asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the policies on the issues of resources, sanitation and flooding that they will be advocating in 2003 at the World Water Forum and during the World Waiter Year. [HL42]

The Department for International Development supports an integrated approach to water supply, sanitation and hygiene designed to improve health and combat poverty. The department is working with developing countries, other development agencies and financial institutions to ensure that support is provided to develop integrated water resources management and water efficiency plans by 2005 and to try to ensure that the millennium development goal targets to improve access to water and sanitation are achieved.We aim to assist disaster-prone countries better to manage natural and environmental risks such as flooding through encouraging countries to include risk reduction, disaster management and mitigation in their development planning processes and supporting community initiatives to reduce their vulnerability to major risks.Our efforts at the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto will be directed towards ensuring that the international community delivers on its promises made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development by moving to an intensive period of implementation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether during 2003, the World Water Year, they will be ensuring that all the relevant government departments and agencies providing the United Kingdom's representatives will be advocating consistent policies at the United Nations agencies and international bodies concerned with water issues; and whether the United Kingdom will be increasing its funding to those organisations for these policies. [HL43]

Government departments, including DFID, FCO and Defra, are working together with the UK Mission to the UN to ensure that consistent policies and responses on water issues are being advocated and that there is a co-ordinated response to the International Year of Freshwater.The Government's core funding to UN agencies is determined by our assessment of their effectiveness in using such funds to help reduce poverty and achieve the millennium development goals. Support to specific initiatives arising from the World Summit on Sustainable Development will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Filkin on 4 November

The duties, powers and responsibilities of the commissions are set out in the Race Relations Act 1976, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Disability Rights Commission Act 1999, respectively.No single document sets out a framework agreement between each equality commission and its sponsoring Minister.Key documents which set out the broad operating framework and mechanisms for agreeing and accounting for resources include management statements, financial memoranda and corporate or business plans.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many anti-social behaviour orders have been made by courts in England and Wales. [HL17]

An anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) is a civil order made by a court which currently can be applied for by a local authority or the police.We are aware that the numbers of ASBOs made locally have been consistently under-reported in returns made by magistrates' courts and are considering how reporting can be improved.The number of notifications received by the Home Office of ASBOs issued within England and Wales from their introduction on 1 April 1999 to 30 June 2002 (latest available) is 654.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much was spent in 2001–02 on tax relief for private pension contributions; and [HL21]What amount would have been spent in 2001–02 if tax relief for private pension contributions had been restricted to the basic rate of taxation. [HL22]

Estimates of the cost of tax relief on private pension contributions are contained in table 7.9 of Inland Revenue Statistics. The latest version is on the Inland Revenue website: http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/pensions/p t09 1.htmOf the estimated £6.4 billion relief on contributions by employees and the self-employed in 2001–02, around £3.7 billion is in respect of higher rate taxpayers, and on employer contributions of the total of £9.5 billion around £5.4 billion is in respect of higher rate employees. These amounts do not represent the yield from restricting relief to the basic rate as there could be a significant behavioural response.The employers' component is estimated on the basis that under present arrangements, employer contributions are not taxable as a benefit in kind of the employees. The estimates assume that the proportion of total employers' contributions relating to higher rate taxpayers is the same as that observed for employee contributions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in identifying, locating and freezing the assets of leading members of Mr Mugabe's regime. [HL170]

A total of 28 accounts containing funds totalling £513,116.02 has been frozen in the UK and Crown Dependencies since the EU Common Position imposed an asset freeze on members of Mugabe's regime. We will continue to work with UK financial institutions to identify and freeze more accounts and funds belonging to the targeted individuals.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many local authorities have deferred payments of business rates from British Energy; and how much this has cost the local authorities concerned. [HL39]

The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they consider that the deferment of payments of business rates, such as those granted by Lancaster City Council to British Energy, can be deemed to be exempt from the obligation of publication. [HL40]

Local authorities may by resolution exclude the public from a meeting during an item of business whenever it is likely that exempt information would otherwise be disclosed to members of the public. The resolution must identify the proceedings, or the part of the proceedings to which it applies, and state the description, in terms of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, of the exempt information in question. Among the information which may be covered by a resolution is that relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (other than the authority)—paragraph 7 of Part I of Schedule 12A.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps the Government are taking to devolve power to local government and what action they are taking to follow up the results of the comprehensive performance assessment for county and unitary authorities in England. [HL276]

The Minister for Local Government, the Regions and Fire said today in the other place: "I am announcing today a significant devolution of power to local government. This includes the steps that the Government intend to take to follow up the results of the comprehensive performance assessments (CPA) of county and unitary authorities which the Audit Commission is due to publish in December. This will mark a significant milestone in completing the proposals in the Local Government White Paper, Strong Local Leadership—Quality Public Services. I have placed copies of our proposals in the Library."Our aim is progressive improvement in authorities' performance as measured by the CPA. Our package means that there will be greater freedom for local councils to allow them to meet the needs of their communities, support where it is needed and effective action to tackle failure. The nature of the action will vary between the different CPA categories.Overall there will be greater devolution of power to local government from central government control. It means greater freedom for councillors and those in the front line to take decisions locally to shape and improve services and respond to local needs.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How they intend to ensure that agri-environment schemes contain mechanisms for identifying ponds for high priority for nature conservation. [HL128]

There are already a number of systems in use for identifying ponds as high priority for nature conservation:Government departments responsible for delivering agri-environment schemes have access to biodiversity records from geographic information systems (GIS) and other national databases.Local and regional records are utilised when appropriate and by local arrangement.Agri-environment schemes such as Countryside Stewardship use regular liaison meetings and a targeting process to identify priority habitats and species. Partner organisations such as the wildlife trusts and the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group often assist scheme applications by providing biodiversity information.Defra's Rural Development Service (RDS), which is the principal delivery service for agri-environment schemes in England, has a reputation for providing high quality ecological advice to potential agreement holders. RDS advisers are able to identify high quality habitats such as ponds when they visit a site to assess an application.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When Customs and Excise will be taking over a range of responsibilities for control of illegal imports of meat; and [HL161]Whether Customs and Excise will receive extra funding in order to cover its running of a range of responsibilities for control of illegal imports of meat. [HL162]

HM Customs and Excise will take over the anti-smuggling activity for control of illegal imports of animals, plants, fish and their products and foodstuffs (including meat) as soon as practicably possible. Defra and HM Customs and Excise are in discussion on the issues in taking this forward.Funding was earmarked in the spending review to reduce the risk of plant and animal disease entering the country. Decisions on how this funding will be allocated will take account of the additional responsibilities placed upon the individual departments and agencies involved.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they anticipate that Metropolitan Police dogs will be used at ports of entry to detect illegal imports of meat; and [HL 163]Whether the dogs belonging to the Metropolitan Police which are being trained to detect illegal imports of meat will eventually come under the control of the Metropolitan Police or Customs and Excise. [HL 164]

The detector dogs participating in the pilot scheme were trained by the Metorpolitan Police but currently belong to Defra. The pilot study into the use of detector dogs for uncovering illegal imports of meat, plants and their products which began on 16 September 2002 has been fully supported by HM Customs and Excise.In the light of the announcement made by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State on 6 November, operational matters on anti-smuggling detection methods will become the responsibility of Customs, linked to delivery of the overall enforcement strategy. Customs will therefore take over responsibility for the dogs that are currently in the pilot scheme and the evaluation of the pilot as soon as practicable. Defra and HM Customs and Excise are in discussion on how to take this forward.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What new financial resources have been made available in (a) England and (b) Wales to tackle problems concerning attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. [HL36]

We have made available 105 million of targeted central funding over four years (to 31 March 2003) to support the implementation of a national development strategy for child and adolescent mental health services in England. This includes provision for tackling problems of access and inequity across the range of mental health disorders in children and young people, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).In October 2000 the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) published an appraisal on the use of the drug methylphenidate for ADHD in children and issued clinical guidelines for its use, including a recommendation that the drug should be used as part of a comprehensive treatment programme for children with a diagnosis of severe ADHD. Appropriate funding for NICE recommendations (accepted by the Government) has been built into the allocations for health authorities. We expect the health service, working with other agencies as appropriate, to implement these guidelines.The funding of health services in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they propose to take to improve the quality of data provided to the National Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Deaths. [HL121]

Participation by the National Health Service in the National Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Deaths (NCEPOD) has been mandatory since 1999. A similar requirement was placed on the private healthcare sector in 2001 through the regulatory system enforced by the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC). It is the responsibility of the Commission for Health Improvement and the NCSC to ensure full compliance by the NHS and private healthcare sector.NCEPOD raised concern in its 2001 Report

asked Her Majesty's Government:What expenditure has been incurred by the Department of Health in respect of services rendered by private sector consultants during the financial years 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2001–02 respectively. [HL160]

Expenditure by the Department of Health on external consultants for each year since 1997 and 2002 is shown in the table.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 6 November (

The business plans for both Foras na Gaeilge and Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch were submitted to the NSMC for its consideration and approval at the meeting in language sector on 14 June 2002. Approval was duly given.It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the action of a former Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive or the workings of the North/South Ministerial Council.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the full allocations of funding to the two parts of the language implementation body by the North/South Ministerial Council have been spent in each year since 1999; if not, how much was not spent; by whom; and in what proportions the funding was released back to the United Kingdom Government and that of the Irish Republic. [HL137]

The North/South language body came into operation at devolution in December 1999.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 7 November

According to the most up-to-date figures held by the department, there are approximately 940 hospital consultant posts in Northern Ireland. There are currently 79 vacancies, which equates to 8.4 per cent.The department's special advisory committees carry out an annual review of the consultant workforce in each of the clinical specialties, and the numbers in training are adjusted, subject to available resources, to meet the assessed need.