asked Her Majesty's Government:What was discussed at the Human Rights Dialogue held between the United Kingdom and China in November. [HL2063]

The seventh round of the UK-China Human Rights dialogue took place in London on 19–21 November.We discussed a wide range of human rights concerns including: Tibet and Xinjiang; freedoms of expression, religion and association; Falun Gong; the abuse of psychiatry; criminal justice issues, including the death penalty, torture and re-education through labour; North Korean refugees; co-operation with UN human rights mechanisms, including visits by special rapporteurs; the ratification of the two Human Rights Covenants and International Labour Organisation Conventions; and the blocking of the BBC World Service website and Mandarin service. We also discussed the programmes of practical co-operation between the UK and China to promote human rights and the rule of law.We raised 22 individual cases of concern.As well as the formal talks, we organised two sessions involving outside experts to discuss the role of the media and on the administration of criminal justice. We also arranged for the Chinese delegation to visit the BBC World Service and the Central Criminal Court.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to open an embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. [HL2064]

We will open an embassy headed by a charge d'affaires on 20 December 2001. Until then our ambassador in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) will remain cross-accredited to Tajikistan.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the comment by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 3 December (HL Deb, col. 583) that "I cannot claim … to know exactly what was said by every person who took part in the negotiations" at the Doha meeting of the World Trade Organisation, whether there are any procedures to write minutes of all meetings, formal and informal, between officials taking part in discussions and negotiations at conferences where the United Kingdom is represented; and whether such minutes are available to responsible Ministers who are not personally present. [HL1896]

There are no fixed procedures to write minutes of informal meetings where the UK is represented.The UK is represented by the European Commission in its dealings with the WTO. At Doha, oral feedback was provided to Ministers on meetings at which the UK was not present.Ministers of other relevant departments who are not present at meetings are kept informed of developments and outcomes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they plan to launch their consultation exercise on the size of the Scottish Parliament. [HL2065]

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Scotland has today issued the document The size of the Scottish Parliament—a consultation. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and are being sent to all MPs representing Scottish constituencies and Members of the Scottish Parliament. Views are sought on the case for retaining or ending the linking of Westminster and Holyrood constituency boundaries as provided in the Scotland Act 1998, in the light of the experience now gained of the Scottish Parliament. Responses are invited by 29 March 2002.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why the recent Treasury Book was published by Palgrave instead of the normal government publisher. [HL2024]

Reforming Britain's Economic and Financial Policy was published commercially as an economics textbook by Palgrave, the academic publishing division of Macmillan. The decision to use a commercial publisher was taken in order to limit financial risk to the Treasury and to utilise Palgrave's marketing experience and distribution networks. Palgrave was chosen through a competitive tender.

asked the Chairman of Committees:Whether the Treasury Book will be available to Members in the Printed Paper Office in the normal way. [HL2025]

Yes. The Printed Paper Office has ordered a number of copies, and copies have already been supplied to those Members who have asked for them. Further copies will be ordered as necessary. Delivery time is a day or two longer than for documents published by The Stationery Office.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many prosecutions had been laid, at the latest convenient date, under Sections 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 18 respectively of the Terrorism Act 2000. [HL2045]

As at 17 December 2001, three cases with four defendants. In cases 2 and 3 there are also other charges. The details of the cases concerned are:

asked the Chairman of Committees:What proportion of waste from the Houses of Parliament is recycled, particularly:

The information which the noble Baroness seeks is not collected in exactly these terms. All waste from the Parliamentary Estate is either recycled or recovered. Some 50 per cent of the total is recycled, including all glass, oil, wood and scrap metal (including steel cans). Some 75 tonnes of waste paper were recycled in the last financial year, and, as part of an effort to increase this figure, collecting bins for recyclable waste paper will shortly be made available at all photocopying points. Other waste (including compostable material) is recovered. It is incinerated and the heat used to generate electricity. The ash residue left after incineration is used as building or road sub-base material.

asked the Leader of the House:What progress has been made by the group he established in July to consider working practices of the House. [HL2062]

The group has had seven meetings and is putting together a package of proposals to make the House more effective. The group has decided to circulate a questionnaire to every Member of the House soon after Christmas in order to obtain a range of opinions on a number of issues. The group hopes to complete its work as quickly as possible thereafter.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 5 December (HL Deb, col. 830), whether they consider that the 32 County Sovereignty Movement should be registered with the Electoral Commission. [HL1952]

Political organisations are only required to apply to be added to the Register of Political Parties compiled by the Electoral Commission if they intend to put up candidates at a relevant election. These include parliamentary elections; elections to the European Parliament; elections to the Scottish Parliament; elections to the National Assembly for Wales; elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly; local government elections, and local elections in Northern Ireland.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Ordnance Survey maps will be published in future with contour lines marked in metre numbers; and, if so, whether all the contour lines will have to be redrawn. [HL2009]

Contour lines, marked in metre numbers, appear on nearly all of Ordnance Survey's small-scale products with the one exception of mapping drawn at 1:250 000 scale which currently shows contour lines marked in imperial measurements in line with customer requirements.There are plans to show contour lines marked in metric on 1:250 000 scale mapping at a later date.I can confirm that this will not involve the redrawing of the contour lines.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in relation to the future use of the Millennium Dome. [HL2098]

Meridian Delta Limited have today been appointed exclusive partners with English Partnerships for the regeneration of the Greenwich Peninsula and to take over ownership of the Millennium Dome through a 999 year lease.Once legally concluded the deal will provide a 20,000 seat arena inside the Dome, surrounded by an urban entertainment complex. The total investment in and around the Dome will be £200 million. The deal also provides for the regeneration of the Greenwich Peninsula through a joint venture between EP and MDL which, over its 20-year lifetime, will provide a total investment of around £4 billion, at least 5,000 new homes and an estimated 20,000 full time jobs.Meridian Delta Limited is a consortium that includes Lend Lease (developers of the Sydney Olympic Village and the Bluewater shopping centre) Quintain Estates and Development and Anschutz Entertainment Group, the second largest entertainment company in the world.English Partnerships expects to conclude a legally binding contract with MDL by the end of May 2002, but it is intended that it will provide both a guaranteed minimum price for the land that English Partnerships is putting into the joint venture and a substantial share of the overall remaining profits of the joint venture.The precise amount to be received by EP over the lifetime of the deal depends on the final details of the deal and the amount of development ultimately undertaken.However, it will amount to several hundred million pounds and is structured in such a way that is likely to generate better value for the public sector than could have been achieved through either the deals with Nomura or Legacy. The deal also provideds for MDL to take on all of the risks associated with operating and maintaining the Dome. The public sector's only remaining interest will be to receive a share of profits once they exceed a threshold, still to be determined.We welcome the fact that the National Audit Office is scrutinising the sale process and will report to Parliament. We have kept the NAO informed throughout and will continue to do so.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When a Liquidator will be appointed for the New Millennium Experience Company. [HL2099]

Following the orderly winding-down of operations by the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC), the company's directors today took steps to commence a members voluntary liquidation and I, as NMEC's sole shareholder, have formally appointed Richard Heis and Stephen Treharne, two partners of KPMG, as liquidators.NMEC's final annual report and financial statements for the period of 1 January 2001 to 18 December 2001 will be available tomorrow and I will be placing copies of the report in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What guidance they give to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority concerning the status of embryonic stem cells and their understanding of the point at which a human embryo ceases to be a human embryo and, for the purpose of regulation, can be regarded as stem cells; and what advice the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority gives to clinics on this matter. [HL1946]

It is the responsibility of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to consider each application for a research licence to extract stern cells from fertilised embryos on its individual merits. In doing so it will ensure that the application complies with the requirement of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 that research workers wishing to work on cells or groups of cells derived from an embryo should separate them out either chemically or physically from the embryo within 14 days of its creation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What financial provision can be made available for gender reassignment surgery in cases where such surgery has been advised by the specialist gender identity clinic at the Imperial College of Medicine but has been refused funding by the patient's home health authority. [HL1982]

There are a number of specialist centres for treating people with gender dysphoria in England, including the Charing Cross Hospital. Like all other services, decisions about whether gender reassignment surgery should be funded under the National Health Service are made by individual health authorities, who must take account of the wider picture in terms of local priorities and circumstances when determining how resources are spent. There should be no "blanket ban" on the provision of any service, and each case must be decided on its own merits. The health authority in which a person is resident is responsible for commissioning services for that individual.In the future, commissioning of these services will move to primary care trusts (PCT), and the responsible PCT will be the one with which the person is registered. A number of PCTs may work together to purchase specialised services, such as treatment for gender dysphoria, PCTs will also take account of resources and local priorities when deciding which services to commission.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 28 November (

The details of specific investments on information management and technology (IM&T) are contained in the health authority allocations circulars for the years 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03. The spend of the funds for 2000–01 were not specifically tracked. In 2001–02 £113 million was hypothecated for IM&T investment; of this £30 million was identified in spending plans. For 2001–02 an additional £50 million capital was made available. All of this was spent on IM&T targets.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish the reports and recommendations of the Health Pay Review Bodies. [HL2068]

We are responding on behalf of my right honourable friend the Prime Minister to the reports of the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (DDRB) and the Review Body on Nursing staff, Midwives, Health Visitors and Professions Allied to Medicine (NPRB), which were published on 17 December. We understand that a similar announcement was made by the Minister for Health and Community Care in Scotland, and the Minister for Health and Social Services in Wales. Copies of the reports are available in the Printed Paper Office and the Library. We are grateful to the chairman and members of both review bodies for their hard work.The pay recommendations of the two review bodies are being accepted in full and without staging.Nurses, midwives and health visitors are to get an across the board increase of 3.6 per cent. Some 45,000 of the lowest paid nursing support staff on grade A will benefit from a minimum cash uplift of £400 giving them pay rises of up to 4.3 per cent. Non-registered staff on grades A and B will also have access to an additional incremental point if they achieve national vocational qualifications.On call and standby payments increase by 50 per cent while psychiatric and regional secure unit allowances are inceased by 32 per cent. Other cash based allowances are increased by 3.6 per cent.London allowances will be increased by 3.6 per cent and the earnings related element will be consolidated into a new rate of £3,228 for all nursing staff working in inner London irrespective of their earnings.This year additional action has been targeted to support clinical leadership in the National Health Service. Staff undertaking matron roles will have access to an increased maximum salary up to £32,760. The lowest three incremental points on the nurse consultant scales will be deleted giving a new minimum rate of £33,940. Nurse consultants will potentially be able to earn up to £46,675.On top of these increases the extension of the geographic coverage of cost of living supplements from 1st April 2002 to a further six health authorities will result in an estimated 20,000 more qualified NPRB staff benefiting from additional increases worth between £400 and £600.The minimum starting pay of a newly qualified nurse will rise to £16,005. In inner London starting pay for a new nurse will be £19,873, including London weighting and the cost of living supplement.The NPRB has also recommended an across the board increase of 3.6 per cent for physiotherapists, radiographers and other allied health professionals within its remit. The lowest increment of the basic grade will be deleted with the assimilation arrangements for all existing basic grade staff. Starting pay for newly qualified staff will increase by 7.5 per cent on 1st April 2002 to £17,115 or £21,028 in London, inclusive of London weighting and the cost of living supplement. Cash based allowances are increased in line with awards made to nursing staff.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they intend to publish the fifth report to Parliament on the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme. [HL2069]

The fifth report to Parliament on the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) was published today. Copies have been placed in the Library.The PPRS: Fifth report to Parliament covers the operation of the 1999 scheme, which was introduced in October 1999. It explains the Government's objectives for the scheme, how the scheme is managed and operated, including pricing policy, and gives detailed consolidated information on company annual financial returns. The report also sets out the contribution made to the economy by the United Kingdom based pharmaceutical industry.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What permit conditions will apply when hunting with dogs resumes in counties which are free from foot and mouth disease. [HL2040]

On 15 November, my right honourable friend, the Minister of State for Rural Affairs (Mr Alun Michael), announced the Government's intention of relaxing the ban on hunting with dogs imposed in February 2001 to control foot and mouth disease, to allow hunting in foot and mouth disease free counties from 17 December under a temporary system of disease control permits. Interested parties were invited to comment on the proposed permit conditions by 7 December. As a result, a small number of changes and clarifications have been made to the permit conditions published on 15 November. I have placed copies of the final version of the permit conditions in the Library of the House. This material has also been published on the DEFRA foot and mouth disease website. Permits will be available from DEFRA animal health divisional offices from 17 December onwards to applicants who can demonstrate compliance with the disease control conditions required.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When Dr Iain Anderson's Lessons Learned Inquiry into the foot and mouth outbreak is to start. [HL2061]

Dr Iain Anderson's Lessons Learned Inquiry into the foot and mouth outbreak launched its framework document on 14 December, marking the formal start of this independent inquiry.The Prime Minister has confirmed that he expects all Ministers and civil servants to cooperate fully with the Inquiry.My right honourable friend the Secretary of Stale welcomes the start of the Lessons Learned Inquiry. This inquiry, and the Royal Society's independent scientific review, will be rigorous investigations of all the relevant scientific and policy issues and will enable us to establish the best way forward. We are contributing fully to the independent inquiry process.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the restrictions on the movement of livestock will be further relaxed. [HL2070]

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State welcomes the fact that we have not had a confirmed case of foot and mouth disease since the end of September and that the programme of testing has enabled us to reduce the risk status of all the counties affected, so considerably easing the movement of livestock within the present control regime. We hope that it will not be long before the country can, with reasonable confidence, be regarded as free of disease. We still need to maintain precautions against the recurrence of the disease. This will need to be recognised in an interim animal movement regime which, assuming all continues to go well, we hope to introduce in mid-February. The department has been discussing the terms of such a regime with the livestock industry over recent weeks. I plan to publish tomorrow the general principles of such a regime.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any additional key performance indicators have been agreed for the Public Guardianship Office. [HL2067]

Two additional key performance indicators for the Public Guardianship Office have been agreed as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will give Parliament more specific information about the consideration given to human rights issues raised by government Bills. [HL2078]

Yes. The Government have agreed changes to the relevant guidance so that the explanatory notes of all government Bills first introduced after 1 January 2002 will draw attention to the main convention issues raised by a Bill. I hope that this will further assist Parliament in its debates on these matters.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How the current state of participation in higher education compares with the 50 per cent target for 2010; and how the figure for participation is calculated. [HL1882]

In 1999–2000 around 40 per cent of 18–30 year olds were participating in higher education. This definition includes all courses of one year or more leading to a qualification. This definition will form the basis for calculating participation. Further work is being undertaken by the QCA to asssess whether some professional qualifications, in areas like nursing, the law, or management, should be incorporated into the baseline even though the period of study for these qualifications may be less than one year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their latest estimate of the cost to the tourism industry of the foot-and-mouth outbreak. [HL1846]

The estimated loss to the tourism industry as a result of foot and mouth disease is estimated to be between £2.9 billion and £3.6 billion in the months from March to October 2001.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In what circumstances they consider that the purchase of land is a suitable use of lottery funding; and, if so, which of the lottery's purposes they think this donation achieved. [HL1876]

The Government would consider it suitable for the New Opportunities Fund to provide funds for the purchase of land where this was required to meet the objectives of its programmes, all of which are subject to public consultation. This particular grant was made in pursuance of the New Opportunities Fund's aim to support the environment good cause.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, when they next introduce legislation on immigration and asylum, they will consolidate the existing legislation in the interests of reasonable legal certainty. [HL1967]

The Government recognise the case for consolidating the Acts relating to immigration and asylum. In his Statement of 29 October, my right honourable friend the Home Secretary set out a comprehensive package of reform of the immigration and asylum process, some of which will need to be taken forward by new legislation. But it would not be practicable to consolidate these Acts before this reform package has been enacted. The Law Commissions have a responsibility for consolidation, and the Government will consult them about a consolidation. By the time the reform package is enacted, the commissions to be consulted may include the Northern Ireland Law Commission proposed to be established by the draft Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill. The draft Bill was published on 12 November of this year. The Government also intend to introduce a consolidated version of the immigration rules after the next set of legislation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they received any representations from the Government of the Irish Republic to ensure that the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Bill did not include measures against republican terrorism. [HL1802]

No.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many asylum seekers are currently residing in National Asylum Support Service funded accommodation in, respectively, each of the "clusters" under the dispersal programme, London, and other locations. [HL2029]

The table shows the number of asylum seekers (including dependants) supported in NASS accommodation in each cluster area as at the end of September 2001.