asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the revenue cost of providing the basic state pension to persons taxed at the basic and higher tax rates of 23 per cent. and 40 per cent.

The estimated cost at 1997–98 income levels of providing the basic state retirement pension to basic and higher rate taxpayers is £5.9 billion.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether No. 2 Marsham Street will be demolished, and, if so, when; and, if not, what plans they have for the complex.

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Property Advisers to the Civil Estate. I have asked its Chief Executive, Mr. John Locke to write to the noble Lord.

asked Her Majesty's Government:On what occasions a "lack of chemistry" (as referred to by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 15 October, H.L. Deb., col. 436) between a Secretary of State and a Head of Information in the department concerned led to the Head of Information moving (a) since 1 May 1997 and (b) during the previous five years.

It is not appropriate for me to comment on the reasons for an individual leaving his or her post. That is a personal matter between the individual and his or her department.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What has been the average cost to the taxpayer over the last five years of each new job created by the Scottish and Welsh Development Agencies and the corresponding bodies in England.

These bodies have a wide range of aims, such as attracting inward investment, land reclamation, environmental improvements and development of infrastructure. The creation of new jobs is just one of many outputs and no meaningful calculation of cost per job can, therefore, be made, without incurring disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether their definition of the word "family" includes two practising sodomites living at the same address; andWhether their definition of the word "family" includes two heterosexual males living at the same address; andWhether their definition of the word "family" includes two lesbian women living at the same address; andWhether their definition of the word "family" includes two lesbian women having care or custody of a child living at the same address; andWhether, in order to claim the advantages of the status of "partners", males living at the same address are required to give assurance that they engage in homosexual intercourse.

Lexicography is not currently a function of Her Majesty's Government. I would refer the noble Lord to the wide range of dictionaries in the Library. Her Majesty's Government are committed to strengthening family life and my right honourable friend the Home Secretary is currently chairing a ministerial group on the Family.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to impose a limit on the number of asylum seekers allowed to enter the United Kingdom.

Our obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees require us to consider on an individual basis all applications for asylum made at our ports or in the United Kingdom, and to grant refugee status to all those who meet the criteria. We shall continue to apply these criteria fairly, while taking measures to prevent and discourage abuse of the system by those who have no valid claim to asylum.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How they intend to verify the accuracy of a request for political asylum received from an immigrant.

All applications for asylum in the United Kingdom are considered on an individual basis against the criteria for recognition as a refugee set out in the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Decisions are taken in the light of both information supplied to us by the applicant at interview and in writing and of information available to us from a wide range of sources about the situation in the country where the applicant claims to fear persecution.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they are taking to persuade all industrialised countries to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases by 20 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2005 as proposed by the Alliance of Small Island States and what undertakings they will seek at the Third Climate Charge Convention in December to that effect.

At the Third Conference of the Parties in Kyoto the Government will be supporting the EU proposal that developed countries reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases by 15 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2010 and by at least 7.5 per cent. by 2005. The Government think that it is important that Kyoto sets a target for 2005, and we believe this figure strikes the right balance between ambition and achievability.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are satisfied with the provision of playing fields and other recreational space in Bristol, particularly in view of the fact that Bristol City Council have recently granted planning permission for the development of Filwood playing fields.

Her Majesty's Government are keen to ensure that playing fields which local communities need are not lost, and are currently considering how best this can be achieved. However, local authorities are generally best placed to make judgments about the provision of playing fields in their own areas. Government guidance in Planning Policy Guidance Note 17, Sport and Recreation, stresses the importance of sport and recreation in the widest sense, and advises local planning authorities to assess the level of provision and to take account of the community's needs for recreational space in development control decisions. Bristol City Council granted planning permission for residential development on land adjoining Inns Court Drive, which forms part of Filwood Playing Fields, on 23 May 1997. Responsibility for that decision rests with the council and, whilst I cannot comment on their decision, I understand that the loss of existing playing fields and open space was considered at that stage.The council have also applied to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, seeking his consent to the proposed disposal of part of the playing fields at less than the best consideration that could reasonably be obtained. That application is currently being considered and will be determined on the basis of the information submitted by the council as specified in DoE Circular 6/93.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will report on the National Forest Company's progress in creating the National Forest in the East Midlands.

Copies of the National Forest Company's Annual Report and Accounts for 1996–97 are to be placed in the House Libraries.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will increase funding to the National Bee Unit, its Regional Bee Inspectors and Bee Disease Control Officers following recommendations by the Select Committee on the European Communities in its report

In responding to the Select Committee on the European Communities' report Production and Marketing of Honey (HL Paper 55, 1996–97), the Government advised that, given the current constraints on spending, there is no scope for increasing the level of Ministry funding for the National Bee Unit.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many representations they have received since the beginning of July (a) supporting and (b) opposing the announcement that a restriction would be imposed on the retail sale of higher-dose Vitamin B6 supplements.

Since the beginning of July the Government has received approximately 6,500 items of correspondence concerning its proposed control on dietary supplements containing Vitamin B6. Much of this has been in the form of standard letters. No record has been kept of those supporting or opposing the proposed controls. However, almost all of the letters received have either opposed, questioned the basis of, or expressed reservations about the proposed controls.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will ask the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment to review its advice on Vitamin B6 supplementation dosages with particular reference to safety margins appropriate to nutrients rather than poisons; and, if not, why not.

The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) has reviewed the data on the toxicity of Vitamin B6 on two separate occasions. The Government have every confidence in the rigour with which the COT reviewed the data and in the robustness of the recommendation it made. We see no reason to undertake a further review.Since the statement from the COT regarding Vitamin B6 was published, the Chairman of the COT and his colleagues have heard arguments put forward which question their decision but have not been persuaded that this issue needs to be looked at for a third time.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why, in letters relating to the restricted sale of Vitamin B6 prepared for MPs, the terms of the final paragraph of the reply to Lord Kitchener's written Question of 30 July 1997 (

The reply to Lord Kitchener's written Question of 30 July 1997 [Official Report, col. WA 54] and the letter sent on 21 August by the Minister of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to MPs in England were prepared for different purposes and contained different information. However, both noted that the adverse reactions reported under the UK Yellow Card Adverse Drug Research (ADR) reporting scheme were associated with products containing Vitamin B6 and, in some cases, other constituents. As the reply to Lord Kitchener correctly notes, the inclusion of a reaction on the ADR database does not necessarily mean that Vitamin B6 caused the reaction.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will announce the 1998–99 hospital and community health services revenue allocations for health authorities.

The 1998–99 hospital and community health services revenue allocations for weighted populations are given, by health authority, in the following table.