asked Her Majesty's Government:What was the allocated budget for each Northern Ireland department for 2003–04; and, in each case, how much was spent. [HL44]

The attached table shows details, for each department of the Northern Ireland administration, of allocated budget and provisional spend for 2003–04. This is based on the NI assigned departmental expenditure limit (DEL).

asked Her Majesty's Government:In the light of the recent report from the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (Outside London) on the disparities between health need and health funding, whether they intend to redistribute health funding to those areas in greatest need. [HL26]

The Department of Health is committed to matching the allocation of funding with the relative need of local areas.A weighted capitation formula is used to determine each primary care trust's target share of available resources, which then informs allocations. Revenue funding is allocated to primary care trusts on the basis of the relative needs of their populations.The department has recently carried out a substantial review of the weighted capitation formula, and the new formula introduced from 2003–04 gives much greater weight to the needs of deprived communities.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What measures they will take during the current Session of Parliament to reduce the harm caused by alcohol consumption, which has been estimated at £20 billion. [HL63]

On 15 March 2004 the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit published the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England, which contains 41 recommendations. Each recommendation includes a date for completion. The Home Office and the Department of Health in partnership with other stakeholders are working together to deliver those recommendations in the strategy.In addition, the White Paper

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether all strategic health authorities have now (a) identified those incorrectly charged for continuing care; and (b) reviewed their continuing care arrangements, following the Health Ombudsman's report, published in February 2003. [HL73]

At the end of March 2004 over 10,000 people had requested a review of an original decision not to provide fully funded National Health Service continuing care. At the end of July, more than 85 per cent of these reviews had been completed. The Department of Health has been working with all strategic health authorities with outstanding cases to ensure that the relevant procedures are in place to complete the backlog of pre-April cases and all subsequent cases as soon as possible.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of social workers have now (a) successfully registered or (b) sent in their applications to the General Social Care Council. [HL74]

The General Social Care Council (GSCC) has received an estimated 35,000 application forms as of 29 November 2004. This represents a substantial proportion of the estimated 40,000 social workers in front-line practice. Further forms are expected before the GSCC's cut-off date for receiving applications and data on the number of applications received by 1 December will be available shortly after.Accurate data on the number of people in social work positions are yet not available as such data have not been routinely collected for all sectors in which social workers are based. One purpose of the register is to provide that information for workforce planning and other purposes.5,379 social workers have been registered to date. The rate of registration is expected to increase significantly after 1 December 2004 when new simplified processes take effect. The GSCC has plans in place to process all applications to register by 1 April 2005 when protection of the title "social worker" comes into force.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How widely the drug Aimspro is available in the National Health Service to treat sufferers of multiple sclerosis. [HL75]

The treatment Aimspro is not licensed for use in the United Kingdom and, therefore, will not be widely available in the National Health Service. A specialist neurologist who wished to prescribe the treatment on a named-patient basis would need to agree funding with the appropriate primary care organisation and make a special arrangement with the manufacturer.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the absolute number, and rate per population, of abortions performed on those under 16 years of age for each of the past 10 years; and what are the equivalent figures for 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 year-olds. [HL81]

The available information is contained in the annual Office for National Statistics publication, Abortion Statistics, series AB; Office for National Statistics, Department of Health, Statistical Bulletin 2003/23, and Statistical Bulletin 2004/14, copies of which are available in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answers by the Lord Warner on 18 November (

Expressions of interest for the supply of vaccinia immunoglobulin (VIG) are due to be received by 6 December. These will then be reviewed and selected suppliers will be invited to submit tenders. Information about how much VIG can be produced and the timescale for its supply will become apparent only at the tender evaluation stage. A decision on the quantity to be purchased will then be made.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the current total average cost to the National Health Service of providing a digital hearing aid for the whole of the patient journey, including the initial referral, assessment, fitting and aftercare, in addition to the cost of the unit. [HL140]

The information requested is riot held centrally.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of the delay in announcing the revenue support settlement for local authorities until the second week of December, they will suspend the requirements of the Education Act 2002 to declare school budgets by 31 December. [HL24]

No. The deadline of 31 December 2004 for local education authorities to notify their proposed schools budget for 2005–06 is fixed in primary legislation and cannot be suspended or amended. We are conscious that authorities' members and officers, and local consultation arrangements, will be put under pressure by the announcement of the local government finance settlement on 2 December, and the department wrote to authorities on 25 November asking them to ensure that their decision-taking processes were reviewed to cope with the relatively compressed timescale. We are confident that local education authorities will be able to notify their school budgets in good time, and we look forward to full passporting of the increase in schools funding into school budgets.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What the impact of the proposed Gambling Bill will be on charitable giving and the National Lottery. [HL108]

The Government do not consider that the Gambling Bill should have any appreciable impact on charitable giving. So far as the National Lottery is concerned, the position remains as set out in paragraph 5.11 of A Safe Bet for Success, laid before Parliament as Cm 5397.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Statement by the Minister of State for Transport on 15 November (HC Deb, 68–69 WS), announcing the movement of Eurostar's maintenance depot to Temple Mills, whether they now have plans for the disposal of the North Pole depot sites; and whether it is envisaged that part of the sites could be used as a rail freight terminal. [HL21]

Assessment of options for the future use of the North Pole international maintenance depot and site will begin once the timing of Eurostar's relocation to new maintenance facilities at Temple Mills becomes clear.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why the recently announced Eurostar maintenance facility will cost £402 million, given that the recently constructed Thames Trains maintenance facility at Bedford cost £12 million and that for Virgin Trains near Birmingham cost £45 million. [HL22]

This is a maximum figure, which includes land acquisition and relocation costs, the construction of an access spur from Stratford International to Temple Mills, infrastructure modifications, design, procurement and project management costs. The construction cost of the depot building itself is less than half of the sum. The Temple Mills building is over 10 times the size of the Bedford depot because Eurostar trains are much longer than domestic rolling stock and because of the intensive maintenance regime required for these complex highspeed trains. The depot will also need to house specialist equipment which is required to maintain the multiple electrical and signalling systems installed on the trains.The cost will be offset by operational efficiencies, avoiding works that would otherwise be required on the North London Line, and the value of Waterloo International Terminal and North Pole international depot asset as they become available for alternative use.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many reported suicides on the railways of England and Wales there have been in each of the past 10 years. [HL38]

The number of reported suicides for each of the past 10 years is set out in the table below and is taken from the Health and Safety Executive's annual rail safety reports, copies of which are in the Libraries of the House. The data are based on HM Coroners' reports. The data cover all railways, including Network Rail, London Underground and heritage railways.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How they will respond to the call by the National Parking Adjudication Service in its annual report that high-performing councils should not be able to widen the ring fence of their parking accounts to enable surpluses to be used for other council projects under the Traffic Management Act 2004 until they meet a set of standards for civil traffic enforcement. [HL52]

We do not intend to alter our policy announced in the local government White Paper Strong Local Leadership Quality Public Services (Cm5237) to give local authorities greater freedom to set spending priorities. Section 95 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 (application of surplus income from parking places) was commenced on 4 October 2004 so that all authorities can now spend surplus income on local environmental improvements, as well as provision of public passenger transport service and road improvements. We intend to make regulations in 2005 giving prescribed local authorities the freedom to spend surplus income for any purpose for which they may lawfully incur expenditure.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to ensure that local government ombudsmen are consulted on the enforcement and appeals regulations of the Traffic Management Act 2004 which are currently being drafted. [HL53]

We shall consult widely on draft regulations, including with the local government ombudsman.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What consideration they are giving to calls by the National Parking Adjunction Service to provide them with an express power in regulations made under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to refer appropriate cases back to councils for reconsideration. [HL57]

Section 80(3) of the Traffic Management Act 2004 enables regulations to be made providing that mitigating circumstances are a ground for appeal and that on such an appeal the adjudicator can decide whether or not to refer the matter back to the enforcement authority for reconsideration. It is the intention that such provision will be included in regulations to be made under the Act.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What assessment they have made of the effects of the congestion charge in central London on parking levels and parking revenue; and whether they will make that assessment available. [HL54]

The central London congestion charge is the responsibility of the Mayor for London. The Government have made no assessment of its impact on parking levels and income.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will undertake research into council traffic enforcement and the operations of private sector contractors; and whether they will publish a report of their findings. [HL55]

The British Parking Association has commissioned an independent review of decriminalised parking enforcement. We do not plan to undertake any separate research into these matters but hope to work with them on this review. It is expected that the findings of the review will inform the preparation of statutory guidance to local authorities under Section 87 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 in connection with the civil enforcement of traffic contraventions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will provide local councils with further funds to cover the duties placed on them by the Traffic Management Act 2004. [HL56]

The Government consider that the Traffic Management Act 2004, overall, should be cost neutral for local authorities, taking account of the opportunities to recover some costs through the provisions of the Act, and the scope to use existing resources in new ways.