asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to alter the current discharge regulations for new recruits joining the Naval Service. [HL2263]

With effect from 1 June 2000, all new recruits, other than re-engagements, will have a statutory right to apply to leave the Naval Service during a six-month period from date of entry, subject to having completed four weeks' effective service. Recruits will be entitled to be discharged no later than 14 days from the date of submitting notice in writing to their Commanding Officer. Currently, recruits have a period of three to six months, depending on their age at entry, during which they may exercise their right to leave the Service.Aditionally, discharge fees applicable to Royal Navy Ratings and Royal Marine Other Ranks aged 17½ years or over on entry, who take up their right to leave within the six-month period, are to be discontinued from 1 June 2000.The two changes in Terms of Service will harmonise the Naval Service's discharge regulations for new recruits and mean that all new recruits, irrespective of their age on entry, will have an equal right to leave the Service in future.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will now make available such information as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence have about "Operation Silver" which took place more than 50 years ago; and [HL2012]Whether the 94-page document, dealing with British intelligence operations in South Eastern Europe which George Blake is alleged to have handed over to the Russians in the early 1950s is now available for public scrutiny. [HL2013]

. May I repeat to the noble Lord a statement made in another place by my right honourable Friend the Foreign Secretary, on 12 February 1998, Official Report, col. 323."The records of the Secret Intelligence Service are not released: they are retained under section 3 (4) of the Public Records Act 1958. Having reviewed the arguments, I recognise that there is an overwelmingly strong reason for this policy. When individuals or organisations co-operate with the service, they do so because an unshakeable commitment is given never to reveal their identities. This essential trust would be undermined by a perception that undertakings of confidentiality were honoured for only a limited duration. In many cases, the risks of retribution against individuals can extend beyond a single generation."

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Answer by Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 13 April (H.L. Deb., col. 281), whether they regard the European Convention on Human Rights as legally obscure. [HL2104]

No. the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has a long tradition of interpreting and clarifying the European Convention on Human Rights.Looking to the future, however, this Government believe that a well drafted Charter of Rights could make a valuable contribution to Europe's human rights culture by consolidating in one place fundamental rights from the ECHR and the EU/EC Treaties and setting them out clearly for the benefit of citizens and administrators alike.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will raise the following issues at the European Union/Turkey Association Council on 11 April: (a) the case for internal dialogue within Turkey on issues including the cultural and educational needs of the Kurdish and other minorities; (b) the imprisonment or exile of some Turkish elected members of parliament and mayors; (c) the ending of martial law in the south-east provinces, and of state security courts; and (d) drug trafficking via Turkey. [HL1977]

At the 11 April EC-Turkey Association Council the Portuguese Presidency, on behalf of member states, read out an agreed text on EU/Turkey relations. This stated that the proposed EU-Turkey Accession Partnership should set out priorities for action to enable Turkey to meet the EU's membership criteria as agreed at the 1993 Copenhagen European Council. These criteria include democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the protection of minorities.In reply to the specific points:(a) We regularly raise the rights of Kurdish and other minorities with the Turkish authorities; (b) We supported the demarches by the EU Troika on 24 February and 30 March against the arrest of the HADEP mayors and re-imprisonment of Akin Birdal; (c) We welcomed the removal of the military judge from the Turkish State Security Court system last year and the proposal of the Turkish Human Rights Minister in January to lift emergency rule in the south-east; and (d) The Prime Minister announced on 9 March that the EU should intensify co-operation against drug trafficking with all the EU applicant countries, including Turkey. We have proposed help on data collection, and the monitoring and evaluation of anti-drugs programmes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the legislation on the use of car seats for the transport of infants and children in cars also applies to emergency and passenger transport service ambulances; how many journeys infants and children took in ambulances without being carried in appropriate car seats in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what methods are used to secure infants and children; and whether the safety of these methods matches that of car seats. [HL2157]

Legislation on the fitting of adult seat belts, which are used to secure child restraints, applies to most vehicles. The design and testing approvals of such seat belts and child restraints, and their fixings, are to approved standards. Therefore the methods to secure infants and children in ambulances match those used in cars. The legislation on the wearing of seat belts and child restraints applies where seat belts are fitted.Seat belts are required to be fitted in the front seats of ambulances, but not in the rear. If an ambulance has 9 to 16 passenger seats, however, it is classed as a minibus. In that case, when three or more children aged between 3 and 15 years inclusive are travelling on an organised trip, a forward facing seat with a seat belt must be provided for each child. Consultation is currently under way on proposals to require the fitment of seat belts in all rear seats (whether forward of rearward facing) of new minibuses that do not carry standing passengers.In minibuses, if the unladen weight is 2,540 kgs or less, seat belts in the rear must be worn. If an appropriate child restraint is available, it must be used where relevant. However, the law does not require seat belts or child restraints to be worn in minibuses over 2,540 kgs, but we strongly recommend that where they are fitted they should be used.Figures for those journeys in amublances where appropriate child restraints were not used are not collected centrally.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the current arrangements for advice on medical suitability for driving are satisfactory and whether they have given any consideration to the regular updating of fitness to drive, formally published by the Medical Commission on Accident Prevention. [HL2144]

Yes, the current arrangements for advice on suitability to drive are satisfactory. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency produces a booklet for medical practitioners entitled At a glance guide to current medical standards of fitness to drive. It is based on guidance from the Secretary of State's six Honorary Medical Advisory Panels. The guide is updated at least twice a year and it is available on the Internet. This guide includes material last published by the Medical Commission on Accident Prevention in 1995 and more recently updated by the panels.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Following the winding up of the Medical Commission on Accident Prevention to whom do they go for advice. [HL2143]

The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) will continue to take advice on medical fitness to drive from the six Honorary Medical Advisory Panels, which are made up of eminent professionals in their field.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in introducing the European Union Parking Card for facilitating improved mobility for people with disabilities; and what action they have taken in relation to use of the card in the United Kingdom. [HL2174]

The regulations to introduce the new blue parking badge for disabled people came into effect on 1 April 2000 in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The blue badge will be introduced in Wales later this year.In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the new blue badges are being phased in from 1 April over a three-year period as existing Orange Badges come up for renewal or applications are processed. Existing Orange Badges will therefore continue to be recognised in the usual way until 31 March 2003.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have decided to give a lesser priority to funding public transport in Northern Ireland than in other parts of the United Kingdom; if so, when and why that policy decision was taken; and whether they consider that, where railways are concerned, the limited availability of funds for renewals and upgrades has contributed to recently identified safety inadequacies in infrastructure and rolling stock. [HL2136]

Public expenditure priorities in Great Britain and Northern Ireland have been different, with spending on transport being afforded a lower relative priority in Northern Ireland. Translink believe that limited availability of funds has contributed to inadequancies in infrastructure and rolling stock. This limited availability of funding does not prejudice railway safety which Translink considers to be of paramount importance.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 29 February

My honourable friend the Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting consulted industry contacts about this issue earlier in the year. She will consider next steps when all replies have been received.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why they now assert that the Channel Islands are dependent territories of the United Kingdom rather than self-governing Crown Dependencies as stated by the Lord Williams of Mostyn on 29 June 1999 (H.L. Deb., col. 170). [HL2143]

The Channel Islands (and the Isle of Man) are self-governing Crown Dependencies. My noble friend Lord Bassam of Brighton used the term "dependent or associated territories" in the reply he gave to the noble Lord on 17 April (Official Report, WA 79–80), because this is the generic term used for the non-metropolitan territories of member states of the European Union by the European Union Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What would be the cost to the Exchequer if all asylum seekers applying for entry into the United Kingdom were to be placed in secure accommodation. [HL2175]

The answer to your question depends on a number of variables, in particular, the number of asylum applicants and the length of time taken to complete the process to removal. Based on forecast asylum intakes and detention of between two and six months, the cost of procurement of the number of places required could be as much as £1.68 billion startup costs and annual running costs of up to £420 million. These costs take no account of the likely impact of this scale of detention on intake or savings that would inevitably occur on asylum support costs.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are responsible for the "good government" of the Crown Dependencies; if so, how they define "good government"; and in what circumstances they would intervene to that end in the affairs of the Dependencies. [HL2134]

The Crown is ultimately responsible for the good government of the Crown Dependencies. This means that, in the circumstances of a grave breakdown or failure in the administration of justice or civil order, the residual prerogative power of the Crown could be used to intervene in the internal affairs of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It is unhelpful to the relationship between Her Majesty's Government and the Islands to speculate about the hypothetical and highly unlikely circumstances in which such intervention might take place.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many people have died since 1963 in England and Wales at the hands of persons previously convicted of homicide. [HL2147]

During the period 1963 to date, a total of 96 persons in England and Wales are known to have been killed by persons who had been previously convicted of homicide in England and Wales.The figure excludes persons who have been killed by those who may have been convicted outside England and Wales (for whom there is incomplete information), and persons who have been killed by those not previously convicted of homicide by reason of their mental state.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action the Metropolitan Police have taken to refine the training of drivers of vehicles that respond to emergency calls and to introduce new driving tests with the aim of reducing accidents; and whether other police forces are taking similar action. [HL2108]

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis has informed me that the Metropolitan Police "Safe Driving" Policy, which aims to raise and maintain police driving standards and so to reduce collisions, includes a policy on vehicle pursuits.Together with all other Chief Officers in England and Wales, the Commissioner has accepted in principle the recommendations in the Association of Chief Police Officers' report on

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the number of places for Immigration Act detainees that will become available at Lindholme detention centre; on what date they expect Lindholme to open; and whether the number of places made available by the Prison Service to the Immigration and Nationality Department will then be reduced accordingly. [HL2121]

There will be 112 places for Immigration Act detainees at HM Prison Lindholme. It is expected that the accommodation will become available during June this year. Once the places are fully available at Lindholme, the ad hoc use of prison spaces for immigration detainees in England and Wales will end but for exceptional circumstances. It is anticipated that the provision of the accommodation at Lindholme will result in a net increase of around 50 places for immigration detainees.

asked Her Majesty's Government:To which overseas territories the Home Secretary appoints the Governor; and, in each case, what is the previous occupation and present salary of the Governor. [HL2106]

My right honourable friend the Home Secretary does not appoint the Governor to any overseas territories. In his capacity as Privy Counsellor with special responsibility for the Crown Dependencies, he recommends to The Queen the appointment of Lieutenant Governors in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the reasons for the change in title from the Crime and Public Protection Bill to the Criminal Justice and Court Services Bill currently before Parliament. [HL2192]

The change in the short title of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Bill more accurately reflects the scope and content of the Bill than the former name Crime and Public Protection Bill.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Following research carried out by the Criminal Policy Research Unit at South Bank University for the second audit commissioned by the Association of Chief Officers of Probation, what proportion of offenders subject to a probation order either complied with its terms or were brought back to the courts in proceedings for breach. [HL2193]

The audit showed that 92.5 per cent of offenders subject to probation orders, community service orders and on licence complied with their order or licence or were returned to court for breach of proceedings.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the European Union Commissioner for Agriculture has written to the Minister for Agriculture accepting that the United Kingdom should, for this year, continue the existing practice for measuring field margins; and, if so, on what date and at what time the letter was received, and whether it will be published. [HL1880]

On Friday 24 March my honourable friend (the Minister) received a letter from Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler agreeing that the United Kingdom should, for this year, apply the same criteria as were used in 1999 and earlier years for determining the acceptability of hedges and other field margins included in claims based on whole Ordnance Survey field areas under the Integrated Administration and Control System. A press release containing this information was released the same day. Copies of the letter have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in the light of the concern expressed since 1996 by the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation, they have had talks with the American and Canadian authorities about the risks involved in raising transgenic salmon; and, if so, with what result. [HL2109]

The UK Government were fully involved in the discussions that took place in NASCO which resulted in the adoption of the NASCO Guidelines for Action on Transgenic Salmon which commit all parties to adopt a precautionary approach to the raising of transgenic salmon.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any notification has been made to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea by the United States or Canadian governments to release transgenic salmon into open marine or freshwater environments; and, if so, whether the United Kingdom will scrutinise these notifications in detail. [HL2110]

To our knowledge, no such notifications have been made.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the current figures and what have the figures been over the last 30 years for corporate overdrafts: that is, credit limits for small and large businesses; and [HL2224]What are the current figures and what have the figures been over the last 30 years for corporate terms loans: that is, loans by small and large businesses that are repayable by a deadline. [HL2225]

There are no figures for credit limits if what is meant by that is information on the maximum amount of borrowing allowed under overdraft agreements. Nor are there figures available going back 30 years on the total amount of overdraft and term lending.However, the following figures, based on returns from Lloyds TSB, HSBC, NatWest, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank, are published by the British Banker's Association. These relate to bank lending to businesses with a turnover under £1 million.All £ billions at end December.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many new cars were purchased by United Kingdom residents in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999; how many motor cars were imported into the United Kingdom in each of those years; and what were the total exports from the United Kingdom of motor cars in each year of the same period. [HL2138]

The available information is given in the table below:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Sainsbury of Turville on 7 April

Inland Revenue officials will use the ordinary dictionary definition of 'family' when coming to a judgment regarding the appropriate application of the exemption, as is the normal practice when a word is not specifically defined in legislation. This has not caused any problems for enforcers. If problems do arise in establishing whether certain individuals count as family members, each case will be judged on individual merits. Any dispute would be resolved by an employment tribunal or court in the normal way.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which Ministers represented the United Kingdom at the second Mediterranean conference on women's participation in economic and social life, at Brussels on 25 March; what issues were discussed; and what action they have agreed to undertake as a consequence of this conference. [HL2055]

The Euro-Mediterranean Conference on the Promotion of Women in Economic Development held in Brussels on 24 and 25 March 2000 brought together 150 delegates from public, private, university and associate sectors from the European Union and their Mediterranean partners. As such, this was not a meeting to which Ministers were invited.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether as of 14 April all the messages posted to the e-envoy's e-forum on IR35 express objections to the Government's policy in this area. [HL2117]

No. A range of views has been expressed since the e-forum was launched in January, some critical of Government policy in this area and others expressing support.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in their view, the study by Mackey and Derrick,

Neither study, in our view, demonstrates that brain tissue becomes spread through the whole carcass of an animal after stunning. The work by Mackey and Derrick concerns contamination by bacteria and does not relate to brain tissue. Garland reported only the finding of brain tissue in the vessels carrying blood from the heart to the lungs following the use of a stunning device which injects air at high pressure into the cranium. This device is not used in United Kingdom abattoirs.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In relation to all Private Finance Initiative agreements initiated on behalf of National Health Service Trusts since 1 April 1998, what has been the average period of time between identifying a preferred bidder and reaching "financial close"; how many such agreements have been so concluded; and how many have not yet been concluded. [HL2100]

Information on the initiation date and the date of the selection of preferred bidder is not held centrally for Private Finance Initiative schemes with a capital value below £10 million.Two PFI schemes with a capital value of over £10 million given approval to proceed since 1 April 1998 have reached preferred bidder stage. Neither of these schemes has reached financial close. The date of selection of preferred bidder and their target dates for financial close are shown in the table:

asked Her Majesty's Government:(a) how many Private Finance Initiative projects currently in negotiation on behalf of National Health Service Trusts are currently at the "preferred bidder" stage; (b) how many of these have been at the "preferred bidder" stage for more than 12 months; and (c) what is the longest period for which any of the projects mentioned in (a) have been at the "preferred bidder" stage. [HL2099]

Information on the date of selection of preferred bidder is not held centrally for schemes with a capital value of below £10 million.Fourteen Private Finance Initiative schemes with a capital value of over £10 million have reached preferred bidder stage and are currently still in negotiations. These are as follows: