asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the latest total net sum that has been spent by the Legal Aid Board on cases in which plaintiffs have sought and are still continuing to seek compensation for injuries caused by the use of radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer. [HL3905]

Total net costs paid to 17 November 1998 were £;2.3 million. This sum includes the generic costs paid under the lead certificate together with costs paid to all solicitors involved in the action for individual case work. It does not, however, take account of any contributions which may be payable.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Chancellor on 20 October (

The Government do not believe that it is necessary to implement this recommendation. The courts already have a wide discretion to order costs and can take into account their impact on the parties. In proceedings supported by legal aid, for which public interest work will be a high priority under the Government's reforms, the courts are obliged to take the parties' means into account in deciding whether to order costs. That obligation will remain after the reforms.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they consider a judge's removal from office to involve a determination of civil right within the meaning of Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights, namely the right to a reputation; and, if not, why not. [HL3733]

Any actual case of this kind would be decided as a matter of law and on its merits by the courts at the time. However, Her Majesty's Government do not consider that it is likely that such a removal would fall within Article 6(1). My noble and learned friend the Lord Advocate set out the reasons for this during the Report stage of the Scotland Bill (Official Report, 2 November, col. 67). There is nothing that the Government would wish to add.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are their plans to revise the Family Law Act 1996. [HL3730]

The Government have signalled their commitment to changing the law to allow pension sharing on divorce. Schedule 4 to the draft Pension Sharing Bill, published with the Consultation Paper Pension sharing on divorce: reforming pensions for a fairer future in June 1998, shows that pension sharing would entail changes to the Family Law Act 1996 by repealing Sections 9(8), 16 and 17 of that Act.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they support the concept of "no fault divorce". [HL3729]

The Government believe that the institution of marriage should be supported. However where marriages break down irretrievably they should be brought to an end with the minimum of conflict for the benefit of the family as a whole.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many men and how many women are at present employed in the United Kingdom by:

The latest available information is on a headcount basis—i.e. part-time staff count as one person—and is as follows:

(a) At 30 September 1997, the National Health Service directly employed 253,000 men and 929,000 women in the United Kingdom. Agency staff, general medical and dental practitioners and their staff and independent contractors are not included.

(b) At June 1998, local authorities employed 839,000 men and 1,725,000 women in Great Britain. A gender breakdown is not available for Northern Ireland.

(c) At 1 April 1998, the Home Civil Service and the Diplomatic Service employed 249,000 male and 235,000 female permanent staff. These figures do not include the Northern Ireland Civil Service, but do include some 10,000 staff employed overseas, for whom no separate gender breakdown is available. Neither is a gender breakdown available for some 18,000 casual Civil Service staff.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many unemployed people aged 18–24 have had benefits totally withdrawn for refusing to take part in the Welfare to Work programme; and what was the duration of such disentitlement; and [HL3817]How many unemployed people aged 18–24 have had their benefits reduced for refusing to take part in the Welfare to Work programme; and what were the percentages and duration of such reductions. [HL3818]

The Employment Service New Deal Evaluation Database shows that, to September, 1,352 participants have been subject to benefit sanctions. While the database holds the number of people sanctioned, it cannot give the length of the sanction or indicate if benefit has been totally withdrawn; this will depend on whether the sanction is Jobseeker's Allowance-related or a specific New Deal sanction and on whether the client has already received a sanction previously.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are conducting any follow-up study to monitor the effects of benefit disentitlement or reduction on 18–24 year olds who have refused to take part in the Welfare to Work programme. [HL3819]

The progress of New Deal clients who have been sanctioned is being monitored alongside other groups of New Dealers. Results from such analysis will be reported as part of the evaluation and monitoring of New Deal.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many men teachers and how many women teachers in the United Kingdom are at present employed in:

The latest available figures for the numbers of male and female teachers in the United Kingdom employed in nursery/primary and secondary schools are shown in the table.

Numbers of teachers1by gender in maintained nursery/primary and secondary schools in the United Kingdom: 1996–97
Thousands
	Nursery/primary	Secondary	All maintained schools2
Males	37	114	151
Females	193	125	317
Total	230	239	469

asked Her Majesty's Government:What estimates have been submitted to them by each local education authority of (a) the capital cost and (b) the continuing annual revenue cost of reducing class size for 5–7 year olds below 30; what proportion the sums under (b) above are of the revenue expenditure on primary education by each local education authority; and whether the total of the estimates in (a) and (b) above is in line with estimates previously made public by the Government. [HL3860]

The Department for Education and Employment is currently considering class size plans submitted by LEAs. These plans will be the subject of further discussion between the Department and local education authorities and thus the revenue funding proposals associated with them may change. LEAs have been asked to submit by 20 November proposals for capital expenditure associated with their class size plans.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish the planning assumptions in Annex 2 of the New Deal pilot specification, and whether they will publish the figures in the planning assumptions for any other parts of the New Deal. [HL3888]

The information in Annex 2 of the New Deal pilots specification, which is already in the public domain, in fact concerns the proportion of JSA claimants whom we would usually expect to leave JSA within six months of crossing various points in their duration of unemployment. It is derived from the published statistics on JSA claimants aged 18 and over, and is reproduced in the table.

Length of time unemployed
Leaving JSA within	Inflow	1 year	18 months	2 years	3 years	4 years
3 months	50%	35%	30%	25%	15%	15%
6 months	75%	60%	45%	40%	30%	25%
1 year	90%	75%	65%	60%	50%	45%
2 years	97%	90%	85%	80%	75%	—
3 years	99%	95%	90%	85%	—	—

These figures are intended to give a broad guide to the rate at which people leave claimant unemployment having reached certain durations. Column headings show duration of unemployment reached. Row headings show a further duration of unemployment from that point onwards.The New Deal for Disabled People will focus on those people in receipt of incapacity benefits. This group consists of around 2.2 million people with a disability or long-term illness in receipt of Incapacity Benefit, Income Support due to incapacity and Severe Disablement Allowance. Nearly half a million new people enter this group each year—slightly more than the annual outflow. We will pilot the Personal Adviser Service element of the programme in 12 areas, covering nearly a quarter of a million people on incapacity benefits (about 10 per cent. of the group). During the pilot we plan to contact the stock over the two years' duration of the pilots and the annual flow during the course of each year.Information on the off-flow rates of lone parents from Income Support is being collected, and will be sent to the noble Earl as soon as possible.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What advice they give to the Prison Service on the care of pregnant women and their babies in prison. [HL3820]

All women's prisons have received the advice contained in the report by the Prison Service Directorate of Health Care Working Party on Midwifery Services, published in 1992. This report makes a number of recommendations on the care of pregnant women and babies in prison, and, in particular, that all midwifery care for pregnant prisoners should be provided by the local National Health Service community midwifery services.Four women's prisons have mother and baby units, where some women prisoners with babies may care for them. Guidance on all aspect of mother and baby units is provided to all women's prisons in a detailed booklet. A separate booklet is also available for women prisoners who are interested in applying for a place in a mother and baby unit.A new health care standard for women's health care is planned to be issued in 1999. This will bring up to date and amplify the requirements for the care of pregnant prisoners and babies in prison.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have:

Part III of the Police Act 1997 provides for a statutorily based system of authorisation for intrusive surveillance operations carried out by the police, the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the National Crime Squad and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise. As required by Section 101 of the Act, before the provisions can be implemented, Parliament must approve an order bringing into force a code of practice for those carrying out functions under the Act. A public consultation exercise on the draft code of practice was carried out last year. Copies of the draft code were sent to over 500 individuals and organisations and 120 additional copies were provided in response to subsequent requests. By the end of the consultation period, 60 responses had been received. We have considered these representations very carefully, seeking to achieve a balance between the operational needs of law enforcement agencies in tackling serious crime and, at the same time, ensuring that adequate safeguards are in place to protect members of the public from unnecessary invasion of their privacy. As a result, we have made a number of changes to the text of the code. In particular:

• there is specific reference to the confidential and sensitive nature of information relating to healthcare, counselling and legally privileged material;
• emphasis is given to the importance of considering the effects of collateral intrusion on those who are not the targets of the authorisation;
• further guidance is provided on when the urgency provisions should be used;
• there is reference to the procedures for ensuring effective control of the handling, storage, processing and destruction of the surveillance product, especially sensitive and confidential material;
• the code now includes an undertaking given by the law enforcement agencies covered by these provisions in relation to spiritual counselling; and
• the requirements for notifications of authorisations, renewals and cancellations have been further refined.

With the appointment of the Chief Surveillance Commissioner and Commissioners, we are now in a position to implement the provisions of Part III. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary has therefore today laid before Parliament a revised draft code of practice. We intend to bring this document into effect, together with the notification requirements required under Section 96 of the Police Act 1997, as soon as practicable. We will seek approval of these orders by resolution of both Houses of Parliament shortly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they believe that more asylum applicants should be detained, if the space were available in the detention estate and the prison system. [HL3877]

No. There is no wish to detain more asylum applicants before their case is determined. But we do need to make better use of reporting arrangements during the asylum process, and more effective use of detention for those people whose claims have been refused, if they are unwilling to make a voluntary departure from the United Kingdom.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their response to the allegation by the Medical Foundation that the publication of the Immigration and Nationality Department's Country Information and Policy Unit's country assessments "has served to expose a lack of objectivity, amounting in some cases to misrepresentation, in the Home Office treatment of country background information"; and what is the time-scale for the consultative group which has been appointed to advise on the costs and benefits of an independent documentation centre. [HL3805]

This Government have sought to open up the whole process of country assessment and sought to engage refugee and other asylum interest groups in creating improved and objective country assessments. We have a developing agenda in this area which may in the long term lead to more independent country assessments.Our current assessments aim to present a neutral, balanced picture as background information for caseworkers deciding asylum applications. They are regularly updated in the light of new information, and in the light of comments from external bodies, including the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture.The criticism by the foundation is unfair and misrepresents the aim of our assessments. We do not accept that the assessments lack objectivity or that they fail to set out conditions in the countries concerned. We are committed to developing the assessment process in an open, transparent way and our consultative group has helped the key organisations involved in this area to exchange views and learn from each other.The first revisions of our country assessments will reflect, in particular, comments from group members on the format and content of the human rights section, as well as other more general comments, including on the attribution of source material. The consultative group's report on country information issues, including the merits of an independent documentation centre, is expected to be completed before the end of the year. In view of the open and more constructive engagement which the Government are seeking to build in this area, we would hope that the foundation would be more balanced and fair in its approach in the future.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many people have now had their disability benefits reviewed under the Department of Social Security's Benefit Integrity Project; in how many cases there have been referrals for prosecution for fraud; how many convictions for fraud there have been; and what estimate they have made of the total sum involved in cases of alleged fraud. [HL3844]

The administration of the Benefit Integrity Project is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the noble Lord.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have any plans to review the operation of the all-work test for claimants of incapacity benefit with mental health disabilities; and, if so, what such plans are. [HL3879]

The reformed All Work Test will determine entitlement to incapacity benefits but, in addition we want to help claimants, including those with mental health disabilities, achieve independence by giving them the help and advice they need to plan a return to work. We intend to make changes to ensure that the test produces positive information about a person's capacities which can inform a wider assessment of employability by a personal adviser. We recognise that people with severe mental illness have particular problems and want to ensure that the new arrangements are sensitive to their needs. We will consult with the disability organisations as we work up the detail of the change.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What information they have on cases in which people are refused Incapacity Benefit on the ground that they are fit to work, and then turned away by Jobcentres on the ground that they are not fit to work; and how they intend to ensure that this situation does not recur in future. [HL3712]

The decision of an Adjudication Officer that a person is capable of work following an All Work Test assessment is conclusive for all benefits where capacity for work is at issue, including Jobseeker's Allowance. This is set out in legislation and is an important safeguard to prevent people leaving Incapacity Benefit being denied access to Jobseeker's Allowance. We are not aware of any recent information to suggest that this principle is not being followed in practice.In turn, the Jobseeker's Allowance rules recognise that people with disabilities, including those leaving Incapacity Benefit, may need to restrict their availability for work. The rules allow a jobseeker to restrict his or her availability for employment in any way that is reasonable in light of his or her medical condition.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Kosovo Liberation Army's acquisition of weapons has been funded by Mr. bin Laden or by any fundamentalist groups; if so whether these groups have been trained by the United States, and, if not, where the funding for the weapons has originated. [HL3787]

Her Majesty's Government are aware of press reporting about contacts between Mr. bin Laden and the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) but we have no evidence that Mr. bin Laden or any other fundamentalist groups are funding UCK. Media and other reports suggest that Kosovo Albanians living in Europe and elsewhere are actively involved in fund-raising for the UCK.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is NATO's approach to "rogue states"; and whether (a) Iran and (b) Israel are considered "rogue states" by NATO. [HL3789]

We are not aware that NATO has employed the term "rogue states". NATO's 1991 Strategic Concept says that NATO does not consider itself to be any state's adversary.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have discussed with the United States the likely consequences for peace in the Middle East, including the intended nuclear, chemical and biological weapon free zone (as envisaged by Madrid), of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by President Clinton and Prime Minister Netanyahu during the Wye Plantation negotiations, whereby the United States will preserve Israel's "qualitative military edge" and enhance Israel's defensive and deterrent capabilities". [HL3791]

Her Majesty's Government discuss peace in the Middle East with the United States regularly. Any Memorandum of Understanding signed by the United States and the Israeli Government is a matter for those two governments.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Regarding the requirement by the United Nations that the Government of Sudan should receive technical assistance for improving the teaching and observance of human rights, what funding they have offered or provided to assist the Sudanese Government in their investigation of allegations of slavery and human rights violations and the development of the Sudanese Government's human rights education committees. [HL3793]

Her Majesty's Government have continued discussions with the Government of Sudan on the possibility of technical assistance. But since no agreement has yet been reached between UNHCR and the Government of Sudan on the terms on which such assistance should be given, Her Majesty's Government have not yet given any such assistance.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What would be the implications for the validity of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1044 and 1045, with regard to the demand for the extradition of suspects in the attempted assassination of President Mubarak of Egypt, if one or more of the suspects named is found to be outside Sudan. [HL3794]

In addition to calling upon the Government of Sudan to take immediate action to extradite to Ethiopia the three suspects wanted in connection with the attempted assassination of President Mubarak, Security Council Resolutions 1044 and 1054 call upon the Government of Sudan to:

"desist from engaging in activities of assisting, supporting and facilitating terrorist activities and from giving shelter and sanctuaries to terrorist elements and act in its relations with its neighbours and with others in full conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and with the Charter of the Organisation of African Unity."

Before lifting the measures imposed by any resolution, the Security Council would need to be satisfied that the target state had complied fully with the demands of the resolution.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What information they have about the bombings in Khartoum at the end of June. [HL3795]

Her Majesty's Government are aware of reports of four bombs having gone off in and around Khartoum on 29–30 June, which caused little damage. The UK condemns terrorism in all its forms wherever it occurs and whatever its motivation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any progress has been made by the international commission investigating the murder, during the summer of this year, of members of the Operation Lifeline Sudan assessment mission in the Nuba mountains. [HL3796]

Her Majesty's Government are not aware of any international commission investigating the murder. We are, however aware of an internal UN investigation. The results of this investigation have not been shared with Her Majesty's Government.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Government of the United States has withdrawn over 100 reports by its agencies that the Government of the Sudan was involved in international terrorism; and, if so, whether this has resulted in a re-evaluation of Her Majesty's Government's position towards the Government of the Sudan. [HL3797]

It is established practice under Section 1(c) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information not to disclose or discuss information received in confidence from foreign governments.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether members of or employees at the British Embassy in Khartoum visited the A1 Shifa pharmaceutical plant before the missile attack by the United States Government; and, if so, how many of them visited the plant. [HL3803]

A commercial officer from our Embassy in Khartoum visited the A1 Shifa pharmaceutical plant on a routine commercial visit in May 1997. The same officer and our Ambassador attended the official opening of the plant in July 1997. These have been the only visits.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether NATO's revised Strategic Concept should identify as a new NATO "fundamental task" the carrying out of operations in defence of common interests and values, wheresoever it may decide, as an Alliance or in coalitions of the willing, regardless of the United Nations Security Council, and develop the military power so to operate under continuing United States leadership. [HL3747]

NATO Heads of State and Governments directed that NATO's Strategic Concept be examined and updated as necessary to ensure that it is fully consistent with Europe's new security situation. The tasks identified in the updated concept will be consistent with international law and in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter. It is clear, however, that not all operations would require a Security Council resolution.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many persons have been detained in Northern Ireland under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Emergency Provisions [Northern Ireland] Act in each of the last five years; and how many of those detained were subsequently charged with offences, specifying scheduled and ordinary offences. [HL3693]

The table below shows the number of persons arrested under Section 14 of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act and Sections 18 and 19 of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Acts in each of the last five years.

Year	PTA Section 14 Arrests	EPA Section 18 and 19 Arrests	Total persons charged with terrorist/serious public order type offences*
1993	1,641	86	372
1994	1,503	53	349
1995	443	0	440
1996	569	7	595
1997	504	23	405
* Includes persons arrested under PACE.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Answer by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 17 March (H.L. Deb., col. 567), whether the director of the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, Mr. Richard Foster, has published his review of the Bowes Museum; and, if so, whether they will place a copy of the review in the Library of the House. [HL3707]

There are no plans to publish Mr. Foster's review of the Bowes Museum. I shall arrange for a copy of the review to be placed in the Libraries of the House, together with a copy of the joint response of Durham County Council and my department. Material which was supplied in confidence, or which is otherwise confidential, will not be included.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Answer by the Lord Clinton-Davis on 11 November (

Allocations to health authorities reflect:

(a) their existing level of resources (what they already have); and

(b) their target fair share of resources (what they should have).

Extra resources are allocated in such a way as to narrow the gap between (a) and (b).Of the health authorities mentioned, Manchester was the most over target and therefore received the smallest increase of the five.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answers by Baroness Hayman on 4 November (

Where the functionality of a product is a factor in whether it should be classified as a medicine, the Medicines Control Agency takes advice from its medical and pharmaceutical assessors.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answers by Baroness Hayman on 4 November (

When the Medicines Control Agency notifies a manufacturer of a decision to classify a product as a medicine, it does so in writing, setting out the reasons for its decision. To do otherwise would infringe principles of natural justice. Failure to give reasons does not, however, automatically invalidate a decision. To date, the decision-making process has been conducted on an administrative basis, but the Government now propose to place it on a statutory footing.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answers by Baroness Hayman on 4 November (

The judgment referred to involved melatonin. The court recognised that it is for national authorities, subject to review by the courts, to determine on a case by case basis the classification of each product, and that, at this stage of the development of the Community, complete harmonisation is not possible. This applies to all products irrespective of their ingredients. The Medicines Control Agency considers each case on its merits, applying the tests of whether a product is a medicinal product set out in the Pharmaceutical Directive 65/65.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have any plans to meet with representatives of DGIII and DGXV of the European Commission to discuss consumers' right to have access to safe herbal and vitamin blends under food law within the European Union Single Market. [HL3871]

Waiting list numbers (provider based), as at 30 September each year
	1993		1994		1995		1996		1997		1998
No. of Months	Over 12	Over 18	Over 12	Over 18	Over 12	Over 18	Over 12	Over 18	Over 12	Over 18	Over 12	Over 18
England	71,022	6,527	62,341	4,481	27,938	43	14,993	25	57,666	794	63,480	0
Wales	N/A	N/A	6,520	1,649	5,246	872	5,303	999	6,547	1,670	9,429	3,304
Scotland	N/A	N/A	2,136	174	1,197	29	416	3	235	1	N/A	N/A
Northern Ireland	N/A	N/A	4,130	1,592	2,507	849	4,474	1,698	10,637	5,466	8,563	5,679

There are no immediate plans to do so.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the Medicines Control Agency intends to commence its forthcoming consultation exercise about its intention more rigorously to enforce the Medicines Act in relation to herbal remedies and herbal and vitamin blends; what form that consultation will take; whether the consultation will include Consumers for Health Choice; and whether, until that exercise is completed, the Agency will refrain from taking unilateral enforcement action against safe herbal and vitamin blends. [HL3872]

The Medicines Control Agency's consultation package was issued on 6 November, seeking responses by 31 December. Copies have been placed in the Library. It proposes to put the decision-making process for classifying borderline products on to a statutory basis. Organisations consulted include "Consumers for Health Choice". In order to protect public health, the agency will continue on behalf of the licensing authority to ensure that, as the law requires, only medicinal products which are licensed, or exempt from licensing, are placed on the United Kingdom market.

asked Her Majesty's Government:For each year from 1993 to 1997, how many patients on hospital waiting lists had been waiting for longer than (a) 12 months, and (b) 18 months; and what are the corresponding figures for 1998. [HL3833]

The available information is given in the table.