asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the number of prisoners serving life sentences has increased in each of the past five years; what is the percentage increase over the whole period; and to what causes they attribute any increase. [HL1430]

The number of prisoners serving life sentences has increased in each of the past five years.The number of prisoners serving life sentences in June 1997 was 3,721. The number of prisoners serving life sentences in June 2002 was 5,147. This represents a total increase of 1,426.The percentage increase in the population of life sentenced prisoners between 1997 and 2002 is 38 percent.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in the light of low reoffending by lifers released on parole, they consider that the Life Sentence Management Unit and the Parole Board are working effectively to move prisoners towards parole and re-entry into society. [HL1432]

I am satisfied that through the work of Lifer Unit, the Prison Service's responsibilities for progressing lifers towards release when it is safe to do so are being managed properly and effectively. In this, the independent Parole Board plays a key role through its assessments of a prisoner's risk.Individually and jointly, the Lifer Unit and the Parole Board continue to seek to improve the lifer review process. I am satisfied that the overall risk assessment and review processes continue to work to the benefit of the prisoner and to society as a whole.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether pre-sentence reports on offenders are being delayed; and whether sentences are being passed without reports or deferred. [HL1463]

Several probation areas in England and Wales are currently experiencing difficulties with the timely delivery of pre-sentence reports to courts. As a consequence some hearings have been deferred and some sentences have been passed without a report, although information is not collected centrally on the number of cases involved. The reasons for the difficulties vary from area to area. Chief officers of probation have been given clear guidance on the prioritisation of reports to court and encouraged to work closely with sentencers locally to agree criteria for the provision of reports.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Filkin on 5 February (

Information on the number of persons who were removed after unsuccessfully seeking asylum in 2000 and 2001 is not available except by examination of individual casefiles. This could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.The number of asylum applicants removed from 2000 to September 2002 is given in the table.

	2000	2001	January to September 2002 (p)
Principal Applicants1	8,980	9,285	7,780
Dependants2	n/a	1,4952	1,825
(p) Provisional data subject to change.
Figures are rounded the nearest five.
1 Includes persons departing "voluntarily" after enforcement action has been initiated against them and persons leaving under the assisted voluntary return programmes run by the IOM.
2 Data for dependants removed show only those removed from April 2001 onwards. Data on dependants were not collected prior to this date.

Data on the number of asylum applicants removed in the final quarter of 2002 are due to be published at the end of February on the Home Office web-site:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What statute-based rules now apply to the surveillance and reporting of activity in bank accounts belonging to individuals and to businesses; when the present rules were introduced; whether the surveillance and reporting of activity in bank accounts differs according to categories of people and businesses and assessed degrees of fraud and other offences; and whether the rules or practices in relation to Muslim individuals and Muslim-owned businesses, or those from predominantly Muslim countries, are in any ways different from those which apply to individuals and businesses in general. [HL1379]

Anti-money-laundering controls comprise a mixture of legal requirements and regulatory arrangements. The main primary and secondary legislation currently in force are the Drug Trafficking Act 1994, the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Money Laundering Regulations (1993 and 2001). The anti-money laundering regime will be strengthened when Part 7 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 comes into force on 24 February. This Act will require employees in the regulated financial sector to report transactions where they know, suspect or have reasonable grounds to know or suspect that a person is engaged in money laundering.In addition, the Terrorism Act 2000 provides that it is an offence for a person who in the course of a trade, profession, business or employment believes or suspects that a person has committed a terrorist fund-raising offence and does not disclose it to a constable. The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 strengthened this provision so that it made it an offence for a regulated financial institution not to report a transaction where an employee "had reasonable grounds to suspect" it was the proceeds of, or intended for use in, a terrorist crime.None of this legislation discriminates between countries or individuals on religious, ethnic or cultural grounds.The only countries which are treated any differently in the above arrangements are the 15 identified by the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (the international standard setting organisation) as failing to comply with the international fight against money laundering. Financial institutions have a duty to pay attention to the list of these countries when considering whether a transaction is suspicious. The countries in question are: Burma, the Cook Islands, Egypt, Grenada, Guatemala, Indonesia, Nauru, Nigeria. Philippines, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Ukraine.Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, constables, customs officers and financial investigators accredited under the Act will also be able to apply for court orders to obtain information on bank accounts and to monitor transaction details. Such powers are already in place in respect of terrorist funding. Police and Customs officers may also use powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to obtain financial information in their investigation of acquisitive offences.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What assessment has been made of the amount of police time that is wasted arising out of false allegations of rape. [HL1453]

Rape is an extremely serious offence, and it is right that the police should be prepared to investigate any complaint made to them.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What consideration they have given to the work of Carol Sarler on the issue of raising rape conviction rates by introducing a new charge of date rape. [HL1488]

The Sexual Offences Bill follows a major review of the criminal law on sexual offences, which looked at a wide range of the very numerous authorities on sex offences and sex offenders, as listed in Annex K of volume 2 of Setting the Boundaries. The review process involved consideration of a significant number of reports and research studies and included a comparison with the laws of a number of other countries, including Australia and New Zealand. Carol Sarler's work was not considered as part of the review process, but we are satisfied that the review was comprehensive and thorough and the question of whether there should be a separate offence of date rape is one that was considered in detail and properly rejected by the review.We believe that the offence of rape cannot be divided into more or less serious offences. It can be just as traumatic to be raped by someone you know, especially in view of the breach of trust that is involved, as to be raped by a stranger who sexually assaults the first man or woman who passes by. The crime of rape is so serious that it needs to be considered in its totality rather than being constrained by any relationship between the parties. The issue of severity of the offence should be left to the judges on sentencing, rather than attempting to deal with it by creating a separate offence.This view is supported by the Sentencing Advisory Panel in its recently published guidelines on sentencing in cases of rape.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many times the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has paid compensation in rape cases in each of the past three years; and [HL1489]

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has provided the following information about compensation awards made for non-consensual vaginal or anal intercourse in the last three financial years:

Financial Year	Number of Awards
1999–2000	1,437
2000–01	1,390
2001–02	1,336

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority will refer to the police any case where it suspects that a false claim has been made and co-operate in the police investigation of any such allegation. I understand that the authority has identified two cases in recent years where following an application for compensation for rape there was a prosecution on the grounds that the claim was false.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will ask the Turkish Government to respond to the Council of Europe's Committee on the Prevention of Torture concerning conditions in Imrali Island Prison and any other relevant outstanding issues raised by the committee. [HL1102]

Her Majesty's Government have no plans expressly to ask the Turkish Government to respond to the Council of Europe's Committee on the Prevention of Torture concerning conditions in Imrali Island Prison. There are already encouraging signs of closer co-operation between the new Turkish Government and the Council of Europe, including the Committee on the Prevention of Torture, most recently in Prime Minister Gul's speech to the Parliamentary Assembly on 27 January 2003; but also in a pattern of co-operation with the Committee on the Prevention of Torture.We do, however, raise human rights issues with Turkey at regular intervals, for instance during an ongoing human rights dialogue, the last round of which took place in London on 26 November 2002.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contribution will be to the recycling and composting of household waste. [HL1406]

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for the policy framework within which local authorities manage household waste, including recycling and composting. The department has a number of functions associated with that policy framework. These include:setting statutory performance standards for recycling and composting which individual local authorities must deliver by 2003–04 and 2005–06;sponsoring the Waste and Resources Action Programme—a company established by government to help to promote sustainable waste management through tackling market barriers to recycling and removing barriers to waste minimisation, reuse and recycling;administering funds that are designed to assist local authorities in delivering sustainable waste management solutions over and above the general revenue support grant that is provided in the Local Government Finance Settlement. These funds include a waste minimisation and recycling challenge fund (£140 million for 2002–03 and 2003–04) and £355 million of local private finance initiative (PFI) resources.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the proposals for changes to the system of farming subsidies announced on 22 January, how many farms which have an income above the threshold for a cut in subsidy of 12.5 to 19 per cent do not have a profit level sufficient to absorb the subsidy cut without making a loss. [HL1509]

The proposals announced on 22 January form a complex package of measures. A significant part of the package is the proposal to decouple the majority of the subsidy payments from production and to create a "single farm payment". This decoupling will permit farm businesses to restructure in order to achieve business profitability exclusive of the new income payment. In addition, the proposals allow for the recycling of a share of the modulated funds to producers for rural development.The specific nature of farm business restructuring as a result of decoupling will depend on producers' preferences and their responses to market signals. Furthermore the modulation rates of 12.5 and 19 per cent will not be reached until 2012, around a decade hence. For these reasons it is not feasible to give reliable estimates of the effect on farm profits.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In which location the job retention and rehabilitation pilot will operate. [HL1700]

The Department for Work and Pensions together with the Department of Health and appropriate Scottish Executive officials are currently preparing for the implementation of job retention and rehabilitation pilot in April 2003 in Birmingham, Greater Glasgow, Sheffield, Tyneside, Teesside and West Kent.This research pilot will evaluate the impact of innovative strategies involving health and workplace interventions. The aim is to help employed and self-employed people who have been off work sick for over six weeks return to and remain in work. Pilot service providers will market the pilot throughout local communities including health professionals and employers to raise awareness and encourage people to volunteer. The pilot will operate in the following post code locations:BIRMINGHAM

asked Her Majesty's Government:What statistics they have for the number and types of hospital infections in each of the past seven years for hospital staffs and patients respectively. [HL1313]

National data on hospital infections are limited and it is for this reason that we are developing a new national compulsory surveillance system for healthcare associated infection. The first phase of this new surveillance system, on methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus blood stream infections, was introduced in April 2001. All acute trusts now collect this information and it is the first time that baseline data have been available. The results for the first year of this scheme (April 2001 to March 2002) for every National Health Service acute trust in England were published in the Communicable Disease Report (CDR) Weekly on 20 June 2002. These are available on the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) website www.phls.co.uk/publications/ccdr/PDFfiles/2002/cdr2502.pdf.The second phase of compulsory surveillance will be introduced shortly and will collect information on other micro-organisms and incidents such as outbreaks of infection.The PHLS has voluntary reporting systems for a range of pathogenic organisms but as these systems do not distinguish between cases acquired in hospital and those acquired elsewhere they cannot be used to look at trends in hospital acquired infection.The PHLS also has a voluntary reporting system for gastro-enteritis that identifies outbreaks in hospital and a report

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which parts of the Hospital Discharge Workbook will form the only replacement for existing statutory guidance. [HL1495]

It is our intention to issue official guidance to coincide with the implementation of the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc) Bill. The guidance will include a number of the principles underlying the good practice guidance contained in Discharge from Hospital: Pathway, Process and Practice.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the protection of vulnerable adults list was introduced. [HL1496]

The protection of vulnerable adults list has yet to be introduced.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will encourage the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to assess the medical drug Ebixa for use by patients with Alzheimer's disease; and [HL1544]What discussion they have had, or intend to have, with the Alzheimer Society about the use of Ebixa for patients with Alzheimer's disease. [HL1545]

The Government are currently considering whether the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) should appraise memantine (Ebixa) as part of its eighth wave of work.The Alzheimer's Society has put its views to the Government about the use of memantine for people with Alzheimer's disease.

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

The political parties who remained at the conclusion of the talks leading to the Belfast agreement and made clear their support for it were Alliance, Labour, the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, the Progressive Unionist Party, Sinn Fein, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, the Ulster Democratic Party and the Ulster Unionist Party; though in some cases their support on the day was subject to subsequent consultation with party colleagues.

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

The Belfast agreement is a political agreement between the British Government, the Irish Government and those Northern Irish political parties represented at the talks concluded on 10 April 1998. Certain provisions within it are given legal force by the Northern Ireland Act 1998; and by the British-Irish Agreement.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Who appointed the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to act as human rights advisers to the Police Service of Northern Ireland; when this was done; and why. [HL1389]

Section 69(6) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires that the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission shall promote understanding and awareness of the importance of human rights in Northern Ireland.The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) consults a range of bodies with expertise in human rights and equality issues on the preparation of key documents from time to time; this includes the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.PSNI has not appointed a human rights adviser, although a lawyer with specific expertise in the field of human rights was appointed to the staff of the police legal services, as recommended in the Patten report in October 2001.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission was unrepresented at the graduation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on 23 August 2003. [HL1390]

I understand that no commissioner was available to attend the Police Service of Northern Ireland graduation ceremony.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will place in the Library of the House any letters that they have sent to Northern Ireland Members of Parliament concerning 50:50 recruitment to the Police Service of Northern Ireland. [HL1614]

Correspondence between Government Ministers and individuals is considered private and in confidence unless the recipient chooses to release it to the public.It would therefore be inappropriate to place the letters requested by the noble Lord in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many of the pupils at Dungannon Integrated College are designated as (a) Protestant; (b) Roman Catholic; and (c) other. [HL1521]

The information requested is as follows:

	Number
Protestant	166
Roman Catholic	261
Other	34
Total	461

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many pupils and boarders there are enrolled in the Royal School, Dungannon; and what were the equivalent numbers five years ago. [HL1522]

The information requested is as follows:

	Enrolment	Boarders
1997–98	646	35
2002–03	648	43

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many pupils are enrolled at each primary school in the local authority area of Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council; and what were the equivalent numbers five years ago. [HL1523]

The information requested is as follows:

School Name	Enrolment 1997–98	Enrolment 2002–03
Aughamullan PS	62	50
Augher Central PS	51	42
Aughnacloy PS	97	108
Ballygawley PS	68	49
Benburb PS	41	32
Bush PS	98	169

asked the Chairman of Committees:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Tordoff on 18 December 2001 (

The total waste generated in 2001–02 was 1,279 tonnes, a reduction of 14.3 per cent compared with the figure for 2000–01 (1,493 tonnes).

asked the Chairman of Committees:Whether the House of Lords takes part in the paper recycling scheme run by BioRegional, which is in operation in the House of Commons; and, if so, whether the recycled product is available for use by Members of the Lords; and [HL1658]Whether every office in the House of Lords has, or should have, facilities for recycling white paper and other paper. [HL1659]

All waste paper from the Parliamentary Estate can be recycled by means of the recycling bins in facilities rooms. In addition, a programme is now under way to install recycling bins in every office across the Estate.The House purchases paper from various suppliers selected on the basis of value for money and reliability of service. Paper supplied to photocopiers and printers is 100 per cent recyclable. I understand that the House of Commons authorities purchase recycled paper that has been specified by BioRegional. However, waste paper from both Houses is recycled by other contractors.

asked the Chairman of Committees:What was the energy consumption of the Parliamentary Estate for the financial year 2001–02; whether there is a set target to reduce this consumption; and, if so, what are the targets for 2003–04 and 2004–05. [HL1660]

Energy consumption for 2001–02 was 53.5 million kW hr. The current works to modernise the main boiler and chiller plant in the Palace of Westminster will bring significant improvements in plant efficiency. When the commissioning data are available from the new equipment, targets for future consumption can be set.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the area of brownfield land which has been developed in the county of South Yorkshire and in the Yorkshire region in 2002 and since 1997. [HL1511]

Reliable regional figures are currently available for 1997 to 2000 only. These figures show that, in this time period, around 400 hectares of vacant and derelict land were developed in South Yorkshire. The total for the Government Office Region of Yorkshire and the Humber was around 1,200 hectares developed over the same period.