asked Her Majesty's Government:Who authorised the change of reporting funding requirements in December 2003 for the Ulster-Scots Agency; on what basis; and why no explanation for the change was offered to the agency when it was requested. [HL1629]

The department had to ensure that the agency did not breach government accounting principles by ending the financial year with a surplus in its account, or by receiving funding in advance of need. There was therefore no change in policy.In line with government accounting processes, this matter was discussed with the chief executive of the Ulster-Scots Agency.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What consultations took place between the appropriate departments and Waterways Ireland before its 2004 budget was agreed; who was consulted; on what dates; and at what location. [HL1886]

Waterways Ireland originally submitted its draft 2004 business plan and budget, on 28 August 2003, to the sponsoring departments, Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) in Northern Ireland and Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (DCRGA) in the Republic of Ireland. Following that date there was a series of telephone conversations and e-mail exchanges between the sponsor departments, the Departments of Finance and Waterways Ireland. The draft business plan and budget was discussed at an officials facilitation meeting of the Inland Waterways sector hosted by the Joint Secretariat of the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) at Armagh on 7 October 2003. The attendees were directors of Waterways Ireland, and officials of DCAL, DCRGA, the two Departments of Finance, OFMDFM and the Department of Foreign Affairs.The Waterways Ireland 2004 draft budget recommended a total allocation of 45.95 million euros, (£31.70 million) to the body and a Northern Ireland contribution of 13.51 million euros (£9.32 million). These figures have not changed, and were recommended by NSMC by Interim Procedure on 17 December 2003.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect the Police Service of Northern Ireland to appoint a wildlife liaison officer to replace the one recently retired. [HL2005]

The post of wildlife officer is being advertised at present within the PSNI. A replacement for the present post holder will be appointed in the near future.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many people were employed by the Belfast Education and Library Board on 1 January each year since 1994. [HL2006]

The information requested is available by financial year and is as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their response to the recent increase in the numbers of young people in Northern Ireland committing or attempting suicide, particularly in North and West Belfast. [HL2069]

The promoting Mental Health Strategy and Action Plan launched last year includes a specific section on preventing suicide. A range of preventive measures are being taken under the strategy including promoting coping skills, suicide awareness and outreach work with young people in areas of need and especially young men. In addition, action is being taken under the drug and alcohol strategies to offer support and counselling to young people affected by addiction difficulties. The North and West Belfast Trust is also working with other relevant public agencies and with local community organisations to raise awareness of the risks to young people's mental and emotional well-being and to develop the capacity of communities to deliver suicide prevention strategies.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Niger and Ethiopia are eligible for "topping up" debt relief, because of severe "external shocks"; and whether they will ask the G8 member states to honour their 1999 commitments to Niger and Ethiopia for a "lasting and sustainable exit from the burden of debt". [HL2091]

The HIPC Initiative allows for additional assistance—so called "topping up"—to be granted at Completion Point for countries that have suffered a fundamental change in their economic circumstances due to external shocks. Completion point dates for Niger and Ethiopia have been delayed due to disagreement over the methodology for calculating "topping up". The UK believes that the deterioration in the real debt burden these countries face provides sufficient grounds for additional relief to be granted. We have therefore been lobbying other member states to make good their promises and provide "topping up" to Niger and Ethiopia, so that their debts are reduced to a sustainable level. We are pleased that the informal paper prepared by the IMF supports the existing methodology. Provided there are no objections by 1 April the methodology will stand, and Niger and Ethiopia are expected to be granted enhanced debt relief within the next month when they reach completion point.

asked the Chairman of Committees:Whether he will publish in the

In the financial year 2002–03 Members claimed total expenses as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in preparing legislative proposals to introduce into Parliament, they operate on the basis that the legislative powers of Parliament are, as a matter of British constitutional law, unlimited powers. [HL1953]

The Government consider that it is a fundamental principle of British constitutional law that the competence of Parliament to legislate on any matter is unlimited.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their understanding of the legal sources from which the legislative powers of Parliament are derived; and what are those sources. [HL1954]

The source of the legislative powers is the common law.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in starting the Belgrade-Pristina negotiations on the future status of Kosovo. [HL2047]

On 14 October 2003, the then Serbian Prime Minister Zivkovic and Kosovo Prime Minister Rexhepi attended the launch of the direct dialogue talks between Belgrade and Pristina on technical issues. The talks are designed to cover areas such as environmental issues, missing persons and returns of internally displaced persons (IDPs). The first meeting of the Energy Working Group took place in Pristina on 4 March and the Missing Persons Working Group met on 9 March in Pristina. Subsequent meetings on IDPs are due to be held in Belgrade in April.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of the report by the Council of Europe on the disappearance in Belarus of a former Minister of the Interior, a Vice President of the Parliament and others, which concluded that no proper investigation had been made by the Belarus authorities, they will ask the United Nations Commission on Human Rights formally to request the Government of Belarus to give an account of the investigations which they conducted into these disappearances. [HL2049]

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution in April 2003 on Belarus, which the EU and US co-sponsored. The resolution raised the issue of the disappearances. This year, the EU and the US have agreed to co-table a further resolution on Belarus. The content is yet to be finalised. The issue of the disappeared remains one of major concern.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What research they have carried out to determine why there was an increase of 46 per cent for women an 10 per cent for men sentenced to prison for motoring offences in the year October 2002–October 2003. [HL1519]

Some analysis has been carried out into the statistical trends affecting the prison population under sentence for motoring offences.The male prison population under sentence for motoring offences increased from 2,498 on 31 October 2002 to 2,748 on 31 October 2003, an increase of 10 per cent. Over the same period the female prison population under sentence for motoring offences increased from 37 to 54, an increase of 46 per cent. Although the proportionate change is larger for females than for males the change for females is based on very small numbers.The prison population under sentence at any point in time reflects the numbers given a custodial sentence as well as the length of these sentences.Our analysis indicates that the increase in the prison population under sentence for motoring offences relates to more people being sentenced to custody rather than longer sentence lengths. This is because there has been little change in the average sentence length of those received into prisons for motoring offences, whereas the number of persons received under sentence for such offences has increased from 14,697 in 2002 to 15,385 in 2003.Court statistics for 2003 are not yet available and hence we cannot determine whether the increase is due to more persons being convicted of motoring offences, more severe sentencing of those convicted or a mixture of the two.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In the light of the report in the

The Women's Offending Reduction Programme (the programme), published on 11 March 2004, is a three-year programme of work that aims to promote a more specific and joined up response to the range of factors that have an impact on why women offend. In order to reduce the number of women in custody and increase the potential for diversion, the programme will focus on improving sentencers' confidence in community disposals that offer appropriate packages and interventions and are better tailored to meet the particular needs of women offenders, including those with mental health and substance misuse problems. The programme includes, for example, the development of women specific community-based interventions such as the "Real Women" offending behaviour programme. We are also taking action to strengthen bail information systems with women's prisons.New sentencing powers contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 will allow offenders serving short custodial sentences to focus their work in the community, enabling them to maintain family ties and employment. The new generic community sentence may encourage the greater use of community disposals as the courts will be able to tailor the package of programmes and interventions to the particular needs of the individual offender.Furthermore in the longer term, the new National Offender Management Service will place an emphasis on the greater use of community sentences for lower-risk offenders and reserve custody for only the most serious, dangerous and highly persistent offenders.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 11 March (

Locally collated management information shows that the 10 originating airports from which the highest number of cases of undocumented arrivals in the United Kingdom occurred in 2003 were as follows. The number of cases are listed per airport:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they consider British Muslims to be within the scope of protection of the Framework Convention on National Minorities. [HL2034]

The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities does not define the term "national minority" nor is "national minority" a legally defined term in the United Kingdom.The Government therefore ratified the framework convention on the understanding that its principles should apply to members of "racial groups" as set out in the Race Relations Act 1976. This defines a racial group as:"a group of persons defined by reference to colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origins".Case Law has established that Muslims do not constitute a racial group within the meaning of the Race Relations Act. They are not therefore covered by the framework convention. It is of course the case that many Muslims in the United Kingdom are also members of ethnic minority communities, which are covered by the terms of the framework convention.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 18 March (

The Centrex Board approved the temporary relocation of the Doctrine Centre of the National Centre for Policing Excellence (NCPE) to serviced offices at Cambourne on 3 December 2003. The temporary relocation has been fully funded from the Centrex budget. Plans to establish a permanent base for NCPE's work on doctrine development are currently being considered, although the permanent relocation is unlikely to take place before April 2005.NCPE staff at Bramshill were located in the modern office blocks on the site. Although a number of NCPE personnel have relocated from the Bramshill site, the site remains fully occupied. Office space and accommodation previously allocated to NCPE has been utilised by bringing courses previously delivered off-site back to Bramshill. This has resulted in cost savings on the provision of off-site accommodation, has helped alleviate overcrowding, and will accommodate the CEPOL Secretariat, which is to be established at Bramshill from April 2004.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 15 March (

Since the Football (Disorder) Act 2000 came into force the courts have imposed a total of 2,495 banning orders, all of which prevent subjects from travelling to matches and tournaments overseas. As of 24 March 2004, 2,079 of these orders remain extant. Prior to the European Football Championships in Portugal, more orders will be imposed while 166 existing orders will expire. Further orders will be sought in cases where there is evidence that the individual continues to pose a risk.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is necessary for the Housing Corporation to be located in London; and, if not, what would be the estimated annual savings if it were located in Liverpool or a city with comparable costs. [HL2128]

The Housing Corporation is not located in London: almost 70 per cent of its 583 staff are located in regional offices across England, of which some 23 per cent are in regional offices in London. This reflects the regional nature of the corporation's regulation and investment business: over 64 per cent of the corporation's investment through the approved development programme is provided in London and south-east in line with government priorities.The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is considering, within the Lyons review, the extent of the scope for more of the activity of the Housing Corporation to be located outside London. There are no estimates available of the costs of relocating the corporation's work.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the minimum qualifications required to teach physical education in primary and secondary schools. [HL2051]

The appointment and deployment of teachers and other school staff are matters for school governing bodies and the professional judgment of headteachers. Schedule 2 to the Education (Specified Work and Registration) (England) Regulations 2003 defines what categories of teachers other than qualified teachers may carry out specified work without supervision. These include teachers with professional qualifications gained outside the European Economic Area; instructors with special qualifications in or experience of a particular art or skill; and persons following employment-based programmes leading to qualified teacher status. Other persons may perform these tasks only under the direction and supervision of a qualified or nominated teacher.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the minimum class sizes prescribed for physical education lessons in primary and secondary schools. [HL2052]

There is no statutory limit on the size of classes for physical education in primary and secondary schools. However, the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 places a duty on local education authorities and schools to limit the size of classes for five, six and seven year-olds taught by one teacher to 30 or fewer pupils. This limit applies to an ordinary teaching session, including ordinary PE lessons.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in raising the academic achievement of specialist sports colleges. [HL2053]

Since 1999, the average GCSE 5 + A to C performance of sports colleges has risen from 41 per cent to 48 per cent. This means that sports colleges are raising attainment at a higher rate than the national average (17 per cent increase compared to 10 per cent). This is in spite of the fact that a large proportion of sports colleges are in areas of social disadvantage, with 44 per cent of all sports colleges having a higher than average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. In addition, average value added in sports colleges was higher in 2003 than in 2002 at both key stages 2–3 and 3–4.Another measure of specialist schools' performance is Professor David Jesson's 2003 study of educational outcomes, which uses slightly different measures. This suggests that whole school 5 + A to C GCSE performance in sports colleges is on average I percentage point higher than the average for mainstream maintained secondary schools.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will retain public records of all the legal advice given to the Government about the legality of the invasion of Iraq. [HL1664]

Care is taken to ensure that public records are permanently preserved and this includes legal advice.Under the 1958 Public Records Act section 3(1) it is the responsibility of government departments to make arrangements for the selection of records which ought to be permanently preserved and for their safekeeping. The National Archives is responsible for identifying those records worthy of permanent preservation in accordance with its acquisition policy, details of which are to be found on its website at:

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the functions and membership of the Legal Services Consultative Panel; and what was its cost to public funds in the most recent accounting period for which accounts are available. [HL2012]

The Legal Services Consultative Panel (the panel) is the principal source of advice to the Secretary of State on the regulation of the legal services sector. As such it has the function of advising on the maintenance and development of standards in the education, training and conduct of persons offering legal services.The panel is chaired by Lord Justice Potter.Panel members are listed below:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are satisfied that transfers of airline passenger data records to the United States Department of Homeland Security are fully compliant with European Union and United Kingdom data protection law; and [HL2107]Whether there are plans to create a centralised European Union-wide database of airline passenger data records to facilitate their transfer to United States authorities; and [HL2108]Whether there are any plans to establish a system of reciprocity whereby airline passenger data records currently being transferred to United States law enforcement authorities will be made available to their European Union counterparts. [HL2109]

In discussion with the European Commission, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the United States Department of Homeland Security has drawn up undertakings about the way in which they will handle passenger name record (PNR) data that they receive from airlines operating from the European Union. On the basis of these undertakings, the European Commission propose to adopt a decision under Article 25.6 of the EC Data Protection Directive that the CBP provide adequate protection for the PNR data it receives. It is proposed that this decision should be accompanied by an international agreement between the EU and the US. Together these instruments will provide a sound legal basis for the transfer of PNR data to the CBP by airlines operating from the UK.I understand that the European Commission is considering whether there should be a centralised system for the transfer of PNR data to the US and, should the need arise, to other countries.There is currently no EU-wide policy on the use of PNR data within the EU. I understand that the Commission is considering the development of such a policy.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 4 March (

The £18.8 billion allocated in the ten year transport plan, while not tied to specific projects, will deliver improvements right across London and is accordingly bound to benefit Games traffic.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether employers should deduct both national insurance contributions and income tax from workers coming from European Union accession states during the first 12 months of their employment; or whether such workers will not qualify for these deductions. [HL2016]

In most cases there will be no change in the national insurance and tax position of workers from the accession states on I May 2004. If a UK employer employs them, tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) should be deducted from their pay. Where an employer in an accession state posts them to the UK, the UK employer may not have to deduct NICs for the first 12 months of the posting. This reflects the position for existing EU member states and has always been the case.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 23 February (

The estimated expenses and income stream of National Savings and Investments Ordinary Accounts for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 December 2003 are as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether their proposals to merge the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise is included in the £3 billion ASPIRE contract for the Revenue's information technology systems; and, if not, what are the cost implications of the proposal both for that contract and more widely. [HL2190]

The ASPIRE contract has been negotiated with CAP Gemini Ernst and Young to maximise the flexibility available to the Government, not just to facilitate machinery of government changes but also to enable joining up of government. The contract therefore has clauses which will enable us to adapt to any changes which might involve work being added to or taken away from the scope of ASPIRE.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many National Health Service Research Ethics Committees there are; and how many members there are on each committee; and [HL2095]

There are 180 National Health Service Research Ethics Committees (RECs) in England, including 10 multi-centre RECs. The numbers of members on each REC have not been recorded centrally. The maximum membership is 18, and committees should have enough members always to meet the quorum of seven.A training strategy for REC members has yet to be finalised, although training has continued to be made available, through an identified training budget. Discussions and meetings were held with key stakeholders including leading members of the Association of Research Ethics Committees (AREC) and potential training providers. An initial discussion meeting was held in October 2002, to which delegates were invited from RECs in the United Kingdom. A follow-up meeting was held in 2003.The AREC does not include all ethics committees. Through the Central Office for Research Ethics Committees (COREC), the department seeks to inform and consult all committees when necessary. The main current Department of Health guidance is

asked Her Majesty's Government:How the Central Office for Research Ethics Committees justified the 50-fold increase in manpower for the oversight of Research Ethics Committees since 1996, when the number of such committees has dropped; and [HL2098]How many people work for the Central Office for Research Ethics Committees, centrally and in the regions; and [HL2096]When the first regional managers of the Central Office for Research Ethics Committees were appointed; how many are now in post; and how many such appointments there have been in total; and [HL2097]Whether they have set any limit on the number of staff employed by the Central Office for Research Ethics Committees. [HL2137]

The Central Office for Research Ethics Committees (COREC) provides management, budget and support services for the ethical review system. It was created in 2000 to help National Health Service Research Ethics Committees (RECs) operate consistently within a framework of governance; and to prepare them for operational changes required by Directive 2001/20/EC. It is misleading to compare this with the situation in 1996, when health authorities had responsibility for supporting RECs and funded this work; and an official in the Department of Health maintained information on them for policy purposes.In COREC there are 13 full-time posts and four part-time posts based centrally, and 11 full-time posts and four part-time posts based regionally. The first of the COREC regional managers was appointed in the autumn of 2002. Nine are in post at present, and one takes up post on 1 April 2004. A total of 13 regional managers have been appointed.The department decides the annual budget for COREC following discussion with St George's Hospital NHS Trust, which provides COREC under contract. The level of staffing is based on the activities the department requires COREC to carry out during the year in question.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What assessment they have made of the proportion of Research Ethics Committee members likely to resign at or soon after 1 May 2004 because:

There is no reason to believe that the indemnity arrangements for National Health Service Research Ethics Committees (RECs) are inadequate. There is no indication of any significant number of resignations for this reason. The Government are not aware of any formal resignations because of the possibility that a committee may not be recognised for clinical trials under the proposed Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations. Since 2001, it has been Department of Health guidance that it is unacceptable for RECs to review research protocols on which any of their members is a named researcher. Very few members are known to have resigned or not extended their membership because of this potential conflict of interest. Precise numbers are not available.The Central Office for Research Ethics Committees would not be responsible for recognising ethics committees to review clinical trials under the regulations. This would be the responsibility of the proposed United Kingdom Ethics Committee Authority (UKECA). The number of ethics committees recognised for this purpose will depend on the number, type and location of clinical trials. RECs review many proposals for studies that are not clinical trials under the proposed regulations.The regulations would require that ethics committees must be recognised by the UKECA before they may review clinical trials under the regulations. Research ethics committees outside the National Health Service will not be required to come within the NHS system if they have an acceptable appointing authority.The timescales in the proposed regulations will reflect those in Directive 2001/20/EC, which apply to any ethical review of clinical trials under that directive.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why it is expected that the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management will not now report until 2006, when it had previously been announced that the Committee would report before the end of 2005. [HL2013]

CoRWM is scheduled to deliver its work programme proposals by the end of March 2004.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there has been a review, following the foot and mouth disease outbreak, of pay rates offered in crisis conditions to qualified personnel whose services may be required urgently; and whether there is any formulaic relationship between daily pay rates offered to non-governmental experts and hourly rates charged under governmental fee structures. [HL2061]

The principal category of qualified personnel who were required with urgency during the outbreak of foot and mouth disease was vets. It was necessary to offer a higher than normal fee to temporary veterinary inspectors at the peak of the outbreak, in order to attract sufficient vets. There is, however, no formulaic link between any such fee increase and either the salaries paid to the SVS' own staff, fees paid to local veterinary inspectors, or any fees which may be charged to third parties.

asked Her Majesty's Government:At the time the Secretary of State for the Department of the Environment, Food and Regional Affairs made her statement on GM commercialisation on 9 March, they were aware of the research on sheep feeding trials involving GM maize at Leeds University and the recent research on cauliflower mosaic virus conducted in Norway; and whether, in the light of the findings from these studies, they will commission further research before Chardon LL maize is placed on the National Seeds Register. [HL2118]

We were aware of both of these research projects at the time of the Statement on 9 March.The study at Leeds University was part of one of the programmes funded by the Food Standards Agency to study the potential for horizontal gene transfer. The work has not examined the impact of the GM feed on the sheep, but focuses on the potential for the transfer

of genetic material from GM feed into bacteria found in the animal gut. There have been two peer-reviewed publications so far and the results were considered during the public debate GM science review

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have asked the French competent authorities for a variation in the conditions attached to Part C consent for Chardon LL maize; and whether they have specified for that authority all the parameters that must be listed in order for the variety to be grown in the future in strict accordance with Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment advice. [HL2121]

On 9 March 2004 Defra officials wrote to the French Competent Authority, which issued the relevant consent on behalf of all EU member states, seeking amendments to the consent for Bayer T25 GM maize (Chardon LL) to limit herbicide use with the crop in line with ACRE's advice. A copy of the letter to the French Competent Authority has been published on the Defra website and placed on the public register.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they have taken to ensure that animal health or welfare are not compromised by continuous feeding of genetically modified fodder maize silage, particularly to beef cattle. [HL2154]

Under EU Directive 2001/18, no genetically modified organisms may be used in animal feed in the EU unless and until EU member states have agreed collectively that is safe to do. In making these decisions, each GM product is judged on its own merits according to evidence of risk to human health and the environment.In the UK we are advised on GM product applications by a statutory body—the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE). If a proposed GM product were intended for use in animal feed, ACRE would consult the Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs (ACAF), which would provide advice on risks to animal health.