asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 30 October (WA 175), what has been the “commissioning target” for Territorial Army direct entry junior officers for each of the past five years; and what was the out-turn. [HL241]

The table below shows the commissioning targets, course attendances figures and out-turn for Territorial Army direct entry junior officers for each of the past five years.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

(a) what is the total amount lent by the Bank of England to Northern Rock plc; (b) what proportion of that total is secured on residential mortgages; and (c) whether the total amount so lent will be published regularly in future. [HL252]

This is a commercial matter between the Bank of England and Northern Rock.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What assessment they have made to ensure that sufficient funding has been allocated to the funding of the pensioners concessionary bus travel scheme for the next three financial years; and [HL279]

Whether they intend to make the whole of the funding of the pensioners concessionary bus travel scheme through the special grant mechanism rather than the rate support grant from the year 2009–10; and [HL280]

What assessment they have made to ensure arrangements exist to compensate tourist centres for the effects of the pensioners concessionary bus travel scheme. [HL282]

From 1 April 2008, people aged 60 and over and eligible disabled people in England will be entitled to free off-peak local bus travel anywhere in England, not just within their local area as at present.

The Government are providing local authorities in England an extra £212 million/£217 million/£223 million for the next three years. This extra funding is based on generous assumptions about the probable cost impact of the new concession, including visitor “hotspots”. We are confident that this funding will be sufficient in aggregate.

The department is currently consulting on the formula basis for the distribution of the special grant; this closes on 23 November. It includes a number of different options for distributing the new funding, taking account of likely cost drivers including eligible residents and visitors.

The decision to use a special grant reflects both the views of local government and the challenges of deriving a formula distribution that matches the probable cost impact of the new concession. Existing funding will continue to be distributed through formula grant and we anticipate transferring this additional funding in the formula grant process at the beginning of the next three-year settlement period (2011-12). There was no significant support among local government to extract the existing funding for statutory concessions from the formula grant system.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether during their dialogue with the Government of China they will draw attention to the cultural, linguistic and religious rights of the Uyghur people of the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region to equal treatment in employment and under the law, to freedom of speech and religious worship and to education in their own language; and whether they will mention any such progress in their annual human rights report and other reports to Parliament. [HL247]

We regularly raise concerns about the human rights of the Uyghur population of Xinjiang with the Chinese Government. British officials did this most recently during a visit to Xinjiang in April. We will continue to urge the Chinese authorities to protect the legitimate rights of all ethnic and religious groups in Xinjiang, in line with international human rights standards, including at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue. We record details of these representations in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's annual report on human rights and wider reports to Parliament.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many people are licensed to drive motor vehicles in the United Kingdom; and how many of these currently have revoked licences. [HL295]

The estimated number of people licensed to drive motor vehicles in Great Britain in 2006 was 33.7 million. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is unable to specify the additional number of licences revoked and to obtain this figure would be at a disproportionate cost to the taxpayer.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their definition of level-three assets under Financial Accounting Standards 157 of the United States collateralised debt obligations; and what is the likely impact on United Kingdom banks. [HL238]

Financial Accounting Standards 157 on “Fair Value Measurements” is a US standard on how to measure fair value, and sets various disclosure requirements.

Level 3 assets or liabilities are those which are valued using unobservable inputs. This is distinct from assets or liabilities which are valued using prices from an active market (Level 1) or on the basis of inputs that are directly or indirectly largely observable from markets (Level 2). The disclosure requirements are greatest for Level 3.

Financial Accounting Standards 157 does not apply to UK banks as they report under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) which does not require such precise disclosures. However, it will affect UK banks which are SEC registrants and required to produce reconciliations to US GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles).

The difference in disclosures will narrow in the future due to the implementation of a new international financial reporting standard on “Financial Instruments: Disclosures” which becomes mandatory for reporting from the 2007 annual accounts.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much money was (a) spent by quangos and public bodies in total and (b) spent by quangos and public bodies on administration, as listed in the Public Bodies Directory in each of the past five years. [HL228]

Information on total expenditure of public bodies is published annually by the Cabinet Office. Figures covering the period 2002-06 are available on the Civil Service website at www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp. Departments are in the process of collating information for 2007 and a summary will be published by the Cabinet Office in due course.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether Lord Rooker was reflecting government policy when he said in the debate on the Address on 13 November in relation to the green belt that “Mostly it is rubbish land” (Official Report, col. 460); and, if so, what criteria are used to define “rubbish land”. [HL305]

My remarks in the debate on the Address reflected the fact that green belt land is of very variable quality in environmental terms. This fact is acknowledged in government policy.

The Government have said repeatedly that they are committed to the principles of the green belt and that they have no plans to make fundamental changes to green belt planning policy.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much research funding has been provided to Vaccine Research International for research into anti-methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus vaccines; and what future funding research moneys are to be made available by the Government to that company. [HL237]

The department is not aware of any funding provided to Vaccine Research International for research into anti-methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus vaccines.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether there has been adequate social housing provision over the past 10 years to meet the increasing demands for such accommodation. [HL108]

Between 1997-98 and 2007-08, we will have delivered more than 400,000 new affordable homes. These new homes include both newly built housing, and those acquired and refurbished. Our recent housing Green Paper acknowledged the need to do more.

Estimates suggest that there is need for at least 40,000 new social rented properties per annum. The housing Green Paper sets out our target to provide 45,000 new social rented homes per annum by 2010-11, 50 per cent more than this year, 2007-08. Our goal is to go further in subsequent years to reach 50,000 new social homes per annum in the next spending review period.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many escort vessels are required to support two carrier groups. [HL257]

There is no definitive figure for the number of escorts required to support a carrier or amphibious task group. A number of variables determine the scale of commitment of escorts to a particular mission. These factors include the level of the threat, the type and scale of the operation and capabilities of the escorts. In the case of a coalition operation, there is the likelihood that escorts would be provided by a number of contributing nations. Our maritime forces are configured to be able to deliver simultaneously one carrier strike task group and one amphibious task group operating independently.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Which district or unitary local authority areas in England have lost their neighbourhood renewal fund (NRF) status in the past two years; and for each of them what was the total amount of NRF funding provided in the past two years and in the current year, and what is the proposed funding for next year. [HL304]

The table below lists the six local authorities that did not qualify for neighbourhood renewal funding in the past two years, and sets out how much they are currently receiving.

The six authorities listed above were allocated transitional funding for two years only (2006-08) based on 67 per cent and 33 per cent of their last NRF allocation.

The decision on which authorities will receive funding under the new working neighbourhoods fund (the successor to NRF) will be announced as part of the local government finance settlement in December.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the reply by Baroness Andrews on 18 October (Official Report, col. 783) regarding a decision on the planning appeal concerning the proposed Caythorpe gas storage facility, whether any Minister has received the inspector's report; which Minister or Ministers will make a decision on the report; and when a final decision is expected to be taken. [HL169]

Following the close of the public inquiry on 11 May into the related appeals and orders for the Caythorpe gas storage proposal, an inspector's report has been submitted to the Secretaries of State for Communities and Local Government and for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Decisions on the appeals and orders will be made by the relevant Secretary of State.

This is a complex case requiring a number of joint decisions by both Secretaries of State, together with other decisions to be determined under a range of consent regimes. Although this planning case is not one with a set statutory timetable, this Government remain acutely aware of the need to ensure that decisions are taken as soon as possible.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they will publish their response to the Law Commission report on post-legislative scrutiny, published in October 2006. [HL184]

The Government hope to respond to the report from the Law Commission on post-legislative scrutiny shortly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to section D12.1 of the 2007 Pre-Budget Report, how greenhouse gas emissions are calculated to arrive at the figure of a 19.1 per cent reduction (net of emissions trading) on 1990 levels. [HL173]

Total emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from the UK in the Kyoto 1990 base year (1990 for carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, and 1995 for hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride), accounted for using the rules set out for the Kyoto Protocol, were 775.2 million tonnes carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent. In 2005 this figure was 654.1 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent.

The 19.1 per cent reduction figure is arrived at as follows:

The table below sets out 1990 base year and 2005 GHG emissions in the UK (totals may not agree due to rounding errors). All figures are in million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

2005 was the first year of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Under the EU ETS, UK industries have had to purchase 27.1 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions credits more than their allocation for the year.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to section D12.8 of the 2007 Pre-Budget Report, whether the £400 million contribution to the international element of the Environmental Transformation Fund will be spent overseas; and, if so, in which countries and on what projects.[HL175]

As announced in Budget 2007, the £800 million international element of the Environmental Transformation Fund, managed jointly by Defra and the Department for International Development (DfID), will fund overseas development activities.

The fund will deliver both poverty reduction and environmental benefits in developing countries. At the time of the Budget, it was announced that £50 million will be spent on tackling deforestation in the Congo basin. No specific allocations to other countries or projects have yet been made.

Defra and DfID are currently consulting on how to maximise the impact of this fund, including talking to potential recipient countries and to other potential donors to see whether we can make this into a wider multi-national effort.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What percentage of the additional revenue to be raised from removing taper relief of 10 per cent and increasing capital gains tax to 18 per cent they estimate will come from private equity firms and hedge funds. [HL246]

The self-assessment tax data available for analysis of capital gains tax are not detailed enough to break down the capital gains taxpayer population by type of employer. The figures requested are not available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why traffic enforcement cameras are not sited visibly and marked distinctively in a similar way to speed cameras; and whether they will now ensure that they are. [HL261]

All non-speed related traffic management restrictions should be indicated clearly with appropriate traffic signs and be complied with irrespective of whether they are enforced in a particular way.

For civil traffic enforcement applications, cameras often have to be sited outside a driver's field of view in order to capture both context and detail effectively. In areas subject to camera enforcement, the Department for Transport advises traffic authorities outside London to erect camera enforcement signs as prescribed in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002. In London, civil traffic enforcement is governed by local Acts of Parliament but London Councils has issued similar guidance.