asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any attempt has been made to co-ordinate the timing of court sittings with the timing of local bus services. [HL2973]

This is a matter carried out as a judicial function within the relevant magistrates' courts committees (MCCs) area. However, listing officers in the magistrates' court do, acting under judicial supervision, take account as far as practicable of any transport problems, including the provision of public transport, when arranging case hearings for parties concerned, including witnesses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there is a maximum distance those unable to obtain transport to court may be required to walk to court. [HL2977]

My department has no set guideline on the maximum distance that those unable to obtain transport to court may be required to walk. However, NV hen considering suitable locations for new courthouses, magistrates' courts committees (MCCs) are required to establish a limitation on the distance from a public transport.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What representations they have made to the relevant authorities in the United States concerning the four British citizens (Messrs Hansel, Mahary, Elliot and Richey) now on "death row" who have already served a total of 58 years of imprisonment. [HL2911]

HMG take a very close interest in British nationals sentenced to death overseas. HMG oppose the imposition of the death penalty in all cases.The Foreign Secretary contacted the Governor of Georgia and the State Board of Paroles and Pardons to urge them to commute Mr Housel's sentence to a term of imprisonment.Ministers have urged the State Attorney of Florida not to pursue the re-instatement of the death penalty at Mr Maharaj's forthcoming re-sentencing trial.We are working closely with Mr Elliot's lawyers to ensure that we make representations at the most appropriate time.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What issues they will raise at (a) the United Nations Human Rights Committee, 74th Session. 18 March to 5 April; and (b) the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, 58th Session, 18 March to 26 April. [HL2966]

Promotion of human rights is at the heart of our foreign policy. The UK is working closely with EU partners and others for a successful outcome to the 58th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. The UK will be contributing fully to EU initiatives, including on the death penalty, rights of the child, Colombia, East Timor, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Russia/Chechnya and Israel and the Occupied Territories. The UK will also contribute fully to the EU's statement covering human rights violations around the world and will work to ensure the success of many other resolutions, eg on torture. The 74th session of the Human Rights Committee in New York, composed of 18 independent experts, will examine reports submitted by four countries on their implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

asked Her Majesty's Government:How they now regard the status of Jerusalem in any future final status negotiations; what role they see for the United Nations in a particular city; and whether they support Israeli withdrawal front all settlements overlooking east Jerusalem. [HL2987]

Jerusalem, a UN presence and withdrawal from settlements are among the issues to be resolved by the parties during final status negotiations. It is not for the UK to prejudge the outcome of negotiations. With regard to the status of Jerusalem, pending agreement we recognise de facto Israeli control of west Jerusalem but consider east Jerusalem to be occupied territory. We recognise no sovereignty over the city. Jerusalem has a unique religious and cultural importance for Christians, Jews and Muslims and we attach great importance to ensuring access and freedom of worship there for those of all faiths. An international presence could help both sides in their search for peace, if accepted by both sides. Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories are illegal and we have called for an immediate freeze to their growth.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is their policy to seek to ensure that British citizens who are tried overseas on criminal charges are tried fairly by independent and impartial courts or tribunals established by law in accordance with the principles prescribed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. [HL3042]

HMG seek to ensure that British prisoners overseas receive a fair trial in accordance with international norms. However, we cannot interfere in the judicial processes of other countries. Consular staff overseas have contact with prisoners at an early stage and assist them in contacting a local lawyer.Where we have concerns as to whether a prisoner has received a fair trial, we can put the prisoner in touch with a member of the FCO pro-bono panel of lawyers who will help draw up a strategy for any subsequent appeal. Where we have prima facie evidence of a denial or miscarriage of justice and all legal remedies have been exhausted, we will consider making representations to the appropriate authorities. Where those representations fail to secure a remedy we will consider supporting an appeal for clemency on the prisoner's behalf.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will publish the next report to Parliament on Hong Kong and the Sino-British Joint Declaration. [HL3114]

The 10th report in this series, covering the period July to December 2001, was laid before the House on 5 March 2002. A copy of the report is also available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website (www.fco.gov.uk). The report includes a foreword by my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary. I commend the report to the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether a timescale was agreed by the Commonwealth Heads of Government by which observers to the Zimbabwe elections should report to the troika of South Africa, Australia and Nigeria; and [HL3240]

Commonwealth Heads of Government did not specify a time by which the organisation's election observation team to Zimbabwe should report to the troika. But we understand that they intend to issue their report early next week. The troika will take a decision on the basis of its findings shortly thereafter.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their attitude to SW Radio Africa. [HL3242]

We deplore recent Zimbabwean legislation that restricts the ability of the print and broadcast media to operate and commend the courage of Zimbabwean independent journalists in continuing to carry out their work under very difficult conditions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How they can correlate the remark by Baroness Amos that "it is up to (the Zimbabwean people) now to go out and vote and to ensure that their voice is heard" (HL Deb, 6 March, col. 345) with the reports that so many of them have been disenfranchised. [HL3245]

The international community has made it absolutely clear that it wanted a free and fair presidential election in Zimbabwe and has encouraged Zimbabweans to vote and ensure their voice is heard. The remarks referred to by the noble Earl were made in entirely the same spirit. The people of Zimbabwe are to be congratulated on the courageous way in which they attempted to make their views known, despite evidence of systematic efforts by the Zimbabwean authorities to thwart their ability to do so.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will confirm that the United Kingdom will hand over the leadership of the International Security Assistance Force by 30 April; and which country will take over from the United Kingdom. [HL3078]

We continue to negotiate with Turkey over the leadership of ISAF.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will confirm that all British troops will be withdrawn from the International Security Assistance Force by 30 April. [HL3079]

We are negotiating with Turkey over the follow-on leadership of ISAF. We will continue to make a significant contribution to the ISAF even after we hand over leadership.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many Army personnel are medically downgraded, showing the number that are not fit for operations and training, the number that can continue to carry out their normal military duties within barracks and the number that are on light duties. [HL3098]

I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave to him on 12 March 2002, (Official Report, col. WA 67). It is not possible to provide the number of medically downgraded personnel who are not fit for training, or the number who are able to carry out their normal duties in barracks or are on light duties, as this information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Personnel who are medically downgraded are able to undertake training and military duties in barracks within the employability restrictions of their category of medical downgrading, which will differ for each individual depending on the reason for their medical downgrading and the type of training and duties. Restriction to light duties is not a category of medical downgrading. Any personnel, whether or not medically downgraded, may be placed in this category on a temporary basis.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What the current cost of Eurofighter is estimated to be; and how much the costs have increased since 1 January 2001. [HL3137]

As published in the Major Projects Report 2001, the estimated total cost of the Eurofighter procurement programme for the Royal Air Force, excluding initial in-service support, is £18,869 million. Costs have not increased since 1 January 2001.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why the Armed Forces Pay Review Body has to have regard to the Armed Forces pay being broadly comparable with pay levels in civilian life; and who imposed this ruling. [HL3180]

Comparability with civilian levels of pay has been an element in the process of assessing the pay of the Armed Forces since 1958 when the adoption of recommendations by the Advisory Committee on Recruiting, under the chairmanship of Sir John Grigg, led to regular reviews of the pay of service personnel. Since its establishment in 1971, the Armed Forces Pay Review Body has always aimed to ensure that the rates of pay and allowances for servicemen and women, which it has recommended to the Government, have been based on broad comparability with those prevailing in civilian life. The use of this as an instrument for assessing the pay of the Armed Forces was acknowledged by its inclusion in the revised terms of reference which were agreed by AFPRB and the Government in 1998.In its recommendations, however, the review body has always included an additional element—the X Factor (currently 13 per cent of basic pay for service personnel up to lieutenant colonels and equivalents at the mid-pay point beyond which it tapers)—to reflect the differences between conditions of service experienced by members of the UK Armed Forces over a full career and conditions in UK civilian life, which cannot be taken directly into account in assessing broad pay comparability.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What has been the total reduction in funding to the Defence Housing Executive in the last four years. [HL3181]

The Defence Housing Executive's net operating cost after interest in the last three years is given below. The figure for 1998–99 is cash expenditure.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps are being taken to tackle family issues in the Armed Forces stemming from separation as a result of frequent deployments and the disadvantage that accompanied service can bring to spouses in relation to pursuing a career with pension rights. [HL3182]

Following a review in 1999, £56 million was allocated over a period of four years to establish an Operational Welfare Package for Service personnel deployed on operations and long term exercises (of over two months' duration). The package includes measures to alleviate the strain placed on families when the serving partner is deployed overseas. Examples of those measures are a weekly telephone allowance (20 minutes); easy access to Internet terminals for most deployed personnel; concessionary parcel rates and electronic "blueys". All these measures help families to stay in close touch during deployments.Additional leave is allocated to personnel (according to the length of absence) at the end of an operational deployment; and additional family travel warrants have been introduced for families in the UK to visit their own families. For families abroad, these warrants may be transferred to up to two close relatives for reverse travel from the UK to the family's overseas location. Further work is planned to look at what additional support can be given to service dependants of deployed personnel.The problems faced by service spouses in pursuit of a career are well recognised. Several trial schemes are under way to assist them to obtain employment, as well as schemes to seek co-operation with local businesses. The Armed Forces Pay Review Body is also examining this matter and has already sought evidence on employment patterns for spouses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there are any plans to reduce the approximate manning shortfall of some 7,000 personnel by establishing a second Army Foundation College. [HL3184]

We remain committed to delivering the military capability required of the Army in the Strategic Defence Review and it is intended to man the Army to achieve this. We have a range of initiatives, one of which is the establishment of a second Army Foundation College, which will be a flexible facility with high quality facilities designed to meet our requirements for initial training well into the future. Initial decisions on the way forward will be taken this year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action is being taken to bring forward the completion time of the rebuild and refurbishment of services family accommodation and single living accommodation. [HL3185]

The current target date to complete the upgrade programme of all core service family accommodation is November 2005. There are no plans to bring this date forward.Single living accommodation is being upgraded in a £1 billion programme launched by the Secretary of State for Defence in March 2001. The principal element is Project SLAM, which will upgrade some 30,000 bed spaces within five years of the appointment of a single prime contractor. Separate arrangements are in place for the Northern Ireland and overseas estate. The tenders for the SLAM prime contract were issued to four bidders on 30 November; bids are due for return on 7 March.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the planned figures for the Ministry of Defence budget 2001–02; and whether they anticipate an overspend on current costings. [HL3274]

The Ministry of Defence's resource and capital departmental expenditure limit (DEL) for 2001–2002 is £24,690 million, as published in the Spring Supplementary Estimates. We fully intend to remain within our DEL at the end of the year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans the Ministry of Defence has for further research into depleted uranium. [HL3298]

The Ministry of Defence has funded extensive research into DU munitions over many years. This work has been complemented by studies on the health and environmental consequences of the testing, development and battlefield use of DU munitions carried out by a range of governmental and non-governmental bodies in the UK and overseas. These studies, and the Royal Society's report, all indicate that the health risks associated with the battlefield use of DU are minimal, other than in a small number of very specific circumstances.Nevertheless, there are a number of areas where we believe that further research is desirable to enhance the database on which to make judgments weighing the potential loss of life arising from not using DU munitions in battle against any potential longer term impact on human health and the environment resulting from its use. Some research will aid MoD in any future test-range decommissioning.We therefore propose to carry out a programme of further research, which has been reviewed by the Royal Society, the Medical Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council. We have given veterans' representatives early sight of the programme. The full details of our proposals have been placed in the Library of the House. They have also been published on the MoD's website.Much of the work is in line with the recommendations of the Royal Society's report. In particular, we propose to conduct an epidemiological study to identify any links between exposure to DU and ill health and a critical review of literature relating to the effects of DU inhalation on the pulmonary lymph nodes. We also intend to study the ways in which DU is transported from the point of introduction into the environment to the point at which it has the potential to affect the health of plant, animal or human life. Furthermore, we have already begun research into the corrosion and dissolution rates of DU in typical corrosion environments and in controlled laboratory studies. We intend to consider a range of soil types and profiles and marine environments in this work.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How far the Environment Agency is facilitating the conservation of ecosystems by enforcing the law regarding pollution of rivers. [HL3155]

The Environment Act 1995 requires the Environment Agency to further the conservation of ecosystems as far as is reasonably consistent in carrying out its duties and exercising its powers. The Government's management statement and sustainability guidance to the agency emphasise this requirement.Results from the Environment Agency's general quality assessment (GQA) scheme for the year 2000 show that 94 per cent of rivers in England and Wales were of good or fair biological quality compared with 87 per cent in 1990. Equivalent figures for chemical quality were 94 per cent and 85 per cent. This substantial improvement is due to a number of factors, including a major clean-up of discharges from sewage treatment works and industry. Under the Water Resources Act 1991 (as amended) tighter limits have been set for consented discharges to controlled waters and there has been tighter enforcement of discharge consents and much more focus on pollution prevention.Under the GQA scheme the Environment Agency monitors the quality of just over 7,000 sites representing around 40,000km of rivers and canals. Sites are sampled twice a year for biological quality and this provides an indicator of overall "health" of rivers. For chemical quality, which gives an indicator of organic pollution in general, sites are sampled 12 times a year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many farm animals were exported during the first 48 hours following the relevant regulation coming into force in January 2002 [HL3212]

The EU prohibition on the export of livestock from GB has been progressively lifted. Commission Decision 2002/48/EC of 23 January 2002 which allowed the resumption of pig exports from GB was implemented in England on 25 January, Wales on 26 January and Scotland on 1 February. No pigs were exported within the first 48 hours of the legislation coming into effect. Commission Decision 2002/153/EC of 20 February 2002 lifted all remaining EU foot and mouth disease (FMD)-related trade restrictions on other livestock. It was implemented in Wales on 27 February, England on 6 March and Scotland on 7 March. No exports of FMD-susceptible livestock (other than pigs) were exported from GB within 48 hours of that legislation coming into effect.The Office International des Epizooties (OIE—the international animal health organisation) agreed on 21 January to restore the United Kingdom's status as being free from foot and mouth disease without vaccination. The 01E's decision was not legally binding but enabled the European Commission to remove the remaining EU export restrictions on certain animals, animal products and meat via Commission Decision 2002/153/EC.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made on the joint review of the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery. [HL3336]

I have today published the second stage report of the joint review of the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery.The report underlines the value of both galleries and the contribution they make to this country's cultural life. Both galleries have achieved a great deal in the last few years and have risen to the challenges set by government and themselves.The report also finds the need for a closer, more strategic relationship between the galleries and the department.A copy of the report has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.