asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will ask members of the European Union and the Commonwealth who have not yet done so to ratify the Statute of the International Criminal Court. [HL980]

Yes. Only three members of the EU, Ireland, Portugal and Greece, have yet to ratify the statute. We are confident that they will do so soon in line with the commitments agreed in the EU Common Position on the International Criminal Court in June 2001. Fourteen Commonwealth countries have ratified to date. We shall continue our policy of lobbying the remainder at every opportunity.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Of which diplomatic premises overseas they are the freehold owners. [HL989]

The posts overseas which have offices and/or official residences of heads of post mission of which the FCO is the freehold owner are as follows (see attached list).

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to dispose of freehold real estate overseas which is used for British diplomatic missions. [HL990]

The FCO has disposed of or will dispose of the following properties from the diplomatic estate overseas in the current financial year (see below).

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will ask the high contracting parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention concerning the protection of civilians in time of war in the Occupied Territories to discuss Israel's alleged further violations of that convention. [HL998]

In line with the July 1999 agreement, the United Kingdom, together with our EU partners, has agreed in principle to the reconvening of the Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to consider the development of the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Territories.

asked Her Majesty's Government:On what basis they maintain that the United Nations Population Fund monitors coercive population policies in the 47 counties referred to by Lord Grocott on the International Development Bill (H.L. Deb., 25 October, col. 1119); what data have been published and what monitoring takes place in the other 2,435 Chinese counties. [HL1055]

UNFPA's programme in China is the subject of close scrutiny. The fund seeks through its own routine monitoring to visit sites in all counties where it is providing support twice each year. Members of UNFPA's Executive Board including the United Kingdom, United States and EU member states, and developing countries have also made external monitoring visits to programme areas on at least two occasions since 1999. Representatives from EU member state missions also maintain close interest in UNFPA's programme. US Congressional staff and officials from US missions in China have also made several visits to monitor UNFPA's work in China. UNFPA's new Executive Director, Dr Thoraya Obaid, is visiting China in December to review the programme.UNFPA maintains a watching brief on non-UNFPA programme counties and reports allegations of abuses by family planning officials in other parts of China to the Chinese authorities. UNFPA also investigates specific allegations of abuse through independent mission visits. I will arrange for a copy of the report of the October 2001 mission to UNFPA programme counties in China, led by Dr Nicholas Biegman, former Dutch Ambassador to the United Nations, to be placed in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many of the total number of United Kingdom passports in issue are machine readable and how many are not; and at which points of entry into the United Kingdom immigration officers have equipment to record electronically details of machine readable passports. [HL1047]

The United Kingdom Passport Service has been issuing machine-readable passports since 1988. As a result, almost all United Kingdom-issued passports are machine-readable. The only exceptions will be where a passport has been exceptionally extended due to an emergency. A small number of non-machine readable passports are issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at posts overseas. It is not possible to provide details of the numbers of passports this involves.All arriving passengers subject to immigration control are checked against the computerised warning index (WI) which automatically reads personal details from machine readable passports. The WI already contains the details of large numbers of lost or stolen passports and identity cards.While the Immigration Service does not currently retain the passport details of all arriving passengers, it is currently urgently exploring with other control agencies the use of technology to require airlines to retain the passport or identity card details of passengers before they board a flight to the United Kingdom.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many passports were reported lost or stolen in the last financial year; how many passports which have been reported lost or stolen were subsequently handed back to the authorities; and whether the charges made to those losing their passports reflect the complete cost of issuing replacement passports. [HL1048]

The United Kingdom Passport Service records information on passports reported lost, stolen or unavailable. For the year ending 31 March 2001 there were 122,269 passports recorded under this category. The Passport Service does not routinely collect data on the number of passports lost or stolen which have been recovered.Requests for the issue of a replacement passport are handled in the same way as first-time applications. The costs involved are broadly comparable and therefore no additional charges are made. The Passport Service operates on a net running cost regime and all costs are recovered through receipt of passport fees.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will publish guidance on the housing and care of ferrets and gerbils in breeding and supplying establishments designated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. [HL1219]

We have today laid before Parliament a draft Supplement to the Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals in Designated Breeding and Supplying Establishments. The draft sets standards for the housing and care of ferrets and gerbils in designated breeding and supply establishments, and is a consequence of the species concerned being added to the list in Schedule 2 of the 1986 Act (animals which can only be obtained from designated sources). The draft has been produced and laid under Section 21 of the Act and is subject to the negative resolution procedure. Copies have been placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether those who have applied for asylum in the United Kingdom are entitled to travel abroad while their applications are being considered; and whether the proposed new smart cards to be issued to asylum seekers will be valid as travel documents for re-entry into the United Kingdom. [HL1049]

Asylum applicants who travel abroad while their claim is being considered are deemed to have withdrawn their application for asylum in the United Kingdom.The application registration card (ARC) is not a travel document and will not confer the right of reentry to the United Kingdom. The purpose of the ARC is to show that the holder has lodged an asylum application with the Home Office's Immigration and Nationality Directorate. It will replace the standard acknowledgement letter (SAL) which is currently used and provide evidence of entitlement to the facilities or services available to asylum seekers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the current allowances payable to lay magistrates who lose a day's pay in order to sit; and whether they have any proposals to change those allowances. [HL939]

Lay magistrates receive Financial Loss Allowance to compensate them for loss of earnings or social security benefits or additional expenditure incurred by them in performing their duties. The maximum amounts payable for sitting in excess of four hours are £83.56 for self-employed magistrates and £65.18 for employed magistrates. Lay magistrates are also entitled to claim travelling and subsistence allowance.The rates at which allowances are paid are reviewed annually by my department. The allowances were reviewed earlier this year and the new rates became payable on 1 September 2001.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the current system for the wholesale distribution of national newspapers serves the interests of the public and of the smaller retailers. [HL938]

The Director General of Fair Trading monitors the newspaper distribution markets and does not believe there are currently grounds, under the Competition Act, for an investigation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:(a) what contingency plans they propose for the disposal of waste rubber tyres after 2003 when they will no longer be disposed of in landfill sites; and(b) whether they anticipate that they will be able to meet their recycling targets after 2003 as a result of this change. [HL1,996]

:(a) The Landfill Directive introduces a two-stage diversion of tyres away from landfill: whole tyres in 2003 and shredded tyres in 2006. Value is presently recovered from around 70 per cent of the 400,000 tonnes of tyres disposed of each year, with the balance landfilled, largely in shredded form.The Government maintain regular dialogue with the tyre industry on this issue through the Used Tyre Working Group and we remain confident that sufficient tyre recovery capacity will be developed to enable the disposal of tyres to landfill to cease by the specified dates.(b) Tyres form part of the industrial and commercial waste stream. Diverting them from landfill will contribute to the target of reducing the amount of that waste landfilled to 85 per cent of 1998 levels by 2005 but will not contribute to the Government's targets for the recycling of household waste.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why they have not fully accepted the recommendations of Lord Haskins' report on

The Government made an immediate and positive response to the constructive and thoughtful report of my noble friend Lord Haskins. On the day the report was published, on 18 October, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs responded immediately to just one of his numerous recommendations—that extra resources should be provided for the Business Recovery Fund. That her announcement involved expenditure of £24 million through an extension of the Business Recovery Fund shows just how seriously we took his recommendations and those of the Rural Task Force, also published on 18 October. As well as giving this immediate and practical response, Ministers indicated that they would consider the other recommendations in the report and provide a full response shortly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will provide the information on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' TSE research programme promised in their statement on 22 October. [HL1179]

We have today placed a paper describing the programme in full in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What increase in the Greater London Authority precept they would consider acceptable. [HL1034]

The GLA sets its own precept, and should consult with the London electorate, to whom it is accountable. London voters will make informed choices about their own council tax and public services in their areas. Nevertheless, we have reserve powers to protect local people from excessive council tax increases.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect to introduce legislation consequent upon the proposal in the Green Paper

We will shortly be issuing a White Paper on local government which will set out our decisions on the Green Paper's proposals, including that for rate relief for small businesses. The timing of any subsequent legislation would depend on the availability of parliamentary time.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action is being taken or planned to prevent vehicles travelling along motorways or similar roads from crashing onto railway lines. [HL1082]

The standards for barrier provision on motorways and all-purpose trunk roads are set out in The Design Manual for Roads and Bridges which is produced by the Highways Agency. In March this year the Deputy Prime Minister asked the Highways Agency to review its standards for nearside safety barriers and that work is taking place.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether recent announcements about delays in upgrading the track on the West Coast Main Line represent any dilution of their long-term commitment to the West Coast Main Line being an integral core component of the United Kingdom rail network. [HL1091]

The Government remain committed to providing a revitalised rail network and the West Coast Main Line upgrade is an integral part of that commitment. It is clear from our discussions with the Strategic Rail Authority, the Railway Administrator and Virgin that the project is facing problems in terms of cost increases and uncertainty about the timetable for delivery. Railtrack and Virgin have presented a number of options for taking the project forward.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans there are to ensure that the chapel and the murals in the front hall of the Middlesex Hospital are preserved when the hospital buildings are permanently vacated. [HL1037]

The trust's art and heritage committee, with the assistance of the Slade School of Fine Arts, is considering how best to use the murals in the front hall of the Middlesex in the context of the new hospital. Moving them to a new location will not present a technical problem. The most appropriate setting and presentation is being considered by the committee.The chapel at the Middlesex Hospital is a Grade 2 listed building and as such will be preserved on the site. This is a matter for the London Borough of Westminster, as the relevant planning authority.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What guidance has been issued to hospitals and clinics offering abortion services on advising their patients of the link between induced abortion and breast cancer. [HL1138]

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' evidence-based guideline The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion considered this issue and decided that the evidence was inconclusive. The college issued the guideline to its fellows and members in March 2000 and it can also be bought from its bookshop.As there is no scientific consensus on the possible association wth breast cancer, the Imperial Cancer Research Fund is co-ordinating research on this topic and hopes the conclusions will be available next year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Tourism Initiative Group has presented its report to Ministers; and, if so, what is their response. [HL903]

In July, the Secretary of State asked the English Tourism Council (ETC) to consult senior tourism industry leaders and propose a clear programme for modernising and restructuring the industry which the Department for Culture, Media and Sport could then consider as a basis for entering into partnership and investing in reform. The ETC then set up the Tourism Initiative Group to take this work forward and sent its report to the department on 10 September.The Tourism Initiative Group's report was part of an ongoing process to push ahead with the modernisation of the tourism sector. This report was discussed when my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, together with my honourable friend the Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting, met leading figures from the tourism industry on 10 and 11 October at Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire. This meeting was convened to discuss the immediate difficulties facing the industry in the wake of the foot and mouth outbreak and the terrorist attacks of 11 September but also to agree the necessary programme for long-term strategic reform of the industry to achieve more consistent high standards and better value for money.The main conclusions for action from the meeting include the urgent need for tourism bodies to review their programmes so as best to meet the needs of the current difficulties; the importance of acting in the new spirit of partnership between industry and government; the creation of the CBI chaired voice for tourism, the Tourism Alliance; the need to focus public sector resources on improving co-ordination of marketing, rationalising tourism data collection so that it is more useful, improving the quality of product, strengthening service through improved training and skills and developing better tourist information, including through the use of the Internet. The outcomes of the meeting build on the Government's strategy for tourism, Tomorrow's Tourism, and the work commissioned from the Tourism Initiative Group.The following table sets these conclusions out in more detail.TOURISM INDUSTRY SEMINAR—OUTCOMES

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will announce the outcome of the review of the Treasure Act 1996. [HL1180]

The Report on the Operation of the Treasure Act 1996: Review and Recommendations is being published today and I am arranging for copies to be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they share the view of the Justice Minister of the Republic of Ireland that we are moving inexorably towards a common definition of a terrorist act; and whether in their view punishment beatings and enforced exile carried out by supporters of Sinn Fein-IRA constitute terrorist acts. [HL921]

The interpretation of terrorism in the United Kingdom is placed within an international context and is contained in Part I, Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which received Royal Assent on 20 July 2000 and came into force on 19 February 2001.Under the Terrorism Act 2000 paramilitary beatings and enforced exile can be interpreted as terrorist acts. The Government remain utterly and unequivocally opposed to any such acts from whatever quarter they come.

asked Her Majesty's Government:If they will announce the full composition of the United Kingdom Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Assembly of Western European Union. [HL1220]

The United Kingdom Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Western European Union is as follows:TERRY DAVIS ESQ MP(LEADER)

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they intend to take to remove general restrictions as to nationality which apply to civil employment under the crown. [HL1008]

The Government are keen to open up civil employment under the crown regardless of nationality, while reserving the right, enjoyed by all EC member states, to reserve posts for their own nationals where strictly necessary. Although it has not been possible to secure a slot in the legislative programme to address civil employment under the crown generally, the Police Bill contains a provision which will enable a person of any nationality who is living in the UK free of conditions and who meets the required standards to be appointed to the office of constable.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What lessons they have learnt from the experiences of a unified single Equalities Commission in Northern Ireland; and whether there are any benefits for the remainder of the United Kingdom in following that route. [HL1041]

We are learning from the experience in Northern Ireland of creating a unified single Equality Commission. It covers a range of practical and financial matters, as well as issues relating to the functions, structure, balance, focus and accountability of the commission. Further lessons will no doubt be learnt as the commission beds down. Equality and human rights issues, including the setting up of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, were key factors in the Good Friday Agreement. The situation in Northern Ireland is unique. However, we are continuing to watch developments there so that we can consider whether, and, if so, the extent to which, lessons learnt might be applied throughout the rest of the UK.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they intend to simplify anti-discrimination legislation and bring forward a single Equalities Bill, as is the case in Northern Ireland. [HL1042]

The Government's priority is to achieve coherence and, where desirable and appropriate, consistency between the different anti-discrimination statutes in Great Britain. We also need to ensure we effectively meet our European obligations. Our actions will be focused on the steps necessary to provide individuals, business and other organisations with a clear understanding of their respective rights and responsibilities under these laws. There are a number of options for achieving this. We intend to issue a consultation document setting out our plans on equality legislation within the next three months.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the position of talks regarding the future of Gibraltar. [HL949]

As previously announced, the Government resumed talks under the Brussels Process in July. We are aiming to build a better future for Gibraltar and firmly believe this represents the best way forward. A further ministerial meeting under the Brussels Process is planned for 20 November. Both we and the Spanish Government hope that the Chief Minister of Gibraltar will participate in this meeting. The Government stand by their commitment to the people of Gibraltar as set out in the Preamble to the 1969 Gibraltar Constitution.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether British residents in Gibraltar will have the right to vote in the next election at the European Parliament. [HL1053]

Her Majesty's Government are actively working to ensure Gibraltar's enfranchisement in time for the 2004 elections to the European Parliament. We unequivocally accept the obligation to give effect to the judgment of the ECHR and are continuing our efforts to this end.