asked Her Majesty's Government:What will be the precise remit of the Laming inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié and whether it will be held in public. [HL1858]

Further announcements about the statutory inquiry into the circumstances leading to and surrounding the death of Victoria Climbi00E9;, including the terms of reference, were made on 20 April 2001. The inquiry has been established by the Secretary of State for Health under powers in s.81 of the Children Act 1989 and s.84 of the NHS Act 1977, and the Secretary of State for the Home Department under s.49 of the Police Act 1996. Lord Laming has been appointed to conduct the inquiry. It will be fully independent and heard in public in London. The terms of reference have been placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in accordance with the Technical Regulations Directives 98/34EC and 98/48EC, they notified the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill to the European Community; and, if not, why not. [HL1906]

No, because its provisions are not notifiable under the Technical Standards Directive, as amended.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have considered Australian research into the antiviral, antibacterial and immune system enhancing properties of tea tree oil; and whether there is a possibility of tea tree oil products offering protection against foot and mouth disease for farm livestock. [HL1681]

:The Government are not aware of any scientific evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of tea tree oil against foot and mouth disease.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What support they will give to farmers to help them to claim compensation from the French Government, should the court action over the ban on beef exports succeed. [HL1880]

Should producers make a claim against the French Government for compensation over its continuing ban on the import of UK beef, the UK Government would give support in terms of information and advice. The Government do not finance the costs of such cases.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What instructions they have given with regard to disinfecting stock before they are burned on account of foot and mouth. [HL1686]

Veterinary advice issued to field staff is that all carcasses should be sprayed with an approved foot and mouth disease disinfectant, generally 0.2 per cent citric acid, before burning. This will destroy any virus on the surface of the carcasses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What research has been done since the 1968 outbreak of foot and mouth disease into the effect of quicklime; and whether it preserves carcasses. [HL1702]

Veterinary advice is that quicklime should not be used because it will act to preserve carcasses if there is not enough water present. Carcasses will decompose naturally underground.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What stocks of vaccine against foot and mouth disease have been stored in the United Kingdom for each of the past five years. [HL1576]

The International Foot and Mouth Vaccine Bank at Pirbright has held 3.5 million doses of foot and mouth vaccine, for each year between 1997 and 2001.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why napalm is not used for the destruction of animal carcasses resulting from foot and mouth disease. [HL1792]

There are two forms of napalm available, which both produce very toxic compounds when they burn. We therefore cannot use them because of the public and environmental health risks.We recognise that burning at higher temperatures is more efficient and cleaner, and so there is a need to increase the temperature of pyres, particularly at the beginning of the burn while the water in carcasses is being driven off. We have therefore commissioned urgent studies, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence, on the possible use of gelled fuel mixtures to increase the temperature.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the serology results in the foot and mouth outbreaks in Kent. [HL1825]

Samples for serology were taken from three of the six slaughtering operations carried out in Kent. These yielded two positive results; the other was inconclusive.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What contingency plans they have in case of wild deer becoming infected with foot and mouth. [HL1829]

Our current veterinary risk assessment concludes that infected deer could transmit foot and mouth disease to susceptible livestock during the clinical stages of the disease. However, they are unlikely to represent a longer term risk. In the event of an outbreak of the disease in a feral herd, susceptible livestock likely to come into contact with the herd could be housed if they were normally confined in fields. However, attempts to round up and confine livestock normally grazed on moorland or other open spaces, or attempts to cull deer could lead to increased spread of the disease.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the statement by the Baroness Hayman on 9 April (H.L. Deb., col. 1013), how many slaughtermen have been deployed currently to cope with the foot and mouth outbreak; and whether they consider that these numbers are adequate in tackling the backlog of animals awaiting slaughter. [HL1788]

As of 28 April, there are in the region of 280 slaughtermen being used, with approximately 550 in reserve, to be used if required. We believe that these numbers are more than adequate.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which body is, or bodies are, responsible for monitoring imports of meat and meat products into the United Kingdom. [HL1870]

All meat and meat products imported from third countries into the UK must enter at designated UK border inspection posts, where they are subject to veterinary inspections. The inspection services at the BIP are the responsibility of the relevant local authority.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the budget of the body or bodies devoted to monitoring the imports of meat and meat products in each of the years 1990–2000. [HL1871]

This information is not held centrally. All meat imported from third countries into the UK must enter at designated UK border inspection posts (BIP), where it is subject to veterinary inspections. The inspection services at the BIP and the budgetary control thereof are the responsibility of the local authority.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How the United Kingdom's system of monitoring meat imports compares with the Swedish and Danish systems; and whether United Kingdom resource devoted to monitoring meat imports exceed Swedish and Danish resources, both absolutely and as a proportion of government expenditure. [HL1873]

This information is not available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost. All meat imported into the European Union from third countries must enter at designated border inspection posts (BIP), where it is subject to veterinary inspections. The European Commission is responsible for ensuring that the inspection facilities and services at BIPs in all member states are adequate.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will ask importers to pay for the costs of monitoring meat imports. [HL1874]

All meat imported from third countries into the UK must enter at designated UK border inspection posts (BIP), where it is subject to veterinary inspections. The inspection services at the BIP are the responsibility of the local authority. UK and EU legislation requires that costs incurred by the local authority in carrying out checks are recovered from importers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the results from the second BSE survey of cattle aged over five years old, begun in May 2000, will be available. [HL1986]

Nine thousand, five hundred and twenty-six samples taken from cattle over five years old slaughtered in Great Britain under the Over Thirty Months Scheme (OTMS) between May and December 2000 were tested for BSE by histological examination of the brain. Of these, 0.41 per cent. (39) tested positive. This compares with 0.45 per cent. (18) positive results by the same method of examination in the first survey in 1999, when 3,951 cattle aged over five years old were tested. These brain samples, and others that proved unsuitable for examination by histological examination are being further tested by means of a rapid test, and results will be reported as soon as they are available.These results will be used to evaluate results of additional surveys of fallen stock or casualties, and to enable the decline of the BSE epidemic in Great Britain to be more fully analysed. Because of the OTMS, none of these cattle would have gone into the food chain.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What amount of aid grants and low interest loans have been provided to the Palestinian Authority by (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the European Union, since the Oslo Agreements of 1993; and whether they can estimate the contributions to Palestine of the World Bank and British non-governmental organisations during the same period.[HL1750]

The figures are in the tables below. The World Bank contributions come not from regular IBRD or IDA funds but from its own resources and the figures are for bank fiscal years from 1 July to 30 June. We do not have figures for British non- governmental organisations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the closing deficit or surplus in the British Railways Board's accounts on the date of its transfer to the Strategic Rail Authority; and whether the surplus or deficit accrued to the SRA, or the Consolidated Fund. [HL1818]

At close of business on 31 January 2001, the British Railways Board had net liabilities of£175.3 million. On 1 February 2001, net liabilities totalling£349.3 million, which represented the majority of the property, rights and liabilities of the board, were transferred from the board to the Strategic Rail Authority, leaving the board with net assets of£174.0 million, comprising the board's cash deposits and National Loans Fund debt. For the 10 months to 31 January, the board's external finance requirement was £83.5 million, compared to provision of £107.1 million set in the 1998 Comprehensive Spending Review and adjusted in the 2000–01 Winter Supplementary Estimates. It is proposed that the resulting £23.6 million surplus should be carried forward to 2001–02 and added to the SRA's end-year flexibility entitlement.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will be in a position to announce the arrangements which will apply for the selection of the next operator of the Merseyrail Electrics passenger rail franchise. [HL1830]

We have been considering with the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (Merseytravel), the Strategic Rail Authority and the Office of the Rail Regulator a proposal for Merseytravel to become responsible for letting the contract for the operation of the Merseyrail Electric services. We will announce our conclusions when we have evaluated Merseytravel's report and had final advice from the Strategic Rail Authority.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What penalties apply where work begins on development that requires prior planning permission before planning permission has been granted; and how the penalties are enforced. [HL1883]

The enforcement of planning controls is a matter for the relevant planning authority. Local planning authorities have wide ranging enforcement powers which they can use at their discretion if they consider any unauthorised development is unacceptable on planning grounds. These include the power to issue an enforcement notice, serve a breach of condition notice or serve a stop notice to terminate any unauthorised development.It is an offence to ignore the provisions of notices once they have come into effect. On conviction a person may find himself subject to a summary penalty. The maximum penalty in the magistrates' court is £20,000 and there is no upper limit on the penalty which the Crown Court may impose on conviction. It is a matter for the court to determine the level of fines imposed. Local planning authorities may seek an injunction in the High Court or the County Court to restrain an actual or threatened breach of planning control.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is being done to prevent cross-border attacks on East Timor from West Timor. [HL1860]

There are 8,104 UN peacekeeping troops in East Timor. Two thousand, four hundred of these are based in Sector West. One of their responsibilities is to maintain security along the border with West Timor.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many refugees from East Timor remain in West Timor; and at what rate they are being repatriated. [HL1861]

The Indonesian Government is planning to conduct a registration of refugees remaining in West Timor from 21st to 24th May. Without a comprehensive registration exercise, it is difficult to provide an accurate figure for the number of refugees in the camps. However, the UNHCR estimates that up to 100,000 remain.The number of returnees in March 2001 was 2,735, bringing the total number to more than 179,000.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What sums have been pledged over the coming five years for rebuilding the economy of East Timor, and for social welfare, by (a) Her Majesty's Government, (b) United Nations Agencies, and (c) non-governmental organisations. [HL1862]

At the December 1999 Donor Conference in Tokyo, the international community pledged more than $520 million for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of East Timor. This is being disbursed directly through UN agencies and NGOs.To date, the UK has committed more than £19 million for projects in East Timor.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union for May and what are the major European Union events for the period between 31 May and October 2001. [HL1983]

See attached.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is Her Majesty's Government's policy to support officially a plea for clemency from a British national imprisoned overseas. [HL1984]

Our objective is to support pleas for clemency in deserving cases, while respecting the sovereign right of foreign governments to sentence prisoners according to their own laws. Following an internal review, we have decided to widen our existing criteria for supporting clemency pleas. We will now consider supporting clemency pleas from British nationals imprisoned overseas in the following cases:in compelling compassionate circumstances, such as where a prisoner is chronically ill or dying (particularly when prison conditions overseas are poor) or where a close family member is chronically ill or dying; where continued incarceration is likely to endanger life or is likely to reduce life expectancy significantly;in cases of minors imprisoned overseas;as a last resort, in cases where we have

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in Her Majesty's Government's consultations with international partners on UK proposals for international action in response to humanitarian crises. [HL1985]

We firmly believe that we have shared responsibility to respond when confronted with massive violations of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity. The UK has played a leading role in this continuously evolving debate. We have spent the past year trying to build the broadest possible consensus around a set of ideas on the conditions and circumstances that make international action appropriate. We believe such a consensus could strengthen the Security Council's ability to respond effectively and promptly to humanitarian crises. Our ideas have been framed as policy guidelines to help the international community decide when it is right to act.The key elements of our ideas are:that any intervention is by definition a failure of prevention. Force should always be the last resort;that the immediate responsibility for halting violence rests with the state in which it occurs;but when faced with an immediate humanitarian catastrophe and a government that has demonstrated itself unwilling or unable to halt or prevent it, the international community should take action;any use of force in this context must be collective, proportionate, likely to achieve its objective, and carried out in accordance with international law.Our consultations will continue. But progress has proved difficult. Many countries have reservations about the concepts involved, fearing that their endorsement would undermine the principle of state sovereignty.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their estimate of the number of people in the public service who sought either early retirement or compensation on the grounds of stress in 1970 and in 2000. [HL1355]

The Government have reported on the problems of rising ill health in the public services. The Review of Ill Health Retirement in the Public Sector was published in July 2000 and is available in the Library. But the incidence and management of particular health issues in the workplace is a matter for each employer and detailed analyses are not collated centrally. The information requested is not available and it could only be collected across all public service employers for the year 2000 at disproportionate cost. It is not likely to be possible to collect data for the year 1970.

asked Her Majesty' Government:When will they announce the outcome of consultations on the proposals for reform of the licensing laws set out in the White Paper,

We are grateful for all the responses to our proposals. We have concluded that they confirm the case for comprehensive modernisation of the alcohol and entertainment licensing laws in England and Wales. They show that the White Paper proposals represent a sound basis for legislation, and strike the right overall balance between the needs of business, the enlargement of consumer choice, and the interests of local residents.Two issues raised by the White Paper attracted most comment: which body should be responsible for the new integrated licensing arrangements; and whether licensing hours should be extended.As to the former, the responses to the White Paper showed a great divergence of opinion. We have considered with care the views of those who argued that the new licensing authorities should be based on magistrates' courts. However, there remains a clear need to bring greater democratic accountability into licensing; and we remain persuaded that local authorities are the right bodies for this purpose. It will of course be important for all licensing decisions to be taken, as the White Paper stressed, in accordance with fair and consistent procedures.