asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are supporting the Sudanese memorandum of understanding signed on 6 February; if so, by what methods; and whether they will encourage the monitors of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development and United States peace process to work towards reconciliation between the Dinka and Nuer tribes to prevent further ceasefire violations. [HL1713]

We do support the addendum to memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cessation of hostilities signed on 4 February between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). The addendum aims to strengthen the MoU which was signed at Machakos on 15 October 2002 and extended on 18 November 2002. It contains many new and welcome initiatives to build confidence between the parties and make more unlikely the sorts of outbreaks of fighting which we have seen recently in Western Upper Nile.We also welcome the establishment of the new verification and monitoring team (VMT). We are ready to contribute both personnel and funds to support its important work.The VMT will investigate alleged violations of the MoU by the Government of Sudan and the SPLM/A. The VMT will report to the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) MoU Committee chaired by the Kenyan special envoy, Lt-General Sumbeiywo.The Sudan peace talks are facilitated by IGAD. The US, alongside the UK, Norway and Italy has observer status at the talks.

asked Her Majesty's Government:On what date they first advised (a) the England and Wales Cricket Board and (b) the Professional Cricketers' Association about the undesirability of the England cricket team playing a test match in Zimbabwe in the course of the current cricket World Cup series. [HL1734]

Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials first discussed Zimbabwe in relation to the Cricket World Cup with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) at a meeting on 5 July 2002. A minute recording this meeting has been placed in the Library of the House. FCO and DCMS Ministers and officials met the ECB and the Professional Cricketers' Association on 9 January 2003. They reiterated the Government's position on the England cricket team playing in Zimbabwe at the current time.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Chancellor on 10 February (

My noble and learned friend Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney-General is responsible for appointing Treasury Counsel. In doing so, he may consult widely and his consultations could extend to the Lord Chancellor if he so chose.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they consider it to be in accordance with contemporary principles of British parliamentary democracy for legislation to be necessary (in a political, if not a legal sense) to authorise an extension of Ministers' powers; and, if not, why not; and [HL1275]Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 22 January (

The Ram doctrine reflects a well-established principle of constitutional law. Like many other persons, Ministers and their departments have common law powers which derive from the Crown's status as a corporation sole. Ministers and their departments also exercise prerogative powers of the Crown. Common law and prerogative powers may he limited by statute either expressly or by necessary implication and in this respect are subject to direct parliamentary control. The courts have recognised the legitimacy of these principles.Whether legislation is necessary or appropriate to authorise government actions depends on the circumstances and the matters in issue. Sometimes it will be clear that legislation is needed, for example, when the proposed action might substantially interfere with human rights. In such cases a clear and reasonably accessible legal framework is required in order to comply with human rights law. At other times, the legal necessity for legislation will not be clear, in which case a political as well as a legal judgment has to be made as to whether legislation is desirable. Such a judgment may take into account a number of factors, including whether the proposed action is a priority and whether authorising that action by legislating represents a good use of Parliamentary time.The principles governing the use of the annual Appropriation Act to provide authority for the exercise of functions by government departments where such functions may involve financial liabilities extending beyond a year are stated in the Public Accounts Committee Concordant, 1932 (see Annex 2.1 of Government Accounting 2000).During the past five years, as in previous periods, the common law powers of the Crown have often been relied upon as the legal basis for government action. Common law powers form the basis of such governmental actions as entering into contracts, employing staff, conveying property and other management functions not provided for by statute either expressly or by implication. To require parliamentary authority for every exercise of the common law powers exercisable by the Crown either would impose upon Parliament an impossible burden or produce legislation in terms that simply reproduced the common law.Finally, the circumstances that gave rise to the Ram doctrine are that the Ram opinion (the text of which was made available when an earlier Question [HL595] was answered on 22 January 2003) was given when the Ministers of the Crown (Transfer of Functions) Bill was being considered. This Bill later became the Ministers of the Crown (Transfer of Functions) Act 1946. The opinion addresses the need for legislation to confer power to add new functions to exisiting government departments by order. At that time Ministers were considering machinery of government changes following the Second World War.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether work being undertaken by them in Northern Ireland in preparing a single equality Bill is to be matched by similar work in Great Britain. [HL1597]

No. Equality legislation is devolved to Northern Ireland and the decision to move towards a single equality Bill was made by Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive in light of the particular history and circumstances there.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much money they have raised from 1997 to date from the levying of tax on dividends flowing into pension funds. [HL1648]

The Government's package of corporation tax reforms included measures to boost corporate investment by removing lax distortions. The withdrawal of payable tax credits on dividends was just one part of these measures. Pension funds and others will share in the long-term benefits from these changes to corporation tax.The outturn effect on tax receipts of these changes will depend on a variety of factors, including pension schemes' asset allocation and investment policies, as well as investment returns generally.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What extra resources have been made available in both human and financial terms to catch up with the Krebs tuberculosis trials since the foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001. [HL1537]

Field work associated with the Krebs badger culling trial was suspended during the foot and mouth disease outbreak as a disease control measure. Normal field operations resumed fully during 2002. An additional £300,000 was made available to the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) (£50,000 to provide additional manpower during the busiest part of the year and £250,000 for additional survey work). £900,000 was made available for replacement traps etc.During 2002–03 an additional £3 million has been made available to the State Veterinary Service (SVS) to recruit staff to help clear the backlog of overdue "TB tests and to cope with the increase in numbers of TB breakdowns. Local veterinary inspectors who carry out much of the routine and backlog TB testing have significantly stepped up their work on behalf of Defra, resulting in an increased spend in this area as well. Veterinary Laboratories Agency costs associated with laboratory diagnosis of bovine TB have also been increased substantially. It is not possible to identify separately the proportion of these additional resources which were directed to badger culling trial areas.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What discussions they have held with the National Gamekeepers Organisation or the Campaign for Shooting about concerns expressed by both organisations that the present Hunting Bill will limit the way in which gamekeepers can use dogs to conserve game and wild birds, despite government pledges not to interfere with shooting; and [HL1578]What advice they intend to give to the 6,000 gamekeepers who use terriers to locate and bolt foxes and mink from under ground for pest control purposes; and whether this practice will be illegal without registration. [HL1579]

The National Gamekeepers Organisation wrote on 9 July 2002 in response to the consultation letter sent to them by my right honourable friend the Minister for Rural Affairs, and my right honourable friend met them on 22 July to discuss their concerns, including about the use of dogs underground. I understand the organisation, Campaign for Shooting, is part of the Countryside Alliance, with whom my right honourable friend has been in regular contact.Under the provisions of the Hunting Bill a person intending to use a dog underground will be required to make an application for registration. An applicant would have to show evidence that both the tests of utility and cruelty are met in the case of the particular hunting proposed. The registrar will determine the application on the basis of an objective assessment of all the evidence provided, whether the activity satisfies the two tests.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are prepared to deploy lethal and humane measures to control grey squirrels in the light of the record of non-lethal and humane measures. [HL1649]

Grey squirrels, unlike our native red squirrels, are not a protected species and owners and occupiers of land and property may control them if they feel this is necessary to prevent damage. Private pest control contractors may also be employed to undertake this work. The actual method of control is also at the discretion of those carrying out the work, provided that the method used does not contravene current legislation, such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the Crown Prosecution Service expects to publish the racist incident monitoring annual report for the years to the end of March 2001 and 2002. [HL1623]

The Crown Prosecution Service Racist Monitoring Annual Report for the period 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 was published on 8 July 2002. The report for the year ending 31 March 2002 will be published early next month.As in previous years, the report will be lodged in the Libraries of both Houses and will be accessible via the Internet on the CPS website at

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether steps are currently being taken to check that immigrants and asylum seekers are not members of international terrorist organisations such as the Al' Qaeda network. [HL1462]

All asylum seekers are screened in a three-tier process.First, the details of all asylum seekers are checked against the warnings index.Secondly, their fingerprints are taken and checked against existing Home Office records and EURODAC and they are photographed. It is our aim to issue all asylum seekers with an application registration card.The third stage, the interview, has different levels of screening which allow for those with acceptable evidence of identity and nationality to be fed into the system while allowing for more in-depth screening interviews for those with little or no credible evidence. Should there be any indication given during any of the processes that someone might be of security interest, the information is quickly passed on to the appropriate agencies.As regards non-asylum seekers (visitors, students, those joining family members here and others), appropriate checks are made when a visa is applied for, at the point of entry and when any application for further leave is made. These include checks against the warnings index, the use of local intelligence and UK-held records, targeted examination of persons on entry, the close checking of documents for fraud and the use of profiling where appropriate.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

The temporary suspension of the removal of failed asylum seekers to Zimbabwe remains under review.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the weekly cost of running the Oakington asylum centre. [HL1665]

The estimated weekly cost of providing the facilities at Oakington in 2001–02, the last full year for which information was available, was £288,000. The comparable (provisional) figure for the first six months of 2002–03 was £294,000.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will define the precise terms of their pledge to reduce by September the number of asylum applications by half; and whether they will specify over which periods comparisons will be made. [HL1699]

The Government are looking to reduce the number of new asylum applications by around half compared with the number last October. We are seeking to achieve this by September this year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What further consideration they have given to the comments of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Ackner, on 19 November 2002 (HL Deb, col. 298) on the question of jury treatment of date rape cases in rape trials. [HL1485]

The Government had already given comprehensive and detailed consideration to the suggestion that there should be a separate offence of date rape before the Command Paper Protecting The Public was introduced on 19 November. As I said to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Ackner, on 19 November 2002, the view we have taken is that rape is rape and cannot be divided into more and less serious offences. It can be equally as traumatic to be raped by someone you know and trust, who has chosen you as his victim, as it can be to be raped by a complete stranger.This remains the Government's position. We believe that 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:What were the causes of the breakdown in road, rail and air transport on 30 January following snowfalls. [HL1469]

Roads: The Secretary of State has asked the Highways Agency to look into the reasons why its procedures were not effective and what steps might be taken to help prevent a recurrence in the future.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the definitions of punctuality and reliability used by Virgin Trains are satisfactory, which were used in publicity exhibited by the company saying that trains were 94.4 per cent punctual and 97.7 per cent reliable in the four weeks commencing 8 December 2002. [HL1491]

Under existing franchises, all TOCs are required to publish Passengers' Charter figures every four weeks. The figures quoted were compiled by Virgin Trains under the Passengers' Charter system in accordance with this requirement.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

The Department for Transport is now finalising the arrangements for piloting a comparative car label. It is not, however, intended that this label should indicate information on the end of life recyclability of the car's components. This is because consumer research shows that attempting to include too much environmental information in one simple rating could be confusing and counterproductive. The End-of-Life Vehicles Directive will in time require all vehicles to be designed to specified recyclability standards.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the current budget for the Access to Work programme; and by how much it has increased since 1997; and [HL1607]Whether they have any plans to increase the Access to Work budget. [HL1608]

Access to Work helps disabled people move into or stay in jobs by removing barriers to work associated with their disability, and encourages employers to recruit and retain disabled people by offering practical support.The budget for the current year is £44 million. Spending on the programme, together with the number of people helped, has increased in every year since 1997 and will do so again in 2003–04.

Year	Numbers helped	Net programme costs
1997–98	12,825	£15 million
1998–99	16,094	£21 million
1999–2000	20,729	£27 million
2000–01	25,887	£32 million
2001–02	32,798	£42.5 million

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are their estimates of the percentages of (a) large employers; (b) small employers; and (c) all employers who are aware of the Access to Work programme. [HL1609]What plans they have to promote awareness of the Access to Work programme. [HL1610]Whether they have set any awareness targets for employers in relation to the Access to Work programme. [HL1611]

We do not have a target for increasing employers' awareness of the Access to Work programme. However, a recent government study on barriers to employment for disabled people showed that 26 per cent of all employers were aware of the programme, including 32 per cent of large employers and 18 per cent of small employers.Information on all disability services is available from jobcentres and on the Jobcentre Plus web site. Jobcentre Plus invests around £300,000 per year marketing and publicising its specialised services and programmes for disabled people, including Access to Work, with promotional material available in a range of media such as leaflets, audiotapes and videos.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are aware of any research showing whether employers are reluctant to retrain workers who become disabled or to take on new workers who are disabled because they believe there will be additional costs for their company. [HL1612]

Research evidence suggests that cost is not a major factor in influencing employers' attitudes towards recruitment and retention of disabled people. In a recent survey of employers¹, 49 per cent of respondents thought there were no difficulties or were unable to say what the difficulties might be in recruiting a disabled employee; this figure was higher in the case of retaining disabled people (72 per cent). Cost was not mentioned as a difficulty in recruitment. Only 2 per cent cited it as a difficulty in retention.The experience of employers who have sought to retain disabled employees also suggests that cost does not play a major role. In the same survey, 78 per cent of employers with workers who had become disabled in post reported that they had made changes to retain the employee, including 19 per cent who said they had provided retraining for employees. Of those making adjustments, 20 per cent reported that the adjustment did not lead to any cost. A further 28 per cent stated that they regarded the cost as part of normal costs of the organisation.Research has also examined the factors influencing whether employers recruit disabled people or not. A survey of small employers

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made on implementing the recommendations contained in the Government's report on the historic environment:

Since August 2002 the following has been achieved:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answers by the Lord Privy Seal on 12 December 2002 (

Her Majesty's Government have nothing further to add to the Answers given on 12 December 2002 (WA 48) and 27 January (WA 138).

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

This appointment did not require approval by the North/South Ministerial Council.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Northern Ireland Railways is being prevented from expanding passenger services by shortage of rolling stock. [HL1772]

Northern Ireland Railways has sufficient rolling stock to operate all the services required under its public service obligation agreement with the Department for Regional Development and for which it receives subsidy to cover its operating losses. Using its existing rolling stock the company could expand its passenger services at weekends but not on weekdays. However, low demand for additional services at weekends would not warrant the additional subsidy costs that would be entailed. The replacement of its existing 18 Class 80 trains with 23 new trains currently on order will in due course enable Translink to expand its services particularly at peak periods on weekdays.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in comparison with the cost of rebuilding the Belfast-Bleach Green-Antrim railway, they regard the estimated £13 million for upgrading the Lisburn-Antrim railway as excessive. [HL1773]

The cost of reopening the railway line from Bleach Green junction to Antrim was approximately £17 million. For passengers from Antrim and all stations north and west of Antrim this has reduced the journey time to Belfast by about 20 minutes. The line now carries on average 1,100 passengers per day. However, the Lisburn to Antrim line now carries on average 70 passengers per day. On the basis of an economic appraisal which explored future growth patterns in the population serviced by the Antrim-Lisburn line, the case for significant capital investment on this line is not compelling.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they agree with the proposal for a circular passenger service on the Belfast-Lisburn-Antrim-Bleach Green-Belfast railway line. [HL1774]

We are currently proceeding to implement the consolidation option in the Railway Task Force's report of September 2000 as developed by the Regional Transportation Strategy for Northern Ireland 2002–12, the strategic direction and underlying principles of which were agreed by the Northern Ireland Assembly on 3 July 2002. Accordingly, we are currently upgrading the core railway network and purchasing new trains. If this investment is successful, we would hope to proceed to modernise the track north of Whitehead and Ballymena, subject to normal appraisal processes. The scenario of a Belfast-Lisburn-Antrim-Belfast passenger circle line, as envisaged in the Regional Development Strategy for Northern Ireland 2025, remains a longer-term possibility, if a robust financial, economic, social and transportation case can be made.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to recognise medical qualifications obtained by students at St George's Medical School, Grenada. [HL1245]

The recognition of medical qualifications for the purposes of admission to the medical register is a matter for the General Medical Council.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How they plan to ensure that the requirements of the Food Standards Agency for joint working between the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, the Central Public Health Laboratory and the network of area and regional laboratories will continue after the formation of the Health Protection Agency on 1 April. [HL1426]

We intend that the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (CDSC), the Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL) and the regional laboratories will all be within the Health Protection Agency (HPA). The CDSC, the CPHL and the regional laboratories will continue their close working together in that context. The HPA will be commissioning analysis of food samples from other laboratories which currently provide this service at the current level, supported by memoranda of understanding and service level agreements as appropriate. All laboratories will be required to send samples to CPHL and reports to CDSC and to assist with outbreak management as necessary. This co-ordination between laboratories will be overseen by the HPA's local and regional public health microbiologists. The mode of working described in the current concordat between the Public Health Laboratory Service and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) will be continued. In time, a new concordat will be agreed between the HPA and the FSA to replace it.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What transitional funding will be allocated to the Health Protection Agency in 2003–04 to cover inevitable redundancies. [HL1530]

Decisions have not yet been made on the Department of Health central budget programme for 2003–04, so the overall sum available to the HPA, including funding for any redundancies, is not yet finalised. The HPA will not be able to agree its organisational structures until after its board has been appointed, so staff could not be identified as being at risk of redundancy until then. If staff are identified as being at risk they will be guaranteed employment for a period of 12 months from 1 April 2003 under the agreed change management protocol.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What treatments for children or adults with disabling conditions have been developed by use of human in vitro embryos since in vitro fertilisation became established in the early 1980s. [HL1572]

The use of human embryos in research has been regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) since its inception in 1991. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 permits a research licence to be granted for specified purposes, one of which is increasing knowledge about the causes of congenital disease. The HFEA has licensed 19 projects for this purpose but none specifically concerned disabling conditions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make available lactase tablets on prescription under the National Health Service in view of the benefit claimed by patients with lactose intolerance who use them regularly.[HL1753]

We have no plans to make lactase tablets available on the National Health Service following advice from the Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have for modernising Unfinished Business: Proposals for Reform of the Senior House Officer grade. [HL1842]

We have today placed in the Library copies of Modernising Medical Careers, the response of the four UK health Ministers to the consultation on Unfinished Business: Proposals for Reform of the Senior House Officer grade.The document sets out the results of our consultation which began last summer on the reform of training for senior house officers, who are doctors in the early stages of their specialist training. We received over 250 responses to our consultation and our proposals were broadly welcomed. The document we are publishing today sets the way ahead based on the results of the consultation and work which has been done since with the key stakeholders.Plans for reform will also extend to general practice training and will embrace the existing non-consultant career grades with easier routes back into training. Partnerships will work to test these out in a variety of National Health Service environments. Pilot projects will start later on this year and with major implementation following in 2004.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What benefits are gained by the archiving by universities of 25 per cent of written material as laid out in the Quality Assurance Agency's regulations; how much this is costing universities in storage; and how often this material has been re-accessed to ensure standardised marking over time. [HL1557]

The Quality Assurance Agency is an independent body not under the responsibility of a government Minister. I am advised by the agency that its guidelines state that institutions should consider keeping an archive of samples of students' marked work but do not specify the sample size nor the time it should be kept. This is to enable institutions to evaluate periodically the maintenance and development of their academic standards. We do not hold centrally any information about the cost incurred in storing this material.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will publish the statistical information on which the proposition that in a lifetime graduates earn £400,000 more than non-graduates over the same time is based. [HL1359]

The information requested is shown in the following table. The comparison is between graduates with a first degree and national average earnings.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What right a parent has to know that a son or daughter is assigned a mentor under the Connexions system. [HL1666]

Connexions partnerships will generally advertise the existence of the Connexions service within their locality. In addition, through the partnership agreement, partnerships will work with schools, colleges and other appropriate institutions to make the availability of the Connexions service known to parents and their sons and daughters; letting them know that it is available to young people both within their school or institution and via Connexions one stop shops in the high street. Connexions personal advisers also strongly encourage young people to discuss any Connexions support with their parents but respect the right of the young person not to do so.Partnerships are not obliged to notify parents that their child is actively involved with Connexions—either in one-to-one sessions with a personal adviser or through more general group sessions. The exception to this may be if the personal adviser is working with a young person in a school where it has been agreed that the school's confidentiality policy is followed, which may give the parents the right to know this information.All information sharing policies drawn up by Connexions partnerhips must be in accordance with the Data Protection Act and other relevant legislation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What qualifications are required for the post of mentor under the Connexions system. [HL1667]

Connexions personal advisers are drawn from a range of professional backgrounds. To be fully qualified they must possess an NVQ level 4 or equivalent in a relevant professional discipline (eg careers youth work, social work) and have attended a bespoke training programme, either Understanding Connexions or the Diploma for Connexions Personal Advisers. Training is delivered by higher education institutions approved by the Connexions service national unit.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many mentors under t he Connexions system are in post; and how many oft hem have been subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check. [HL1668]

The latest management information collected from partnerships shows that at the end of December 2002 there were just over 6,000 Connexions personal advisers in post.Before being allowed any direct contact with young people, all personal advisers must, as a minimum, have been List 99 cleared (a DfES maintained list of people whose employment working with young people has been barred or restricted by the Secretary of State).Partnerships must also carry out Criminal Records Bureau checks on personal advisers. However, List 99 provides robust clearance on child protection issues while the CRB check is undertaken.The financial memorandum of Connexions partnerships requires Connexions partnerships to take all reasonable precautions to avoid employing any person convicted of a criminal offence involving an offence against the person, or an offence involving sexual behaviour, except with the prior written consent of the Secretary of State. Where the CRB check reveals other such criminal convictions, it is up to the partnership to decide if it wishes to obtain this consent.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Mr McNulty, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, on 30 January (HC Deb, 789W), why the only region that shows an improvement in the relet times for local authority dwellings between 1993–94 and 2001–02 is London; why there has been a 22 per cent average increase in reletting times across all local authorities in England (including London); and why there has been an average increase in reletting times across all rural authorities of 63 per cent; and [HL1506]Further to the Written Answer by Mr McNulty, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, on 30 January (HC Deb, 791W), why improvements in relet times for registered social landlord dwellings between 1996–97 and 2001–02 have been achieved only by the South East region; why there has been an average increase in relet times across all local authorities in England of 24 per cent; and why there has been an average increase in relet times across all rural authorities of 38 per cent. [HL1507]

We are extremely gratified that local authorities in London have shown a marked improvement between 1993–94 and 2001–02 in the average time it takes to relet their dwellings; and that registered social landlords have shown an improvement in average relet times across the South East between 1996–97 and 2001–02.The figures quoted for the average time taken to relet local authority housing stock should be treated with caution, however. These figures are based on estimates provided by local autorities as part of their annual housing investment programme returns and there are likely to be variations in the way local authorities maintain their lettings records and compile these estimates.One factor contributing to the increase in average relet times is likely to be the impact of low demand on housing, since the largest increases are in the regions which are experiencing the most acute level of low demand—North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humberside and West Midlands. In these regions we are tackling the problem head on through the establishment of nine sub-regional pathfinder projects to address the most acute problems of low demand. We have recently announced in

asked Her Majesty's Government:(a) which organisations were successful in bidding for a part of the starter home initiative funds of £250 million announced in April 2000; (b) how many homes have been built so far; (c) how many of those are in rural areas; (d) what proportion of the total build has used hitherto empty homes; and (e) what proportion of the total has been built on brownfield sites. [HL1638]

The list of successful bidders for starter home initiative funding is set out below:

• Airways Housing Group
• Aldwyck Housing Association
• Angevin Specialist Homes
• Apex Housing Group
• Beacon Housing Association
• Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association
• Boleyn & Forest Housing Association
• Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire District Council in conjunction with Knightstone and Sovereign Housing Associations
• Bromford Housing Group
• Bush Housing Association
• Cambridgeshire Employers' Consortium in conjunction with Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association (the HA will manage the scheme)
• Chiltern Hundreds Housing Association
• Cotswold District Council
• Devon and Cornwall Housing Association
• East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust in conjunction with St Pancras Housing Association (the HA will manage the scheme)
• East Sussex local authorities in conjunction with Moat Housing Association (Moat HA will run the scheme)
• Guildford Borough Council
• Hampshire County Council (Swaythling HA will manage the scheme)
• Hampshire Voluntary Housing Society
• Keys to the Capital Consortium (comprises Tower Homes, Metropolitan Home Ownership, Notting Hill Home Ownership and Boleyn & Forest Housing)
• Knightstone Housing Society
• London Cyrenians Housing
• Maidenhead & District Housing Association
• Merlion Housing Group
• Metropolitan Home Ownership
• Midsummer Housing Association
• Moat Housing Association
• Mount Green Housing Association
• Northcote Housing Association
• Notting Hill Home Ownership (NHHO)
• Oakfern Housing
• Pan Oxford Healthcare Partnership (Northcote HA will manage the scheme)
• Peabody Trust
• Raglan Housing Association
• Ridgehill Housing Association
• St George plc (NHHO will manage the scheme)
• Sarsen Housing Association
• Servite Homes
• Signpost Housing Association
• Soha Housing
• Southampton City Council (Swaythling HA will manage the scheme)
• Southern Housing Home Ownership
• Sovereign Housing Association
• Sutherland Housing Association
• Swaythling Housing Association
• Swindon Borough Council (Sarsen HA will manage the scheme)
• Taywood Homes Ltd (in partnership with Chelmsford Borough Council to manage the scheme)
• Taywood Homes Ltd (Genesis Housing Group will manage the scheme)
• Thames Valley Housing Association
• Touchstone Housing Association Tower Homes
• Town and Country Housing Group
• Unitary Ltd (in partnership with Peabody Trust)
• Wandsworth Council (NHHO will manage the scheme)
• Western Challenge Housing Association

Of the 2011 key workers helped by the starter home initiative as at 31 January 2003, around 200 purchased new build homes. Of these 20 are in local authorities with rural districts.Details of schemes utilising hitherto empty homes or brownfield sites are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.