asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the cost of building smoking chambers in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast; who took the decision to install the chambers; what consultations were held; and with whom. [HL2586]

The cost of building the smoking chambers is estimated at £490,000. The decision about this expenditure was taken by the Royal Hospitals Trust. There was discussion with all interested parties within the trust.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, since 10 out of the 17 Questions for Written Answer which have failed to receive an Answer after three weeks fall to be answered by the Northern Ireland Office, Ministers in that department will arrange special training for the officials concerned at the Civil Service College; and whether parliamentary guidelines that answers are expected to be given within two weeks will be respected in future. [HL2773]

I am pleased to inform the noble Lord that all 10 questions have now been answered.The Northern Ireland Office endeavours to answer all Parliamentary Questions within the 14 day timescale. However, because of the large numbers of Parliamentary Questions in recent months, many of which have required co-ordination between several parts of the Northern Ireland Office and the formerly devolved administration, the 14-day timescale has occasionally not been met.I would like to assure the noble Lord that the Northern Ireland Office recognises the importance of prompt Answers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many telephone taps or interceptions have been authorised under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001; and who authorises such telephone interceptions. [HL2711]

The annual reports of the Interception of Communications Commissioner appointed under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 list the number of interception warrants issued and explain the authorisation process. The commissioner's report for 2001 is available in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the current staff levels of Defence Medical Services personnel in the Ministry of Defence Health Units, in comparison with the Ministry of Defence's establishment. [HL2656]

The military establishment and strength of each Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit as at 10 April 2003 was as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have for the UK to lead one of the coalition provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan. [HL2806]

The commitment of the United Kingdom to helping the people of Afghanistan rebuild their country is well established. We are already extensively engaged in a range of activities from security to reconstruction to humanitarian aid. In conjunction with our international partners and the Afghan Transitional Authority (ATA), progress has already been substantial, particularly in Kabul.Looking to build upon that progress, as my right honourable friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Mr Ingram) informed the House, in another place, in answer to a Parliamentary Question on 9 April (

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they have taken during the past two months to prevent or deter the export or international trade in antiquities looted in Iraq. [HL2649]

The UK is a signatory to the 1970 UNESCO Convention and the Government are supporting a Private Member's Bill which will strengthen UK law in respect of preventing illicit trade in antiquities. In addition, we have secured the assistance of the UK art trade in locating and identifying material looted from Iraq and are working with international bodies to establish a database of stolen items. We are also contributing to the International Council of Museums' Red List of the most common categories of objects that may have been stolen or looted in Iraq. We have also alerted Customs to the need to enforce the current embargo on any imports from Iraq.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the statistically most likely condition for an abortion in the latest year for which figures are available in terms of:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the number of abortions in the years 1966; 1968; 1969: 1970; 1980; 1990 and 2000 [HL2605]

Data are shown in the following table:

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many late abortions were performed in each of the last ten years for which figures are available in pregnancies of:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will give a breakdown by regional health authority of the number of abortions performed in the latest two years for which figures are available in pregnancies of—

The following table shows numbers of abortions performed at more than 24 weeks 0 days gestation for the years 1991 to 2001.A pregnancy may be terminated only if two registered medical practitioners are of the opinion, formed in good faith, that an abortion is justified within the terms of the Abortion Act 1967, as amended. All of the abortions (100 per cent) shown in the table were legally performed under the grounds set out in the Act.possible handicap from which the baby might have been suffering. [HL2610]

We do not publish regional data on abortions performed under Section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act, as amended (that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped). This is because of the small numbers involved which might lead to identification of individual cases. We have therefore set out the data in the following separate tables. The first table shows the number of conditions cited for abortions performed under Section 1(1)(d) of the Act and the second shows all abortions performed under Sections 1(1)(b), 1(1)(c) and 1(1)(d) beyond 24-weeks gestation in 2000 and 2001.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are taking steps to reduce the number of abortions in the United Kingdom. [HL2635]

In England we are taking a number of steps through the Sexual Health and HIV Strategy and the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancy, which should lead to a reduction in the number of abortions. We are working to improve access to contraceptive services and the range of methods of contraception that are available; for example, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence is preparing clinical guidelines for the National Health Service on the effective and appropriate use of long-acting reversible contraception. We are also working with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to improve sex and relationships education (SRE). The DfES has issued guidance on SRE against which schools are required to develop their policies and the delivery of SRE is now covered within Ofsted inspections.In November 2002 we launched the "Sex Lottery" campaign with an investment of £4 million over two years. The campaign is aimed at 18 to 30 year-olds, and promotes messages around safer sex and the use of condoms. Although the campaign focuses on the prevention of infection, condoms when used correctly are highly effective in preventing pregnancy.Policy on sexual health including reducing unintended pregnancies is devolved to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. The Abortion Act 1967, as amended, does not apply to Northern Ireland where it is not legal to carry out a therapeutic termination of pregnancy, other than to save the life of the mother or to prevent serious damage to her physical or mental health.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What account they have taken of recently published research conducted by Case Western Reserve University, Ohio, which found that exposure to bisphenol, a component of plastic bottles, could be linked to chromosomal abnormalities in unborn children and to miscarriages. [HL2700]

The Government are keeping the safety of bisphenol-A under review. We are aware of this recently published study which put forward the hypothesis that a slight increase in abnormalities seen in the eggs of female mice might be attributed to bisphenol-A leaching from damaged mouse cages.In 2001 the Committee on Toxicity considered reports of apparent low dose effects associated with bisphenol-A. It advised that given the uncertain significance of the effects it was not appropriate to use such findings as the basis of a human health risk assessment.Further research has been commissioned to investigate the implications of low level exposure to bisphenol-A. Meanwhile, industry is being encouraged to reduce levels of bisphenol-A to the lowest level possible.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of National Health Service Trusts which have been successful in their preliminary application for NHS Foundation Trust status. [HL2867]

We have today placed in the Library a list of those National Health Service trusts that have been successful in their preliminary application for NHS foundation trust status, with a view to their establishment in April 2004, subject, of course, to Parliament's approval of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill 2003, currently before the House of Commons. These NHS trusts will now enter the preparatory stage for NHS foundation trust status. The applicant NHS trusts must satisfy the requirements of the preparatory phase, outlined inThe Guide to NHS Foundation Trusts, and must retain three stars in the performance ratings to be published in the summer before they can be approved to become NHS foundation trusts. The objective of the full application process is to help applicants to prepare for NHS foundation trust status, check whether the applicant's vision to utilise the freedoms of NHS foundation trust status is consistent with the aims of the policy, and to test the organisation's readiness.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What latitude they have under European Union regulations to vary Value Added Tax (VAT). HL2780]

The European Community's Sixth VAT Directive (77/388) provides the framework for VAT and the rates that may be applied by Member States. The UK is able to decide the domestic application of VAT within that framework. Any changes to the directive are subject to unanimity.