asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make representations to the Government of Cuba regarding Dr Oscar Elias Biscet, who was imprisoned by the Cuban authorities for three years following his condemnation of Cuba's high abortion rate. [HL1721]

We and EU partners regularly raise concerns about human rights with the Cuban Government. I discussed human rights with the Vice-Foreign Minister during my visit to Havana last June. We are following the case and will continue to draw attention to UK concerns with the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the average waiting time for the analysis of suspicious substances in each police forensic laboratory in England and Wales. [HL1812]

In answering the noble Baroness, Lady Harris, the analysis of supicious substances has been taken to mean the analysis of small amounts of all types of drugs, including controlled drugs, in drugs possession cases.The average turnaround times for the analysis of all types of drugs in drugs possession cases are set out below for the period 1 November 2002 to 31 January 2003.Complex cases, which require a more detailed level of analysis, may take longer to deliver.Turnaround times for drugs possession cases:

asked Her Majesty's Government:In how many cases in the past five years of people wrongly imprisoned and released from prison there are payments of compensation due which have not yet been paid; what the sums of money claimed or agreed are; and for how long the payments have been outstanding. [HL1823]

Ninety-one claims for compensation for wrongful conviction or charge authorised for payment by the Secretary of State for the Home Department since 1 March 1998 have yet to be finalised. Seventy-eight of these are waiting for information to be supplied by the claimants or their representatives. Of the 91 claims outstanding, 32 are less than a year old, 23 are one to two years old, 28 are two to three years old, seven are three to four years old and one is more than four years old.It is not possible to provide any estimate of t he total sums of money involved in these outstanding claims as this information is not available until the claimants or their representatives have submitted full details of their final claims. Once the assessor has calculated the quantum of an award and the claimant agrees to accept this, payment is normally made within two weeks.

asked Her Majesty's Government:On how many occasions in the past five years compensation has been paid to people who have been wrongfully imprisoned; and what is the total value of the compensation that has been paid. [HL1824]

Payment of compensation for those wrongfully convicted or charged is as follows:

	Amount
Year	£ millions
1997–98	6.652
1998–99	5.302
1999–2000	5.647
2000–01	8.051
2001–02	6.172

These figures include payment for interim and final awards. (The latter includes the claimants' legal fees).Reliable statistics on the breakdown of payments are available only for the past two years. Since 1 March 2001, the Secretary of State for the Home Department has authorised the payment of compensation for wrongful conviction or charge to 76 applicants. In 24 of these cases the claims have been settled in full in the sum of £1.5 million (including legal fees). In a further 30 cases interim payments have been made to the claimants in the sum of £2 million. These, together with the remaining 22 cases, await the submission of their final claims.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have any plans to prevent convicted sex offenders from travelling overseas. [HL2021]

The Government are committed to tackling the sexual exploitation of children wherever it occurs in the world. This includes where UK citizens go abroad with the intention of abusing children. We have already put in place a number of measures to deal with this problem, but the Sexual Offences Bill, currently before Parliament, provides us with an opportunity to ensure that we are doing everything we can to deal with those who commit sexual offences overseas.Under the current legislation the courts do not have the power to stop an offender who has been convicted of sexual offences against children from travelling overseas. We believe this is wrong and that it should be addressed. We therefore intend to bring forward a government amendment to the Sexual Offences Bill that will introduce a new foreign travel banning order that will enable courts, in certain circumstances, to prohibit those convicted of a sexual offence against a child from travelling to specified countries. We hope to introduce this amendment by the end of March.The new order would be a civil preventive order made following an application from a chief officer of police. It would apply to those convicted of a sexual offence against a child under 16 either in the UK or overseas. The order would be available where the court was satisfied that it was necessary to protect children overseas from serious sexual harm by the offender and that there are no other equally effective means to prevent such harm. The orders would last for up to six months, renewable on further application from the police.In addition to introducing the proposed foreign travel banning order, we will be consulting with interested parties on the arrangements for the notification of foreign travel by registered sex offenders. We are aware that this issue has generated considerable interest. We will consult quickly on the issue with a view to making the Government's intentions clear by the end of March. This will enable our intentions to be considered and debated fully during the passage of the Sexual Offences Bill through Parliament.A paper with further details on the Government's proposals has been placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will consider a baby bonus direct payment scheme similar to that in Australia in order to counteract Britain's declining fertility rate.[HL1840]

The Government have no plans to introduce such a scheme.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What pay increase the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body has recommended for all regular and reserve Defence Medical Services medical and dental officers. [HL2022]

In line with the main Armed Forces' Pay Review Body (AFPRB) recommendations for Armed Forces pay announced on 7 February, the review body has recommended an interim pay increase of 3.2 per cent for all regular and reserve Defence Medical Services medical and dental officers. The review body also recommends an interim 3.2 per cent increase to the sustained quality payments, general medical and general dental practitioner trainer pay and to the value of distinction awards. The AFPRB will submit its final recommendations following the announcement of the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body report later this year and further written and oral evidence from the Ministry of Defence, the British Medical Association and the British Dental Association.The additional cost to the defence budget will be some £5 million. This will be met within existing departmental expenditure limits.The review body's interim recommendations are to be accepted in full, with implementation effective from 1 April 2003.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union for March: and what are the major European events for the period between 1 April and 30 September 2003. [HL1968]

Forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union March—September 2003: MARCH

• 1–2—Athens Informal Education
• 3—Brussels—Competitiveness Council
• 4—Brussels—Environment Council
• 6—Brussels—Meeting of the Presidium
• 6—Luxembourg—Employment, Social Policy, Health & Consumer Affairs
• 6—Brussels—EUROGROUP (Evening)
• 7—Brussels—ECOFIN
• 7—Luxembourg—Transport, Telecom & Energy Council
• 13—Brussels—Meeting of the Presidium
• 14–15—Athens—(Informal Defence Meeting)
• 17–18—Brussels—Convention Plenary
• 17–18—Luxembourg—Agriculture & Fisheries Council
• 18–19—Brussels—General Affairs & External Relations Council (GAERC)
• 21—Brussels—EUROPEAN COUNCIL
• 27—Brussels—Meeting of the Presidium
• 27–28—Luxembourg—Transport, Telecom & Energy Council
• 27–28—Brussels—EU-RIO Group, EU MERCOSUR
• 28–29—Veria—Informal Justice & Home Affairs
• 31—Brussels—Agriculture & Fisheries Council (to be confirmed)

Date	Location	Event
April
2	Brussels	Meeting of the Presidium
3–4	Brussels	Convention Plenary
4	Brussels	Justice & Home Affairs
4–6	Hania (Crete)	Informal ECOFIN (Ministerial)
5	Lisbon	Europe—Africa Summit
10	Brussels	Meeting of the Presidium
14–15	Luxembourg	General Affairs & External Relations
14	Brussels	Agriculture & Fisheries
16	Athens	Signature of the Accession Treaty
17	Athens	European Conference
23	Brussels	Meeting of the Presidium
24–25	Brussels	Convention Plenary
May
2–4	Olympia	Gymnich (Informal Foreign Ministers)
3–4	Athens	Informal Environment (Ministerial Informal)
5–6	Brussels	Education, Youth & Culture Council (To be confirmed)
8	Brussels Corfu	Meeting of the Presidium Agriculture (Ministerial Informal)
12–13	Brussels	Competitiveness
12	Brussels	EUROGRUP
13	Brussels	ECOFIN
14	Brussels	Meeting of the Presidium
14	Brussels	Transport. Telecom & Energy Council
15–16	Brussels	Convention Plenary
16	Brussels	EU—ACP Ministerial
16–17	Halkidiki	Informal Regional Policy (Ministerial)
16–18	Cruise off Greece	Informal Transport & Merchant Marine (Ministerial)
17	Brussels	EU—W. Balkans (Zagreb Process)
19	Brussels	General Affairs & External Relations (+ Defence)
20	Brussels	General Affairs & External Relations
22	Brussels	Meeting of the Presidium
24	Thessaloniki	Informal Culture (Ministerial)
26–27	Brussels	Agriculture & Fisheries Council
26–27	Crete	EUROMED Conference (Mid Term Ministerial)
27	Brussels	Environment Council
28	Brussels	Meeting of the Presidium
30–31	Brussels	Convention Plenary
31	St. Petersburg	EU—Russia Summit

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will reach their policy objective of the United Kingdom being the best place among the G7 for e-business given recent reports indicating the United Kingdom's low standing on a number of criteria in the international league tables. [HL1853]

Yes. Good progress is already being made. The international benchmarking study, The World's Most Effective Policies For The e-Economy, prepared in 2002 by Booz Allen Hamilton for the Office of the e-Envoy and the DTI ranks the UK as having the second best environment in the world for e-commerce, second only to the USA.The study attributes this achievement to strong venture capital markets, competitive internet access costs on broadband and dial-up, strong leadership of the e-agenda and a very supportive regulatory environment. UK broadband prices have reduced from among the most expensive in the G7 to among the cheapest.More remains to be done, particularly to improve UK performance in uptake and use of information and communications technologies. Government policies are being developed to address these areas.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How they justify the case for the forthcoming auction of 15 regional licences to use the 3.4GHz spectrum when the auction of licences for the 28GHz spectrum has been going on since 2000; and whether the structure of the auction will hinder rather than enhance the roll-out of broadband in rural areas. [HL1854]

We are awarding the licences through an auction process as this is the best way to deliver them into the hands of those who value them most and who we expect to deliver services to consumers. The 28GHz and 3.4GHz bands have different characteristics and the business cases for their development are different. Our market analysis and industry feedback for 3.4GHz indicates that there is demand for the licences we are offering.The 3.4GHz licence packaging was designed to increase competition and availability of broadband services across the UK. The licence regions were drawn up following market and economic studies to be as economically viable and inclusive as possible, maximising the potential development of sustainable wireless services and broadband market throughout the UK.To meet the Government's objectives for extensiveness and competition, networks must be deployed based on sound market principles and this is the basis for the licence regions specified. A number of business cases, including some for rural and sparsely populated regions of the UK, have recognised this and will make use of the spectrum of 2.4GHz, 5GHz and at 28GHz as well as 3.4GHz to broaden the business base. This is also why constraints that have appeared in earlier licensing processes have been removed in this instance. Recent analysis of the markets indicates that broadband in the 3.4GHz waveband is not the single panacea for rural services. Current technology at 3.4GHz does not easily lend itself to the mass market or for thinly populated regions.

:Whether they will consider supplying glucose meters on prescription. [HL1909]

Items of equipment such as blood glucometers are not available on National Health Service prescription from general practitioners. It has been a long-standing policy that it would be most appropriate for them to remain as NHS property to monitor their usage. The meters can be loaned to patients if the clinician managing a patient's diabetes feels they are appropriate. There are several testing strips which are available on prescription on the NHS.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which provisions in any treaty of the European Community or in directives or regulations arising therefrom which require public services provided directly by national or local government, or delivered by other bodies which are wholly owned by them, to be open to competition from private firms; and whether there are any judicial decisions enforcing, or exempting them from, any such requirement. [HL1553]

Neither the treaty nor the EC Procurement Directives and implementing regulations that arise from them require public services to he open to competition from private firms.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the terms of the Belfast Agreement of 1998 require that any support for the Irish language (as provided for in the Communications Bill now before Parliament) must be matched by equal support for the Ulster Scots language. [HL1567]

The agreement does not contain provision in the terms outlined.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to encourage civil servants in Northern Ireland to continue working until 65. [HL1937]

Since 4 October 2002, all staff employed in the Northern Ireland Civil Service have the option of remaining in post up to age 65. Staff were made aware of the change of policy by means of a general circular issued on that date.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many official invitations they have received since 1 January from the British Broadcasting Corporation and other national broadcasting bodies respectively for Ministers of the Crown to be interviewed on current political topics or issues for which they were responsible; how many of these invitations were declined; and on how many occasions an official spokesperson was, or was not, offered in lieu. [HL1863]

Individual communication directorates within departments are responsible for processing and managing invitations for ministerial interviews from the BBC, other broadcasters and the wider media. The information requested is therefore not held centrally.