Lords has adjourned after 10 pm on 28 occasions out of a total of 74 sitting days. On 26 of these occasions the House of Lords has sat later than the House of Commons, not including debate on the adjournment. The detailed information requested is given in the following table.All times are pm unless otherwise indicated.