asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to meet the Army's requirements for ammunition. [HL335]

We are pleased to announce the outcome of two recent ammunition competitions. First, we intend to contract with Royal Ordnance to meet most of the British Army's requirement for large calibre ammunition for the next five years. The contract will cover ammunition for use with the AS90 155mm self-propelled gun, Challenger 2 tank, and a range of reconnaissance and infantry fighting vehicles.Second, we intend to contract with Marconi Marine Land and Naval Systems, formerly Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd., to develop and produce enhancements to extend the range and increase the effectiveness of the AS90 self-propelled gun. Within this contract, Royal Ordnance will be sub-contracted to manufacture new barrels, and a South African company, Somchem, will manufacture a new Modular Charge System.These contracts, which are subject to the completion of final negotiations, are together worth around £200 million and will bring valuable work to both Marconi and Royal Ordnance, securing over 500 jobs for British industry.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When proposals from (a) the Stonehenge Working Group on Road Improvements and (b) the Working Group on the Stonehenge Management Plan will be put out for public consultation; and what is the relationship between these two groups and the group on the Master Plan, all of which the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has established to work on Stonehenge. [HL100]

A steering group is being established to co-ordinate and oversee the implementation of the Master Plan for Stonehenge. A Working Group on the A.303 improvement scheme will report progress to this steering group. Public consultation in the lead-up to the announcement of the Preferred Route, particularly for the Winterbourne Stoke Bypass, is nearing completion. Further consultation will take place as the detailed design is developed. The World Heritage Site Management Group, chaired by Lady Gass, which has been set up to develop the Stonehenge Management Plan, will keep the Steering Group informed of its progress and will determine a timetable for consulting on its draft report.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why the Master Plan for Stonehenge outlined by the Secretary of State in Amesbury in September this year included a cut-and-cover tunnel within the World Heritage Site, despite the consensus established at the 1994 and 1995 public conferences in favour of a twin bored tunnel as the most cost-effective way of dealing with the A.303 in the World Heritage Site area of Stonehenge; and [HL97]Whether they have been informed by English Heritage why they no longer feel bound by the public pledge they gave, jointly with the National Trust, in 1994: "Only … the long bored tunnel … meets the essential requirements of this World Heritage Site … There is no historic site in England where we shall uphold our duty with greater resolve and determination". [HL99]

Although the 1995 conference supported in principle the proposal for a long tunnel at Stonehenge, it recognised that its cost would be far in excess of the funds available from the then government's transport budget. There was no mention of a twin bored tunnel being the most cost-effective way of dealing with the A.303. The cost of a 4-kilometre tunnel was estimated independently in late 1995 by two leading consultants to be in the region of £300 million. English Heritage agreed with the Government's view that a long tunnel at that price was unaffordable, and that the project's objectives could be achieved by a shorter cut-and-cover tunnel.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What preparations English Heritage is making, with the voluntary sector, for the celebrations of the Millennium at Stonehenge and Avebury. [HL102]

Arrangements for the celebration of the Millennium at these sites are currently subject to discussion with the South Wiltshire Police and local interest groups. No special events are planned.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they approve of the lease of works of art from the Arts Council to the Marriott Hotel at County Hall; and whether they intend to encourage those in charge of public collections to increase their revenue by leasing works of art to private commercial organisations. [HL201]

The decision to lend works from its collection to the Marriott Hotel in County Hall was taken by the Arts Council independently of Ministers and only after careful consideration by its own Visual Arts Advisory Panel. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State understands that the Arts Council decided to do this exceptionally and that it is not its general policy to loan works commercially to other organisations.My right honourable friend does not consider the Arts Council's decision in this instance as setting a precedent for our public collections. The stewardship of works of art or artefacts held by the national museums and galleries remains a matter for the trustees of each institution, and Ministers will not seek to intervene.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the cost to public funds of the current resurfacing work being undertaken on the A.12 trunk road in the Little Glemham area; whether this is being undertaken in satisfactory weather conditions; and on what criteria it was decided that the work needed doing. [HL263]

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

asked Her Majesty's Government:In respect of Section 40 of the Channel Tunnel Act 1987 (which imposes a duty on the British Railways Board (BRB) to prepare plans to develop cross-channel rail passenger services):

In respect of Section 40 of the Channel Tunnel Act 1987:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Answer by Lord Sainsbury of Turville on 16 November (H.L. Deb., col. 1116) regarding miners' respiratory diseases and the issue of medical assessments, what is: (a) their best estimate of the number of assessments required; (b) the estimated duration of each test; (c) the estimated number of specialists available to perform the tests; and (d) their best estimate of the date by which either the majority or 80 per cent. of all assessments will have been completed.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Williams of Mostyn on 7 December (

A great deal of training and preparation will need to be done before Section 3 or the other main provisions of the Act can be brought into force. Until that time, it would be premature to invite the courts to act as if those provisions had been brought into force.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Williams of Mostyn on 7 December (

We do not at present have any plans to bring the Human Rights Act into force at different times in different parts of the United Kingdom.The devolved institutions established by the Scotland Act 1998, the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 will have no power to act in a way which is incompatible with the convention rights set out in the Human Rights Act. That issue will be justiciable in the courts under the terms of the devolution legislation when those institutions begin to operate, even though the Human Rights Act may not have been brought into force.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why they are delaying the bringing into force of the Human Rights Act 1998. [HL291]

As the noble Lord will be aware from the Home Secretary's speech at Third Reading of the Human Rights Bill in another place on 21 October (Official Report, col. 1359), and from his own correspondence with my right honourable friend the Lord Chancellor, we would like to bring the Act into force as soon as is feasible but there is a great deal of training and preparation to be done first.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the latest available statistics on the police use of firearms. [HL336]

The statistics for April 1997 to March 1998 show that the number of police operations in which firearms were issued to officers was 11,842, a fall of over 4 per cent. on the previous year. The number of occasions on which firearms were discharged by police fell to just three, from five the previous year, resulting in two fatalities.There was a decrease of 7 per cent., to 7,510 in the number of operations in which armed response vehicles were deployed. Firearms were carried in these vehicles but were not necessarily issued to officers on each occasion.Full details are set out in the tables below: