asked Her Majesty's Government:On what occasions the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has written to the Prime Minister, the Lord Chancellor or any other law officer questioning, or objecting to, the outcome of a court judgment in which her office was involved; and what the circumstances were in each case. [HL896]

The Police Ombudsman has advised that her office has not written to the Prime Minister, the Lord Chancellor or any other law officer questioning or objecting to the outcome of a court judgment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many applications to the large grants programme of the Community Fund or the "Grants for All" lottery scheme have been rejected on similar Grounds to those of the Bowland and Pennine Mountain Rescue Team and the Severn Area Rescue Association. [HL996]

The demand for lottery funding greatly exceeds supply and overall around 64 per cent of applications to the Big Lottery Fund are unsuccessful.By way of comparison 61 per cent of applications from mountain rescue bodies and rescue associations have been unsuccessful. There are various reasons why applications are not successful. In the case of the Community Fund's large grants programme around 5 per cent of applications fall outside the programme aims. In the case of Awards for All around 23 per cent of unsuccessful applications fail because other applications are given a higher priority for the limited funds available. Reasons for having a lower priority include a higher than average annual income or the applicant having already received one or more Awards for All grants.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why Mr Brian McTaggart was relieved of the post of director of Waterways Ireland. [HL517]

It would be inappropriate to discuss the detail of an individual personnel issue. Mr McTaggart was on secondment to Waterways Ireland. His period of secondment ended and he returned to his parent department.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the statement made by the British Ambassador to Sudan, on 27 April 2004, welcoming the deepening and extension of commercial and trading opportunities with the Government of Sudan, accurately represents their policy. [HL773]

We fully support comments made by our British Ambassador to Sudan at Her Majesty the Queen's birthday party on 27 April 2004.As he made clear, the UK is committed to helping the Sudanese achieve a sustainable peace in Sudan, which will open the way for a reduction in poverty, better education and health facilities and Sudan's eventual and progressive re-integration into the international community, including commerce and trade links.However, as the ambassador also made clear, the signing of the peace agreement is only the start of the peace process. Implementing the agreement will be hard work. We have repeatedly made clear to the Government of Sudan that we stand ready to support them in this, but full development assistance must be dependent upon substantial progress on Darfur.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What recent discussions they have had with the Six Nation Contact Group regarding the status of Kosovo; and [HL970]What progress has been made by the Government of Kosovo towards the development of democracy, good governance and human rights in Kosovo; and [HL971]What recent representations they have received from the Government of Serbia-Montenegro regarding the forthcoming negotiations on the final status of Kosovo. [HL972]

Kosovo will be a key issue for the international community in 2005. The UK's objective remains to find a solution to Kosovo's final status which will reinforce regional stability and be consistent with the principle of multi-ethnicity.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will raise with the European Union Commission in connection with the accession negotiations with Turkey:

Although three non-Muslim minorities (Armenians, Greeks and Jews) are recognised in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, Turkey does not formally recognise its minority communities under its constitution. Rather, the constitution is designed to afford the same protection, in terms of civil and political rights, to all its citizens—as citizens of Turkey.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will raise with the European Union Commission in connection with the accession negotiations with Turkey the use of the Kurdish language in the state education system where parents and pupils request it. [HL975]

The Turkish Government's programme of European Union (EU) harmonisation reforms has significantly extended the cultural rights of the Kurds in Turkey. The European Commission 2004 progress report acknowledges that "despite the progress that has been made, there are still considerable restrictions on the exercise of cultural rights, including in the areas of broadcasting and education". The UK will continue to raise with the Turkish authorities the need for these restrictions to be lifted. We regularly discuss human rights issues including minority language education with our EU partners and the European Commission, and are confident that all remaining concerns will be resolved during accession negotiations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will raise with the European Union Commission, in connection with the accession negotiations with Turkey, the case for an amnesty for former combatants willing to live non-violently, so as to permit the return of exiles, including former Members of Parliament. [HL976]

In all situations of conflict the UK supports efforts to seek a resolution based on a conciliatory approach. We welcomed the Turkish Government's partial amnesty to former combatants which expired in February 2004, and would welcome any future similar initiative. However, the national security of Turkey remains a sovereign matter for the Turkish Government, and should not be tied to the accession process.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will raise with the European Union Commission, in connection with the accession negotiations with Turkey, certain current restrictions, including landmines, which prevent owners and occupiers from returning to villages in south-east Turkey destroyed or depopulated since 1984. [HL977]

The European Commission is aware of the restrictions that currently prevent internally displaced persons (IDPs) from returning to villages in south-east Turkey. The Commission's 2004 progress report on Turkey notes that "the major outstanding obstacles preventing IDPs from returning to their villages are the government sponsored village guard system; the problem of landmines; the absence of basic infrastructure; and the lack of capital and employment opportunities". However, the report also notes that "Turkey has begun a dialogue with international organisations with a view to addressing the weaknesses of the 'Return to Village and Rehabilitation Programme"'. We are in regular contact with the Commission on a range of human rights issues including village return, and remain confident that all remaining concerns will be resolved during accession negotiations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will raise with the Government of Turkey:

The current political parties law forbids the political use of languages other than Turkish in either written material or public speeches. Under this law charges have been brought against a number of individuals. The European Commission 2004 progress report on Turkey states that "several provisions of the law fall short of European standards".The Turkish Government passed a new press law in June 2004 that is widely regarded as a great improvement on its predecessor. Significantly, it includes European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) provisions governing the freedom of the press, introduces fines where prison sentences had previously existed, and removes restrictions introduced after the 1980 coup. However, there are a few remaining concerns. The European Commission 2004 progress report on Turkey states that "despite a decrease in sanctions in the new law, fines still constitute an excessive burden, especially on local media".We will continue to raise freedom of expression and freedom of the press with the Turkish Government. Affirmation in the Turkish constitution that international human rights agreements take precedence over domestic law now means that Turkey is bound to the provisions of Article 10 of the ECHR on freedom of expression.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will raise with the Government of Turkey the case for establishing mechanisms for verifying the implementation of legislation already passed or proposed in connection with European Union accession. [HL979]

The European Commission is responsible for ensuring the full implementation of reforms in connection with European Union (EU) accession and will continue to report on this annually to the European Council.The Turkish Government have set up a number of bodies and mechanisms to address the implementation of EU harmonisation reforms, including, in September 2003, the Reform Monitoring Group which played a key role in facilitating the start of private language education and broadcasting in Kurdish. As a result, implementation is improving, but more remains to be done to ensure the full and consistent application of the reforms passed. The UK will continue to urge the Turkish Government to do everything possible to improve implementation, and in support of their efforts, recently co-funded with the Ministry of Justice a programme to train over 8,000 judges and prosecutors in human rights and European law.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make representations to the Government of Turkey on the recent decision to close the education trades union, Egitim Sen. [HL1015]

Officials from the British Embassy in Ankara are monitoring developments in this case. An embassy official attended the first hearing of the re-trial in December 2004. The next hearing takes place on 21 February. Following constitutional amendments in Turkey in May 2004, European Convention on Human Rights provisions now take precedence over domestic law. The UK Government continue to monitor and raise cases with the Turkish authorities where we are concerned that this new legislation is not being implemented.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many states are party to the 1951 United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees. [HL1000]

As at 1 February 2005 there were 142 states parties to the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees. I have placed a document detailing the states parties in the Library of the House. Of the states that are not party to the 1951 convention, three (Cape Verde, United States of America and Venezuela) are none the less party to its 1967 protocol, which removed geographical and temporal restrictions from the convention.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What assessment they have made of the value of international monitors and observers in Israel and Palestine, both during and after elections; what assistance they have given to British and European monitors; and whether this aspect of conflict resolution will be discussed at the forthcoming conference in London. [HL1036]

The European Union sent a substantial monitoring team to the Palestinian presidential election on 9 January led by former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard. In addition, the UK Government provided financial and practical assistance to a cross-party group of four Members of Parliament to observe the election. I would like to thank the international monitors and observers, who played an invaluable part in ensuring that this was free and fair.The agenda for the London meeting on 1 March has not yet been finalised, and will in any case depend on what the Palestinian and other delegates wish to discuss. However, we expect it to focus on helping the Palestinians develop their institutions in preparation for a future viable and contiguous Palestinian state, living with a secure Israel, which is the ultimate goal of the road map.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make representations to the Government of Israel about; (a) the planned expansion of existing settlements in the West Bank such as Ariel and Ma'ale Adumim in contravention of the road map; and (b) the current expansion of settlements inside the 1967 border such as Zufim near Jayyous. [HL1037]

My right honourable friends the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and I have all made clear to the Israeli Government our view that settlements are illegal under international law. The road map requires that Israel freeze settlement expansion and dismantle outposts erected since March 2001. We will continue to monitor the situation and to raise our concerns about settlement expansion.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why they have not ratified the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (the Vienna Sales Convention) which came into force on 1 January 1988. [HL743]

Primary legislation will be needed to implement the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The United Kingdom intends to ratify the convention, subject to the availability of parliamentary time. There have been delays in the past for a number of reasons, but we propose to issue a consultation document in the course of the next few months to examine the available options.

asked Her Majesty's Government:For each principal local authority in England what is:

The requested figures for English local authorities have been made available in the Library of the House.Information concerning any contractual commitments identified against balances is not held centrally, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the current performance of their systems to accept income tax returns filed online is satisfactory; and whether they are prepared to extend the filing deadlines for those taxpayers who have been unable to file their returns online due to unavailability of the Inland Revenue's facilities. [HL1021]

The Inland Revenue is generally satisfied with the performance of its systems to accept tax returns filed online. Some 1,599,364 SA returns have been filed online in the period 1 April 2004 to 31 January 2005.There was a problem over the weekend of 29 and 30 January 2005 which caused a delay in sending back responses to tell customers whether their return had been accepted or not. The Inland Revenue recognises that if a return was not accepted because of errors in it, customers may not have had time to correct and resubmit it before the 31 January deadline. The Inland Revenue holds a complete record of all returns sent online over the weekend and if any of those not accepted are re-submitted within 14 days of the date of the "not accepted" message they will waive any late filing penalty.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they intend to use audited accounts which have been drawn up in accordance with international financial reporting standards as the basis for assessing corporation tax. [HL1061]

Yes. Legislation was enacted in the Finance Act 2004 which permits accounts prepared in accordance with international accounting standards (IAS) to be used for UK tax purposes. The legislation takes effect for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2005.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of the amount of medical research undertaken by charities, they will consider making VAT recoverable on fundraising and recruitment by such charities. [HL1065]

Since 1997, the Government have considered the issue of charities' irrecoverable VAT in two major reviews. We have decided that it would not be an affordable or efficient use of public resources to reimburse all 250,000 charitable bodies the VAT they incur; and also that there is no fair and principled basis on which we could decide that some charities would be reimbursed their VAT and some would not.Instead, we believe that help for charities is more effectively deployed through other government measures that are currently worth some £3.3 billion per year to the voluntary and community sector, including tax reliefs worth some £2.4 billion per year; including for example VAT reliefs for many goods and services that charities purchase in connection with their fundraising and recruitment, such as advertising, appeal letters and envelopes, collection boxes, and lapel stickers and similar tokens for the collection of donations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 11 January

Expenditure shown in the annexe to the reply given to the noble Lord on 11 January (Official Report, cols. WA 57–58) related to scheme payments. No part of it, nor of the separate figures for the single payment scheme national ceilings in the footnote, related to administration expenditure.Details of RPA's scheme and administration expenditure for each of the last three financial years can be found in the agency's published accounts (publication numbers HC1197 for 2001–02, HC940 for 2002–03 and HC1009 for 2003–04).

asked Her Majesty's Government:What reduction or increase in expenditure (expressed in euros) by the United Kingdom on the Common Agricultural Policy is expected from the change from the integrated administration and control system in 2003–04 to the single payment scheme in 2004–05. [HL695]

UK expenditure on payments in respect of the first scheme year (2005) of the single payment scheme (SPS) is expected to be around €3.7 billion, including an element for the decoupling of dairy premium. This amount compares with expenditure for the 2004 scheme year under the integrated administration and control system of €3.5 billion. The expected increase is therefore €0.2 billion, due primarily to the increasing rates for dairy premium. Expenditure on SPS in subsequent years will depend on a number of factors, including the potential effect of the EU's financial discipline measure.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the independent scientific group on bovine tuberculosis will begin its study; by when it has been asked to finalise its report; and whether that report will be placed in the public domain. [HL878]

The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG) began work on the randomised badger-culling trial in 1998. Analysis of the data collected as part of the trial is ongoing and the ISG have undertaken to notify Ministers of any significant findings, such as those identified in autumn 2003 in relation to the reactive trial areas, and which subsequently led to suspension of the reactive-culling element of the trial.The group has published three reports to date, summarising progress of the trial and associated research. A fourth report is expected shortly and copies will be made available in the Library of the House.The ISG has advised that trial operations should be complete in the first half of 2006 with final data analysis commencing shortly thereafter. A final report will be made public.The ISG, and the God fray Group which reviewed the RBCT in 2004, have recently been asked to consider the report of the four areas culling trial published in

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there is a mechanism for recording all known badger deaths in addition to road casualties. [HL1033]

There is no mechanism for recording all known badger deaths in addition to road casualties.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many comments to include land in the draft stage of the mapping consultation of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 were made by Miss Kate Ashbrook, either as a private individual, board member of the Countryside Agency or director of the Open Spaces Society, in area 5; how many parcels of land on which Miss Ashbrook commented were subsequently included in the provisional map; what was the total cost to the Countryside Agency in dealing with those parcels which subsequently did not appear in the provisional map; how many of those parcels were successfully appealed against; what was the total cost to the Planning Inspectorate and to the agency; in how many of these appeals costs were awarded against the agency; and what were these costs; and [HL1039]How many comments to include land in the draft stage of the mapping consultation of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 were made by Miss Kate Ashbrook, either as a private individual, board member of the Countryside Agency or director of the Open Spaces Society, in area 6; how many parcels of land on which Miss Ashbrook commented were subsequently included in the provisional map; what was the total cost to the Countryside Agency in dealing with those parcels which subsequently did not appear in the provisional map; how many of those parcels were successfully appealed against; what was the total cost to the Planning Inspectorate and to the agency; in how many of these appeals costs were awarded against the agency; and what were these costs; and [HL1040]How many comments to include land in the draft stage of the mapping consultation of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 were made by Miss Kate Ashbrook, either as a private individual, board member of the Countryside Agency or director of the Open Spaces Society, in area 7; how many parcels of land on which Miss Ashbrook commented were subsequently included in the provisional map; what was the total cost to the Countryside Agency in dealing with those parcels which subsequently did not appear in the provisional map; how many of those parcels were successfully appealed against; what was the total cost to the Planning Inspectorate and to the agency; in how many of these appeals costs were awarded against the agency; and what were these costs; and [HL1041]How many comments to include land in the draft stage of the mapping consultation of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 were made by Miss Kate Ashbrook, either as a private individual, board member of the Countryside Agency or director of the Open Spaces Society, in area 8; how many parcels of land on which Miss Ashbrook commented were subsequently included in the provisional map; what was the total cost to the Countryside Agency in dealing with those parcels which subsequently did not appear in the provisional map; how many of those parcels were successfully appealed against; what was the total cost to the Planning Inspectorate and to the agency; in how many of these appeals costs were awarded against the agency; and what were these costs. [HL1042]

Ms Ashbrook submitted no comments at the draft map stage for area 5 or area 8. Ms Ashbrook submitted comments as a private individual on 119 parcels in area 6. She did not make any comments as board member of the Countryside Agency or director of the Open Spaces Society. Some 88 parcels on which she commented were added to the provisional map. The total cost to the Countryside Agency in dealing with those parcels which subsequently did not appear on the provisional map was £1,550.

submitted comments as a private individual on 216 parcels in area 7. She did not make any comments as board member of the Countryside Agency or director of the Open Spaces Society. Some 18 parcels on which she commented were added to the provisional map. The total cost to the Countryside Agency in dealing with those parcels which subsequently did not appear on the provisional map was £9,900.Some 16 appeals in area 6 were made in respect of land which was added to the provisional map as a result of comments made by Ms Ashbrook alone or Ms Ashbrook and others. Eleven appeals have so far been determined and in three cases land will be removed from the map as a result of the appeal decision. The Countryside Agency estimates that the cost to it of these three appeals, which were all determined on the basis of written representations, was approximately £90 per appeal.Fifteen appeals in area 7 were made in respect of land which was added to the provisional map as a result of comments made by Ms Ashbrook alone or Ms Ashbrook and others. We cannot say how many of these appeals will be successful or what the cost will be to the Countryside Agency as none has yet been determined.Although the appeal work in areas 6 and 7 has not yet been completed, the Planning Inspectorate estimates, based on the costs of determining appeals in other areas, that the average cost to it of determining an appeal is £1,457.