asked Her Majesty's Government:

What funding they currently provide and intend to provide in the future to the national charity Citizens Advice. [HL5490]

HM Government provided Citizens Advice with £39.509 million in the last financial year (2006-07). This is about 85 per cent of its total income.

BERR provides Citizens Advice with an annual grant in aid on behalf of all Government. The 2006-07 figure was £21.47 million, and should remain the same for 2007-08. Citizens Advice also received another £18.039 million in government funding for specific projects. Also, £15.4 million is being provided by BERR over two years (2006-08) to fund face-to-face debt advice, helping tens of thousands of families to tackle debt. The remaining funding, including from the financial inclusion fund, comes mainly from other departments to fund such projects as the national homelessness project, veterans project, financial literacy, tax credit training, et cetera.

The final distribution of the CSR allocation for 2008-11 has not yet been finalised, so we are unable to say at present what figure will be allocated to Citizens Advice for 2008-09 or any other year in the future.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much has been invested in research and development in (a) the civil aerospace industry; and (b) the military aerospace industry for each of the last 10 years. [HL5332]

In the civil aerospace industry, repayable launch investment has been provided for product development, together with grants for research. The table below shows the launch investment payments to industry and the grant commitments made to industry in each of the past 10 years.

There have been two major schemes for delivery of DTI grant funding to research and technology projects in the aerospace industry: CARAD (Civil Aircraft Research and Demonstration, later also known as the aeronautics research programme), which ran from 1990 to March 2004, with a budget of about £20 million per year; and from April 2004, the technology programme, which was launched as the single vehicle for all DTI funding for research. The technology programme is now the responsibility of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and delivered through the Technology Strategy Board.

Launch investment is a risk-sharing government investment in the design and development of civil aerospace projects in the UK. It is repayable at a real rate of return, usually via levies on sales of the product. Although civil aerospace programmes have been beneficiaries of nearly £1 billion of government investment, as shown in the table, £1.4 billion has been repaid to the Government over the same period, with repayments continuing.

The latest figures available for Ministry of Defence expenditure on research and development for military aerospace—both combined and separately—are to be found in table 1.7 of chapter 1 of UK Defence Statistics 2006, copies of which are held in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What proportion of the United Kingdom's aid budget in Afghanistan is spent in Helmand province; and whether they intend to support more development projects in the northern provinces. [HL5512]

In 2006-07 the Department for International Development spent £16.29 million of its £100 million aid to Afghanistan in Helmand province—or roughly 16 per cent. This year DfID has committed up to £20 million for assistance to Helmand, out of our overall £107-million aid budget for Afghanistan (19 per cent). The remaining £87 million of our budget (81 per cent) supports development across the whole of Afghanistan.

DfID Afghanistan has no plans to provide direct support to more development projects in the northern provinces of Afghanistan. DfID supports development in the north of Afghanistan in two main ways: through our commitment of unpreferenced funding to the Afghanistan reconstruction trust fund (ARTF); and through our support to the Government of Afghanistan's national priority programmes. In 2007-08 DfID is providing £55 million in unpreferenced funding to the ARTF, to enable the Government of Afghanistan to meet their recurrent costs. These include salaries of public sector workers throughout Afghanistan, including teachers, nurses and doctors. DfID is also supporting the Afghan Government's national priority programmes, which operate in the north and south of Afghanistan, including a total commitment of £42 million (2003-10) to the national solidarity programme (NSP), and £20 million (2004-08) to the microfinance investment support facility of Afghanistan (MISFA).

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What steps they are taking to publicise development projects in Afghanistan through the British media, and to counter negative images resulting from civil war and insecurity. [HL5510]

DfID Afghanistan, together with the cross-departmental press office in the British embassy in Kabul, regularly offers opportunities for British journalists—both those visiting Afghanistan and those based there—to visit development projects. We also offer background briefings to British and Afghan journalists. We are currently recruiting a DfID press officer who will be based in the Kabul press office, in order to step up this effort.

DfID works closely with other UK government partners, both civilian and military, to ensure that a balanced picture of the overall UK effort in Afghanistan is available to both British and Afghan media.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why farm hedges cannot be trimmed under the cross-compliance conditions of the European Union single farm payment scheme until 1 August when similar hedges under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme can be trimmed from 15 July. [HL5539]

Under cross-compliance rules in England, farm hedges must not normally be cut or trimmed between 1 March and 31 July. The same dates apply in agri-environment schemes, such as Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their assessment of the welfare slaughter of lightweight lambs in Scotland; and, in particular, whether they have a financial responsibility in this area. [HL5474]

Certain functions on disease control relating to the Animal Health Act 1981 are transferred to the Scottish Executive under the Scotland Act.

Defra has agreed, however, to make payments on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Executive for animals killed and property seized due to foot and mouth disease. This does not extend to specific Scottish schemes to protect animal welfare during disease outbreaks. Such schemes remain the responsibility of the devolved Administrations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 1 October (WA 192), whether “protected animal” in Section 2(b) of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 includes birds that are temporarily restrained for the purposes of attaching wing or web tags, under licence from Natural England. [HL5547]

Yes. For the purposes of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, a vertebrate animal is a “protected animal” if it is under the control of man whether on a permanent or temporary basis.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will subject war pension claimants who suffer from (a) post-traumatic stress disorder; (b) any mental illness; or (c) any terminal illness to covert surveillance. [HL5321]

Any decision to investigate allegation of fraud and to use covert surveillance would take account of a number of factors including the health of the individual concerned.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many sick or disabled ex-service personnel will be subject to covert surveillance. [HL5405]

It is not possible to give an estimate of the number of ex-service personnel who may become subject to investigation as a result of alleged fraud.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the Bank of England's role and responsibilities in relation to financial stability; and where are such responsibilities documented.[HL5526]

The Bank of England defines its second core purpose on financial stability in its annual report as follows:

“Core Purpose 2 - Financial Stability

Financial stability entails detecting and reducing threats to the financial system as a whole. Such threats are detected through the Bank's surveillance and market intelligence functions. They are reduced by strengthening infrastructure, and by financial and other operations, at home and abroad, including, in exceptional circumstances, by acting as the lender of last resort”.

In addition, the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding between the Treasury, Bank of England and Financial Services Authority sets out the role of each authority with respect to financial stability. Paragraph 2 of the memorandum sets out the Bank of England's responsibilities.

The full memorandum can be found on the Treasury, Bank and FSA websites. The Bank's annual report can be found on its website.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When, how and against what contingencies the tripartite arrangements which operate between the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority had been tested prior to the Northern Rock crisis. [HL5528]

The tripartite arrangements have been tested regularly over recent years. For public policy reasons, details of the scenarios are not published where they cover financial stability events.

The authorities have also regularly tested their responses to operational disruption scenarios. Since 2004, the tripartite has arranged an annual marketwide exercise, involving both the authorities and a cross-section of financial sector firms, to test responses to operational disruption covering terrorist attacks and pandemic influenza outbreak.

Reports on these exercises can be found on the UK Financial Sector Continuity website at www.fsc.gov.uk.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether sufficient funds have been made available in England to enable relevant local authorities to meet their commitment to fund free local bus travel to pensioners and other eligible groups. [HL5580]

From April 2006, older and eligible disabled people have been guaranteed free off-peak local bus travel within their local authority area. The Government provided an extra £350 million in 2006-07 and a further £367.5 million in 2007-08, via the formula grant system, to fund the extra costs to local authorities. The Government are confident that this should be sufficient to cover the total additional costs to local authorities of this improvement in the statutory minimum. Any discretionary local enhancements, such as peak bus travel, are funded from an authority’s own resources.

The Government are providing local authorities in England an extra £212 million next year for the English national bus concession. This extra funding is based on generous assumptions about the probable cost impact of the new concession and we are confident this will be sufficient in aggregate.

The Department for Transport is currently consulting on the formula basis for distributing the £212 million by special grant. The consultation closes on 23 November.

In addition, we have announced that we will be providing local authorities with approximately £30 million for the issuing of the national pass.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the requirement of the scheme Care to Learn that parents must be under 20 years old on the day their course or learning programme begins allows young mothers aged 19 years to bond with their baby and to make adequate arrangements for childcare. [HL5561]

The Care to Learn scheme is designed to meet the specific needs of young parents who may not be able to complete their education without support. Its aim is to remove the barriers of childcare costs to enable teenage parents to participate in leaning and thereby lift them out of the cycle of poverty by equipping them with skills and qualifications. All parents under the age of 20 at the beginning of their course can access Care to Learn if they engage in publicly funded learning.

Discretionary learner support awards recognise the more diverse needs and levels of support required by adults.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why responsibility for the committee on toxicity has been transferred from the Department of Health to the Food Standards Agency. [HL5447]

The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) is an advisory committee of independent experts that provides advice to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the department and other government departments and agencies on matters concerning the toxicity of chemicals in food, consumer products and the environment.

Responsibility for COT has rested jointly with the FSA, the department and health departments in the devolved Administrations since April 2000. This move reflected the transfer of responsibilities for food safety when the FSA was established.

The COT secretariat is jointly assigned to the FSA and the department. In January 2006, the department secretariat role was transferred to the Health Protection Agency.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why the current investigation of the committee on toxicity into the effects of organophosphates on human health is limited to papers submitted by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. [HL5448]

In 1998 the Government asked the committee on toxicity (COT) to consider the evidence for long-term effects on human health from low-dose exposure to organophosphates. When COT published its report entitled Organophosphates in 1999, it made recommendations for further research.

In response to these recommendations several departments, including the Department of Health, the Health and Safety Executive, the Medical Research Council, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs—then the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food—worked together to commission the relevant research. The VMD took responsibility for co-ordinating the paper for COT.

COT has been asked to review the research completed to date and to advise on the significance of the findings, and on the extent to which 1999 recommendations have been addressed. The research projects reviewed were designed to answer the COT recommendations.

The draft minutes of the 4 September 2007 meeting are available on the COT website at: www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/committee/cotdraftmins4sept07. Copies have been placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether consumer credit guidelines require amateur golf and other amateur sports clubs to obtain a consumer credit licence; and, if so, whether they will amend these guidelines so as to ensure that such clubs do not require a consumer credit licence. [HL5430]

The Consumer Credit Act requires that most businesses that offer goods or services on credit hold a consumer credit licence. Golf clubs and other private sports clubs which allow for payment of membership fees in more than four instalments may need a consumer credit licence. However, whether a licence is required will be dependent on the individual circumstances applicable to the operation of each individual club, such as whether the club is classified as “carrying on a business”, if so whether this would be classified as “occasional business” and whether the particular club's agreements might be subject to any exemptions.

Given that unlicensed trading is a criminal offence, the Office of Fair Trading advice has been for clubs to apply for a consumer credit licence if they are in any doubt. Agreements between clubs and their members may involve substantial loans and as such are as appropriately subject to regulation under the Consumer Credit Act as other types of agreements where credit is provided.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether it is an offence to cycle on a footpath which is beside a road used by traffic. [HL5583]

Cycling on the footway (the pavement adjacent to the carriageway) is an offence under Section 72 of the Highways Act 1835, as amended by Section 85(1) of the Local Government Act 1888. Enforcement is the responsibility of the police.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the latest version of the cost of defence output categories taxonomy. [HL5455]

I have placed a copy of the cost of defence outputs taxonomy in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of the latest versions of the Joint Service publications JSP 462 and JSP 472. [HL5456]

I will place a copy of the latest version of JSP 472, Resource Accounting Policy Manual, in the Library of the House. A copy of JSP 462, the Financial Management Policy Manual, was placed in the Library of the House on 8 October 2007.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress has been made on issuing the comprehensive guidance on the funding of major adaptations in housing associations as promised in their response to recommendation 19 of the Bristol University report Reviewing the Disabled Facilities Grant Programme, published in October 2005. [HL5178]

This proposal was part of the consultation, to which the Government published a summary of responses on 13 August 2007 (www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/disabled-prgramme).

There was clear support for guidance and we are committed to undertaking further work with the relevant bodies.

Guidance on housing associations and major adaptations will be developed as part of a package of changes to be announced later this year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many stray dogs are destroyed annually other than for veterinary reasons under current legislation (a) in England and Wales as a whole; (b) in each local authority area; and (c) in dogs' homes kept by voluntary organisations; and, as no funds are to be provided to local authorities to deal with them beyond seven days, how these numbers are expected to change after the coming into force of Section 68 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 in April 2008. [HL5446]

The Government do not collect the information requested centrally. Local authorities are required, under the Environmental Protection (Stray Dogs) Regulations 1992, to keep registers containing particulars about stray dogs. These include the date of disposal of each dog, whether the disposal was by destruction, gift or sale and, if by sale, the price. The register must be available for inspection by the public, free of charge, at all reasonable times.

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires that any dogs put down are destroyed in a manner to cause as little pain as possible. All kennels used for housing stray dogs are expected to meet welfare standards, including the duty of care in the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Local authorities are not required to keep a record of the reason for the destruction of a stray dog.

Section 68 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 will commence on 6 April 2008. On commencement, duties pertaining to dogs that rest with the police will pass to local authorities, and additional funding in relation to the costs is being included in the revenue support grant arrangements.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In light of the recent comments by Sir Mike Tomlinson, retiring chairman of the Learning Trust in Hackney, what action they intend to take to replicate across other local education authorities the establishment of not-for-profit trusts under Section 497A of the Education Act 1996. [HL5578]

The Hackney Learning Trust, under Sir Mike Tomlinson's chairmanship, has made a major contribution to improving outcomes for children and young people. The trust was set up in 2002 in response to the particular problems of serious underperformance that existed in Hackney at that time. Whenever local authorities are failing to perform their children's services functions adequately it is important to adopt the most appropriate strategy, in the local context, to improve outcomes. Different solutions have worked in different areas, often using statutory powers of intervention, and we will continue to consider all options in tailoring solutions to specific local circumstances.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What proposals there are to sell the British embassies in Paris and Washington DC; and whether any consideration is being given to such sales. [HL5542]

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no plans to sell either of the office or residence buildings in Paris or Washington.

Sales and purchases of property do, however, play an important part in getting value for the taxpayer in response to changing operational needs and estate performance, so we keep the estate under review.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What data concerning in vitro fertilisation patients who have produced 20 or more eggs are held by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), in particular whether they maintain records which show the highest numbers of eggs obtained and the frequency with which such numbers of eggs have been obtained from individual patients; and whether they will assess the likely completeness of the HFEA's records regarding the incidence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. [HL5468]

This information is not routinely collected by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). The HFEA requires clinics to indicate on the treatment report form if a patient has experienced ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome so that no embryos were transferred back to the patient even though viable embryos were available for transfer. Where an egg collection was abandoned or cancelled, the reporting form also asks if this was due to an under- or over-response to ovarian stimulation. Reporting clinics also give details of any other adverse clinical effects recorded in these circumstances. Full information about each treatment cycle is recorded in patients' health records held by clinics and is subject to examination during a HFEA inspection.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will arrange for parliamentary debate and scrutiny of the draft European reform treaty before it is agreed by the Council of Ministers. [HL5540]

The White Paper published on 23 July set out the Government's approach to the intergovernmental conference (IGC) in detail. Ministers have provided further oral evidence during the IGC.

All scrutiny committees have received oral evidence since the publication of the draft reform treaty mandate. My honourable friend the Minister for Europe, Jim Murphy, gave oral evidence to the European Scrutiny Committee on 4 July and to the Lords EU Select Committee on 12 July. In addition, he has given oral evidence to parliamentary committees twice during the Summer Recess (on 12 September to the Foreign Affairs Committee and 2 October to the European Scrutiny Committee). My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary gave evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 10 October and to the European Scrutiny Committee on 16 October.

All IGC papers have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and forwarded to the Scrutiny Committee Clerks. Parliament has seen everything that the Government have seen.

Parliament itself will have the final say on the treaty. The Government will present a Bill for consideration by the Commons and the Lords. Treaty ratification will take place only with the agreement of both Houses.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress is being made in achieving healthy food diets for children at school. [HL5415]

Good progress has been made on both the standard of food available in schools and investment in the capacity of the school food service. Challenges remain on the take-up of school lunches, but the department and the School Food Trust (SFT), its key delivery partner, are focused on action to reverse the current downward trend.

New standards—these are being introduced to the following timetable: September 2006—food-based standards for school lunch; September 2007—food-based standards for food other than lunch; September 2008—nutrient-based standards for primary school lunches; and September 2009—nutrient-based standards for secondary school lunches.

Capacity—the SFT continues to provide valuable support and guidance to schools, local authorities, caterers and others responsible for implementing the new food standards in schools. The department has announced investment in excess of £600 million between 2005 and 2011 to support schools and local authorities through the transitional period, subsidise the costs of school lunches, and enable local authorities with particular needs to build new school kitchens. In addition, the SFT is establishing a network of regional training centres for school cooks, which will be instrumental in delivering to catering staff a comprehensive package of training and qualifications.

Demand—increasing the take-up of school lunches is a high priority for the department and the SFT. We are working together on an action plan to persuade a range of stakeholders to play a full part in addressing the issue and, in particular, to encourage children and their parents to opt for a school lunch. The SFT has targets to increase take-up of school lunches from the 2005-06 baseline by four percentage points by March 2008, and 10 percentage points by autumn 2009.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will hold discussions with United Kingdom food industry representatives to increase public knowledge and usage of guideline daily amount nutritional labels on food and drink penetration estimates. [HL5414]

The Government have engaged with food manufacturers and retailers since work on front of pack signposting schemes first began in 2004, and continue to be in regular dialogue with industry on this matter.

The Government have developed and maintain a range of material to help consumers increase their knowledge and understanding of food and nutrition labels, including leaflets, guidance notes and electronic resources, and will continue to do so.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What further action they will discuss with the industry to secure further falls in the salt content of food and drink ingestion, particularly for children and old people. [HL5412]

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) continues to meet with industry on a regular basis to encourage reductions in the salt content of food. In addition the salt targets, which were set in March 2006, will be reviewed early in 2008. During this process, industry progress to date will be formally reviewed and the FSA will identify any scope for further reduction.

A population-based approach has been taken to salt reduction and any reductions achieved will benefit both children and old people.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much each local authority has paid in penalties for failure to meet their obligations under the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003 in each year since its introduction. [HL5464]

The information requested is not held centrally by the department.

Councils and their National Health Service partners have already made significant progress in reducing delays in hospital. Between September 2001 and June 2007, the number of people over the age of 75 delayed in hospital reduced from 5,673 to 1,627, a reduction of 71 per cent, and total delays for the same period reduced from 7,065 to 2,173, a reduction of 69 per cent.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether Lyme disease and any other tick-borne diseases in humans are increasing in number; whether infected ticks are spreading; and, if so, what are the reasons for this. [HL5398]

Laboratory reports of Lyme borreliosis have risen steadily since reporting began in 1986 (see following table) and it is the main infection carried by ticks in the United Kingdom (UK).

Several factors are likely to have contributed to the increase including:

greater awareness of the disease by healthcare professionals and the public;

the introduction of the enhanced surveillance scheme in late 1996 and, since 2000, more complete reporting of cases;

greater public access to some parts of the countryside where Lyme borreliosis occurs; and

the expansion of deer habitat and range in some parts of the country leading to rises in tick populations.

The distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi infection among ticks in the UK is currently unknown.

Source: Health Protection Agency (www.hpa.org.uk)

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What advice is given to general practitioners and other medical practitioners on the identification and treatment of Lyme disease. [HL5399]

Clinical advice is provided to general practitioners and other physicians by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and this advice is published on the HPA website, available at www.hpa.org.uk. The advice includes guidance for diagnosing Lyme disease together with guidelines for the treatment of Lyme disease. The treatment guidelines published by the Infectious Diseases Society of America in 2006 ^[2] are included within the HPA's advice, together with published guidance for the diagnosis and treatment of neuroborreliosis. ^[3,4] The report of the investigation ^[1] carried out by the Department of Health's inspector of microbiology into the use of unorthodox and unvalidated laboratory tests used to make a diagnosis of chronic Lyme borreliosis disease is also available on the HPA's website.

In addition, the HPA's Lyme disease reference unit routinely provides expert diagnostic testing support and advice to clinicians, and—through its nationwide links to experts in infectious diseases, neurology, rheumatology and other specialities who have a particular interest in Lyme disease—can advise on treatment and patient referral as appropriate.

Source:

^[1] Duerden BI. Unorthodox and unvalidated laboratory tests in the diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis and in relation to medically unexplained symptoms. Department of Health, London, United Kingdom 2006. www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/89/17/04138917.pdf.

^[2] The Clinical Assessment, Treatment, and Prevention of Lyme Disease, Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis and Babesiosis: Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Wormser GP, Dattwyler RJ, Shapiro ED, et al. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2006; 43: 1089-34. Available at www.journals. uchicago.edu/CID/journal/issues/v43n9/40897/40897.html.

^[3] Halperin JJ, Logigian EL, Finkel MF, Pearl RA. Practice parameters for the diagnosis of patients with nervous system Lyme borreliosis (Lyme disease). Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology 1996 46: 619-627.

^[4] Practice Parameter: Treatment of nervous system Lyme disease (an evidence-based review). Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. E-published ahead of print on 23 May 2007. Available at www.neurology.org/cgi/rapidpdf/0l.wnl.0000265517.66976.28v1.

asked the Chairman of Committees:

What is the current dress code for guests of Members of the House of Lords; how it is monitored; and by whom it is monitored. [HL5679]

In November 2004 the Refreshment Committee agreed that, in accordance with the views of 71 per cent of the respondents to the Members’ survey undertaken in that year, the requirement for men to wear a jacket and tie in the Peers’ Dining Room, the Guest Dining Room, the Guest Room Bar and the Barry Room should be maintained. The committee also agreed that this requirement should not necessarily apply to those aged under 20.

Black Rod has a general responsibility for enforcing rules, including dress codes, agreed by the House and its committees. Staff acting under his authority, and Refreshment Department staff, have a role in reminding Members and their guests of agreed dress codes but, ultimately, Members themselves are responsible for maintaining these standards.

I am happy to remind Members, by means of this Answer, that, as stated on page 67 of the Handbook on Facilities and Services for Members, men are required to wear a jacket and tie in the Peers’ Dining Room, the Peers’ Guest Dining Room, the Guest Room Bar and the Barry Room.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What consideration they have given to the view of the Joint Committee on the Human Tissue and Embryos (Draft) Bill that denying the existence of a biological father on birth certificates “involves the authorities and we are deeply concerned about the idea that the authorities may be colluding in a deception”; what importance they attach to the presence of a father in the upbringing of a child; and what consideration they have given to the long-term psychological and social implications of denying to a child that a father was involved in their conception. [HL5514]

We gave careful consideration to all the Joint Committee's recommendations, including reviewing the argument that the fact of donor conception should be registered on a person's birth certificate. Our conclusion is that rather than forcing the issue in this way, it is preferable for parents to be educated about the benefits of telling children that they are donor-conceived. We are discussing the way forward with the Donor Conception Network. We recognise the role played by fathers in their children's lives. In the context of the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill we have carefully considered whether research evidence supports the continued reference in primary legislation to a duty on clinicians to give specific attention to the need for a father when considering the provision of fertility treatment. Our conclusion is that the factor of prime importance is the quality of parenting, that the reference to the need for a father should be removed from primary legislation but that the general duty for clinicians to take account of the welfare of the child should remain.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many deaths have occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan among British troops as a result of road traffic accidents which were unrelated to any military action or hostile attack at the time of the incidents. [HL5503]

Between the commencement of military operations in Iraq and 11 October 2007, 14 UK service personnel have been killed in road traffic accidents. Over the same period in Afghanistan, five UK service personnel have been killed in road traffic accidents.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will discuss with their European Union quartet partners an initiative to deter land acquisitions in the West Bank by Israeli military and other agencies prior to the Annapolis November peace conference. [HL5523]

EU heads of mission in Tel Aviv raised our concerns about recent reports of E-1 settlement activity with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 15 October. My honourable friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Kim Howells, raised our concerns with the Israeli ambassador on 19 October. The UK remains firmly opposed to settlement building, as this impedes progress towards a negotiated, two-state solution.

The recent EU General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting on 15 and 16 October called on the parties to desist from any actions that threaten the viability of a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement, in conformity with international law.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What action they are taking, or will take, to support those who are taking action against the Government of Libya for their encouragement and arming of Irish Republican Army terrorism. [HL5427]

The Government are aware of a private civil lawsuit against the Government of Libya before the US courts under US law, but do not consider that it would be appropriate to intervene in it.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the percentage of the population in each parliamentary constituency in England and Wales aged over (a) 65 years, and (b) 85 years. [HL5462]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, National Statistician and Registrar-General, to Lord Hanningfield, dated 22 October 2007:

“ONS does not currently produce population estimates specifically for parliamentary constituencies, though in some cases these can be derived directly from an existing estimate (eg a local authority estimate where the boundaries are the same) or by aggregation from existing population estimates. This has been an identified gap in our outputs and we have recently developed a method for producing such estimates in the future, using a post-code best fit methodology.

As a consequence, we are intending to publish mid-2001 to mid-2005 population estimates by age and sex for parliamentary constituencies in December 2007 as experimental statistics. These will be made available through our website at www.statistics.gov.uk/sape”.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What would be the cost of raising the full capital disregard for pension credit from the current £6,000 to (a) £10,000; (b) £15,000; (c) £20,000; (d) £25,000; and (e) £30,000. [HL5487]

The answer is in the table below. The costs are broken down by pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit to reflect the fact that guarantee credit automatically entitles recipients to full housing benefit and council tax benefit.

The costs are also broken down to show the split between the costs arising from increased benefit payments to those already receiving each of the three benefits and the costs arising from those who would become newly entitled to each of the three benefits as a result of the increased capital disregard.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Pre-Budget Report Notes (PBRN) of 9 October, whether the proposed capital gains tax reform (PBRN 17) includes shares in Alternative Investment Market listed companies held for more than two years. [HL5486]

The 2007 Pre-Budget Report announced a reform of the capital gains tax regime for individuals. From 6 April 2008, all disposals that attract capital gains tax will do so at a single rate of 18 per cent.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 1 October (WA 230), in respect of the decision by South West Trains to operate hourly services from London Waterloo to Exeter, what conclusions they have drawn concerning (a) the beneficial, and (b) the adverse consequences of the continued existence of the stretch of single-track railway between Salisbury and Yeovil on this line. [HL5489]

It is for Network Rail to determine what additional passing loops are required to deliver the hourly service. It is expected that it will make a final decision on this soon to enable work to start in time for the improved service to be introduced in 2009. In considering the options it will consider the wider beneficial effects, which include improved reliability and reduced overall journey time, and balance them against the capital costs of implementing a particular scheme and the ongoing costs of maintenance.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What has been the level of growth in research and development since 2005 in (a) the public, and (b) the business sector, broken down by industry. [HL5495]

The latest available figures for public and business R&D expenditure are for 2005. Therefore no data are available to make any assessment of growth in R&D since that time.

Data for 2006 business enterprise R&D will be released by the Office for National Statistics in late November 2007. Data for 2006 gross domestic expenditure on R&D (which includes public expenditure) will be released in March 2008.

Data for 2005 are given below:

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress has been made since 2005 in public and business research and development towards the government target of 2.5 per cent research and development intensity. [HL5497]

The latest available figures for public and business R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP are for 2005. Therefore no data are available to make any assessment of changes since that time.

Data for 2006 business enterprise R&D will be released by the Office for National Statistics in late November 2007. Data for 2006 gross domestic expenditure on R&D (which includes public expenditure) will be released in March 2008.

Data for 2005 are given below:

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What plans they have to ensure that those vehicles registered outside the United Kingdom contribute to the costs of providing and maintaining the highway network. [HL5606]

The Government are exploring the feasibility of a vignette scheme for foreign hauliers as part of a study of options for delivering more targeted enforcement on foreign goods vehicles. A progress report was published by the Department for Transport on 9 October (www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/freight/road/freightdatarep). No conclusions have been reached on the viability of a vignette and the study is continuing.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the School Food Trust's memorandum and articles of association. [HL5492]

Copies of the School Food Trust's memorandum and articles of association have now been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The documents have also been placed on the trust's website at www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/keydocuments.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they propose to make smoking in a public place in England an offence. [HL5584]

The smokefree provisions within the Health Act 2006 apply to virtually all enclosed and substantially enclosed public places and workplaces in England, but not to non-enclosed areas.

The Act includes powers to make regulations for specific non-enclosed places to be smokefree if there is,

“significant risk that, without designation, persons present there would be exposed to significant quantities of smoke”.

At present, the Government do not intend to make any non-enclosed place smokefree.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What assessment they have made of the likely consequences of the decision by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement to suspend its involvement in the national unity Government citing the failure of its northern partners to implement parts of the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement which ended the 21-year civil war. [HL5545]

We are concerned that the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has suspended its involvement in the Sudanese Government of national unity because it could set back the full implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA). We would not want the withdrawal of the SPLM from the Government to become permanent. We have therefore urged both sides to talk about how the SPLM can resume its place in the national Government and to resume implementation of the CPA as soon as possible.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why repairs to listed buildings attract value added tax (VAT) when there is no VAT payable on extensions to listed buildings. [HL5555]

Since VAT was introduced, tax has been chargeable on repairs to all buildings, but the approved alteration of certain listed buildings, including by extension, has always been VAT zero-rated. Under our VAT agreements with our European partners we can keep our existing zero rates of VAT, but we are not able to extend them or introduce any new ones. We could not therefore apply a zero rate to any repairs to any buildings.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How the value of trade has changed in the past 10 years between (a) Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland; (b) Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and (c) the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. [HL5543]

The following tables show how in the past 10 years trade has changed between (a) Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, and (c) the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Data on the trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland are not available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What discussions they have held with the Government of Israel concerning exit visas for students wishing to study in Britain. [HL5477]

We raised this issue with the Israeli embassy in London on 15 October. We are discussing with our EU colleagues the situation of a number of EU and non-EU nationals, including those who are registered with universities overseas, whose movement and access into and out of Gaza is currently restricted. We have repeatedly raised our concerns about movement and access with the Government of Israel.

We hope that the continuing Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President Abbas dialogue, and the US-led international peace meeting in November, will lead to an improvement on movement and access.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the Environment Agency was informed by the water companies as to the contents of reports by them which led to the stopping of the extraction of water over the night of 13 September from waste ducts below the surface water levels of the River Thames at Bray in Berkshire. [HL5459]

The Environment Agency was not informed of the contents of any reports by the water companies.