To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the notional time commitment of each chair of the regional non-departmental public bodies. [116360]

The time commitment for chairs of the Post Office Users Councils for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is up to 50 days per annum. The average commitment for the chairs of the seven Regional Industrial Development Boards is of the order of one meeting a month lasting approximately two hours, plus the time required to read case papers beforehand.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many (a) male and (b) female board members each regional non-departmental public body for which he is responsible has; [116373](2) how many board members he appoints to each non-departmental public body. [116372]

A list of non-departmental public bodies to which DTI Ministers make appointments, and information on the numbers of male and female board members each body has, can be found in the publication "Public Bodies 1999" (ISBN 0 11 430159 X), copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the French Government first publicly expressed a preference for the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory as the site for the diamond synchrotron. [116945]

The preference was first stated publicly in a letter from the French Minister of National Education, Research and Technology to my noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Science on 14 March 2000. They had made clear to him in private discussions in October 1999 that this was their view.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 24 March 2000, Official Report, column 781W, on the super jumbo aircraft, if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's independent assessment of the likely demand for the A3XX. [116950]

No, because this assessment contains commercially confidential and market-sensitive information. It was prepared following discussions with manufacturers, suppliers and airlines of commercially sensitive issues, which were of considerable assistance to my Department in drawing up the assessment. If such information were circulated more widely, the understanding on which it had been obtained would be breached, and in future my Department would be less able to serve the interests of taxpayers, since they would not be able to gain access to such a wide range of informed opinion when preparing market assessments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the expenditure incurred by his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies on (a) the setting up and (b) the operation of websites, indicating the cases in which the expenditure has been above that budgeted; and if he will list for each website (i) the topics which have been covered, (ii) the current average number of hits per month and (iii) the estimated expenditure on each website for each of the next three years. [115844]

[holding answer 30 March 2000]: Management of the websites of my Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies, and Government Offices for the Regions is devolved to those with responsibility for particular areas. The costs associated with setting up and on-going operation of sites are not held or collected centrally and therefore the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The same is true both for future expenditure plans and for information on final costs versus initial budget estimates.In terms of topics covered, the DTI site and associated sites offer information on nearly every area of the Department's responsibilities. The central DTI site (those within the Web domain www.dti.gov.uk) received an average of just over 5,600,000 hits per month over the last six months. Again, hits for all the sites for which my Department is responsible could be calculated only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many workplace car parking spaces are available at the buildings used and controlled by his Department. [116768]

[holding answer 30 March 2000]: 182 plus a further eight set aside for bicycles and motorcycles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) number and (b) percentage of properties in his charge are empty; and what steps are being taken by his Department to reduce the number of such properties. [116913]

None. There are two empty floors, which are currently being marketed, in Atholl House, Aberdeen.As announced on 28 March 2000,

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made to visiting analysts from the United States International Trade Commission in respect of their inquiry on behalf of the United States Senate Finance Committee on the impact on the United States economy of including the United Kingdom in NAFTA. [116315]

I have been asked to reply on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him today,

To ask the Prime Minister what aircraft he has at his disposal for travelling on official business; what the cost is in the current financial year; what proposals he is evaluating for acquiring further aircraft for the purpose; and at what [115266]

[holding answer 20 March 2000]: The rules on air travel by Ministers are set out in "Travel by Ministers", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Decisions on which aircraft to use will be determined on cost, the number of people travelling with me, security and business considerations and the availability of aircraft. A list of Cabinet Ministers' visits overseas, and information on spend by all Ministers on travel overseas for the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 are currently being assembled, and will be published as soon as possible after the end of the current financial year. This will include information on when I have used RAF and other charter flights and the cost.

To ask the Prime Minister if he, or his officials, during the last two weeks, advised visiting analysts from the United States International Trade Commission, or asked United States Government members or officials to ask the visiting analysts, not to meet hon. Members. [116318]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him today by the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz), Official Report, column 285W.

To ask the Prime Minister if it is Government policy that none of the security and intelligence agencies is permitted to intercept communications initiated by hon. Members nor to conduct electronic surveillance thereon. [116904]

[holding answer 30 March 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) on 30 October 1997, Official Report, column 861W and to the hon. Member on 17 November 1997, Official Report, columns 17-18.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the tests which apply before authorisation is given for an interception of a communication initiated by a newspaper or other media concern [116903]

[holding answer 30 March 2000]: The tests which apply for the inception of all communications are as set out in the Interception of Communications Act 1985. These tests are that a warrant cannot be issued unless it is considered necessary:

(a) in the interests of national security;

(b) for the purpose of preventing or detecting serious crime; or

(c) for the purpose of safeguarding the economic well-being of the United Kingdom.

Subject to the approval of Parliament, the Interception of Communications Act will be replaced by provisions in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill. The tests for interception will however remain the same.

To ask the Prime Minister how many times he has met President Clinton outside (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the United States since 1 July 1998; and what was the (i) date, (ii) location and (iii) purpose of each meeting. [117067]

The information requested is as follows:

• 8 February 1999, Amman. at the funeral of King Hussein;
• 18 June, bilateral in the margins of the Cologne G8 Summit;
• 30 July 1999, Sarajevo Summit; and
• 20 November 1999, meeting in Florence for "Third Way" conference.

To ask the Prime Minister if Mr. Geoff Mulgan of his Policy Unit is involved in policy relating to voting systems. [117153]

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in the training of RUC officers in human rights issues. [108061]

As with all police forces in the UK, the Royal Ulster Constabulary is examining all aspects of human rights including training in preparation for the Human Rights Act coming into force in October 2000. It is in contact with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and with national police training colleges and plans are at an advanced stage for all RUC officers and civilian staff to receive training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if a Union flag was provided for, if arrangements were made to fly the Union flag on the designated dates at, and if the Union flag was flown on 17 March at (a) Department of Agriculture, The Mall, Armagh, (b) Department of Agriculture, Newry Road, Armagh, (c) Southern Education and Library Board, The Mall, Armagh, (d) Southern Education and Library Board, Market House, Armagh, (e) Crown Buildings, Alexander Road, Armagh, (f) RUC Station, Newry Road, Armagh, (g) Department of Environment, Ballinakone, Armagh and (h) Vehicle Testing Station, Hamiltonstown Road, Armagh; and if he will make a statement. [116089]

All central Government buildings are provided with a Union flag and a list of those dates on which the Union flag should be flown.The Union flag was provided and flown on 17 March at the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development's offices on the Mall, Armagh and Crown Buildings, Alexander Road, Armagh and the Department of the Environment's Vehicle Testing Station, Hamiltonstown Road, Armagh. Arrangements have been made to fly the Union flag at these buildings on all designated dates.It is assumed that the building referred to in

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in developing a memorandum of understanding between the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Equality Commission. [117357]

This is a matter for the Commissions themselves.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral statement of the Minister of State of 24 March 2000, Official Report, columns 1292–93 on Iraq, what assessment he has made of the letter of 9 March from Riad El-Taher of Friendship Across Frontiers. [116875]

FCO officials replied to Mr. El-Taher's letter of 9 March on 29 March addressing his comments on the humanitarian situation in Iraq.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral statement of the Minister of State of 24 March 2000, Official Report, columns 1292–93 on Iraq, what evidence he has received that Iraq is manufacturing chlorine-based mustard gas. [116871]

To reiterate the point in my statement of 24 March 2000, Official Report, columns 1292–93, chlorine is a constituent of mustard gas which was used by Iraq in the attack on Halabja in 1988. It is therefore clearly important that we are sure that chlorine imported into Iraq under the "oil for food" programme is used for the purposes for which it was approved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his letter to the hon. Member for Linlithgow, concerning his willingness to debate Government policy on Iraq, if he will do so at Kensington Town Hall on 6 May with Denis Halliday and Hans von Sponeck. [117247]

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in his letter, he is happy to debate Government policy on Iraq, as am I. Indeed I debated our policy with my hon. Friend in the House most recently on 24 March.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the scope of the projects of the British military advisers working in Zimbabwe; and how many such advisers there are. [116895]

[holding answer 30 March 2000]: There are five military advisers providing peacekeeping training to the Southern African Development Community region, including modules on human rights, rights of the child, the role of the ICRC, democratic control of the armed forces, structure of the UN and non-governmental organisations and three other advisers involved in peacekeeping training in support of UN priorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the visiting rights available to (a) members of the family and (b) legal advisers, in respect of the 13 Jews detained in Iran. [117251]

We have regularly raised with the Iranian authorities our concerns at the detention on espionage charges of a number of Iranian nationals including 10 members of the Jewish community, following the release on bail in February of three of the Jewish detainees. I discussed this matter with the Deputy Foreign Minister Sarmadi on 7 March. It is our understanding that visits by some family members have been allowed and that some of the defendants have appointed legal representatives. We are seeking clarification from the Iranian authorities on the latter point. The Iranian authorities are fully aware of the importance that we and our EU partners attach to this issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the availability of legal representation for the 13 Jews detained in Iran. [117252]

Our understanding is that some of those detained have appointed legal representation. However, we are aware of recent reports that legal representation has been denied to some of the detainees. We are seeking clarification from the Iranian authorities on this point. The Iranian authorities are fully aware of the importance that we and our EU partners attach to this issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which occasions Roger Crooks was present at meetings referred to in (a) Sir Thomas Legg's report, Session 1997–98, HC 1016, (b) the First Special report of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee sessions 1997–98, HC 760, (c) the Second Special report of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee session 1997–98, HC 852 and (d) the Second report of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee sessions 1998–99, HC 116-I; and if he will make a statement. [116932]

This information is not held centrally and to provide such details would incur disproportionate costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Mr. Roger Crooks was present at the official meeting held on 3 December 1997 between his Department's officials, and representatives of the (i) Cabinet Office, (ii) Department for International Development and (iii) Ministry of Defence; and if he will make a statement. [116925]

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the occasions on which Mr. Peter Penfold had meetings with Roger Crooks (a) in Sierra Leone, (b) in Conakry, (c) in the United Kingdom and (d) on board a Royal Naval vessel. [116928]

Mr. Penfold confirms that he spoke to Mr. Crooks occasionally in Sierra Leone and Conakry, but that he had no meetings with Mr. Crooks in the UK or elsewhere.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 16 March 2000, Official Report, column 287W, for what purposes his Department has had discussions on the general situation in Sierra Leone; and if he will make a statement. [116968]

As stated in my answer of 16 March, Mr. Crooks is refurbishing one of the main hotels in Freetown to be used as the Headquarters of UNAMSIL. FCO and MOD personnel have had occasional contacts with him over the last few years. Discussions have focused on the general situation in Sierra Leone, not arms or military matters.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which occasions John Flynn, the Foreign Secretary's Special Representative for Sierra Leone, met Mr. Roger Crooks. [116931]

Never.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 16 March 2000, Official Report, column 287W, if his Department knew of Roger Crooks' dual US/Sierra Leone citizenship at the time of their discussions; and if these discussions have continued since Roger Crooks' expulsion from Sierra Leone. [116962]

The information is as follows:

(a) No.

(b) The Government of Sierra Leone expulsion order on Mr. Crooks was lifted in May 1999. The High Commissioner reports that he had one discussion with Mr. Crooks since his return to Sierra Leone.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which occasions (a) Miss Ann Grant, (b) Mr. Richard Dales, (c) Craig Murray, (d) Mr. Tim Andrews, (d) Mr. John Everad and (f) Lynda St. Cooke met Roger Crooks. [116927]

We believe that none of the six has met Roger Crooks. We have not yet been able to confirm this with one of them. When we have confirmation I will write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who selects hon. Members to attend the Oxford Forum. [116929]

There is no organisation called the Oxford Forum in which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who were (a) the three officials from other Foreign and Commonwealth Office departments, (b) the official from the Cabinet office and (c) the official from the Department for International Development who attended the meeting referred to in the Second report of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Session 1998–99 (HC 116) at footnote 163, page xxi. [116926]

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has already given a full account to Parliament of the events covered in the FAC report. There is nothing to add to his previous statements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Kazakhstan about freedom of the press. [117113]

This is an issue of concern to us and our EU partners. We have ensured that it has been raised in EU statements, including at the OSCE Review Conference in Vienna and Istanbul in September 1999, and more recently in the EU response to the statement by President Nazarbaev at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna in February.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with European Foreign Ministers on human rights in Kazakhstan. [117114]

We and our EU and OSCE partners continue to monitor developments in Kazakhstan, including those relating to progress on democratic reform there, and will raise issues of concern as necessary. We shall also seek to ensure that, in the context of the Partnership & Co-operation Agreement, these issues are adequately addressed at the next EU-Kazakhstan Co-operation Council due in June.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what decision was taken by the General Affairs Council on 20 March on sponsoring a resolution on China at the 56th Conference on Human Rights. [116279]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Clydesdale (Mr. Hood) on 29 March 2000, Official Report, columns 167–68W.The position the EU will take on the US resolution on China will reflect developments up until the time the resolution is considered by UNCHR.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason, when his officials met analysts from the United States International Trade Commission during the last two weeks, they advised the analysts not to meet hon. Members. [116312]

UK Ministers and officials did not advise the visiting International Trade Commission analysts not to meet with hon. Members, nor was any such advice given to US Government members or officials. Meetings between officials and the analysts were wide-ranging covering the Government's policy towards the EU, the assumptions underlying the ITC inquiry and the economic consequences of the scenarios the ITC are considering.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which proposals made by EU institutions and member states for incorporation into a new treaty, other than those relating to composition of the Commission, cannot be adopted via the fast track option contained in the Treaty amendments agreed at Amsterdam in 1997. [116308]

There is no fast-track option for Treaty change. The Treaties can only be changed through an IGC. All amendments need to be agreed unanimously by member states' Governments and ratified by the member states before they can come into force.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what (a) number and (b) percentage of properties in his charge are empty; and what steps are being taken by his Department to reduce the number of such properties. [116923]

My Department has no empty properties.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the expenditure incurred by her Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies on (a) the setting up and (b) the operation of websites, indicating the cases in which the expenditure has been above that budgeted; and if she will list for each website (i) the topics which have been covered, (ii) the current average number of hits per month and (iii) the estimated expenditure on each website for each of the next three years. [115391]

The Department for International Development's website was set up at an initial cost of £10,000. Operating costs have been £16,000 per annum and expenditure has been within the allocated budget. The topics covered are: "Who We Are"—an introduction to DFID; "What We Do"—an introduction to DFID's work around the world; "Working with Us"—information for users seeking to work with DFID; "News Centre" —information on press releases, speeches etc.The average number of hits per month is 55,000. Maintenance costs for the next three years are likely to be around £12,000 per annum. The website will be re-designed over the coming year at a cost of up to £50,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the Canadian Government regarding exports to Sudan; and if she will make a statement. [115719]

I have held no discussions with the Canadian Government regarding exports to Sudan.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has received concerning the forest fires in Oromiya state, Ethiopia; and if she will make a statement. [116550]

It is reported that tens of thousands of hectares of natural forest have been razed by fires in the forest areas of Bale and Borana Administrative Zones. It is believed that the fires were started by local farmers burning land for local cultivation that escalated out of control. The Ethiopian Government sought donor help to combat the fires in February 2000. A number of donor countries who were well placed to address the problem helped form and deploy an International Fire Emergency Advisory Group. Donors, including DFID, maintain daily contact in Addis Ababa.International experts travelled down to Bale and Borana to assess the damage and map out a strategy to contain the fires. Their findings were presented to the Ethiopians on 6 March. A US expert was brought in to head up the fire-fighting operation with support and equipment from South Africa and Germany. On 9 March, South Africa announced that it would provide a further 22 fire-fighters and other experts. We concluded that as the UK has limited experience in fighting large-scale forest fires it was best for those with expertise and technical equipment to take the lead.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) number and (b) percentage of properties in her charge are empty; and what steps are being taken by her Department to reduce the number of such properties. [116910]

No properties in my charge as Secretary of State for International Development are empty.

Home domiciled applicants for entry to full-time and sandwich1 undergraduate courses in the United Kingdom through the universities and colleges admission system (UCAS) 1997–99
	1997		1998		1999
Age	Number	Percentage of population1	Number	Percentage of population1	Number	Percentage of population1
Under 21	300,926	43.1	303,729	241.0	306,809	40.9
21 to 24	41,000	5.3	37,287	5.1	36,361	5.1
25 and over	56,401	6.0	48,572	5.2	45,521	5.0
Total	398,327		389,588		388,691
1 Based on the averaged 17 and 18 year old population for under 21s, the averaged 21-24 year old population for 21-24s, and the averaged 25-34 year old population for 25s and over.
2 The drop in the participation rate between 1997 and 1998 reflects the unusually large increase in the number of 18 year olds in the population between these years, resulting from a rise in the birth rate.

UCAS covers only applicants to full-time and sandwich courses; although similar data for part-time courses are not available, entrant numbers are. The following table shows the numbers of entrants to part-time courses as a proportion of the age group, for the two most recent years; data on part-time entrants for 1999 will not be available until April 2000. The figures show that, in contrast to applicants to full-time courses, participation rates for mature part-time students have risen. The majority of mature students opt to enter higher education via part-time courses.

Home domiciled entrants to part-time undergraduate courses 1 in the United Kingdom
	1997		1998
Age	Number	Percentage of population2	Number	Percentage of population2
Under 21	15,227	2.2	16,236	2.2
21 to 24	26,116	3.5	26,645	3.8
25 and over	176,139	18.9	181,572	19.8
Total	217,482		224,453
1 Includes courses in HE institutions, including the Open University, and FE institutions. The figures for the Open University will include some double counting of students who enrol on more than one course.
2 Based on the averaged 18 and 19 year old population for under 21s, the averaged 21-24 year old population for 21-24s, and the averaged 25-34 year old population for 25s and over.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the impact of the New Deal on ethnic minorities. [110592]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people aged (a) 18 to 21, (b) 21 to 24 and (c) 25 years and over have applied for higher education in each of the last three years; and what percentage of the population in each age group these figures represent. [109978]

The latest data on applicants via UCAS are shown in the following table. Although applicants fell between 1998 and 1999, the final number of accepted applicants increased by 1.6 per cent. over the same period.

[holding answer 22 February 2000]: We have set a target that all New Deal partnerships achieve parity of job outcomes between ethnic minority and white clients by the end of this Parliament. We recognise the additional disadvantages which can be faced by ethnic minority jobseekers and that is why the Employment Service is working so closely with key organisations such as the Commission for Racial Equality, Local Race Equality Councils and community groups in this important area of work.At the end of November 1999, we know that nearly 20,000 young people from ethnic minorities had gone into work from the New Deal for young people. 13,700 had benefited from training and work experience under the New Deal options. At present, the New Deal appears to be doing less well in helping young people from ethnic minorities in obtaining jobs than young white people, although much of the discrepancy may be in part due to less complete destination data for ethnic minority leavers and from variation in performance between delivery areas. They are, however, leaving the Gateway more quickly and are slightly less likely to return to JSA after finding employment. We also assess the performance of different ethnic minority groups and are aware of the variations in outcomes between the groups. For example, we know that those of Indian, Bangladeshi and Chinese origin are closer to achieving equality of job outcomes with white participants than are Black-African participants.The table shows jobs as a percentage of New Deal starts for each ethnic grouping.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on (a) participation in, (b) the costs to United Kingdom and European funds and (c) the educational benefits of the first Socrates programme; and what his plans are for the second Socrates programme. [116017]

[holding answer 23 March 2000]: The first phase of the EU Education action programme Socrates ran from 1995 to 1999. During that period some 920 million euros were available for activities across the European Union, many of which will continue until the end of this academic year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for (a) England and (b) each local education authority in Hampshire the number of three-year-olds with free early years education places providing five or more sessions of education per week in (i) 1979, (ii) 1990 and (iii) each year from 1992 to 1999. [115964]

[holding answer 23 March 2000]: The latest available January census information on three-year-olds educated in maintained schools is shown in the following table.Places for 46,000 children have been created in 64 local authorities with the greatest social need, from the £40 million Nursery Education Grant made available during 1999–2000. Expenditure of £390 million is being made available over the three financial years 1999–2000 to 2001–02 to increase by 190,000 the number of new, free, good quality, early education places for three-year-olds. The priority is to reach those three-year-olds in social need who could most benefit from a free nursery place.Information on three-year-olds educated in maintained schools for January 2000 is currently being collected as are the actual figures for three-year-old places created in the private and voluntary sector from September 1999 onwards. Provisional estimates of both sets of figures are expected to be published in a Statistical First Release in May.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will break down the capital allocations since May 1997 to schools in

Capital Allocations for the Amber Valley Constituency since May 1997
£
School name	New Deal for Schools	Supplementary Credit Approvals	Grant Maintained Schools Funding	Special Educational Needs	Outside Toilets Initiative	Class Size Initiative	Annual Capital Guidelines	Voluntary Aided Grants	School Formula Capital (Minimum)	Grand Total
Aldercar Infant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,555	5,555
Aldercar	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	10,765	10,765
Ambergate Primary	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,905	4,905
Breadsall C of E Primary	—	—	—	—	50,000	—	—	—	—	55,170
Christ The King RC Primary	—	—	—	10,500	—	2,938	—	107,776	5,245	126,459
Codnor C of E VC Primary	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7,190	7,190
Coppice Primary	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6,255	6,255
Copthorne Infant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,940	4,940
Corfield C of E Infant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,860	4,860
Crich C of E Infant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,430	4,430
Crich Junior	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,670	4,670
Croft Infant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,660	5,660
Denby Free C of E Primary	—	6,675	—	—	—	—	—	85,934	4,161	96,770
Fritchley C of E (VA) Primary	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	35,145	4,078	39,223
Heage Primary	240,000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,990	245,990
Heanor Gate School	—	—	326,822	—	—	—	—	—	23,875	350,697
Heanor Langley Infant	—	—	—	—	—	96,400	—	—	5,240	101,640
Holbrook Centre for Autism	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,540	4,540
Holbrook C of E Primary	110,000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,485	115,485
Horsley C of E Primary	70,000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,770	74,770
Horsley Woodhouse Primary	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,855	4,855
Ironville and Codnor Park Primary	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,915	5.915
John Flamsteed Community	669,163	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	12,715	681,878
Kilburn Infant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,820	5,820
Kilburn Junior	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6,110	6,110
Langley Mill C of E Infant	—	—	—	10,000	—	—	—	—	4,985	14,985
Langley Mill Junior	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6,700	6,700
Leys Junior	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,540	5,540
Little Eaton Primary	—	—	—	—	—	86,400	—	—	6,445	92,845
Lons Infant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,690	4,690
Loscoe C of E Primary	—	—	—	—	23,575	—	—	—	5,225	28,800
Mapperley C of E Cont Primary	—	—	—	—	44,000	—	—	—	4,490	48,490
Marlpool Infant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,440	4,440
Marlpool Junior	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,900	5,900
Mary Howitt Infant Community	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6,320	6,320
Mill Hill	—	—	116,231	—	—	—	—	—	24,280	140,511
Morley Primary	—	—	—	—	35,190	—	—	—	4,685	39,875
Mortimer Wilson	—	525,000	—	—	—	—	—	—	18,460	543,460
Mundy C of E Junior	—	—	—	—	65,000	—	—	—	5,920	70,920
Parkwood	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,485	5,485
Pottery Primary	225,000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	8,325	233,325
Richardson Endowed Primary	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,195	5,195
Riddings Infant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,780	5,780
Riddings Junior	—	—	—	—	40,250	—	—	—	6,360	46,610
Ripley Infant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,955	5,955
Ripley Junior	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	8,030	8,030
Somercotes Infant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6,180	6,180
Somerlea Park Junior	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6,470	6,470
South Wingfield Primary	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,050	5,050
St. Andrew's C of E Primary	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,850	4,850
St. John's C of E Primary	—	—	—	1,000	—	86,400	—	—	8,480	95,880
Stanley Common C of E Primary	—	—	—	—	50,000	—	—	—	4,770	54,770
Street Lane Primary	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,500	4,500
Stanwick Hall	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	20,395	20,395
Stanwick Primary	205,000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7,960	212,960
The Delves	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6,910	6,910

[holding answer 27 March 2000]: The information requested is shown in the following tables.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what has been the total capital allocation since May 1997 to schools in (a) the Amber Valley constituency and (b) Amber Valley District. [116377]

[holding answer 27 March 2000]: The resources allocated since May 1997 for capital purposes to schools in the (a) Amber Valley constituency amount to £4,051,664 and for (b) Amber Valley District amount to £4,415,068.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the performance by careers guidance services of the terms of their contracts over the last three years. [116462]

[holding answer 28 March 2000]: For the financial years 1997–98 and 1998–99, Careers Service performance was based upon a range of activities including individual interviews, group sessions and personal action plans. During this period, most Careers Services achieved their agreed targets and many exceeded them.More recently Careers Services have focused on those who need help most in support of social inclusion and achieving National learning targets. In the financial year 1999–2000, Careers Services made significant shifts in their activities, increasing their resources on work engaging 16 to 17-year-olds in learning by 37 per cent. compared with the previous year.Despite the change in focus of Careers Services young people have, however, suffered from a lack of co-ordinated advice and guidance and gaps in provision. That is why we have launched the Connexions Service. It will take forward the provision of careers information, advice and guidance as part of a radical new approach to raising standards and ensuring coherent and co-ordinated support for all young people.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will estimate the cost of raising the level of education SSA per child to at least (a) the level of that of the median authority and (b) the level of the median authority minus five per cent. [116754]

We estimate that it would cost £511 million to raise the per pupil funding of all Local Education Authorities to the level of that of the median authority and £96 million to raise it to the level less 5 per cent. of that of the median authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what assessment he has made of the equity of the standard spending assessment for education as a method of allocation; [117128](2) what recent representations he has received regarding measures being taken to reform received standard spending assessment for education, with particular reference to the

My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations on the area cost adjustment and additional education needs elements of the standard spending assessment. We have already acknowledged that there are valid objections to the current SSA formula. The Government, in partnership with local government, have set up a review to see whether there is a better way of determining the distribution of funds which is simpler, more stable, more robust and fairer than the present arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will estimate the cost of raising the standard spending assessment per pupil for each local education authority in England to at least that of Hertfordshire for 2000–01. [117225]

We estimate that it would cost £760 million to raise the standard spending assessment per pupil for each local education authority in England to the level of that of Hertfordshire for 2000–01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to improve Access to Work for disabled people. [116988]

The Access to Work programme has been successful in helping an increasing number of disabled people to remain or move into employment year on year. Over the next financial year we expect to help more than 23,000 people through Access to Work at a cost of nearly £26 million. This represents an increase of over 3,000 compared with the current year.The Employment Service is also planning to improve the quality of service offered through Access to Work. Over the next year, it is strengthening the Disability Service training, conducting a customer satisfaction survey, and undertaking a review to streamline Access to Work processes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to improve the special tuition available to dyslexic children. [116974]

It is the responsibility of schools and local education authorities (LEAs) to ensure that children with dyslexia receive appropriate tuition. Schools and LEAs must have regard to guidance in the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs (SEN). This guidance recognises a continuum of special educational needs and advocates a staged approach to meeting such needs. The Code provides advice on the needs of children with specific learning difficulties, including dyslexia. A revised version of the Code is expected to be issued next year, which will place a stronger emphasis on the importance of early identification of SEN, so the appropriate help can be given as soon as possible. Under the National Literacy Strategy all children are being taught phonics, spelling and grammar. This has been shown to be particularly helpful for children with mild dyslexia. Children who demonstrate particular difficulties at word level, which are due to their SEN, can be identified much earlier and more focused support added. Such children have also been helped by the requirement, since September 1998, for newly qualified teachers to show that they can identify pupils who have special educational needs, including dyslexia, and know where to get help in order to give positive and targeted support to children.My Department is also part funding a two year study programme by the Dyslexia Institute in partnership with the Centre for Reading and Language Studies at the University of York. The research has at its heart a controlled intervention study designed to evaluate the effects of structured programmes of intervention for seven-year-old pupils who are experiencing specific difficulties to read, write and spell.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many workplace car parking spaces are available at the buildings used and controlled by his Department. [116762]

[holding answer 30 March 2000]: In total, there are 900 workplace car parking spaces available at the Department's head office buildings in Darlington, London, Runcorn and Sheffield. We have prepared travel plans for all our key buildings in line with the commitment set out in the Transport White Paper and are reviewing the scope for reducing our car parking requirements in that context.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people are currently waiting for individual learning accounts; and what is the average period between application and allocation. [117244]

The first trance of individual learning accounts are being administered and funded solely through Training and Enterprise Councils. In England alone, over 101,000 accounts had been opened by the end of February 2000, against a UK target of 100,000 accounts opened by April 2000, and we are on track to achieve the target of one million accounts opened in the lifetime of this Parliament. Information on how many people are currently waiting for individual learning accounts; and the average period between application and allocation is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the local education authorities in which no schools provide hot school meals. [117145]

This information is not collected centrally. Under current education legislation, it is up to local education authorities, and schools with delegated budgets for school meals, to decide on their presentation and content, including whether a meal should be hot. The Government's minimum nutritional standards for school lunches will apply to both hot and cold lunches.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the number of families eligible to claim free school meals which do not do so. [117144]

Information reported by maintained schools in England to the Department for Education and Employment in January 1999 showed that there were 1,417,300 pupils on the schools' register (on the census day) who were known by schools to be eligible for free school meals. Of these, 1,088,800 pupils were reported to have taken a free school meal on the census day.Further information provided by the Department of Social Security, for November 1999, showed overall that there were an estimated 1,490,000 school age children (5-16 years) in England from 849,000 families in receipt of Income Support or Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance. No information is available from the Department of Social Security on the number of these children who took their free meals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the number of staff and the budget for the Standards and Effectiveness Unit at the end of (a) September 1999 and (b) December 1999. [117507]

At the end of September and December 1999, the number of staff in the Unit was 204. The running cost budget for the Unit in the current year is £6.421 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to ensure that schools have sufficient accommodation to meet the pressures on class sizes when the cohorts of children currently benefiting from the class size reduction initiative turn eight years old. [116736]

The Department's guidance to LEAs on drawing up infant class size implementation plans made clear that the criteria for plan approval included the need to ensure no adverse impact upon the size of junior classes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the impact of the class size reduction initiative on smaller schools where site constraints limit expansion and published admission numbers are reduced as a result. [116737]

The Department issues regular monitoring questionnaires, to all LEAs, which seek information on the implementation of the infant class size initiative. We have no evidence to suggest that the initiative has had an adverse impact on smaller schools which have reduced their admission numbers in order to comply with the infant class size limit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the future of local education authorities. [117511]

Local education authorities have four key functions related to schools: school improvement, special education needs, access and strategic management.We believe that LEAs should be held accountable by regular inspections, which is why Ofsted has a programme of inspections in place—and why we introduced legislation allowing intervention and outsourcing where necessary.We believe that as far as possible schools should manage themselves and their budgets. That is why we are delegating far greater resources to schools than the previous Administration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what (a) number and (b) percentage of properties in his charge are empty; and what steps are being taken by her Department to reduce the number of such properties. [116911]

There are currently eight Departmental headquarters properties and 53 Employment Service (ES) properties that are either fully or partly vacant. Using the standard measure of square metreage, these figures represents 3.19 per cent. of vacant space against the total headquarters property for DfEE and 4.9 per cent. against the total for ES. Both ES and DfEE use the services of external estates surveyors, under contract, who advise on the best method of achieving a speedy and cost effective disposal. This will include assignment, sub-letting or surrender. The option pursued will depend upon, for example, the terms of the lease, the wishes of the landlord and market conditions. In line with usual practice, retained estates surveyors employ local estate agents who market vacant premises.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many external assessors for the performance-related pay scheme for teachers have been recruited and how many remain to be recruited; and by what date they will be recruited. [117510]

The actual numbers of external assessors to be deployed will depend on the number and distribution of teachers who apply to cross the threshold. Numbers are likely to peak in the first two years of the new arrangements when very large numbers of teachers will be eligible for assessment. The maximum requirement in year one will be in the region of 520 full-time equivalents. The recruitment process for external assessors is nearly complete.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is (a) the breakdown for the financial year 1999–2000 and (b) the forecast breakdown for 2000–01, of funding for schools between the Standards Fund, local education authority expenditure, and other Government grants. [117506]

The following table sets out: (a) Education Standard Spending, which is the amount the Government assume local authorities will spend for the purpose of setting Standard Spending Assessments; (b) Standards Fund Grant; and (c) Other Government Grants, which include Nursery Grant for three and four-year-olds, Class Size Grant, and Special Grants to be paid under the Local Government Act 1988.

	1999–2000	2000–01
Education Standard Spending	20,414	21,479
Standards Fund Grant	563	1,077
Other Government Grants	247	877
Total	21,224	23,433

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the figures are for the mean time between failure for the British Army Light Support Weapon (a) modified and (b) unmodified, and for other Light Support Weapon equivalents used by other armed forces tested by the British army. [114214]

[holding answer 13 March 2000]: The mean time between failure expressed as mean rounds between failure for modified Light Support Weapon as tested on recent trials, firing a Battlefield mission of 960 rounds in 37 minutes, is greater than 2,500 rounds in all climates and with all NATO qualified ammunition types. Of the other Light Support Weapon systems tested, the mean rounds between failure range from 398 to 2,008 rounds.I am withholding details of the performance of the unmodified LSW under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the most recent field trial report on (a) SA80 and (b) LSW. [114215]

[holding answer 13 March 2000]: The report to which the hon. Member refers is classified and is withheld under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice for the release of Government Information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what are the figures for the mean time between failures for (a) the SA80 as modified, (b) the G36, (c) 51G (Swiss Army), (d) DEMAR. Co, (e) M16 and (f) other personal weapons recently tested by the Army; [114217]

[holding answer 13 March 2000]: The mean time between failure expressed as mean rounds between failure for the modified SA 80 Individual Weapon (IW) as tested on recent trials, firing a Battlefield mission of 150 rounds in eight minutes 40 seconds, is greater than 2,500 rounds in all climates and with all NATO qualified ammunition types.The mean round between failure for G36, Diemaco and SIG is commercially sensitive. However only one Weapon system was considered comparable to the modified SA80 1W.The reliability tests for all the Weapons systems have been based on the firing of 21 Battlefield missions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the expenditure incurred by his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies on (a) the setting up and (b) the operation of websites, indicating the cases in which the expenditure has been above that budgeted; and if he will list for each website (i) the topics covered, (ii) the average number of hits per month and (iii) the estimated expenditure on each website for each of the next three years. [115090]

The information requested by the right hon. Member is not held centrally or in the form requested. I will write to the right hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what aircraft was used to take Puma helicopters to Mozambique; how long the journey took; and what estimate he has made of how long it would have taken for an equivalent number of helicopters to have arrived in a complete state had Boeing C-17 aircraft been used for the transportation. [116599]

An An-124 aircraft was used to carry four Puma helicopters to Heudspruit, South Africa. The journey time from Brize Norton to Heudspruit took 16 hours 50 minutes; the flight time was 14 hours ten minutes. Two C-17 aircraft would have been required to transport the four Pumas and, as the cruise speeds are similar, the flight times would have been similar to the An-124. It was necessary to remove the rotors and rotor head for the Pumas to be transported in the An-124. It is assessed that the same degree of dismantlement would have been necessary had C-17 been used.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long it would take for an Antonov 124, if purchased by his Department, to be placed on the British Military List; and what impact this would have on protecting its operation from interference by foreign powers. [116598]

Details of our assessment of these issues forms part of the current decision making process on options to meet our short-term strategic airlift requirement. I am withholding information under Exemption 2 (internal discussion and advice) of the Code of Practice on access to Government Information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the unit cost for the purchase of (a) an Antonov 124 and (b) a Boeing C17. [116560]

This information is commercially sensitive. I am withholding it under Exemption 13 (third party's commercial confidences) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft would be available under (a) the Antonov 124 package and (b) the Boeing C17 package. [116497]

A final decision on aircraft numbers has yet to be reached and will form part of our overall decision on airlift requirements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long it would take for (i) an Antonov 124, and (ii) a Boeing C17 to carry 40 battle tanks to the Balkans. [116502]

That information is not available and could be calculated only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the C-17 was chartered by the Ministry of Defence from the USAF during the Kosovo conflict; and what the payload was which was offered. [116562]

A request for airlift assistance to move the vehicles of a High Velocity Missile Battery was submitted to the USAF on 29 March 1999. The move involved seven C-17 flights using two aircraft flying from Hanover to Skopje. The lift commenced on 1 April and was completed on 4 April 1999.Under the UK/US Acquisition and Cross Service Agreement, the USAF determine the most appropriate means of transportation, based on their resources available at the time. Therefore, while no actual offer of payload was made, the USAF provided sufficient airlift to meet the stated requirement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list (a) the visits by hon. Members to his Department's establishments in Wales since May 1997 and (b) invitations declined by local hon. Members to visit establishments in their constituencies. [116348]

[holding answer 27 March 2000]: The visits by hon. Members of Parliament to Ministry of Defence (MOD) establishments in Wales since May 1997 are listed in the table. It is not however possible to list the invitations declined by local hon. Members to visit establishments in their constituencies, as such records are not comprehensively maintained.