asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any European or Commonwealth states have legislative chambers that are wholly unelected. [HL4620]

Canada's second Chamber is appointed, as are the second Chambers in a number of other Commonwealth countries. The Government are committed to putting the appointed House of Lords on a stable footing for the medium term, in the absence of any consensus for further reform. A new independent statutory appointments commission was announced in the consultation paper Next steps for the House of Lords, published on 18 September.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the United Kingdom has ratified Protocol 13 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms banning the death penalty in all circumstances. [HL4869]

Yes. The UK ratified Protocol 13 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms banning the death penalty in all circumstances on 10 October 2003.The ratification will apply at present only to the metropolitan area of the United Kingdom. Ratification will be extended to the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories at a later date.We shall in due couse seek parliamentary approval pursuant to Section 1(4) of the Human Rights Act 1998 to add Protocol 13 to the list of scheduled convention rights.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the Court Service annual report and accounts for 2002–03 will be laid before parliament. [HL4868]

The Court Service annual report and accounts for 2002–03 has been laid before Parliament today. This document gives full details of the agency's performance and expenditure for that year. Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why major updating work to MoT facilities in Northern Ireland involving the reduction in capacity was undertaken at the same time as the department initiated a campaign to encourage the taxation of cars, thus increasing demand for MoT facilities. [HL4384]

The refurbishment of test centres was undertaken over a two-year period following the award of a major contract to a private sector consortium in March 2001. However, the project, which was necessary to ensure that the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency could continue to deliver a high quality testing service, was in the planning stage for a considerable period before that.Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland has had an ongoing campaign to tackle vehicle excise duty evasion (VED) for some time. The introduction of wheel clamping in January 1998 and camera detection in January 2002 were a direct response to the relatively high evasion rate in Northern Ireland. VED campaigns do not increase the number of vehicles requiring an MoT, but they help to persuade those who need to get their vehicles tested to do so. Both are important elements in the department's road safety strategy. However, both involve lengthy lead times, and despite extensive planning it is impossible to keep them entirely separate or to predict the precise impact of a particular campaign.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 8 September

The normal budget process for the Ulster Scots Agency is set out in the North/South Language Body's financial memorandum and involves consultation and discussion between the agency and sponsor and Finance Departments North and South. The budgets of the North/South implementation bodies, following the suspension of devolution, are agreed and approved under the agreement contained in the exchange of notes between the two governments dated 19 November 2002. Proportionality has not been discussed with the Ulster Scots Agency.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the internal staff costs of each of the North/South implementation bodies for each year since their creation. [HL4595]

Details of the staff costs for each of the North/South implementation bodies for each year since their creation are provided in the table below:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer from the Lord President on 9 September

The decision of 19 May was taken in line with the agreement made by the exchange of notes between the two governments dated 19 November 2002. However, as the noble Lord is aware, the decision, which was incorrectly titled, was intended to apply only to the Irish Language Agency and not to the whole language body.To rectify the situation another paper was prepared entitled,

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to increase Ulster Scots cultural tourism in County Antrim. [HL4534]

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) has already mainstreamed cultural tourism as a key development and marketing priority and will continue to do so in coming years. The board, in conjunction with Tourism Ireland and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, is keen to exploit opportunities that are unique to Northern Ireland and to develop a visitor experience that is based on the region's cultural and natural attributes. The NITB recognises the Ulster Scots heritage as an integral element of future tourism growth to Northern Ireland from several key markets. This is particularly true for County Antrim where the Ulster Scots tradition is especially strong.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which organisation has the contract for the removal of cigarette ends from the entrance to government offices in Northern Ireland; and how much it costs each year. [HL4493]

Where cigarette ends are placed in receptacles at the entrance to government offices in Northern Ireland they are removed by contracted cleaning firms as part of the cleaning contract for those offices.Cigarette ends discarded otherwise at the entrance to government offices are removed by maintenance staff employed to maintain the government estate or by staff employed by local authorities to remove street litter. The actual cost of removing cigarette ends is not available but the estimated cost of cleaning government offices in Northern Ireland is £2.7 million per annum.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many smoking rooms are maintained by the Northern Ireland Civil Service; how frequently staff are permitted to visit such rooms and for what length of time: what are the annual staffing and office space costs involved; and when these arrangements will be terminated in line with their policy on smoking. [HL4536]

There are some 144 smoking rooms currently in operation in Northern Ireland Civil Service premises.Although no central guidance has been issued on the frequency or length of absences permitted in order to use smoking rooms, line managers are required to ensure that any individual cases of abuse of the facility are identified and dealt with quickly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the signalling system used by Northern Ireland Railways complies with the railway's current network standards for intercity traffic. [HL4630]

Translink has advised that the signalling system used by Northern Ireland Railways complies with the railways current network standards with the exception of Castlerock situated between Coleraine and Londonderry. However, Translink considers that the systems at this location, while not up to the precise standard of the rest of the network, are entirely safe.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many consultants' reports have been produced on Northern Ireland Railways activity since January 1996; by whom; and for what purpose. [HL4632]

Translink has advised that the following consultants' reports have been produced on Northern Ireland Railways activity since 1996.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the review of the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 will be available. [HL4633]

The Department of the Environment (DOE) for Northern Ireland has commissioned a study of changes needed to the Wildlife (NI) Order 1985. The study, which is being carried out to complement aspects of the Northern Ireland biodiversity strategy and local species action plans, is required to identify potential changes in the legal status of certain species.A draft report was received on 30 June with the final document expected shortly. It is intended to discuss the content of this report with interested parties, including the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside, prior to subjecting recommendations to full consultation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What financial contribution they are making to the reconstruction of Iraq. [HL4796]

At the Donors’ Conference on Iraq, in Madrid on 24 October, the UK will make a total financial commitment towards Iraq's reconstruction of £544 million for the three years from April 2003, including the funding that we have provided so far and our share of proposed European Community spending in Iraq: £248 million is humanitarian and reconstruction assistance already committed by DfID and other government departments (£9 million of which is our share of the EC commitment), and £296 million will be for the period up to March 2006 (£29 million of which is our share of currently proposed EC spending). We expect to channel a substantial proportion of this spending through Multi-Donor Trust Fund arrangements being established by the World Bank and the United Nations, and to continue to support bilateral and multilateral programmes in Iraq. This funding does not include the costs of maintaining security in Iraq, towards which we are making a major contribution. Nor will it involve any reduction in DflD's planned development expenditure for low income countries. We remain committed to deliver £1 billion of bilateral assistance for Africa in 2005–06, and to increase the proportion of bilateral spending on low income countries to 90 per cent by the same time.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have for publishing Lord Hutton's report? [HL4906]

When the Government receive the report we shall publish it to Parliament and ministerial statements will be made by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor. The Government will also ensure that both Houses have an opportunity for a debate on the report once members have considered its content.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many suicide attempts there have been by prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay (Cuba); and whether they are asking the United States authorities to improve conditions for all prisoners, in particular by giving them a minimum of one-hour exercise per day. [HL4655]

The British Government do not hold detailed information on non-British detainees at Guantanamo Bay. We understand, however, that 31 suicide attempts have been made at Guantanamo Bay, none of which has involved British detainees.We believe that the detainees should be treated humanely. We have raised the question of exercise with the US Government on a number of occasions. One of the main objectives of visits by British officials to Guantanamo Bay is to check on the British detainees’ welfare. The last visit in early September suggested that access to exercise had increased to a norm of 30 minutes a day.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their policy as regards the disarming of militants and criminals in Liberia; what plans they have for child soldiers to be rehabilitated and reintegrated with their families; and whether the experience of Caritas Makeni in Sierra Leone will be studied and applied. [HL4656]

The UK supported United Nations Security Council Resolution 1509, which gave a robust and comprehensive mandate to the UN force now deploying in Liberia. This mandate includes the creation of a disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration, and repatriation programme for all armed parties with particular attention to the special needs of child combatants and women.We will draw on experiences learnt from Sierra Leone including the Caritas child combatant disarmament and repatriation programmes undertaken in Makeni, Sierra Leone.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What diplomatic protection they have given to United Kingdom nationals whose farms and other properties in Zimbabwe have been unlawfully seized, occupied or damaged in breach of the domestic laws of Zimbabwe; and [HL4663]What assistance they have given to the United Kingdom nationals whose farms and other properties in Zimbabwe have been unlawfully seized, occupied or damaged in breach of the domestic laws of Zimbabwe to enable them to seek legal remedies, whether in the courts of Zimbabwe or internationally. [HL4664]

The British High Commission in Harare offers guidance and assistance to all British nationals in Zimbabwe who request it. It is in regular contact with the resident British community on a range of issues, including personal safety. It runs a network of 92 wardens around the country, enabling it to maintain good communications with the resident British community. The High Commission assists any British national who believes that their safety is threatened. It also makes representations to the Zimbabwean authorities on behalf of British nationals, when requested to do so. In cases where it has been informed of a threat to a British farmer's physical safety, the High Commission has made representations to the local police, and the police have assisted.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 6 June

The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 6 June

I confirm that in my reply to the noble Lord, Lord Lamont of Lerwick on 6 June, my answer that no British citizen, of whom we were aware, in any European Union country had been held for three months without being charged, meant that each prisoner in each country had been charged with a crime constituting an offence in the country in question.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 6 June

The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 6 June

The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 6 June

The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are urging Ethiopia and Eritrea to accept the conclusions of the Boundary Commission on the location of the border between the two states and to implement those conclusions. [HL4685]

The UK has stressed to the Ethiopian Government, at the highest level, that the decision of the Boundary Commission is legally binding and should be complied with. We have stressed to the Eritrean Government, again at the highest level, the importance of engaging in a political dialogue with Ethiopia to facilitate the normalisation of relations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have the capacity and means to ascertain the manner in which member states of the European Union have excluded discrimination based on colour from their domestic legislation implementing the Race Directive. [HL4619]

The Government do have such capacity and means, in as much as they are able to seek information from contacts in the European Commission and other European organisations.However, legislative arrangements vary from member state to member state and each member state will have to implement the directive in the way most appropriate to its own arrangements. The position on colour in the other states does not necessarily have an impact on, or relevance to, the position in the UK.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Following the European Court ruling in the case of Hacene Akrich, the United Kingdom remains sovereign in respect of its immigration policy. [HL4627]

Following the European Court of Justice case of Surinder Singh, which was delivered in 1992, the non-EEA family member of a British national, who has legally resided in another member state, may claim a right to enter and remain in the UK under EC law instead of the UK's Immigration Rules. In the European Court of Justice case of Akrich, the court was asked to determine whether a member state could refuse to apply the Surinder Singh judgment to a British citizen who had deliberately moved to another member state with the express intention of creating an initial right of residence in the UK for their third country national spouse.The court found that third country national spouses of EU nationals can only benefit from EC law if they have legally resided in another EU state before they first came to the UK.This court ruling supports the UK's view that third country nationals who are illegally in the UK, and marry British citizens, should not be able to use EC law to remain here. It will allow the UK to continue to be able to apply its national immigration legislation in such cases.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they plan to publish the Animal Procedures Committee report for 2002. [HL4903]

In accordance with Section 20(5) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, I have placed the committee's annual report for 2002 in the Library today. The report includes the committee's consideration of particular licence applications and its consideration of enforcement and compliance issues.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of the lack of agreement in the Select Committee on Religious Offences on whether it is expedient to repeal the Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act 1860, they will collect information from the courts of details of the conduct giving rise to prosecutions under the Act, the outcome of the cases, and the sentences passed on conviction, so that Parliament may have the material on which to form a judgment on the susceptibility of that conduct to prosecution under other statutes. [HL3987]

I do not know whether it will prove practicable to obtain the information, but we will look into the matter and I will write to the noble Lord as soon as possible.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much has been allocated for the first year of the Supporting People programme, and what are the plans for future funding. [HL4904]

Supporting People programme went live on 1 April. The programme provides services which help vulnerable people— including victims of domestic violence, older people and teenage parents—live independently in their accommodation.The Government have today announced a grant allocation of £1.8 billion for the first year of the programme. Officials will be writing to local authorities individually to confirm allocations for 2003–04.The Government have also set up an independent review to gauge the true picture of how the funding is being utilised. The review will report by Christmas and will inform local authority budget allocation decisions for the next financial year.This review is in the context of the growth of the transitional housing benefit element of Supporting People, which has increased by £400 million from the original estimates by local authorities, which were announced in February. In all there are now an estimated 250,000 units of housing support, excluding sheltered and community alarms, compared to fewer than 100,000 estimated in 2000.The review will specifically consider:the considerable variations between authorities’ costs and patterns of service provision;services which were previously paid for out of other budgets where it is unclear how the resulting savings have been re-deployed; andwhether the programme is meeting its original objectives, including schemes which raise questions about compliance with grant conditions.A key objective of the programme remains to ensure vulnerable groups receive the level of complex support they need through planned sustainable spending arrangements that demonstrate equity, efficiency and value for money.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What key targets have been set for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory for financial year 2003–04. [HL4907]

The following key targets have been set for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory for financial year 2003–04:propose simpler method of measuring customer satisfaction and at least maintain overall satisfaction and improved customer understanding of Dstl by 2005;maintain and by the end of a three-year period show an increase in scores for scientific and engineering capability in the technical benchmarking exercise;maintain accreditation to ISO9001: 2000, Good Laboratory Practice, IiP and other mandated quality and safety standards; implement all recommendations arising from the safety, health, environment and fire (SHEF) audits and board of inquiry;achieve a return on capital employed (ROCE) of 6.5 per cent for 2003–04 and a MoD dividend of £3 million per year; Capital employed will equate to the total assets from which shall be deducted the total of current liabilities; maintain the average charge rate for manpower for 2003–04 and beyond below that for 2001–02 uplifted by GDP deflator;achieve planned progress on site rationalisation to meet the 2006 date for transfer of Dstl staff to the new core site; andagree and implement a Dstl diversity action plan.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether in relation to their increases in public expenditure on public services over recent years, they accept the conclusions of the Office for National Statistics that "using government's contribution to GDP, output growth lagged behind the increase in inputs … This suggests that, over time, resources were being used less efficiently"

Measuring public sector output and productivity is not straightforward, and conclusions about efficiency need to be drawn with care. As the article concerned noted, a number of factors have to be borne in mind:spending to enhance capital stock and staff training will increase the capacity to produce more in the future, rather than having full immediate effect on output;currently available output measures may in some cases fail to monitor all the actual outputs being produced; andcurrent measures frequently fail to reflect quality improvements made in outputs.The article also stated that it is not at present possible to disentangle the separate effects of these various factors.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to make representations to the International Olympic Committee to investigate alleged cases of American Olympic medallists who have had positive drug tests but have subsequently been cleared on appeal by United States track: and field officials. [HL4673]

This is a matter entirely for sport governing bodies. Consequently we do not intend to make representations to the International Olympic Committee.