asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will publish the annual report for 2001–02 of the Chief Surveillance Commissioner appointed under section 91(1)(a) of the Police Act 1997. [HL399]

The Prime Minister has today laid before Parliament the annual report for 2001–02 of the Chief Surveillance Commissioner on the discharge of his functions under Part III of the Police Act 1997 and Part II of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. As required. under Section 107(3A) of the Police Act 1997, after consultation with the Chief Surveillance Commissioner the Prime Minister can confirm that no matter has been excluded from the enclosed report.My right honourable friend the Prime Minister is most grateful to Sir Andrew Leggatt and his colleagues for the work which has gone into preparing it.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to Written Answers by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 6 November (

Bernard Herdan, chief executive of the Criminal Records Bureau, (CRB) was the senior Home Office official responsible for the specification and for the actual award of the contract to Capita to process criminal record checks. Mr Herdan was, and remains, the senior accountable officer for the CRB.The Minister approved the user requirement for the CRB and the business case for public private partnerships outsourcing and agreed that a contract should be awarded on this basis.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Who is authorised to see personal bank and building society details which appear on an application form for a criminal record check; and what guarantee there is for the applicant that such information cannot be used or abused. [HL213]

All Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) staff are authorised to see applicants' personal information supplied on the disclosure application form. All civil servants and Capita staff must be cleared to government security standards, undertaken by the Home Office Security Unit. In addition all civil servant CRB staff who are responsible for seeing and handling sensitive disclosure information are checked to the same level as enhanced disclosures. Only civil servants have access to the sensitive information held by the police and other data sources. The CRB carries out security checks on the employees of the data processing companies contracted to it. Contractors are also under a legal requirement to ensure their staff respect the confidential nature of the information released to them by an applicant.The scope of personal information available within and to the CRB is limited, precisely to prevent information being used inappropriately. All information on applicants is held confidentially in secure computer files, and we have taken steps to ensure that our systems and procedures prevent authorised access and unlawful disclosure. The CRB has taken advice from the Information Commissioner during the time when the disclosure application forms and our procedures were being drafted, and all personal information applications provide with their disclosure application will be protected under the Data Protection Act 1998.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any penalty clauses were built into the contract with Capita to process criminal record checks; whether any such clauses have been invoked; and to what effect. [HL216]

The contract contains a series of "Milestones" schedule dates, which, in turn have liquidated damage (financial remedies) regimes attached to them. The contract also defines contracted service levels, failure to achieve these results in financial remedies being applied by the agency. Both categories of financial remedy have been applied.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they intend to publish their Updated Drug Strategy. [HL400]

All controlled drugs are harmful and will remain illegal. Drug misuse is the biggest challenge society faces. It damages the health and life chances of individuals. It undermines family life, turns law-abiding citizens into thieves and erodes communities. It is essential that we educate the young about the dangers of drugs, prevent drug misuse, tackle the dealers to reduce the prevalence of drugs on the streets and reduce the harm drugs cause.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the human rights situation in Iraq. [HL363]

On 2 December 2002, Her Majesty's Government published a report on human rights abuses in Iraq. It is based on intelligence material, first-hand accounts of Iraqi victims of torture and oppression, and reports amassed by NGOs over the past decade. The report examines Iraq's record on torture, the treatment of women, prison conditions, arbitrary and summary killings, the persecution of the Kurds and Shia, the harassment of opposition figures outside Iraq and the occupation of Kuwait.The Iraqi regime's contempt for international law and its attachment to weapons of mass destruction were documented in the Government's dossier published on 24 September. Its dreadful human rights record is widely known. Her Majesty's Government consider it important that Parliament and the public should have accurate information about the awful reality of Saddam Hussein's policy of regime terror, which sustains his rule inside Iraq.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Macdonald of Tradeston on 5 November (

We have received one representation from the Northern Ireland Executive concerning lighthouses in Ireland and Northern Ireland only.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the reply by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 27 November (HL Deb, cols. 743–44), what is the position with the European Bus Directive, and whether the future of the double-decker bus is assured. [HL331]

The directive was adopted on 20 November 2001. Officials at the Department of Transport are in the process of completing initial consultations requesting views on the proposed method of implementing it into UK legislation. We are proposing to integrate the requirements of the directive into a consolidation of existing bus and coach regulations to make them simpler and easier to understand. It is hoped to implement this consolidation in the latter half of 2003.The directive will have no effect on the use of existing double-decker buses operating in the UK. Our regulations will permit the current design of low-floor, accessible double-decker buses to continue to be produced.

asked Her Majesty's Government:If they will publish (a) the aggregate amount of civil defence grants to be made for the financial year 2003–04, (b) the amount of grant to be paid in to each local authority, and (c) any formula or other criteria used to determine the allocation between authorities. [HL370]

The aggregate amount is £19,038,000 of which £100,000 will be retained as discretionary grant for special projects and special events deemed of benefit to the wider emergency planning community in England and Wales.The remaining £18,938,000 will be allocated to individual authorities as set out in the table below.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have for the repair of HMS "Nottingham". [HL371]

When the destroyer HMS "Nottingham" grounded in Australian waters on 7 July 2002 she sustained severe damage and flooding in the forward part of the ship. She is now on passage to the UK on a heavy lift ship and is expected to arrive in United Kingdom waters on 7 December. She will then be unloaded and towed into HM naval base at Portsmouth where a contract has been placed for her repair with Fleet Support Limited. The repair work—which will cost around £26 million, including all materials supplied by the department—is expected to last up to 18 months. HMS "Nottingham" is expected to return to operational service in November 2004.HMS "Nottingham" is a highly capable Type 42 destroyer designed to provide area air defence either independently or as an integral component of larger joint or coalition maritime task groups. Her key weapons, sensors and command system were significantly ungraded during an extensive refit in 1999–2000. These improvements will enable the ship to keep pace with the increasing demands of maritime air defence during the next 10 years and will aid interoperability with key allies, in particular the USA. HMS "Nottingham's" contribution will be crucial to bridging the air defence gap during the drawdown in Sea Harrier air defence aircraft beginning in 2005 and the introducton of the Type 45 destroyer from 2007.To ease the short-term programming gap in the fleet created by HMS "Nottingham's" unavailability, HMS "Glasgow'', an older and less capable Type 42, is being regenerated from a planned state of lower readiness. An alternative solution which would have given HMS "Glasgow" a similar capability upgrade to that received by HMS "Nottingham" was deemed to provide best value for money.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the internal review of mistaken taxation of some Armed Forces invalidity pensions has been completed. [HL372]

On 25 April 2002 (Official Report, cols. 426–27W), we informed the House in another place that the problem of mistaken taxation of some service invalidity pensions were more extensive than previously understood. We reported that we had set up an internal review, independent of the staffs involved, to establish the extent of the taxation errors and expose any related problems. This review is now complete.The review has established that the taxation problem is more extensive than we indicated in April. It is now clear that some RAF pensions are affected, and that RN pensions affected are not limited to the period 1973–99. In addition, the review has found that further work is needed on Army pensions; this is required both to re-examine more thoroughly certain cases adjudged when first reviewed as correctly taxed, and to examine for the first time some other cases previously not thought to be at risk.The findings of the review mean that the number of files needing examination has proved considerably larger than we stated previously. We now expect it will not be possible to complete a comprehensive check for all three services before next summer. We regret that this work cannot be done faster, but it is vital that it be done accurately by suitably cleared staff who are also familiar with the relevant documents. The pace of the work is also affected by the lack of comprehensive

Students obtaining qualifications in social work HE institutions in the UK
	Year of qualification:
	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01
Qualification type:
Diploma of HE	2,002	2,039	1,927	1,686	1,479	1,645
Certificate of HE	70	86	298	274	370	335
HND/HNC	135	188	166	207	210	337
Other undergraduate diploma/certificate	1,258	1,174	1,024	1,005	923	1,225
Total	3,465	3,487	3,415	3,172	2,982	3,542

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many persons were awarded the National Diploma in Social Work last year; and how this figure compares with each of the previous five years. [HL66]

The latest available information showing the number of students who obtained undergraduate diplomas or certificates, is shown in the following table. Information for 2001–02 will be available in January 2003.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether copies of the consultation document on school admissions were sent to all schools and governing bodies; and who else received the consultation document. [HL228]

As part of a drive to reduce the amount of paperwork sent directly to schools, the department routinely consults representative samples, rather than going to every individual school. In this instance, the consultation was targeted towards admission authorities, as they would have the most direct interest in changes to the codes and regulations. All local education authorities—as the admission authorities of community and voluntary controlled schools—were consulted, along with a representative sample of foundation and voluntary aided schools, who are their own admission authorities, and a smaller sample of other non-admission authority schools. The consultation was also available on the department's website. In addition, the following representative and national bodies were also consulted:

• Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) Ltd
• The Association of Foundation and Voluntary Aided Schools
• Association of London Government
• Association of Muslim Schools (UK)
• The Board of Deputies of British Jews
• British Humanist Association
• Campaign for State Education (CASE)
• Catholic Education Service and diocesan boards of education
• Centre for Academies Support Services (CASS)
• Church of England Board of Education and diocesan boards of education
• Commission for Racial Equality
• Consortium for Selective Schools in Essex
• Council on Tribunals
• CTC Principals' Forum
• Department of Health
• Equal Opportunities Commission
• Free Church Federal Council
• Greek Orthodox Church
• Home Office Immigration and Nationality Division
• Information for School and College Governors (ISCG)
• Local Government Association
• Local Government Ombudsman
• National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers
• National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations
• National Governors Council
• National Union of Teachers
• Office of the Schools Adjudicator
• Public Sec eam, Cabinet Office
• Personnel Command—Personnel Services, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• Secondary Heads Association
• Service Personnel Policy Families
• Seventh-Day Adventist Church
• Sikh Secretariat
• Society of Friends
• The Education Network
• The Muslim Educational Trust
• The Wales Office

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will undertake or commission further work into the emotional, social and mental health consequences of foot and mouth disease in Cumbria; and whether the research should be extended to encompass children. [HL74]

A national study is currently being carried out by the Institute of Health Research at Lancaster University, on behalf of the Department of Health, and is due to conclude in 2004.In the mean time the Department of Health through the Rural Stress Action Plan continues to work closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to support farmers and their families with the aim of delivering support that will make a difference to those in need.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many managerial staff, at each grade and for each region of the National Health Service, have been granted concessionary pension benefits arising from early retirement during the financial years 2001–02 and 2002–03 to date; and [HL158]How many managerial employees of the National Health Service who took early retirement in the financial years 2001–02 and 2002–03 to date were aged 61–65, 56–60, 51–55, and 50 and under respectively. [HL159]

The information requested is not collected centrally. The number of early retirements, in respect of all National Health Service staff in England and Wales, in the financial years 2001–02 and up to October 2002–03, is in the table:

	Number
2001–02	5,755
2002–03	2,746

Early retirements include those from age 50, on the grounds of redundancy, retirement in the interests of the efficiency of the service, agreed voluntary early retirement and ill-health retirements at any age.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the cost to the National Health Service in 2001–02 of temporary workers, broken down between the cost of doctors, nurses and other staff categories. [HL272]

Information on the cost to the National Health Service in 2001–02 of temporary workers, by category, is not available yet, but figures are expected to be available from mid-December 2002.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Rural Proofing Report (page 20), how many rural, one-stop, primary healthcare centres have been opened since the production of the report. [HL317]

The NHS Plan sets a target to create 500 new one-stop centres to bring together primary and community care services. The rural White Paper announced that up to 100 of these centres or mobile service units will serve rural populations. Data are currently being analysed and a copy of the results will be placed in the Library when available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union for December, and what are the major European Union events for the period between 1 January and 30 June 2003. [HL364]

Business in the Council of the European Union, December 2002 including major European Union events, 1 January to 30 June 2003 is as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether adequate arrangements exist for the disposal of intermediate nuclear waste following the dismantling of Hinkley Point nuclear power station. [HL200]

All intermediate level radioactive waste (ILW) is currently stored in line with government policy. This is under review, and the present arrangements for managing ILW arising from the decommissioning of Hinkley Point A will be revised should the resulting policy require it.

asked Her Majesty's Government: How many regional development agencies employ personnel specifically dealing with tourism in their areas. [HL205]

All regional development agencies (RDAs) employ staff who have tourism as a specific part of their job description.As from April 2003 RDAs will play a stronger part in the strategic leadership of tourism in their regions, including working with the industry to develop a coherent marketing agenda. Regional tourist boards are the natural delivery partners for the RDAs.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many of the 83 public consultations the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs instigated since 1 June 2001 have been responded to and acted upon [HL219]

Information on DEFRA public consultation exercises, including responses to consultations where respondents have not requested anonymity, can be obtained from the DEFRA website at www.defra.gov.uk.All DEFRA public consultation exercises are responded to and acted upon in the sense that every response is thoroughly analysed and taken into account in the development of policies and Proposals. A large proportion of exercises result in proposals being changed in some way, or contribute to the development of policies or UK negotiating lines. Examples of changes made as a result of consultation include amendments to the tone and content of codes of practice, changes to draft legislation, and the withdrawal of some regulatory proposals. Our responses to some of the consultation exercises carried out this year are still under consideration.