asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the Government's policy on arms sales to Zimbabwe.

The Government's policy on export licence applications for Zimbabwe was set out in a statement made by my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary in another place on 3 May 2000 (Official Report, cols. 149–62).As my right honourable friend informed the House, the Government decided last week, in the light of the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe, to refuse from 3 May all applications for new licences for Zimbabwe for goods and technology listed in Part III, Schedule 1, of the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994, as amended (commonly known as the Military List). This included all new licence applications for spare parts in connection with previous contracts. We also began a review of all extant export licences for Zimbabwe.In line with the statement of my right honourable friend the Prime Minister of 9 February 2000 (

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 12 April (

Other than for reasons of distance from court, it might be appropriate temporarily to hold young men outside the under-18 estate for reasons of security or medical requirements. There might also be occasions where an establishment outside the under-18 estate could offer specialist facilities to meet an individual regime need. All such cases would be considered on an individual basis between the prison establishment and the young person's youth offending team.On 5 May 2000, there were 60 unsentenced young men aged 17 in prison establishments that also hold adult males and 17 unsentenced young women aged 17 in prison establishments that also hold adult females.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton of 12 April (

Much will depend on the demand for secure places. The Government are strengthening the community-based options available to the courts where the seriousness of the offence or the need to protect the public does not warrant the use of custody. The Youth Justice Board will place as many sentenced girls aged 15 to 17 as it can in non-Prison Service accommodation over the next year. It considers the process may take two years to complete.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 12 April (

As I explained in my reply to Baroness Whitaker on 12 April (WA 49–50), the issues surrounding the definition of "racial hatred" and its application to particular groups are difficult and complex. But this difficulty and complexity are a reflection of the ethnic and religious diversity of Britain generally.It is the Government's view that the particular circumstances in Northern Ireland, with its terrible history of sectarian hostility and violence, require particular measures which it may not be suitable to apply to the United Kingdom. That is why there is legislation dealing with the issue which is specific to Northern Ireland, namely the Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1987. Under this it is an offence to incite hatred against a group of persons defined by "religious belief".I should emphasise, however, that we are continuing to keep the issue of incitement to religious hatred under review.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many persons have been detained for longer than 24 hours in police and court cells in the Metropolitan Police area in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many of them were Immigration Act detainees held for reasons other than early deportation. [HL2348]

In response to the first part of the noble Lord's question I refer him to the written reply given by my noble friend Lord Bach on 2 May (Official Report, WA 152–53).Regrettably, information on the number of Immigration Act detainees detained in Metropolitan Police cells during the last three years is available only at disproportionate cost through the examination of individual case records. It would not be possible from the records that are available to identify those detainees who were held for reasons other than early deportation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to accelerate police recruitment under the Crime Fighting Fund. [HL2497]

On 9 February my right honourable friend the Home Secretary announced in another place (House of Commons, Official Report, cols. 172–174W) that all 43 forces in England and Wales had successfully bid for a share of the Crime Fighting Fund (CFF) to recruit 5,000 police officers over and above the number they had otherwise planned to recruit over the next three years commencing April 2000. These were to be phased on the basis of 1,000 recruits this year (2000–01), 2,000 in 2001–02 and 2,000 in 2002–03. He also gave details of the number of police officers each force had been allocated.Since then, and as a result of the funding decisions outlined by my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Budget, my right honourable friend the Home Secretary was able to announce in another place (House of Commons,

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they intend to introduce the Criminal Defence Service. [HL2500]

I have agreed to a request from the Legal Services Commission to postpone the introduction of the Criminal Defence Service from 2 October 2000 to 2 April 2001. This will allow additional time for preparation by the professions and for implementation of the new arrangements by criminal defence lawyers. The Legal Services Commission is notifying the professions by letter accordingly. This delay will have no substantial effects on the reform programme, including the development of the salaried defender service. Consultation papers on the establishment of the salaried defender service and on the choice of representative will be published shortly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they are taking in relation to the compensation claims of veterans of the Falklands and Gulf conflicts who have been diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder; and when they expect the first of these cases to come before the courts. [HL2286]

Many of the claims from veterans alleged to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder are similar and a group action was therefore set up by the Supreme Court last year. The group action consists of two groups. Group 1 is where the earliest alleged failure by the Ministry of Defence to diagnose or properly treat their condition occurred before the repeal of Section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 on 15 May 1987 which prevented service personnel from pursuing claims for compensation from the Ministry of Defence. Group 2 is where the earliest alleged failure took place after 15 May 1987, since when service personnel have had the right to make common law claims for compensation. Approximately 15 lead cases from each group, to be agreed by both sides, will shortly be selected as representative of all the cases in the group action. These lead cases will proceed to trial towards the end of 2001, when a judge will rule on the issue of liability. The ruling in each of these lead cases will be binding on similar non-lead cases. In the meantime, both sides are concentrating on obtaining evidence in preparation for the trial.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, given the right to an independent tribunal under Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights, they share the concern expressed by the Employment Appeal Tribunal on 11 October 1999 (in

The Government believe that employment tribunals may properly and lawfully adjudicate in such cases. Nevertheless, following the Lord Chancellor's review of the terms of service of part-time judicial office holders, we are reviewing the employment tribunal system and expect to make some changes to the terms and conditions of lay members.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the conclusions of the article

Leucodepletion was introduced, on the advice of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC), as a precautionary measure against the theoretical risk of transmitting variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) through blood transfusion. A detailed risk assessment of variant CJD infectivity in blood commissioned by the Department of Health from Det Norske Veritas (February 1999) concluded that "leucodepletion appears to have significant benefit in reducing the risk of variant CJD infection through blood transfusion". This assessment was considered and accepted by SEAC.We are continually reviewing the available evidence on the effectiveness of leucodepletion but, to date, there has been no new evidence to justify a change of policy. The article by Dr Paul Brown describes experimental studies with scrapie and sporadic CJD and concludes, on the basis of preliminary data, that the negligible plasma infectivity detected in experiments in mice is not significantly reduced by leucodepletion. It does not consider variant CJD, except to say that the risks of blood-borne transmission are unknown, or provide conclusive evidence on the effectiveness of leucodepletion in reducing the risk of variant CJD.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What a benefit recipient will present to the Post Office for payment after the end of the present payment book system. [HL2320]

Starting in 2003 the normal method of paying benefit will be by automated credit transfer (ACT) into a bank account. Those who wish to do so will be able to access their cash at post offices.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the answers by Lord Whitty on 19 April on the European Union waste incineration directive (H.L. Deb., cols. 700–01), whether they will give details of:

The Council of Ministers is currently considering the European Parliament's amendments to the waste incineration directive Common Position, including those affecting the scope, at official level. Council's rules of procedure do not allow me to comment on the detail of those discussions. No decisions have been taken by the Council in relation to the European Parliament's amendments. We will keep the House in formed in the usual way.There are no exemptions or other provisions in the directive which relate specifically to Portugal or to any other member state. The directive would, as currently drafted, apply equally to all 15 member states. As I explained in my 19 April answer (H.L. Deb., col. 700), there are exemptions for plants treating only vegetable waste from the food processing industry and for those treating only cork waste. The Council concluded that it is appropriate to consider these wastes as biomass, and therefore to include them in the list of exclusions in order to avoid discouraging use of biomass for energy purposes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What arrangements are being made for the quinquennial review of the Forest Enterprise executive agency. [HL2498]

As an executive agency, Forest Enterprise is subject to review every five years—part of the process of continuous improvement of government services promised in the Modernising Government White Paper of March 1999. Forest Enterprise was established as an executive agency on 1 April 1996 and its review has now started. Stage 1 is concerned with getting the organisation right, and its conclusions will be reported to forestry Ministers in July. Stage 2, which is concerned with improving the agency's performance, will be completed in December.The review will include wide-ranging consultation with Forest Enterprise's customers, visitors and other interested parties, who are invited to contact the Secretary to the Forestry Commissioners at 231 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH127AT, or to visit the Forestry Commission's website at

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they are taking to address the issue of seed purity. [HL2514]

We are taking several new steps to ensure seed purity, in addition to the current consultation on the importation and labelling of seeds. These include pressing internationally for agreed standards, testing of seed imports to the UK and working with the industry on a code of practice. The need for action in this area is highlighted by the recent information we have received from Advanta Seeds UK that some of its conventional rapeseed sold and sown in 1999 and 2000 in several EU member states, including the UK, contained about 1 per cent of genetically modified rapeseed. The genetic modification in question has already been assessed and cleared for food use and for field trials in the UK. We have consulted both ACRE (the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment) and the Food Standards Agency, who have confirmed the view that there is no risk to public health or the environment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What arrangements have been made to appoint a commissioner under Section 8 of the Interception of Communications Act following the expiration of Lord Nolan's appointment on 10 April 2000. [HL2499]

Lord Justice Swinton Thomas has accepted an appointment as the Interception of Communications Commissioner for a period of three years from 10 April 2000.I thank his predecessor Lord Nolan for the great contribution he made during the six years he spent as Interception of Communications Commissioner.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in preparation for the second stage of reform of the House of Lords, they will;

The Government believe that a widely based and representative composition has an important part in ensuring that the second Chamber has a distinctive role to play within Parliament. It is one of the reasons why we are minded to accept the approach of the Royal Commission that the second Chamber should have a majority of nominated members. I am sure these questions are some of those which the interim Appointments Commission will want to bear in mind when considering its nominations.