asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the amount of litter along the A14 trunk road between the M11/A11 link road and the A12 at Ipswich is acceptable; and, if not, what steps they intend to take to keep this road clean. [HL1354]

Under the provisions of 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. There are six councils responsible for clearing litter along the A14 trunk road between the locations mentioned. These are South Cambridgeshire, West Suffolk, St. Edmundsbury, Mid Suffolk and Babergh District Councils and Ipswich Borough Council.The Highways Agency encourages all councils to ensure that, whenever possible, litter is cleared when lane closures are in place for other reasons such as routine maintenance. In addition, the agency arranges for the immediate removal of refuse or debris reported or found on the trunk road that is considered to be a safety hazard.The Highways Agency is not aware of any recent litter problems on this section of the A14 that could pose a safety problem.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the purpose of a document concerning political and security issues which caused some parties to leave the Northern Ireland multi-party talks on 19 December 2002; who was responsible for preparing it; whether it indicated that the IRA was still re-arming, recruiting and targeting; and what were the circumstances surrounding its supply to a member of the media. [HL951]

I understand the document concerned to have been an internal Irish Government briefing paper. It has not been copied to Her Majesty's Government. The content of the document, its preparation and the circumstances of its becoming public are not the responsibility of the Government.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 9 January (

This is a matter for the Irish Government. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has responsibility for the said site.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 9 January (

The Equality Scheme for the North/South Language Body applies only in Northern Ireland because the statutory duties imposed on public authorities by Section 75 and Schedule 9 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, under which equality schemes are made, apply in respect of their functions relating to Northern Ireland.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 13 January (

During the period 10 January to 31 March 2002 the Departments of Culture, Arts and Leisure and of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs provided funding in response to one application from the Ulster-Scots Agency.

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

The Lingusitic Diversity Branch accepted the invitation of the European Centre for Minority Issues to take part in a conference held by it from 23 to 24 June 2000 in Flensburg, Germany entitled "Evaluating Policy Measures for Minority Languages".

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 7 January 2003 (

Officials from DCAL took part in planning discussions with the organisers of the conference on the theme of "Scotland and Ulster, A Common Heritage, Language, History and Identity 1600–2000" in Magee College, University of Ulster, on 29 to 30 June 2001. One official spoke at the conference.Mr Michael McGimpsey, former DCAL Minister, addressed the "Conference on Communicating Cultures" held in the University of Ulster on 20 to 22 June 2002.Irish language and Ulster-Scots heritage and language were dealt with at both conferences.

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

Officials from DCAL participated in the following conferences organised by Queen's University, Belfast:

• The Dialect 2000: Language Links Conference 9–16 August 2000;
• Symposium on Language and Politics, 23–25 August 2001;
• Symposium on Language and Politics, 18–20 September 2002.

These symposia provided opportunities for Irish and Ulster-Scots interests to come together to discuss their general positions and to address specific areas of interest or concern.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the membership of each Cabinet committee. [HL1552]

Copies of the current list of Cabinet committees, their membership and terms of reference have today been placed in the Libraries of the House. Details will also be updated on the Cabinet Office website at http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/cabsec/index/cabcom/index.htm.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether those on the sex offenders register are subject to travel restrictions which allow them to leave the United Kingdom or to move internally or externally in the United Kingdom; if so, what are the restrictions; and how are they monitored. [HL1041]

Offenders subject to the requirements of Part 1 of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 (the register) must notify the police of their name(s); date of birth; home address and any other addresses in the United Kingdom where they stay for 14 days or more in a 12-month period; and any changes to those details. They must also inform the police if they intend to travel abroad for a period of eight days or longer. If the police believe such offenders pose a risk to children or other members of the public in another country, they can pass that information to the authorities in those countries. The decision to pass on such information would be made only on the basis of a risk assessment.As we stated in the paper

asked Her Majesty's Government:How long Chief Superintendent Ellie Baker, of the West Midlands Police, has been suspended from her post; and when a decision is likely to be reached on whether disciplinary action or other proceedings will be taken against her; and [HLI334]How many police officers above the rank of inspector had been suspended on pay for six months or more on 1 January 2003; and what was the total amount of gross salary and other emoluments paid to those officers during their periods of suspension; and [HL1335]How many police officers above the rank of inspector were suspended in each police force in England and Wales on 1 January 2003. [HL1336]

The West Midlands Police inform me that Detective Chief Superintendent Ellie Baker was suspended on 4 November 2002 following a complaint by a member of the public, which is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Service under the supervision of the Police Complaints Authority. The West Midlands Police further inform me that at this time it is difficult to predict how long the investigation will take to complete. A decision on whether Detective Chief Superintendent Ellie Baker will face disciplinary or other proceedings will be made at the conclusion of that investigation.Information concerning the number of officers above the rank of inspector suspended in England and Wales and the amount of salary and other emoluments paid to them is not held centrally and it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How they propose to advertise to affected communities the creation of new induction centres for asylum seekers; and over what period. [HL1350]

As part of the competitive tendering exercise to procure accommodation to support an induction centre for asylum seekers making their claims in London and the South East, the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) wrote to relevant local authorities. At the time details of the bids were commercially sensitive and this precluded wider consultation with the public. However, we are undertaking a full, independent review of NASS operations and business procedures, including procurement processes in order to determine, among other things, what improvements can be made to make consultation consistent with the need to preserve commercial confidences.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether licensed betting offices and adult gaming centres will operate under the same levels of regulation. [HL1287]

Under our plans for reform of the gambling laws the same principles of regulation will apply to betting offices and adult gaming centres. In both cases the operators of those venues will need to pass a thorough "fit and proper" test to obtain the necessary licences from the new Gambling Commission, and both will require individual premises licences from the relevant local authorities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to ensure that sustainable development is assessed within local authorities' comprehensive performance assessment; and [HL1341]Whether any of the environmental services performance indicators in the comprehensive performance assessment are designed to encourage the protection and enhancement of the natural environment; and, if so, which ones; and [HL1342]Whether the comprehensive performance assessment gives sufficient weight to councils with excellent sustainable development practice; and [HL1343]

The Audit Commission is responsible for developing the CPA framework and applying it to local government. In doing so, it is concerned to ensure that the principles of sustainable development and the factors that contribute to a good local quality of life are built into both the way in which individual services are assessed and the way in which authorities' corporate performance is rated.With county and unitary authorities. some service assessments, for example waste services, based on specific performance indicators and inspection results, appear to have reflected these principles reasonably well. Further work is needed in other areas ahead of the next round of CPAs for these authorities. For all of them, the corporate assessment included judgments about the way in which sustainable development principles underpinned council activity, although specific scores were not given for this.In the case of CPA for district councils, it is also proposed to include a specific assessment of performance in securing a high quality local environment: trials are currently continuing among West Sussex district councils to test the approach.The Audit Commission is also currently piloting a set of quality of life performance indicators with volunteer local authorities. If these measures prove reliable and useful to local authorities, they may be considered for inclusion in both the best value performance indicator set and in inspection standards, in future years.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they propose to grant new statutory powers to the Comptroller and Auditor-General. [HL1515]

The Government set out their policy on audit and access powers for the Comptroller and Auditor-General (C&AG) in our response, published on 13 March 2002 (Cm 5456), to Lord Sharman's report Audit and Accountability in Central Government. The Government stated their intention to make two orders under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (GRAA). The orders have been laid before Parliament today. following the completion of a consultation process seeking the views of those bodies and individuals affected by the orders. The orders reflect the outcome of the consultation exercise.The first order provides for the C&AG to become the statutory auditor of those non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) that are currently audited by private firms or where the C&AG is currently appointed by agreement (other than companies). The order includes a schedule listing the bodies affected and sets out the legislation that is being amended and the amendments to be made. The Government accepted Lord Sharman's recommendation that the C&AG would take over the audit responsibility as existing contracts with auditors expire. NDPBs which are also companies and which need to be audited by a Companies Act auditor are not included in this order. Further legislative changes will be needed to remove statutory barriers that currently mean that the C&AG cannot carry out Companies Act audits.The second order provides the C&AG with statutory access rights, for the purpose of his audit of government accounts and the accounts of NDPBs, to bodies and individuals in receipt of grant, registered social landlords, train operating companies and bodies contracted or subcontracted to provide goods and/or services to government and NDPBs, and to Entrust (the regulator of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme) where the existing non-statutory access will be made statutory under the terms of the Government's response to Lord Sharman's report.A regulatory impact assessment (RIA) setting out the impact the orders are expected to have on bodies and individuals potentially affected by them has been deposited today in the Libraries of both Houses. The RIA notes that the impact of the orders is not expected to be significant, with the overall cost of the new arrangements expected to be broadly the same as if the current arrangements had continued. It acknowledges that the new arrangements may not be completely without cost in each individual case. However, the RIA concludes that, in the light of assurances given by the C&AG, the Government are satisfied that on balance the advantages and disadvantages of these arrangements add up to a clear and continuing net gain for Parliament and the public.It is the Government's further intention that the C&AG should have access on a non-statutory basis for his value for money (VFM) examinations to the same bodies as are designated under the order in respect of his financial audit functions. Access to such bodies would not be for the purpose of conducting a VFM examination of the bodies themselves; the access would be exercised solely in connection with VFM examinations of public sector bodies. The Government will provide this access through conditions on the award of grants, conditions in contracts and other agreements as appropriate.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union for February; and what are the major European Union events for the period between 1 March and 31 August 2003. [HL1484]

Forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union, February 2003 to August 2003:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their policy in relation to the use of water for the generation of electricity in Wales. [HL1333]

The Government's policy is to maximise the contribution that hydrogeneration, and indeed all forms of renewable energy, can make to electricity production in Wales and more widely in the UK. Generating stations eligible under the Renewables Obligation include very small hydro stations of 1.25 MW DNC or less and also stations between 1.25 MW DNC and 20MW DNC commissioned before 1 January 1990, provided that they have been refurbished after that date. Output from such stations is eligible for renewable obligation certificates.Under its renewable energy programme, the DTI is providing funding of up to £1.6 million to a Pembrokeshire-based company, Tidal Hydraulic Generators, to develop tidal-stream technology.The Government will shortly be publishing an energy White Paper which will include the role of renewable energy in a low-carbon economy.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 16 January (

I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in another place on 15 January, Official Report, col 644W–646W.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their policy in relation to flood control in the Upper Severn Basin on the Wales/Shropshire border. [HL1332]

The department, with the National Assembly for Wales (NAW), has overall policy responsibility for flood and coastal defences in England and Wales and administers grant-aid for capital defence schemes. Operational responsibility for flood measures rests with the local operating authorities, normally the Environment Agency (EA) and local councils, which decide which projects to promote and their timing.The aim of Defra and NAW policy is to reduce the risks to people and the developed and natural environment from flooding and erosion: by encouraging the provision of adequate and cost-effective flood warning systems; by encouraging the provision of adequate, technically, environmentally and economically sound and sustainable flood and coastal defence measures; and by discouraging inappropriate development in areas at risk from flooding or coastal erosion.Defra and NAW encourage operating authorities to look strategically at flood risk areas in relation to river catchments. The EA is currently preparing a catchment flood management plan for the Upper Severn and any options for flood alleviation measures arising from this plan must satisfy essential criteria to qualify for either Defra or NAW grant.

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

The interaction between game licensing and gun laws is not straightforward. For instance, the legislation governing game licensing permits certain birds and animals, including deer, to be killed using a gun or by other means, within specified dates, by a person holding the proper game licence. The Night Poaching Act 1828 makes it an offence to take or destroy any game or rabbits by night in any land with any gun or other instrument. Under the Poaching Prevention Act 1862, courts may in certain cases order the forfeit of any game or gun found on an offender. The Ground Game Act 1880 gives an occupier ofland certain rights to kill ground game with firearms. The Deer Act 1991 prohibits the use of certain types of firearm for the purpose of taking, killing or injuring deer.The main control on firearms in England, Wales and Scotland is the Firearms Act 1968. Firearms described in Sections 1 and 2 of the Act, including most hunting and target rifles, and shotguns commonly used for game shooting, may be held on a firearm or shotgun certificate respectively. Such certificates are issued by the local police. Game shooting is generally considered to be among the good reasons for which the police would issue a certificate for the possession of firearms.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Autumn Performance Report 2002, which common agricultural policy schemes are only partially administered by the Rural Payments Agency; and which organisation or organisations share their administration. [HL1404]

There are a number of schemes that are partially administered by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). Most of the schemes in question form part of the England Rural Development Programme, and are administered by the Rural Development Service and, in a limited number of cases, other parts of my department, with the RPA retaining responsibility for physically making payments and accounting matters. These schemes are:

• Countryside Stewardship
• Environmentally Sensitive Areas
• Organic Farming
• Farm Woodland Premium
• Rural Enterprise
• Processing and Marketing Grants
• Vocational Training
• Energy Crops.

The same administrative arrangements also apply to a number of closed agri-environment support schemes that form precursors to those listed above.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Autumn Performance Report 2002, why the number of days of poor air quality in both urban and rural areas rose by approximately 20 per cent from 2000 to 2001. [HL1405]

The number of days of poor air quality fluctuates from one year to the next because of differences in weather conditions. Adverse weather conditions can increase the number of high pollution episodes, which can cause an increase in the number of poor air quality days. The increase in the number of days of poor air quality in 2001 compared to 2000 was due to differences in the weather between the two years.There has been a long-term decline in the number of urban air pollution days mainly due to decreasing pollutant emissions from road traffic, electricity generation and industry in response to progressively tighter government standards and controls in these sectors. There is no clear trend in the number of rural air pollution days. This reflects the variability of ground level ozone, the main cause of pollution in rural areas.The long-term improvement in urban air quality continued in 2002. In urban areas in 2002, days when air pollution was recorded as moderate or higher are provisionally estimated to be 14 days on average per site, compared with 24 days in 2001, 19 days in 2000 and 59 days in 1993. In rural areas, the provisional figure for 2002 is 23 days on average per site, compared with 30 in 2001. The number of days has fluctuated between 19 days in 1987 and 48 days in 1990.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to their response to the reports of the foot and mouth disease inquiries(

The working group completed a series of meetings in May 2002. We think that a combination of a levy and voluntary top-up insurance could provide a basis for a way forward. My officials are working on detailed proposals with a view to launching a wide-ranging consultation exercise in the summer 2003.