asked Her Majesty's Government: When the Judicial Appointments annual report for 2002–03 is to be published and what information this edition will contain. [HL5144]

The Judicial Appointments annual report, covering the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003, is published today. This year's report shows that: 697 appointments were made in 2002–03 from 3,449 applications.Appointments of minority ethnic candidates rose from 7.8 per cent in 2001–02 to 8.9 per cent (this includes lay appointments) and is more than double the 1999–2000 figure which was 4.2 per cent.Women accounted for 31 per cent of appointments and although this was a decrease of 3 per cent compared with 2001–02, the figure remains significantly higher than it was five years ago when the first report was published.The pilot assessment centre in October/November for the deputy district judge (civil and magistrates) competitions and the deputy Queen's Bench master competition was a success. The Commissioner for Judicial Appointments' audit of the pilot was very positive.The report also explains other recent action on equal opportunities.Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The report is also available on the department's website at www.dca.gov.uk.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they and the New Partnership for Africa's Development are assisting the Southern African Development Community to harmonise and enhance weapons control; and if so, how. [HL4842]

The UK Government are supporting efforts to harmonise and enhance weapons controls in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region through assistance to NGOs, such as Saferworld and SaferAfrica, and to governments such as Mozambique and Tanzania.Saferworld and SaferAfrica are working with SADC member states on the implementation of the SADC Protocol on the Control of Firearms and Ammunition. Examples of activities include analysis of existing arms control legislation in the region and assistance in the development of harmonised legislation across SADC. SaferAfrica is also working with the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-Operation Organisation in training police officials on cross border operations to detect and destroy illicit arms caches in regions of conflict.Saferworld and SaferAfrica also assisted the Government of Tanzania in the development of a comprehensive national action plan on small arms, which is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. The UK continues to fund the implementation of this plan and is also providing funds for detailed, countrywide assessments of the small arms problem in Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia. These assessments should serve as the basis for detailed national action plans in the future.At the AU/NePAD peace and security workshop held in Addis Ababa in February 2003, SaferAfrica ensured that arms issues were included on the agenda. Small arms are one of the eight priority issues identified in the NePAD action plan.This work is funded under the Global Conflict Prevention Pool's small arms and light weapons strategy, a £20 million programme designed to reduce armed violence and weapons proliferation around the world.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What studies they are undertaking into the issues surrounding the decline in prices for Africa's key commodities; what necessary remedial action has so far been identified; and what consequential policy is being implemented.[HL4933]

Currently, about half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa rely upon "traditional" agricultural commodities (in particular cocoa, coffee, tea and cotton) for over 50 per cent of their exports. These commodities also underpin the livelihoods of millions of some of the poorest people in the region, even in countries where agriculture's relative importance, as measured by macro-economic indicators, is less significant.The long-term decline in commodity prices, and the associated negative shift in the producers' terms of trade, has been well documented since at least the 1950s. The current fall in prices is, however, particularly severe. By 2002, the IMF estimated that world cotton prices had fallen to a 17–year low and coffee prices has reached a 30–year low. This trend is the consequence of several factors including:(a) Increased supply from the expansion of production in developing countries—including, but not exclusively, relatively new exporting countries such as Vietnam in the case of coffee;

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to paragraph 3 of Annex A to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 9 October (WA 67) which states that pertussis was not recommended for use with adults and was not licensed as an adjuvant for anthrax vaccine, what degree of obligation was placed upon those deployed in 1990–91 to receive the vaccinations. [HL5094]

I refer the noble Lord to the Ministry of Defence paper; Implementation of the Immunisation Programme Against Biological Warfare Agents for UK Forces During the Gulf Conflict 1990–91 dated 20 January 2000, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. It is also available on the Internet at: http://www.mod.uk/ issues/gulfwar/info/medical/bwa.htm.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What evaluation has been carried out of the Skill Force youth initiative. [HL5176]

Skill Force is a nationwide Ministry of Defence-originated and Department for Education and Skills-supported youth initiative to re-engage disaffected 14 to 16 year-olds with mainstream education. There are currently 23 teams operating in around 100 schools with 3,000 participants. Pupils drop two GCSE options in favour of a more vocationally based education. Skill Force mainly uses former military instructors who have recently left the armed services to deliver a wide range of key skill-based subjects to young people who are in danger of becoming disaffected with the formal academic education system.Evaluation of the first 12 schemes showed that Skill Force had been very successful in reducing truancy and exclusions by around 80 per cent, and had had a positive impact upon behaviour. As a consequence, DfES has helped to fund a further 11 schemes which have been operating for a year as part of the Behaviour Improvement Programme.The Institute of Education, London University has recently conducted an independent and comprehensive evaluation of Skill Force. The report concluded that: "Overall, Skill Force is an extremely well managed programme which provides a unique service to schools. It has been successful in meeting the needs of any disaffected students, improving their motivation, confidence, communication and social skills. It has reduced exclusions, improved behaviour, attendance, attitudes towards education and attainment and also provided students with a range of practical, vocational qualifications. It offers excellent value for money. The comments from students and parents provided in this report are a testament to the opportunities it offers. Perhaps more importantly it has the support of school management. The ethos of Skill Force is positive, 'can do' and focused on problem solving. The challenges outlined above will be tackled with enthusiasm and solutions found."We are today placing a copy of this report in the Library of the House. We are currently assessing, with the Connexions service, the impact that Skill Force has had upon participants entering employment, training and education on leaving secondary school in July 2003 at the end of the initial two-year course. The Ministry of Defence and the Department for Education and Skills will continue to work together on the longer-term future of Skill Force.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What plans they have to adjust United Kingdom force levels in Iraq. [HL5177]

HQ 3 (UK) Division continues to command the Multinational Division (South-East) (MND(SE)) in Iraq, with contributions from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Romania.We have begun a process of roulement of United Kingdom forces, which involves the incremental replacement of HQ 3 (UK) Division with a composite HQ MND(SE), the replacement of 19 Mechanised Brigade with 20 Armoured Brigade, the replacement of HQ 101 Logistic Brigade with a composite HQ UK national support element (NSE), the roulement of the combat service support units that will make up the UK NSE, and the mobilisation of around 1,000 Reservists. We expect the maritime and air elements of our presence in theatre to remain broadly stable.A number of adjustments to our force levels in Iraq were made over the summer. Some of these were relatively minor, such as the withdrawal of around 30 armoured engineers and the short-term deployment of around 30 personnel from 23 Pioneer Regiment Royal Logistic Corps to undertake building and construction tasks around Shabah logistics base.On a larger scale, we also deployed the 2nd Battalion The Light Infantry (2LI) and the 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets (1RGJ), to conduct a number of additional security and training tasks and provide MND(SE) with the flexibility and capacity to carry out surge operations designed to counter crime and enhance security. A recent major operation in MND(SE), Operation Sweeney, has resulted in 291 arrests, the seizure of six weapons caches, and the interception of 57 vessels and 58 vehicles involved in criminal activity.Some of the additional requirements for which 2LI and IRGJ deployed are now being reduced or progressively transferred to Iraqi security forces. But some other requirements will continue over the next few months, including the provision of training for the new Iraqi civil defence corps. In overall terms, we assess that these continuing requirements can be met by approximately one battalion rather than two. When 2LI and 1RGJ are withdrawn from theatre in November and December they will therefore be replaced by the 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (2 Para). We envisage that 2 Para will deploy from early November.In addition to adjustments to force levels, we have also deployed further equipment to theatre, including over 200 armoured Land Rovers, three Puma helicopters and three Gazelle helicopters. Taken together, these enhancements provide MND(SE) with greater mobility, force protection and surveillance capabilities, increasing the flexibility and effectiveness of the force.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What progress has been made with negotiations to supply the Skynet 5 satellite communications service to the Ministry of Defence. [HL5178]

We announced in February 2002 that the British-based consortium Paradigm Secure Communications had been selected as preferred bidder to supply the Skynet 5 satellite communications service to the MOD under the private finance initiative.We are pleased to announce that last Friday contract negotiations were successfully concluded and that the Skynet 5 PFI contract, the biggest yet placed by the MOD, has been enacted.The full value of the contract, which is planned to run until 2018, is expected to be around £2.5 billion and Paradigm expect it to create or sustain up to 1,900 jobs across the UK at its peak.The MOD is getting this service at a significant value for money advantage compared to the costs that would have been associated with a more traditional procurement route.The move to a PFI approach and accompanying fresh and innovative thinking has resulted in substantial savings. Skynet 5 is within budget and remains on target to achieve initial provision of new services from 2005. It is a clear example of how we are getting better military capability and better value for money by using Smart acquisition principles.This deal will provide the MOD with a number of benefits, including transfer to risk to the contractor. Skynet 5 will also provide a greatly improved service with regular technology upgrades and the flexibility to cope with the growth in military satellite communications requirements we expect over the next few years.The events of 11 September 2001 provided us all with a timely reminder to make sure that our key military communication and information systems have the necessary resilience to ensure business continuity. Skynet 5 services will provide this assurance under almost any conceivable scenarios.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What key targets have been set for the chief executive of the Veterans Agency for financial year 2003–04. [HL5179]

We have set the following key targets for the chief executive of the Veterans Agency for 2003–04. They are as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government: What their policy is on accepting applications from local authorities to hold electoral pilots at by-elections. [HL5I75]

The Government are looking at many ways, including all-postal ballots and e-voting, to modernise our electoral system and to increase the opportunities that people have to vote. To test the robustness of the new options and to build public confidence in them, we have undertaken an extensive programme of pilot innovations at local elections. This is why we are promoting legislation to permit further pilots to be held in a number of regions at the European Parliament and combined local elections in June 2004.Our focus over the forthcoming months will be on working to ensure that pilots held at the combined elections are successful in delivering elections that are more straightforward and accessible for all electors. As a result, we are currently not minded to approve applications for by-election pilots for the period from 1 April 2004 until 1 August 2004.Outside that period, our general approach on local authority by-election pilots is that while we will consider (as legislation requires us to do) all applications for pilots at by-elections, we are minded normally to approve such applications only if the proposals are consistent with the reommendations of the Electoral Commission as set out in

asked Her Majesty's Government: When the annual report and accounts for the Standards Board for England for 2002–03 will be laid. [HL518O]

I have today laid the Standards Board for England's annual report and accounts for 2002–03.The report and accounts cover the first year of significant operations by the Standards Board for England. At the end of March 2003, 2,948 allegations of misconduct had been referred to the Standards Board since the introduction of the code of conduct in May 2002.As the annual report shows, the board is continuing to work in partnership with local government to promote and sustain the high standards of conduct, which are essential to public confidence in our local democracy.Copies of the report and accounts are available in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government: By how much the cost of legal aid has increased in England and Wales over the past nine years. [HL4696]

The cost of legal aid in England and Wales for the financial year 1993–94 was £1,210 million; the cost of legal aid for the financial year 2002–03 was £1,908 million. This represents an increase of 58 per cent over the period. In real terms (i.e. allowing for inflation) the cost rose by 27 per cent over the period.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will propose to the Information Commissioner that the public would be assisted in complaining about, and providing evidence of, fraudulent collectors on behalf of data protection if they were able to do this directly on the commissioner's own website rather than being referred to unidentified trading standards or police officers. [HL4866]

We have no plans to do so. The commissioner carries out his statutory duties independently of government. He has no power to take legal action against these "collectors" himself, but he has been working closely with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), local trading standards services (TSSs) and various police forces to tackle the problem. These bodies have collectively agreed that the commissioner should refer complaints to their local TSS or police force, since the TSS has an established network to deal with nationwide issues.The commissioner's staff gather evidence of complaints made to him and provide the TSS or OFT with witness statements and other relevant evidence. They also offer appropriate advice to the public and help publicise the activities of these "collectors".

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many complaints from patients or patients' families there have been about:

The Department of Health does not hold letters on individual complaints made by patients or their families, most of which are handled by the National Health Service locally.Upwards of 1,000 letters have been received by the department in the past two years that concern these matters. Among these were four instances of families commenting on their personal experiences of treatment being, in their view, unduly prolonged. In respect of personal experiences about the premature withdrawal of artificial nurition and hydration, we have not been able to identify any specific correspondence.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What plans the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition has for the re-assessment of the dietary reference values to promote genome stability and optimal health. [HL4902]

The forward work plan of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition includes a review of dietary reference values for nutrients. The approach that the committee will adopt to reassess dietary reference values for each nutrient is yet to be considered.All papers relating to the work of the committee are made public on the committee's website: www.sacn.gov.uk

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether it is appropriate for the National Health Service to pay for the postage costs of circulating an invitation to a parliamentary launch of the National Mental Health Partnership. [HL4919]

Management of issues such as this are a matter for individual trusts. However, we are aware that the National Mental Health Partnership does some excellent work and we are told that chief executives and the services for which they are responsible derive considerable benefit from membership.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they provide any funding for the National Mental Health Partnership; if so, how much; and on what terms. [HL4920]

The Department of Health does not currently provide any funding for the National Mental Health Partnership.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What services SchlumbergerSema provides for the Benefits Agency and the Department for Work and Pensions. [HL4909]

SchlumbergerSema is contracted to provide the following services to the Department for Work and Pensions: medical advice and examinations in connection with claims to benefit under a contract awarded in 1998 and managed by Jobcentre Plus; and operation of a Customer Conversion Centre under a contract to convert people who currently receive benefit by order book or giro to payment by automatic credit transfer (ACT). This contract was let by the central DWP payment modernisation programme in 2003.

asked Her Majesty's Government: How many firearms have been seized by Customs and Excise entering or leaving the United Kingdom in the current year and each of the previous four years; and whether such firearms have been destroyed. [HL4843]

HM Customs & Excise pass seized firearms to the police for destruction, with the exception of those donated to the Armed Forces or to museums or similar educational and scientific institutions.The table below sets out the number of firearms seized by Customs since 1998–99. Figures include all complete prohibited weapons falling within the definition of a firearm in Section 57 of the Firearms Act 1968, but exclude weapons prohibited by virtue of Section 5(1)(b) of that Act.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will publish the action plan presented to the Sports Cabinet on the conclusions reached within the Elite Sport Funding Review undertaken by the right honourable Jack Cunningham MP. HL4853]

The right honourable Jack Cunningham attended the 5th meeting of the Sports Cabinet in February 2001 at which he provided a report on progress with the Elite Sport Funding Review. The final report has been submitted to the Prime Minister and subsequently reviewed by the Sports Cabinet. Work is under way in preparing an action plan.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What progress they have made in co-ordinating the delivery of UK Sports Institute services throughout the home countries [HL4854]

There is a very close day-to-day working relationship between UK Sport and the UK Sports Institute network. UK Sport takes a strategic lead role hosting regular meetings with the home country institute directors, the British Olympic Association and the British Paralympic Association to discuss work programmes, service delivery and system development. In addition the chairs of each of the four institutes join these meetings at least twice a year to form the leadership group taking a strategic perspective.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What private sponsorship has been received to support the funding of the UK Sports Institute and the English institutes. [HL4857]

The UK Sports Institute is a network of the sports institutes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The institute network provides our best men and women with the facilities and support services they need to compete and win at the highest level. Each home country sports council has responsibility for the development of its own institute network.No private sponsorship has been received by UK Sport to support the institute network, but services in kind have been provided by industry partners, but not on a major scale. The English Institute of Sport is wholly funded by the Sport England Lottery Fund.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will place a copy of the KPMG Report on the national sports centres and the English institutes in the Library of the House. [HL4855]

KPMG was commissioned by Sport England to assist the organisation and the English Institute of Sport in considering how best to deliver their national programmes. The report is not yet complete and the work is continuing.In the interests of commercial confidence and in accordance with clause 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, it would be inappropriate to place the report in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What cancellations or reductions there have been against projections in world class programme lottery grants by Sport England and UK Sport to the national governing bodies of sport during the past 18 months. [HL4856]

UK Sport has made 10 de-commitments, affecting seven sports totalling over £0.5 million in the past 18 months. In the same period, there have been no significant cancellations or reductions against projections in world class programme grants by Sport England. However, Sport England has made adjustments to some sports programmes due to failing programmes.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Which regulations cover the provision of road crash barriers at bridges crossing over railway lines; and whether Department for Transport papers H9/ 73 or TD19/85 are still in force. [HL4606]

The current Highways Agency advice note that covers the provision of road safety barriers at bridges crossing over railway lines is the interim requirements for road restraint systems (IRRRS). This advice note was introduced in July 2002 as an interim advice note to the Highways Agency's design manual for roads and bridges. This is mandatory for trunk roads and commended to local highway authorities.TD 19/85 remains in force only for minor safety barrier replacement works. It also remains in force for schemes already under construction, and those under preparation at the time of issue of the IRRRS, where a change to implement the IRRRS would have resulted in significant additional cost or delay.Technical memorandum H9/73 is no longer in force; this document was superseded completely by TD19/ 85.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What monitoring takes place of the cancellation of bus services by operators contracted to provide subsidised services; how cancellations in Greater Manchester over the past year compare with those in other conurbations; and whether they have plans to require operators to compensate passengers left at the roadside by cancelled services. [HL4973]

The monitoring of compliance with the terms of subsidised bus contracts is the responsibility of the local transport authority which issues the contract. In addition, the Traffic Commissioner is responsible for enforcing the bus service registration rules which require the operator of a local bus service—whether subsidised or commercial—to run that service in accordance with the timetable details registered with the commissioner.I understand that the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) undertakes regular monitoring of its subsidised bus contracts, and the results show that in 2002–03 nearly 92 per cent of these ran as required under the terms of the contracts. GMPTE reports that this indicates a higher level of cancellation of subsidised services than is the case in other PTE areas.In order to inform the Government's 10–year plan target for bus reliability, national data are collected on the number of scheduled services run. The latest figures show that 98.6 per cent of all local bus services were run as scheduled. These data are not collected separately for subsidised services and are not available on an area basis.I also understand that GMPTE already penalises operators for lost mileage on subsidised services, and is currently considering proposals for operators to assist passengers who are affected by the non-operation of subsidised services.The Government have no plans currently to impose requirements on operators to compensate passengers for service cancellations.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What steps are being taken to ensure that there is a substantial increase in the number of officer cadetships in the United Kingdom merchant fleet, given that the average age of British deck and engineer officers is near 50. [HL5082]

The Government's Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme provides support for training officers and ratings, meeting around 50 per cent of the costs. It provided funding for 557 new officer cadets in the year 2002–03, an increase of 77 from the previous year. The current budget is £9.4 million a year.Seafarer training is also a key element of the UK tonnage tax, which imposes a minimum training obligation on companies entering the scheme. This is to train one officer trainee per year for every 15 officer posts in the company's effective officer complement.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether any crew members serving on United Kingdom ferries are paid at rates which are less than the national minimum wage. [HL5083]

Most seafarers working on board a ship registered in the United Kingdom must be paid at least the national minimum wage even if they work for long periods outside the United Kingdom. But a seaman need not be paid the national minimum wage if all his work takes place outside the United Kingdom or (while he is working outside the UK) if he is not normally resident in the United Kingdom, even if he is on a British-registered ship.Enforcement of the national minimum wage is carried out by the Inland Revenue's national minimum wage compliance teams, on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry. Compliance officers investigate every complaint received about employers failing to pay their workers the minimum wage.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 9 October (WA 82), what further work is needed before they are able to decide whether the public should be given direct access to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration. [HL4806]

As the Government's response to the Public Administration Select Committee's report on ombudsman issues (HC 448) makes clear, we are working to explore what more can be done under existing statutory arrangements to promote joint working between ombudsmen and ensure that ombudsmen arrangements are fit for purpose. We share the commitment of the ombudsman to delivering an accessible, flexible and comprehensive ombudsman service. We recognise there are constraints on joint working which must be addressed as part of this work. The issue of direct access to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration is being considered as part of this work.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 9 October (WA 83), whether they will make the list of departmental contacts available to the media and to the public. [HL4807]

The list is intended to be primarily of use to the ombudsman and her staff. There are no plans for it to be published formally, although it will be made available on request. A copy has been sent to the noble Lord.