asked Her Majesty's Government:What, over the last two decades, have been the costs to the public purse (including private finance initiative-related costs) for studies, advice, consultancies conferences, publicity and consultations relating to Stonehenge. [HL1625]

Comprehensive figures covering the whole of the last two decades are not available. English Heritage took over responsibility for Stonehenge in 1984. It incurred no expenditure on the site between 1984 and 1991 beyond that related to its normal day-to-day responsibilities. Between 1990–91 and 1997–98, English Heritage incurred costs of some £3.7 million in relation to proposals for a new visitor centre and improving the setting of Stonehenge. Since 1993, the Highways Agency has incurred expenditure totalling some £1.8 million in developing the Amesbury to Berwick Down improvement scheme for the A.303. This 10.4 km stretch of the road passes Stonehenge, but it is difficult to attribute a specific element of the expenditure to the site itself.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is in accordance with Civil Service rules for a civil servant to sell to a newspaper, within a week after he retired, an article which criticises the Secretary of State for whom he worked, and reveals aspects of private meetings; and whether the article by Andrew Wood in the

Retired civil servants are under a duty not to publish personal memoirs reflecting their experience in government or enter into commitments to do so without the prior approval of the official head of their department and the Head of the Home Civil Service. Mr. Wood did not seek any such approval. The Government regret his action.

asked Her Majesty's Government:If the number of convictions overturned by the Criminal Cases Review Commission continued to be the same proportion as at present, how much public money would be saved through the release of those wrongfully imprisoned. [HL1846]

Such a calculation would require too many assumptions to make it useful. The importance of correcting miscarriages of justice does not anyway depend on any consequential savings to public funds.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many cases are awaiting consideration by the Criminal Cases Review Commission; and whether they will make additional resources available to the commission to reduce any backlog. [HL1845]

I understand that, at the end of March, the Criminal Cases Review Commission had 818 applications awaiting detailed review: a further 223 cases were subject to such review. We are considering with the commission its current resource requirements.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many convictions were recorded in cases of cruelty to animals in each of the last five years. [HL1836]

Information on the number of offenders convicted in England and Wales for offences relating to cruelty to animals is given in Table A. Figures are provided in Table B for Scotland on the number of persons with a charge proved where the main offence was cruelty to animals. Available information on the number of convictions relating to animal cruelty in Northern Ireland is given in Table C.

Table A: Number of offenders convicted for offences relating to cruelty to animals in England and Wales, 1992–1996
Offence legislation	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
Total offences of cruelty to animals	1,195	1,070	883	893	910
Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, Sec 22(3), 23 & 25(3)	5	3	6	1	5
Protection of Animals Act 1911 (as amended)	926	861	731	754	764
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Sec 8	4	2	—	3	1
Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925	—	—	—	—	—
Protection of Animals (Cruelty to Dogs) Act 1933	27	6	—	*	*
Protection of Animals Act 1934	1	8	3	2	2
Docking & Nicking of Horses Act 1949	—	—	—	—	—
Pet Animals Act 1951	18	8	12	6	5
Cockfighting Act 1952	—	1	—	—	—
Protection of Animals (Amendment) Act 1954	26	33	27	17	16
Animal Health Act 1981, Secs 40–42, 46, 49 & Orders under Secs 8, 9, 37, 38, 39 & 43	62	34	26	42	43
Slaughterhouses Act 1974	5	1	3	—	1
Abandonment of Animals Act 1960, Sec 1	54	38	16	13	19
Animals (Cruel Poisons) Act 1962	5	5	1	—	—

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of the statement of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in her review of the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 making reference to local target shooters and "their clear commitment to maintaining the highest standards of personal behaviour and practice within their sport", they will now repeal the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997. [HL1885]

The Government have no intention of repealing either of the Firearms (Amendment) Acts 1997. For historical reasons, the controls on the lawful possession of firearms in Northern Ireland have long differed from those on the mainland. The proposals in the Northern Ireland Office's consultation document will have no bearing on the arrangements in the rest of the United Kingdom.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Following recent allegations by the solicitor acting for Mr. Reginald Kray, what facilities they make available for the consumption of alcohol by prisoners. [HL1840]

There are no facilities made available for the consumption of alcohol by prisoners at any Prison Service establishments. Disciplinary charges may be brought against any prisoner who does consumer alcohol while in custody.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have been requested by the family of Sheikh Abdul al-Jamri, who has been detained in Bahrain for over 27 months without charge or trial, to arrange for an official from the British Embassy in Manama to visit him in prison and check on his treatment and his state of health; and what reply they have made. [HL1762]

We have been asked by Sheikh al-Jamri's family to request a prison visit. As he is not a British national, there is no legal basis to request access. My honourable friend the Minister of State raised Sheikh al-Jamri's case during a recent meeting with the Foreign Minister of Bahrain.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have offered condolences to Guatemala following the murder of Bishop J. Gerardi Conedera; and what is being done internationally to assist the implementation of the 1996 peace agreement and the resettlement of 1 million refugees and 200,000 orphans. [HL1784]

The UK presidency issued a declaration on behalf of the European Union on 30 April. This expressed condolences, urged the Guatemalan Government to make every effort to bring those responsible to justice and encouraged all Guatemalans not to let the murder distract them from full implementation of the peace accords. The international donor community committed US $1.9 billion to the peace programme in 1997, including 200mecu from the EC. The donor community will review progress on the programme at the next consultative group meeting in Brussels on 23–24 June.The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Tony Lloyd, has also sent a message to the Foreign Minister of Guatemala about the murder and our support for the peace programme.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they are taking, together with other donors in the Bangladesh aid consortium, to monitor developments in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) following the recent agreement between the Bangladesh Government and representatives of the indigenous people of the CHT; and whether, as holders of the presidency of the European Union, they will request the Bangladesh Government to open up the CHT to aid agencies, human rights observers and journalists. [HL1844]

We continue to monitor the situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Our Deputy High Commissioner visited recently and made a detailed report and briefed EU colleagues. We are also active in the sub-set of donors who have formed a working group with the Government of Bangladesh to identify the needs, priorities and mechanisms for providing development assistance in the area to underpin the peace process. A needs assessment team, sent by the working group, submitted its report on 14 May which is now being considered by government and working group members. The team, which included foreign expertise, was given unlimited access in the region.Bangladeshi nationals, including aid agencies, human rights observers and journalists, already have full access to the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The major national non-governmental organisations (NGOs), such as BRAC and Proshika, are preparing new programmes in the area; small local NGOs have worked there for many years.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their strategic policy towards the humanitarian crisis in Sudan covering bilateral and multilateral governmental programmes and co-operation with non-governmental organisations. [HL1864]

We provide support for bilateral and multilateral agencies, including NGOs, who can access those in need and who are experienced at working in complex political emergencies without favouring any of the factions involved in the civil war. Since February, we have committed more than £5 million to support the work of such agencies. Last week a further £5 million was made available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress they have made in obtaining an assessment of the amount of previously developed land available for housing, announced in the policy document,

The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) has worked with the Local Government Management Board, English Partnerships, Ordnance Survey and local authorities to establish a method of providing a consistent assessment of previously developed land which may be available for housing or other development as the first step towards a complete land use database for England.Key features of the approach are to meet the needs of a number of organisations form a single data collection exercise, and to use information already held by the local authorities wherever possible, to avoid duplication of effort. Local authorities will be asked to draw up a list of previously developed sites along with information about the location, area, planning status and other relevant characteristics of each site. This will be done to a common format and using standard definitions that will be set out in guidance being developed jointly by DETR, Local Government Management Board, English Partnerships and Ordnance Survey following consultation with a number of local authorities. English Partnerships will contract teams of surveyors which will visit each local authority to complete the data collection and to collect additional information about certain sites on the potential for redevelopment. Ordnance Survey will provide quality assurance on the geographical attributes of the data, and develop the list of sites into a map database showing the site boundaries. Ordnance Survey will also develop a plan for extending the coverage of the database to other land uses, and for keeping the resulting National Land Use Database up to date.Data collection will start in the summer. English Partnerships intends to publish information on an initial set of sites suitable for redevelopment by the end of the year; summary results for all sites should be available by March 1999. Meanwhile, local authorities will have consistent information on the amounts of previously developed land which may be available for housing to assist in the drawing up of national and regional targets for the reuse of land.The database will also have value for other organisations. For example, officials are discussing with Urban Mines, an environmental NGO, which launches its own brownfield sites project today, to ensure the two projects are complementary. The intention is to secure agreements to make the information more widely available, including appropriate charging for commercial use.We shall be discussing this work as it progresses with the Urban Task Force.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What recent contact Remploy has had with the Department of Social Security in relation to the welfare-to-work programme; and whether any meeting with Remploy is being considered by DSS Ministers. [HL1830]

In developing the New Deal for Disabled People we are consulting widely with disabled people and the organisations that represent them, and with other interested parties. On 12 May I took part, with other Government Ministers, in a seminar where disabled people and others with an interest, including Remploy, were invited to express their views on the shape and scope of the personal adviser service for disabled people which we will begin piloting later this year. Following recent correspondence I have had with Remploy, officials from the department will be visiting one of its factories next month to learn more about its work and to inform further development of the New Deal.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In what year the £10 Christmas bonus for pensioners was instituted; and what would be its value now if it had been index-linked. [HL1898]

The Christmas bonus was first paid in December 1972 at the rate of £10. If it had been increased in line with prices, it would be £70.80 at Christmas 1998.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect to reach a decision concerning the restoration of benefits to asylum seekers whose cases have not been decided. [HL1785]

An inter-departmental study led by the Home Office has considered all aspects of arrangements for asylum seekers, including the provision of accommodation and support. The Government are currently considering the way forward. In the meantime the current mix of social security benefits and social services support means that no asylum seeker need be left destitute.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much of the savings from the abolition of the assisted places scheme is set aside each year to meet the costs of the additional school places that will be required in the maintained sector.

All the savings from the phasing out of the assisted places scheme will be used to reduce infant class sizes in the maintained sector. Pupils who might otherwise have taken up assisted places will not necessarily enter the maintained sector instead: some may take up independent school places with funding from private sources. Any net increase in maintained pupil numbers and costs which might result from the phasing out of the scheme would, of course, be one of the many factors taken into account in local authority settlements.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there is any provision in statute for the inspection of the quality of care offered by maintained special schools, other than the inspection carried out by Ofsted; and whether they have any plans to provide for such inspection. [HL1902]

There is no current provision is statute. The Government are considering the recommendations made by Sir William Utting in his recent report, People Like Us: The Report Of The Review Of The Safeguards For Children Living Away From Home. One of the recommendations is that the provision in Section 87 of the Children Act 1989 for local authority social services departments to inspect independent boarding schools be extended to cover maintained schools, maintained special schools and non-maintained special schools offering boarding provision.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the Green Paper on the National Childcare Strategy will be launched. [HL1964]

My right honourable friends the Secretary of State and the Secretary of State for Social Security and Minister for Women are launching a joint Green Paper on the National Childcare Strategy, Meeting the Childcare Challenge, today. In developing our proposals, we have been working closely with my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who has responsibility for lottery funding, and other colleagues.The Green Paper sets out how we intend to make a reality of our manifesto commitment to develop a National Childcare Strategy. It is the first time a government have taken a coherent and strategic approach to childcare. We are backing the strategy with a substantial investment of public money—over £125 million in England over the coming years—and we are making available £170 million from the Lottery New Opportunities Fund to develop new out-of-school childcare provision.The Green Paper sets out three steps to the strategy: raising quality, making childcare more affordable and making it more accessible. We will achieve this through working in partnership at local level, building on what already exists. Our aim is to ensure good quality, affordable childcare for children aged 0 to 14 in every neighbourhood, including both formal childcare and support for informal arrangements.Our Green Paper sets out the principles of the National Childcare Strategy covering the whole of the UK, but the specific proposals for implementation relate to England. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Scotland is launching a Green Paper on the childcare strategy in Scotland today. My right honourable friends the Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland and Wales are also planning to consult on the National Childcare Strategy in the near future.The Green Paper has today been laid before Parliament and copies are available in the Printed Paper Office.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What information they have on the likely incidence of life-threatening breast cancer in women unscreened for the condition in the age groups 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69 and 70 and above; from what sources their information is drawn; and how much is spent on screening by each health authority. [HL1793]What information they have on the likely incidence of life-threatening lung cancer in the age group 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69 and 70 and above; from what sources their information is drawn; and how much is spent on screening by each health authority. [HL1794]What information they have on the likely incidence of life-threatening cervical cancer in women unscreened for the condition in the age groups 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69 and 70 and above; from what sources their information is drawn; and how much is spent on screening by each health authority. [HL1795]What information they have on the incidence of potentially life-threatening urological tumours in males aged 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69 and 70 and above; from what sources their information is drawn; and how much is spent on screening by each health authority. [HL1796]What information they have on the incidence of potentially life-threatening cancer of the bowel in the age groups 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69 and 70 and above; from what sources their information is drawn; and how much is spent on screening by each health authority.[HL1797]What information they have on the incidence of potentially life-threatening cancer of the liver in the age groups 20–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69 and 70 and above; from what sources their information is drawn; and how much is spent on screening by each health authority. [HL1831]

Most cancers are diseases of older age. Of the cancers to which the noble Lord refers, only breast and cervical cancers are screened for nationally. In England these two screening programmes are estimated to cost respectively £35 million and £132 million each year. The National Screening Committee in England is currently considering the case for colorectal cancer screening. The age ranges for incidence in the various cancers is shown in the tables together with the source of the data.All cancers are potentially life threatening. Although lung cancer usually develops slowly over many decades, 80 per cent. of patients die within one year of diagnosis. Similarly for pancreatic cancer, about 90 per cent. of patients die within one year. In contract, prostate cancer can be life-threatening, but many are slow growing and death occurs through other causes. Breast cancer frequently occurs in middle age for no understood reason and there is no known method of prevention, and the risk of a secondary cancer can continue for up to 20 years.

Cancer incidence, selected sites, England and Wales, 1992: Number of new cases and rate per 100,000 population
	Lung cancer (ICD9 162)
	Males		Females
	Number	Rate	Number	Rate
30–39	71	1.9	67	1.8
40–49	844	18.6	448	12.9
50–59	2,534	95.9	1,108	41.7
60–69	7,464	316.6	3,835	139.9
70+	14,042	852.0	6,986	194.8

Colorectal cancer (ICD9 153 & 154)
	Males		Females
	Number	Rate	Number	Rate
30–39	132	3.8	111	3.1
40–49	600	17.3	516	14.9
50–59	1,776	67.2	1,258	47.3
60–69	4,128	175.1	3,066	118.0
70+	8,005	371.7	9,559	266.6

	Breast cancer (female)* (ICD9 174)		Cervical cancer*(ICD9 180)
	Number	Rate	Number	Rate
30–39	1,507	41.8	769	21.3
40–49	4,822	139.7	681	18.7
50–59	6,813	256.4	485	18.5
60–69	7,354	263.0	532	20.5
70+	10,848	302.5	870	24.3

	Prostate cancer (ICD9 185)		Testicular cancer (ICD9 186)
	Number	Rate	Number	Rate
30–39	4	0.1	459	12.5
40–49	40	1.4	274	7.9
50–59	587	21.1	101	3.8
60–69	3,325	141.0	48	2.0
70+	11,854	550.5	49	2.3

	Cancer of the penis (ICD9 187)
	Number	Rate
30–39	8	0.2
40–49	41	1.2
50–59	55	2.1
60–69	76	3.2
70+	169	7.8

	Bladder cancer (males) (ICD9 188)
	Number	Rate
30–39	50	1.4
40–49	287	8.3
50–59	841	31.6
60–69	2,375	100.7
70+	4,961	230.4

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was spent on research into breast cancer in each of the last five years; how much they expect to be spent in the current year; what consideration is being given to increasing spending; and what comparative information they have on spending on this research:

Identified expenditure on government-funded cancer research in the last five years is given in the table.

£000s
	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98
Breast cancer	836	4.677	4,132	4,325	4,339
Lung cancer	100	1,162	932	1,154	878
Cervical Cancer	113	498	445	543	460
Prostate cancer	0	8	69	141	47
Bowel cancer	131	719	972	1,497	1,766
Liver cancer	2	16	15	29	0

In addition to the above, a large amount of basic research is being undertaken which underpins this work. For example, in 1996–97 the Medical Research Council (MRC) spent £63.5 million on the study of molecules and cells, £39.8 million on the study of genetics and health and £55.6 million on the study of infections and immunity. The cancer research charities also make a very important contribution to cancer research in the United Kingdom, amounting to some £122 million in 1996–97, as does the pharmaceutical industry. This funding is taken into account when consideration is being given to increasing government expenditure on cancer research.The MRC is the main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research, receiving its grant-in-aid from my right hon. friend the President of the Board of Trade. The council is an independent body deciding what research to support on its own expert judgment. The council is always open to new, sound scientific proposals in competition with other applications. In deciding priorities and taking decisions, the MRC takes account of Department of Health priorities, together with input from the health research community in general.The National Health Service research and development programme is managed largely through regional offices of the NHS Executive within a national framework. National priorities for research and development are set out on the advice of the Central Research and Development Committee for the NHS (CRDC) and expert advisory groups convened under its auspices. A sub-group of CRDC has been established to review the strategic framework which determines the use of the levy and will undertake a review of research into cancer as one of five key areas identified in

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Sinn Fein has yet signed the recent Northern Ireland Agreement. [HL1643]

Sinn Fein agreed at its Ard Fheis on 10 May to endorse the agreement.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are confident that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will retain sufficient laboratory and vessel capability to provide all the research information that will be required:

The Government are confident that the Ministry's agency, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, will have sufficient laboratory and vessel capability to provide the research information which the Ministry seeks from it in the years leading up to and beyond the review of the common fisheries policy in 2002. The Ministry and other UK fisheries departments will also continue to commission fisheries research from other bodies.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

The production of the census results for England is already on a very tight schedule, with the provisional June 1997 results published on 2 September 1997 and the final results published on 18 December 1997. The 1997 UK results were not published until 3 March 1998 due to processing difficulties in one of the UK agricultural departments. These are being addressed.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish in the

There is one veterinary medicinal product available for the treatment of varroa disease in bees: Bayvarol Strips. This is an opaque white plastic strip containing the active ingredient flumethrin.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list the preparations known to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate for use in combating varroa disease in bees; and which of these preparations have caused concern to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, stating the findings. [HL1866]

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is aware that a lack of authorised veterinary products has meant for many years that beekeepers have used preparations which have been developed for other, often industrial, purposes which they have found, probably accidentally, to have particular curative properties. In respect of most of these non-medicinal curative substances it will be clear whether or not they present a danger to consumers. The VMD is not aware of any health hazards that have arisen from the use by beekeepers over the past few years of preparations such as talc, formic or lactic acid, although there is considerable concern about a preparation called "Frow mixture" (apparently comprising nitrobenzene, petrol, ligroin, methyl salicylate and safrol) about which we are seeking further information.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In the light of their proposals to give open access to freshwater and rivers by removing the protection order on trout and coarse fish angling on the rivers Tweed and Tay in Scotland, what consideration they have given to the protection of other species of migratory fish and their conservation and management. [HL1814]

The removal of a protection order does not give open access to freshwater and rivers. A protection order, in return for increased angling opportunities being made available, makes it a criminal offence to fish for freshwater fish without the permission of the owner of the fishing rights. Where there is no protection order, a riparian owner can initiate civil proceedings should unlawful fishing for freshwater fish occur.Salmon and sea trout, which are the main migratory species, are protected by separate legislation and do not come under the scope of protection orders.