asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether current trends will mean that the 1995 United Nations Social Summit target of free universal education for all children by 2015 will be achieved; if not, by how big a gap it will be missed; and what action they are taking to correct any inadquate trends. [HL1387]

There are widely different levels of progress against the millennium development goal of achieving universal primary education (UPE) by 2015. In sub-Saharan Africa an additional 88 million children will need to be enrolled in school between 1997 and 2015. This requires a threefold improvement in the rate of expansion achieved from 1990–97. If the current rate of enrolment increase were to be maintained, less than half of the 43 countries would achieve even a gross enrolment rate of 100 per cent by 2015. Ten times the previous rate of increase will be needed in countries such as Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia and Somalia. In South and West Asia it is estimated that an additional 40 million children will need to be enrolled to achieve the UPE target and that this will require the same pace of enrolment increase that was achieved from 1990 to 1997.Achieving UPE requires reform and action at the country level. The international community committed itself in the Dakar Framework for Action that "no countries seriously committed to education for all will he thwarted in their achievement of this goal by a lack of resources". At the Education for All High-Level Group meeting convened by UNESCO's Director-General in Paris last month, the Secretary of State for International Development called for change in national and international efforts to achieve UPE by 2015. She presented DFID's paper

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many police, and from how many forces, were involved in the recent hostage situation which culminated in the temporary closure of part of the M4 on 20 to 21 October; and at what cost. [HL917]

The hostage situation was a complex operation undertaken at extremely short notice. The Chief Constable of Wiltshire has informed me that the force will be holding a debriefing meeting on 18 December to review the operation. When that meeting has taken place the numbers of officers involved in the situation, from how many forces and the cost will be known. I will write to the noble Lord when the information is available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the question asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 19 November (HL Deb. col. 978), how they define the crime of "xenophobia" as listed in Article 2 of the proposed European Union arrest warrant directive. [HL1518]

The term "racism and xenophobia" as listed in Article 2 of the framework decision on the European arrest warrant is a generic description. It is a decision for the issuing state as to how it frames the offence under its national law when it makes a request under a European arrest warrant.If the United Kingdom were making an extradition request for offences under the heading of "racism and xenophobia", we would do so in terms of our law on incitement to racial hatred, racially aggravated offences and racial discrimination under the Race Relations Act, where a sentence of at least 12 months applied. All of these offences are drafted in terms of behaviour directed against members of a racial group. A racial group is defined as a group of persons by reference to colour, race, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origins. In that sense our existing race hate laws cover hatred motivated by xenophobia.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many persons have been detained and questioned under the Terrorism Act 2000 (a) since 11 September and (b) in the year before that date; and what were the outcomes in terms of releases, prosecutions, convictions and sentences. [HL1563]

There have been a total of 53 arrests under the Terrorism Act 2000 since 11 September. In the year previous there were 43 arrests under terrorist legislation (Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 prior to 19 February and Terrorism Act 2000 post this date). These can be broken down to the following results:

	Since 11 Sept	Sept 2000— Sept 2001
Charged with terrorist related offences	6	16
Undergoing extradition proceedings	1	0
Charged with other criminal offences	3	2
Bailed for further enquiries into criminal matters	5	4
Released into custody of HM Immigration Service	14	0
Released without charge	24	21
Total	53	43

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in the event of the district tier of criminal courts being created as recommended by Lord Justice Auld, measures would be introduced to reimburse magistrates for lost earnings to enable as wide a cross section of justices as possible to hear cases. [HL1348]

Justices may already claim some compensation for loss of earnings. If the Government accept Lord Justice Auld's recommendation for a district division, it is not clear that a different kind of allowance would be needed. No decision will be taken on the recommendation for a district division until after the end of the period for public comment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the average cost of allowances and any other payments made to (a) a juror and (b) a district judge in the last financial year for which figures are available. [HL1349]

Jurors can claim financial loss allowance, travel and subsistence, within specified maxima, for the time they spend at court. The payments made will vary according to the personal circumstances of each individual. There is no information available on the number of people who actually serve on juries each year and so it is not possible to produce an average figure.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the Lord Chancellor intends to report to Parliament his proposals for bringing fully into force those provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which are not yet in force. [HL1747]

I have today laid my Report on the Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 before both Houses. Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked. Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have any proposals to amend the Lord Chancellor's Department departmental expenditure limit and running costs limits for 2001–02. [HL1748]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Request for Resources 1, the Lord Chancellor's Department departmental expenditure limit for 2001–02 will be increased by £22,034,000 from £2,732,900,000 to £2,754,934,000. The increase is the net effect of take up of end year flexibility entitlement of:£9,000,000 in respect of Capital Modernisation Fund; £1,031,000 in respect of DEL capital expenditure; £1,355,000 in respect of an award from the Invest to Modernise Fund; £408,000 in respect of the Invest to Save Budget; awards from the Capital Modernisation Fund totalling £1,888,000 in respect of new projects and £1,174,000 from the Invest to Modernise Fund; transfers in respect of transfers of business from the Home Office in the sum of £614,000; from the Department for Work and Pensions in the sum of £20,000; from the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in the sum of £100,000 and from the Ministry of Defence in the sum of £176,000. Transfers of business arising from the machinery of government changes of £406,000 from the Cabinet Office and £5,862,000 from the Home Office are also included in this supplementary estimate.The administration cost limit for the Lord Chancellor's Department Request for Resources 1 will be increased by £5,344,000 from £612,786,000 to £618,130,000. The increase is caused by take up of end year flexibility entitlement of £1,355,000; an award of £1,174,000 from the Invest to Modernise Fund; transfers in respect of transfers of business from the Home Office in the sum of £480,000; from the Ministry of Defence in the sum of £176,000; from the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in the sum of £100,000 and to the Department for Work and Pensions in the sum of £200,000. Transfers of business arising from the machinery of government changes of £406,000 from the Cabinet Office and £1,853,000 from the Home Office are also included in this supplementary estimate.The increases will be offset by transfers from the departmental expenditure limits of the Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, and the Ministry of Defence, take up of end year flexibility entitlement, an award from the Invest to Modernise Fund and awards from the Capital Modernisation Fund and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they intend to publish the Court Service annual report for 2000–01. [HL1749]

The Court Service annual report for 2000–01 has been published today and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:By what amount the various categories of unregulated train fares have increased between Manchester and London since the railway was privatised, comparing them with the retail prices index. [HL1405]

Fares regulation in franchise agreements is based on the prices of British Rail fares in the summer of 1995, the year when the first franchises were let. The table below shows the price of non-regulated fares between Manchester and London in 1995 against present prices. Virgin Trains which operates services from Manchester to London, did not begin running the franchise until March 1997. Accumulative RPI since June 1995 is 20.2 per cent.

Fare	June 1995	June 2001	% Increase
First Class
Open (Single)	£67.00	£126.00	88%
First Class
Open (Return)	£134.00	£252.00	88%
Standard
Open (Single)	£50.00	£92.50	85%
Standard
Open (Return)	£96.00	£164.00	71%
Super Saver
(Single)*	£32.00	£46.00	44%
Super Saver
(Return)*	£33.00	£47.00	42%
*routeing has changed from "any reasonable" to "via Chesterfield".

A number of other non-regulated fares have been introduced in the intervening period, the cheapest of which allows return travel for £20. Regulated fares have been pegged to RP1–1 per cent since January 1999.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Given the past experience of railways in Britain, what is their estimate of the number of people required for, and the cost of, the operation of the performance regime proposed for London Underground. [HL1462]

It is for London Underground to determine the appropriate number of staff to operate the performance regime for the Tube modernisation contracts and to set the relevant budgets.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there will have to be a real performance improvement on London Underground before the three infracos make any money from the performance regimes being considered for the system; and [HL1463]Whether profits of the three infracos proposed for London Underground will be dependent upon improved performance on the Underground. [HL1464]

The performance regime for the Government's Tube modernisation plans has been carefully designed to ensure that the private sector infrastructure companies are incentivised to deliver significant improvements in performance. Bidders for the Tube modernisation contracts have responded to this by targeting real and sustained improvements, with plans to invest at least £13 billion in the Tube over the first 15 years. If the private sector infrastructure companies fail to meet the levels of performance they are targeting, this will have a direct impact on the payments they receive from London Underground. Shareholders will receive the financial return they expect only if we receive the performance improvements we expect.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many staff are employed at the Best Value Inspection Service audit commission nationally and in its office in the northern region based at Killingbeck, Leeds. [HL1497]

The Best Value Inspection Service employs 493 staff nationally; 104 of these staff are based in the northern region.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the total cost of the Best Value Inspection Service audit commission nationally and in its northern region office based at Killingbeck, Leeds. [HL1498]

The Best Value Inspection Service costs for November 2001 to October 2002 are estimated at £44 million; of this £7.8 million is the estimated cost for the northern region during this period.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Building Regulations for England and Wales offer adequate protection from the structural collapse of buildings caused by uncontrolled fires. [HL1559]

The Building Regulations require that a building shall be designed and constructed so that in the event of fire its stability will be maintained for a reasonable period.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Building Regulations for England and Wales fully comply with all parts of Essential Requirement 2 (Safety in Case of Fire) contained in Annex 1 to the Construction Products Directive (Council Directive 89/106/EEC). [HL1560]

The Building Regulations take into account all aspects of Essential Requirement 2, except that they do not address the issue of smoke generation from products used within buildings. This is because fire safety is achieved through other means such as the installation of fire resisting construction to protect escape routes from smoke and fire. The Construction Products Directive does not require individual member states to regulate for all of the aspects contained within the essential requirements.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to assess the results of the concrete frame fire test conducted by the Building Research Establishment on 26 September at Cardington; and whether they will ensure that these results are made public. [HL1561]

This particular fire test was privately funded and was not commissioned by the Government. Although my department has been interested to see the results of the test and will consider the implications, as it was not involved in the project we cannot insist on involvement with the assessment of results or that the results be made public.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much the Health and Safety Executive farm awareness days will cost per attendee; and who will pay for each attendance at such an event. [HL1564]

The Health and Safety Executive's farm (safety) awareness days are planned to be attended by 300 to 400 farmers. Actual attendance varies but is normally between these figures. The cost of running each event is about £8.500. The cost per attendee, therefore, varies from approximately £21 to £28.The cost of these events is largely met by the Health and Safety Executive but each includes a £500 sponsorship contribution from the insurance company, National Farmers Union Mutual.It is intended that these events will continue into 2002–03.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the United Kingdom will face fines from 2010 onwards if it fails to comply with the European Union laws regarding the recycling of household waste; and whether they will introduce measures to increase the collection of recyclable waste on the doorstep. [HL1556]

The EC Landfill Directive requires the United Kingdom, by 2010, to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill to 75 per cent of the total amount of biodegradable municipal waste produced in 1995, and then to 50 per cent by 2013 and 35 per cent by 2020. Failure to meet the target will place the UK in breach of the directive. However, any sanctions to be taken in the case of a failure to meet the target would be a matter for the European Commission.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 22 May 2000

The Countryside Agency has recently advertised in the European Journal for expressions of interest in a contract to monitor the benefits and impacts of access on the way people use the countryside for recreation, rural economies (and the activities that contribute to them) and the environment.In addition, English Nature (EN) set up a workshop earlier this year in which leading authorities on access-related disturbance have identified core priorities for further research and monitoring. The Access Scientific Research and Monitoring Group, comprising representatives from EN, the agency, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Countryside Council for Wales, the Game Conservancy Trust and others, are co-ordinating research and monitoring priorities identified in the workshop. The group has already commissioned work on impacts on woodlarks and nightjars and on rare reptiles and is now considering project proposals for impacts on a wide range of other species associated with access land.The department and other bodies with functions under Part I of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 will have regard to the findings of these studies in implementing the provisions of the Act.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman on 20 February

Of the Countryside Stewardship claims that were outstanding at the date of the previous written answer, there are 26 which are still partly or wholly unpaid. This represents around 0.3 per cent both by number and by value of all claims received.We would normally aim to have paid all the outstanding claims within two months of receipt. However, these 26 claims required further investigation, such as field inspections, prior to payment and in some cases these were delayed for biosecurity reasons. All claimants have been kept informed about the reasons for the delay.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will report on the National Forest Company's progress in creating a national forest in the East Midlands. [HL1695]

We have arranged for copies of the National Forest Company's annual report and its accounts for 2000–01 to be placed in the House Libraries.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect the Policy Commission on Food and Farming to report. [HL1698]

The independent policy commission was tasked in the summer with reporting to the Government by the end of this year. The commission is making good progress and will complete the bulk of its work in that timetable but it will now deliver its final report by the end of January 2002.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish the reports of audits they commissioned into the sheep brain pool experiment at the Institute for Animal Health. [HL1699]

We have now received the reports of the two independent auditors, the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) and Risk Solutions. We intend to publish them, along with a response from the Institute of Animal Health to the issues raised in the audits, at 9.30 a.m. tomorrow (Friday 30 November) and will make the documents available to right honourable and honourable Members through the Vote Office and Libraries.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their estimate of the contribution made to the United Kingdom economy by business tourism; and what percentage this sum represents as a proportion of all tourism income in the United Kingdom. [HL1452]

According to estimates by the Business Tourism Partnership, business tourism is worth some £15 billion per year, of which £11 billion comes from domestic tourism and £4 billion from inbound visitors. This represents 20 per cent of tourism expenditure in the UK.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their estimate of the number of people employed directly and indirectly by the business tourism sector. [HL1453]

The Business Tourism Partnership has estimated that business tourism employs some 530,000 people directly and indirectly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the system of stakeholder pensions is coming into operation in the way in which the Government had intended it should. [HL748]

The statutory provisions for stakeholder pensions have been introduced as planned. Stakeholder pensions have been on sale since April of this year and on 8 October the requirement for employers to provide their staff with workplace access to a stakeholder pension scheme came into effect.It is too early to draw detailed conclusions about trends, but early figures show that over 400,000 stakeholder pensions have been taken out in the first six months, which is very encouraging.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the answer by Baroness Hollis of Heigham on 23 October (HL Deb, col. 913), which year were the 50 people she referred to not receiving the winter fuel payments to which they were entitled. [HL1017]

These claims were in relation to winter 2000. The number of claims outstanding for that winter is now 33.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to bring the state pension in the United Kingdom to the same levels as those in other countries in the European Union. [HL1513]

Unlike many member states where there is little private provision, the United Kingdom's pension system is a partnership between the state and the private sector. This ensures both sustainable public finances and sustainable social protection systems. The basic state pension provides the foundation for income in retirement. It has always been the case that people were expected to build up a second pension or other savings on top of their basic state pension and the Government encourage them to do so where this is appropriate. People have been retiring with increasingly good company or other private pensions, and as a result pensioner incomes have risen faster than the incomes of people at work.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there are any proposals to amend the Food Standards Agency departmental expenditure limit (DEL) and administration costs limit for 2001–02. [HL1694]

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate for the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the overall resource departmental expenditure limit for 2001–02 will be increased by £10,911,000 (of which £4,274,000 is administrations costs) from £111,243,000 to £122,154,000.The increase is the net effect of the addition of the FSA's end year flexibility (EYF) entitlement. Delays in appointing external board members meant that the overall FSA strategy, and hence certain projects, were also delayed. This amounts to £6,637,000 programme and £2,867,000 administration costs. Additionally, transfers from Scotland (£783,000) and Wales (£609,000) are needed to cover the estimated fall in Meat Hygiene Service income in these countries resulting from the revised charging methodology recommended in the Maclean report. A transfer of £15,000 administration costs from the Department of Health is needed as contribution towards the cost of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition. Finally, the FSA's EYF capital entitlement needs to be incorporated. The move of the FSA to a new office in central London was later than anticipated, caused by building delays. This has resulted in the need to incorporate £433,000 EYF capital expenditure.As a result of these changes, the gross administration cost limit for the FSA has increased by £4,274,000 from £48,908,000 to £53,182,000.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What has been the outcome of the policy review on patient notification exercises relating to HIV infected healthcare workers. [HLI697]

We have recently accepted advice from the Expert Advisory Group on Aids (EAGA) and the United Kingdom Advisory Panel for Health Care Workers infected with Blood-borne Viruses (UKAP). They advise that it is no longer necessary to notify every single patient who has undergone an exposure prone procedure¹ by an HIV infected healthcare worker because of the low risk of transmission and the anxiety caused to large numbers of patients.In future, the need for and extent of a patient notification exercise will depend on the level of risk of exposure. This may mean that in some instances there is no patient notification exercise or it is limited in its scope. Until now, all patients who have undergone exposure prone procedures have been notified regardless of their level of risk. EAGA and UKAP are in the process of developing these critiera and we will be issuing operational guidance to the National Health Service in the new year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to further e-democracy. [HL1746]

The Prime Minister has asked the President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons to chair a new Cabinet Committee on e-democracy. The composition and terms of reference of the new committee are:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What support is being given by the Department for Education and Skills for the national qualification for the events industry. [HL1455]

Currently the Department for Education and Skills works with and supports the Travel, Tourism Services and Events National Training Organisation (TTENTO), whose remit includes the development and promotion of national and Scottish vocational qualifications for the events industry.We hope that the events industry will, along with others in the sector, play a full part in the development of a sector skills council (SSC), SSCs will be influential employer-led bodies with a strategic responsibility to identify and tackle priority skills, productivity and employability issues for sectors they represent.

asked Her Majesty's Government:For each education action zone, what has been the private sector contribution in (a) cash and (b) kind in each year since they were introduced. [HL1445]

The amount of private sector contributions in (a) cash and (b) kind in each year since they were introduced, for each education action zone (EAZ), is in the attached table, along with each zone's start date.