asked Her Majesty's Government:What capital projects and track maintenance have taken place on the Northern Ireland Railway Companies line between Ballymena and Londonderry since 1 January 1997; and what new capital and maintenance work is proposed for this line in the next two years. [HL2634]

Translink has advised that since 1 January 1997 the following capital projects have been carried out on the line between Ballymena and Londonderry:at Ballymena, Coleraine and Castlerock stations there has been excavation and replacement of spent ballast, removal and renewal of bull-head rail on timber sleepers with new concrete sleepers and rail used as necessary;continuous welded rail has been installed on the line adjacent to City of Derry airport and half a mile west of Downhill;work has been carried out on rail bridges and footbridges at various locations including Ballymoney, Cullybackey, Coleraine, Bellarena, Londonderry and Greysteel;approximately 70 metres of sea defences at Enagh, south west of Lisnahally, have been repaired.

Consultants	Fees	Project	Appointed
PWC recruitment consultancy	£66,300	Executive resourcing assignment in connection with the recruitment of the chief executive.	Appointed under the terms of the human resources recruitment contract for all cross-Border bodies.
PWC Consultancy (IT)	£100,000	IT Consultancy to provide expert advice in preparation for major financial and Human Resources contracts etc.	Contract awarded as an extension of an existing contract for similar work already commissioned by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (including the Waterways Division of that department).
OMI Equality Consultation	£6,700	Equality.	Selected off an approved list of consultants capable of providing equality training.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the average waiting time between an appointment with a general practitioner and a hospital appointment and between a hospital appointment and surgery in Northern Ireland for hip replacements, heart surgery and general surgery; and how the waiting times compare with the average in the rest of the United Kingdom. [HL2776]

Information on the average waiting time between an appointment with a

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 30 April (

The breakdown of £173,000 is as follows:general practitioner and a hospital appointment is not available.Information on the average waiting time between a hospital appointment and surgery for patients admitted to hospital during 2001–02 is shown in the table below.

Average inpatient admission waiting times (in days) in 2001–02 for hip replacements, cardiac surgery and general surgery
Procedure	Hip Replacement	Cardiac-Surgery	General Surgery
Number of Days	213	157	94

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the written answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 14 May (

The provision of smoking chambers was discussed by the trust's health and safety team, the trust's operational group and health estates staff.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the terms of the oath which members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland will take when they serve in the Police Service in the Republic of Ireland. [HL3030]

The Garda Síochána (Police Co-operation) Bill 2003 currently before the Oireachtas disapplies for secondees from the Police Service of Northern Ireland Section 11 of the Police Forces Amalgamation Act 1925 which contains the oath for Garda Síochána members.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the terms of the oath which members of the Police Service in the Republic of Ireland will take when they serve in the Police Service of Northern Ireland. [HL3031]

Members of the Garda Síochána who are on secondment with police powers to the Police Service of Northern Ireland will take the attestation as set out in Section 38 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made and what remains still to be done to prepare Ministers of the Crown and their departments as well as other public authorities for the coming into force of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [HL2833]

Good progress is being made throughout the public sector to prepare for the coming into force of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The publication scheme provisions of the Act are now in force for all central government departments and agencies, as well as local government, and will be applied to all public authorities by June 2004, according to the timetable announced by the Lord Chancellor to Parliament on 13 November 2001.In order to prepare public authorities for the coming into force of the right of access in January 2005, substantial work is being done to train officials across the public sector. Officials in my department are currently engaged in a series of regional training seminars for public authorities across the country. Specific areas of the public sector, including the NHS and police, have established training programmes with which officials from my department have been involved. The work to train staff in public authorities will continue over the next 18 months.A summary of the progress which has been made by public authorities is contained in the Lord Chancellor's second statutory report on implementation, copies of which are in the House Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will consider it is feasible to accelerate the timetable for the coming into force of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [HL2834]

The timetable for the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act was announced to Parliament by the Lord Chancellor on 13 November 2001. The publication scheme provisions are currently being implemented across the public sector according to this timetable and the individual right of access will come into force in January 2005, 1 I months before the timetable set out in the Act itself.The implementation timetable is aligned with completion of the Government's project on electronic records management, and the extensive training and associated programmes required to ensure public authorities are prepared by the time the Act comes fully into force. There are no plans to accelerate the timetable.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they consider that, as a matter of constitutional principle, it is within the exclusive province of the judiciary, free of interference by the executive, to interpret prescribed sentencing guidelines and apply them to the circumstances of the individual case so as to ensure the proportionality of the sentence to those circumstances. [HL2835]

The imposition of any sentence in any individual case is a matter for the trial judge, acting within the statutory framework which Parliament has laid down and observing any relevant guidelines or precedents. The sentences passed in individual cases ae not a matter for Ministers, subject to the right of the Attorney-General to refer certain cases to the Court of Appeal if he believes the sentences passed are unduly lenient.Sentencing policy more generally is a matter on which the Government is entitled to take and express a view, and on which Parliament may legislate if it thinks fit.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What subjects they intend to raise with the Chinese representatives at the forthcoming United Kingdom/China Human Rights Dialogue; and whether they will ask how the recommendations made by the United Nations Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance in the report on his 1994 visit to China have been implemented. [HL2724]

The May round of the UK/China Human Rights Dialogue has been postponed due to SARS. New dates have yet to be agreed.On the UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Religion, I refer the noble Lord to the Answer my noble friend Lady Amos gave to his Question on this subject on 5 February (

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union for June; and what are the major European Union events for the period 1 July to 31 December 2003. [HL3019]

Forthcoming Business in the Council of the European Union, June-December 2003:

Date	Location	Event
June
2	Brussels	Eurogroup
2–3	Brussels	Employment, Social Policy, Health & Consumer Affairs
2–3	Alexandroupolis	Development Co-operation (Ministerial Informal)
3	Brussels	ECOFIN
4	Brussels	Meeting of the Presidium
5–6	Brussels	Convention Plenary
5–6	Brussels	Transport, Telecom & Energy Council
5–6	Brussels	Justice & Home Affairs Council
6	Rhodes	Public Administration (Ministerial Informal)
9	London	Chancellor's statement to the House of Commons on the UK's euro decision
11	Brussels	Meeting of the Presidium
11–12	Brussels	Agriculture & Fisheries Council
12–13	Brussels	Convention Plenary
13	Brussels	Environment Council
17–18	Luxembourg	General Affairs & External Relations

Date	Location	Event
20	Halkidiki	European Council
21	Halkidiki	Zagreb II Summit
24	Brussels	General Affairs & External Relations (GAERC)
July
2–3	Rome	Research (Ministerial Informal)
4–5	Naples	Transport Infrastructure (Ministerial Informal)
6	Palermo	Trade (Ministerial Informal)
11–12	Varese	Employment & Social Policy (Informal Council)
15–16	Brussels	ECOFIN
17–18	Treviso	EU Employment Committee (Informal)
18–20	Montecatini	Energy & Environment (Ministerial Informal)
22–23	Brussels	Agriculture & Fisheries Council
22	Brussels	General Affairs & External Relations
24–25	Milan	European Conference on Discrimination
25–26	Rome	Competitiveness (Informal Ministerial)
25–26	Verona	Education (+ Research?) (Ministerial Informal)
August
No Meetings Planned
September
3–4	Viterbo	Telecommunications (Ministerial Informal)
5–6	Riva del Garda	Gymnich (Informal Foreign Affairs)
7–9	Taormina	Agriculture (Informal Council)
12–13	Stresa	ECOFIN (Informal Council)
19–20	Rome	Justice & Internal Affairs (Informal Council)
22–23	Brussels	Competition (Internal Market. Industry & Research)
26–27	Erice	Community Regional Cohesion Policy (Ministerial Informal)
29–30	Brussels	General Affairs & External Relations
29–30	Brussels	Agriculture & Fisheries Council
October
2–3	Brussels	Justice & Internal Affairs
3–4	Rome	Defense (Ministerial Informal)
7	Brussels	ECOFIN
9–10	Brussels	Transport, Telecom & Energy Council
13–14	Brussels	General Affairs & External Relations Council (GAERC)
13–14	Brussels	Agriculture & Fisheries Council
16–17	Brussels	European Council
20–21	Brussels	Employment, Social Policy, Health & Consumer Affairs Council
27	Brussels	Environment Council
November
4	Brussels	ECOFIN
6	Brussels	Justice & Internal Affairs (Informal Council—to be confirmed)
17–18	Brussels	General Affairs & External Relations
17–18	Brussels	Agriculture & Fisheries Council
24–25	Brussels	ECOFIN
24–25	Brussels	Education, Youth & Culture Council
27–28	Brussels	Justice & Internal Affairs (Informal Council)
December
1–2	Naples	Euromed Meeting
1–2	Brussels	Employment, Social Policy, Health & Consumer Affairs
1–12	Milan	Climate & Sustainable Development Conference
4–5	Brussels	Transport, Telecom & Energy Council

Date	Location	Event
4–5	Rome	Closing Conference for the European Year of the Disabled
8–9	Brussels	General Affairs & External Relations Council (GAERC)
12–13	Brussels	European Council
15–17	Brussels	Agriculture & Fisheries Council
16	Brussels	ECOFIN
17–18	Brussels	Environment Council

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the definition of "market" in the Electronic Communications (Market Analysis) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/330) includes the provision of services to educational establishments and the National Health Service. [HL2781]

In accordance with Regulation 5(2) of the Electronic Communications (Market Analysis) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/330) the identification of markets must take due account of recommendations and guidelines issued by the European Commission. The first such recommendation (made on 11 February 2003) does not identify the NHS and educational establishments as specific markets. However many aspects of the provision of electronic communications networks, electronic communications services and associated facilities to educational establishments and the National Health Service are likely to fall within one or more of the markets identified in the recommendation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the definition of "responsible person" in the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/403) could include a person who is not a director of the company involved. [HL2782]

Regulation 2(2) and 2(3) define who is "the responsible person" in relation to any nuclear premises which is defined in Regulation 2(1) to cover three types of premises. Who is the responsible person depends on the type of premises.The responsible person in relation to the first type of "nuclear premises" (namely a licensed nuclear site on which nuclear material or other radioactive material is used or stored) is the holder of the nuclear site licence. Under the Nuclear Installation Act 1965 such a licence can only be granted to a body corporate. Therefore, the responsible person will be a body corporate (and not a company director).

asked Her Majesty's Government:What current acreage of energy crops are being grown for use by electricity generators; whether a target amount has been set, and by which year. [HL2908]

So far 1,768 hectares of energy crops have been planted for the production of renewable energy (including for heat as well as electricity). While no targets have been set for either the planting of energy crops or for the contribution of individual renewable energy sources, such as energy crops, the Government have set a target that 10 per cent of electricity will he generated from renewable sources by 2010.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are considering applying the renewables obligation conditions to the wood panel industry. [HL2909]

No. The renewables obligation requires electricity suppliers in Great Britain to supply a specified and growing proportion of their electricity from renewable sources. Suppliers are expected to produce 10·4 per cent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010–11 and have three ways in which to comply with the obligation: through supplying eligible renewables electricity to customers in Great Britain; buying renewable obligation certificates independently of the power that gave rise to their issue; and/or paying a buy-out price to Ofgem rather than supplying renewables electricity.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, as reported in an article in the February edition of

There have not been any such changes made to planning legislation or national planning guidance. I believe the article to which the noble Baroness refers may have included comments on the outcome of a planning appeal. The planning inspector would have reached his decision on that appeal on the basis of the particular facts of the case before him and by applying current planning policies and guidance, in accordance with existing legislation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What amounts for each year since 1997 have been claimed by each health authority under the Bellwin scheme. [HL2915]

Bellwin grant is paid under the authority of section 155(4) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Health authorities do not qualify since they are not included in the list of eligible authorities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the present arrangement in the Bellwin scheme where a claim can be made after a percentage of budget is to be changed; and what change is to be made; and [HL2917]What changes to the Bellwin scheme, as recently announced by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, are proposed to the way in which sums can be claimed under the scheme. [HL2916]

Before qualifying for Bellwin grant in any year an authority must have spent 0.2 per cent of its budget on activities that would be eligible for grant: 0.2 per cent of budget is referred to as "the Bellwin threshold". There is no proposal to change this provision of the scheme. However in the past, because of delays in the process of notifying authority budgets to the department the threshold was calculated using a proxy arrangement whereby the previous year's budget was uprated by the average increase in standard spending assessment for the following year. Since the standard spending assessment is no longer part of the local government finance arrangements we have waited until we had details of authorities' budgets and then calculated the threshold on the basis of 0.2 per cent of the actual budget. In accordance with normal arrangements officials consulted all authorities before promulgating the thresholds for 2003–04.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What information they have on the amounts and whereabouts of moneys reported to have been deposited in banks outside Iraq by or on behalf of Saddam Hussein and his family; and whether any action is open to them to facilitate the repatriation of these funds to the people of Iraq. [HL2840]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has made clear that the Government are committed to taking the necessary steps to ensure that the assets of Saddam Hussein and his associates are used for the benefit and welfare of the Iraqi people.Working closely with coalition partners, a number of government departments and agencies continue to track reports of moneys deposited outside Iraq by or on behalf of Saddam Hussein and his family. If such assets were found, they would be frozen under UN sanctions legislation.In contributing to the drafting of a new United Nations Security Council Resolution, the Government have ensured that the assets of the former regime will be placed in the Development Fund for Iraq.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What information is being given to employers of Reservists serving in Iraq regarding their return to the United Kingdom and subsequent demobilisation. [H L2865]

Employers are advised, at the time a Reservist is called out, that they can expect their employee to be absent for a period of between six and eight months. This is obviously subject to operational requirements. Where possible, the reserve forces' and cadets' associations (RFCAs), in concert with the regional chains of command, keep local employers of Reservists informed of the details.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What the impact will be of

The judgment handed down by the House of Lords on 13 February in respect of the case of Matthews-v-The Ministry of Defence confirms that service personnel who suffer illness or injury prior to 15 May 1987 are prevented by law from receiving compensation from the Ministry of Defence by virtue of Section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947.The Government have no plans to introduce legislation to allow service personnel suffering illness or injury before 15 May 1987 to receive common law compensation. When Parliament debated the repeal of Section 10, the question of retrospection was considered. The view then, as it is now, was that there was no logical point at which to draw a line, short of covering all types of injury going back to 1947, and this would create more examples of unfairness and injustice.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What help has been given to St Paul's Cathedral through heritage and lottery funding towards its present restoration costs. [HL2851]

St Paul's Cathedral has made an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund which is currently under consideration.

(£ millions)
Grant receiving body	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003-present
Scottish Screen	2·2	2·4	2·6	2·6	0·4
Sgrin	0·2	0·2	0·2	0·3	0·3
Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission*	0·57	0·49	0·36	0·3	—
British Film Institute	16·91	—	—	—	—
British Screen Finance	2·0	—	—	—	—
British Film Commission	0·85	—	—	—	—
European Co-Production Fund	2·0	—	—	—	—
National Film and Television School	2·2	2·3	2·4	2·5	0·4
Film Council	0·5	21·8	20·9	24·1	5·3
Total	27·43	27·19	26·46	29·8	6·4

asked Her Majesty's Government:In the event that London secures the 2012 Olympic Games, what surcharge is proposed for London residents, to pay part of the costs of the Games, for each band of local taxation; and what total sum will be paid in each case over the period when the charge is levied. [HL2970]

Government and the Mayor have agreed a funding package of up to £2.375 billion to help meet the costs of staging an Olympics in London in 2012. The London council tax payer would contribute up to a maximum of £625 million towards this amount.This would be funding raised from an additional £20 a year or 38p a week on council tax for a band D property—69 per cent of households in London are in bands D and below. This is approximately 2 per cent of the average band D bill being paid in London in 2003–04.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What grant has been given to the British Film Industry during each of the past four years and the current year to date. [HL,2852]

The following table gives details of government funding for film. In addition to direct government funding, the Film Council has distributed Lottery funding for film since April 2000. Prior to this, the Arts Council distributed lottery funding for film.The yearly amounts at different council tax bands are:

Band A	£13·33
Band B	£15·56
Band C	£17·78
Band D	£20·00
Band E	£24·44
Band F	£28·89
Band G	£33·33
Band H	£40·00

On the current tax base this would raise £56 million a year.The first payment would not be until 2006–07 financial year when it is known whether London has won the right to stage the 2012 Olympics or not. The duration and total cost of the charge per household would depend on the overall cost of the Games.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What percentage of pensioners lack a full contribution record; and what percentage of those lacking such a record are in receipt of the minimum income guarantee. [HL2701]

Thirty-five per cent of pensioners are in receipt of less than a full basic state pension; 14 per cent of these pensioners are in receipt of the minimum income guarantee. Pensioners who receive a reduced rate basic state pension include those who receive a reduced rate married woman's pension based on their husband's contribution record, those whose own or inherited national insurance record is incomplete, those who receive the reduced rate non-contributory pension and those who receive either graduated pension or additional pension only.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the criteria and weightings for allocating "Positive Activities for Young People" funding; and whether they can justify the wide variation in funding neighbouring authorities in Greater Manchester. [HL2871]

The funding for Positive Activities for Young People is allocated to LEAs on the basis of the number of robberies committed; the number of sessions missed in schools; the number of primary and secondary pupils; and the level of funding that areas received under schemes last year. Weightings have also been applied to take account of additional factors such as Behaviour and Improvement Schools and Excellence in Cities areas.Greater Manchester has received a total funding allocation of £2.1 million. The variations in funding between LEAs will be dependent upon the funding they received in previous years, the levels of robbery in those areas and levels of truancy. Extra consideration has been given to areas with Behaviour and Improvement Schools and to Excellence in Cities areas. Government Office North West also took the decision to ensure that there is a strong focus on community cohesion in their region and have reallocated a small amount of their funding to take account of this.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are aware of any accident and emergency departments that have taken extraordinary measures to meet their waiting time targets during the recent monitoring week commencing 24 March. [HL2873]

In the long term, the four-hour Accident and Emergency (A&E) target, like other waiting targets will be met, not through extraordinary measures, but through a combination of sustained investment and changes in which the National Health Service works.A milestone of 90 per cent was set for March 2003, as an early staging post on the way to the 2004 target. The most important ingredients of the success for trusts achieving the 90 per cent milestone have been hard work, innovation and commitment of NHS staff.The new system of devolved responsibility has given the local NHS the freedom to use their resources to deliver health services according to the needs of their local populations. They do so within a clear national framework of priorities. Improving waiting time in A&E is a top priority for the Government and the public, so we would expect the NHS to focus resources on this.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the estimated number of young carers in the United Kingdom; and how many are members of the recently formed young carers organisation. [HL2910]

The 2001 Census recorded a total of 149,942 young carers aged 17 and under. The Department of Health supports the Young Carers Initiative through a grant to the Children's Society. The Initiative supports over 250 projects or groups working with young carers, which are funded through a range of sources including statutory agencies, the voluntary sector and lottery funds. Each project in turn supports between thirty and fifty young carers. In addition, the Young Carers Initiative supports an annual festival which expects to attract 1,800 young people in 2003.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are satisfied with the support given to young carers by local education authorities and schools. [HL2912]

We know that some local education authorities and schools provide very good support to young carers. The department is looking at ways of disseminating good practice to other LEAs and schools.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether additional responsibilities of young carers and the necessary support they are likely to need is adequately covered in initial and subsequent teacher training. [HL2913]

Since September 2002, we have ensured that the standards required to qualify as a teacher include an understanding of how pupils' learning can be affected by their physical, intellectual, linguistic, social, cultural and emotional development. A number of these issues may affect young carers. Newly qualified teachers are required to complete an induction period during which they liaise with parents and carers to further develop their professional knowledge.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the national curriculum citizenship agenda covers the role played by young carers; and whether, where appropriate, these issues can be illustrated by the experiences of pupils. [HL.2914]

The flexibility of the citizenship framework allows schools to choose how to organise and teach citizenship in a way that suits their pupils' needs. Pupils are taught about taking a responsible role in the community through participation in both school and community-based activities during citizenship education. Teachers can therefore draw on the role of young carers in discussions about responsible action and community service.