asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to give effect to the advice of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct concerning lawyers' comments to the media. [HL38]

The recommendations in the Advisory Committee's report are addressed to the Law Society and the Bar Council rather than to the Government. It is for the professional bodies, which are independent and self-regulating, to amend or clarify their rules in accordance with the Advisory Committee's recommendations if they believe it is appropriate to do so.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish the review of the Public Records Acts by the Keeper of the Public Records, and her suggestions for improvement, referred to in the Keeper's Annual Report 1996 [HL33]

The Public Record Office has addressed two aspects of the operation of the Public Records Acts. First, its contribution to the management of records in government was considered as part of a joint study with the Cabinet Office. The report, which was placed in the Libraries of both Houses in February 1997, called for administrative rather than legislative change. Implementation is now well under way. Subsequently, the Keeper of Public Records and her staff have been involved in the preparation of the Government's freedom of information proposals. These were published in December 1997 (Your Right to Know; CM 3818) and their implementation will involve some reform of the access provisions in the Public Records Act 1958. Apart from the work on records management and freedom of information, the Keeper has not put proposals for a new archives act to me since this is not in prospect in the immediate future. The adequacy of the current legislation will remain under review.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether service enhancement linked with increased revenue exceeds the 1996–97 target for the Public Record Office by 15 per cent. [HL37]

The Public Record Office expects to achieve its 1997–98 target to increase revenue by 13 per cent. (not 15 per cent.) against the 1996–97 target. The outcome cannot be certain until after the end of the financial year.The increased revenue is not being spent on a particular service enhancement but has been added to the funds available to the Office for a range of enhancements during 1997–98, notably extending its opening hours, opening a shop for users at its Family Records Centre and developing its image library for public use.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the reduction in staff numbers at the PRO between 1995–96 and 1996–97 has affected the ability of the Office to provide a speedy service for users who wait for electrostatic copies of documents to be made. [HL36]

It has not. In fact the "while you wait" copy service was introduced in September 1995 as an enhancement of the services available to the users of the Public Record Office.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many members of staff at the Public Record Office are employed in making electrostatic copies of documents while users wait. [HL34]

Up to four staff are available in the two reading rooms at any one time for photocopying while customers wait.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the targets for key performance indicators in the Business Plan set by the Lord Chancellor to measure the efficiency, quality of service and effectiveness of the PRO can be amended to ensure that the speed of the reprographic service is increased to enable staff to make more than 15 copies at a time for users who wait for the service. [HL35]

The speed of throughput of the copying service while readers wait depends upon the type of document, its size and condition, the preparation required and the availability of the appropriate copier at the time of order. Staff are handling irreplaceable documents and are required to apply the PRO's document handling standards.A restriction of 15 copies per order is applied to minimise waiting times as far as possible and to provide a fair and equitable service to all readers. While key performance indicators can be amended, further improvements in service will be largely dependent on the acquisition of advanced copying technology. This will be introduced as and when resources become available.

asked the Chairman of Committees:In view of the recent changes to the publication in the Order Paper of Questions for Written Answer, whether a list will be produced of all unanswered Questions for Written Answer similar to the Order Book of the House of Commons. [HL295]

A list of all unanswered Questions for Written Answer is already produced daily and copies are placed in the Library of the House, the Minute Room, the Government Whips' Office and the Library of the House of Commons.

asked the Chairman of Committees:Whether, in the light of the Government's encouragement of sustainable practices in all areas of government, crested recycled paper could be made available in the House of Lords. [HL209]

Recycled crested paper was made available in the House between 1990 and 1993. However, in 1993 the Administration and Works Sub-Committee recommended that it should no longer be used. The principal reasons for this decision were that, by using non-recycled writing paper, the House would save money; and that Lords had complained that the recycled paper used by the House was not suitable for use with fountain pens.If I become aware that recycled paper of sufficient quality is available at competitive cost, I will draw this to the attention of the Administration and Works Sub-Committee.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have formulated and delivered their response to the Committee of Ministers, under the Convention of Human Rights, in respect of the judgment in November 1996 in

The costs of £75,000 awarded by the European Court of Human Rights to the applicant in Saunders v United Kingdom have been paid. Her Majesty's Government is considering the terms of its response but has not yet delivered to the Committee of Ministers which, under the Convention, is the body charged with supervising the execution of the Court's judgment, their proposals for measures to be taken in response to the judgment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they intend to take concerning the "unsatisfactory position" disclosed by the Lord Chief Justice in his judgment in the Court of Appeal in

The Human Rights Bill is currently before this House. Clause 1 specifies those articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (including Article 6—Right to a Fair Trial) ("the Convention rights") which are given further effect by the Bill. Clause 2 provides that a court or tribunal determining a question in connection with a Convention right must take account of relevant judgments of the Court of Human Rights. Clause 4 provides that specified courts (including the Court of Appeal) may make a "declaration of incompatibility" where they are satisfied that a provision of primary legislation is incompatible with the Convention rights.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the latest available figures for public expenditure per head of the population in:

The latest breakdown of public expenditure per head of the population was published in table 7.6B of the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 1997–98, Cm 3601.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What view the International Monetary Fund is taking of the dollar costs to the South Korean Government of the 35,000 United States forces operating in South Korea at South Korean expense. [HL159]

The International Monetary Fund takes no official position on the cost to the Government of Korea of US forces operating in Korea, and it would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on this.The Government of Korea has agreed an overall target for the stance of fiscal policy in the context of its programme of adjustment with the IMF. This target included an estimate of the significant additional budgetary costs associated with reforming Korea's financial sector, with offsetting expenditure reductions in other areas to ensure an appropriate budgetary position. The decision on where spending adjustments should be made was considered a matter for the Government of Korea.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether "speculators", however defined, will benefit from the International Monetary Fund's financial rescue operations in South East Asia; whether the governments in question will be responsible for repayments to the IMF; and whether a debt crisis is anticipated in South East Asia. [HL42]

We are confident that, provided there is full implementation of the adjustment programmes which a number of Asian countries have agreed with the IMF, Asia will recover from its current financial difficulties. These programmes consist of measures to increase transparency, stability and sound economic policies. This is all the more important given today's world of open capital markets in which countries are quickly penalised if they pursue inappropriate economic policies. The aim of the programmes is not, however, to prevent natural market movements; investors will continue to face potential losses and gains in these markets. It is the borrowing country's responsibility to ensure that the Fund receives repayments in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their assessment, for the purposes of Social Trends, of the value placed by the market on a woman or a man:

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the estimated annual yield of income tax if child benefit payments to mothers are taxed:

If child benefit were taxed as part of the mother's or lone father's income at the marginal income tax rate, the yield for 1998–99 would be about £700 million. If the benefit were taxed as part of the income of those mothers or lone fathers who were liable to tax at the higher rate of 40 per cent., the yield for 1998–99 would be about £40 million.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the oral Answer by the Baroness Jay of Paddington on 12 January (H.L. Deb., col. 833), whether they will confirm the number of elected and currently serving members of local authorities included in their reply and how many of these belong to each political party or serve as independents and how many of those local authority members appointed belong to minority groups on local authorities. [HL157]

The Secretary of State for Health intends to publish a full analysis of National Health Service Trust appointments very shortly. I will let the noble Baroness have a copy as soon as it is available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many local authority councillors have been appointed to NHS trust boards as chairman or non-executive directors since 1 May; how many of these were:

Further to my oral Answer to Baroness Gardner of Parkes on 12 January [H.L. Deb., col. 833], the Secretary of State for Health intends to publish a full analysis of National Health Service trust appointments very shortly. I will let the noble Baroness have a copy as soon as it is available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in the light of assurances previously given to the President and Officers of the General Dental Council, they will soon be in a position to proceed with legislation to amend the Dentists Act 1984. [HL181]

We are considering the need for new legislation across the health sector, including amendments to the Dentists Act 1984, and will make an announcement as soon as possible.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of the danger to a child's health caused by passive smoking, they will introduce legislation to make it illegal for an adult to take a child under 10 years into a public house. [HL185]

Children under 14 are already prohibited from the bar area of public houses, unless a children's certificate is in force. Certificates are granted by licensing justices, who must satisfy themselves that the premises are a suitable environment for under-14s to be present. The Government will address passive smoking in its forthcoming White Paper on tobacco.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the outcome of the review of Edgware Hospital. [HL304]

Following Barnet Health Authority's review of local health services to be provided from the Edgware Hospital site, the health authority has now submitted the recommendations from the review. We are pleased that the process of public consultation adopted by the health authority has achieved a considerable degree of local support and a high level of consensus on the range of services to be provided.The review has produced workable proposals about the general direction and future of the Edgware Community Hospital. Barnet Health Authority and the Barnet Healthcare National Health Service Trust, working closely with representatives of the local community, will now need to develop these proposals in more detail to satisfy the formal approval processes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What library facilities will be provided for young people who are in detention centres. [HL73]

In accordance with Rule 22 of the Young Offender Rules 1988, a library is provided in every young offender institution and every young offender is allowed to have library books and to exchange them. Prison Service operating standards require governors to permit prisoners access to the library once a week for a minimum of 20 minutes. This facility is provided by local public library authorities for all prisons apart from those privately managed prisons which provide a library service directly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In how many cases the Secretary of State has personally directed that the exclusion of a person from the United Kingdom is conducive to the public good since 1 May 1997; and in how many of those cases the Home Office Press Office has issued statements to the media. [HL202]

Since 1 May 1997, my right honourable friend has personally directed that 25 people be excluded from the United Kingdom on the grounds that their exclusion would be conducive to the public good. The Home Office Press Office does not routinely issue statements to the media in such cases but will confirm, if asked specifically, that an individual has been excluded.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether police reprimands and final warnings for young offenders will be subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 when an employer asks a job applicant to declare a previous criminal record. [HL29]

The Crime and Disorder Bill does not currently provide for police reprimands and final warnings to be subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This reflects the existing position in relation to police cautions. However, the Government are considering whether any changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act are necessary, in the light of the new arrangements provided for in the Crime and Disorder Bill.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In view of the fact that in 1995 84,659 girls under the legal age of consent were provided with contraceptives by their GP or birth control clinic, 8,000 of whom subsequently became pregnant, why the law was enforced, under Sections 5 and 6 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956, in only 195 cases for girls under 16, and 77 cases for girls under 13. [HL173]

The number of prosecutions under Sections 5 and 6 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 forms only part of the picture. The prosecuting authorities can only take action after an offence has been reported to the police and investigated. The number of prosecutions for these offences in 1995 reflects the number of offences notified to the police in that year.In 1995 the police recorded 178 complaints of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 contrary to Section 5 of the 1956 Act. In 122 cases, the offender was cautioned or found guilty at a court as a result. Of the recorded 1,260 complaints of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 contrary to Section 6 of the 1956 Act, 603 offenders were cautioned or found guilty at court. These figures demonstrate that when the prosecuting authorities become aware of an allegation of such an offence, they treat it seriously.Although the number of complaints made to the police and the number of prosecutions have reduced over recent years, the proportion of complaints that result in a caution or conviction has remained fairly constant.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many prisoners, both sentenced and on remand, are currently: (a) Category A classification; (b) officially considered to present "exceptional risks"; and (c) subject to closed visits. [HL132]

On 16 January 1998, 820 prisoners were classified as Category A, with six prisoners classified as exceptional escape risk and subject to closed visits.

asked Her Majesty's Government:With regard to prisoners held under special secure conditions:

(a) Of the six prisoners currently held in the Whitemoor Special Secure Unit (SSU), the longest stay is four years five months, the median length is two years four months, and the mean length is just under two years one month.(b) as a matter of existing policy, all prisoners, including those held in SSUs, may make a request or complaint to the Governor or board of visitors relating to their imprisonment, orally or in writing at any time. In addition, prisoners held in SSUs are given the opportunity to make written representations when their cases are coming before the Category A Review Committee. Alternatively, they may instruct their legal representatives to make such representations.(c) Prisoners are held in SSUs only if they are classified as Category A Exceptional risk of escape. There are no time limits relating to the period of detention in such units. A prisoner's security category and escape risk classification are normally reviewed annually but can be reviewed at any time in the light of information received. Once a prisoner is no longer classified as exceptional risk, he will be moved out of the SSU.(d) The six exceptional risk category A prisoners held in the SSU at Whitemoor continue to be subject to closed visits, although open visits may be, and have been, granted in exceptional circumstances. This is because there is still no acceptable alternative to closed visits which can guarantee that objects cannot be passed between visitor and prisoner. The policy of mandatory closed visits for exceptional risk prisoners will be kept under review to ensure that it remains the appropriate response to the threat posed by such prisoners.(e) The overriding consideration in determining the length of time a prisoner spends in a SSU must be security. However, the Operating Standards have been amended to introduce sentence management procedures for SSU prisoners based on a six-monthly review of behaviour, attitude and other relevant factors. As part of the review, staff will identify a number of achievable targets for each prisoner for the following six-month period. The review and targets will provide the sentence plan documentation for SSU prisoners. New arrangements have been put in place for conducting regular reviews of all SSU prisoners. These include collecting the necessary information to inform future sentence planning.(f) The security constraints imposed by the need to ensure that exceptional risk prisoners do not escape inevitably mean that the regime within SSUs is more restrictive than elsewhere. Within these constraints, the Prison Service continues to review the balance of regimes available to prisoners. Prisoners in SSUs have access to exercise, education, hobbies, limited work, visits, telephones, association and religion. At Whitemoor, currently the only operational SSU, braille transcribing and craftwork have been introduced, and access to physical education has been increased.(g) The only SSU currently in operation is the one at Whitemoor Prison, which the Acheson Report acknowledged as being the most spacious of the SSUs, with good facilities and plenty of natural light.(h) The health care received by prisoners in SSUs is comparable to that elsewhere in the Prison Service. In addition, the SSU Operating Standards were amended in January 1997 to incorporate formal reviews of the health of prisoners detained in the SSU every three months.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have examined the

I have seen the computer magazine to which the noble Lord refers and I share his concern at the publisher's portrayal of the computer game "Grand Theft Auto" with the slogan "Crime Does Pay". This matter has been taken up with the publisher, who has. I understand, received complaints from other sources.As the noble Lord knows, computer games which are likely to any significant extent to stimulate or encourage crime (or which depict human sexual activity or acts of gross violence) must be submitted to the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) for classification.In classifying material, the board is required, under Section 4A of the Video Recordings Act 1984, to have special regard to any harm that may be caused to potential viewers, or through their behaviour to society, by the manner in which the work deals with, inter alia, criminal behaviour or violence. A "potential viewer" includes a child or young person who is likely to view the work if a classification certificate were issued.The game "Grand Theft Auto" was submitted for classification and was given an 18 certificate by the Board. It is, therefore, considered suitable for supply only to adults. The classification system which I have described has been established to protect young people. Once a computer game has entered the home, however, parents have a responsibility to supervise their children and to ensure that they are not exposed to unsuitable material.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the European Council, as established under Article D of the Treaty of the European Union, is thereby empowered to act without any proposal from the European Commission or the European Parliament and to give its own independent instructions to the Commission. [HL6]

According to Article D of the Treaty on European Union, "the European Council shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its development and shall define the general political guidelines thereof'. The European Council does not require a proposal from the European Parliament or the European Commission before it acts in this way.In the exercise of its functions under the Community Treaties, the Commission is not subject to instructions from the European Council. It is likely to take account of the general political guidelines defined by the European Council in accordance with Article D. The Commission is represented on the European Council by its President.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the visit by officials from the United Kingdom Embassy in Ankara to the region under emergency rule which was planned for September 1997 took place and, if so, what places were on the itinerary; in which of them officials were able to speak to local inhabitants without the presence of a Turkish security escort; whether they met any of the villagers internally displaced by the security forces; and whether they tried to inspect any of the destroyed villages. [HL11]

A British Embassy official from Ankara visited the south east of Turkey between 31 August and 6 September. The itinerary comprised Van, Bitlis, Batman and Diyarbakir provinces. A further two-man embassy visit to Siirt, Mardin and Diyarbakir provinces took place from 7 to 11 December 1997.During both visits most of the contacts which the British officials had with local NGOs and other interlocutors took place in the absence of the accompanying security escort. There was no contact with internally displaced villagers, nor did the embassy personnel inspect any destroyed villages.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What information they have received from the United Nations Secretary-General about the despatch of the technical survey team to Sierra Leone mentioned in his report to the Security Council under Resolution 1132; and when they expect to receive his recommendations on the role that could be played by the United Nations in assisting the implementation of the Conakry Agreement. [HL8]

The UN Technical Survey Team travelled to the region on 10 January. Two members of the team then flew to Liberia on 14 January for meetings with ECOMOG. while the rest of the team flew to Sierra Leone. The team's recommendations are expected to be made in a report by the Secretary-General at the end of this month.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they have taken, as a Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council, to stop the blockading forces, whose duty is to enforce the limited sanctions against Sierra Leone imposed by Resolution 1132, from unlawfully extending the embargo to the delivery of humanitarian relief supplies; and whether they will propose to the Security Council that limited fuel supplies be allowed into Sierra Leone to enable delivery of humanitarian supplies to the rural areas. [HL7]

We support UN Security Council Resolution 1132. The UN Sanctions Committee, of which we are a member, is aware of the problems with processing humanitarian shipments on the border and efforts are being made to address this problem through contacts between the UN and ECOWAS.A UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs assessment team will visit the region next month to assess the humanitarian situation and the impact of sanctions. The Sanctions Committee has already approved applications for humanitarian fuel supplies, including one for the supply of 80,000 litres of fuel and 3,000 litres of lubricants to the ICRC.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will offer the Government of Uganda military assistance in dealing with the terrorist "Lord's Resistance Army". [HL47]

HMG do not provide any military assistance to the Government of Uganda specifically designed to counter the threat of insurgency from the Lord's Resistance Army, or any other rebel group. Current military training consists of staff courses, either in the UK or at regional training centres. Future training will concentrate on assisting the Uganda Peoples' Defence Force to modernise its command and control logistics systems. This forms part of a wider strategy to enhance the capacity of African forces to participate in multilateral peace-keeping operations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the relationship between the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM's) headquarters in Bahrain and the United States military base there. [HL96]

Her Majesty's Government are not aware of any connection between the United States military base in Bahrain and the UNSCOM Field Office located there. The Field Office provides logistic support to the Baghdad Monitoring and Verification Centre and is quite independent of the US military base.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, as alleged by the Iraqi Government, the newly formed 16-member team of UNSCOM inspectors includes nine American and five British officials, and whether (a) they and (b) the United Nations Security Council are content with these proportions. [HL97]

The 16-member team referred to was actually made up of nine Americans, five British, one Australian and one Russian expert. All these personnel were part of a much larger inspection effort involving forty-four UNSCOM personnel from seventeen nations. The composition of UNSCOM teams is a matter for the Executive Chairman of UNSCOM to decide, not Iraq. The Security Council on 14 January expressed its full support for the Executive Chairman.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether in its appointments UNSCOM should demonstrate lack of national bias. as well as professionalism. [HL98]

Selection of personnel is a matter for the Executive Chairman of UNSCOM.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many states have contributed military forces to SFOR and IFOR in Bosnia; and what is the size of their contingents in these two multilateral forces. [HL49]

In total, 34 states contributed to the Implementation Force and 36 currently contribute to the Stabilisation Force. Precise figures for the military forces provided by each state are not held centrally by the MoD. Individual contributions can vary over the mission according to roulements and mission priorities. The figures below are assembled from a variety of sources and give troop numbers in the Former Yugoslavia as a whole rather than in Bosnia alone.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How the costs of SFOR and IFOR have been divided among the contributing states. [HL50]

Nations contributing to IFOR/SFOR largely meet their own costs. However, NATO common funding is provided for some costs, such as a proportion of the IFOR and SFOR Headquarters costs and some infrastructure costs where, for instance, repairs to road links are considered essential to the completion of the military task.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which state has made the largest financial contributions to peacekeeping and peacemaking operations in the former Yugoslavia over the past seven years; and how this compares with the total British contribution. [HL51]

Nations providing forces to IFOR/SFOR largely meet their own costs, and are not required to provide details to any central body. It is not therefore possible to provide comparative figures. The costs of the United Kingdom's contribution to the Former Yugoslavia since 1992 were given on 16 December in my Answer to the noble Lord, Lord Renton of Mount Harry, at col. 494 of the Official Report.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which Central and Eastern European nations have decided to adopt the United Kingdom's model for training and equipping their armed forces; and what measures are being taken to expedite this process. [HL175]

I am pleased to say that Latvia and Lithuania have decided to follow the UK model for NCO and officer training, and we will be providing significant support for these projects in forthcoming years. Estonia and Slovenia are considering adopting UK models also; we would be prepared to support such moves in a similar way. Romania has also decided to adopt the UK operational staff training system, and we will continue to support this project at the Regional Training Centre in Bucharest.Our military assistance to date has reinforced the reputation of our armed forces. We have recently adopted a system that builds on this by providing specialist military teams to give advice on training matters; and recommend, where appropriate, how we can best provide support if the decision is taken to follow the British model.Her Majesty's Government see defence diplomacy as an important and growing task. A key component of this is the provision of doctrinal, training and organisational advice, and we are delighted to make this available if requested as the countries of central and eastern Europe grapple with the reorganisation of their armed forces.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in the light of the decision in

The judgment in R v Brighton & Hove Council ex parte Marmont makes it clear that the advice in Department of the Environment Circular 18/94 has no application to proceedings under which local authorities seek repossession of their land from trespassers through the civil courts. The judgment does, however, make it clear that local authorities cannot ignore considerations of common humanity when deciding whether to evict unauthorised campers, regardless of which powers they choose to use.The Government do not, therefore, consider it necessary to introduce any further measures in relation to unauthorised camping.