asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they consider the prohibition against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to be protected by the Bill of Rights 1688–89 and the common law. [HL1560]

The prohibition on torture and inhuman and degrading treatment is set out in the Human Rights Act 1998. Similar prohibitions exist in the Bill of Rights 1688–89, the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the common law. The interpretation of these prohibitions is a matter for the courts.

asked Her Majesty's Government:On how many occasions during the past two years the Lord Chancellor has sat in a judicial capacity. [HL1595]

In 2001 I sat in the House of Lords for a total of three days to hear the appeals: Uratemp Ventures Limited (Respondents) v Collins (AP) (Appellant) [2001] UKHL 43 and AIB Group (UK) plc (formerly Allied Irish Banks plc and AIB Finance Limited) (Respondents) v Martin and another (Appellant) [2001] UKHL 63. I did not sit in the House of Lords in 2002 and have not sat in any other court in the past two years.

asked the Leader of the House:Why the House of Lords does not have the same family.-friendly half-term recess as the House of Commons. [HL1792]

The Government Chief Whip told the House on 18 November 2002, "I cannot make any promises about a February break but, if business were to move speedily, it may be possible to arrange for a day or two during the week beginning 17 February."Unfortunately, business did not move with sufficient speed to make this possible.

asked the Chairman of Committees:When papers relating to the work of the House Committee will be made available on the Intranet. [HL1815]

House Committee papers can now be accessed on the Intranet, via the "House Administration" link on the Intranet homepage. Agendas are posted on the Intranet about one week before the Committee meets. Minutes are posted after meetings, arid in most cases these include links to memoranda. Confidential items are marked "reserved", and memoranda are not made available. Hard copy of House Committee papers continues to be placed in the Library.

asked Fier Majesty's Government:Whether they have any proposals for the reorganisation of the police service in Wales., in relation to (a) the number of forces; and (b) any role for the National Assembly for Wales in relation to the organisation of policing. [HL 1627]

Her Majesty's Government have no plans to alter the boundaries of the four police areas in Wales. Neither have the Government any plans to extend a role in the organisation of policing, to the National Assembly for Wales for reasons given to the noble Lord at Report Stage of the Police Reform Bill on 16 April 2002, Official Report, cols. 923–24.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How they intend to develop the new freedoms for "excellent" and "good" local authorities. [HL 1395]

The Government announced in November the freedoms to be made available to authorities categorised as excellent and good under the comprehensive performance assessment (CPA). The freedoms we are providing to the very best authorities represent a radical package. Where possible, these will take effect for the coming financial year. Those authorities categorised as excellent are also being invited to participate in a new Innovations Forum to develop new ways of working to deliver better outcomes. All authorities will be able to negotiate freedoms through their local public service agreements, regardless of their CPA categorisation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many affordable homes they intend to provide for gypsies, as part of the £7.4 billion investment in affordable housing conditions referred to in the White Paper

There was no funding for gypsies announced as part of the investment in affordable housing referred to in Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future. However, a separate budget was announced in July 2000 by my right honourable friend the Member for Greenwich and Woolwich, the then Minister for Housing, Planning and Construction, as part of the Spending Review 2000, that £17 million was to be made available over three years to local authorities for the refurbishment of authorised gypsy sites. The 2003–04 round has been extended to provide funding for local authorities to create new transit sites and stopping places.This funding, combined with local investment, should begin to alleviate the problem of unauthorised camping for both the travelling and settled communities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are his proposals for involving stakeholders in the work of elected regional assemblies in England, and if he will make a statement. [HL 1816]

In the White Paper Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions (Cm 5511) the Government invited views by the end of August 2002 on the question of how prescriptive we should be about the involvement of stakeholders in elected regional assemblies in England. In particular, the White Paper asked whether any requirements or principles should be specified and, if so, whether this should be done through legislation, guidance, or some other means.By November 2002, 207 responses had been received on the involvement of stakeholders, of which most expressed views ranging more widely than these questions. The Government have today published an analysis of the responses received on my office's website at

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the response to the reports from the House of Lords Select Committee on Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform (4th Report, 2002–03 Session, HL Paper 22) and the House of Commons Regulatory Reform Committee on the draft Regulatory Reform (Business Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order (2nd Report, 2002–03 Session, HC 182). [HL 1817]

I am grateful to the committees for their thorough examination of our proposed amendments to Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. I welcome their support for the bulk of our proposals to reform this complex and highly technical legislation.The committees had some reservations on our proposals to change the way in which landlords and tenants may agree to contract a business lease without the normal statutory rights of security of tenure. The Regulatory Reform Commit tee made specific recommendations to enhance the protection for tenants. However, your Lordships' Committee on Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform had more fundamental concerns at the lack of evidence about the degree of protection that the courts provide, and hence whether our proposals to abolish the requirement for a joint application to the courts would remove necessary protection from business tenants.We acknowledge that though there is considerable anecdotal evidence, there is a lack of definitive statistical evidence about the outcome of applications to the court for approval of agreements to exclude security of tenure. We therefore propose to carry out research to indicate the outcome of recent applications to the court for approval to exclude security of tenure. The research will study the proportion of applications rejected and the reasons for rejection. We will also undertake some further consultation of organisations representing small businesses.We propose to present the research findings and the outcome of the further consultation to the committees. Subject to the outcome of the research and consultation and the views of the committees, we would then lay for second stage scrutiny an amended draft order incorporating the amendments suggested by the Regulatory Reform Committee and slightly modified in certain other detailed respects.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What gun sight system was fitted to the combat reconnaissance vehicles (tracked) interfered with by protestors at Marchwood military port: and whether it is a classified system; and [HL 1532]What electronic friend or foe identification system was fitted to the combat reconnaissance vehicles (tracked) interfered with by protestors at Marchwood military port; and whether it is a classified system. [HL 1533]

The combat vehicle reconnaissance (tracked) Scimitar interfered with by protestors at Marchwood Military Port is fitted with the enhanced sight periscope infra-red equipment (ESPIRE) gun sighting system, which is not classified. The system was not damaged during the incident.The combat vehicle reconnaissance (tracked) is not presently fitted with an electronic friend or foe identifications system. We are establishing with allies robust combat ID arrangements and will acquire additional equipment in time for any potential conflict to enable our forces to operate effectively alongside coalition forces.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans are being made to commemorate the 60th anniversary of D-Day in June 2004; who will lead the national commemoration; and what support will be given to the Normandy Veterans' Association. [HL 1680]

A full programme of commemorative events in Normandy is being devised by a new committee, Normandie Memoire 60ième Anniversaire, on which the United Kingdom is represented by our Military Attaché in Paris. The commemoration will centre on ceremonies in various towns on 5 June and an international day on 6 June. Full details will be announced when the programme has been developed further. It is not yet known who will lead the British representation at the commemoration. It is customary for a service band to be provided for D-Day commemorations in Normandy. The Ministry of Defence arranged for the Normandy Veterans' Association to be represented at the opening meeting of the new committee, will continue to consult the association as planning continues, and is co-ordinating details of veterans' groups intending to travel to France for the commemorations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish the results of their independent sector usage survey for 2001–02. [HL 1265]

The Department of Health has carried out two surveys of National Health Service use of the independent sector for acute elective care in 2000–01. The first survey, begun in October 2001, sought information on actual use in the first half of the year, along with planned use in the second half of that year. Information on actual use in the second half of the year was sought in a further survey begun in August 2002. The results of that further survey are now being collated.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will make publicly available the rates of hospital readmission within (a) 14 days and (b) 28 days of discharge from each primary care trust area. [HL 1494]

National quarterly monitoring information within 28 days for all ages is routinely placed in the Library when available. The most recently collected information is for Quarter 2 (July to September) 2002–03. For brevity, information by primary care trust is not included, but we have today placed in the Library the PCT breakdown for Quarter 2 2002–03.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the comparative costs of regular trimming of hedges alongside the southern stretches of the M1 motorway by machine compared to the current practice of leaving hedges to grow for a long period of years followed by the traditional craft of cutting and laying by hand. [HL 1550]

The relative cost of cutting and laying hedges is £10 per linear metre and £2.25 per linear metre for machine trimming.Where regular trimming is required for the safety of road users, the Highways Agency uses machines. However, in locations where less immediate intervention is required, the traditional cutting and laying method is considered as an option, which generally provides stronger and healthier hedges. In these locations, the overall cost difference between the two methods over the longer term is comparable (£1 per linear metre per year for cutting and laying and £1.13 per linear metre per year for machine trimming).

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Highways Authority or any other public authority is under a duty to ensure that public highways are able to be used safely and efficiently by road traffic during adverse weather conditions, whether by gritting the surface or otherwise. [HL 1600]

In England a highway authority is required to remove snow that is causing an obstruction. There is no duty to remove ice, but we shall introduce one at a suitable legislative opportunity.We have instructed the Highways Agency to continue its usual practice of keeping motorways and trunk roads free of ice and snow.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have estimated the number of car owners whose cars have a value of £500 or less and who have an income of less than 60 per cent of national average income who would therefore he defined as living in poverty. [HL 1646]

The data requested are not available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many students from the top three social classes went to university in 1960 and how many in the most recent year for which records are available; and how many students from the bottom three social classes went to university in the same years. [HL 1358]

The latest available information, which shows the social class breakdown of the age participation index (API), is shown in the following table. The API measures the proportion of students who enter full-time HE by the time they are 20. The underlying numbers of students by social class for both years are not held centrally.The API is different from the initial entry rate (IER), which measures the proportion of students who enter full-time or part-time HE by the time they are 30, and is used to measure progress towards the Government's 50 per cent target. The IER in 2001–02 is estimated to be 43 per cent.The Government are committed to raising the participation rates for people from less affluent backgrounds, and has introduced the Excellence Challenge, including the AimHigher campaign, which is targeted at raising attainment and aspirations among young people who traditionally would not consider going to university.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What types of childcare workers require vetting through the Criminal Records Bureau; and why it is considered not necessary that professional nannies should be vetted by the bureau. [HL 1504]

Childcare workers operating in childcare settings regulated by Ofsted or the National Care Standards Commission are vetted through the Criminal Records Bureau. Nannies or other childcare workers who care for children in the child's home are not regulated by Ofsted and so are not vetted by them.Criminal Records Bureau disclosures can contain sensitive information, including about spent convictions, so access to them is restricted to bodies such as Ofsted, which have registered with the bureau. Individuals are not able to register. However, parents wanting to secure a nanny who has been vetted by the bureau can go to a registered agency offering to supply such a nanny.