asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many war pension claims have been made by ex-service men and women since 1987; whether in any case a claim has been judged to be fraudulent; and how this compares with claims in other sectors of public service. [HL5319]

From April 1987 to March 2007, 1.1 million claims ⁽¹⁾ have been made. Records of the number of fraudulent claims are not available as these records are destroyed 18 months after they have been closed, in line with data protection policies. However, two cases have been found to be fraudulent in the past 18 months and a number of other cases are currently being investigated. It is not possible to make a comparison with other sectors of public service.

⁽¹⁾ This figure includes all first claims to pension, deterioration and further condition claims, supplementary allowances, treatment claims, and war widow/widowers’ claims.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What assessment they have made of the extent of distress caused by subjecting disabled ex-service personnel making war pension claims to covert surveillance. [HL5404]

The investigative strategy is appropriate and proportionate taking into account the known physical and mental health of the suspect of the allegation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What cost-benefit analysis they have made of the practice of subjecting war pension claimants to covert surveillance; and how any such analysis was conducted. [HL5407]

The Ministry of Defence is obliged to conduct appropriate investigations into allegations of fraudulent use of public funds. An investigation will be considered only if specific evidence in an allegation casts doubt on entitlement to the pension or allowance in payment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will exercise the power granted in Section 27(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981 to remedy any anomalies created by Section 2(2) of the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990 which render a newborn infant stateless, where save for the provision of Section 2(2) of the 1990 Act, the infant would have become a British Overseas citizen under Article 6(2) of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986 or have had a claim to registration under Article 6(3) of the 1986 order. [HL5551]

Section 2(2) of the 1990 Act has not been brought into force and, consequently, no anomalies have been created by it.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will exercise the power granted in Section 27(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981 to give effect to the commitment made by Home Office Minister Lady Young to Lord Avebury during the passage of the Hong Kong Bill in 1985 that no former Hong Kong British Dependent Territories citizen or any child born after 1 July 1997 to such person should be made stateless and that there would be an avenue for the continuation of a form of British nationality to the persons concerned until approximately the middle of the next century. [HL5552]

The power in Section 27(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981 to register any minor as a British Overseas citizen has not been exercised in these cases.

However, effect was given to the commitment made by Lady Young by Article 6 of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986, which provides for the acquisition of British Overseas citizenship by former Hong Kong British Dependent Territories citizens and their descendants in circumstances where they would otherwise be stateless. This came into force on 1 July 1987.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Which office buildings, encompassing how much office space, are used by the Government Office for London; how many employees the office has; and what is the total annual cost of the office. [HL5537]

The Government Office for London currently occupies 4105.08 square metres of office space of Riverwalk House, Millbank. The total staff in post was 253, as of September 2007. Current running cost allocation for 2007-08 is £16,305,340.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much time elapsed between the announcement of the recent ministerial changes and publication by the Cabinet Office of the list of ministerial responsibilities; and what was the reason for the delay; and [HL5248]

Whether they will provide a monthly updated electronic list of ministerial responsibilities; and [HL5249]

What was the reason for the delay in publishing the list of ministerial responsibilities, updated to include the changes made before the Summer Recess. [HL5403]

The new list of ministerial responsibilities has been published today. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and are also available in the Printed Paper Office for noble Lords. I enclose a copy of the new list for the noble Lord's ease of reference. The list will be updated as necessary.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they are reviewing building regulations for new houses built on sites with a higher than average risk of flooding; and, if so, when they will publish the results of such a review. [HL5439]

Consideration of the need to bring various aspects of flood resilience into building regulation and the most appropriate time to do this will need to take account of Sir Michael Pitt's independent review of the effects of the summer floods and lessons learnt. That is the point at which we will be able to judge the need for a formal review on this issue and identify next steps.

Meanwhile, we have produced guidance on flood-resilient and flood-resistant construction. This guidance was published on 15 May and contains a great deal of information, which serves as interim guidance on this issue.

It is important to remember that the first stage of ensuring that new development takes flooding into consideration is through the planning process. Official guidance is set out in planning policy statement 25, Development and Flood Risk, published in December 2006.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What sustainability rating the new homes built in the London Gateway development will be required to achieve; and whether this will apply equally to private and social housing. [HL5494]

There are no special arrangements for private homes completed in the London Thames Gateway but all new homes must meet the energy efficiency standards set out in Part L of the building regulations.

On 29 March 2007, the Department for Communities and Local Government published a “forward look” paper setting out its intention to increase the energy efficiency standards of new homes above 2006 levels by 25 per cent in 2010, 44 per cent in 2013 and for all new homes to be zero carbon by 2016. The DCLG is also working with key stakeholders to bring forward regulations for minimum standards of water efficiency in new homes.

Since April 2007, all new homes, both private and affordable, can be rated against the code for sustainable homes. The code is a voluntary sustainability assessment and rating system. Ratings range from one star (above building regulations) to six stars (a zero-carbon home). A code rating certificate provides valuable information to home buyers and offers developers a tool with which to market themselves in sustainability terms.

The Housing Corporation sets the standards for affordable housing in England funded under the National Affordable Housing Programme (NAHP), and requires all new housing funded under the 2008-11 NAHP bid round to comply with level 3 of the code. Furthermore, during the bid assessment process for the 2008-11 NAHP competition, the Housing Corporation's grant index tool will enhance the value of bids which commit to achieving level 4 or above.

All projects funded by English Partnerships must meet level 3 of the code for sustainable homes. English Partnerships also has quality and price standards, which include a section on sustainability, which are mandatory for all projects that it funds. These standards are in the process of being revised and the new standards will be published later this year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they intend to extend the definition of a key worker to include categories defined as key workers in local areas. [HL5554]

The aim of the key worker living programme is to help alleviate the recruitment and retention problems that are being experienced in our front-line public sector services of health, education and community safety, in areas where there is evidence that these problems are linked to the high cost of housing.

However, in recognition of the fact that regional recruitment and retention problems in the public sector are different, since April 2006, regional assemblies (formerly regional housing boards) have been able to recommend other priority groups for assistance through the Government's low-cost home-ownership scheme. This is alongside key workers, social tenants and those in priority need on the housing register.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Who authorised the closure and reopening of the A12 trunk road at Marks Tey between 5 and 9 October; what were the closing and reopening times of each of the two carriageways; why the main rail line between London and Colchester was closed and for how long; and whether the delays and costs concerned were justified by the risk from one acetylene cylinder contained in an Essex Fire Brigade van which caught fire. [HL5538]

The A12 trunk road (both north and south carriageways) at Marks Tey in Essex was closed by Essex Police at 0930 hours on 5 October 2007. This road was fully reopened by Essex Police at 1022 hours on 6 October 2007.

At 1015 hours Essex County Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that a 200-metre hazard zone had been established around the van that was on fire. The main rail line between London and Colchester was within this hazard zone, hence the necessity to close the railway line. A request was made to Network Rail by Essex County Fire and Rescue Service to close this line at 1010 hours on 5 October 2007. The railway line was reopened at 1829 hours on 5 October 2007.

At 1829 hours on 5 October 2007, Essex Police in conjunction with Essex County Fire and Rescue Service agreed to reduce the hazard zone to allow the reopening of the main railway line and also the northbound carriageway of the A12 trunk road.

Due to the unique properties of acetylene, even after a fire has been extinguished. acetylene may continue to self-heat; this poses a significant risk with a potential risk of a catastrophic explosion. With this in mind, the current national recognised safe system of work is for the inclusion of a 200-metre hazard zone at fires which involve acetylene cylinders. This is to ensure that the safety of emergency crews and members of the public is maintained as a priority.

After 24 hours of water cooling to the affected cylinder, at 1022 hours on 6 October 2007, the vehicle was removed and the southbound carriageway of the A12 was reopened by Essex Police.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 5 July (WA 190), how many of the figures quoted in the table relate to accidents on rural roads. [HL5517]

The information requested is given in the table: