asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any of the firms lending members of staff to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are wholly

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, as reported in the BBC Monitoring Service Summary of World Broadcasts in July 1997, Japan is helping Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan to dismantle nuclear weapons inherited by those countries from the former Soviet Union; and, if so, whether this activity is being supervised by the International Energy Authority or any other international body. [HL2775]

As far as Her Majesty's Government are aware, all nuclear warheads

The firms who are currently seconding staff to the FCO are registered in either England or Wales. Their exact status is shown in the table. In addition to these, the FCO has two staff seconded from Coopers & Lybrand, London, now known as Pricewaterhouse Coopers, which is a global organisation operating world-wide partnerships.from Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan were returned to Russia by the end of 1996. All of Kazakhstan's delivery systems were destroyed by the end of 1997, and all of Belarus' delivery systems similarly removed. Only Ukraine has remaining delivery systems in place. We are not aware of any Japanese aid to Ukraine to remove these.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are their current estimates of demand for academic posts in science, humanities and social science in British higher education institutions over the next 10 years, resulting from retirements of current staff and other changes. [HL2862]

The Government do not make estimates of demand for academic posts in higher education institutions. It is for universities and colleges themselves to decide on the number of staff to employ and their deployment across subjects.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many British students they estimate are currently working towards higher degrees in British higher education institutions, in science, humanities and social science. [HL2863]

The latest data available on the number of UK students working towards postgraduate degrees in UK higher education institutions in science, humanities and social science are set out in the table.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many of the reviews currently being undertaken by the Scottish Office will be published during the parliamentary summer Recess. [HL2793]

The results of the following reviews may be published during the Parliamentary summer recess:

• Comprehensive Review of the Food Related Scientific Services in Scotland;
• Working Group on Community Education;
• Stage 2 of the Policy and Financial Management Review of Highlands and Islands Enterprise;
• Review of Criminal Justice Social Work;
• Quinquennial Review of the Scottish Records Advisory Council.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What advice was taken from scientific and environmental bodies on the implications of releasing genetically modified salmon, which grew at 10 times the normal rate and were able to tolerate much colder sea water, into the oceanic environment, before permission, which had been refused in Canada, was given for these salmon to be bred in Scotland. [HL2842]

In 1995–96 the Health and Safety Executive authorised a trial on genetically modified salmon at Otterferry, Loch Fyne.The trial was authorised following the submission of an Environmental Risk Assessment and a series of exploratory visits by the HSE, Department of Environment and the Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department.The trial was conducted in land based facilities under strict supervision and subject to rigorous quarantine conditions. The trial was concluded prematurely and all fish destroyed.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish a table showing:

The information is set out in the table below, which relates to publicly funded schools only. Information about school staying on rates for school pupils is also published annually in the bulletin Scottish School Leavers and Their Qualifications. In that bulletin the rates are calculated in relation to the appropriate third year cohort, therefore the percentages shown in the bulletin are different to those shown here.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to ensure that the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) is implemented as economically as possible, as recommended in

The Government are committed to full implementation of their European obligations. They are reviewing a number of areas of policy on the quality of the water environment, including the approach to implementation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. In particular the Government are considering the recommendations of the Environment Agency, following its reviews of both sensitive areas and less sensitive areas (called areas of high natural dispersion in the UK), carried out during 1997 in line with the directive's requirements. The Government are also reviewing the application of derogations to lower levels of treatment for certain coastal discharges, where justified by comprehensive studies which follow from the designation of less sensitive areas. They have asked the Environment Agency to take a rigorous approach to the assessment of these comprehensive studies and wish to consider carefully whether, notwithstanding the scientific evidence offered by these studies, a precautionary approach should dictate that all significant coastal discharges should receive secondary treatment.The Government are considering all these issues in the context of the current periodic review of water company price limits. Our aim will be to strike an appropriate balance between securing environmental improvements and ensuring reasonable costs to consumers through their water bills. We intend to make announcements within the next few weeks which will establish our policy in relation to the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What they consider to be the benefits of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC); and what are its costs (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) elsewhere in the European Union. [HL2855]

The Government are committed to improving quality standards in the water environment wherever possible and consider that this directive makes an important contribution to this overall aim. The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive will ensure minimum standards of sewage treatment for all sewage discharges to inland, coastal and estuarial waters in the UK and other member states. It also provides for additional protection from enrichment of waters by excess nutrients in designated sensitive areas. The Government believe that the aims and requirements of the directive mirror the expectations of today's society for the treatment of sewage discharges to inland coastal waters.At the 1994 determination of water company price limits, the cost of implementing the directive in the UK was estimated as £8 billion. The full cost will not be known until investment by water and sewerage undertakers in measures to implement the directive are complete. However, the Special Report No. 3/98 by the EC Court of Auditors to the Council of the European Union, concerning the implementation by the Commission of EU policy and action as regards water pollution, reported costs of implementation (in table 1 of the report) for member states for which information was available as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are satisfied that the European Community has fulfilled its duty under Article 174 (previously 130r) of the Treaty of Rome to take account of the costs and benefits of its environmental legislation, with particular reference to policies affecting the quality and supply of water, and the treatment and removal of sewage; and [HL2857]What assessment they have made of the vote by the Environment Committee of the European Parliament not to require the European Commission to carry out a cost/benefit analysis before the draft Framework Directive on Water Policy is approved; and [HL2856]

The Government keep very carefully in mind the provisions of the Treaty of Rome to take account of the costs and benefits of action or lack of action in the preparation of Community policy on the environment. The Commission is committed to the principle that there should be proper economic analyses to support all proposals for legislation so that both the Council and the European Parliament can take account of assessments of the potential costs and benefits of such proposals in developing policy. The Government consider that there have been cases where the level of economic analysis prepared by the Commission has not in itself provided an adequate basis for the Council and the European Parliament to do so, and that this has occurred in respect of proposals on water policy.