asked Her Majesty's Government:

asked Her Majesty's Government:With reference to the statement in the Labour Party manifesto that one of the underlying causes of inflation, of low growth and of unemployment is "too little sense of common purpose in the workplace or across the nation", how they intend to demonstrate that this sense has increased during their term of office.

Partnership in the workplace is a key element in stimulating a sense of common purpose, encouraging the workforce to be more committed and making British industry more competitive. The Government are already demonstrating how they intend to develop social partnership at all levels—for example, by signing the Social Chapter and introducing basic minimum standards and by promoting a spread of ownership and the concepts of employee share ownership plans and co-operatives.

The following table sets out the key performance targets that I have set for the Public Record Office for 1997–98.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the local reference rents used for the calculation of housing benefit, and whether they will make these details available to the general public.

The local reference rent is determined on a case by case basis by independent rent officers. Where the local reference rent is used to calculate housing benefit, the claimant is made aware of the figure, which is, generally, the average cost of similar sized property in the locality in which the claimant lives. The rent officers use evidence of non-housing benefit rents in making this determination.The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions produces rent officer statistics quarterly. These give mean local reference rents, by registration area, in England and Wales for the various sizes of dwelling. This publication is available for purchase by the general public. A copy has been placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are aware of any research publications which shed light on the experience of people disentitled to means-tested social security benefits for reasons other than sufficiency of means.

As part of the evaluation of Jobseeker's Allowance, the department has recently published findings from a major survey, carried out before the introduction of the benefit, on the circumstances, attitudes and labour market experiences of unemployed claimants (DSS Research Report No. 62, Unemployment and Jobseeking). This includes information about claimants who were disqualified or disallowed benefit.In addition, a smaller qualitative study of claimants disqualified or disallowed from unemployment-related benefits was undertaken before the introduction of JSA. We expect to publish findings shortly. A similar study will be carried out to shed light on the attitudes and decision-making of claimants and jobseekers who were sanctioned under the JSA regime.We are undertaking a programme of monitoring and evaluation of JSA in order to ensure that it contributes to our objectives to provide work incentives, to reduce poverty and welfare dependency and to strike a new balance between rights and responsibilities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which Ministers are accountable for decisions on whether to update the youth training allowance and the youth training bridging allowance.

I am responsible for the youth training bridging allowance overall, and for the youth training allowance in England. Responsibility for the youth training allowance in Scotland and Wales lies with the respective Secretaries of State.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to implement Part IV of the Police Act 1997.

We intend to bring Part IV of the Police Act 1997, which establishes the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) as an executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), into force in two stages. In the autumn we will appoint the Board of PITO and confer on it the necessary powers to bring to fruition the preparations required to establish the NDPB. The board will then take on its statutory functions in respect of police information technology and procurement with effect for 1 April 1998. PITO's new status will bring the police service into the heart of decision making and lead to the improved delivery of cost-effective and timely information technology systems.PITO was set up, in April 1996, on an interim basis as part of the Home Office. We are today publishing the organisation's first annual report, copies of which are available in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What criteria the Charity Commission use in deciding whether to prepare formal reports of particular inquiries; how many formal reports have been prepared for each of the years 1987–1997; how many of these formal reports have been published; and where they are available for inspection.

The Charity Commission has the discretion to report the results of an inquiry as it sees fit. It reports annually inquiries of general interest in the Annual Report it submits to the Secretary of State. In the years 1987–1997, 34 cases were reported in this way. In addition, two inquiry reports have been published separately. In some cases summaries of findings of inquiries are also released to the press. No record has been kept of the number of times this has been done since 1987. The presumption on which the commission proceeds is that the outcome of inquiries is of concern to the trustees of the charity, any complainants and other people directly interested. The findings are given wider publicity where issues of public interest arise or where previous publicity makes it appropriate.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What increase they estimate in the number of recorded crimes between 1997 and 2005.

No such projections have been made and there are no plans to do so. This is because the relationships between actual crime, its reporting to and subsequent recording by the police have been found not to be consistent over time, while levels and patterns of crime appear to be influenced by a number of demographic and economic factors which are not easy to predict in the medium to longer term.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the total cost to public funds of the cases

Costs already paid in respect of services provided by the Treasury Solicitor and Counsel for the Secretary of State amount to £42,383.Substantial additional costs, consisting of further fees to Counsel amounting to about £80,000 and the whole of the respondents' legal costs, remain to be settled. I will write to confirm final costs when the details are known and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library. An estimate of the costs of the courts' and Home Office staff time could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Who is responsible for publishing the results of the standing passenger congestion checks, and the date(s) of publication.

The Franchising Director has published the results of compliance with the standards laid down for passenger counts. I understand he is also making available to the Central Rail Users' Consultative Committee (CRUCC) a more detailed analysis by train service groups. The information was published on 10 June in the OPRAF Bulletin, a copy of which I have placed in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:With reference to the statement in the Labour Party manifesto that "With Labour, the measure [of NHS performance] will be quality of outcome", when information of the compilation of that measure will be made available.

We are committed to making outcomes more central to the assessment of the performance of the National Health Service. We will be working with the NHS, the professions and patients' groups to develop a range of quality and effectiveness measures and will make announcements as these become available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:On what research findings they base their belief that banning tobacco advertising will reduce smoking.

There is a significant body of research connecting tobacco advertising with children's smoking, both in predisposing children to start smoking and reinforcing the habit in those who have already started. Studies have repeatedly shown that children who smoke choose the brands that are most heavily advertised. There is also evidence that adult consumption is affected by advertising. The 1992 Smee report on the effect of tobacco advertising on consumption found that in individual countries the balance of evidence shows that advertising does have a positive effect on consumption. A copy of this report is in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What research they intend to carry out to monitor the effects of banning tobacco advertising.

Trends in smoking prevalence will continue to be monitored by surveys such as the General Household Survey, the Health Survey for England and the Survey of Smoking Among Secondary Schoolchildren. Tobacco consumption information will be obtained from Customs and Excise figures.

asked Her Majesty's Government:With reference to the statement in the Labour Party manifesto that "we will end waiting for cancer surgery", how many people were waiting for cancer surgery at the latest time for which figures are available, and exactly how was that figure determined.

Information collected centrally on patients currently on a waiting list at hospitals in England is specialty based and does not identify separately patients by their prospective diagnosis. Information on patients actually admitted is available by diagnosis and in 1994–95, the latest year for which data are available for England, 364,000 people with a diagnosis of cancer were admitted for surgical or non-surgical treatment from a waiting list. It is estimated that half of these admissions were within 14 days of a decision to admit to hospital.Information on patients currently on a waiting list at hospitals in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is collected on the same basis as in England. The latest information on admissions available for Wales is for 1995–96 and shows that during that year 33,000 patients with a diagnosis of cancer were admitted to Welsh hospitals from waiting lists. It is estimated that of these about 60 per cent. were admitted within 14 days of a decision to admit. The latest information for Northern Ireland is also for 1995–96. There, 15,000 patients with a diagnosis of cancer were admitted from a waiting list during that year. It is estimated that over half of these admissions were within 14 days of a decision to admit. Comparable information for Scotland is not available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, following the report of the Advisory Group on Osteoporosis in January 1995, they can update the figures provided for the latest years for which information is available; namely,

The information requested is shown in the following table.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many days patients spent in hospital in the last year for which figures are available for

The information requested is shown in the following table.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they can update the information given by Baroness Cumberlege on 7 and 13 December 1993 (cols.

The information requested is shown in the following table.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have received further advice from the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee on the scientific evidence on the possibility of a link between bovine spongiform encephalopathy and new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) considered this issue at their meeting on 23 May 1997 and have since produced a statement entitled Research Into The Link Between BSE and nvCJD (SEAC, June 1997). The statement summarises the key research results on the question of whether there is a causal link between Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nvCJD) which have emerged since March 1996 when SEAC first concluded that the most likely explanation for the cases of the new variant CJD was exposure to BSE before the introduction of the Spongiform Bovine Offals ban in 1989. The statement concludes that the evidence that has accumulated since the March 1996 announcement is consistent with the hypothesis that nvCJD is caused by exposure to the BSE agent, and that no evidence refuting the hypothesis has yet come to light. However, SEAC regard the evidence to date as insufficient to constitute formal scientific proof of a causative link, and that further data are required before a firm conclusion can be reached. A copy of the statement has been placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What economical and fiscal factors apart from Bank base rates have an effect on the rate of inflation.

There are many factors which may have an effect on the rate of inflation. A review of these together with a full forecast of the economy will be published with the Budget on 2 July.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether radioactive waste has ever been dumped in Beaufort's Dyke.

Documents recently discovered in the Public Records Office show that small quantities of laboratory waste and luminous materials which fall within the definition of low or intermediate level radioactive waste were dumped in Beaufort's Dyke during the 1950s. The "Report of the Independent Review of Disposal ofRadioactive Waste in the North East Atlantic" by Professor F. G. T. Holliday, which was placed in the Library of the House on its publication in 1984 and on which Ministers have relied in making statements on this issue, makes no reference to such activities.Naturally, it is regretted that the Government have given inaccurate information in the past. Copies of the documents have now been placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament. Further searches of the archive records are being undertaken as a matter of urgency and if any new information comes to light we will make it public.Monitoring undertaken regularly since the early 1960s confirms that this dumping had no measurable effect on radioactivity levels in the area, which remain well within internationally agreed safety levels. From 1963 all dumping of radioactive waste was restricted to waters at least 2000 metres deep and from 1982 the UK ceased all dumping of radioactive waste at sea.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many unresolved planning cases there are in Northern Ireland and what were the dates on which the earliest 10 such cases were lodged with the Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland).

Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Planning Service under its Chief Executive, Mr. T. W. Stewart. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they plan to allow the citizens of Northern Ireland to share the facility to shop on Sundays enjoyed by all other citizens of the United Kingdom.

Her Majesty's Government are at present considering the way forward on the review of the Northern Ireland shops law begun under the previous administration. A decision will be announced when these considerations are complete.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is their intention to establish a defence diversification agency; and if so, which government department will assume responsibility for it.

I refer the noble Earl to the Answer I gave my noble friend Lord Rea on 18 June (Official Report, WA 120).

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their policy for the Defence Export Services Organisation.

The Defence Export Services Organisation will continue to provide British defence exporters with the strongest possible government support within the framework of our defence, security and foreign policies.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to maintain unchanged the remit and the independence of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body; and whether they will follow the practice of the previous Government in implementing the recommendations of that body as and when such recommendations are made.

Successive Governments have greatly valued the independent advice given by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body, and we expect to continue to make pay decisions in the light of its reports. The Government will follow previous practice in deciding their response to the recommendations given the circumstances at the time.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will implement the second stage of the 1997 pay award for the Armed Services recommended by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body and agreed by the last government.

Yes. This is a decision which has already been taken and promulgated and the present Government will adhere to it.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to maintain unchanged the structure of pay and allowances for the Armed Forces introduced by the last government following consideration of the independent review.

While the last government considered proposals for a new pay and allowances structure for the Armed Forces as a result of the publication of the report of the Independent Review, it is not correct to say that they introduced it. In February 1997, as part of follow-on work to the report, the Ministry of Defence published an Information Document entitled The Armed Forces of the Future—a Personnel Strategy. This contained proposals for new pay and allowances structures. These proposals are now being developed and an announcement will be made in due course.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the comments of the Minister of State for the Armed Forces as quoted in the

As the Government has already made clear, the issue of homosexuality in the Armed Forces is reviewed as a matter of course in every Parliament. As and when a review is required in the new Parliament the Government will form a view on the weight of the evidence, taking account of the UK's laws, and of the views of the European Court, and of the Armed Forces. The Government will start with the position agreed in the last Parliament, which supported the policy of excluding homosexuals from the Services, and will look in detail at the findings of the detailed review of the policy which was undertaken by this department in 1995/6. We will then seek to establish the way forward in consultation with the Chiefs of Staff.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether British military personnel have been involved in training activities with the Turkish armed forces, either in Britain or in Turkey; and if so, how many British personnel have been involved, what form did the training take, and whether it is still continuing.

Training has been provided in the UK to members of the Turkish armed forces, as is normal practice between NATO nations. It has been practice in the past not to release details of military assistance provided to other countries on the grounds that this information is confidential between governments and disclosure would risk damaging our international relations. This practice is now being reviewed. I will write to my noble friend once the review is complete.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What changes have been agreed in the NATO command structure.

Work is under way in NATO on a new command structure as part of a package of internal reforms which will ensure that it can undertake more effectively new and existing roles and missions. Final decisions have yet to be taken.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will examine the arrangements established under the last government between the Ministry of Defence and the US Ballistic Missile Defence Organisation (BMDO), including the financial aspects of these relations; and whether they can confirm that British industry accounted for nearly half of the 374 contracts which BMDO has awarded to foreign firms since 1985.

UK collaborative involvement in the US Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) programme is carried out under the auspices of the 1985 US/UK "SDI" Memorandum of Understanding. There are currently no plans to review these arrangements.Since 1985, about 30 Government-to-Government agreements, called Letters of Offer and Acceptance (LOAs) have been concluded between the US and the UK, with the work being carried out by UK industry, universities and the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. In addition, BMDO and other US Department of Defense organisations have placed direct contracts with UK firms. No current records are maintained by HMG of these direct contracts.