asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the total amount of money they have given to the Birth Control Trust since the organisation was founded. [HL710]

Her Majesty's Government have not given any direct funding to the trust but on occasion the trust has been involved in the activities of other organisations which have received government funding.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will place in the Library of the House the index for each of the last 10 years of all Home Office letters or documents circulated to chief officers of police relevant to the administration of the Firearms Act 1968 and subsequent Firearms Acts; and [HL850]Whether they will place in the Library of the House the index for each of the last 10 years of all letters or documents they have written to the Association of Chief Police Officers on the subject of the Firearms Act 1968 and subsequent Firearms Acts. [HL851]

The Home Office does not maintain an index of letters or documents sent to chief officers of police or to the Association of Chief Police Officers on this subject. Copies of relevant circulars or publications are, however, placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish the Law Officers' opinion as to the compatibility of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 with the European Convention on Human Rights. [HL757]

It is not the practice of Her Majesty's Government to disclose whether or not the Law Officers have advised in a particular matter, or to disclose the substance of any such advice. Law Officers' opinions over 30 years old are normally available for inspection at the Public Record Office, under the provisions of the Public Records Act 1958.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list the current members of the Home Office Firearms Consultative Committee, giving their backgrounds and dates of appointment. [HL740]

The information requested is set out below. The dates given refer to the original appointment of the member concerned. All members were reappointed in January 1997 until 31 August 1998, with the exception of Mr. Snedden, who was appointed from 1 September 1997. The Firearms Consultative Committee Chairman, Lord Shrewsbury, is the 22nd Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford, and was appointed on 11 October 1993. He has extensive experience of field sports, including hunting and shooting. He is also an experienced small bore and clay target shooter.Mr. A. T. Burden (29 August 1995)Chief Constable, South Wales Constabulary. Chairman of the Association of Chief Police Officers Sub-Committee on the Administration of Firearms and Explosives Licensing.Mr. B. Carter (27 August 1993)Director of the Gun Trade Association. Secretary of the Shooting Sports Trust. Member of the British Shooting Sports Council. Several times Great Britain Team Manager at various shooting Grand Prix, European and World Championships.Mr. V. Clayton (28 November 1996)Head of Firearms and Explosives Section, Operational Policing Policy Unit, Home Office.Mr. C. A. Ewing (27 August 1993)Former Chief Executive of National Rifle Association. Member of British Shooting Sports Council and of the Management Committee of the Great Britain Target Shooting Sports Federation. Formerly Regular Soldier (Colonel).Mr. J. D. Hoare (10 December 1996)Secretary of the National Small-bore Rifle Association. Chairman of the Great Britain Target Shooting Federation. Treasurer of the British Shooting Sports Council. Former regular soldier (Lieutenant Colonel).Mr. B. Hughes (1 February 1997)Barrister. Assistant Chief Crown Prosecutor for the London Area of the Crown Prosecution Service.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What evidence they have submitted to the inquiry on the funding of political parties by the Committee on Standards in Public Life. [HL968]

We have submitted a memorandum on the funding of political parties, by way of background evidence, to the Committee chaired by the Lord Neill of Bladen QC. Copies have been placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list the personnel who provide the support services for the Phillips Inquiry on BSE and denote whether they are currently employed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) or have been previously employed by MAFF. [HL789]

It is not customary to provide a list of personnel, but I can confirm that none of the Secretariat to the Lord Justice Phillips' Inquiry into BSE are, or has previously been, employed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the research conducted at the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Weybridge, the interim results of which led to the Beef Bones Regulations 1997, bears any relevance to current on-farm conditions, including the size of the dose of infective material administered to the cattle, the age of the cattle to which it was administered and the length of the incubation periods found. [HL794]

The experimental results relate to animals which were exposed to doses which we believe to be greater than that to which most field cases were exposed, though this is not certain as we do not know the size of the dose in field cases. Although this may cast some doubt over the early findings of infectivity in the intestine, there is no reason to question the findings in relation to dorsal root ganglia and neither SEAC nor the EU's scientific advisors have taken this to be anything other than a genuine result which relates to field cases of BSE.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the distribution of age at diagnosis of, and death from, BSE:

The following tables show the distribution of known age cases by their age at clinical onset of BSE for cases reported in 1992 and 1993, when the epidemic was at its peak, and for the last six months of 1997.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In which counties and districts in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland there was a statutory requirement for treatment for warble fly eradication, and for what periods, for each year since 1970. [HL834]

The following information is taken from the Reports of the Chief Veterinary Officer for the relevant years for England, Wales and Scotland.There were no statutory requirements to treat cattle infected with warble fly from 1970 to 1978 in Great Britain.In 1979, a policy was introduced to reduce the prevalence of warble fly infestation with the intention of moving on subsequently to eradication. In 1979, a statutory requirement was introduced for any animal in GB showing evidence of infestation in the spring to be compulsorily treated. In 1981, this was extended to include additional treatment of such animals the following autumn.In 1982, warble fly infestation was made a notifiable disease in GB and compulsory whole herd treatment in the autumn was introduced where infested animals were found. In addition, herds suspected of being affected due to their proximity to infected herds were included in the requirement to treat. An infected area policy was introduced in Scotland, followed in 1983 in England and Wales. This required compulsory treatment of all cattle over 12 weeks of age in infected areas. The following infected areas were declared between 1982 and 1986. No infected areas are reported in the Chief Veterinary Officer's Reports for 1987 and 1988.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What percentage of the tobacco grown in the European Union is consumed in the European Union. [HL852]

According to the latest figures available from the European Commission, approximately 18 per cent. of the tobacco grown in the European Union in 1996 was consumed in the European Union.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many cases of BSE they would have expected to be reported in each European Union country given the numbers of cattle exported to each country from the United Kingdom; and what actual numbers have been reported. [HL 853]

An estimate of the number of cases of BSE which other countries of the European Union might have expected was published by Schreuder et al in the Veterinary Record on 23 August 1997. However, these estimates have been challenged by various authorities on the grounds that the estimates are based on insufficient data (e.g. that the trade figures do not distinguish between dairy and beef cattle).The actual numbers reported in EU countries are shown in the following table.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What grants will be made available for rural development and conservation in the uplands of England. [HL923]

The future of the rural economy and future protection of the uplands countryside are closely linked, and we need to continue to develop our grant schemes to help to strengthen that relationship.The Government are therefore issuing new proposals for an experimental scheme, under which an integrated package of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's Objective 5b rural development grants and Countryside Stewardship grants could be put together to meet local employment and conservation needs. This experiment will apply in two areas of England. Secondly, we are proposing to extend the range of grants for the conservation of the uplands under the Countryside Stewardship scheme.We issued yesterday a consultation paper setting out these proposals in detail. We will welcome comments by the end of May.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action is being taken to improve the effectiveness of fisheries enforcement in the United Kingdom. [HL899]

The Fisheries Departments and the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency are currently spending some £25 million a year on fisheries enforcement, primarily on monitoring the application of the Common Fisheries Policy and ensuring that measures designed to conserve fish stocks and to safeguard the long term interests of the fishing industry are respected.Our present enforcement arrangements are highly regarded and the Government would like to pay tribute to the dedication of our UK fishery officers on shore and those at sea, including the Royal Navy and the SFPA Marine Service. There is, however, no room for complacency. Enforcement must be effective and since taking office this Government have made clear their determination to tackle the problems created by undeclared landings of fish.Last year we announced that we would be introducing a new licence condition prohibiting the discarding of stowed fish. That took effect from 1 January this year. We also advised that we would be assisting the Marine Safety Agency with checks for vessel safety certificates and crewing certificates. Checks by British Sea Fishery Officers on vessel safety certificates will begin in April and those for crewing certificates in June.Progress is being made with the requirements for the introduction of satellite monitoring. The Fisheries Departments expect to award a contract for the establishment of a vessel tracking system in the next two months. That system should be operational by mid summer and within 18 months will monitor the movements of all UK vessels over 24 metres as well as those from other member states operating in our waters. This will allow us to make more effective use of the resources we devote to aerial surveillance and inspections at sea.Similarly, we need to make the best use of the resources we devote to port surveillance. We believe that the effectiveness of our land based inspectorates would be significantly improved by introducing a system of designated ports and discharge times for all non pelagic landings made by vessels of 20 metres overall length and above. These vessels account for over 70 per cent. of the total tonnage and 65 per cent. of the total value of non pelagic landings into the UK made by the over 10 metre fleet, and the ports that will be designated will cover over 90 per cent. of such landings. Nonetheless, we recognise that there are some vessels which are based at or land into non-designated ports. We shall continue to permit this subject to these vessels providing a minimum of four hours' notice of the discharge of their catch. A consultation paper setting out our proposals is being issued to the fishing industry and copies have been placed in the Library of the House. These arrangements, which will be subject to clearance with the European Commission, will complement those which already exist for the landing of pelagic species where the operation of designated ports, coupled with more rigorous surveillance at sea and separate area licensing has had a significant impact on addressing undeclared landings in the pelagic sector. The new control measures will be kept under close review by the Fisheries Departments to ensure that they are effective and practical and that they are meeting the desired objectives.Apart from introducing designated ports, we continue to keep under review other measures for strengthening enforcement in the UK. These include improving the arrangements for the submission of sales note data, which has been a Community requirement since 1994. Further consideration will also be given to the adoption of a system of administrative penalties for fisheries offences. Such arrangements, which would need to be the subject of consultation with the fishing industry, would depend on changes being made to existing legislation so that action could be taken in respect of offences other than breaches of licence conditions.Although action is being taken to improve the effectiveness of our national enforcement arrangements, the Government are equally committed to raising enforcement standards throughout the Community. If the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is to succeed, it is essential that fishermen should be subjected to the same level of control wherever they land. To this end we have been intensifying co-operation on enforcement with other member states. Also, we are pleased to say that the Commission has now issued a report on fisheries monitoring under the CFP in time for discussion at the March Fisheries Council. That report reviews the operation of the existing fisheries enforcement arrangements in the Community and sets out a programme of action to improve control leading to a fairer and more effective enforcement regime. We will seek to take this work forward during the remainder of the UK Presidency.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have yet had a response from the European Commission to their proposals for ensuring that all British registered fishing vessels maintain a real economic link with the United Kingdom, regarding the compatibility of the proposals with the European treaty and the jurisprudence of the European Court; and if they have not had a response, when they expect to receive it; and [HL814]Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Donoughue on 16 February (

The Government have not yet had a response from the European Commission to their proposals but one is expected shortly. The proposals were circulated to the industry on 16 February and placed in the Library of the House on the same day.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether and on what basis secretarial support, expenses, legal assistance and the provision of support by counsel will be made available to (a) officials; (b) former officials; (c) Ministers; (d) former Ministers; (e) former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food employees; and (f) former special advisers who wish to give evidence to the enquiry on BSE being chaired by Lord Justice Phillips. [HL784]

The inquiry is responsible for setting the broad framework for the support of witnesses. Her Majesty's Government will lend support to witnesses who are former Ministers, present and former officials, or present and former members of advisory committees. This will include provision of access to papers for the preparation of written statements and possible subsequent oral hearings.Provision of legal advice and support will be made at the discretion of departments. If individuals are unhappy with the decisions made by departments on the provision of legal assistance, they can make representations to the inquiry.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why the Written Answer by the Lord Donoughue on 13 February (

There is no contradiction. The later question related solely to the Beef Bones Regulations which do not control the use of bones as petfood. This is because bovine bones removed from any bone-in beef must be treated as if they were animal by-products referred to in Part II of Schedule I to the Animal By-Products Order 1992 and disposed of accordingly. That order permits stained or sterilised bones to be supplied by knackers' yards for petfood as I stated previously. However, following further legal consideration, I can now advise the noble Lord that, in addition, bones may be used to prepare petfood at the premises where they originated, for example the butcher's shop where the meat was deboned. Such bones do not need to be stained or sterilised but the butcher or other supplier must be satisfied that the bones are being obtained for pets and not human consumption.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will ensure that, in the event of a referendum on a political settlement, the Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1986 will be amended to ensure that all recognised political parties in Northern Ireland will be supplied with free copies of the electoral register, including data copies, for all constituencies in Northern Ireland; and [HL628]Whether they will amend the Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1986 in order to grant a statutory right to receive copies, including data copies, of the relevant electoral register to:

These questions are currently being considered by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland alongside many other issues surrounding not only a referendum but also Assembly elections and electoral procedures more generally. No entitlement exists anywhere in the UK for a free issue of the electoral register in computer data format. Those entitled to free copies of the electoral register in printed format are entitled to purchase the register in computer data format at the special rate of £1.80p per thousand names. The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland has indicated that he will supply two free copies of the printed register, on request, to each of the parties who obtained delegates as a result of the May 1996 elections. They will be able to obtain one copy of the register in computer data format at the discounted price.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Dubs on 23 February (

The law on abortion in Northern Ireland is governed by a combination of statute and case law.Section 25 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 1945 is concerned with the criminal penalty for infant death. Section 25 applies to the destruction of the foetus in late as opposed to early pregnancy. In cases of earlier abortion, determination of lawful cause would be based on the facts of a particular pregnancy and the case law interpretation of Section 58 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.Abortion is, generally, a criminal offence in Northern Ireland under Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. However, there are a number of judicial pronouncements on Section 58 which accept that the prohibition against abortion is not absolute. Case law on Section 58 has not laid down with any degree of certainty the range of circumstances which might come within the definition of a lawful cause for abortion.In those cases involving later abortions which might fall under Section 25 of the 1945 Act, it is unclear what would constitute definitive proof that a child was capable of being born alive.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many civil service jobs are currently located at each of the Inland Revenue collection offices. [HL760]

At 1 January 1998, the Inland Revenue employed 923 staff in its Accounts Office in Cumbernauld, 869 in the Accounts Office in Shipley and 367 in the Enforcement Office, Worthing. In addition, the department employs some 3,800 staff on collection duties in local offices throughout the country, but is not possible to give an exact number for each separate location.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the statement of the Lord Haskel on 18 February (H.L. Deb., col. 277–279), whether the five conditions for obtaining the release of property to victims of Nazi persecution were prescribed by international law or United Kingdom law; and, if so, where and upon what terms the law was so prescribed; and [HL723]Further to the statement by the Lord Haskel on 18 February (H.L. Deb., cols. 277–279), whether they consider that they were obliged in law to release property to victims of Nazi persecution only in accordance with the five conditions; and, if so, what is their basis for this view. [HL758]

The five conditions were not binding upon Her Majesty's Government but they did set the international standard. They also had an international legal effect, in that it was only certain assets, including the assets of individuals who satisfied the five conditions, which could be excluded from account under the Accounting Rules of the Inter-Allied Reparation Agency. Subject to the general principles of administrative law (which were essentially the same in the late 1940s as now), Her Majesty's Government were free to set whatever terms they saw fit for release of claimants' property: they could have been more restrictive or less. Adoption of the five conditions was what appeared right at the time; and subsequent relaxations were made where justified.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In an average week, how many Originating Applications are made to Courts in England and Wales for renewals of business tenancies pursuant to Section 24 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1974. [HL764]

The annual national figure for England and Wales during 1997 was 9,600, giving a weekly average of 185.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of schools have arrangements for musical instrument tuition; and how the current position compares to that 20 years ago (or other convenient period) and; [HL895]What proportion of school children participate in musical instrument tuition through arrangements at their school; and how the current position compares to that 20 years ago (or other convenient period). [HL896]

Information about the arrangements in schools for musical instrument tuition and the number of school children participating in such tuition is not collected centrally.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to extend part M of the building regulations to new dwellings. [HL970]

Further to the Answer given by my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Mr. Nick Raynsford) in another place on 11 June 1997, (Official Report, Vol. 295, col. 472) to a similar question from the honourable Member for Sutton and Cheam, we are pleased to announce that Part M of the Building Regulations, covering access and facilities for disabled people, is to be extended to include new dwellings. This decision has been taken following a thorough consideration of the responses to the consultation on the subject issued by the previous government in January 1995 and discussion with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the House Builders Federation. The purpose of these proposed measures is to allow people to be able to invite disabled people to visit them in their own homes, and for home owners to be able to remain in their own homes longer as they become less mobile as they get older.The benefits of these changes will be very considerable—more than 10 million people will benefit. In particular there will be direct benefits of increased convenience, accessibility and sociability for disabled people. The measures will also help significantly those people who are temporarily disabled through accident or injury, the elderly and those with young children in prams and pushchairs.The extension of Part M is an important measure that complements this Government's commitment to implement the remaining duties of Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act. Part III will improve disabled people's access to goods and services and Part M will ensure better access to new domestic dwellings. This is, therefore, a key obligation for this Government, who are committed to social inclusion. It is better and more cost effective for new homes to be designed and built with proper facilities—as already happens with new public and commercial buildings—than to rely on later piecemeal adjustments.The measures to be included in the approved document will cover:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Commission for Local Administration in England has had any communication in any form with Bristol City Council concerning application number 97/08136, the proposed bus depot construction on Filwood Playing Fields in Hengrove. [HL840]

Such questions are a matter for the Commission for Local Administration, which is independent of both central and local government in its investigation of complaints of maladministration by local authorities leading to injustice.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many deaths and serious injuries they expect, on the basis of research by the Road Research Laboratory and others, would be saved each year by:

The Transport Research Laboratory has recently refined its previous estimates of the net savings in road casualties in Great Britain were European Central Time to be adopted. Its recently received report, which was produced jointly with statisticians from University College London, gives a central estimate, from which there could be significant variations, of about 450 deaths and serious injuries which might be saved. The report is being considered by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and by the Scottish Office. The report will be published in due course.It is estimated that a reduction of the blood alcohol limit from 80mg/100ml to 50mg/100ml would save about 300 fatal or serious casualties per year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they believe it is consistent with the sustainable use of land for turf to be repeatedly harvested from it over a period of years. [HL855]

Turf cutting as a commercial activity may constitute "development" within the terms of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, requiring planning permission. Where turf cutting is "reasonably necessary for the purposes of agriculture", it benefits from permitted development rights under Part 6 of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995. In such cases, there is no requirement for a planning application to be submitted to the local planning authority. Whether turf cutting is deemed to be an agricultural activity, an activity reasonably necessary for the purposes of agriculture, or a non-agricultural activity requiring planning permission will depend on the circumstances of the particular case.The long-term agricultural potential of land may be significantly reduced if substantial amounts of soil are removed. Local planning authorities are advised to consult MAFF about commercial cutting or stripping of turf from agricultural land where planning permission is required. LPAs are required in any case to consult MAFF before granting permission for a planning application which is not in accordance with the development plan and would involve (i) the loss of 20 ha or more of grades 1, 2 or 3a agricultural land or (ii) a loss which is less than 20 ha but is likely to lead to further losses amounting cumulatively to 20 ha or more. Such consultations enables MAFF to advise on appropriate technical conditions.Under the Agricultural Land (Removal of Surface Soil) Act 1953, it is an offence to remove for sale more than 5 cubic yards of surface soil from agricultural land in any period of three months unless removal of the soil is "reasonably necessary" in the course of cutting turf.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their estimate of the reading which a breathalyser would give at (a) 7 am and (b) midday if the person concerned had given a reading of 80 mg/ml at midnight and consumed no alcohol after midnight. [HL884]

Any person whose blood alcohol level at midnight was reliably recorded as 80mg/100ml—the current legal limit—by means of a breath test, and who consumed no further alcohol would be unlikely to retain more than, at most, 10mg/100ml by 7 am and a negligible quantity by midday.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What advice they have received from London Underground about water penetration into Underground tunnels; what plans they have for investment to meet the danger; and what estimate they have formed of the likely costs should they find that they have left this investment too late. [HL810]

The Government are aware that rising groundwater beneath London is affecting parts of the Underground network. Investment to control it has not been left too late. London Underground has considerable expertise in dealing with groundwater and is taking action as necessary within its ongoing maintenance and investment programme. For the longer term, Thames Water plc is taking the lead in developing a strategy for alleviating rising groundwater levels across the area of London most likely to be affected.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What information thy have about 909 Iraqi citizens and 604 Kuwaiti citizens and others detained or imprisoned in Iraq without trial: whether they will seek access by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or other human rights monitors to all prisons and places of detention in Iraq in order to ascertain the fate of these persons; and whether they consider that a further United Nations resolution would be helpful. [HL782]

The Iraqi regime has an appalling human rights record both where its own citizens and third country nationals are concerned. The most recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur, Max Van Der Stoel, on Iraq made clear that "widespread, systematic and serious violations of human rights continue in Iraq".

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend that the resolution now being drafted in the United Nations Security Council will clearly establish who is to determine (a) whether the terms recently signed up to by the United Nations Secretary General and the Government of Iraq are being breached; and (b) whether a military attack on Iraq may, in consequence, lawfully be launched. [HL808]

The resolution that the noble Lord refers to was adopted by the Security Council on 2 March as SCR 1154.The text of the resolution makes three things clear; that the Security Council gives full backing to the agreement reached with Iraq by the UN Secretary General: that Iraq will face the severest consequences if it violates the terms of the agreement; that if Iraq complies in full sanctions can be lifted.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they expect the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) or the new inspecting body to show conclusively that there are weapons of mass destruction remaining in Iraq, or whether their continuing inability to prove a negative will result in sanctions on Iraq never being lifted. [HL809]

In order for sanctions to be lifted, Iraq must comply fully with relevant security resolutions. To date, UNSCOM has been unable to report compliance because Iraq has chosen to pursue a policy of concealment, deceit and obstruction. We welcome the progress made by the UN Secretary General in Baghdad, whose Memorandum of Understanding, since endorsed by Security Council Resolution 1154, secured an unambiguous commitment from Iraq to allow immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access to all sites, personnel and documents which UNSCOM believes to he connected with Iraq's proscribed weapons programmes. If Iraq finally honours its obligations under the relevant Security Council resolutions, we would see no barrier to the lifting of sanctions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 23 February (

I understand that arrangements will be made by the Library of the House to have this material available for consultation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the current position on the Counter Battery Radar project. [HL969]

I am pleased to inform the House that a contract for the Industrialisation and Production phase of the Counter Battery Radar project, COBRA, covering the requirements of France, Germany and the UK, was signed on 6 March 1998. The contract, valued in total at approximately £350 million, was placed with Euro-Art, a consortium consisting of Thompson CSF, SI Sicherungstechnik, RACAL and Lockheed Martin.COBRA will provide the Army with the capability to locate and classify hostile rockets, guns and mortars accurately and at long range, and will act as a force detector. It will also be able to monitor breaches of ceasefire when deployed in a peacekeeping role.The project is a good example of the benefits of collaboration with our European partners, and has given us the opportunity to procure technologically advanced equipment at a considerably lower cost than would have been the case had we pursued a purely national programme. The contract will result in around eight years of work for British industry.

asked the Leader of the House:What are the precedents for a Minister of the Crown to give either House of Parliament the personal views of the Sovereign on the merits, acceptability or desirability of a piece of legislation being considered by Parliament. [HL908]

Precedents are often helpful in deciding the appropriate procedure in a particular circumstance, but House of Lords' procedures are not settled by precedent. As I told the House on Monday 2 March (H.L. Deb., col. 955), procedure should be based on common sense and applied with regard to the particular circumstances. There are no precedents directly relevant to the case which was the subject of my statement.

asked the Leader of the House:Whether he will indicate those circumstances, other than when a Bill is fundamentally personal to the Sovereign and her family, or when Her Majesty's views would very soon become apparent through other channels, in which they regard it as appropriate or desirable to make known to Parliament the private views of the Queen on a piece of legislation under consideration; and whether the two particular circumstances referred to justify the practice singly or only in combination. [HL909]

A common sense approach to procedure means that every Bill must be considered separately. There is no circumstance which I can envisage where a Minister would make known to Parliament Her Majesty's views except on a Bill fundamentally personal to the Sovereign or her family and after full consultation with the Palace. I would expect the normal means of conveying the Queen's consent to Parliament to operate in the case of other Bills.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many people in the United Kingdom were receiving long-term sickness or incapacity benefit for each year from 1977 to 1997, by sex and by age category (for example: 15–30, 30–45 and over 45—or such other categories as are appropriate to the data; and how those figures compare with (a) employment and unemployment levels, and (b) life expectancy (or some other appropriate measure of the overall health of the same population), for the same years. [HL622]

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is set out in the tables. Detailed information on trends in life expectancy and other measures of health are published in Social Trends 28—1998 edition, published by The Stationery Office a copy of which is available in the Library.