asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many and what proportion of air passengers travelled to Stansted Airport by public transport in each of the past 10 years. [HL4563]

The table below shows the number and proportion of air passengers who travelled to or from Stansted Airport by public transport in 1996 and 2000 to 2007. Data for 1997 to 1999 are not available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their timetable for the switchover to digital television in Northern Ireland; whether the independent television licensee in Northern Ireland, UTV, is preparing for this switchover; and whether the free-to-air service, Freesat, from ITV will be available from UTV in Northern Ireland. [HL4480]

Northern Ireland switchover will start in 2012 and Digital UK will have a Northern Ireland regional manager in place by September 2010. Freesat is available to 98 per cent of UK households; it is not possible to give a regional breakdown. Digital UK continues to work with broadcasters such as UTV as part of switchover preparations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What discussions they have had with the Government of the Republic of Ireland about the switchover to digital television in that country; and whether the timing of the switchover to digital television in the Republic of Ireland will influence the timescale for switching to digital television in Northern Ireland. [HL4481]

James Purnell, former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, met Eamon Ryan, the Irish Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, earlier this year to discuss digital switchover and related issues in Ireland. Officials continue to work together on these issues.

Northern Ireland is scheduled to switch over from the analogue signal to digital in 2012. We understand that the Irish Government have not yet set a date for digital switchover in Ireland.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What representations they have made to the Government of Burma about the conditions in which political prisoners in Burma are held. [HL4525]

We are gravely concerned by the continued arrests of political activists and the conditions in which they are held in prison. Up to 2,000 political dissidents remain behind bars, many without charge and in unknown locations, outside of external supervision.

We have called repeatedly upon the Burmese regime, both in our public statements and through the regular contact between our ambassador in Rangoon and senior government representatives, to grant unhindered access to all political detainees by the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international humanitarian organisations, in accordance with international norms. We have also expressed our concern about the conditions in which political prisoners are held. We will continue to do so.

Under UK chairmanship, the UN Security Council reaffirmed its call on the regime to release all political prisoners on 2 May. The release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, is vital if Burma is to begin the process of inclusive national reconciliation that is the country's only path to a more prosperous and stable future.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What steps they are taking to secure the reinstatement of regular access to Burma's prisons for international monitors such as the International Committee of the Red Cross. [HL4526]

We are gravely concerned by the continued arrests of political activists and the conditions in which they are held in prison. Up to 2,000 political dissidents remain behind bars, many without charge and in unknown locations, outside of external supervision.

We have called repeatedly on the Burmese regime, both in our public statements and through the regular contact between our ambassador in Rangoon and senior government representatives, to grant unhindered access to all political detainees by the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international humanitarian organisations, in accordance with international norms. We have also expressed our concern about the conditions in which political prisoners are held. We will continue to do so.

Under UK chairmanship, the UN Security Council reaffirmed its call on the regime to release all political prisoners on 2 May. The release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, is vital if Burma is to begin the process of inclusive national reconciliation that is the country's only path to a more prosperous and stable future.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why the Architects (Recognition of European Qualifications etc and Saving and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1331) contain, in Section 5A(2) of the Architects Act 1997 inserted by Regulation 8, a prohibition on charging a fee for registration of architects established in a European state and wishing to practise on a temporary and occasional basis in the United Kingdom, while the Farriers’ Qualifications (European Recognition) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/646) do not. [HL4459]

In the Farriers’ Qualifications (European Recognition) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/646), Regulation 4 inserts subsection (5) into Section 4 of the Farriers (Registration) Act 1975:

“(5) No fee may be prescribed under subsection (1)(a) in respect of registration under section 7(6), and no fee may be prescribed under subsection (1)(b) in respect of retention in the register of the name of a person registered under section 7(6)”.

Section 7(6) of the Act provides:

“(6) Subject to section 15, a person is entitled to be registered in Part V of the register if the person has the benefit of regulation 8 of the European Communities (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2007 in connection with the provision by the person of services as a farrier on a temporary and occasional basis (the person having complied with any requirements imposed under Part 2 of those Regulations in connection with the provision by the person of services as a farrier)”.

Therefore, there is a prohibition against charging for registration as a farrier in respect of provision of services on a temporary and occasional basis, as required by Article 6(a) of Directive 2005/36/EC.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Which government departments achieved their race equality targets for 2007–08; which have not; what targets have not been achieved; why those targets were not achieved; and what they will do to fulfil their legal obligations in this respect. [HL4393]

Public bodies, including the Civil Service, have a statutory race equality duty to promote equality of opportunity, community cohesion, and eliminate harassment and discrimination. Individual departments are responsible for publishing details of their own race equality schemes that set out how they propose to meet their legal obligations. Schemes are regularly reviewed by departments. The new diversity and equality strategy for the Civil Service will be published in due course.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 23 June (WA 205), how many government contracts have been issued in the past 10 years for periods in excess of 10 years; in what spheres of operation; and for what amounts of money. [HL4608]

Individual departments are responsible for making decisions on the value and period of their contracts. The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the total number of (a) international flights, and (b) domestic flights, taken by Ministers and officials on government business in each of the past three years. [HL4500]

Since 1999, the Government have published a list of all overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing over £500. Information for the financial year 2006-07 was published on 25 July 2007 (Official Report, Commons, col. 1112W). Details for the financial year 2007-08 will be published before the Summer Recess, and will for the first time include details of overseas visits undertaken by all Ministers. Information in respect of all flights made by Ministers and civil servants over the past three years could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code respectively.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What their position is on the possibility of extending the scope of the restriction of hazardous substances directive (2002/95/EC) to include medical devices. [HL4676]

The scope of the restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) directive (2002/95/EC) excludes both medical devices and monitoring and control instruments. The European Commission is currently developing proposals for a revised directive that may include bringing those two categories into scope at some future point. The Government will finalise their position on that particular issue once formal proposals are laid before the Environment Council for negotiation (expected to be towards the end of this year).

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What conclusions they have drawn from the report in April's edition of Lancet Oncology analysing declining mortality rates from prostate cancer from 1994–2004 in the United States and the United Kingdom, particularly the difference in prostate-specific antigen testing rates of men in 2001 of 57 per cent in the United States and 6 per cent in the United Kingdom. [HL4659]

The authors of the Bristol University report published in Lancet Oncology (April 2008) could not say that the differences in the fall in mortality between the United States of America and the United Kingdom were due to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing. Other factors, particularly treatment and variations in data collection, may play a significant role, but we have to wait for evidence from randomised controlled trials of prostate cancer screening before we can say that early detection using PSA testing saves lives.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 2 June (WA 14) concerning strategic health authorities which underspent on their multiprofessional training and education budgets in 2007-08, whether the information requested is now available; and [HL4553]

Further to the Written Answer from Lord Darzi of Denham on 2 June (WA 14) concerning strategic health authorities which made use of funding allocated to education and training budgets to accrue a surplus for the 2007-08 financial year, whether the information requested is now available. [HL4555]

Under current arrangements, strategic health authorities (SHAs) receive an indicative allocation of funding for the multiprofessional education and training budget (MPET), as part of a “bundle” of funding. SHAs are free to vary spend between different priority areas within the bundle, subject to the achievement of necessary performance objectives. In some cases, SHAs may use local flexibility to vary MPET spend between financial years in line with local priorities.

The extent to which SHA expenditure from the MPET budget, including carry-forward from 2006-07 budget and other local adjustments, varied in 2007-08, and the proposed SHA carry-forward into the 2008-09 budget is set out in the following table.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the estimated total value of the contract to distribute identity cards and check the associated applications forms; and what consideration they have given to awarding this contract to Post Office Ltd. [HL4397]

The Identity Cards Scheme Cost Report published in May 2008 sets out the expected costs for the delivery of the scheme as a whole, which includes identity cards and passports. In many cases, the same application will result in the issue of both a passport and an ID card. The full cost of registering individuals for passports and ID cards is included in common costs because the same technology infrastructure and business processes will be used, thus costs cannot be separated for identity cards only.

The delivery of the national identity scheme will mainly be via private sector contracts. The majority of these will be procured using the recently awarded Strategic Supplier Group framework. Royal Mail Group expressed an interest in this procurement and was one of 46 firms that attended a briefing session at the start of this procurement.

The five suppliers appointed following this procurement (CSC, EDS, Fujitsu, IBM and Thales) may propose other organisations as subcontractors to deliver capabilities. In addition to the Strategic Supplier Group framework, the Identity and Passport Service will use other procurement mechanisms to achieve value for money such as that recently launched procurement for passport production.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the International Narcotics Control Board requires a formal assessment of unmet need for pain-relieving medicines when gathering estimates of a country's demand for narcotics for pain relief. [HL4532]

No. A country's estimate is based, to a very large extent, on actual utilisation but can also take account of any likely future increases.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many targets within local area agreements relate to the well-being of or services for (a) older people, and (b) children; and [HL4494]

How many local area agreements concluded with local authorities include targets relating to the well-being of or services for older people. [HL4495]

Information on how many targets within local area agreements (LAAs) that relate to the well-being of or services for (a) older people, and (b) children can be found on the local priorities website at www.localpriorities.communities.gov.uk.

In addition, an at-a-glance list of all targets within LAAs, together with a tracker tool that allows more detailed analysis of how many areas have agreed targets on different indicators, can be found on the IDeA website at www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?page ld=8399555.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What will be the cost to (a) HM Treasury, and (b) the operator of the National Lottery, of extending the lottery participation regulations to allow citizens of the British Overseas Territories to (i) purchase tickets for, and (ii) receive winnings from the National Lottery using ticket sales from lottery terminals located in the overseas territories by the operator of the National Lottery and online. [HL4408]

Were any change to be made to National Lottery legislation that enabled citizens of the British Overseas Territories to (i) purchase tickets for and (ii) receive winnings from the National Lottery, the operator would need to seek legal, regulatory, commercial, logistical and marketing advice in respect of each of the overseas territories. That advice could then be used to: estimate the costs of making tickets available for sale either via terminals or online; decide the viability of so doing (which is a commercial matter for the operator, subject to the requirements of its licence and other legal obligations); and hence estimate any potential impact for HM Treasury.

However, the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many individuals they have appointed to non-governmental bodies since 1997; and what is the breakdown of the individuals by political parties if their political affiliations were known at the time of appointment. [HL4428]

Information on the number of appointments made to non-departmental public bodies is published by the Cabinet Office in the annual Public Bodies publication. Copies can be downloaded from the Civil Service website at www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp. Summary information on the political activity of individuals appointed to posts regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments is published each year in the commissioner's annual report. Reports can be downloaded from the commissioner's website at www.ocpa.gov.uk. Copies of public bodies and of the commissioner's annual reports have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What estimate they have made of the effect of the construction of an eco-town at Elsenham on peak traffic flows on the M11, B1051, B1383 and A120. [HL4451]

A transport assessment of the impact of the proposed eco-town at Elsenham is being carried out. This will look at how development would impact on surrounding road and public transport networks and how modal shift and reductions in travel could be achieved. At present, no final estimate can be made of the effect of an eco-town development on the roads in question, although an initial assessment is available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What assessment they have made of the extra time and travel costs that will be incurred by people accessing their benefits in the event of the closure of the post office which they currently use; and [HL4652]

What assessment they have made of the extra time and travel costs involved for customers who will have to change their post office to access benefits in the 26 areas for which Post Office Ltd had, by 20 May, announced plans to close. [HL4653]

It is government policy, announced in May 2007 in response to the national public consultation on the post office network, to ensure national coverage and reasonable access to post office services with particular regard to vulnerable consumers and to rural and remote areas. Access criteria have been introduced to achieve this and in developing its closure proposals Post Office Ltd has also to take into account a range of factors relating to accessibility of service provision and the local impact of changes to it.

Under the 35 area plan proposals (out of a total of 41) which had been published by Post Office Ltd to 8 July, on average 91 per cent of the population covered will see no change in the branch they currently use and 99.1 per cent will see either no change or still be within 1 mile by road of their nearest post office.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much of the £1.7 billion package of investment in the post office network announced in May 2007 would have been saved had they continued to allow the public to access pensions and benefits at post offices using books and giros. [HL4654]

The Government expect that paying customers into an account rather than by order book or giro cheque will save the taxpayer around £1 billion between 2003 and 2010. The use of order books was phased out in May 2005, but customers have continued to access pensions and benefits through the post office by means of the Post Office card account and giro cheque, or through one of the 25 bank accounts available at the post office. The Government remain committed to allowing people to access their pension and benefit in cash at the post office if they choose to do so.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How they calculated savings of 50 per cent to 70 per cent for running an outreach service in place of traditional Post Office outlets; what will be the reduction in service hours available at each village; and whether the savings take into account the cost of fuel. [HL4655]

This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, managing director of POL, to reply direct to the noble Baroness. Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether there are any physical obstacles to the intercity express trains of German railways reaching St Pancras on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link; and, if not, whether they will review any regulatory obstacles. [HL4635]

The Channel Tunnel Rail Link, now known as High Speed 1, is open to any train operator that satisfies the requirements of its network statement issued in accordance with the Railways Infrastructure (Access and Management) Regulations 2005. Continental train operators wishing to access High Speed 1 would also have to meet the requirements of Eurotunnel as owner and operator of the Channel Tunnel.

The regulatory framework for international passenger services is set at the European level by the directives of the first, second and third rail packages. These ensure transparent and non-discriminatory conditions of access for all operators whose proposed services meet the requirements of the safety and interoperability directives. The European Commission reviews the implementation of these directives; the Government have no plans to carry out any separate review.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether there are any European regulations precluding the extension or granting of a long franchise to a train operating company. [HL4636]

No.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they must assent to an order being placed by a train operating company for additional rolling stock to meet rising levels of demand for rail travel; and, if so, how many requests from train operating companies for additional rolling stock they have turned down in 2007 and 2008; and [HL4633]

How many requests they have received from train operating companies for additional rolling stock to meet increasing demand expected to arise when the December 2008 timetable changes come into effect. [HL4634]

Government have a formal role in the approval of rolling stock leases because of their responsibilities as operator of last resort. This, though, will not normally prevent train operators procuring new rolling stock on their own account unless it would lead to an increase in the level of government subsidy.

The Department for Transport meets train operators regularly to discuss a range of topics, including proposals for extra rolling stock. However, no recent proposal for the department to fund extra rolling stock, other than through the high-level output specification process, has proceeded beyond the informal discussion stage.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What percentage of peak-time trains using the West Anglia main line were delayed in each of the past 10 years. [HL4564]

These are operational matters for Network Rail as the owner and operator of the national rail network. The details can be obtained from Network Rail's chief executive at the following address: Iain Coucher, Chief Executive, Network Rail, 40 Melton Street, London, NW1 2EE.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether unacceptable tax planning and behaviours, as described in HM Revenue and Customs's Varney report, are consistent with high standards of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility in large British businesses. [HL4520]

One of the outcomes of the Varney report was that both business and HMRC wanted to see an efficient risk-based approach to dealing with tax matters. HMRC has issued detailed guidance on its approach to tax compliance risk management for the largest businesses. The risk framework guidance makes it clear that corporate governance, including transparency in its dealings with HMRC, is a behavioural risk which will be taken into account in classifying a business as low risk or not. HMRC has supported nearly 40 per cent of large businesses to become low risk while deploying specialist resource to high-risk businesses.