asked Her Majesty's Government:What action they are taking to combat food insecurity in Afghanistan. [HL19]

DfID is funding a project aimed at identifying areas of food insecurity in Afghanistan, and the causes for this. This information will be vital to the Afghan Government and donors in tackling food insecurity and ensuring appropriate targeting of assistance in the future.DfID programmes which support improvements in rural livelihoods are helping farmers to try out new crops and agricultural methods. This will assist in improving yields and producing healthier crops, giving farmers sufficient food to feed their own families, as well as have a surplus available for sale.This year DfID has committed £2.5 million and £0.5 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration respectively for their assistance to refugees and internally displaced people, as well as making a contribution of £3 million to the joint Afghan Government and UN appeal for areas in the south and west affected by drought.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much money they have spent on direct aid to alleviate the situation in Iraq since 1 January 2003. [HL37]

DfID has disbursed over £251 million for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Iraq since 1 January 2003, of which £88 million has been spent on bilateral aid, £84 million channelled through the United Nations for its 2003 humanitarian appeal, £70 million through the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI), and £9 million to other multilateral institutions.More information about DfID's programme in Iraq can be found at

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether an official estimate has been made of the scale of Iraqi civilian casualties caused directly by the action of coalition forces during and since the invasion; and, if there has been no such estimate, what are the reasons for this. [HL100]

I refer the noble Lord to my Written Statement on this subject of 17 November (Official Report, col. WS61-WS64).

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they had any communication on or after 23 November with the Government of Zimbabwe or the England and Wales Cricket Board about the decision to refuse access to the British Broadcasting Corporation and other British sports journalists to the planned England versus Zimbabwe cricket series; and, if so, what action was taken. [HL124]

Officials in London and our Embassy in Harare were in close touch with the England and Wales Cricket Board throughout.On news of the banning of several UK journalists accompanying the England team, my honourable friend the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Denis MacShane) summoned the Zimbabwean Chargé d' Affairs on 24 November, to convey our strong concern about this attack on press freedom. Our Embassy in Harare also made representations to the Zimbabwean authorities.The Zimbabwean authorities have now decided to accredit the UK journalists. We remain greatly concerned at the broader restrictions on a free media in Zimbabwe.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of the cost of defence projects should be allocated to de-risking in the early stages of projects in order to comply with best practice; and whether sufficient funds are made available for this purpose on a case-by-case basis. [HL6]

Integrated project teams (IPT's) take appropriate measures to de-risk their projects prior to the main gate investment decision to provide confidence that the project will deliver within proposed performance, time and cost boundaries. The cost and time required adequately to de-risk a project are dependent on a number of factors including its complexity and the initial maturity of the component technologies. Departmental guidance suggests that up to 15 per cent may be spent to de-risk the project but this is not interpreted as a target. The amount budgeted for individual projects reflects the results of more detailed analysis on a case-by-case basis.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress they have made in defining and developing the role of senior responsible owner in respect of defence capabilities and projects. [HL9]

The Ministry of Defence follows Office of Government Commerce best practice and guidance. In addition, we are currently developing draft senior responsible owner guidance for use throughout defence. Our guidance will cover the "need", "purpose", "accountability", "appointment" and "selection/ development/training" of senior responsible owners in defence.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What resources are being made available to designated senior responsible owners within the Ministry of Defence to ensure that they can effectively participate in the direct managerial and budgetary control of the projects which they own and for which they are responsible. [HL10]

Appropriate resources are made available to senior responsible owners (SROs) to enable them to deliver the programme and benefits for which they are responsible. SROs do not require direct managerial budgetary control for their programmes because their role is to provide a single clear focus of accountability. Ultimately, an SRO acts with the full authority of, and on behalf of, the defence management board and is therefore fully empowered in order that he or she can deliver the programme and its benefits. Management of work within the individual TLB area or in each line of development remains the responsibility of the top-level budget holders, who are of course, also accountable to the defence management board.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their policy with regard to developing, in respect of major defence procurement projects, "trade-offs" between: (a) meeting user requirements and containing or preventing cost and time over-runs; and (b) providing the Armed Forces with equipment which is satisfactory on coming into service. [HL11]

The department's policy is to encourage and empower integrated project teams (IPTs) with their clients to make trade-off decisions to balance performance, time and cost in order to maximise military value. IPTs implement trade-offs in concert with their equipment capability customer and other stakeholders, including representatives of the end user.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much money they have spent on military intervention in Iraq since 1 January 2003. [HL36]

The costs of operations are calculated on a net additional basis. Audited figures for operations in Iraq are published each year in the MoD's annual report and accounts. Costs for 2002–03 and 2003–04 were:

2002–03
Operations in Iraq	£629 million
Expenditure on Capital equipment	£218 million
Total	£847 million

2003–04
Operations in Iraq	£1,051 million
Expenditure on Capital equipment	£260 million
Total	£1,311 million

It is too early to provide a firm estimate of costs in 2004–05, but we will seek parliamentary approval for this expenditure in due course.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the procedure for taking account of the interests of government departments other than the Ministry of Defence in a government-wide defence industrial policy is calculated to ensure that the concerns and interests of the Armed Forces are not subordinated to the interests of other government departments. [HL135]

The Government's defence industrial policy is driven by the need to provide the Armed Forces with the equipment which they require, on time, and at best value for money for the taxpayer. It also seeks to maximise the benefits to the UK from our defence expenditure. In order to fully understand these factors in any decision we seek the views of a broad range of stakeholders including other government departments. The specific factors involved in each decision are considered on a case by case basis.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to remedy the training issues for the Army recently identified and reported by Brigadier Mungo Melvin. [HL174]

The recent third Directorate of Operational Capability (DOC) report acknowledged the progress made, since the two earlier DOC reviews, in improving the management and care of young people in initial training. The report did, however, highlight areas for further work. These are already being addressed in an action plan drawn up by Army Training and Recruiting Agency (ATRA), which will be subject to regular monitoring. To ensure independent external assessment of the initial training system, the department has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI). The MoU enables the introduction of independent inspection, reinspection and oversight of the defence learning provision. A programme of inspection will be undertaken on an annual basis and reports will be published, thus enabling training to be benchmarked against appropriate national standards.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they are likely to reach a defined and agreed working project plan on the design of the future carrier (CVF) project to allow a firm tender to be received. [HL178]

As my right honourable friend the Secretary of State announced in another place on 30 January 2003, (Official Report col. 1026–1038) the best means of delivering the carrier programme is via an alliance approach involving BAE Systems, Thales UK and the Ministry of Defence. As part of the project's ongoing assessment phase, work is being undertaken to develop the comprehensive plan for the CVF programme. This will be confirmed when we take the main investment decision for demonstration and manufacture, planned for 2005.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many medical discharges have been refused for servicemen and women claiming to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. [HL208]

Service personnel cannot themselves request medical discharge. If personnel feel in psychological distress they are advised to approach their medical officer, padre or commander who will ensure that they are referred for diagnosis and, where appropriate, treatment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether detailed plans have been made to set up floating security barriers in Royal Navy bases to protect ships that are alongside from a seaborne terrorist attack. [HL269]

Security practices and procedures in place at all three HM naval bases are subject to regular review and are adjusted or enhanced according to assessed threats. It is not Ministry of Defence policy to comment on specific security measures and I am therefore withholding information about details under Exemption 1 (Defence, security and international relations) of the Code of Practice on access to Government Information.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they anticipate announcing an in-service date for the modernised target acquisition and designation sight/pilot night vision sensor (Arrowhead). [HL270]

The modernised target acquisition and designation sight/pilot night vision sensor has a planned in-service date of December 2008.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether plans have been made to upgrade the existing target acquisition night vision sensor system before the modernised system becomes operational, in view of the sensitivity of the present system to climate and moisture. [HL271]

Negotiations are currently taking place with Westland Helicopters Ltd for a contract to upgrade the current target acquisition and designation sight/pilots night vision sensor. Prior to this, three minor modifications (all drive motors within the turrets) will be introduced which seek to improve parts of the system which are less reliable as a result of water and moisture ingress.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the estimated average percentage increase in council tax for the next financial year in England and Wales for (a) county councils; (b) unitary authorities; (c) district councils; (d) police authorities; and (e) fire authorities; whether there are any variations in this estimate between H M Treasury and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; and, if so, why. [HL111]

The level at which authorities set their council tax in 2005–06 is primarily a matter for individual councils. The Government have recently announced the provisional local government finance settlement for 2005–06 which provides another very good settlement for local government. It provides for an increase in total support from government grant and business rates in 2005–06 of £3.5 billion, or 6.2 per cent and guarantees an above-inflation increase for all authorities.Given this substantial investment in local government, the Government expect to see substantially lower council tax increases next year. Average council tax increase in England in 2005–06 should be less than 5 per cent. This applies to all authorities, including police and fire authorities. The Government are prepared to take even tougher capping action next year than we did in 2004–05.The Government consider locally financed expenditure as part of the Budget, which includes assumptions about increases in yield from council tax, but also includes a number of other elements such as interest receipts, trading receipts and the housing revenue account.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the anticipated cost of the review recently commissioned by the Food Standards Agency of its own performance; and why the agency felt it appropriate to commission such a review given that the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee recently reported on these matters. [HL133]

The board of the Food Standards Agency has commissioned an external, independent review to assess whether the agency has delivered its published objectives and, in doing so, has operated in accordance with its key values; to assess the extent to which the agency operates effectively as a United Kingdom-wide body in a devolved policy area; and to appraise how the agency is viewed by its stakeholders. The terms of reference of the review allow my noble friend Lady Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde, as the independent reviewer, to investigate the performance of the agency in any of its functions, and to draw on any relevant evidence in so doing. The anticipated cost of the review of the FSA is £15,000 to £25,000.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will respond to the rising numbers of children deemed "at risk" by increasing funding to local authorities. [HL25]

The statistical release relating to referrals, assessments and children and young people on child protection registers for the year ending 31 March 2004 was published last month. The release provides summary information that has been derived from statistical data reported by the 150 local authorities in England. All numbers are rounded to the nearest 100.The data do not point to an increase of numbers of children on child protection registers. There were 26,300 children on child protection registers at 31 March 2004, 1 per cent fewer than a year earlier and 25 per cent fewer than in 1994.The local authority social services letter (2003)7

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will confirm VisitBritain's claim, in its 2003–04 annual report, that by 2010 business visitors to Britain may represent 45 per cent of total inbound tourism spending; and what they will do to help VisitBritain to encourage this spending. [HL223]

The percentage given in VisitBritain's annual report represented its own assessment of the potential of the business tourism sector up to 2010. Although VisitBritain acknowledges that the actual outturn could be lower, the report makes the importance of inbound business tourism expenditure very clear. As such, VisitBritain is working to help attract important international business events to Britain as part of its wider marketing activities. This work includes the provision of better information on Britain's business destinations, the joint hosting of events with commercial exhibition and conference companies, and the co-ordination of a British presence at major international business shows.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will increase funding to VisitBritain beyond the £8 million currently ring-fenced for the European short breaks initiative; the first England marketing campaign; and the targeting of potential inbound visitors to Britain in established markets and new markets. [HL225]

This year's grant-in-aid of £48.4 million to VisitBritain is not ring-fenced beyond the designation of £35.5 million for promoting Britain overseas and £12.9 million to lead domestic marketing in England. VisitBritain itself decided to devote £4 million to its European short breaks campaign and £4 million to the first England marketing campaign, Enjoy England.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many applications nationwide the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs anticipates receiving for the entry-level stewardship scheme; and whether it is confident that these applications can be assessed quickly. [HL207]

Subject to European Commission approval of the scheme, our intention is to launch the Environmental Stewardship Scheme next spring. In the first 12 months of operation we anticipate that we will receive around 40,000 applications to join the entry level strand of the scheme. The scheme will be delivered by the Rural Development Service and be supported by a new computer system. The RDS is confident that its planning and preparation, which has included organisational restructuring to enhance levels of customer service, will enable it to respond to the anticipated demand for entry level stewardship efficiently.