asked Her Majesty's Government:To whom the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman is responsible. [HL2944]

Under the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland is a fixed period appointment by Her Majesty. In certain circumstances as detailed in the legislation the ombudsman may be called upon to resign by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The ombudsman's office is operationally independent of the Government in the execution of its functions but provides an annual report to Parliament through the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

asked Her Majesty's Government:If there is to be an announcement about the appointment and re-appointment of Surveillance Commissioners under Part III of the Police Act 1997. [HL3467]

In accordance with Section 91 of the Police Act 1997, after consultation with the Scottish Ministers, the Prime Minister has agreed to appoint and re-appoint the following Surveillance Commissioners to assist Sir Andrew Leggatt, the Chief Surveillance Commissioner. There are three commissioners for England and Wales, two for Scotland and one for Northern Ireland. However, the remit of each commissioner covers the whole of the United Kingdom so that any commissioner can act in jurisdictions other than his own.The Prime Minister has appointed, from 1 November 2001, as a Commissioner

who was appointed as Surveillance Commissioner in 1998 and is reappointed for a further three years from 1 November 2001. He served as a High Court judge of the Queen's Bench Division from 1981 to 1998.

who was appointed as Surveillance Commissioner in 1998 and is reappointed for a further three years from 1 November 2001. He served as a Lord Justice of Appeal from 1995 to 1999.

who was appointed as Surveillance Commissioner in 1998 and is reappointed for a further three years from 1 November 2001. He has been a judge of the Court of Session since 1997.

who was appointed as Surveillance Commissioner in 1998 and is reappointed, 1 November 2001, until 1 October 2003.The commissioners are appointed under the provisions of Part III of the Police Act 1997. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 extended the commissioners' remit. Since the authorisation of intrusive surveillance operations forms a key component of the Government's response to serious and organised crime, I attach considerable Importance to these appointments and I am delighted that the commissioners have accepted their appointments. In conjunction with Sir Andrew Leggatt, their substantial judicial experience, particularly of the criminal justice system, will provide independent oversight of surveillance operations, which, although operationally important, must also be subject to stringent safeguards.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What advice has been given to civil servants on the conduct of government business during the forthcoming elections to local councils on 2 May. [HL3468]

The Government have issued guidance to civil servants on the principles which they should observe in relation to the conduct of government business in the period before the forthcoming elections.The guidance stresses that civil servants should conduct themselves in accordance with the Civil Service Code and is based on the need to maintain the political impartiality of the Civil Service and the need to ensure that public resources are not used for party political purposes. The guidance will come into force on 11 April. Copies of the guidance have been placed in the Library of the House, and are also available from the Vote Office.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What further plans there are for celebrating the 50th anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen's accession to the throne. [HL3469]

I announced on 29 January 2002, Official Report, WA 30, the programme of visits and other events throughout the United Kindgom from May to August this year, which will be undertaken by Her Majesty and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, to mark the Golden Jubilee.I am, therefore, pleased to be able to announce further details of the programme of Jubilee visits to the London boroughs which they will carry out during the summer of this year. Although the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will not be able to visit every borough, their itinerary will enable them to meet as many Londoners as possible.The programme is as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What assistance and financial funding they are currently providing, or intend to provide, to the appropriate authorities in Yugoslavia for the resettlement and assimilation of 450,000 refugees from Croatia and Bosnia, and 190,000 Serbs from Kosovo, who have fled from their original homes and wish to stay in their new locations in Yugoslavia. [HL3309]

The UK assists through its 19.6 per cent share of EC programmes. Between 1999 and 2001, this share of support from the EU Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) allocated to Serbia, including for refugees from Kosovo, was 173 million.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will be making representations to the Peruvian Government concerning the case of Colonel David de Vinatea, imprisoned on narco-trafficking charges, who remains in prison despite the conclusions of human rights organisations that he is entirely innocent of the charges against him. [HL3247]

We understand that the sentence of Col. David de Vinatea has been commuted and he is currently awaiting release. Our embassy in Lima is closely monitoring his case and we hope that release will be soon. The Foreign Office has consistently lobbied the Peruvian authorities concerning the issue of unlawful imprisonment. Since March 1998, we have contributed over £140,000 to assist the work of the Peruvian Ad-Hoc Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Ombudsman in investigating the cases of those unjustly accused. On their recommendations, over 400 prisoners have been released to date.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which foreign policy think tanks have received grants from the Government over the past five years; and what was the amount of money in each case. [HL3284]

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not award "grant-in-aid" to "foreign policy think tanks". But grant-in-aid is awarded to other non-public bodies involved in foreign policy work, including the British-Russia Centre, the British East-West Centre, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, the British Association for Central and Eastern Europe and the Great Britain-China Centre. The FCO also pays for corporate membership of some foreign policy institutions (including "think tanks") and sponsors individual conferences and events in support of FCO objectives. As to the Royal Institute of International Affairs and the Foreign Policy Centre, I refer the noble Lord to Answers which my noble friend Lady Amos gave him on 18 March, Official Report, WA 117–18.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Postcomm's recent proposals for postal competition will threaten the provision of a universal postal service based on a standard United Kingdom-wide tariff; and, in the event that they affect the ability of Consignia to provide such a service while maintaining commercial viability, whether the shortfall will be met by government subsidy or an increase in postage rates. [HL3221]

It is Postcomm's primary statutory duty to ensure the provision of a universal postal service at a tariff uniform throughout the UK.Postcomm currently requires Consignia plc, in the licence, to provide a universal postal service. The licence provides that any proposals by Consignia for an increase in the price of first and second-class mail needs approval by Postcomm.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the primary responsibility of Postcomm, laid down by the Postal Services Act 2000, is to ensure the provision of a universal postal service at a uniform tariff throughout the United Kingdom (HL3222)

Yes. Under the legislation Postcomm shall exercise its functions in the manner which it considers is best calculated to ensure the provision of a universal postal service.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they consider it acceptable for residents in rural areas to have to collect their post from a central point in the locality such as a village post office instead of having it delivered to their door. (HL3223)

The Postal Services Act 2000 lays down the universal postal service includes the delivery each working day to the home or premises of every individual in the UK.The legislation does provide for the possibility that some addresses will receive less than this but only in exceptional circumstances. Such exceptions must be justified and agreed with Postcomm.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What consideration they have given to the statistics released by the United States Veterans Affairs Secretary showing dramatically higher death rates among Khamisyah veterans of the Gulf War, suggesting exposure to Sarin chemical warfare agents; and what action they are taking in relation to British servicemen and women who were in the area at the same time (HL3086)

The Government's initial assessment of the implications for UK personnel of the Khamisiyah demolitions was published in December 1999 in a Ministry of Defence paper entitled Review of Events concerning 32 Field Hospital awl the Release of Nerve Agent Arising From US Demolition of Iraqi Munitions at the Khamisiyah Depot In March 1991. The paper is available in the Library of the House and on the Internet at http://www.mod.uk/issues/gulfwar/info/khamisiyah.htm. The paper's main conclusion was that the possible level of nerve agent exposure would have no detectable effect on human health, either in the short or long term.The statistics recently released by the US Veterans Benefits Administration are believed to be based on remodelling of the theoretical plume of nerve agent which may have been released by the demolitions carried out subsequently. The MoD is seeking to establish from the US authorities the full scientific basis for the remodelling. Once this has been obtained and analysed, I will write to the noble Lord and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are confident that the security of the United Kingdom will not be endangered if there is no increase in the Ministry of Defence budget for the next financial year to counter terrorism and pay for any additional overseas commitments. [HL3273]

Funds to meet the additional cost of overseas commitments are sought at Main Estimates, once a taut and realistic estimate has been calculated. In 2001–02 they were shown under Request for Resources 2, Conflict Prevention. Additional funds were provided at Spring Supplementary Estimates 2001–02 to meet in full the additional costs which the Ministry of Defence had incurred on operations overseas. A similar process will be followed for 2002–03. Separate work is in progress on counter terrorism. Once realistic Estimates for this requirement have been determined, additional funding, where necessary, will be sought.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the planned date for replacing B vehicles in Royal Armoured Corps regiments and infantry battalions. [HL3276]

There are a number of programmes that will introduce replacements for operational combat support vehicles (B vehicles) in Royal Armoured Corps regiments and the infantry battalions. The in-service dates for these fleets vary from 2004 to 2009, with deliveries in each continuing for a number of years thereafter.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the total number of Challenger 2 battle tanks that will be bought; and if this number is fewer than 348 tanks, where the balance of tanks will come from to retain regiments at a 58-tank war establishment. [HL3277]

386 Challenger main battle tanks have been purchased. The last one is due to be delivered next month.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the total amount awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to the preservation and conservation of historic ships in 2000 and 2001; which ships were the subject of these awards; and which bodies are responsible for managing the funds awarded to maintain the ships. [HL3063]

The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the following amounts to the preservation and conservation of historic ships:

• 2000—£4,311,081 in 12 grants;
• 2001—£4,864,400 in 5 grants.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many Victorian parks have received heritage lottery funding in each of the past three years to date; and where these parks are situated. [HL3144]

The Heritage Lottery Fund supports applications for the refurbishment and restoration of historic urban parks. The number of parks that received funding in the past three years were: 1999—37; 2000—31; 2001—34. While all were of heritage importance, the information available does not allow their exact designation as Victorian parks. A complete list follows, broken down by year, which shows their location.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What sum has been committed by the Arts Council of England to the development of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear; and what are the terms under which that amount has been so allocated. [HL3269]

The Arts Council has committed £33,885,000 to Baltic Flour Mills for the capital development plus a further £7,500,000 which has been allocated as annual revenue support over five years.The Arts Council issues standard conditions which are publicly available and special conditions, which are not, due to commercial confidentiality. Both sets of conditions are closely monitored by the Arts Council.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they plan to announce the terms of reference for the review of BBC News 24. [HL3439]

The independent review of News 24 which my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has asked Richard Lambert, formerly editor of the Financial Times, to conduct will have the following terms of reference:The independent reviewer shall:— consider whether, in delivering its News 24 service, the BBC is acting in accordance with the facts and assurances upon which approval to proceed with the service was given;— have regard, in reaching any conclusions, to:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What assets in the United Kingdom have been seized or frozen under the smart sanctions against Zimbabwe. [HL3243]

Since the introduction of targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe, two accounts belonging to two listed individuals containing a total of £76,000 have been frozen. The sanctions regime effectively prevents other targeted individuals gaining access to UK financial services.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Since the annoucement by EU Finance Ministers on 28 January 2002 that they proposed targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe, we are not aware of any money or assets belonging to targets of the proposed sanctions having been transferred from the United Kingdom. Since the acceptance of the EC Regulation (310/2002) on 21 February 2002 it has been a legal requirement to block such transfers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Futher to the answers by the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath concerning recombinant treatment for people with haemophilia on 6 February (HL Deb, cols. 629–30), whether they will now set out in detail the basis on which it was stated that there is no evidence "that recombinant clotting factors are more efficacious than plasma-based products" or "that there is an issue of safety between different products"; and whether they will provide the sources that justify both statements. [HL2781]

It is generally accepted by United Kingdom clinicians that recombinant and plasma derived clotting factors are equally effective in treating clotting disorders. In guidelines produced by the United Kingdom Haemophilia Doctors Organisations, comparisons between the two types of product revolve around their relative safety, bearing in mind that no medicinal product can ever be completely free from risk. An advantage of recombinant products, where they are entirely free of human albumin, is that they eliminate the risk from blood borne viruses and the theoretical risk from vCJD. However, plasma derived clotting factors are tightly regulated by European and United States authorities to minimise the risk of viral transmission. This is achieved by the screening of donor blood and the anti-viral measures taken during manufacture. By ceasing to use UK plasma in the manufacture of blood products, the Government have already taken steps to reduce the unknown risks from vCJD.The Government will make a full statement once we have completed our consideration of the Haemophilia Society's call to extend the provision of recombinant clotting factors to all haemophilia patients in England.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

From April 2001 all local authorities in England have been required to include data about the numbers of children in their care who go missing for 24 hours or more in their annual statistical return to the Department of Health. Prior to 2001, councils had to return data on numbers of children who were missing for more than seven days. Data concerning this issue were not available in 1965.West Sussex Council has provided the following information to the department about young people in its care who have gone missing without trace since 1995. These were predominantly asylum-seeking young women from West Africa. In 1995 one person went missing; this figure was two in 1996; seven in 1997; 11 in 1998; 23 in 1999 and 21 in 2000. By 2001, the council had developed procedures to identify and support young people from abroad who were particularly vulnerable; by January 2002 six had gone missing. While other young people in the council's care do go missing temporarily from their placements, it would be extremely rare for a young person to go missing without trace.Research about young runaways sponsored by the department and by voluntary organisations, suggests that looked after children missing from residential or foster care are more likely to run away than those living at home. The majority of these young people are found within 48 hours. According to the Department of Health's statistical return of the young people missing from their care placements during the course of 1999–2000 approximately 140 were absent for over six months.The Department of Health is working closely with the Social Exclusion Unit and is preparing guidance for local authorities, the police, health agencies and the voluntary sector concerning good practice and procedures on children missing from care.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 1 March

The National Standards of Cleanliness for the NHS is available in hard copy from Her Majesty's Stationery Office. The entire document is also available on the NHS Estates website, www.nhsestates.gov.uk

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have given any consideration to introducing "hotel charges" in National Health Service hospitals. [HL3286]

The Government have no plans to introduce "hotel" charges in National Health Service hospitals.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether crisis loans from the Social Fund are available towards the cost of attending court; and [2976]Whether any help is available to people on means-tested benefits who are compelled to spend a night away from home by a need to attend court. [HL2974]

Social Fund crisis loans are not generally available to meet the costs incurred by people attending court. Exceptionally, a crisis loan may be made to meet emergency travelling expenses where a person is stranded away from home.In criminal law cases the Crown Prosecution Service are able to help with the cost of travelling expenses and, where necessary, overnight stays.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How often the emergency drain, agreed by the Environment Agency for the discharge of raw sewage from the Camborne project, has been used. [HL2996]

The emergency overflow of the station used to pump sewage from the Camborne development to Uttons Drove treatment works has discharged twice since the Environment Agency's consent was issued in April 1999.The first, for several hours on 22 October 2001, happened when major flooding occurred within the Camborne catchment. The second was for a few minutes on 6 November 2001.Overflows are a necessary part of sewerage systems as they help to prevent flooding of properties by backed-up sewage. The Environment Agency consulted on and considered a wide range of water quality issues in determining the consent application, and set stringent conditions to minimise operation of the overflow. These safeguards include storage and solids separation to reduce the pollution from any overflows.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 23 January

Following the Written Answer I gave on 23 January, Official Report, WA 208, I would like to update the figures I gave for amount of paper and board recycled.The figures given in the Written Answer on 23 January related to 1998, and updated figures for 1998 and subsequent years have since been provided. The updated figure for paper and board recycled in 1998 is 4,654,400 tonnes. In 1999, 4,753,000 tonnes of paper and board were recycled and 4,882,200 tonnes were recycled in 2000.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made towards the completion of the first five-yearly financial, management and policy review of the Environment Agency. [HL3438]

We are pleased to announce that the department is today publishing the second and final stage of this review.The findings of the review establish a basis for a new and strategic relationship between the agency and its sponsors; more effective business planning and performance review; a sharpening of efficiency; and a wide range of actions by both the agency and its sponsors towards the improved delivery of environmental functions.A copy of the report has been placed in Libraries of both Houses.