asked Her Majesty's Government:How much humanitarian and development aid to southern Sudan in 2004 has been earmarked for (a) United Nations programmes; (b) local and international non-governmental organisations; and (c) organisations taking part in the peace process. [HL965]

As indicated in our Country Engagement Paper (CEP) we intend to work with a range of partners—including the UN, Red Cross and international non-governmental organisations (INGOs). We will continue to support organisations involved in the peace process, such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Secretariat; the Joint Military Commission (JMC); and the Verification and Monitoring Team (VMT), as long as is required.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What will be the effect of the peace agreement on the existing United Kingdom budget for southern Sudan; and what funds are allocated to post-conflict reconstruction. [HL966]

We intend to increase our programme in Sudan substantially if a peace agreement is reached and implemented. Initially, the majority of our resources will contine to go towards humanitarian needs, but with a greater emphasis towards longer-term development, post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction. Work on implementation of the peace agreement, for example local-level peace building and reintegration of ex-combatants, will require early funding.Our objectives for Sudan are set out in our Country Engagement Paper (CEP), a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they support the proposal for a further international conference on reconstruction in Afghanistan; and whether the United Kingdom has fulfilled its pledges made at Bonn and Tokyo. [HL967]

The UK supports the planned international conference on reconstruction in Afghanistan in March 2004. DfID has provided £110 million in the 21 months since March 2002, out of £200 million pleged over five years. In total, the United Kingdom has provided over £212 million in development assistance since September 2001.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether in the light of the statement by the Prime Minister of 29 January, a main objective of the appointment of the Hutton inquiry was to secure the withdrawal of an accusation against the Prime Minister. [HL1140]

I refer you to the Prime Minister's statement to the House of Commons of 28 January which made clear the reason why he decided to establish the Hutton inquiry.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How the current estimated rate of unemployment in Iraq compares with the rate one year previously. [HL1243]

No official figures of the Iraqi labour force exist, so only broad estimates of unemployment are possible. Current estimates suggest neither a significant rise nor fall in unemployment over the last year. The United Nations and World Bank social and economic needs assessments on Iraq last year estimated that the unemployment rate before the 2003 war was around 30 per cent. Unofficial estimates of the current unemployment rate are in the range of 20 to 30 per cent.In addition to the numbers unemployed, a significant proportion of Iraq's workforce is underemployed. We estimate that the total of both unemployed and underemployed is currently in the region of 50 per cent. Figures for underemployment before the conflict do not exist.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their current estimate of the percentage of Iraq's population which has access to drinking water; and what is their estimate of that statistic one year previously. [HL1244]

Until the Gulf War in 1991 safe water was accessible by over 95 per cent of the urban and 75 per cent of the rural populations of Iraq. The last reliable pre-conflict figures are for the year 2000 and indicate that by that time coverage had dropped to 92 per cent and 46 per cent respectively. Deterioration of the system was particularly bad in the south, including Basrah, due to the policies of the former regime.As a consequence of the conflict and subsequent looting it was estimated that the water sub-sector coverage deteriorated by an additional 50 per cent in some governorates, leading to intermittent supply and further degraded water quality. Overall, approximate estimates indicate that the immediate post-conflict coverage had fallen to 60 per cent of the urban and 30 per cent of the rural populations.In Baghdad, compact water treatment units have now been rehabilitated. Measures to secure water treatment plants and prevent further looting have also been implemented. Hundreds of critical breaks in the water network have been repaired, increasing flow by 2 million litres per day. Additional new construction is ongoing at Baghdad's Sharkh Dijlah plant, which will add 40 per cent or 2.25 million litres per day to the water supply of eastern Baghdad by May 2004, benefiting 640,000 residents.In Basrah, rehabilitation work has restored the water supply to pre-conflict levels and by spring 2004 the quality and volume of fully treated water supplied to Basrah will surpass the pre-war conditions of 17,000 cubic metres per hour of partially treated water. By the summer of 2004 rehabilitation of the Sweet Water Canal, which supplies water to Basrah, will be completed. This will allow its design capacity to be achieved, further benefiting 1.75 million residents.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will take account of the recent Court of Appeal judgment in

Yes. The "Safeguading Children" consultation period ends on 2 April and we will consider the implications of the Court of Appeal judgment, along with the responses to the consultation, before any decision is reached on the content of new guidance about child protection arrangements for staff in the education service.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What additional financial support they intend to make available to schools which provide extended school programmes, such as supervised homework and sport after school hours: and how it will be allocated. [HL1197]

In addition to the funding which I set out in my reply to my noble friend's previous question about support for extended schools, the Department for Education and Skills has made £75 million available through the Standards Fund for study support (out of school hours) activities in 2003–04. From 2004–05 the funding has been amalgamated into the School Development Grant and schools should expect to receive the same amount for study support as they did last year plus 4 per cent inflation proofing. The New Opportunities Fund is also providing just over £20 million to support out of school hour sports opportunities in schools within the school sport partnership programme—a third of schools in England are already within a partnership.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are satisfied with the development to date of the Connexions Service; how many local authority areas are now covered by the service; and what services they are currently providing or procuring for young people. [HL1199]

The Connexions Service has made excellent progress since its launch on a phased basis in 2001. The network of Connexions Partnerships was completed in April 2003 covering every local authority in England.The Connexions Service is on course to meet its main target of reducing the proportion of young people aged 16 to 18 who are not in education, employment or training by 10 per cent by November 2004. Research commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills has concluded that joint working between agencies providing services for young people has improved since Connexions was launched. In another departmental survey, young people rated the Connexions Service highly: over 90 per cent of those who had used Connexions were satisfied with the services provided.Connexions offers initial information and advice on the full range of learning options to 19 and beyond; in depth guidance and support, or access to specialist help, on anything that might prove a barrier to learning; and access to personal development opportunities to help a young person grow into a rounded independent citizen. In offering development opportunities and personal support, Connexions works with youth and social services, health services and a range of voluntary and community organisations. The service is available in Connexions one-stop shops and community access points; and in schools and colleges. Over 2 million visits were made by young people to Connexions front-line services in 2003. All young people will have access to advice and guidance through Connexions Direct (18 hours a day 365 days a year) by April 2004.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to provide activities such as sport and outdoor adventure pursuits so as to provide outlets for the aggression and energy which are normal characteristics of adolescent males. [HL1200]

PE and school sport, including outdoor and adventurous activities, play an important role in school life. They help to raise standards, improve attendance, behaviour and health and help to develop social skills.The Government are committing over £1 billion to implement a national PE, School Sport and Club Links strategy. We want all children to spend at least two hours each week on high quality PE and school sport and have set an ambitious joint DfES/DCMS to increase the percentage of 5–16 year olds who receive this entitlement to 75 per cent by 2006.Outdoor and adventurous activities are one of six areas of activity for which programmes of study have been drawn up within the national curriculum for physical education.In addition, the Positive Activities for Young People programme is designed to divert and develop those young people aged eight to 19 most at risk of social exclusion and committing crime. It is being delivered across England from May 2003 to March 2006; £25 million is available for the first year of the programme. This will deliver a minimum 22,000 places from midday to 9.00 pm each day of the school holidays.Provision will take place in all of the school holiday periods. In addition to the activities themselves, one to one support is available for the young people most at risk. The activities cover sport, the arts, and education and personal development. The sport activities include, among others; canoeing; climbing; abseiling and sailing. A residential experience is used as a reward to encourage young people to participate in the programme or to modify their behaviour, for example, by improving their attendance at school.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When an announcement will be made concerning the preferred bidder for the Support Vehicle Project; and [HL1144]

An announcement on the preferred bidder will be made on completion of the evaluation of the further bids received. On current plans this is scheduled for later in the spring.The current forecast in-service date is April 2007.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What will be the impact on the deployable operational capability of the Royal Air Force of delays in the Support Vehicle Project. [HL1146]

Under the existing concept of operations, the delays in the Support Vehicle programme will have no significant impact on the deployable operational capability of the Royal Air Force.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 6 January (

The information requested can be found in the MoD paper, Implementation of the Immunisation Programme against Biological Warfare Agents for UK Forces During the Gulf Conflict 1990–1991, paragraphs 10, 114 and 115. A copy of this paper is in the Library of the House. This paper is also available on the Internet at: www.mod.uk/issues/gulfwar/info/medical/bwa-htm and in hard copy as set out in my Answer of 20 November 2003 (Official Report, col. WA 341).

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 18 December (

In light of the MoD paper referred to in my Written Answer of 18 December 2003 (Official Report, cols. WA 176–77), it is very unlikely that the fax originated by Dr Metters on 21 December 1990 was seen by MoD Ministers at the time.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to purchase an off-the-shelf unmanned aerial vehicle to bridge the gap before WATCHKEEPER enters service; and what is in the in-service date for WATCHKEEPER. [HL1298]

The WATCHKEEPER programme will provide an intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (I STAR) capability by integrating a combination of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems into the emerging military command and control digitised network, thus supporting network enabled capability. A formal in-service date will be set at the main investment decision point due later this year but we plan to deliver capability from 2006. Operational requirements are regularly reviewed and decisions on equipment acquisition are made on the basis of what military capability we need and how best to provide it. If we decided there was a requirement to provide this capability before WATCHKEEPER comes into service, it would be normal practice to consider a range of solutions, of which equipment acquisition and, if appropriate, the acquisition of a UAV would be one possibility.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the issues for further study arising from the quinquennial review of the Duke of York's Military School and the Queen Victoria School. [HL1299]

The issues for further study are:work to establish legal constraints implicit in the warrants;examining the potential advantages of increasing bed-spaces at Queen Victoria School;the establishment of a tiered system of fees for the Duke of York's Royal Military School, which will increase the charges for non-serving parents;addressing the problems relating to the make-up and recruitment of commissioners at both schools;investigating the efficiency of continuing agency status of the two schools; andexamining the possibility of using spare capacity to provide education to day pupils.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps are being taken to provide military infrastructure, such as officers' mess accommodation, married quarters and single quarters, for the Defence Medical Services Centre of Medical Excellence at Birmingham University. [HL1300]

We are currently considering options for the future provision of accommodation for our medical personnel in Birmingham. Preliminary discussions have taken place with University Hospital Birmingham NHS trust.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action is being taken to prevent the overuse of the Defence Medical Services' reserve forces. [HL1301]

The Reserve Forces Act 1996 sets out specific time limits for mobilised service under different call out orders, which limits the length of deployment for Reservists, including those from the Defence Medical Services. In addition to these limits, the Surgeon General has directed that, as appropriate, we should aim to mobilise Reservists in critical specialities for no more than three months in any 12-month period in order to prevent skill fade.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many service personnel they intend to commit to the proposed United Kingdom-French defence force. [HL1398]

There are no plans to set up a joint Franco-British defence force. There have, however, been recent trilateral proposals to develop capabilities in support of the EU's ability to undertake rapid crisis response operations. These advance the declaration made on 24 November at the Anglo-French Summit, and the greater demand for rapid reaction peacekeeping forces from the UN. As part of the Helsinki Headline Goal, member states agreed to develop rapid response elements available and deployable at very high readiness. The British, French and German Governments are proposing that EU member states create battle group-sized forces (1,500 strong including combat support and combat service support), deployable within 15 days, and sustainable for 30 days (but extendable up to 120 days). These battle groups would be available by 2007, and designed for compatibility with typical UN Chapter VII mandates (to restore international peace and security). Member states would be able to offer such formations individually—as is likely to be the case for the UK—or on a multinational basis. There is, however, no standing European army or European rapid reaction force, nor any EU agreement to create one.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What estimate they have made of how much tax compliance cost British business in the past financial year. [HL1119]

Reliably estimating the level of tax compliance costs is difficult, in part because it is often not possible to separate these from the costs that would be incurred anyway for financial management purposes.But the Government are committed to reducing tax compliance costs where this can be done consistently with their other objectives and are reducing such costs through means such as simplificiation and by providing better support or guidance and well targeted exemptions.Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise both have public service agreement targets to reduce compliance costs. They assess the impact of proposed changes to tax policy and its implementation that could impact on compliance costs. For major measures this is quantified using regulatory impact assessment methodology following Cabinet Office guidelines and the results are published.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why the compensation to some thalidomide victims is not tax exempt; and whether this is in line with other personal injury payments. [HL1238]

Payments to thalidomide victims are made from the Thalidomide Trust, which was set up in 1973 under the agreement with Distillers (the manufacturers of the drug). Income payments from this trust are taxable on the beneficiaries under the normal trust income tax rules.Payments following a settlement of a claim or action for damages for personal injury can be made in a number of ways, some where the payments are taxable in the hands of the recipient and some where they are not. For instance, it is possible for regular payments made under a structured settlement to be exempt from tax under legislation introduced in 1996, provided the settlement meets the conditions of that legislation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether electors in England experience a democratic deficit compared with those in Scotland, when there is no English Parliament. [HL928]

No. Following devolution, the UK Parliament remains sovereign for the whole of the UK although it has delegated some of its authority to the Scottish Parliament. Devolution in respect of Scotland represents the settled will of the Scottish electorate. The Government's policy for establishing elected assemblies in those English regions that want them have been set out in the White Paper Your Region, Your Choice, published in May 2002. The Deputy Prime Minister announced in June 2003 that the north-east; north-west; and Yorkshire and the Humber regions will be the first regions to progress towards a referendum for an elected assembly.

Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they consider that there are some enactments, such as the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Acts devolving government within the United Kingdom which, by reason of their constitutional importance, are to be regarded as having a particular strength which place them beyond the doctrine of implied repeal. [HL1138]

Parliament's will has been expressed in the Human Rights Act, and the other Acts concerning devolution. The interpretation of statutes is a matter for the courts, not Ministers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to help small businesses with the rising cost of employers' liability insurance premiums. [HL1130]

The department's second stage and final report of its review of employers' liability compulsory insurance (ELCI) published on 4 December 2003 set out a range of initiatives to help small businesses. These included:action on longer renewal periods by insurers and brokers;

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the estimate that there are 210,000 small and medium-sized companies operating illegally without employers' liability insurance premiums is correct. [HL1131]

No. While precise numbers are impossible to calculate we believe that the 210,000 estimate—extrapolated from a telephone poll conducted on behalf of AXA in August-September 2002—overstates non-compliance.The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently commissioned a survey of 18,000 businesses. This showed:0.9 per cent of micro firms (1 to 10 employees) reported non-compliance;0.37 per cent of small firms (11 to 49 employees) reported non-compliance;0.6 per cent of large-sized firms (250 plus employees) reported non-compliance.This equates to 0.5 per cent non-compliance or about 10,000 organisations out of about 1.2 million enterprises with employees in the UK. Further research conducted by the Small Business Service (SBS) while falling short of 99.5 per cent compliance also suggests a much higher level of compliance than the AXA estimate.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What percentage of people living in each of the 18 Northern Ireland constituencies, and in Northern Ireland overall, and in Scotland, England, and Wales, receive disability living allowance. [HL1262]

The information requested is shown in the tables below.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many people are employed, and at what total annual salary costs, by the English Institute of Sport; and what are the institute's total annual administration costs. [HL1057]

As at 31 January 2004, the English Institute of Sport employed 81 full-time equivalent staff and 14 full-time equivalent contractors, and with an annual salary budget for 2003–04 of £4.5 million. The annual administration budget for the same period was £0.9 million.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the total running costs for 2002–03, and what was the budgeted cost for 2003–04, of the English Institute of Sport; and, for 2002–03, what was its annual public subsidy from the national lottery and the Treasury; and what was the annual fee income generated from (a) national governing bodies of sport, (b) other users, and (c) the private sector. [HL1058]

The actual and budgeted total running costs for the English Institute of Sport for 2002–03 and 2003–04 were £6.1 million and £7.9 million respectively. The £6.1 million funding for 2002–03 was solely provided from the lottery by Sport England. There was no exchequer funding or additional income generated from national governing bodies, other users or the private sector.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the occupancy rates for both élite sport and community sport of sites under the auspices of the English Institute of Sport. [HL1059]

In order for the network of EIS facilities to be sustainable they have been underpinned by regional and community use when not being used by élite athletes. In general the usage split is 80 per cent community use and 20 per cent élite. This balance gives élite athletes the dedicated training time they need while ensuring that the centres are viable and are also a real community asset, motivating young athletes to aspire to high standards of performance. However, where EIS facilites are based at university sites, where there are relatively large numbers of élite athletes, then the split between élite and non-élite use is 40 per cent élite and 60 per cent student/community.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to monitor the performance of the English Institute of Sport. [HL1060]

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Sport England, performance of the English Institute of Sport (EIS) will be monitored in line with the wider modernisation programme of Sport England. Sport England is in the process of agreeing key performance indicators with the EIS, which when allied to the post-Athens sports' reviews, will allow Sport England to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of the EIS operation to deliver a successful sporting nation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they are taking in response to the announcement by the Office for National Statistics that it had experienced difficulties calculating pension contributions because double counting errors could be more serious than previously thought. [HL1120]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many manufacturing jobs there are currently; and what were the corresponding figures for 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. [HL1132]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the Playing Fields Monitoring Committee was set up; on what dates it has met; and on what dates it has published its findings. [HL1163]

The Playing Fields Monitoring Group was set up by DCMS in April 2000, and has met on the following dates:10 July 2000, 6 October 2000, 12 January 2001, 14 June 2001, 26 September 2001, 17 December 2001, 15 January 2002, 11 April 2002, 6 November 2002, 29 January 2003 and 21 May 2003.The Playing Fields Monitoring Group published the document

asked Her Majesty's Government:What assessment they have made of the impact of the proposals to prevent professional footballers from drawing their pensions at the age of 35. [HL1192]

The Government have received representations from various sporting bodies about the proposal to raise the minimum pension age to 55 by 2010. Having considered these, the Government propose to allow sports-people and others in pension schemes at 5 April 2005 (A Day) to keep any existing right to take benefits before the new minimum pension age. This is subject to those rights being tested against a reduced lifetime allowance and the full pension being vested at the early retirement age.However, the Government continue to believe that the new minimum pension age of 55 should apply to all pension schemes by 2010. So, sports-people and others not covered by above relaxation, and who believe their career is likely to end before they reach the new minimum pension age, will need to make financial provision in addition to their pension savings to cover the cost of retraining and other needs.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What estimate has been made of the savings to Her Majesty's Treasury arising from any decision to remove the ability of professional sportsmen to draw their pensions at the age of 35. [HL1193]

The proposal to raise the minimum pension age to 55 by 2010 is part of a package of proposals that will give the vast majority of people the opportunity to save more for their retirement. The Government already spends around £13 billion (net) a year on pension tax relief and the additional cost of the simplification proposals will be around £300 million a year within five years of implementation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they, officials from UK Sport or consultants appointed by UK Sport to review the United Kingdom Anti-Doping Programme, have held discussions with governing bodies of professional sport to assess the impact of professional governing bodies of sport establishing their own anti-doping policies and procedures separate from the Anti-Doping Programme run by UK Sport. [HL1194]

As part of the review of the UK Anti-Doping Programme, the appointed consultants are holding discussions with a wide range of interested parties. This includes interviews with the governing bodies of professional sports, both Olympic and non-Olympic.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will consider issuing with each child trust fund a voucher entitling both of a child's parents to five free sessions of parenting education. [HL1198]

Government have no immediate plans to issue vouchers for parenting education.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What estimate they have made of the number of Roma people who are United Kingdom citizens and are currently resident in this country. [HL1213]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Who attends the Live Music Forum, which was established at the beginning of this year to survey the state of live music in the United Kingdom. [HL1222]

The members of the Live Music Forum are:

• Feargal Sharkey (Chair)
• Deborah Clarke
• Village Halls Information Officer
• Action with Communities in Rural England
• Christina Coker
• Chief Executive
• National Foundation for Youth Music
• Keith Crawshaw (Sheffield)
• Local Government Association
• David Francis
• Director
• PRS Foundation
• Stephen Godsall (Bournemouth)
• Local Government Association
• Natasha Hale
• Chair
• Welsh Music Foundation
• Martin Hopewell
• Managing Director
• Primary Talent

asked Her Majesty's Government:On what basis those who attend the Live Music Forum have been selected. [HL1223]

We set out to achieve an expert membership that was representative of all the main aspects of live music provision. Decisions about membership were informed by discussions with the Arts Council of' England, the Musician's Union, the Performing Right Society, the National Campaign for the Arts and the National Assembly for Wales—bodies that had demonstrated an active interest in how the new Act would affect the provision of live music.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether an appropriate balance has been established between the input from the Government and that of the creative industries in the Live Music Forum. [H L1224]

The forum has been set up to provide independent advice to government on the provision of live music in the context of the Licensing Act 2003, the promotion of live music generally, and to review the impact of the Act in due course. It comprises primarily representatives from the creative sector, the licensing trade and local authorities. The forum also includes a government representative from DfES who attends to provide advice on how educational initiatives may relate to the forum's work.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many lottery-funded world class performance funded athletes, and from which sports, currently use the training facilities at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. [HL1265]

There are approximately 25 lottery-funded world class performance athletes who use the training facilities at the National Sports Centre on a regular basis, all from UK athletics.In addition to this, there are a number of athletes who use the facilities at Crystal Palace on an occasional basis. These include the Olympic boxing squad, the Olympic weightlifting squad and two world-class divers who use the diving pool.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which sports clubs and schools currently use the facilities at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre for training and competitive purposes. [HL1266]

The sports clubs using the facilities at Crystal Palace are as follows: Blackheath and Bromley Harriers; South London Harriers; Crystal Palace Karate Club; London Weightlifting Club; Bromley Sub Aqua Club; Beckenham Swim Club; Leander Swim Club; Bromley Swim Club; Croydon Swim Club; Saxon Crown Swim Club and Greenwich Swim Club.The schools using the facilities are as follows: Turney School; Haberdashers School; Noah's Ark School; Woodmansterne School; Streatham Hill and Clapham High School; Oakfield School; Virgo Fidelis School; Rockmount Primary School; Britts School; Herne Hill School; James Dixon School; and the City of London School.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What financial commitment has been made to secure the short-term future of the 50-metre swimming pool, the Olympic diving facility, the athletics track and the indoor sports facilities at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre up to the summer of 2006. [HL1267]

The LDA, Bromley and Sport England are involved in detailed discussions on the future of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre up to the summer of 2006. The financial commitments made are subject to final agreement. There will be an announcement concerning the precise nature of the arrangements once the short-term future has been definitely settled.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What financial commitment has been made to secure the long-term future of the 50-metre swimming pool, the Olympic diving facility, the athletics track and the indoor sports facilities at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre after the summer of 2006. [HL1268]

Work has focused on securing the short-term future of Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. Once this has been resolved, the long-term future can be considered in more detail. The Crystal Palace Stakeholder Group has concluded that in the long-term a new sports building would be required to meet the needs of users. The group is now consulting local residents' groups, and ascertaining the planning requirements, facility mix, project costs, capital funding and ongoing viability.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Sport England will have the ultimate responsibility for deciding the long-term future of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. [HL1270]

Resolving the long-term future of Crystal Palace will require a multi-agency approach, which is why the Crystal Palace Stakeholder group, which includes Sport England as well as DCMS, the London Borough of Bromley, the London Development Agency and the Greater London Authority, was established. Sport England may well also consider an application for lottery funding in due course.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Sport England is required by the terms of its lease to ensure that Crystal Palace National Sports Centre is returned at a specified standard; what is this standard; and how much money is required to bring the facility up to this standard. [HL1340]

These issues are being addressed by Sport England, the London Borough of Bromley and the London Development Agency as part of the arrangements for securing the future of Crystal Palace National Sports Centre until the summer of 2003. An announcement will be made once final agreement has been reached.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the deadline for an agreed financial package with all interested parties for Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. [HL1343]

The detailed arrangements for the future of Crystal Palace National Sports Centre which include an agreed financial package up to 2006 are reaching the final stages of negotiation. An announcement will be made before the expiry of Sport England's current lease which runs out on 31 March 2004.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any commitment has been given to host the International Amateur Athletics Federation Grand Prix athletics in July 2004 at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. [HL1344]

UK Athletics has a commitment in place with the IAAF to host the July 2004 Grand Prix event in the UK. The intention is that Crystal Palace will host the event and Fast Track (event promoter) and UK Athletics are fully behind this. The existing track at Crystal Palace needs upgrading to be fit to host the event. Sport England has initiated a tender process and is finalising contract arrangements for the necessary work.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they first defined the "golden rule" by reference to the average annual surplus on the current budget as a percentage of gross domestic product over the economic cycle. [HL1276]

Since 1997, the Government have consistently presented figures for the current budget as a percentage of GDP when commenting on performance against the golden rule in Budget and Pre-Budget Reports. Page 10 of Budget 1997, Equipping Britain for our long-term future, [HC85], sets out figures for the current budget as a ratio of GDP from 1985–86 to 1996–97. Page 47 of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report 1998, Stability and investment for the long-term, [Cm 3978] outlines progress against the golden rule from 1997–98 to 2003–04.

asked Her Majesty's Government:For each of the years 1999–2000 to 2005–06, what the annual surplus or deficit on the current budget has been or is expected to be in (a) nominal terms and (b) 2003–04 prices. [HL1277]

The information requested is to be found in table B5 on page 213 of the 2003 Pre-Budget Report.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Office for National Statistics treats Ulster Scots as a distinct ethnic group; and if not, why. [HL1326]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 5 February (

Productivity growth is subject to cyclical variation, and so comparisons of productivity performance over time are better made over complete economic cycles rather than arbitrary time periods. The 2003 Pre-Budget Report (Cm 6042, table A2) judged that trend growth in output per hour worked over the last economic cycle between 1997H1 and 2001Q3 was 2.44 per cent a year. This compares with a figure of 2.05 per cent over the previous cycle (1986Q2 to 1997H1).

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they are taking to encourage local authorities to take a more co-ordinated approach to the inspection of tourism and hospitality businesses and to discourage tire officers, environmental healthofficers, trading standards officers and health and safety officers from using separate databases. [HL1363]

My department, in partnership with the Local Government Association, the tourism industry's Best Practice Forum and other government departments and agencies, have been working on Fitness for Purpose for the past 18 months.Fitness for Purpose promotes better inspection and regulation of tourist accommodation as a way of tackling poor safety and trading standards to ensure that minimum legal requirements are met. It is targeted at hotels (and the restaurants within them) guesthouses, pubs with accommodation and bed-and-breakfast establishments that are failing to meet minimum legal requirements, in order to help them to improve. It aims to take a lighter regulatory enforcement touch to well-run businesses that are already complying with the necessary regulations.Six local authorities piloted the scheme last year. These were: Blackpool, Bournemouth, LB Camden, Canterbury, LB Greenwich and West Sussex. Each pilot took a tailored approach to the needs of their area. All the authorities concentrated on better working between different parts of local authority enforcement activity and tourism officers and sharing of information. Canterbury's pilot resulted in the pooling of information held on eight different databases.Richard Caborn, Minister for Sport and Tourism, expects to receive the final evaluation report of the pilots shortly and will be considering how best to take the project forward, based on these results.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many National Savings Ordinary Accounts are in existence. [HL1374]

There were 17.9 million National Savings and Investments Ordinary Accounts (excluding dormant accounts with balances of less than £1), to a total value of £1.4 billion as at December 2003.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of National Savings Ordinary Accounts have a balance of more than £100, less than £50 and less than £10. [HL1375]

The proportion of National Savings and Investments Ordinary Accounts with a balance of more than £100, less that £50 and less than £10 is as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of the National Savings Ordinary Accounts with a balance of less than £100 have remained untouched for:

The proportion of National Savings and Investments Ordinary Accounts that have a balance of less than £100 that have remained untouched is as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many National Savings Ordinary Accounts are held by depositors under 18 years of age. [HL1377]

The number of National Savings and Investments Ordinary Accounts (where we have the date of birth) held by depositors under 18 years of age is as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any organ of the European Union has power to require expenditure out of United Kingdom public funds without the consent of the Government. [HL1378]

No: the European Communities Act 1972, as amended, provides the framework within which the UK makes payments required by or under the treaties listed in Section 1(2) of that Act. The Government have consented to these payments by agreement to those treaties and by virtue of the 1972 Act as amended.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether English Partnerships, in line with the Barker Review of Housing Supply (paragraph 10.26), considered maximising the use of the former staff college site at Bracknell for policy objectives such as housing supply, under section 24 of Government Accounting; and, if so, why the offer to the wider market was allowed to go ahead and a bid from English Partnerships then accepted after the offer period had ended. [HL1187]

English Partnerships (EP) wishes to see the former staff college site in Bracknell developed as a high quality urban extension to the town in line with government policies set out in Sustainable communities: building for the future (February 2003). Negotiations between EP and Defence Estates (DE), the owners of the site, are continuing. The marketing of the site by DE pre-dated the introduction at the end of October 2003 of revised guidance on the disposal of surplus public sector land. The guidance has been issued to departments and sponsored bodies and will be formally included in Chapter 24 of Government Accounting soon. Now that the new procedures for handling surplus public sector land are in place, in future public sector bodies will have the opportunity to seek to acquire surplus land before it is offered to the open market.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, under Section 24 of Government Accounting, English Partnerships and other public sector agencies who have 40 days to consider ways of maximising the use of public sector land before it is offered for sale to the wider market, are required to acquire the land before it is offered for sale; and if not, why not. [HL1188]

Revised guidance on the disposal of assets was issued to departments and bodies they sponsor on 31 October 2003. This guidance will shortly be published as a revision to Chapter 24 of Government Accounting. The guidance sets out the new arrangements requiring a department or NDPB wishing to dispose of a piece of land to place the site on the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land. Other public sector bodies then have a period of 40 working days to register an interest in acquiring the site. If an interest is registered, and the disposing body accepts the proposal, the site will not be offered for sale on the open market. If no interest is registered, or the proposal is refused, the disposing body can offer the site for open sale.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they intend to achieve ratification of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, which was signed in December 2000. [HL1105]

The United Kingdom has signed the United Nations Protocol to Prevent and Punish Trafficking in Persons, but is not yet in a position to ratify the document, as we have not fulfilled our legislative requirements to criminalise trafficking. The Government are committed to tackling human trafficking in all its forms, and to ensuring that these legislative requirements are met. The Sexual Offences Act 2003, which we anticipate is coming into force in May 2004, includes offences covering trafficking into, within and out of the United Kingdom. A new offence covering trafficking for the purposes of forced labour and removal of organs, is included in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Bill, which is currently before Parliament. These legislative measures, once brought into force, will enable us to ratify the United Nations Trafficking Protocol, as well as fulfilling our obligations under the European Union Framework Decision on Trafficking for the Purposes of Sexual and Labour Exploitation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether future measures to reduce criminal re-offending will include specific ring-fenced accredited alcohol treatment programmes in prisons in England and Wales. [HL1127]

There are no plans to make ring-fenced funding available for accredited alcohol treatment programmes in prisons in England and Wales.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many prison officers there are; and what the corresponding figures were for each year between 1997 and 2003. [HL1172]

The information is contained in the table. The figures include prison officers, senior officers and principal officers. The figures represent a snapshot staffing level on the date of data capture.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many prison officers joined, and how many left, the Prison Service in each year between 1997 and 2003. [HL1173]

The information is contained in the table. The table includes figures for existing Prison Service staff who converted to prison officer during the period. All officers join at prison officer level but leavers include prison officers, senior officers and principal officers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their view of the independent review team into the operations of the Criminal Records Bureau which led to the renegotiation of the contract with Capita; and what estimates they have made of the financial outcome achieved by the renegotiation. [HL1201]

As my noble friend the then Minister for Criminal Justice, Sentencing and Law Reform stated, in response to a Question by the noble Lord, Lord Hoyle, on 27 February 2003 (Official Report, cols WA 49–53), the Government welcomed the findings and recommendations of the independent review team. My noble friend said that, as recommended by the independent review team, the Government would seek to renegotiate the contract with Capita so that it reflected the changed environment in which the Criminal Records Bureau would be operating. My honourable friend the Minister for Crime Reduction, Policing and Community Safety made a Statement in another place on 15 January (Official Report, cols 41–42WS) in which she announced that a revised contract had been signed and that this is a major step forward for the CRB and represents a substantial improvement over the previous terms. Copies of the Statement are available in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What, if any, United Kingdom legislation exists which makes it illegal to display pornographic or paedophilic images on the Internet. [HL1225]

In general the law applies equally online as offline. Thus legislation covering the legality of published material applies whether the material is published online or off. For England and Wales, the Protection of Children Act 1978 makes it an offence to take, make, advertise, possess in order to distribute or to distribute an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child. Section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 makes it an offence simply to possess such a photograph. Downloading an image from the Internet constitutes an offence of "making", and having such an image even in the form of electronic data constitutes possession. Placing such an image on an Internet site would constitute distribution. There are statutory defences to these offences. Currently a photograph is covered by this legislation if the child depicted is under 16, but this age will be increased to under 18 by the Sexual Offences Act, 2003 when it comes into force later this year. The Sexual Offence Act 2003 also includes a new offence at Section 12, of causing a child to watch a sexual act, which would include showing a child an image of sexual activity, for the purpose of sexual gratification.The Obscene Publications Act 1959 makes it an offence to publish material that is likely to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely to see, hear or read it. Publishing can include showing such material on an Internet site. Possession of such material for gain was made an offence in the Obscene Publications Act 1964.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have made any comparisons between United Kingdom legislation and legislation in other countries which makes it illegal to display pornographic or paedophilic images on the Internet. [HL1226]

Home Office Research Study 157, Testing obscenity: an international comparison of laws and controls relating to obscene material, which was published in 1996, compared the obscenity laws in England and Wales with those in a number of other countries in order to discover the various ways in which countries define and deal with obscenity in printed material, at the cinema and on video. Although it predated widespread take up of the Internet, most countries saw protection of children as a particular concern.In the course of negotiations in respect of international initiatives to combat the circulation of indecent photographs of children, such as the Council of the European Union Framework Decision on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, the legislative postitions of member states form the background to discussions. There is an ongoing exchange of information between the UK and other countries both formally, for example, under the auspices of the G8 strategy on "Protecting Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet" and informally between officials which continues to add to our knowledge of the legislative position in other countries and supports our co-operation with them.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the United Kingdom is a party to any international treaties of legal obligations which seek to prohibit pornographic or paedophilic images on the Internet. [HL1227]

The United Kingdom is fully involved with international initiatives to combat the circulation of indecent images of children via the Internet. The Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention, signed in November 2001, aims to provide for common definitions and minimum standards for offences concerning child abuse images handled on computers. It also seeks to provide for investigative methods appropriate for the offences and for collecting evidence in an electronic form, and to define measures to ensure effective international co-operation. The UK is also signatory to a Council of the European Union Framework Decision on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, which is broader as it covers behaviour on or offline. In addition, the e-commerce directive, under Article 19, lays a general obligation on member states to co-operate with each other in dealing with cross-border complaints about online services.In the G8 group a strategy on "Protecting Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet" was adopted in October 2002. The strategy is designed to complement existing national and international initiatives, and has eight key objectives addressing: information and intelligence gathering, dissemination and sharing; victim identification; suspect location; legislation; law enforcement tools and training; industry and NGO co-operation; awareness building and prevention; and international co-operation. An important element of the strategy is an international child pornography image database. The database aims to act as a global respository of images with the capacity to carry out automated analysis. It would be a significant tool for law enforcement contributing to the identification of victims and offenders and analysis of images to establish locations and other linkages. An implementation study is currently being undertaken. The G8 has also established a network operating 24 hours a day for the exchange of information in investigations involving electronic evidence that require urgent assistance from foreign law enforcement, which now involves 33 countries.However, there are no specific international initiatives dealing with images involving sexual or violent activities among adults, as there is no international consensus on what constitutes obscenity, or when the freedom of an adult to have access to obscene or pornographic material should be constrained.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which Government department has responsibility for receiving or dealing with complaints about the showing of pornographic or paedophilic images on the Internet. [HL1228]

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department has responsibility for this area of the criminal law.Pornography is not defined in law, but the Obscene Publications Act 1959 covers material which is considered by the courts as tending to "deprave and corrupt" those who read, see or hear it. The Protection of Children Act 1978 (as amended) covers the taking, making, distribution or simple possession of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children. This legislation applies equally to the Internet as to other media.Internet users can report potentially illegal material to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) via their website (

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are satisfied that the present non-statutory Internet Watch arrangements are sufficient to deal with the trade in pornographic and paedophilic images; and, if not, what further action they intend to take. [HL1230]

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is an industry-funded body which allows anyone to report the presence of images of child abuse anywhere in the world. The foundation determines whether the reported website carries potentially illegal material, and passes details of illegal material to the relevant law enforcement agencies to initiate action against the originators. Where the site is hosted within the UK, law enforcement will seek its removal with the relevant Internet service provider (ISP) and this procedure has been extremely successful in practice. The IWF is providing an invaluable service dealing with 21,341 reports in 2002, 9,602 of which contained potentially illegal content: it is significant that in 2002 only 2 per cent of sites reported to the IWF that contained indecent photographs of children were hosted within the UK, the bulk being hosted in the USA, Russia, and some other European states. In respect of adult pornography, we are confident in the ability of the IWF to identify material that is potentially in breach of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 in response to complaints, and to refer to the police any which is hosted within the UK.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any toxic pesticides are included in the risk assessments of terrorist attacks; and, if so, which ones. [HL1281]

The Government are considering a wide variety of potential scenarios within the risk assessments of terrorist attacks.We do not give specific details as the information would be of use to terrorists.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether any assessments or reviews have been undertaken in regard to the use of animal diseases as a weapon for bio-terrorism. [HL1318]

The Government are considering a wide variety of potential scenarios within the risk assessments of terrorist attacks.We are not able to give specific details as the information might be of use to terrorists.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their policy concerning the detection and arrest of Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic; and what resources they are devoting to this. [HL1148]

The Government remain fully committed to bringing Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic to trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. Their continued presence at large is an obstacle to justice and reconciliation, and to the region's political and economic development.The Government are at the forefront of diplomatic, political and—through SFOR in Bosnia—operational efforts to bring about their detention and transfer to The Hague. The UK was instrumental in securing EU agreement on a visa ban against those providing people indicted for war crimes (PIFWCs)—in particular Karadzic and Mladic—with logistical and financial support; and the UK was a sponsor of UNSCR 1503, which underlined the central importance of securing their detention and trial. We are also a firm supporter of the NATO and EU policy of conditionality, which makes full co-operation with the ICTY—including all possible measures to secure the detention of Karadzic, Mlaldic and other at-large PIFWCs—a pre-condition for greater integration with the EU and NATO

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their estimate of:

Precise population figures for Iraq are hard to obtain as the last offical census took place in 1997 under the former regime.The United Nations Population Division estimates that Iraq's population in 2000 was 23,224,000.In the absence of accurate figures it is difficult to give a precise breakdown of the Iraqi population by ethnic and religious background. However, population estimates range from 12 to 16 per cent Sunni Arab, 61 to 68 per cent Shia Arab and 20 to 23 per cent Kurdish.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their estimate of:

Her Majesty's Government have no accurate figures for the ethnic and religious breakdown of the Iraqi population by city or province. Precise figures have been hard to obtain since the last official census in 1997.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the legislative and administrative steps required for the United Kingdom to ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption; and when the United Kingdom will complete these. [HL1202]

Officials of the responsible government departments are considering what, if any, legislative or administrative amendments are required to enable the UK to meet its commitments under the convention. Should any amendments be required, these will be enacted or put in place at the earliest opportunity. It is not possible to indicate when this process will be completed. The UK will be in a position to ratify the convention once the Government are satisfied that the UK can fulfil the convention's provisions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will now discuss with the Government of Liberia the feasibility of recommissioning the rubber factory at Gbarnga, as a means of providing employment for demobilised combatants and reducing the dependency of Liberia on foreign aid by increasing the value of its exports. [HL1246]

The focus of the international effort is to build a secure environment in which both the Liberian people and the economy can thrive without dependency on international aid. At the recent Liberia Donor Conference on 5 and 6 February, the UK committed £9 million to Liberia, £6 million of which will go towards the disarmament, demobilisation and rehabilitation process.The Liberian rubber industry is potentially a significant local employer. Although the civil war destroyed rubber factories around Gbarnga, a viable rubber industry continues to exist in Liberia. The lead for drawing up and implementing a reconstruction programme lies with the UN Mission in Liberia.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the 1958 United States-United Kingdom Mutual Defence Agreement, last extended in 1994, will be extended for a further 10-year period before the end of 2004. [HL1285]

Discussions continue between the United Kingdom and United States Governments on the renewal of this agreement. Subject to the outcome of those discussions, we expect to lay any amendments before the House later this year in accordance with normal procedures for treaty renewals.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How Parliament will be consulted over any proposed extension of the 1958 United States — United Kingdom Mutual Defence Agreement. [HL1286]

Subject to the outcome of our ongoing discussions with the Government of the United States, we expect to lay before the House some amendments to the Mutual Defence Agreement, including its renewal for a further 10 years, later this year in accordance with normal procedures.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

The issue of militias in Iraq is being addressed as part of efforts to form the New Iraqi Army, Iraq Civil Defence Corps and the Iraqi Police Service. There is widespread recognition in Iraq of the need for such militias to disband or be incorporated in the new national security forces. It would be provocative, at a sensitive time in the national Iraqi debate on the future of militia, to list specific groups. There is no simple definition of militia in Iraq. There are many groups in Iraq possessing weapons and it is not possible to be certain of membership or numbers. Reporting is often contradictory or attributes membership differently due to changes or variations in group names.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the Chief Medical Officer's report on health and physical activity was commissioned; and when it is due to be published. [HL992]

The Chief Medical Officer commissioned a report in March 2002 on physical activity and health. The report is currently undergoing an academic peer review process, prior to publication later this year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made to date in promoting the use of the National Health Service brand to identify reliable third party sources of information and advice on health-related matters; and whether they have any plans to extend the scheme further so as to include the endorsement of health food and other products; and [HL1136]What further consideration has been given to the suggestion made by the Chief Medical Officer at the Westminster Diet and Health Forum for the development of a "kite mark" for use on health food and weight management options; and on what basis products would be assessed for inclusion in such a scheme [HL1137]

The use of the National Health Service brand to identify reliable third party sources of information and advice on health-related matters is currently at pilot stage. As identified in the recent Command Paper Building on the Best; Choice, Responsiveness and Equity in the NHS, "kitemarks" will be piloted on cancer information from the voluntary sector and the NHSA Direct On Line "Information Partner Programme". These pilots are targeted at information only and do not include health food and weight management options.Rules on the labelling of food are harmonised at Community level. Negotiations are ongoing on a proposal to regulate nutrition and health claims, which seeks to establish a list of approved claims and pre-authorisation of new claims on the advice of the European Food Safety Authority. In addition, the European Commission is due to bring forward proposals to amend the nutrition labelling rules, including mandatory nutrition labelling on all prepackaged foods, and improvements to the presentation of this information to consumers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to ensure that appropriate regular visits are undertaken by either a clinical psychologist, a phychiatrist or a child psychotherapist to each residential child care unit. [HL1203]

Decisions on the frequency of visits to meet the mental health needs of children living in residential child care units are best made locally in order that the specific needs of individual children and communities can be addressed.In general, it is the Government's belief that all children, including those in residential units, should have access to high-quality child and adolescent mental health services (C.AMHS) when they need them. It is the Government's aim to increase and improve the level of CAMHS provision generally. Approximately £250 million is being invested in CAMHS over three years and one of the key challenges will be to ensure that there are sufficient trained clinical staff to meet the mental health needs of all chidren.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the cost of funding the United Kingdom television campaign to raise public awareness of the risks to children of second-hand smoke. [HL1236]

The cost of funding the television campaign to raise public awareness of the risk to children of second-hand smoke "Smoking Near Children" was £2,770,792.

asked Her Majesty's Government:With what system of assessing hospital performance they will replace the current system of star ratings. [HL1256]

The independent Commission for Health Improvement was responsible for developing the indicators and their construction for use in the National Health Service performance ratings. From April 2004, the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI) will take over this responsibility.The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 requires CHAI to conduct a review of the provision of health care by and for each NHS body and to award performance ratings.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many consultants and professional advisers were employed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in each of the years from 2000 to 2003. [HL1077]

Defra was formed in June 2001. The Information requested cannot be provided as it is not held centrally. The department is in the process of compiling a central list for the future but this will take some time to complete and will not be retrospective.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their response to the letter sent by the European Union Agriculture Commissioner recommending that the historic payment system should be adopted throughout the member states.[HL1253]

Commissioner Fischler's letter reminds member states of the circumstances in which an approach to the single farm payment based other than on historic receipts is permissible under EU law. The Government remains in regular touch with the Commission and, as a result of those discussions, is confident that the decisions announced in respect of England and Northern Ireland fall within those conditions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there is any laboratory testing on illegal meat and vegetable products seized as a means of disease control. [HL1306]

No. Illegal imports of meat are destroyed without undue delay. We are currently looking at the feasibility of undertaking a sampling programme.Seized plant material is sometimes tested if, for example, inspectors suspect the presence of plant pests or diseases.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What systems they have in place to ensure that Regulation (EC) No 2065/2001, as regards the labelling of beef and beef products, is enforced across the United Kingdom. [HL1313]

Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000, as regards the labelling of beef and beef products, is enforced in the UK under the Beef Labelling (Enforcement) Regulations 2000, which give powers to enforcement officers to undertake inspections. In England and Wales, where responsibility for the legislation lies with Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government, enforcement is undertaken by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) at slaughterhouses, cutting plants etc, and by Local Authorities at points of sale to the consumer. In Scotland, enforcement is by SEERAD and in Northern Ireland by DAR DNI. The labelling requirements in Regulation (EC) No. 1760/ 2000 applies only to fresh and frozen beef and veal, and mince; labelling of other meats and meat products is the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency (FSA).