asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 13 October

Departments do not clear job applications for either Waterways Ireland or the Ulster-Scots Agency. Indeed, such involvement in the recruitment process would be unethical.However, grading and salary levels of posts in both agencies are approved both by sponsoring departments and the North/South Ministerial Council.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 13 October (WA 93) concerning cross- border implementation bodies, what "normally consulted" means; whether there is a requirement to consult the bodies about each year's budget; and, if so, when the Ulster-Scots Agency was consulted about the 2003 budget. [HL4847]

The normal budget process for the Ulster-Scots Agency is as set out in the North/South Language Body's financial memorandum. This process was not followed to the letter because the agency's business plan for 2003 was only received by the sponsor departments for comment on 13 November 2002 and the processes set out in the financial memorandum were based on the assumption that the agency would bring forward its business plan to the North/South Ministerial Council, in consultation with sponsor departments and finance departments in July-August 2002.However, the sponsor departments of the North/ South Language Body consult with the agencies of the body regularly throughout the year on matters relevant to the agencies.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many car parking spaces there are on the Stormont Estate in Belfast; how many such spaces have been introduced since 1995; how much more parkland is expected to be used for car parking spaces; and what is their policy on car parking provision on the estate. [HL4946]

There are approximately 2,500 car parking spaces within the Stormont Estate. Around 400 of these are adjacent to Parliament Buildings and are for the use of Assembly members, staff and visitors. The remaining 2,100 are used by civil servants working on the estate, together with visitors and contractors. This total includes spaces designated for use by people with disabilities and for visitors. No extra spaces have been created since 1995 apart from 25 temporary spaces provided recently. Work commenced late September 2003 to upgrade a redundant builder's compound to provide an additional 70 parking spaces. Any further development for parking will be dependent upon the implementation plan stemming from the NI Civil Service accommodation review.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made on the environmental improvement scheme covering the area from the Albertbridge Road junction to the Holywood Road junction in East Belfast; and when it will be completed. [HL4947]

An environmental improvement scheme covering the area from the Albertbridge Road junction to the Holywood Road junction in East Belfast was funded through the Belfast Regeneration Office Action Plan in 2000–01. Funding for this scheme ceased in March 2001 and Her Majesty's Government are not aware of any environmental improvement schemes ongoing in the Albertbridge Road/Holywood Road area.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 11 October (WA 95) which indicated that since the end of July 2000 21 per cent of all applications for judicial review against the United Kingdom departments involved the Northern Ireland Administration, what steps they are taking to reduce the proportion to three per cent, which would be similar to the population of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom. [HL4949]

The Answer given to the noble Lord on 13 October 2003 (WA 95), contained figures for applications for judicial review in Northern Ireland only, and so the comparative analysis which the noble Lord makes is therefore not valid.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer from the Lord President on 16 October

The incorrectly titled paper, which related to staff remuneration of the Language Implementation Body, was an agreed paper presented by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland and by the Department of Community, Gaeltacht and Rural Affairs in the Republic of Ireland.The Government are not aware of other cases of incorrectly titled papers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there has been consultation with the Government of the Republic of Ireland about the prohibition of smoking in public houses and bars in Northern Ireland; and what plans there are to introduce such a prohibition. [HL5008]

No inter-governmental discussions have taken place about banning smoking in Northern Ireland although officials discuss areas of mutual interest, including tobacco control measures, through existing North/South channels. The Government have no plans to legislate in this area at present.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 16 October

It is the responsibility of Tourism Ireland, working closely with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB), to promote Northern Ireland internationally. The Natural Resource Rural Tourism Initiative (NRRTi) is specifically aimed at enhancing Northern Ireland as a unique and attractive destination and does not have an international marketing role.Tourism Ireland recognises the significance of the "Scots Irish" heritage in securing future tourism growth to the island of Ireland. In support of this, areas of the United States with significant Scots Irish populations have been identified and an advertising campaign is being targeted at these.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 16 October

The budget for the North/South Ministerial Council is not subject to agreement under the arrangements contained in the exchange notes between the two Governments dated 19 November 2002. Budgets for North/South implementation bodies are subject to these arrangements. The arrangements contained in the exchange notes between the two Governments do not require proportionality to be discussed.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the estimated extra annual costs of the proposed reform of the Office of the Northern Ireland Director of Public Prosecutions and its powers; and what concomitant savings will be made in the police service budget when the police abandon their prosecuting role.[HL5026]

The extra annual costs are estimated at £9 million for 2003–04, £10.5 million for 2004–05, and £15.6 million for 2005–06. A pilot project for the new service will commence on 1 December 2003. Until the pilot has been fully evaluated it is not possible to predict the savings that will be made by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, but removing the police from a prosecuting role will allow them to focus even greater effort on the investigation and detection of crime.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make funding available for East/West school projects between Northern Ireland and Scotland similar to the Warrington Project, as required under parity of esteem guarantee for Ulster Scots in the Belfast agreement. [HL5028]

The Warrington Project (NI) was developed as a pilot project and funded from April 1998 to August 2001 through the EU Physical and Social Environment Programme (PSEP II) supported by the Department of Education in Northern Ireland. This source of funding is no longer available.The Department of Education through its Community Relations Core Funding Scheme supports voluntary organisations, based in Northern Ireland, which are working towards the improvement of community relations among young people from different communities in Northern Ireland. Proposals designed to improve relations on a cross-border or inter-island basis will also be considered for funding, provided that they have a direct impact on community relations in Northern Ireland.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether their policy in Northern Ireland is to encourage the development of a multicultural society in order to ensure considerable savings on security-related issues; and, if so, whether this policy has been communicated to the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure. [HL5029]

Government policy in Northern Ireland in relation to developing a. multicultural society is reflected in the current draft Race Equality Strategy, which provides a vision of Northern Ireland where: "racial diversity is valued and respected, where racism is not tolerated and where we can all live together and enjoy equality of opportunity and equal protection." Any security savings which such a policy gives rise to are welcome but are not its main motivation.The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure is actively involved in the development of this strategy.The consultation document on the draft Northern Ireland Race Equality Strategy is currently available in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether maladministration of a Northern Ireland department towards a cross-border body can be referred to the Parliamentary Ombudsman; if not why; and what other machinery exists to cope with such issues.[HL5278]

Complaints of maladministration against a Northern Ireland department cannot be referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration but such complaints may be referred to the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. A complaint by a North/South implementation body against a Northern Ireland department would be outside the scope of the jurisdiction of the Assembly Ombudsman. There is no statutory mechanism by which such bodies may pursue complaints against departments.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to their response to the Sixth Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, whether they will make it standard practice to disclose any meetings they have with proprietors of newspapers or broadcasters, or persons acting on their behalf. [HL5254]

No. I refer the noble Lord to my Answer of 21 October to the noble Lord {Official Report, col. WA 157). Ministers and civil servants meet and speak to many people during the course of a working day. It would not be appropriate to routinely release details of such contacts.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will ensure that in future legislation avoids enacting too much hypothetical detail but instead contains statements of principle, as recommended in the report of the Committee on the Preparation of Legislation.[HL5331]

Statements of principle have their uses and examples can be found in various Acts in recent years. Parliamentary draftsmen will continue to use this technique where it is helpful to do so. But where detailed provisions are required the addition of general statements can cause uncertainty and ambiguity. The Government agree with paragraph 11.5 of the 1975 report of the Committee on the Preparation of Legislation that draftsmen should not sacrifice legal certainty for simplicity of language.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the total estimated cost, including cost of buses, legal services, land purchase, development and construction, of the guided busway proposal to link Cambridge and St Ives; and [HL5369]What environmental impact assessments have been done for the proposed St Ives-Cambridge guided busway; and whether they will place a copy of these in the Library of the House.[HL5370]

Cambridgeshire County Council has estimated the total cost of the proposed bus rapid transit scheme as £73.8 million. This includes £54.8 million for construction, £2.7 million for preparation costs, £5.6 million for land, and £2.3 million for design and supervision. All these costs have been adjusted for risk and an allowance of £8.4 million has been made for inflation. It has been assumed that the private bus operators will provide 77 additional buses by 2031, at an estimated cost of £11.5 million.The county council will need to carry out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project before applying for an order under the Transport and Works Act. It is also required to submit an environmental statement (ES) to the Department for Transport as part of its application, setting out the likely environmental impacts of the project and the mitigation measures proposed. All application documents, including the ES, have to be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Davies of Oldham on 20 October

This is an operational matter for Network Rail. However, Network Rail informs me that it has received written assurance from Alstom Transport that Alstom Bologna, Italy, is the design authority for all type HW Points Machines.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether existing and future contracts to repair Iraq's oil sector have been and will be made on the basis of open competition tendering; and, if not, why not. [HL5255]

Contracts for rehabilitation and reconstruction of Iraq's oil sector are currently the responsibility of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). An initial contract was placed with KBR, part of the US Halliburton, without competitive tendering. This was based on the fact that KBR had an existing contract with the USACE, won previously under open, competitive tender. We understand that this contract was extended to cover oil facility repair work which had to be completed in the short term and that a competition would be held as soon as possible to replace this. An open, competitive invitation to tender for two contracts-one covering repairs in northern Iraq and another for the south-was issued by the USACE in July this year. Following changes to the scope of this work, awards are now expected in December.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What warnings or other protection against adverse reactions are available to people under 18 who take the morning-after pill, or for whom the morning-after pill is made available; and what guidance is provided to parents of such children to help them deal with such reactions.[HL5334]

Guidance about the possible side effects associated with taking the morning-after pill or emergency contraceptive. Levonelle, is provided in the patient information leaflet included in the medicine pack. This includes advice on the action that should be taken if nausea and vomiting are experienced after taking Levonelle. The possible side effects of Levonelle are also included in the information that is provided to health professionals (the summary of product characteristics) who are encouraged to discuss these side effects with the individual before treatment is provided.Pharmacists are supplied with a "protocol" that contains a checklist of advice that should be given to each individual when she is given Levonelle. This protocol includes the need to give information about the most common side effects that may occur.Earlier this year healthcare professionals were reminded about the possible risk of ectopic pregnancy after failure of Levonelle treatment via the Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) newsletter,

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many staff are expected to be employed by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in the financial year 2004–05, according to the most recent plans agreed with HM Treasury. [HL5382]

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is working on its forward plans including staffing, and these plans will be available by March 2004. The current budgeted full-time equivalent staff numbers for 2003–04 are 792.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will publish the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's Twelfth annual report and accounts 2003.[HL5517]

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's Twelfth annual report and accounts 2003 were laid before Parliament today. Copies have been placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What guidance is given to government departments on the construction and presentation of departmental websites; and what plans there are to improve the layout and accessibility of such websites.[HL5410]

The Cabinet Office has published Guidelines for UK Government Websites: Illustrated Handbook for Web Management Teams a best practice guide for departments on the building and management of websites. Additionally in July 2003 the Office of the e-Envoy published the Quality Framework for UK Government Website Design, which covers usability issues.Since February 2001 it has been government policy that all new or redesigned websites meet the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative Guidelines.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will issue guidance under Section 93 of the Local Government Act 2003 in relation to charging for discretionary services by local authorities. [HL5488]

The Government have today published guidance for best value authorities in England on the general power to charge for discretionary services provided in the Local Government Act 2003. Copies of the guidance are available in the Libraries of both Houses. Separate guidance is to be issued for Wales.The Local Government Act 2003 provides all best value authorities in England and Wales with a new power to charge for discretionary services (Section 93). Charges made under the new general power are subject to certain restrictions including a duty to ensure that the income from charges does not exceed the costs of provision.The guidance offers advice on:the scope of the general power to charge for discretionary services;which authorities benefit from the power;discretionary services; the limitation to cost recovery;calculating the costs and setting the charge;the Competition Acts and the effect on local businesses;the power at Section 94 to disapply the new power to charge; andthe power at Sections 97 and 98 to modify existing legislation that in some way restricts an authority's ability to charge for the provision of a discretionary service under Section 93.This guidance applies only to the new power at Section 93 of the Act to charge for discretionary services and to the related powers at Sections 94 and 97 and 98 of the Act. It is issued under the power at Section 93(6). Best-value authorities must have regard to the advice it contains when charging for discretionary services using the new power. Copies are being sent to all best-value authorities and other interested parties. The guidance builds on the draft published for consultation in March 2003 and takes account of the responses received to that consultation.