asked Her Majesty's Government:How many marriages have taken place on licensed premises (as opposed to churches and registry offices) since the new system of licensed premises was introduced; and whether the number of church ceremonies and the number of marriages taking place in registry offices have fallen over this period. [HL1069]

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:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Donoughue on 9 March

Where a person was charged under the Beef Bones Regulations 1997 with the offence of supplying a beef bone for human consumption rather than for a pet, it would be for the prosecution to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the offence had been committed. Butchers shops are not courts, and the regulations provide for the due diligence defence set out in the Section 21(I) of the Food Safety Act 1990 to be applied.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made with the selective cull of cattle. [HL1131]

In Great Britain, we have contacted all the herds in which BSE cases were born and sought to identify animals which were exposed to the same feed as these cases. Where these animals have been sold off the farm of origin, we have tried to trace and locate them. Not surprisingly, given the age of the animals, we have found that about 156,000 animals have already been slaughtered, including those taken under the Over Thirty Months Scheme. But under the selective cull we have identified and slaughtered about 66,000 animals to date. A further 10,000 animals have been traced but not yet slaughtered, including a number for which the owner has the option to offer them but has not so far done so.In addition, in Northern Ireland all the 1,461 animals to be taken under the cull have been slaughtered. As a result, the total to date for the United Kingdom is over 67,000. All these animals attract the special rates of compensation payable under this scheme.It is now estimated that the total number slaughtered under the selective cull will be about 80,000–85,000. We are determined to finish the cull as quickly as we can and are continuing to treat it as a high priority. The last stages will focus on tracing animals which have moved from their natal herd. This is a time-consuming and difficult task, made more difficult by the lack of the computerised cattle tracing system which we are now developing. Progress on the cull will inevitably become slower, as increasingly often it is single animals that have to be tracked down. However we expect to complete the whole work by the autumn.The selective cull has been an enormous task. Farmers themselves have made a substantial contribution. It has been an unwelcome and for many a distressing task. We are grateful for their co-operation and their recognition that this has been an essential step in fulfilling the Florence preconditions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect the latest volume of

Agriculture in the United Kingdom 1997 was published on 17 March and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What guidance they have given to magistrates concerning motorists who decline to accept a fixed penalty notice and who have chosen to appeal to a magistrates' court following a roadside emission test. [HL988]

The Government has not issued any guidance to magistrates on this matter. Where a person has requested a hearing in the magistrates' court and is convicted the sentence is for the magistrates to decide within the limits laid down by Parliament. In passing sentence, they will take account of the circumstances of the offender as well as the offence. They may also have regard to the Sentencing Guidelines issued by the Magistrates' Association. These cover vehicle emissions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What grounds, if any, there are for an appeal against successful prosecution for failing a roadside emission test and what mitigating circumstances, if any, may be taken into account by the courts. [HL989]

There are no grounds of appeal laid down in legislation which are specific to a conviction which results from failing a roadside

	Session
	96–971	95–96	94–95	93–94	92–932
Negative instruments
Number of negative instruments considered by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments3	696	1,189	1,210	1,019	1,785
Number of prayers to annul or motions to revoke negative instruments in the House of Commons4	2	7	6	1	10
Number of prayers to annul or motions to revoke negative instruments in the House of Lords	53	1	66	0	4
Affirmative instruments
Number of affirmative instruments approved by the House of Commons	139	173	173	155	237
Number of affirmative instruments approved by the House of Lords7	98	141	128	118	182
Notes:
1 Short session terminated by general election.
2 Long session following general election.
3 Includes negative instruments, draft negative instruments and negative instruments (Northern Ireland).
4 These figures relate only to those instruments which were debated on the floor of the House and do not include Early Day Motions.
5 Includes a Motion to disapprove a Statement of Immigration Rules (not a negative instrument, but subject to annulment).
6 This figure is different to the one given in the answer to the noble Lord on 4 December 1996 (WA 54)because it includes two Motions which called on Her Majesty's Government to revoke a negative instrument and to re-lay it in amended form.
7 Includes Motions to approve moved formally after a debate on another Motion.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many statutes were passed in each of the last five Sessions of Parliament. [HL1095]

Session	Public	Private	Measures
1992–93	68	18	3
1993–94	41	16	3
1994–95	54	10	2
1995–96	64	14	—
1996–97	55	4	1
1997–98	21	—	—

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many (a) affirmative and (b) negative statutory instruments were passed in each of the last five sessions of Parliament; and how many of the latter were prayed against in either House. [HL1096]

asked Her Majesty's Government:On how many occasions Private Members' Bills have been provided with extra parliamentary time in the House of Commons by the Government of the day in each Session since 1964. [HL10541]

The information for each Session from 1954 to 1987 was given in a Written Answer in the House of Commons on 26 January 1987 (Official Report, WA cols. 106–118). Since then the latter stages of only three Bills have proceeded in Government time, though without debate, shortly before the Dissolution in March 1997. They were two private Peers' Bills which had already been reported from standing committees in the Commons (the Police (Insurance of Voluntary Assistants) Bill and the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Bill taken on 19 March 1997) and one Private Member's Bill which had passed both Houses and to which the Lords had made amendments (the Public Entertainment Licences (Drugs Misuse) Bill taken on 20 March 1997). All three received Royal Assent before the end of the Parliament.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their policy towards providing additional parliamentary time to Private Members' Bills. [HL1067]

It is assumed that this Question relates to proceedings in the House of Commons only. The Standing Orders of the House of Commons provide that Private Members' Bills shall have precedence over Government business on 13 Fridays each Session. The specific dates are set by an order at the start of each Session. The procedures governing Private Members' Bills and the time available for their consideration are well known. In recent years successive governments have declined to disturb these arrangements. The Government have always made it clear that there was no question of making extra time available for any Private Members' Bills this session.

asked the Chairman of Committees:Why the House refused to provide a nursery. [HL1057]

House of Lords policy on childcare is set out in my earlier answers to Questions from the noble Lord this Session (22 May 1997, WA 9–10; 2 February 1998, WA 90–91).

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the letter from the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency attached to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman on 3 March

I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency to write to the noble Lord.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the position with respect to the introduction of single vehicle approval or equivalent in each member state of the European Community, giving the proposed date and the actual date of implementation in each case. [HL1136]

Single vehicle approval is not harmonised at European level and we do not have this information. The European Commission has itself recently asked member states for details of their single vehicle approval requirements and is expected to make the responses available in due course.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will seek to amend the Housing Act 1996 so that social housing grants can be made available to registered social landlords who provide hardstanding accommodation and related facilities for people living in mobile homes. [HL1076]

Her Majesty's Government have no plans to amend the legislation for this purpose at present.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What information they have received concerning the attack by the Burmese military which occurred this week on a Karen refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border; and what is their policy in respect of: (a) the lack of any permanent United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' presence in the camps; (b) the policy of repatriation of refugees to Burma; (c) the general security of the camps; and (d) British economic investments in Burma. [HL1030]

The Thai Government has confirmed that, on 11 March, Wangka refugee camp was attacked by armed forces from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Association. At least one person was killed and 25 people were injured. As EU Presidency, we made a statement on 13 March, calling on the Burmese regime to investigate the incident and to prevent such attacks in future; we also urged the Thai Government to provide adequate protection for Burmese refugees.The UN High Commission for Refugees has a monitoring role on the Thai/Burma border. An enhanced role is a matter between the UNHCR and the Thai authorities. The British Embassy in Bangkok is in touch with the Thai Government about the security situation in the camps, and continues to press them not to repatriate refugees by force whilst the situation in Burma remains unstable. We do not encourage UK companies to trade with or invest in Burma and we have suspended government financial support for trade promotion activities in Burma.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they intend to take to achieve compliance by Iraq with United Nations Resolution 687 in respect of access by the International Committee of the Red Cross to Kuwaiti detainees removed from Kuwait in 1990–91. [HL1045]

Her Majesty's Government has always taken a keen interest in the issue of Kuwaiti detainees. We will continue to play an active role in the Tripartite Commission, insisting that Iraq provides full information on the whereabouts of the detainees and allows the International Committee of the Red Cross access to prisons and detention centres.My honourable friend the Minister of State repeated our commitments during his recent visit to Kuwait.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the approximate total number of accredited personnel currently employed in the diplomatic service overseas; and how many of these come from the ethnic minority communities. [HL1049]

On 1 January 1998, the most recent date for which figures are available, there were 2,067 UK-based FCO staff with overseas postings. Of this number, 34 have declared themselves to be members of minority ethnic groups. FCO staff are not obliged to report their ethnic origins.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the terms of reference for the review of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company. [HL1038]

I have arranged for this document to be placed in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Interpretation Act 1978 will be devolved or reserved in the context of the Scottish Parliament; and whether the Scottish Parliament will be able to amend that Act for Scottish parliamentary purposes. [HL1051]

The Interpretation Act 1978 will be reserved, in that it relates to the interpretation of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which is itself reserved. The Scottish Parliament will be able to make its own legislative provision about the interpretation of Acts of the Scottish Parliament and statutory instruments made under such Acts. It is intended to make transitional provision for interpretation which will have effect until the Scottish Parliament makes its own provision. Paragraph 8 of Schedule 7 to the Scotland Bill makes provision for the amendment of the Interpretation Act 1978 to regulate the relationship between an Act of the Scottish Parliament and an Act of the UK Parliament where either one operates on the other.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is constitutional for an organisation to use the terms "Britain" and "British" in fundraising literature for activities carried out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland only, when the organisation does not have any locus in Scotland. [HL1020]

Use of "Britain" or "British" as a trade mark or business identifier would have to be considered in the context in which these terms are used or applied in relation to goods or services. For instance, the Trade Marks Act 1994 requires that use of a mark should not mislead or confuse the public as to the origin of the goods or services. In the event that an organisation using Britain or British to identify itself, but whose activities spread across only England, Wales and Northern Ireland, it would need to be demonstrated that absence of a locus in Scotland was misleading.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why and with what authority Dr. Ian Oliver QPM, Chief Constable of Grampian Constabulary, claimed to have received Royal Assent for the 100-page "Firearms Act" which he published on 1 January 1993; and in the course of production:

I am aware of no such claim by Dr. Oliver about the draft Firearms Act which he, and another chief constable, submitted on their own initiative to the Firearms Consultative Committee, of which they were both then members. The Committee is appointed by the Home Secretary but neither the Home Office nor the Scottish Office funded the production of the paper. The remaining information sought by the question is not available. It is open to all members of the Firearms Consultative Committee to submit papers on issues they consider relevant to the Committee's area of work. The contents of such papers and the manner of their production are matters for individual members.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will implement the provisions of the Public Entertainments Licences (Drugs Misuse) Act 1997. [HL1032]

Consultations on Home Office guidelines to local authorities on implementing the powers contained in this Act have now been completed. The final version of the guidelines will be published and the new powers then brought into effect shortly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have given or plan to give instructions to parliamentary Counsel to ensure that any future legislation on criminal justice will be drafted in such a way as to prevent any amendment to liberalise the abortion laws from being in order. [HL1056]

No.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What account the Home Secretary and Lord Justice Stuart-Smith took, in deciding against a fresh inquiry into the Hillsborough tragedy, of missing video tapes, changed statements by police officers, conflicting medical evidence and complaints of lack of impartiality in the original coroner's process and in the granting of immunity from prosecution to police officers upon taking early retirement. [HL1031]

Lord Justice Stuart-Smith considered all the material evidence submitted to his scrutiny about the Hillsborough disaster. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary accepted his conclusion that there were no grounds for a fresh inquiry.Chapter 2 of Lord Justice Stuart-Smith's report deals with the video evidence. He found that there was no new video evidence and the only missing video tapes were two tapes stolen on the day of the disaster, which remain missing. They were not police tapes and the judge was satisfied that they would not have shown anything significant.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will review the Defence Bills Agency. [HL1130]

The Defence Bills Agency, DBA, which was launched in 1995, is responsible for:

(a) paying and accounting for bills submitted by MoD's suppliers and contractors;

(b)raising invoices and pursuing moneys receivable for goods and services sold by MoD:

(c) maintaining accounting records for the MoD central ledger;

(d) providing accounting and management information on all these activities to MoD managers.

In accordance with the DBA's framework document, a periodic review of the agency is under way. The performance of the DBA since its launch will be evaluated and a review of the options for the best management of its functions will be undertaken. Comments and contributions from those with an interest in DBA and its work will be welcomed. They should be sent by 31 May 1998 to:

asked Her Majesty's Government:If, as proposed, a replacement hospital is built for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, at a capital cost of £200 million under the Private Finance Initiative, what would be the expected revenue costs on such a sum on an annual basis and how would these costs be met; whether they would affect the budgets of other Birmingham hospitals; and whether additional funds would be made available to help meet these revenue costs; and [HL1035]What would be the consequences for the ancillary staffs, especially clerical, catering, cleaning and medical ancillaries, of the building of a replacement hospital for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, under the Private Finance Initiative; and what guarantees such staff would have that, following the transfer of their employment to the new private investors who would own the hospital, their wages and conditions would be safeguarded; and [HL1036]What contractual obligations are in place to ensure the proper maintenance of any hospital built under the Private Finance Initiative to replace the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham; and whether the requirements of the hospital in this direction will always predominate. [HL1037]

Birmingham Health Authority has just completed a consultation exercise on the future of health services in the Birmingham area. After careful analysis of the results, the health authority may initiate further consultations on service changes. Until firm plans have been agreed, Ministers cannot comment on the future of individual hospitals in Birmingham.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why the latest edition of Department of Health Report 41 on

All retrospective estimates of fluoride exposure in the decades preceding a diagnosis of clinical skeletal fluorosis are inevitably imprecise. Many reviews, including the World Health Organisation review cited in Report 41, conclude that crippling skeletal fluorosis is typically associated with intakes of 20–80 mg daily for 10–20 years. In the United Kingdom, only one instance of non-occupational skeletal fluorosis has been reported, in 1966, even though it has been estimated that consumers of exceptionally large quantities of tea may attain fluoride intakes of 12 mg daily.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What levels of financial support they offer to HIV and AIDS drugs research; and what was the level in each year since 1992. [HL975]

Government funded research on HIV and AIDS is mainly sponsored through the Medical Research Council. The areas currently covered include drug design, clinical trials, vaccine developments, and epidemiology, but funding information is not separately identified on each. Figures for total funding are as follows.

Total Government HIV/AIDS research funding
Year	Total
1992–93	£20.0 million
1993–94	£21.9 million
1994–95	£20.5 million
1995–96	£19.4 million
1996–97	*£18.7 million
1997–98	*£18.1 million
* = estimate.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What level of financial support they offer to HIV and AIDS care charities; and what was the level in each year since 1992. [HL976]

The level of financial support offered to HIV and AIDS voluntary organisations since 1992 is shown in the table. This includes grants given to these organisations and also funding for health promotion work commissioned from voluntary organisations.

Year	England and Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland	Total
1991–92	£1.904m	£115,380	£101,000	£2.12m
1992–93	£1.994m	£149,000	£158,000	£2.30 lm
1993–94	£1.940m	£152,500	£156,700	£2.249m
1994–95	£1.796m	£156,000	£167,500	£2.120m
1995–96	£1.565m	£129,000	£155,193	£1.849m
1996–97	£2.517m	£115.578	£167.075	£2.8m
1997–98	£2.853m	£122,000	£177,347	£3.152m

asked Her Majesty's Government:What advice they are giving to health authorities on the treatment of those with HIV and AIDS; and whether they recommend the diversion of funds from care services to drug treatments. [HL977]

Advice to health authorities in England on treatment and care of people with HIV/AIDS in 1998–99 is contained in the Health Circular HSC 1998/015, copies of which are available in the Library. The advice draws attention to the consensus guidelines for antiretroviral treatment of HIV positive individuals issued by the British HIV Association (BHIVA), and published in the Lancet in April 1997. These therapies have so far proved successful in delaying the progression of HIV infection and the onset of AIDS. The circular sets out details of the sums available for HIV/AIDS treatment and care and HIV prevention, draws attention to relevant policy statements and other guidance and reminds health authorities to take account of the valuable role played by local authorities and the voluntary sector in the overall package of care for people with HIV and AIDS. It does not recommend diversion of funds from care services to drug treatments.In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland there has been no specific advice issued to health authorities/boards about the treatment and care of those with HIV and AIDS. Specific funds are not earmarked but included within general allocations and it is for health authorities/boards to determine their own spending priorities. There has been no recommendation to divert funds from care services to drug treatments.