asked Her Majesty's Government:How the new powers granted to British Waterways will be affected by proposals in the Water Bill to create licensed water suppliers only for supply to the largest 2,000 sites. [HL4445]

The competition provisions in the Water Bill will further open undertakers' public water distribution networks to competition. The canal network under British Waterways is not part of this system. Anyone may apply for access to the canal network and this will not change.British Waterways' proposals for expanding the use of the canal network for the supply of water are not directly affected by our proposals. Watergrid, the joint venture company, will be able to offer direct supply to users from canals and could also seek to become a licensee in order to obtain access to the statutory undertakers' distribution networks.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What support they have given in the financial year 2002–03 to each of the voluntary bodies dealing with rural stress; how much is budgeted for 2003–04; and how much is planned for 2004–05. [HL4394]

The Government allocated £300,000 to fund the Rural Stress Action Plan to relieve the incidence of stress in rural areas in 2002–03. A similar sum was allocated in 2003–04. Defra, working in partnership with voluntary organisations dealing with rural stress, in turn allocated the money to the following organisations:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps have been taken towards meeting the requirements in the European Union foot and mouth disease directive to create "a permanently operational expert group to maintain expertise and assist the relevant authority in qualitative disease preparation"; whether the composition will include international expertise in foot and mouth disease diagnosis, vaccination and relevant new technologies; and whether appointments will be undertaken in an open and transparent manner. [HL4398]

The Government already have in place arrangements to call on expertise on disease control in the event of an outbreak and this is covered in the foot and mouth contingency plan which has been laid before the House. In October 2002, Defra's chief scientific adviser also established the Science Advisory Group to provide independent advice to the department, including the Animal Disease Policy Group and the Civil Contingencies Committee; and to challenge strategic assumptions.A new EU directive on measures to control foot and mouth disease has been agreed in principle and is expected to be adopted later this month. It is required to be transposed into domestic legislation by 30 June 2004. We shall consider what further steps may be required to implement the directive in full over the coming months.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have agreed to the proposals submitted to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by the National Animal Disease Information Service for expanding the network; and, if so, what is the forward plan. [HL4443]

The National Animal Disease Information Service (NADIS) is one of a number of organisations that submitted proposals seeking funding for projects as part of the veterinary training and research initiative. This initiative is sponsored jointly by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and Defra. An independent selection panel reviewed the proposals and adjudged NADIS's application unsuccessful. Applicants were notified in writing of the panel's decisions in June.The Government have initiated a pilot study to explore whether NADIS could provide robust, representative clinical data to the Government for veterinary surveillance purposes. Conclusions drawn from the study are due to be reported to the Government in July 2004.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In relation to

Due to technical difficulties with the availability of appropriate ground elevation models, there has been a delay in the catchment flood management plan (CFMP) programme. So far only one of the five pilots has published a plan (for the River Parrett in Somerset) and Defra officials have been discussing with the Environment Agency the extent to which this meets the agreed guidelines.At least one further CFMP pilot is nearing completion and we hope that a further draft plan will be published before the end of the year. In the meantime the Environment Agency is progressing a number of catchment inception studies in preparation for the start of the main CFMP programme which will be initiated as soon as the results of the pilots have been consolidated into final guidance.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 3 June

The enclosed table shows the number of animals claimed in 2001 under the Beef Special Premium Scheme (BSPS), the Suckler Cow Premium Scheme (SCPS) and the Slaughter Premium Scheme/ Veal Calf Slaughter Premium Scheme (SPS/VCSPS) and the number of claims submitted under the Extensification Payment Scheme (EPS).All animal and claim details were cross-checked against the cattle tracing system in accordance with the European regulations that govern these schemes. The table shows the initial number of discrepancies identified between the information declared by producers on their subsidy claim forms and the data held on the cattle tracing system. All discrepancies were examined by RPA and where necessary by the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS). Where the discrepancy could not be resolved and the data held on the cattle tracing system meant that the animal claimed was ineligible under the rules governing the subsidy schemes the animal was removed from the claim with penalties. The table shows the penalties applied under each of the schemes.Many of the errors that could be put right did relate to discrepancies between what the cattle tracing system and the information given to other parts of the department had been told about animals by keepers. The most common errors were differences in animals' eartag numbers between notifications, the failure to report the movement of cattle or the reporting of incomplete or conflicting information. Some 91 per cent of all the discrepancies found were able to be resolved and all queries cleared. The remaining 9 per cent could not be cleared because of the seventy in the nature of the error.A number of measures have taken place to try to minimise the number of discrepancies between the data declared on subsidy claims and the cattle tracing system for future scheme years, including the following:We have worked closely with industry representatives to ensure producers understand that their claims will be cross-checked and to promote the need to keep CTS up to date and regularly check their records held on the database.RPA has also issued further guidance in the cattle schemes explanatory booklet, which is mailed to all bovine subsidy claimants.The format of claim forms has been changed and since the 2002 schemes producers have been asked to submit movement cards (torn from the CTS-issued cattle passports) in support of their SCPS and SPS/VCSPS claims (cattle passport documents themselves have always been required with BSPS claims). The movement cards allow RPA to scan in the identifying number of the animal using a pre-printed barcode. This ensures a direct match with the animal record held on CTS and prevents problems with transposition errors and formatting differences.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many Sites of Special Scientific Interest are situated in north-west England, and where such sites are located. [HL4515]

The North West Government Region contains 428 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) wholly or partly within its boundary. The table below provides a breakdown of the number of SSSIs by county, or counties in cases where the sites cross county boundaries within the region. A number of these SSSIs will also cross regional boundaries.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which mammals and other animals are classified as "vermin". [HL4559]

There is no definition of the term "vermin" in UK law. In such a situation the Oxford Dictionary definition should be applied.The Oxford Dictionary defines "vermin" as "Animals of a noxious or objectionable kind. Originally applied to reptiles, stealthy, or slinky animals, and various wild beasts; now, excluding in US and Australia, almost entirely restricted to those animals or birds which prey upon preserved game…"The Small Ground Vermin Traps Order 1958 and the various Spring Traps Approval Orders, refer to "small ground vermin". Neither the orders nor the Pests Act 1954, under which they are made, define this term or provide an exclusive list of species. However, the following animals are listed under various orders: moles, grey squirrels, rabbits, mink, stoats, weasels, rabbits, rats, and mice.Traps approved under the Spring Traps Approval Order 1995 do not apply to small ground vermin listed in Schedules 5 and 6 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This means that red squirrels, dormice, water voles, shrews, hedgehogs, polecats and a number of other species are excluded.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What technologies, if any, are currently available to convert woody biomass into bioethanol; and what is the estimated cost per tonne of such fuels.[HL4564]

At present, there are no commercially viable technologies for producing bioethanol from woody material. Significant advances are currently being made in developing ways to use this feedstock. The technologies can be broadly characterised as: ligno-cellulosic technologies—the enzyme-based hydrolysis of cellulose-rich biomass; dilute acid hydrolysis—the use of acids to break down cellulose into fermentable sugars; and gasification and reformation—the application of heat and pressure to break down biomass into syn-gas which is then reformed into ethanol, or other road fuels.Large scale commercialisation of these technologies is unlikely for some years and firm costs are not yet available. Current research gives estimated production costs of 50 to 56 pence per litre from ligno-cellulosic enzyme hydrolysis and 30 to 40 pence per litre from gasification.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Prime Minister's speech made at the Trades Union Congress dinner on 9 September was accurately represented by the text of that speech issued by his spokesman. [HL4399]

Yes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have refused to have British prisoners of war from Afghanistan returned to Britain in early 2002 or subsequently. [HL4486]

We are pressing the US authorities to move forward with the process of determining the future of all the British detainees held by the US at Guantanamo Bay. The issues currently under discussion include the possibility of repatriation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will seek compensation from the Libyan Government for any terrorist crimes committed by the IRA using weapons supplied by that government. [HL4494]

No. The Government have already put in place structures and mechanisms aimed at addressing the needs of all victims of the Northern Ireland conflict.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, before embarking on the war in Iraq, they assessed the extent of risk of obstruction, resistance and armed opposition to the occupation of Iraq; and, if so, what was their assessment of the extent of the risk. [HL4521]

In planning for a possible conflict in Iraq, the Government took into account a wide range of factors relevant to the post-conflict phase, anticipated the risks and planned accordingly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, before embarking on the war in Iraq, they were warned by the intelligence and security services of the United Kingdom or the United States that there was likely to be a significant obstruction, resistance and armed opposition to the occupation of Iraq. [HL4522]

The intelligence and security services contribute to the provision of advice to the Government through Joint Intelligence Committee assessments. The JIC issued a number of assessments on Iraq prior to the conflict.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Following the recent publication of a letter by G. F. Reidler in

The safety of blood and blood products used in the National Health Service is of paramount importance. Although most United Kingdom sourced fresh frozen plasma (FFP) is not virally inactivated, high levels of safety are achieved by using single unit, as opposed to pooled plasma, by screening out potential high-risk donors and by testing every unit of donated blood for the presence of infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C before it is released to hospitals. In addition, the National Blood Authority (NBA) is conducting an options appraisal of means to minimise the risk of transfusion-related acute lung injury from FFP.The decision taken to import single unit FFP sourced from the United States for young babies and children born after 1 January 1996 will provide additional protection to the most vulnerable group who will not have been exposed to bovine spongiform encephalopathy through the food chain. The NBA is

asked Her Majesty's Government:How long immunity from smallpox lasts in an individual who has been vaccinated one, two or three times at 10-year intervals; and [HL4359]What proportion of the United Kingdom population is estimated to have a degree of immunity from smallpox as a result of having been vaccinated.[HL4360]

Routine smallpox vaccination stopped in 1971. Fifty five per cent of the population were born before 1971 and the uptake of vaccine in the immediate years preceding this stoppage was 35 to 40 per cent. The estimate for the proportion of the current United Kingdom population now who have ever been vaccinated is about a third. No laboratory test to measure the immunological response, most likely to confer protection against smallpox, existed at that time.A recent study

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they require social services departments to report to a central point any evidence of trafficking of—

There is no specific requirement on the part of social services departments to report evidence of the trafficking of children under the age of 18 or the trafficking of adults.We understand a number of successful multi-agency protocols have already been developed and are in use at points of entry to help identify persons who may have been trafficked.This work has been complemented by the Government's publication of a toolkit providing advice on trafficking. This is a comprehensive resource to prevent trafficking that will serve to raise awareness and provide guidelines to practitioners, including social workers, who are likely to come into contact with victims of trafficking.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What resources have been transferred from local authority child protection services to the implementation of Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 in accordance with the directive entitled

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which statutory instruments under the Education Act 2002 have had to be amended subsequently due to an error or omission in the original instrument. [HL4584]

The following statutory instruments made under the Education Act 2002 have been amended due to an error or omission.The Education (Additional Secondary School Proposals) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/1200) were amended by The Education (Additional Secondary School Proposals) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/1421).The School Governance (Constitution) Regulations 2003/348, and the School Governance (Procedures) Regulations 2003/1377 were amended by the School Governance (Constitution and Procedures) Regulations 2003/1916.The Federation of Schools Regulations 2003/1965 were amended by the Federation of Schools (Amendment) Regulations 2003/2133.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they intend to commence Schedule 2 to the Education Act 2002. [HL4585]

Schedule 2 to the Education Act 2002 was commenced by the bringing into force of Sections 35 and 36 in the Education Act 2002 (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2003 (SI 2003/1667), and came into force on 1 September.