asked the Chairman of Committees:Why Questions for Written Answer tabled in this Parliamentary Session and answered after the end of the Session will not be printed in the

Prorogation puts an end to all business before the House, with limited exceptions which do not include Questions for Written Answer. Where a Question for Written Answer has not been answered at the end of a Session, it can be retabled at the start of the new Session to ensure that the Answer will appear in the Official Report.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Crown Prosecution Service is correct to decline prosecution cases following fatal road traffic accidents because adverse weather conditions are considered a permissible defence. [HL4738]

When there is a road traffic fatality in circumstances which suggest an offence has been committed, the police will investigate. Whether an offence has been committed will depend on the circumstances of each case and sometimes the weather may be a factor to take into account. The Crown Prosecution Service will decide whether or not to prosecute in accordance with the principles set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.The code sets out two stages in the decision to prosecute. First, there must be sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. This is an objective test which means that a jury or bench of magistrates, properly directed in accordance with the law, is more likely than not to convict the defendant of the charge alleged. Secondly, the circumstances must be such that a prosecution would be in the public interest.Following a road traffic incident involving a fatality, a number of criminal offences may be considered. They range from the most serious offences of murder, manslaughter and death by dangerous driving to summary offences such as careless driving or speeding. Each case will be considered on its own particular facts.The weather may play a part in some road traffic fatality incidents, but how much depends on individual cases. The circumstances of the particular case will need to be assessed to determine the significance of any adverse weather conditions. One of the issues will be the driver's response to the weather conditions. Any adverse weather conditions create obvious dangers and drivers are expected to drive appropriately to the weather. The Crown Prosecution Service will prosecute cases when there is a realistic prospect of conviction and it is in the public interest to do so. In cases where a fatality has occurred and there is sufficient evidence to prove the ingredients of the offence the public interest will almost invariably demand that a prosecution follows.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will discuss with the Government of Belarus the maintenance of academic freedom and fair employment and recruitment practices.[HL4710]

The Government, together with our EU partners, continue to raise issues of academic freedom in Belarus. Most recently we raised the closure of the European Humanities University in Minsk. I refer the noble Lord to the EU declaration of 30 July.The Government fully supported the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) decision in November 2003 to launch an inquiry into persistent and serious violations of labour rights in Belarus. The inquiry recently concluded that many of the basic civil liberties of trade union members and leaders have been seriously infringed. Serious and systematic violations of the principles referred to in the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work can result in the temporary withdrawal of trade preferences under the EU's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) scheme. The European Commission, with the backing of EU member states, is currently investigating trade union rights in Belarus and may recommend withdrawal of preferences.The full text of the EU declaration is available on the Presidency's website: http://www.eu2004.nl.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What representations they have made to the Government of Sudan about the attacks made by their army on two refugee camps near Nyala in Darfur on 2 November. [HL4764]

On 2 and 3 November, government of Sudan forces attempted to relocate the inhabitants of two displaced persons camps in Darfur. This was done with an unacceptable level of force and without the prior consultation required by the memorandum of understanding with the International Organisation for Migration.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have instructed British officials in Sudan to investigate allegations that chemical weapons have been used against civilians in Darfur. [HL4816]

We are aware of the article published in September by the German newspaper Die Welt, reporting that chemical weapons had been used in Darfur. The UK Government take all such reports of this nature very seriously. In this case, we have seen no credible evidence to support this particular allegation. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons raised this matter with the government of Sudan, who categorically rejected the allegations and reaffirmed their commitment to the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What representations they have made to the government of Sudan concerning the evacuation of 88 humanitarian aid workers from West Darfur on 1 November following further developments in the security situation. [HL4853]

We are gravely concerned by the security situation in Darfur. As this incident shows, continued ceasefire violations by both the Government of Sudan and the rebel groups has led to increased insecurity and difficulties with humanitarian access. We make regular representations to the Government of Sudan and the rebel groups on the need to abide by the ceasefire agreement. We are also pressing both sides to fully and immediately implement the Humanitarian and Security protocols, which were signed in Abuja on 9 November.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the main outcomes of the Asia-Europe Meeting in Hanoi on 8 October; whether and how Burma was represented among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); and what further dialogue between the European Union and ASEAN they will encourage. [HL4766]

At the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Summit on 8 October the UK exchanged views with our EU and Asian ASEM partners on a wide range of issues, and issued Declarations on Closer Economic Partnership and on Dialogue among Cultures and Civilisations. These are available online at www.europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations.My right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister, representing the UK, urged ASEM partners to discuss ways in which developing and developed countries could meet their energy needs in a sustainable way. ASEM partners agreed to pursue this. The UK, in partnership with Indonesia, also launched an initiative promoting interfaith dialogue, which received support from a number of EU and Asian ASEM partners.Following EU and Asian ASEM countries' agreement that Burma attend the summit, but at a level no higher than Foreign Minister, the Burmese were represented by Minister for Labour, U Tin Win. In the presence of U Tin Win, the Deputy Prime Minister, together with several of our EU partners, raised the unacceptable lack of progress towards democratisation in Burma. The Deputy Prime Minister called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, the lifting of restrictions on the National League for Democracy, the start of genuine dialogue and an early visit by the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative, Razali Ismail. The UK also worked closely with EU and Asian ASEM partners to build general consensus on the inclusion of language on Burma in the ASEM chair statement, which calls for all political groups in the country to be able to participate in national reconciliation and democratisation. We believe that this sends the regime a clear signal that ASEM partners share serious concerns about the situation in Burma.The UK fully supports greater EU-Asia dialogue, such as that within ASEM, and greater EU-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) dialogue. We see such dialogue as an important means of tackling the key challenges which the international community faces, including terrorism, proliferation, drugs and crime, climate change and energy security, and economic issues.We will also continue to encourage ASEAN to press the Burmese regime to begin a genuine process of reform leading to national reconciliation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What efforts they have made to encourage Ms Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to accept the mandate of United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking. [HL4854]

The appointment of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children is a matter for the chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights to decide. The rapporteur serves in an individual capacity and is independent from government.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether members of diplomatic missions accredited to the United Kingdom may make substantial financial donations to non-charitable political causes in the United Kingdom; whether they are aware of any such donations; and, if so, what action they propose to take. [HL4856]

Members of diplomatic missions have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of the state to which they are accredited. Any complaint about donations made by foreign diplomats to political causes in the United Kingdom would be considered in the light of that duty.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will seek information from the United Nations Secretary-General as to what proportion of Zimbabwe's gross domestic product is represented by their reported purchase of 240 million dollars worth of jet fighters and armoured vehicles from China. [HL4880]

Zimbabwe's reported efforts to import significant amounts of military equipment while its economy deteriorates are yet further indication that its government has little concern for the welfare of Zimbabweans. We have not sought information on this purchase from the United Nations Secretary-General.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What response they have made to the allegations against a United Kingdom-based company, Avient Limited, in Annex 3 of the initial United Nations Expert Panel report on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, published in October 2002. [HL4881]

Her Majesty's Government's response to the allegations against Avient Ltd made in the reports of the UN Expert Panel on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the Democratic Republic of Congo is contained in the statement of 8 September 2004 by the National Contact Point on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multi-National Enterprises. This statement is available at www.dti.gov.uk\ewt\statements.htm. I also refer the noble Lord to the reply I gave to my noble friend the Lord Alli on 5 January 2004 (Official Report, cols. WA 8–9).

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they had prior knowledge of contracts between the United Kingdom-based company, Avient Limited, and the governments of Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo to supply military services, as claimed by Mr Andrew Smith, a director of the Company. [HL4882]

Government officials met Mr Andrew Smith on a number of occasions from 1998 to 2002. In those contacts officials were assured by Mr Smith that he would not breach the EU's arms embargo on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). At no time have the Government encouraged, supported, or promoted Mr Smith's activities in Zimbabwe or the DRC.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will give the dates and subjects of discussions between representatives of the United Kingdom-based company Avient Limited and the United Kingdom High Commission in Harare. [HL4883]

British High Commission officials had contact with Mr Andrew Smith, a director of Avient Limited, on a number of occasions, between 1998 and 2002 concerning his business activities in Africa.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 27 October (

The telegram of 11 February 1997 instructed the British High Commissioner to India to approach the Government of India to seek official confirmation that involuntary acquisition of another citizenship did not automatically deprive an individual of Indian citizenship.It did not state that British National (Overseas) status could be acquired exclusively by making a written application for registration for that status.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In what way the isolation of Northern Cyprus has been reduced since the majority of Turkish-Cypriots voted in support of the Annan Plan for a settlement in Cyprus. [HL4927]

The EU agreed a Green Line Regulation in August. This set out rules concerning the crossing of goods, services and persons between the north and south of the island. This has had some impact on ending the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots but, alone, is not sufficient to fulfil the commitment made by EU Foreign Ministers at the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 26 April.We are still working to reach EU agreement on two regulations. The first would enable the disbursal of 259 million euros-worth of aid for north Cyprus. The second would enable preferential direct trade between north Cyprus and the rest of the EU. Both regulations are still under discussion.With regard to direct flights, as I made clear in my reply to the noble Lord on 21 June (

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many copies of their

207,000 copies of the Guide to the EU have been printed at a cost of approximately £45,000. The EU Guide has been sent to every public library in the UK and over the coming months will be distributed at events and venues nationwide. It is also available online at www.europe.gov.uk and members of the public can request individual copies from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The costs and obligations of EU membership, as well as the benefits, are explained within the guide, which is an accurate and informative account of the facts about the EU. Government policy is that membership of the EU is strongly in Britain's best interests, and we are committed to raising awareness of the benefits of our membership.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How the proposed Charity Bill will affect those clubs that have registered with the Inland Revenue as community amateur sports clubs; and whether they will be required to register as charities. [HL4676]

The Government propose to amend the draft Charities Bill to provide that a club registered with the Inland Revenue as a community amateur sports club (CASC) is not to be treated as a charity. CASCs would not be required to register as charities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Criminal Records Bureau in Liverpool is meeting its performance targets; and [HL4725]In relation to any delays in the processing of applications at the Criminal Records Bureau, what is their estimate of

Since June 2003, the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has on average met its public service standards of delivering 90 per cent of standard disclosures within two weeks and 90 per cent of enhanced disclosures within four weeks. However, during the period June to August 2004 the CRB operated outside these service levels, for enhanced disclosures only. This was primarily due to the fact that a small number of police forces were experiencing staffing and operational difficulties within their disclosure units. The CRB has worked very closely with these forces to help them improve their performance. This has enabled the CRB to recover its position and once more meet its service standards for enhanced disclosures for September 2004. The CRB is now able to process more checks, more quickly than ever before, with a capacity to process over 50,000 disclosures a week.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will provide a definition of an "indecent chant" at a football match. [HL4788]

There is no legal definition of "indecent" and no definition in law of "indecent chanting" under Section 3 of the Football (Offences) Act 1991. The police and courts have to determine whether a football chant is "indecent". Ultimately, each case has to be treated on its merits.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many foreign nationals have been deported after conviction (excluding those convicted of immigration offences) since 2000; and for what reasons. [HL4831]

Information on the number of foreign nationals deported after conviction (excluding those convicted of immigration offences) is not collected centrally and would be available only at disproportionate cost.A person convicted of a criminal offence may be recommended for deportation by the court which has the power to sentence him. The Secretary of State may give consideration to deportation on conducive grounds if the person has one conviction for a serious crime or several convictions for less serious crimes which, taken together and weighed against any compassionate circumstances, merit deportation. The fact that a court has decided not to make a recommendation does not debar the Secretary of State from taking such action himself but would be taken into account in consideration of the case.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many young people under the age of 18 were held in custody for breach of an anti-social behaviour order as their primary offence since 15 September; and what proportion of these were held on remand; and [HL4863]Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 11 October (

The Youth Justice Board have provided the following which relates to England and Wales:Eighty-three young people under the age of 18 were held in custody for breaches of an ASBO as their primary offence since 15 September 2004. Thirty eight of these were held on remand.The ethnic breakdown breakdown of the 121 young people under the age of 18 held in custody for breaches of ASBOs as their primary offence between 16 June and 15 September 2004 was as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many foreign-registered cars and lorries have been caught speeding by speed cameras; what is the procedure for sending notices of fines to drivers in other European Union (EU) member states; and how many drivers of such vehicles have paid the fines. [HL4878]

Information is not held centrally on the number of foreign-registered cars and lorries caught speeding by speed cameras. Enforcement of road traffic law including speeding offences is a matter for the police of the country where the offence is committed but the Government do not believe that those who commit offences in this country should evade justice simply by returning home. The Government have agreed with our EU partners a framework decision on the mutual recognition of financial penalties. This will allow the UK to ask another EU member state to enforce any fine imposed here totalling 70 euros or more, and for the UK to enforce fines imposed abroad.A number of offending foreign drivers stopped by the police following detection by speed camera and charged with a speeding offence do opt for a court appearance rather than leave the country. In general the courts collect the fine from convicted foreign drivers at the court appearance either by cash or credit card.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many sports clubs have registered as charities since the Charity Commission recognised the promotion of community participation in healthy recreation as charitable in 2001. [HL4902]

Between the decision in 2001 to recognise the promotion of community participation in healthy recreation as a charitable purpose and 31 March 2004 (the latest date for which figures are currently available), the Charity Commission for England and Wales has registered 120 community amateur sports clubs as charities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, and if so by what statutory provision, treason remains a criminal offence. [HL4912]

Treason remains a criminal offence under the Treason Acts of 1351, 1702, 1795 and 1842; and the Treason Felony Act 1848.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many persons have been charged with illegal acts against (i) persons; and (ii) scientific and research establishments from the following organisations:

I understand from the police that in the first 10 months of 2004 there were 187 arrests of animal rights activists compared with 98 arrests during the same period in 2003. It is not possible from the information collected centrally by the Home Office to ascertain how many of those arrested were subsequently charged with any offence, or to which groups they are affiliated. We are working with police and the Crown Prosecution Service to implement processes to collect arrest, charging and conviction data in relation to offences related to animal rights extremism which will provide more comprehensive information in future.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What support they are giving to the organisation Victims of Animal Rights Extremism. [HL4914]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office, Caroline Flint, recently met representatives from Victims of Animal Rights Extremism to discuss the action the Government are taking to tackle animal rights extremists. The Government are sympathetic to its work to support those who have been the victim of animal rights extremism.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are their proposals with regard to the future of exception sites, that is, those sites in rural areas that would not normally be designated for housing but may be if the housing is affordable housing developed by a registered social landlord. [HL4793]

In July 2003 the Government consulted on a proposed update to their planning policies for housing set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 3: Housing (PPG3), entitled Influencing the size, type and affordability of housing. This consultation paper included a proposal to replace the current policy providing for rural exception housing, set out in Annex B ofPPG3, with a policy that would enable local planning authorities to allocate sites solely for affordable housing. The consultation period closed in October 2003. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is considering the views of all those who responded and intend to publish the update by the end of the year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many villages have benefited from affordable houses on exception sites since 1997. [HL4794]

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

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many units of social housing have been built on exception sites since 1997. [HL4795]

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

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the advertising hoarding promoting wind power, which is adjacent to the anti-clockwise carriageway of the M25 near the junction of the M1, is in accordance with the advice in Planning Policy Guidance Note 19 and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Circular 5/92. [HL4859]

This is a matter for the local planning authority. They have discretionary enforcement powers which they can use to remove unlawfully displayed advertisements.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether planning permission is required to demolish a sports facility in circumstances where the land is to be left dormant for five years. [HL4898]

Planning permission is not required for demolition of a sports facility. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be considering demolition of sports facilities in the context of our review of permitted development rights. We intend to consult in 2005.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the reply by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 4 November (HL Deb, col. 432), how planning policy guidance 17 will protect sports facilities from being demolished. [HL4899]

PPG17 sets out the Government's policies for open space, sport and recreation. It provides protection for that land and those facilities which communities need. As a part of this protection, it directs that existing recerational buildings should not be redeveloped for other purposes unless they have first clearly been shown to be surplus to requirements. Authorities are expected to do this by assessing the needs of their population and by auditing existing facilities and the use made of them. PPG17 further advises authorities to use appropriate policies in plans to protect facilities that are of particular value to a local community. This provision could be used to protect individual sites and buildings.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the coalition forces discovered on 1 April 2003 300 chemical biological protection suits and masks in the Fedayeen Barracks at As Samawah, Iraq; and whether a similar cache was discovered by British troops in the Basra region at about the same time. [HL4415]

Coalition forces made a number of discoveries of chemical and biological protection equipment in southern Iraq in late March and early April 2003. This included a find by UK forces at a command post in the Rumaila oil fields of more than one hundred gas masks and chemical and biological protection suits. The Ministry of Defence does not hold detailed records of discoveries of chemical and biological protection equipment made by other coalition forces.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What lessons they have learned from the expenditure of £12,364,000 on the procurement contract for the Royal Air Force Centrifuge, which has now been abandoned. [HL4600]

This information is sensitive to current legal proceedings between the Ministry of Defence and the company and as a result I am withholding this information in accordance with Exemption 4 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information which relates to legal proceedings.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much the refit of HMS "Endurance" was originally envisaged to cost: and how much it has Cost. [HL4754]

The original estimated cost for the refit of HMS "Endurance", including the Ministry of Defence supplied materials, was £4.2 million. The actual costs have yet to be finalised and are commercially sensitive and to release them could jeopardise effective future competitions for similar work. I am therefore withholding this information under Exemption 7 of the Code of Access to Government Information—effective management and operations of the public service.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many (a) landowners; and (b) tenant farmers in England and Wales, lease land to the Ministry of Defence. [HL4810]

The records of land leased to the Ministry of Defence are maintained in a number of separate databases and it would take a disproportionate effort to produce an accurate Answer.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of military training takes place on private land; and [HL4811]How many military training exercises take place on private land. [HL4812]

Training exercises can take a multitude of guises. Using the measurement of man training days (MTDs) to give an idea of the scale of training on private land, in 2003–404 some 700,000 MTDs were recorded for such training. No comparable figure is held for training world-wide by the three services and it is not therefore possible to say what proportion of overall military training this represents.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

The Ministry of Defence were first made aware of the presence of sarin and cyclosarin at Khamisiyah upon publication of a CIA paper entitled CIA Report on Intelligence Related to Gulf War Illness on 2 August 1996.The US Department of Defense (DoD) subsequently commissioned modelling of the possible exposure levels in 1997. Following the publication of the DoD work, the MoD published a paper in December 1999 entitled

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many service personnel have claimed the hoarding school allowance over the past three years. [HL4847]

The number of claimants for the Royal Navy (RN), the Army and the Royal Air Force (RAF) are detailed below.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What percentage of school absences are attributable to parents taking school children on holiday during term-time; and whether they support the nationwide introduction of the six-term, standard school year as recommended by the Local Government Association. [HL4769]

The Government encourage parents wherever possible to book holidays during the school holidays. The department does not collect information on the reasons for pupils' absence from school. However, there is evidence from other sources that around 15 per cent of all absence is a result of term-time holidays.The Secretary of State wrote to the Local Government Association (LGA) in February 2004 stating his personal support for LGA proposals for a standard school year, at the same time as recognising practical issues that LGA and its member authorities will need to address in order to build a consensus for change.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they support Sheffield and Sunderland local education authorities who have negotiated a scheme with local travel agents offering discounts on family holidays taken during school holidays. [HL4770]

The Government encourage parents wherever possible to book holidays during the school holidays. Sheffield and Sunderland are just two of a number of Local Education Authorities (LEAs) that have established initiatives with local travel agents to offer discounts on family holidays taken during school holidays. The Government welcome this approach and is discussing with the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and the Federation of Travel Operators (FTO) whether such local arrangements could be extended.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Integrated Children's System database is fully compliant with data protection and human rights legislation. [HL4779]

Local authorities are obliged to keep case records and their IT systems supporting the use of the ICS constitute their electronic social care case record. In carrying out their functions in this respect, local authorities must comply with the Data Protection Act and the Human Rights Act. Guidance on both sets of legislation has been issued to local authorities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many local authority physical education advisers there were for each year from 1999–2000 to 2003–04. [HL4841]

The information is not collected centrally.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have any plans to monitor the number of children participating in two hours a week of physical education and school sport during school hours at schools which are not in school sport partnerships. [HL4842]

No. However, by 2006 all maintained schools will be within a school sport partnership and so will be monitored on whether they are delivering the two hour physical education and school sport entitlement.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Early Years Managers from the private sector will be eligible to take the new qualification in managing integrated centres (the National Professional Qualification in Integrated Leadership) when it is rolled out. [HL4852]

All sectors, including the private sector, are invited to apply for the National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership.Eligibility criteria to the programme in priority order are initially for designated DfES children centres and those children centres given DfES approval to proceed with the intention of becoming children's centres by 2006.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the Youth Sport Trust is the national coordinating body for the European Year of Education through Sport; and what support it has given to UK Sport's "Start Clean" campaign. [HL4869]

The Departments for Education and Skills and for Culture, Media and Sport appointed the Youth Sport Trust to be the United Kingdom's national co-ordinating body for the 2004 European Year of Education through Sport. The Youth Sport Trust has provided advice and guidance on eligibility, selection and award criteria, to those bidding for funding from the European Union to support national, regional, transnational and community wide projects. The final decision on which projects were co-financed by the European Union were taken by the European Commission assisted by an advisory committee.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to reform and simplify council tax benefit to (a) improve take up; and (b) integrate the benefit with tax credits. [HL4944]

As announced by the Chancellor in the 2004 Budget, the Government will introduce, from next April, a package of measures that will be a first step in an overall programme designed to simplify the rules surrounding entitlement and take-up of both housing benefit and council tax benefit, and the way in which the rules align with those for other support such as tax credits and pension credit.While local authorities have a statutory duty to promote awareness of council tax benefit, we launched a campaign earlier this year, supported by new posters, flyers and press advertising, to help local authorities encourage those who may be entitled to claim. And we will continue to support local authorities in raising awareness of council tax benefit in the run-up to the 2005 billing round.From this week we will also be issuing a copy of the council tax benefit flyer in with the winter fuel payment notification letters. We anticipate that around 12 million pensioners in around 8 million households will be sent a copy of the flyer during November and December, which will encourage them to "Cut your Council Tax—Find out if you should be paying less."We have already introduced a shorter claim form for pensioners, reducing the current form by a third, and propose to introduce an even shorter form for those wishing to claim CTB only. And we are considering how we can make this shorter still. We are also looking at how we can streamline the application process even more; for example, where claims are made for a number of benefits, such as pension credit, ensuring that common information on personal and financial circumstances is only given once.The Pension Service is also already doing much to promote council tax benefit take-up, issuing housing benefit/council tax benefit claim forms to everyone who calls the Pension Credit Application Line and wishes to claim and helping people fill in their council tax benefit claim form when visiting pensioners to take a claim for pension credit.We are well aware of the pivotal role that the voluntary sector can play in helping to promote take-up. We know some older people prefer to deal with organisations like Age Concern and Help the Aged. As part of developing a third age network, we are building closer and more effective partnerships with the voluntary sector.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are their targets for increased physical activity and sport in the United Kingdom; and [HL4894]Which departments were consulted when drawing up targets for increased physical activity and sport in the United Kingdom; and [HL4895]What resources are needed to reach their targets for increased physical activity and sport in the United Kingdom. [HL4896]

There is no national target for increased physical activity and sport in the United Kingdom.The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has for the period 2003–04 to 2005–06 two public service agreement (PSA) targets relating to participation in sport. DCMS's revised PSA targets for the period 2005–06 to 2007–08 include revised versions of both these targets.HM Treasury and the Department for Education and Skills were consulted when drawing up the current PSA Target 1. HM Treasury was consulted when drawing up the current PSA Target 2.The department's overall budget for the period 2005–06 to 2007–08 was announced in the Chancellor's Spending Review 2004. The allocation of the department's budget is still under consideration.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How long the freeze on new applications to Sport England community lottery fund lasted; what the impact of this freeze has been; and which regional sports boards are now accepting applications for community lottery funding. [HL4900]

The freeze on community lottery applications was announced in December 2002. A moratorium was placed on the receipt of new applications, and decisions on 63 existing applications were deferred, for decision to be taken by regional sports boards. The boards, which were given responsibility for distributing community funding following the reorganisation of Sport England, began to consider new funding applications in May 2004. All nine regional sports boards are currently accepting applications for community funding.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many convictions for the smuggling of illegal meat have been recorded by HM Customs and Excise in the past two years ending in October 2004. [HL4930]

Since HM Customs and Excise assumed responsibility for anti-smuggling controls in April 2003 four people have been convicted of smuggling offences under the Products of Animal Origin (Third Country Imports) (England) 2004 Regulations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the reply by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 10 November (HL Deb, col. 893), in what way and when the approval of Parliament will be sought to the merger between the Board of Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise. [HL4978]

The approval of Parliament for the merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise will be by primary legislation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the new "Choose and Book" electronic booking system for out-patient appointments will be sufficiently operational to achieve the Department of Health's targets for booking and choice throughout primary and secondary care by the end of 2005. [HL4639]

The "Choose and Book" service will greatly assist local health communities in achieving the national performance requirements for booking and choice set out in National Standards, Local Action, and we are making good progress towards roll-out of the new service. Achieving the December 2005 performance targets does not necessarily depend on the electronic system being used in all parts of primary and secondary care by this date.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the new "Choose and Book" electronic booking system for out-patient appointments will be fully deployed and in use throughout primary and secondary care to allow the Government's interim target of 25 per cent of out-patients referrals fully booked by January 2005 to be met. [HL4640]

The rate of 25 per cent for full booking of out-patient appointments is not a target. Local health communities are free to set their own interim milestones for moving towards full booking. Although we expect the "Choose and Book" service to support local health communities in moving towards full booking, it is still possible to achieve higher levels of booking prior to adopting the electronic system.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether local health communities are satisfied that the "Choose and Book" system will be delivered in time to meet the targets for booking and choice; and whether these communities are devising alternative systems to meet interim booking targets. [HL4641]

The "Choose and Book" service will greatly assist local health communities in achieving the national performance requirements for booking and choice set out in National Standards, Local Action, and we are making good progress towards roll-out of the new service. Achieving the December 2005 performance targets—or any interim milestones that local health economies choose to set—does not necessarily depend on the electronic system being used in all parts of primary and secondary care.The decision about when a practice or clinic will start to use the "Choose and Book" service will be made by the relevant local health organisations with support from the National Programme for Information Technology's "Choose and Book" programme. It will be based on organisational readiness and system compliance. In the meantime, some health communities will be using their current booking processes to help meet the interim milestones they themselves have set.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether alternative booking systems devised by local health communities will have any detrimental effects on clinical governance, staff morale, clinical engagement and security of patient referral data; and, if so, what are those effects. [HL4642]

We would not expect any booking system to be created or used by local health communities that would have detrimental effects on clinical governance, staff morale, clinical engagement or security of patient referral data.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have considered the impact on the uptake of the new "Choose and Book" system if alternative booking systems are developed by local health communities to meet booking and choice targets. [HL4643]

Where local health communities choose to use interim and alternative systems to deliver performance requirements or milestones for booking and choice, we do not anticipate that they will affect uptake of the "Choose and Book" service."Choose and Book", as an integral part of the Government's information technology strategy to deliver improvements to the National Health Service, offers a wide range of benefits to local health communities, including supporting current best referral practice, improving patient experience and freeing up clinicians' time through automating the referral process. It is a nationally funded technology, linked to a telephone-based booking management service and interactive patient website.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will revise the targets for booking and choice, particularly interim targets, to ensure that the new "Choose and Book" system is the only booking system developed and implemented. [HL4644]

The "Choose and Book" service will greatly assist local health communities in achieving the national performance requirements for booking and choice set out in National Standards, Local Action, and we are making good progress towards roll-out of the new service. Achieving the December 2005 performance targets—or any interim milestones that local health communities choose to set—does not necessarily depend on the electronic system being used in all parts of primary and secondary care. Where necessary, local health communities may choose to use or adapt existing booking processes to support delivery of the December 2005 performance requirements and any local interim milestones.The "Choose and Book" service is part of the National Programme for Information Technology and has been developed in consultation with clinical stakeholders and representative groups. No other booking service has been developed with such a wide range of stakeholders and we would expect this to be reflected in its uptake.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What guidance they issue on the admission of non-United Kingdom citizens to undergraduate medical degree courses. [HL4833]

The Government do not issue any guidance on the admission of non-United Kingdom citizens to undergraduate medical degree courses. All aspects of selection and admission to higher education institutions are the responsibility of individual higher education institutions and medical schools.The Department of Health supports the Council of Heads of Medical Schools' 1999 statement of nine "Guiding Principles for the Admission of Medical Students" which it commends to medical schools to ensure good practice in equal opportunities throughout all the UK's medical schools.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they will take following the publication of the results of the Danish part or the Interphone study, which investigated the links between tumour risk and mobile phone use and concluded that the average size of tumours was significantly higher for regular users than for nonusers. [HL4835]

The Interphone study is a 13-nation international collaborative study of brain tumours, acoustic neuroma and parotid gland tumours in relation to mobile phone use due to report next year. Two of the participating research teams have already published reports on acoustic neuroma data only: a Danish study in January 2004 and a Swedish study in October 2004. These publications will contribute to the strength of the overall study and emphasise the need to continue such research. A World Health Organisation assessment of the full Interphone study and associated research is currently under way and is due in 2006.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have considered the study by the Pfeiffer Treatment Centre in the United States which examines the links between chemical imbalances in the brain caused by diets unsuited to individuals and poor or violent behaviour; and whether they plan to support similar research in the United Kingdom; and [HL4838]What studies have been commissioned in their United Kingdom into dietary causes of bad behaviour in school children; and what were their conclusions. [HL4839]

The Government are funding research to look at a possible link between food additives and children's behaviour, for which current evidence is inconclusive. We are aware of the work of the Pfeiffer Treatment Centre. We have no plans to look at overall diet and behaviour.The Government are committed to improve children's diet and health, and action to address this will be taken forward in the Government's White Paper on improving health. Also, following cross-government collaboration, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills launched the Healthy Living Blueprint for Schools document. The blueprint and supporting website brings together all the elements that contribute to a whole school approach to food and nutrition.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the increase in the risk of (a) sudden infant death syndrome, and (b) acute lower respiratory infection experienced by infants inhaling environmental tobacco smoke; and [HL4920]What is the impact of environmental tobacco smoke on (a) the likelihood of pre-term pregnancy; and (b) foetal growth. [HL4922]

The 1998 report of the Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health gives details of the increase in risk of sudden infant death syndrome and acute lower respiratory infection from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and the impact of environmental tobacco smoke on the likelihood of pre-term pregnancy and foetal growth. A copy of this report is in the Library.The committee has been reviewing the research evidence published since 1998 and its updated report will be published alongside the White Paper on public health.

asked Her Majesty's Government:(a) how many National Health Service patients had hip replacements in 2003; (b) what is the estimated length of time that patients have to wait for such an operation; and (c) what is the estimated number of patients awaiting hip replacements at present. [HL4929]

The number of patients who had hip replacement operations performed in National Health Service hospitals in 2002–03 was 68,059.Based on returns for activity carried out in hospitals during 2002–03, the median time waited for patients who had a hip operation in 2002–03 was 229 days.Information on waiting times for people currently waiting for a hip operation is not collected centrally.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to accelerate the pace of change in health funding so that primary care trusts in the most deprived communities receive their proper share. [HL4945]

The Department of Health is committed to moving all primary care trusts (PCTs) to their target allocations as soon as is practicable, and aims to accelerate the pace of change for the most under-target PCTs.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there are any plans to send National Health Service patients with severe heart disease to Germany for treatment by the injection of stem cells following successful operations in that country; and [HL4953]Whether any National Health Service funding will be made available to treat patients with severe heart disease in the United Kingdom by injecting stem cells; whether the National Institute for Clinical Excellence has considered this procedure; and, if not, whether it is planning to do so; and [HL4954]Whether there are any plans to send National Health Service patients with Parkinson's disease to Sweden for treatment by the injection of stem cells to enable them to cease to take dopamine inducing drugs; and [HL4957]Whether any National Health Service funding will be made available to treat patients with Parkinson's disease in the United Kingdom by injecting adult stem cells; whether the National Institute for Clinical Excellence has considered this procedure; and, if not, whether it is planning to do so. [HL4958]

In the future, stems cells may well provide treatments for a wide range of currently incurable illnesses, such as heart disease and Parkinson's disease. Some early clinical results, both in the United Kingdom and abroad, look extremely promising. However, much more research is needed before the therapeutic potential of stem cells can be fully realised. That is why the Government have committed £40 million to support stem cell research in 2004–06.It is not government policy to send National Health Service patients abroad to participate in clinical trials. Likewise, there is nothing in the current National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) work programme on stem cells and, at the moment, NICE has no plans to look at stem cell treatment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there are any plans to send National Health Service patients with severe diabetes to Canada for treatment to enable them to cease to need insulin. [HL4955]

There are no central plans for the National Health Service to send patients with severe diabetes to Canada for treatment to enable them to cease to need insulin. Nevertheless, primary care trusts can authorise overseas treatment for patients outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) but must take account of the following: the condition involved is of a serious nature; suitable treament is not available within the United Kingdom or EEA; the treatment abroad is well established, not merely experimental; there is a probability of significant benefit to the patient.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which key industry representatives were consulted on European Union regulation 1915/2003. [HL4535]

The key industry representatives consulted on the EU proposals for scrapie control measures (subsequently adopted and included in EU Regulation 1915/2003) were the National Sheep Association, the National Farmer's Union, farmers' unions in Wales and Scotland, and the British Veterinary Association. Other organisations such as the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, the Meat and Livestock Commission and a number of agricultural colleges and institutions were also consulted.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many local authorities offer no facilities for the disposal of withdrawn pesticide products. [HL4834]

We do not know exactly how many local authorities offer no facilities for the disposal of withdrawn pesticide products. However, I understand that a survey in 2003 of county councils throughout Great Britain by the Pesticides Action Network indicated that about 58 per cent provided facilities at civic amenity sites for these products or offered collection facilities.Where pesticides are discarded by households they are classified as household waste. Section 45 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 places a statutory duty on local authorities to collect household waste and Section 51 of the 1990 Act requires waste disposal authorities to provide readily accessible places (usually known as civic amenity sites) where householders can bring items of household waste for disposal.Defra will be writing shortly to all local authorities in England to remind them of their statutory obligations.