asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the high speed sea service catamaran ferries consume more than four times as much fuel per passenger mile than traditional ferries; whether all the environmental implications and costs of these ferries have been evaluated; if so, by whom; and whether the evaluation was taken into account when the use of such ferries was approved. [HL3550]

We are not able to provide any general information on the fuel consumption of high speed ferries. How this compares with that for traditional ferries will depend upon the type of ferry, the route on which it operates, and how the consumption is measured. However, since fast ferries use refined fuels with a low sulphur content, they should cause less air pollution and present a lower risk of marine pollution than traditional ferries. My noble friend the Baroness Hayman's reply to an earlier question for the noble Lord dealt with the issue of environmental monitoring (22 June, Vol. 591, WA 8).

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 19 October (

The 1997 Annual Report of the then Department of the Environment shows that, under the last government's expenditure plans, capital expenditure through the Housing Corporation net Approved Development Programme and Local Authority Housing (the main sources of public funding available for house building) was set to fall to £1,196.8 million in 1999–2000. Under the expenditure plans announced in the Deputy Prime Minister's 22 July statement on Housing and Regeneration Policy, copies of which are in the Library, support for these programmes (including resources made available through the Capital Receipts Initiative) will rise to £1,889.6 million in 1999–2000 and to £3,056.9 million by 2001–02.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans he has to improve the collection of information about tuberculosis risk factors from cattle breakdown forms. [HL3626]

During November the Ministry will be carrying out a pilot study using new survey forms designed to collect information on cattle movements, husbandry practices, wildlife on farms, and the local environment from farms which have suffered TB incidents, and from others which will act as controls. Comments on the forms are being invited from the farming and scientific communities and the public.In December we will review the forms, and from January we intend to use them to gain information following all TB breakdowns. The information collected will be analysed alongside other data on local weather conditions and patterns of badger activity to determine which factors seem to be associated with a higher TB risk. These factors can then be investigated more closely.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether crop varieties genetically engineered to be resistant to insects or other crop pests will be required to have an approval under current or future pesticide legislation. [HL3581]

Plant varieties genetically modified to be resistant to insects or other crop pests must comply with the requirements of the UK National List system (which considers, amongst other things, the agronomic performance of varieties) before they can be marketed.The crop varieties themselves do not require an approval under pesticides legislation. However, the use of a pesticide on a crop genetically modified to be resistant to that pesticide will require such approval, which will be considered on the basis of appropriate safety and efficacy data. Prior consent under the Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) Regulations is required for the release of the crop into the environment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect the review of Public Analyst arrangements in England and Wales to be completed. [HL3624]

The Chairman of the review group has now submitted its report to my honourable friend the Minister of State. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House and will be sent to those who made submissions to the group. It will also be made available on the Ministry's web site. He was grateful to the chairman and members of the group for the timely completion of their review. The Government will need to give careful consideration to the large number of detailed recommendations and decide how to carry them forward in consultation with the other relevant bodies.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they propose to publish a White Paper on Defence Diversification. [HL3682]

We have today published our White Paper Defence Diversification: Getting the most out of defence technology, as Cm 4088. It describes how we intend to create a defence diversification agency, in fulfilment of our election manifesto. It follows the process of consultation set in motion earlier this year by our Green Paper, Cm 3861. We are most grateful to all those organisations and individuals who contributed to this process.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Territorial Army will be deployed to ensure that there is a military presence throughout the United Kingdom linking the armed forces to the civil community and, if so, how. [HL3575]

Our work on the restructuring of the TA is based on assumptions which recognise the role of the TA in providing a link between the armed forces and the civil community and the need for appropriate TA representation throughout the United Kingdom.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How the regular army will provide accommodation and support to the cadet forces if the Territorial Army is reduced to around 40,000. [HL3578]

Suitable alternative accommodation and support will be provided for any cadet unit affected by the restructuring of the Territorial Army.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will investigate the feasibility of speeding up the procedures for dealing with disciplinary charges involving senior police officers. [HL3616]

The Government have been very concerned about the protracted nature of disciplinary proceedings against police officers of all ranks. Delays are clearly undesirable for accused officers, forces and ultimately for the public they serve. New police disciplinary procedures are being introduced on 1 April 1999 and it is expected that streamlined systems will result in fewer delays consistent with the principles of fairness being applied. In the case of senior officers, the present procedures have been used only rarely. However, it is fair to say that lessons have been learned from problems experienced recently in a few force areas and these are contributing to the revision of the senior officer procedures.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will invite the Independent Commission on the Voting System to make available to Parliament and the general public the minutes and notes taken at the public consultation meetings. [HL3476]

I understand that the Independent Commission on the Voting System intends to place the notes of its public meetings in the Library and in the Public Record Office.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many fixed penalty tickets for moving traffic offences have been issued to foreign drivers in each of the past five years. [HL3467]

The information requested is not available centrally.It is not, however, normal police practice to issue fixed penalty notices to foreign drivers who commit moving traffic offences. The fixed penalty system does not specifically provide for such action because there is no facility to endorse foreign driving licences with penalty points. In addition, as foreign drivers are often only in this country for short periods, and the United Kingdom's jurisdiction no longer applies once they have returned home, there are obvious difficulties in taking enforcement action if the fixed penalty is not paid.

asked Her Majesty's Government:For each financial year from 1994–95 to the present, where and when riots have occurred in prisons; and what has been the cost of repairing damage caused and of relocating prisoners in each case. [HL3598]

The Prison Service does not use the term "riot" as a definition of an incident. Under its incident reporting scheme, the only incident which could match this term would be that of active concerted indiscipline. Such an incident is defined as an incident in which two or more prisoners, acting together, use violence to disrupt the regime of an establishment. The associated costs of repairing damage and relocating prisoners are not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.I am placing the available information in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will amend Prison Standing Order 5B, paragraph 29, so as to allow prisoners to communicate with box number addresses belonging to legal organisations. [HL3633]

We have no plans to amend this provision. Under paragraph 29 of Standing Order 5B, governors have the authority to stop prisoners from writing to a Post Office box. Prisons must be able to identify and check the recipients of prisoners' correspondence, particularly in the case of high risk prisoners and sex offenders.While this provision will more often apply to individuals using PO box numbers, it may also be applied to organisations where the governor considers there to be a risk. Some organisations, for example, operate penpal schemes for prisoners to make contact with people on the outside. Such schemes may be susceptible to infiltration by sex offenders and paedophiles seeking to network and make contact with vulnerable people. These schemes therefore need to be thoroughly vetted. Where the organisations concerned are not able to do this, and the use of a box number precludes prisons from making appropriate checks on the recipients, a governor is within his or her rights to stop prisoners writing to the organisation.However, in the case of legal practitioners and organisations, governors, in keeping with the principle that prisoners should have unfettered access to the legal process, should generally allow the use of a box number, although the number of legal practitioners and organisations which do this is likely to be very small.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are their key objectives for policing for 1999–2000. [HL3764]

My right honourable friend the Home Secretary will announce his objectives, which identify his ministerial priorities for policing in 1999–2000, together with supporting Key Performance Indicators, tomorrow, 6 November. I will arrange for copies to be placed in the Library at 10 a.m. that morning.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will set out the arrangements being made to issue monthly statistics on asylum. [HL3763]

Until now, the asylum statistics have only been available in the Home Office's annual Asylum Statistics Bulletin and in a summary form twice a year in the Control of Immigration Statistical Bulletin. These bulletins contain detailed information on asylum applications, demographic characteristics of asylum seekers, decisions, appeals, detention and removals.Selected monthly information has, however, only been available on request from the Home Office Press Office. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary is therefore arranging for selected monthly bulletins to be issued on 25 of each month or the next working day, and to be also available through the Library and the Home Office Press Office.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made on the Prison Service Quantum Project. [HL3762]

On 10 August 1998, the Director General of the Prison Service called a temporary halt to the Quantum Project and set up a thorough review which will take up to six months. In a message to Prison Service staff, he said: "It has become apparent that it may not be possible to achieve the original objectives of providing the service with improved information systems and business processes in a way which safeguards the vital operational capability of the service". These and other concerns will be addressed in the review process, which will reassess the way forward and consider a range of alternative options. The objective is to ensure that the project meets the needs of the Prison Service.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their response to the report of the interim review of the Boundary Commission for England. [HL3725]

We have today laid before Parliament the report of the interim review of the Boundary Commission for England, together with a draft Order in Council for giving effect, without modification, to the recommendations contained in the report.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What the arrangements are for this year's review of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary provisions) Act 1989. [HL3727]

I am pleased to announce that Mr. John Rowe QC has accepted the invitation of my right honourable friend the Home Secretary to carry out the annual review of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, including those provisions inserted by the Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act 1998, for 1998 and the following two years.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will report on the operation of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. [HL3726]

The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, established under Section 41 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, came into operation on 30 September 1998.The members of the Board are:Lord Warner of Brockley (Chair)Mr. Rob Allen, Director of Research and Development, National Association for the Care and Rehabilitation of OffendersMr. Jonathan Black, Clerk to the Justices, North East and North West HampshireMr. Cedric Fullwood, lately Chief Probation Officer, Greater ManchesterMs Joyce Moseley, formerly a Director of Social ServicesDr. Theodore Mutale, consultant child and adolescent forensic psychiatristMs Janet Paraskeva JP, Director for England, National Lottery Charities BoardMr. Charles Pollard, Chief Constable, Thames Valley PoliceMrs. Annabella Scott JP, Inner London youth panelMr. Martin Stephenson, Chief Executive, INCLUDEMs Lorna Whyte, a member of the Police Complaints AuthorityMr. Charles Wilson, lately Managing Director of the Mirror Group of newspapersThe board is responsible for monitoring the operation and performance of the youth justice system as a whole and advising the Government on this, and on the drawing up of standards for the local provision of youth justice services and for custodial regimes for juveniles. The Board will also identify and promote good practice in the provision of youth justice services and, in support of this work, the Government are providing £85 million over three years from April 1999 for a youth justice development fund, which it has asked the board to administer. The fund will be used to support the development by local authorities and other bodies, including in the voluntary sector, of programmes and projects, including bail support, to prevent or tackle offending by children and young people.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they regard the hereditary principle as appropriate for the position of Head of State of the United Kingdom. [HL3588]

The Government believe that the national interest and desire is to retain our constitutional Monarchy in its present form, which has served the country well.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they consider that Article 31 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees recognises that there may be justification for the use of false travel documents and irregular entry, since a person fleeing human rights violations may need to resort to false documents to leave the country of origin and to travel to another country. [HL3615]

There may be circumstances when asylum seekers would need to use false travel documents in order to leave their country. However, once they have left, there should normally be no legitimate reason for their seeking to deceive the immigration officer into believing that the document is valid. All asylum applications, including those made by illegal entrants, are considered on their merits in accordance with the criteria set out in the 1951 convention.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they plan to publish their response to the Human Genetics Advisory Commission's report on

I have today published, in conjunction with the Minister for Public Health, the Government's response to the HGAC report. In undertaking consideration of this issue, the Government have placed great importance on ensuring fairness of treatment for people seeking insurance cover. The response sets out a number of proposals which seek to build on the progress already made by the Association of British Insurers in developing industry-wide standards on underwriting and confidentiality. In line with the recommendations made in the HGAC report, the proposals include the establishment of an independent mechanism to evaluate the scientific and actuarial relevance of any genetic tests before they can be taken into account by insurers. Copies of the response have been placed in the Library.