asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their position on the proposal by the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux that all refugees and asylum seekers should be issued with an appropriate statement of their rights, including rights to work and to stay, at the port of entry or whenever their immigration status is being varied. [HL1388]

We are currently studying the report by the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux in which this recommendation features and will make known our response in due course.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How, in the context of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill, they intend to respond to the decision of the European Parliament not to accept the amendment to the Mutual Legal Assistance Directive that sought to give authorities powers to demand encryption keys and to require Internet service providers to give police interception facilities. [HL1389]

The draft European Union Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters contains provisions to facilitate co-operation on interception of communications. It does not contain any provisions about encryption, nor does it place any obligations on Internet service providers to maintain an interception capability.Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill, all providers of publicly available communications services in the United Kingdom will be required to maintain a reasonable intercept capability. The Bill will also give the authorities powers to access the means to understand protected material, which in some cases could mean a decryption key.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their legal definition of a war crime. [HL1397]

There is no single legal definition of a war crime.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why prisoners at Blakenhurst prison first have to complete a general application form in order to receive a request and complaint form; and at how many other prisons this is the practice. [HL1401]

Prisoners at Blakenhurst and many other prisons complete an application for a request/complaint form to ensure a proper audit trail and monitoring of responses. It also provides an opportunity for wing staff to offer to resolve the matter immediately if possible. The Prison Service request/complaint procedures are currently under review, and this will include proposals to ensure all prisoners have unimpeded access to the requests/complaints system.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether appeals to the chief executive against decisions in relation to complaints at Blakenhurst prison are in practice dealt with by the same person who dealt with initial complaints. [HL1402]

Under the request/ complaint procedures, prisoners have a right of appeal against local decisions to the Prison Service area manager and these are dealt with at Prison Service headquarters. Prisoners at Blakenhurst may also appeal to the chief executive of UKDS, the contractor that manages the prison. These are not answered by the same person who dealt with the original complaint, although I am aware of an isolated instance in which this did happen in the absence of the chief executive and the director of the prison. UKDS assures me it has taken steps to ensure this will not happen again.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to celebrate in 2001 the success of the United Kingdom in terms of its cultural diversity. [HL1412]

Promoting the benefits of our diverse society is a powerful means of tackling racism and is central to our policy on work in this area. We support many initiatives which provide ethnic minority communities with the opportunity to celebrate and share their culture with the wider community. One of the aims of my department's new grant programme Connecting Communities is to support race equality initiatives which publicise and celebrate the achievements and worth of ethnic minority communities and individuals and the positive contribution they make to society. We are consulting about these proposals at present.A major event in 2001 will be the United Nations World Conference on Racism which is due to take place in South Africa in July. We are currently involved in the planning for this. The agenda has not yet been set but we will wish to ensure that promoting the benefits of multiculturalism is a key theme for the agenda.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress they are making in finding new ways of detecting landmines and thereby making land available again in underdeveloped countries. [HL1222]

In December 1999, the Department for International Development invited proposals from UK based institutions and individuals for new ways of detecting and clearing landmines under the Mine Action Research Programme. Bids are currently being assessed and an announcement on whether any can be supported is expected in April.Also, the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency is examining which mine detecting technologies would be suitable for humanitarian demining. This work may lead to programmes such as a low cost portable mine detector.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many vehicles owned by the National Army Museum are displayed at the Museum of Army Transport at Beverley. [HL1318]

The number of major exhibits owned by the National Army Museum which are on loan to the Museum of Army Transport is 135, of which 119 can be categorised as vehicles or equipments. At any one time up to 83 vehicles are on display, while the remainder are undergoing conservation or regular mechanical overhaul.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the vehicles owned by the National Army Museum but displayed at the Museum of Army Transport at Beverley are of national historical significance. [HL1319]

The vehicles owned by the National Army Museum which are displayed at the Museum of Army Transport are of historical significance as they document the history of Army transport from approximately 1900 to the present day and a number are unique survivors of their type.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the status of the Museum of Army Transport at Beverley. [HL1320]

The Museum of Army Transport is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Who is the chairman of the council of the National Army Museum. [HL1321]

The chairman of the council of the National Army Museum is ex-officio the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What contingency plans are in place for storing and displaying vehicles belonging to the National Army Museum should the Museum of Army Transport at Beverley close; and what the cost would be of implementing the plans. [HL1322]

The council of the National Army Museum is currently engaged in a strategic review of the museum's requirements over the coming four years which will include all parts of its collection, including the collection currently housed at the Museum of Army Transport in Beverley.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What facilities are operated or supported by the National Army Museum north of Watford. [HL1323]

The National Army Museum operates no facilities north of Watford. However, it supports a number of museums north of Watford through its pastoral care role to regimental and corps museums and has actively assisted 11 museums through the loan of its collections. It has also helped 12 museums north of Watford with major re-display projects, with National Lottery funded work and with staff training.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they plan to call out members of the reserve forces to support UN operations in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. [HL1509]

A call-out order has been made under section 56 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 to permit members of the reserve forces to be called out for service with the UN monitoring and observer forces in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Only a small number are expected to be called out, as and when suitable posts arise, and all will be volunteers for this work.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Given the current levels of take-up of disability benefits, what research they have undertaken into why disabled people do not claim the benefits to which they are entitled. [HL1264]

There are numerous reasons why people with potential entitlement to disability benefits do not claim them. Contributory factors include a lack of knowledge about the benefit, an anxiety not to be seen as "disabled", or a reluctance, particularly among older people, to claim assistance for what they may see as less severe disabilities, which would attract lower rates of benefit, or simply as the normal results of ageing. At the same time around 26 per cent of claims for attendance allowance and 40 per cent of claims for disability living allowance are unsuccessful because the claimant does not satisfy the qualifying conditions. And many people who do make claims are dissatisfied with the decision and ask for it to be reconsidered.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which organisations were consulted before it was decided to introduce car-parking charges in Greenwich Park; and what is the estimated revenue in the financial year 2000–01. [HL1265]

Responsibility for the subject of this Question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency and I have asked it to arrange for a reply to be given.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, under the integrated administration and control system (IACS) of the common agricultural policy, in cases where the width of the boundary between two fields exceeds 2 metres but does not exceed 4 metres the 2 metre distance is allowed for each field, or whether, where the boundary consists of a hedge and ditch and the field boundary under customary agricultural practice is regarded as the root of the hedge, the whole width of the boundary between the two fields has to be deducted from the cropped area of the field bordered by the ditch. [HL1078]

In cases where a boundary separates two fields claimed under IACS, the full Ordnance Survey area of both fields can be claimed as long as the width of the margin from each side of the boundary to the crop does not exceed 2 metres.The issue of how the guidance on field margins should be applied in cases where a narrow ditch runs along the side of a hedge is currently under consideration by my officials in consultation with the European Commission.