asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will seek to ensure that the European Commission maintains up-to-date legal electronic data regarding implementation of directives by the United Kingdom on the Celex database. [HL704]

The European Commission maintains up-to-date legal electronic data concerning implementation of directives by all member states in Sector 7 of the Celex database. It is the practice of Her Majesty's Government to notify the Commission, via the United Kingdom's Permanent Representation to the European Union, of the implementation of relevant directives in domestic legislation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have any plans to amend the Lord Chancellor's Department departmental expenditure limit and running costs limits for 1999–2000. [HL883]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate for Class V, Votes 1, 2 and 3, the Lord Chancellor's Department departmental expenditure limit for 1999–2000 will be increased by £26,934,000 from £2,421,244,000 to £2,448,178,000. The increase is the net effect of a transfer for £505,000 from the Department of Social Security relating to the costs of recruiting and re-appointing panel members for unified appeals tribunals; a transfer from the reserve for £25,000,000 in respect of the additional legal aid costs following implementation of the Narey reforms; a transfer to the Home Office for £200,000 in respect of a contribution towards the costs of the IBIS (Integrating Business and Information Systems) Criminal Justice System Unit; and take-up of end year flexibility entitlement in the sum of £1,629,000.The running cost limit for Lord Chancellor's Department Class V, Vote 1, will be increased by £23,167,000 from £502,203,000 to £525,370,000. The increase is in respect of a £380,000 transfer from the Department of Social Security relating to costs in respect of recruiting and re-appointing panel members for the Unified Appeals Tribunals; a £200,000 transfer to the Home Office in respect of a contribution towards the cost of the IBIS Unit; an increase of £695,000 to meet additional costs of the ARAMISPFI project; an increase of £19,550,000 following reclassification of expenditure as a result of the impact of the changes in ESA 95; and an increase of £2,742,000 following a transfer from other current expenditure to meet the additonal costs in respect of asylum and immigration.The running cost limit for Northern Ireland Court Service, Class V, Vote 2, will be increased by £679,000 from £29,960,000 to £30,639,000. The increase is as a result of take up of end year flexibility entitlement.The running cost limit for Public Records Office, Class V, Vote 3, will be increased by £2,908,000 from £25,842,000 to £28,750,000. This increase is as a result of a £900,000 increase funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund in respect of a project to microfilm World War One soldiers' documents; a £200,000 increase relating to expenditure on wholesale publishing and book purchases, which is funded by additional wider market receipts generated by retail sales; a £950,000 increase in respect of end year flexibility entitlement; a £2,558,000 increase to meet additional costs in respect of capital charges on the Civil Estate, and a £1,700,000 reduction following virement into capital expenditure relating to developments in online services.The increases will be offset by a transfer from the Department of Social Security departmental expenditure limit, a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and charges on the DEL reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What assistance, if any, they will give to any British citizen who, having obtained judgment in an English court against a person in another state to which the provisions of the Administration of Justice Act 1920, Part II, have been extended by an Order in Council, is unable to persuade the courts in that other state to honour the judgment of the English court. [HL681]

Part II of the Administration of Justice Act 1920 facilitates the reciprocal enforcement of certain judgments between the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries. It has been extended to a substantial number of these countries by Order in Council on the basis that they have established reciprocal provisions within their own legal systems. If Her Majesty's Government are satisfied that a country covered by an Order in Council is failing to operate such provisions satisfactorily in relation to judgments from the courts of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty's Government would make representations to that country to encourage the restoration of reciprocity and, as a last resort, amend the order to remove that country from the reciprocal enforcement scheme under Part II of the 1920 Act.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether daily sorties by Russian forces over Chechnya have exceeded an average of 50 a day during January. [HL698]

There have been a number of public statements by the Russian authorities that indicate there has been an increase in the number of sorties over Chechnya in January, The commander-in-chief of the Russian air force has spoken of an average of 25 sorties per day in bad weather and up to 60 a day when the weather is favourable. Other reports have mentioned higher numbers, and it is quite possible that the number of sorties has reached or exceeded an average of 50 a day during the month.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have any evidence that Scud missiles are being used by Russian forces in Chechnya; and whether they have made representations to the Russian Government. [HL699]

There have been a number of Russian and international press reports indicating that Scud missiles have been deployed by Russian forces in Chechnya.We have repeatedly made representations to the Russian authorities about the indiscriminate use of force in Chechnya and its impact on the civilian population; most recently my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary raised it with Foreign Minister Ivanov on 11 January.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, on humanitarian grounds, they have evaluated the effectiveness of "safe corridors" out of Grozny designed to provide protection to refugee columns; and whether they are aware of any evidence that the refugee columns have been subjected to Russian air or sniper attack. [HL700]

No international organisation currently working in or around Chechnya has been able to evaluate the effectiveness of the safe corridors out of Grozny. This is due in large part to the shortage of international staff on the ground there.There have been one or two unsubstantiated reports of shelling close to the corridors. But no evidence has been put forward to suggest that refugee columns have been deliberately attacked by Russian forces.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What evidence they have received of human rights abuses or war crimes committed in Chechnya over the past 12 months; and whether they will provide details of such activity. [HL701]

We receive reports of human rights abuses in Chechnya from a wide number of sources. We have repeatedly made representations to the Russian authorities about the indiscriminate use of force in Chechnya and its impact on the civilian population.The CoE Parliamentary Assembly debated Russia's human rights performance on 27 January. It passed a recommendation calling on Russia to halt disproportionate military action, including attacks on the civilian population; for a dialogue leading to a ceasefire and a political solution; unhindered delivery of international assistance and access by Russian and international media; and a role for international organisations, including the CoE, in the search for a long-term solution. The relevant documents are available on the CoE website www.coe.fr/index/asp.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their definition of "ethnic cleansing". [HL702]

There is no legal definition of "ethnic cleansing". Her Majesty's Government have vigorously condemned in the former Yugoslavia and elsewhere policies and actions aimed at forcibly driving an ethnic group from a particular region.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any part of the "Your Britain, Your Europe" roadshow was financed by the European Union; and, if so, under which title in the budget the money was allocated. [HL758]

The roadshow was financed entirely from the budget of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Who attended the events that were part of the "Your Britain, Your Europe" roadshow; and how the participants and audiences were chosen. [HL759]

During the roadshow my honourable friend the Minister of State for Europe met people from all walks of life, including business leaders, academics, school-children, students, MPs and MEPs. Those who joined the various events had an interest in Europe.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there are any proposals to amend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office departmental expenditure limit and running costs limit for 1999–2000. [HL884]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate for Class VII, Vote 1, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office departmental expenditure limit for 1999–2000 will be increased by £5,157,000 from £1,171,240,000 to £1,176,397,000 and the running cost limit has been decreased by £32,614,000 from £530,968,000 to £498,354,000. The increase is the net effect of:

(i) a decrease of £5,326,000 in respect of an adjustment for overseas price movements;

(ii) a decrease in the running cost limit of £1,011,000 in respect of the cash limit breach for financial year 1998–99;

(iii) an increase of £2,000,000 in both capital expenditure and appropriations-in-aid for FCO estates rationalisation;

(iv) a net decrease in the running costs limit of £5,238,000 and an increase in capital of £5,238,000 in respect of the reclassification of certain items of current and capital expenditure in line with the FCO's resource accounting policies;

(v) a transfer of £600,000 from the Home Office (Class IV, Vote 1) in respect of certain overseas drugs assistance programmes;

(vi) a transfer of £56,000 to the Home Office (Class IV, Vote 2) in respect of the Human Rights Project Fund;

(vii) a transfer of £100,000 from the Ministry of Defence (Class VI, Vote 1) in respect of its contribution to the grant-in-aid to the Atlantic Council of the UK;

(viii) a transfer of £750,000 to the Cabinet Office (Class XVII, Vote 2) for capital expenditure;

(ix) an increase in both the running cost limit and in appropriations-in-aid of £25,000 in respect of sales into wider markets;

(x) an increase in running cost receipts of £24,675,000 and an increase in running cost expenditure of £500,000 in respect of increased receipts from other government departments;

(xi) The Supplementary Estimate is also sought for additional provision of £40,070,000 on Section B for UK contributions to United Nations missions in the former Yugoslavia (includes UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo) and the former Soviet Union, United Nations Special Commission on Iraq, United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission, United Nations Mission for the Referendum on Western Sahara, United Nations Police Mission in Haiti, United Nations Mission in East Timor, United Nations Observer Mission in Angola, United Nations Peacekeeping Operation in Central African Republic, United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone, United Nations Observer Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Community Monitoring Mission and Western European Union Police Mission in Albania. This is partially offset by an increase of £4,800,000 in appropriations-in-aid in respect of non-baseline peacekeeping;

(xii) The Supplementary Estimate is also required to note an increase of £505,000 in Section Din respect of an adjustment for overseas price movements for the British Council.

The increase will be offset by a transfer from another departmental expenditure limit (DfID) and a charge on the DEL reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to celebrate the bicentenary of the creation of the United Kingdom through the 1801 Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland. [HL742]

None.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will now update the £10,000 limit set in July 1969 on national savings ordinary accounts to take account of inflation; and, if not, why not. [HL769]

We have no plans to increase the limit on the ordinary account.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the proportion of time lost because of (a) injuries sustained on duty and (b) sickness in each of the police forces in England during the last 12-month period for which statistics are available. [HL779]

Information is not held centrally in the form requested. The table shows:

(i)the number of police working days lost in each force in 1998–99 due to injuries sustained by police officers as a result of assaults;

Number of working days lost due to sickness (and assaults on police officers)
	Assaults—Days lost	% of police working days lost to assault	Police days lost due to sick leave	%of police working days lost to sick	Average police strength	Total working days assuming 228 per officer based on average strength
Avon and Somerset	416	0.06	31,470	4.6	3,012	686,736
Bedfordshire	211	0.09	14,572	6.1	1,041	237,407
Cambridgeshire	412	0.14	15,393	5.3	1,295	295,260
Cheshire	331	0.07	28,452	6	2.111	481,308
City of London	n/a	n/a	10,449	5.9	790	180,120
Cleveland	285	0.08	17,486	5.4	1,471	335,388
Cumbria	129	0.05	11,732	4.5	1,160	264,480
Derbyshire	356	0.09	21,753	5.4	1,777	405,224
Devon and Cornwall	974	0.15	31,228	4.7	2,946	671,592
Dorset	198	0.07	12,967	4.4	1,303	297,084
Durham	258	0.07	15,974	4.4	1,552	353,856
Dyfed-Powys	198	0.08	9,966	4.3	1,044	238,032
Essex	760	0.11	38,748	5.9	2,936	669,408
Gloucestershire	312	0.12	12,964	5.1	1,113	253,764
Greater Manchester	1,803	0.11	97,682	6.3	6,913	1,576,164
Gwent	501	0.18	14,674	5.2	1,250	285,000
Hampshire	63	0.01	33,221	4.2	3,470	791,160
Hertfordshire	717	0.18	18,952	4.8	1,752	399,456
Humberside	332	0.07	17,142	3.8	2,021	460,788
Kent	306	0.04	36,500	5	3,269	745,332
Lancashire	1,127	0.15	39,188	5.3	3,331	759,468
Leicestershire	424	0.09	24,235	5.3	2,037	464,436
Lincolnshire	174	0.07	15,609	6	1,171	266,988
Merseyside	926	0.09	49,525	5.2	4,373	996,930
Metropolitan Police	6,324	0.10	289,791	4.9	26,566	6,057,048
Norfolk	202	0.06	16,333	5.1	1,426	325,128
North Wales	1,036	0.32	16,759	5.2	1,416	322,848
North Yorkshire	97	0.03	16,381	5.4	1,360	310,080
Northamptonshire	211	0.08	12,530	4.8	1,167	266,094
Northumbria	2,685	0.31	44,145	5	3,854	878,598
Nottinghamshire	748	0.15	31,128	6.1	2,248	512,544
South Wales	2,511	0.37	48,958	7.2	2,989	681,492
South Yorkshire	329	0.05	38,349	5.3	3,165	721,506
Staffordshire	441	0.08	28,418	5.6	2,279	519,498
Suffolk	30	0.01	11,668	4.3	1,195	272,460
Surrey	84	0.02	17,332	4.6	1,680	383,136
Sussex	514	0.08	31,918	4.9	2,962	675,336
Thames Valley	164	0.02	49,894	5.8	3,822	871,491
Warwickshire	163	0.08	12,495	6	925	210,786
West Mercia	438	0.09	22,796	5	2,033	463,524
West Midlands	3,326	0.20	88,341	5.3	7,250	1,653,000
West Yorkshire	3,210	0.28	59,911	5.3	5,053	1,152,084
Wiltshire	141	0.05	11,111	4.5	1,169	266,532
England and Wales Total	33,866	0.12	1,468,140	5.1	125,696	28,658,568

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the testing of the Immigration and Nationality 'Directorate's casework system was

Testing of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate casework programme information technology system is still continuing and is not now expected to be completed before Easter. We have almost cleared the backlog of pre-1993 cases: 240 remained at the end of December 1999. At the end of December some 10,975 of the 1993–95 cases were remaining.We remain committed to meeting the two-month target for deciding all new asylum applications from April 2001.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 24 January (

The Government believe that rights under Article 14 attach to the right to a fair trial and not to a certain sort of trial. This does not affect the Government's determination to ensure that criminal justice legislation does not discriminate on the grounds of race or ethnic origin.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much changing the name of the Probation Service will cost in respect of unavoidable expenditure on items such as writing paper, signs and directories. [HL795]

The change of name is one of a number of changes involved in the Government's plans for creating a unified service for England and Wales. These include structural changes which will involve the amalgamation of some area services and will make all of them more accountable for my right honourable friend the Home Secretary. The cost of changing the name is of itself expected to be minimal in this wider context.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Who they are appointing as the new Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality. [HL925]

My right honourable friend the Home Secretary is very glad to announce that he appointed Gurbux Singh as Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality on 4 February.Gurbux Singh is currently the chief executive of the London Borough of Haringey and a member of the Race Relations Forum. The appointment is for four years initially.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will announce the results of the bids which police forces in England and Wales have made for money from the Crime Fighting Fund to fund the recruitment of police officers. [HL926]

My right honourable friend the Home Secretary is currently considering the bids which forces have made. He will be announcing the results next week.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress there has been in the University of Derby's research project into religious discrimination which it commissioned in April 1999. [HL927]

The interim report of the University of Derby's research project into religious discrimination was published on 31 January. Copies are available in the Library or from the research project's website at www.multifaithnet.org.The interim report is useful in beginning to develop a better understanding of the complex issues around religious discrimination. We hope it will inform the debate in advance of the publication of the research project's full findings, due this autumn.It is important to remember that this is an interim report only (based on a literature review and consultation with relevant organisations); it does not yet include any information from the research project's own data collection, which is continuing. The final report will inform the development of policy in this important and sensitive area.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans, if any, they have for legislation on broadcasting and telecommunications convergence. [HL718]

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced on 3 February that he and my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport propose to publish a White Paper later this year setting out the Government's proposals for reform of communications legislation. This will include proposals for changing both the Telecommunications and Broadcasting Acts as a basis for legislation when parliamentary time allows.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many United Kingdom-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) had websites on the Internet on (a) 1 May 1997, (b) 1 May 1998; and (c) 1 May 1999. [HL719]

Information available within the department shows that there has been a steady increase in the number of UK companies with websites over the past three years. DTI research indicates that 150,000 SMEs had websites in spring 1997. This figure rose to 175,000 in spring 1998; and 450,000 in spring 1999.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the draft guidance provided for under Clauses 9, 13 and 90 of the Utilities Bill will be published. [HL928]

The Government have today published preliminary drafts of the social and environmental guidance to the energy and telecoms regulators provided for under Clauses 9, 13 and 90 of the Utilities Bill. Copies of these drafts have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which local authorities awarded beacon status for one or more services have taken steps to introduce "modernised" structures to move towards the new structures (including an executive/security split) envisaged in the Local Government Bill or in the Green or White Papers preceding it. [HL706]

All beacon councils provided evidence during the selection process that they were addressing the need to modernise their political management structures.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the advice which they have issued to police forces in England for the enforcement of the Environment Protection (Restriction on the use of lead shot) (England) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/2170) [HL652]

I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 10 November 1999 (Official Report, col. WA 168).

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will define the word "important" in their consideration of hedgerow protection. [HL777]

The powers available to the Government under the Environment Act 1995 are to protect "important" hedgerows. The Hedgerows Regulations 1997 define an important hedgerow as one that has existed for 30 years or more and satisfies at least one of the criteria listed in the regulations. The Government are considering whether the criteria should be revised as part of their review of the regulations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the protection of hedgerows provided by pre-1840 enclosure awards remains in force. [HL778]

The protection afforded to hedgerows by local enclosure Acts and awards may still be enforceable through the courts, depending on the terms of the relevant Act and the particular circumstances of the case.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many schemes in the targeted programme of trunk road improvements will start in 2000–01. [HL900]

A start will be made in 2000–01 on 13 of the 37 schemes in the targeted programme of improvements announced in A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England—six more than previously planned. The acceleration of six schemes by bringing their starts forward from 2001–02 reflects our commitment to modernising the country's transport system. All the schemes in the targeted programme were assessed using the new approach to appraisal against our criteria of safety, environmental impact, economy, accessibility and integration.The full list of starts now planned for 2000–01 is as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish the documents relating to the history of the discussions leading up to the enactment of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 and the making of regulations under it, documents which were disclosed for the purpose of the

I will write to the noble Lord in due course and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the legal costs incurred by the English Sports Council in drawing up and concluding the lottery agreement with English National Stadium Development Company and the Football Association. [HL687]

A review by the ESC audit committee of the fees spent on the national stadium project to March 1999 when the lottery funding agreement was signed confirmed the costs as £2.222 million.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to Lord McIntosh of Haringey's offer to write to Lord Moynihan on the subject of Lympne industrial park (H.L. Deb., 14 October 1999, col. 597), when they expect such a letter to be forthcoming. [HL674]

I wrote to the noble Lord on 29 October informing him that a substantive reply to his letter would be sent by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, which has lead responsibility for the matters raised. I understand that the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at DETR (Beverley Hughes) wrote to the noble Lord on 13 January.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their current annual per capita spend on cancer treatment and research; and how this compares with other European countries. [HL355]

Information showing current annual per capita spend on cancer treatment is not available. However, cancer services are estimated to account for 6.3 per cent (£1,479 million) of National Health Service hospital expenditure in England. This excludes cancer services not normally provided on an in-patient basis, for example, cancer screening, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and community palliative care services.In addition to this, the Department of Health has commissioned work to improve overall NHS information, including national statistics on hospital prescribing, which will give us a more accurate method of recording hospital expenditure on cancer treatment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Given their commitment to midwifery team work, what assurances they can give that midwives will be involved in the drawing up of clinical guidelines. [HL761]

It is sound professional practice to involve all healthcare professionals in the development of clinical guidelines. Health Service Circular 1998/999, relating to the recommendations from the last Report of the Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths states, "Each unit must identify a lead professional to develop and regularly update local multidisciplinary guidelines for the management of obstetric problems". Midwives must therefore be involved in drawing up relevant clinical guidelines.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How their outline of health improvement programmes which reveal a substantive input from midwives and users will be implemented to enable the voice of midwives to be heard. [HL762]

The development of health improvement programmes is led by the health authority in partnership with the whole range of local interests, including those who provide local services for the National Health Service. This will include staff working in NHS trusts and primary care. Midwives will be encouraged to contribute on issues which impact on their work areas.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What they are doing to implement the principles of midwifery-led care as detailed in the report of the expert group

The Government are fully committed to the principles of high quality woman centred maternity care enshrined in the Changing Childbirth report—now largely embedded in mainstream practice.A report highlighting the achievements and lessons learned from the Changing Childbirth initiative was published in August 1998 and widely promulgated to the National Health Service. Copies have been placed in the Library.The Government have a wide-ranging programme of action in hand to secure further improvements in maternity services through their wider initiatives to modernise the National Health Service, improve public health and strengthen family life.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What contribution they are making to the development of a universal labelling system for forest products from certified sources. [HL740]

We are participating in several formal and informal international discussions on the labelling of timber products. Through the Forestry Commission we have facilitated the development of the United Kingdom Woodland Assurance Scheme, which provides a standard for the independent assessment of forest management in the UK. It is a model for other countries to follow and puts the UK at the forefront of global forest certification.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the minimum requirements for carrying out official examinations of tests and trials of those varieties of maize in respect of which an application has been made for entry onto a national list; and whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the documents setting out the requirements for such examinations. [HL774]

Regulation 11(1) of the Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) Regulations 1982 (as amended) requires Ministers "to conduct or make arrangements for such tests and trials of a plant variety which is the subject of an application for entry in a National List as appears to them to be necessary to establish that it conforms to the requirements of schedule 2 of these regulations". Schedule 2 sets out the requirements that a candidate variety must be distinct, uniform and stable (DUS) and, for agricultural varieties, have a value for cultivation and use (VCU) in the UK. In making the arrangements referred to above, Ministers require VCU trials to be conducted in accordance with an official protocol. Such protocols are subject to regular review by the testing authorities.DUS tests for maize are carried out in France under a bilateral agreement with the French testing authorities which submit a DUS report to the UK authorities.A copy of the current VCU protocol for forage maize has been placed in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there has been any import into the United Kingdom of genetically modified maize covered by Commission Decision 98/293/EC dated 22 April 1998; and, if so, whether they will provide details. [HL776]

Genetically modified (GM) maize covered by Commission Decision 98/293/EC has been grown commercially in the US since 1998. Since it is not segregated from conventionally produced maize, it is likely that most imports into the UK from this source since 1998 will have contained some of the GM variety. Most maize comes into the country in the form of processed products, such as maize gluten, for use in animal feed. Previous work has shown that such processing breaks down the genetic material into very small fragments of DNA.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they are taking to curb misleading country of origin labelling on food products. [HL850]

Following consultation of the food industry and enforcement authorities, we have issued revised guidance notes on origin labelling to ensure that consumers are not misled about the true origin of the food they buy. A copy of the guidance notes has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will announce their responses to the Red Tape Review reports on the meat industry integrated administration and control system (IACS) and inspections and the intervention system. [HL852]

The Government welcomed the three reports, prepared as key parts of the review of regulatory burdens on agriculture. We have placed in the Library of the House action plans which set out the Government's responses to the 107 recommendations in the reports. We have accepted 98 of the 107 recommendations. We shall be giving recommendations further consideration, and will do so as rapidly as possible. Of the 98 recommendations we have accepted, we shall be pursuing 23 in Brussels to seek changes in the basic legal provisions.