asked Her Majesty's Government:Which local authority areas have death rates more than 10 per cent above the national average. [HL509]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics, who has been asked to reply.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have any plans to impove further the performance of the Government Information and Communication Service. [HL433]

The process of improving the Government Information and Communication Service (GICS), in accordance with the recommendations of the Report of the Working Group on the Government Information Service (Mountfield Report, November 1997), is almost complete.The Head of the GICS and his colleagues are now concentrating on further improvements through better training and development and through the implementation, in partnership with the Centre for Management and Policy Studies, of new systems of peer review.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the shortlist of the proposed uses for the Millennium Dome after the Millennium Celebrations will be announced. [HL578]

The Government have announced the six proposals for the shortlist today. They are:

• City of the Future, a theme park centred on the use of technology, proposed by Monex Leisure Ltd and MEPC plc.
• Dome Europe, a high technology leisure, business and retail destination, proposed by the Principal Finance Group of Nomura International plc.
• Greenwich Media World, a high profile mixed use leisure and business destination focused on media and communications, proposed by a consortium comprising Pell Frischmann, London Merchant Securities, Sir Robert McAlpine, WestLB Panmure Ltd and the Tussauds Group.
• International Merchandise and Cultural Centre, a global one-stop shop for exchanging goods, services and tourism promotions, proposed by a consortium comprising Country Heights Holdings Berhad, Sunrise Berhad and Maccon Investment Holdings (Proprietary) Ltd.
• Legacy plc, a high technology industrial campus of workspace leisure and retail uses, proposed by Robert Bourne.
• Sports Dome 2001, an advanced multiple sports facility, proposed by a consortium comprising John Taylor International Ltd, Chelsfield Plc, Collard Grosvenor and Price Nicholson.

The Dome has been instrumental in focusing regeneration activity on the Greenwich Peninsula and the Thames Gateway, and this is set to continue as a result of the response to this competition.English Partnerships, the Government's regeneration agency, has transformed one of the largest tracts of derelict land in Europe on the Greenwich Peninsula. The proposals emerging from this competition, together with other developments on the Peninsula and key public transport improvements, will take forward the major regeneration of this area. Further details of the shortlist of proposals are in the Libraries of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the report of the Royal Commission on Reform of the House of Lords will be published. [HL576]

I understand that the Royal Commission proposes to publish its report on Thursday, 20 January. Copies of the report will be placed in the Library of the House after publication.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Baronness Blackstone on 16 December (

It will be for the steering group overseeing the development of the code, including representatives of the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Department for Education and Employment and other stakeholders, to decide what employment-related discrimination issues the draft code should cover.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Blackstone on 16 December (

asked Her Majesty's Government:What has been the annual rate of decrease over the most recent 10-year period for which statistics are available in the percentage of either-way cases that are committed to the Crown Court as a result of an election by the defendant. [HL491]

Figures provided by the Attorney General's Department which relate to prosecutions by the Crown Prosecution Service are given in the following table:

Year	Per cent of either-way cases committed for trial on election of defendant	Year on year change
1990	38
1991	36	-2
1992	37	+1
1993	35	-2
1994	35	0
1995	33	-2
1996	32	-1
1997	28	-4
1998	28	0
January—September 1999	32	+4

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many of the either-way cases that are committed to the Crown Court as a result of an election by the defendant over the most recent 10-year period for which statistics are available proceeded to a contested trial by jury in the Crown Court on a plea of not guilty. [HL492]

No regular statistics are collected on this. However, there is some information available from the baseline data collected by the Home Office in 1998 for the evaluation of the pilot schemes to reduce delay in the criminal justice system. In a sample of nearly 1,000 cases in the six pilot areas, nearly a third of those who elected trial proceeded to a contested trial by jury.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What comparative studies are available to indicate the ethnic origins of defendants charged with either-way offences who elect Crown Court trial. [HL493]

The report Ethnic Minorities and the Criminal Justice System prepared for the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice in 1993 described the comparative studies available at that time.We are aware of no recent research studies that provide robust figures on the ethnic origins of those who elect Crown Court trial. The information that we have on prosecution and sentencing of ethnic minorities is contained in Chapter 6 of

asked Her Majesty's Government:What statistics are available to indicate whether the offence of which a defendant is convicted or acquitted in the Crown Court was less serious than the original either-way offence charged in the Magistrates' Court. [HL494]

No regular statistics are collected on this. There is some research, Entry into the criminal justice system: a survey of police arrests and their outcomes, which contains information about charge reduction. It shows that the incidence of charge reduction varies with the category of offence: for example, the Crown Prosecution Service reduced charges in 26 per cent of assault cases, 6 per cent of burglary cases and 8 per cent of public order cases. But these findings relate to cases in all courts, not the Crown Court only; and they include reductions from an indictable only charge to an either-way one.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why they have decided to allow Mike Tyson to enter the United Kingdom. [HL579]

Mike Tyson arrived in the United Kingdom on Sunday 16 January and was given leave to enter until 30 January for the purposes of the scheduled contest on 29 January. He was admitted under an instruction to immigration officers which my right honourable friend the Home Secretary announced on 13 January and which was made under Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971. Given the high profile nature of this case and the complex issues that it raised, my right honourable friend took the view that it would have been invidious for an individual immigration officer to have to weigh the competing considerations involved.My right honourable friend was advised that the relevant immigration rule, which has been in place in this form since 1994, provides that normally persons with convictions for offences which in this country attract a maximum sentence of 12 months', or more, imprisonment are to be refused leave to enter but leaves a discretion to allow entry if there are strong compassionate circumstances or the case is otherwise exceptional. My right honourable friend considered representations sent by Mr Frank Warren against the background of this advice and concluded that there were no strong compassionate circumstances but there were other exceptional circumstances in this case which justified granting leave to enter to Mr Tyson. He took account, in particular, of evidence presented to him in these representations of the effects on small providers of ancillary services, some of whom could have been facing bankruptcy because they have invested heavily in the contest and who are innocent third parties. He also took acount of the effect on business in the Manchester area and the inconvenience and disappointment of the many thousand members of the public who have purchased tickets for the fight in good faith if entry had been refused and the contest cancelled of this notice.Further, my right honourable friend was not satisfied that in practice this immgration rule has had consistent outcomes in the past; and took that into account in determining whether this case was exceptional. Persons seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom are not routinely asked whether they have relevant previous convictions on the landing card or otherwise (though they would be so asked if from countries requiring a pre-entry visa).My right honourable friend has, therefore, asked for a full review to be carried out of the rules and practice relating to admission of persons with previous convictions. He will report the outcome of this review to Parliament when it is completed.

asked the Chairman of Committees:Whether, in the light of the criticism of English Heritage by the House of Commons Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee (HC 477-I), the Director of Parliamentary Works intends to proceed with the tendering process for the £2.44 million Old Palace Yard project before the House has had a further opportunity to consider this matter. [HL464]

The Old Palace Yard restoration scheme was extensively considered by the House and its committees and was finally approved by the House, on division, on 18 November 1998. The project will enhance the setting of the Palace of Westminster, and significantly improve a public open space of great historical importance.English Heritage is only one of a number of organisations to liiave indicated their support. For example, Westminster City Council, the Westminster Abbey authorities, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Royal Parks Agency, the Royal Fine Art Commission and the International Council for Monuments and Sites have all endorsed the project.In the light of these circumstances, I do not consider that the comments about English Heritage by the House of Commons Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee in paragraph 127 of their Report on

asked the Chairman of Committees:What is the total number of "hits" to date on the website pages of each of the separate reports of (a) the European Communities Committee and (b) the Science and Technology Committee in the 1998–99 session. [HL357]

The information is not readily available in the form requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. A new contract with The Stationery Office for the provision of electronic and Internet services comes into force in April 2000 and it will then be possible to provide the information more easily in the form the noble Lord requests. Set out below is an overall monthly figure for each committee for 1999:

House of Lords European Communities Select Committee (1999)
	Hits	Users
January	8,503	1,141
February	8,987	1,387
March	7,163	1,355
April	6,799	1,204
May	7,904	1,351
June	7,004	1,466
July	7,960	1,756
August	8,597	1,507
September	5,491	1,308
October	15,484	2,101
November	29,392	2,403
December	13,649	2,379

House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee (1999)
	Hits	Users
January	6,181	1,423
February	5,305	1,483
March	10,532	2,548
April	8,723	2,247
May	7,323	1,851
June	6,785	2,037
July	6,783	2,265
August	5,078	1,829
September	4,409	1,820
October	8,693	1,056
November	13,815	2,567
December	7,715	2,039

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the outcome of the assessment, carried out by the Office for National Statistics at the request of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, of the reasons for the fall in self-employed jobs in the tourist-related industries by 17,000 over the year to December 1998. [HL91]

The Office for National Statistics has confirmed that the number of self-employed jobs in the tourist-related industries in England fell by around 37,000 (22 per cent) in the year to December 1998, rather than the 17,000 quoted in a previous answer to a question (the mistake was caused by an error in typing). Over the same period, employee jobs in the tourism-related industries in England rose by 8,000 (1 per cent).The Office for National Statistics identified that these changes were in the same direction as general trends in total employee and self-employment jobs in England, although the percentage fall in self-employed jobs in the tourism-related industries was much greater: total employee jobs increased by 1 per cent and total self-employed jobs fell by 2 per cent in the year to December 1998.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are aware of any instances where organs or tissue samples have been removed from the bodies of deceased Gulf veterans without the consent of the next of kin; and, if so, who was responsible for requesting the samples; and for what purpose. [HL325]

The Ministry of Defence's Gulf Veterans Illnesses Unit is not aware of any instances where organs or tissue samples have been removed from the bodies of deceased Gulf veterans without prior consent. The Ministry of Defence has no specific arrangements in place to request post mortem examinations on Gulf veterans, nor is it routinely informed of the results of such examinations. Where an industrial cause of death is suspected, the case is reported to the coroner and the consent of the next of kin to post mortem examination or retention of organs or tissue samples to determine the cause of death is not required. In all other cases the Human Tissue Act 1961 applies.