asked Her Majesty's Government:When they intend to publish a consultation paper on proposals to amend the law on payments to witnesses and pre-trial publicity. [HL3146]

I have today issued a consultation paper seeking views on the detail of the legislation the Government intend to introduce to outlaw payments to witnesses. The legislation proposed is that it should be a criminal offence to make, or agree to make, or to receive, a payment to a witness or potential witness in criminal proceedings for his or her story with a view to publication.Also, following the abandonment of the first trial of

asked Her Majesty's Government:What grants they intend to make towards marriage and relationship support in the financial year 2002–2003. [HL3187]

During the next financial year (2002–2003), my department will spend £5 million on marriage and relationship support, an increase of £0.5 million on the funding for the financial year 2001–2002.This is the first financial year in which the marriage and relationship support fund has been allocated using the new grant programme launched in September 2001. The new programme introduced openly published criteria, which have been used to evaluate all applications received for this round of allocations. The aim of the department is that the marriage and relationship support grant should be targeted on improving existing service delivery, as well as developing research, innovative projects and the dissemination of better links and good practice among a wider and more diverse range of service providers than in previous years.The funding has been allocated as set out in the tables below:

Core Funding	Funding Allocated (£)
Parentline Plus	62,000
Relate	2,104,000
Marriage Care	300,000
Family Welfare Association	30,000
One Plus One	242,000
London Marriage Guidance Council	103,000
Tavistock Marital Studies Institute	464,000
Jewish Marriage Council	44,000
Asian Family Counselling Service	50,000
2as 1	150,000
Totnes Family Partnership	58,000
Somerset Family Partnership	50,000
Family Matters York	50,000
The Lesbian and Gay Foundation	48,000
Muslim Women's Helpline	20,000
The Salvation Army	40,000
Aquila Care Trust	88,000
Project for Advocacy, Counselling and Education	46,000
Basic For Life	34,000
The Cogwheel Trust	4,000
Poole Community Family Trust	50,000
CFP Guildford	40,000
Bristol Community Family Trust	50,000
Totals	4,139,000

Research & Development Funding	Project Title	Amount allocated (£)
University of Exeter, School of Psychology	Money management and marital commitment in new couples: An evaluation of the efficacy of the FOCCUS Inventory	43,000
Relate	Accessibility (follow-on bid)	32,000
Relate	Domestic Violence (follow-on bid)	40,000
Care For the Family	Asian Family Matters	19,000
Relate	Quality Assurance (follow-on bid)	30,000
2as 1	Development & Adaptation of Relate Training Material	66,000
London Marriage Guidance Council	Community Development	71,000
The Minster Centre	Aracas Project (domestic violence)	72,000
Tavistock Marital Studies Institute	Brief Psychotherapy	32,000
2as 1	Partnership project (Relate)—Awareness campaign to promote MARS to the Black African & Afro-Caribbean communities	120,000
Sussex Family Mediation Service	One Stop Shop	26,000
The Church of England	Marriage Preparation and Support in the South East	54,000
Brook in Birmingham	Counselling for Young couples	39,000
Marriage Care	Emotional Literacy:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What lottery funds were made available in 2000 and in 2001 to develop the sport of curling in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. [HL2923]

The lottery funds made available in the financial years 2000–01 and 2001–02 to the sport of curling in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland were:

	2000–01	2001–02
Sports Council for
Northern Ireland	£0	£0
Sports Council for
Wales	£0	£0
Sport England	£0	£0
sportscotland	£83,212	£263,243
UK Sport	£0	£0
Total	£83,212	£263,243

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 7 February

asked Her Majesty's Government:By what methods they are currently seeking information to estimate the number of front seat occupants of vehicles injured in Great Britain as a result of being hit by unbelted rear seat passengers; and when they expect that information to become available. [HL2930]

We have commissioned TRL Ltd to examine data in its fatal accident database (derived from police accident reports) and from the Cooperative Crash Injury Study to assess the number of front seat occupant deaths which could be attributed to a rear seat passenger not wearing a restraint. We have also asked them, as part of this work, to review the recently published Japanese study on this topic and to advise on its relevance to the British situation. A report is expected during May and I will write to my noble friend when we have it.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect to reach a conclusion on the raising of the existing

We have recently consulted local authorities and the bus industry on a proposal to increase substantially the de minimis limits. We are considering the responses to this before making final decisions and expect to bring forward regulations amending the limits shortly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect to reach a conclusion on the issue of extension to 10 years of the maximum duration of competitive tenders for local bus services. [HL2932]

We have recently consulted local authorities and the bus industry on increasing the maximum contract length for tendered bus service contracts to 10 years. We are now considering the scope for bringing forward this change in the light of the views expressed. Any changes in this regard would require an amendment to Section 90(1) of the 1985 Transport Act.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions's consultation on the future funding of the Lower Air Space Radar Service (LARS) has been completed; and how and when they intend to report on this matter. [HL2940]

The Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions issued a consultation letter to organisations representing airspace users on 16 August 2001. A workshop was held with key representative organisations on 9 January. The consultation process has been completed and the final report is currently in preparation. Copies will be placed in the Library of the House in due course.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the National On Route Centre at Swanwick currently has the technology to deal with Mode S transponders. [HL2941]

The surveillance dataprocessing systems within the Swanwick centre were designed with Mode S in mind; consequently the capabilities are present. The systems will be developed and modified, as necessary, to meet the requirements for the introduction of Mode S within en-route airspace in 2005.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When national private pilots licences (NPPLs) will be introduced; and whether introduction would require primary or secondary legislation. [HL2942]

An amendment to the Air Navigation Order 2000 to provide for the grant of national private pilot licences will be drafted shortly, with the intention of introducing the new licences by mid-summer 2002.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have made a £30 million contribution to the £60 million loan facility granted to National Air Traffic Services; and [HL2949]For how long the £60 million loan facility will enable National Air Traffic Services to continue its operations; and [HL2950]Whether the sufficiency of the £60 million loan facility to National Air Traffic Services (NATS) is dependent upon the lifting of the price cap imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority, as NATS' regulator; and [HL2951]When they agreed to make a £30 million contribution to the loan facility to National Air Traffic Services; when the negotiations commenced; and whether in the light of various newspaper reports of 20 February they will reconsider the reply by the Lord Filkin on 14 February (HL Deb, col. 1179) that "the noble Lord…should not believe everything that is written in the papers on this matter". [HL2952]

The terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September led to a downturn in air traffic, which has had a serious impact on NATS' revenues. Since that time, NATS' financial position has been regularly discussed by NATS, the Airline Group, the Government as the other main shareholder, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as regulator and the banks. All these parties are making a contribution to ensuring that NATS has a robust financial structure for the foreseeable future.The banks and government are being asked to make a contribution through the provision of short-term financial support, likely to be in the form of commercial loans. The terms of Airline Group's contribution are being discussed. Final decisions have not yet been taken.The loan would be intended to provide bridging finance until NATS' longer-term financial position becomes clearer. The longer-term position depends in part on the outcome of the CAA review of the price cap.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will take immediate steps to improve the 23 British roads which the 2002 European Road Assessment Programme zero rated. [HL2968]

The Government put a high priority on road safety and reducing casualties on our roads. The demanding targets they have set for casualty reduction by 2010 endorse this and are backed by the Road Safety Strategy published in March 2000. The strategy explained the Government's commitment to improve safety on all roads in Great Britain for all road users, and work has already started to deliver improvements in order to meet the 2010 casualty reduction targets.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to hold a public inquiry into the proposed A303 Stonehenge (Amesbury to Berwick Down) improvement scheme; if so, when it will be set up; and where it will be held. [HL3010]

The decision on the need for a public inquiry into the A303 Stonehenge improvement scheme will he taken in the light of the nature and weight of objections to the statutory proposals due to be published towards the end of this year. It is too early to set a date or venue for an inquiry, although the venue will be in the vicinity.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which company has the contract for litter cleaning on the A11 trunk road linking the M11 to the A14: when it was last cleaned up; whether they arc satisfied with the present cleanliness of this road; and, if not, what they propose to do about it. [HL3012]

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the sweeping and cleansing of trunk roads is the responsibility of the district, borough and unitary councils through which they pass.Two district councils are responsible for clearing litter on the section of the A11 linking the M11 with the A14: South Cambridgeshire District Council and East Cambridgeshire District Council.South Cambridgeshire District Council clears litter at lay-bys and interchanges on its section of the A11 every month. The remainder of its section of the route is cleared twice a year during the spring and autumn: it was last cleared in autumn 2001. Additional cleaning is done if the need arises.East Cambridgeshire District Council carries out litter clearance on all of its section of the route every 20 days. The route was last cleared in early/mid-February.Both councils are encouraged to clear litter at the same time as the Highways Agency is carrying out work so that any necessary lane closures are kept to a minimum to reduce costs and to reduce disruption to road users.In addition, the Highways Agency arranges for the immediate removal of refuse or debris reported or found on the trunk road which is considered to be a safety hazard.The Highways Agency is not aware of any recent litter problems that could pose a safety problem on this section of the A11 trunk road.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What systems and procedures they have put in place to monitor local authority compliance with the instruction in point 9 of the revised PPG3 to allow for growth of one-person households. [HL3022]

The Government are conducting research to consider the implementation of the policies set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 Housing (PPG3). The research will report the progress made by local authorities in assessing and planning for the housing needs of their communities. Housing Statistics 2001 provides information on the number of bedrooms in flats and houses completed in the English regions as a percentage of all additional dwellings. Local authorities should also report publicly on the variety of types and sizes of housing being provided in their areas.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they have taken to encourage and enable voluntary organisations, local authorities and schools to prepare and participate in plans to celebrate the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005. [HL2922]

The Department for Education and Skills has no specific plans to encourage schools to participate in celebrations of the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar. However, the Napoleonic Wars and the roles of Nelson and Wellington are cited in the history national curriculum as an example of a subject which might be studied by key stage 3 pupils to illustrate British history 1750 to 1900. It is for schools to decide if and how they wish to celebrate the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 15 January

According to information provided to the Food Standards Agency by the competent authority in each of the member states concerned, the extent of the enhanced supervision of curtailment of operations at the eight affected meat plants was as set out in the following table.

Name and address of Plant	Nature of Action taken by the Member State competent authority
Liffey Meats Ballyjamesduff Co Cavan Republic of Ireland	Slaughter for human consumption suspended on 2 February 2001. Slaughter for human consumption re-authorised on 8 February 2001.
NFZ Norddeutsche Fleischzentrale GmbH Kalkar Germany	Licence suspended on 8 March 2001 and restored on 12 March 2001.
Gausepohl Fleisch GmbH, Bakum Germany	Licence suspended on 26 June 2001 and restored on 2 July 2001.
Mueller Fleisch GmbH, Birkenfeld Germany	Licence suspended on 7 March 2001 and restored on 8 March 2001.
Gross-und Versandschlachterei VOSDING GmbH & Co.Kg, Wilhelmshaven Germany	Licence suspended on 30 March 2001 and restored on 3 April 2001.
Brada's Vleeschbedrijf BV, Leevwarden Netherlands	Licence suspended on 6 to 9 March 2001 and restored on 12 March 2001.
Danish Crown The Skive, Brarupsgade 6 7800 Skive Denmark	Plant ordered to re-inspect all cuts of meat for spinal cord. Plant to introduce own checks and demonstrate their efficiency to Danish Food and Veterinary Adminstration.
Industria Carni SNC, Carema, Torino Italy	Licence suspended on 22 March 2001 and restored on 30 March 2001.

Plants whose licences have been restored are free to supply meat throughout the European Union single market. Information is not available concerning which plants are currently supplying the United Kingdom market.Beef imported into the UK from any of the affected plants is not subject to extra inspection since the Food Standards agency has given instructions that all consignments of imported carcass beef arriving at licensed premises in the UK should be checked. These checks are carried out by the Meat Hygiene Service in Great Britain and by the Veterinary Service of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland. Local authorities have also been advised to conduct checks on imported beef arriving at meat products or meat preparation plants under their supervision.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many cases of food poisoning have been reported by the Food Standards Agency since its inception; and how these figures were derived. [HL2869]

Estimates of the number of cases of food poisoning published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) have been derived from different sources and are explained in the following paragraphs. It is not possible to provide a definitive figure.Estimates of the number of cases of food poisoning quoted in the advertising for the FSA's Food Hygiene Campaign (up to 4.5 million a year) are taken from a large scale government funded survey (1994–95) of infectious intestinal disease (IID), which reported 9.4 million cases. On the basis of organisms identified from laboratory testing, the proportion of the 9.4 million IID cases that may have been transmitted by food was estimated to be between 17 per cent and 50 per cent. The figure "up to 4.5 million" represents about 50 per cent of the 9.4 million IID cases.The 2001 FSA Consumer Attitudes to Food Survey of people over 16 years of age was published on 11 February 2002. This nationally representative survey revealed that 12 per cent of those interviewed claimed to have experienced diarrhoea and/or vomiting attributed to food eaten in the United Kingdom in 2001. The FSA estimated that in the 16 and over age group this would correspond to about 5.5 million cases of food poisoning in 2001. These are calculated by multiplying the percentage of respondents who said they had experienced food poisoning in the last year by the most recent figure provided by the Office of National Statistics for the UK population aged 16 years and over.The FSA has set a target to reduce the number of cases of food poisoning in the UK by 20 per cent by 2006. Because there is no definitive figure for the number of cases of food poisoning, the FSA has taken the collated laboratory reports in 2000 for five key food poisoning organisms (Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli 0157 and Clostridium perfringens) as the baseline for its target. Although this figure (65,253) is small relative to the other estimates of food poisoning, it is considered to provide a consistent basis for monitoring progress towards the target.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In view of the timescale set down in Clause 15(1) and (2) of the Care Standards Act Commencement and Transitional Order (S.I. 2001/3852) for registration applications to be submitted between 1 January 2002 and 31 March 2002, on what date the required printed paperwork will first be made available to prospective applicants; and [HL2937]Whether the National Care Standards Commission has made available from 1 January 2002 the required application forms to allow applicants to complete the registration requirements prior to 31 March 2002, as set out in Clause 15 of the Care Standards Act Commencement and Transitional Order (S.I. 2001/3852); and, if not, why not; and [HL2938]Whether, in view of the delays in making available the application forms for the National Care Standards Commission registration process, they will consider extending the deadline for the registration of applications beyond 31 March 2002 deadline set out in the Care Standards Act Commencement and Transitional Order (S.I. 2001/3852). [HL2939]

The printed registration application packs for those who are required to apply for registration with the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) by 31 March 2002, as set out in the Care Standards Act Commencement and Transitional Order (S.I. 2001/3852), were available from the commission as of Tuesday 19 February 2002. The application pack was also available on the NCSC website from 15 February.Copies of the application pack are being sent directly to the providers that the commission is aware of and who need to apply. Other providers who have not yet contacted the commission can now obtain the packs by calling the NCSC Helpline (0191 233 3556).The application pack was not available earlier because it was necessary to ensure that full information about the process of application for different service areas was included.The Department of Health does not intend to extend the deadline for those who must make applications to the commission by 31 March. Providers will have had over five weeks before the deadline passes to submit their applications.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, if National Health Service patients are to secure the benefits of genetic services as promised by the Secretary of State for Health on 16 January, the National Health Service needs to standardise its systems of maintaining patient records as recommended by the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology in its report,

The Government recognise that a set of national standards covering both the clinical and technical requirements of information communication technology hacked by appropriately targeted resources and performance managed outcomes is required to support systems of maintaining patient records in order to secure the benefits of genetic services. However, as indicated in the Government's response to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology (Cm 5236, July 2001) a unified information system is not seen as feasible or desirable. Building the Information Core (www.doh.gov.uk/ipu/strategy/updateindex.htm), updates the information strategy for the National Health Service and describes how a more corporate approach will be adopted to implement this recommendation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in the light of recent developments to improve access to the National Health Service by widening the availability of advice and treatment they can clarify what levels of access there will be to medicines both over the counter and through the National Health Service itself. [HL2997]

There will continue to be two levels of access to over the counter medicines. General sale list medicines will continue to be available from a range of retail outlets. Pharmacy medicines will continue to be available from pharmacies. As part of National Health Service arrangements, medicines will continue to be administered or supplied by a range of professional staff or prescribed by doctors, dentists and some nurses. We are taking action to enable more nurses to prescribe a wider range of medicines from April of this year. In addition, the Department of Health and the Medicines Control Agency will consult shortly on proposals to introduce supplementary prescribing for nurses and pharmacists. Depending on the circumstances, prescribed medicines will continue to be dispensed by hospital or community pharmacies or by dispensing doctors. There will continue to be restrictions on the types of medicines which most professional staff may administer, supply or prescribe, some of which arise from legislation under the Medicines Act and some of which are specific to the NHS. Those which are specific to the NHS may vary across the United Kingdom as many aspects of NHS arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are devolved.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In the light of the recent consultation to change procedures for the reclassification of medicines from prescription-only to pharmacy sale, whether these modifications will remove National Health Service availability of medicines reclassified for over-the-counter availability; what is the rationale behind such wholesale movement of products from prescription control to pharmacy sale; and whether the change, if implemented, will mean a major change in access to treatments generally. [HL2998]

The NHS Plan committed the Government to making more medicines available over the counter as part of a wider strategy to increase access to treatments generally. The rationale for the initiative is to give people a greater choice in their treatment and empower patients to manage their care with the help of skilled healthcare staff. The policy is to improve access to a range of medicines without affecting their availability on the National Health Service unless there are existing restrictions on NHS availability. Before a medicine is made more widely available it is assessed against strict criteria relating to its safety in the circumstances in which it will be used.

Session	Instrument	Date (CJ ref)	Procedure (Motions agreed to/negatived)
1950	Housing (Rate of Interest) Regulation 1950 (S.I., 1950, No. 1008)	25.07.195 0 (207)	Address for annulment
	Draft International Organisations (Immunities and Privileges of the Universal Postal Union) Order in Council 1950	24.10.195 0(242)	Order for an Address (19.07.1950, (189)) read and discharged.
1950–51	Fats, Cheese and Tea (Rationing) (Amendment No. 2) Order 1951 (S.I., 1951, No. 470)	09.04.195 1(161)	Address for annulment1
	Plasterboard (Prices) (No. 1) Order 1951 (S.I., 1951, No. 864)	05.07.195 1 (273)	Address for annulment1
	Building Plasters (Prices) (No. 1) Order 1951 (S.I., 1951, No. 865)	09.07.195 1 (273)	Address for annulment
	Gypsum Rock (Prices) (No. 1) Order 1951 (S.I., 1951, No. 866)	09.07.195 1 (273)	Address for annulment

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many negative instruments have been rejected by Parliament since the general election of 1945; and what percentage of the total number of such instruments this represents; and [HL2626]What number of affirmative instruments have been laid since the general election of 1945; how many of these have been defeated; and what percentage of the total this represents. [HL2564]

The information which follows has been compiled by the Journal Offices of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The information was not systematically gathered until recently and while every effort has been made to identify all such instruments, the information may not be exhaustive. There are no records which would allow us to establish what percentage of the totals this would represent.HOUSE OF LORDS

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many murders are alleged to have been committed by the IRA in Northern Ireland between 1970 and 2001. [HL2840]

There were 1,803 murders attributed to republican terrorists between 1970 and 2001. It is not possible to provide a specific attribution for murders over the period because the statistical data held by the police is not recorded in this way.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the total number of officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland: and how many of these are full time members of the Police Reserves. [HL2892]

There are currently 10,236 officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (including Part-Time Reserve) of whom 2,205 are members of the Full-Time Reserve.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in reducing the number of officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland to 7,500. [HL2893]

1,078 Regular officers and 137 Full-Time Reserve officers have left the Police Service of Northern Ireland so far under the terms of the Voluntary Severance Scheme. Current Regular strength is 7,091 officers (including 87 regular officers currently on secondment) which represents a temporary dip under the figure of 7,500 recommended by Patten. However, the Chief Constable retains the support of the Full-Time Reserve. In addition, over 200 trainees have been recruited, many of whom are in the final stages of initial training.