asked Her Majesty's Government:Why they have no plans to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the unions of the crowns of Scotland and England this year. [HL1163]

I have not ping futher to add to my previous reply to the noble Lord. I apologise for the delay in answering this question.

asked Her Majesty's Government:(a) what orders or regulations have been made under each of the powers referred to in paragraph 2 of Appendix 2 to the Special Report of the Select Committee on Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform (2002–03, 3rd Report,

A list of the principal and most obvious instances of regulations that have been made under paragraph 2 of Appendix 2 to the Special Report c f the Select Committee on Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform is given in the table below.This is correct to 14 February 2003.Although the table correctly indicates that no regulations have been made under s.157 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, such regulations will be laid next week and these will amend primary: legislation.

Use of power to make consequential etc. provision
Item	Act	Exercises (S.I. Nos.)	Amend/repeal primary legislation?
1	s. 54 Local Government (Wales) Act 1994	1999/1782	no
		1998/2859	no
		1997/540	no
		1996/3071	yes
		1996/1366	no
		1996/1008	yes
		1996/910	no
		1996/906	no
		1996/633	yes
		1996/619	yes
		1996/618	no
		1996/549	no
		1996/532	no
		1996/525	yes
		1996/409	no
		1996/335	yes
		1996/88	no
		1996/56	yes
		1995/3150	no

asked the Leader of the House:In the light of the limited opportunities for Members of the House to express an opinion about a declaration of war until after hostilities have begun, whether he will begin consultation on the introduction in the House of Lords of the Early Day Motion procedure of the House of Commons, whereby Members of Parliament could express their opinion on a variety of issues without the Government being obliged to initiate a debate. [HL1797]

It is open to any Lord to invite the Procedure Committee to consider a proposal for Early Day Motions. I have no plans to do so at present.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have regarding funding for the Supporting People programme. [HL1798]

The Supporting People programme aims to improve the quality of life of vulnerable people by supporting them to live independently in the community. It begins on 1 April. I am pleased to tell the House today that total provisional annual amounts of supporting people grant for England, based on estimates submitted by authorities in December and other relevant information, for 2003–04, is £1.4 billion. I shall be writing further to local authorities to set out in detail their individual grant amounts and the grant conditions, directions and guidance.The programme is now providing supported housing in the form of at least 530,000 household units for older people, mainly in sheltered services; 45,000 household units for people with learning difficulties, or mental health problems; 4,000 household units to support the rehabilitation of ex-offenders; 3,000 household units for women fleeing domestic violence; and 75,000 household units for people who were homeless or from other vulnerable client groups. It is also providing a considerable and growing amount of non-accommodation based "floating" support (including community alarms and Home Improvement Agency services)—around 410,000 households in all. This is a major investment in some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of society, with the clear objective of helping them to become, or remain, full participants in their local communities. The programme's aim is to prevent crises, such as hospitalisation, institutional care or homelessness, by providing early support when it is most effective.For the past three years the Government have been working with local authorities. providers, and other partners to prepare for this programme. Our overriding priority has been to make sure that people receiving services see no interruption to their services on 1 April. Equally, those people receiving transitional housing benefit at the point of transfer must see their services continued during the transitional period on the same basis and cost to themselves as before. A great deal of work has been done both by local authorities and service providers to capture accurately the current cost and nature of services in order to reflect these in new interim contracts on 1 April.Initial grant allocations are for six months, since there remains work to be done to ensure that the estimates provided in December are accurate and fully evidenced. Final, fully verified, figures as at 31 March are required from local authorities by 30 September to confirm grant amounts. At that point, any over- or underestimates will be adjusted for.The new Supporting People programme will be delivered under the Local Government Act 2000 Section 93. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will therefore administer the programme under the normal arrangement of a cash-limited budget using,in the future, an allocation formula on which there has been recent consultation.We are also conscious that there are services in the pipeline, which are currently incurring capital spend, and which will require revenue funding once the buildings are completed. We have therefore made a provisional allocation for some of these, subject to confirmation of progress. We have also made an allowance for expected savings due to declining obligations in respect of transitionally protected clients and the impact of early reviews.We are aware that authorities are entering into interim contracts in order to manage the process of transition, and that they will soon be conducting reviews with a view to establishing longer-term contracts. We will ensure that the allocations for years two and three meet the validated contractual commitments that authorities are obliged to put in place in order to meet their legal requirements and to manage the Supporting People programme on a stable basis until the next spending review in 2004 (which will cover years 2005–06 onwards). We intend to publish further guidance on this by 1 April at the latest. By that date we also intend to have set out ground rules on how Authorities can enter into longer term contracts and advice about how these will fit with the timetable of spending reviews at a national level.At this point, however, it is not possible to set out definitive amounts for years two and three. Initial grant conditions have been set for six months, which will allow us to monitor progress, including the beginning of a rigorous service review programme. This may result in small adjustments in-year if they prove necessary for the proper management of the programme.It is now time for local authorities, providers, and their partners in health and probation to take ownership of this programme. Every service must undergo a review during the first three years of the programme. This review is aimed at improving the quality of service, assessing its strategic relevance, and challenging its value for money.The review process at the local level must be rigorous and disciplined to ensure that the services purchased through Supporting People are necessary, give good value for money, and are on a stable and appropriate contractual basis. Local authorities which do not carry out proper reviews or which provide insubstantial evidence of the benefits and strategic relevance of services cannot expect to receive continued levels of funding in future. We will also be looking carefully at the impact of the draft allocations formula, about which we are consulting at present.This programme offers an exciting new opportunity to local authorities and their partners to develop local partnerships to meet effectively the needs of their local people, using innovative new models of preventative services. We look forward to the development and sharing of positive practice in achieving the targets of social inclusion of vulnerable groups in their local communities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Following the case of Mr Colin Skellet, whether they will set up an independent inquiry, under the chairmanship of a judicial figure, to examine the use of briefings by the police and Crown Prosecution Service given to the press at the time of arrest and to ascertain whether this procedure is prejudicial to the cause of justice, fair trials and the reputation of those against whom all charges are eventually dropped. [HL1559]

The Crown Prosecution Service did not give briefings to the press at the time of Mr Skellet's arrest. It would be highly unusual for the Crown Prosecution Service to issue such a briefing. Police briefings are given from time to time but I tee no need for a judicial inquiry into such briefings. I do, however, keep under review the use of such briefings in particular cases, as part of my responsibilities in the area of contempt.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will discuss with the Government of Equatorial Guinea allegations concerning the use of forced labour and concerns about payments by oil companies and the current allocation of natural resources and oil revenues. [HL1674]

We have raised the issue of oil revenues at all recent meetings with the President and the Government of Equatorial Guinea, pressing for greater transparency and wider benefits for the general population. While we do not have specific information about the use of forced labour, we are seriously concerned about the Government's human rights record, and have registered these concerns bilaterally and with our EU partners.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What has been the expenditure on information technology systems for each of the past six years for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, the Defence Scientific and Technical Laboratory and QinetiQ. [HL1191]

In the period from financial year 1997–98 to financial year 2000–01, the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) spent the following amounts on corporate information technology systems:

• FY 1997–98 £45.7 million
• FY 1998–99 £64.7 million
• FY 1999–2000 £66.8 million
• FY 2000–01 £55.6 million

On 1 July 2001, DERA was split into QinetiQ and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). At this point, around 75 per cent of DERA's staff and assets transferred into QinetiQ.In financial year 2001–02 and financial year 2002–03 QinetiQ and Dstl spent the following amounts on corporate information technology systems:

QinetiQ	Dstl
FY 2001–02 £36.9 million	£15.4 million
FY 2002–03 £32.3 million	£16.4 million	(estimates to year end)

The amounts above include capital expenditure and the costs of provision of corporate network services (including telephones), but exclude any IT costs incurred as a direct result of the separation of DERA into QinetiQ and Dstl.The split of DERA occurred part way through financial year 2001–02. In order to allow for a comparison between financial years, DERA's IT costs for the period 1 April to 30 June 2001 have been apportioned between QinetiQ and Dstl in line with the division of DERA's staff and assets between the two organisations. This apportionment has been used to produce the whole year figures for each organisation for financial year 2001–02 above.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why, in a period of heightened tension, it is possible for protestors or anyone else, to gain unauthorised access to Marchwood military port. [HL1531]

The security of all Ministry of Defence establishments is kept under constant revieWAnd is enhanced as necessary. It would not be realistic to attempt to secure the very extensive outer perimeters of any MoD site to a level that would guarantee that it could never be penetrated, or exclude the possibility of material damage in a non-sensitive area. We rely on defence in depth, priority being given to the protection of life and to those assets critical to the delivery of defence capability.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What figures they have for the take-up of the anthrax vaccine, in percentage terms, by service personnel now deployed or deploying to the Gulf in the Navy, the Royal Air Force and the Army respectively. [HL1312]

All personnel deploying to the Gulf are offered anthrax vaccination. It is their personal choice whether or not they accept the vaccination. Information is held centrally on the total numbers of personnel who have been offered, and have accepted, anthrax vaccination. The numbers of personnel in each service who have been offered, and have accepted, anthrax vaccination as at 12 February 2003, are shown below:

Service	Total Personnel Offered	Number accepted	Percentage uptake
Naval Services	3,589	1,346	37.5
Army	6,466	4,340	67.1
RAF	8.572	3,840	44.8
Joint NBC Regt	239	151	63.2
Total	18.866	9.677	51.3

Information regarding the take-up of the anthrax vaccine by service personnel who have deployed, or are deploying, to the Gulf is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:On how many occasions in the past three months Iraq anti-aircraft facilities have locked on or otherwise presented serious threat to Royal Air Force aircraft engaged in legitimate duty within the no-fly zone over both the north and south of Iraq. [HL1411]

Threats to coalition aircraft patrolling the no-fly zones in Iraq include anti-aircraft artillery and/or surface-to-air missile fire, and acquisition by radar.We do not hold separate threat figures for individual nations' aircraft; they are recorded for the coalition as a whole.Between 1 November 2002 and 10 February 2003 Iraqi air defence systems threatened coalition aircraft conducting patrols of the no-fly zones on 120 occasions–24 in the north and 96 in the south.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many reservists, of the 2,000 called up so far, have appealed against call-up; and what action the Ministry of Defence will take if employers sue the Ministry over the length of time their employee is away. [HL1449]

As at 7 February, 4,769 call-out notices had been issued in support of Operation Telic. Of these, 138 were revoked before the individual reported for service. On the same date, there had been 175 applications from reservists seeking either an exemption or deferral of call-out of which 115 had been upheld. In addition, there had been 207 applications from employers, of which 108 had been upheld. A further 68 reservist and 54 employer applications were awaiting adjudication.Reservists are called out under the authority of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 (RFA 96). The Act recognises that successful call-out depends on a three-way relationship between the Government, the reservists themselves and their employers. RFA 96 therefore provides a number of safeguards for employers, including the right to apply for exemption from, deferral, or revocation of the call-out of their employee. Employers may also claim, up to set amounts, for the additional costs incurred because a member of their staff has been called out. The costs of advertising and retraining the employee on their return are also provided for. Should an employer be dissatisfied with the Ministry of Defence's decision in any given case, they have a right to appeal to an independent Reserve Forces Appeals Tribunal.These safeguards should remove the need for any employer to resort to legal action. However, the department would handle any such action in the normal way.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answers by Lord Bach on 21 January (

The Ministry of Defence has committed £285,000 to preventative programmes to assist with the rehousing of ex-service personnel in the current financial year and has budgeted to commit the same resources in 2003–04.These funds support the programmes run by the Joint Service Housing Advisory Office (JSHAO) costing £140,000 per annum, the Single Persons Accommodation Centre for Ex-Services (SPACES) costing £110,000 per annum and the Shelter Armed Forces project (A FP) at a cost of £35,000 per annum.The JSHAO was established by MoD in 1992. The SPACES and Shelter projects arose from a joint Ministry of Defence/Office of the Deputy Prime Minister working group set up to assist the small proportion of service personnel who are vulnerable to homelessness. The working group developed a policy to ensure provision of assistance at three key stages: pre-discharge, to identify and help vulnerable people who need further support before they leave the Armed Forces; point of discharge, to develop and implement a basic housing resettlement package for vulnerable individuals; and post-discharge, to work with the voluntary sector to create an effective safety net for vulnerable and homeless ex-service personnel.The objective of JSHAO is to provide (pre-discharge) housing information, advice and where possible placement to all service personnel and their dependants and ex-service personnel still occupying service accommodation.The SPACES partnership with English Church Housing Group has the objective of providing single service leavers with a (primarily point of discharge) tri-service accommodation placement agency.The Shelter AFP has the objective of providing (point of discharge) housing advice and information to those members of the services who are discharged from the Armed Forces after a period of detention at the Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC).In addition, MoD has recently formed a partnership with ODPM, Business In the Community, the defence industry, Training for Life and other organisations in the voluntary sector to try to address post-discharge homelessness among ex-service personnel. The initiative, called "Project Compass—The Ex-Service Ready for Work Programme", was launched in November 2002 and offers new opportunities to homeless ex-service personnel by providing motivational and self-esteem training, vocational training and work placements. Those with more complex needs will also be referred to specialist assistance. One of the outcomes of this 12-month pilot project, based in London, will be a template of methodology for similar projects around the United Kingdom. Project Compass is funded by contributions from partners in the defence industry—£40,000, and—the ODPM Homelessness Directorate—£23,500.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the United Kingdom remains committed to supporting the settlement process in Sierra Leone. [HL1799]

The United Kingdom is committed to supporting the settlement process in Sierra Leone, which saw its first full year of peace for a decade in 2002. As part of a cross-departmental strategy agreed jointly by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and Department for International Development, the UK-led international military advisory and training team is helping to develop the Republic of Sierra Leone armed forces into a professional, effective and democratically accountable force.As part of our ongoing commitment, a company group from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles will deploy to Freetown this week. This deployment also demonstrates the United Kingdom's ability to conduct such deployments notwithstanding our commitments elsewhere in the world.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many employees of the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourism Council have been, or will be, made redundant because of the merger of the two bodies. [HL1501]

No posts at the British Tourist Authority (BTA) or the English Tourism Council (ETC) have yet been made redundant as a result of the reorganisation. The organisational structure of the relaunched national tourism organisation is currently under development. Once finalised, BTA and ETC will consult with staff and their trade union as necessary on any redundancies which may be contemplated as a result.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether in view of the recent values achieved by the sale of betting shops they intend to offer the shops of the Tote for sale by competitive tender. [HL1693]

No. The Government intend to allow for the sale of all of the Tote's business to a trust representative of the interests of horseracing. We will bring forward legislation to provide for this at the earliest opportunity.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the present prescribed notices for guidance for voters at Greater London Authority elections are wrong insofar as they instruct voters to vote once for their first choice and once for their second choice at the mayoral election, there being no requirement in law to make a second choice as well as a first. [HL1314]

As indicated in the Answer given on 23 January 2003, (WA 125), the Government are currently consulting on aspects of the rules for London mayoral and assembly elections, including the present prescribed notices to which my noble friend refers. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will consider all responses received during this exercise before finalising the rules for the next elections.