asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the November 2000 Report of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom entitled

Yes. Copies will be placed in the Library of each House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many of Her Majesty's ships are available for operations; and how many ships by type are undergoing extensive inspection, second line repair or long-term modifications and maintenance. [HL397]

As at 22 January 2001, 71 surface ships and four submarines (including three Vanguard class) were available for operations and of these 12 were undergoing short-term assisted upkeep, which is similar in nature to second line repair. These were, broken down by type, as follows:

• Frigates and Destroyers: 8
• Mine Counter Measures Vessels: 3
• Survey Vessel: 1

A further 11 surface ships and 11 submarines were undergoing periods of combined long-term modifications, maintenance and inspection. These numbers, which include those Swiftsure and Trafalgar Class submarines undergoing repair for the surge line pintle defect, are as follows:

asked Her Majesty's Government:With reference to the Presidency report to the Nice Council on European Union Security and Defence Policy, whether NATO intelligence is included in the list of NATO assets to which the European Union would have assured access in mounting a military expedition led by the European Union. [HL404]

In the French Presidency report to the Nice European Council, assured or guaranteed access refers only to NATO planning capabilities for EU-led operations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether there are any conditions attached to the release and distribution of the British Defence Equipment Catalogues published since 1980; and [HL470]Whether they believe that the intelligence agencies of all potential military opponents of the Government have copies of British Defence Equipment Catalogues published since 1980. [HL471]

The British Defence Industry Catalogue is a commercial publication containing only unclassified information that companies wish to publish about their products and capabilities. It is endorsed by the Defence Export Services Organisation as a valuable tool in promoting UK defence exports. The supply of any equipment or services described in the catalogue remains subject to normal export licensing requirements. Given the unclassified status of the catalogue, there is no reason for the Government to place any restrictions on its circulation. While it is possible that foreign intelligence organisations may acquire copies, publication of the information it contains, which is available also from other public sources such as company websites, has no implications for our national security.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the cause of the Hatfield rail crash is now sufficiently defined so that there can be confidence in the remedial measures that are being put in place. [HL483]

On 23 January the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published a second interim technical report setting out what happened on the day of the accident. HSE's investigation team is continuing its work into the underlying causes of the incident and will make recommendations in due course.HSE has identified that the cause of the derailment at Hatfield was due to a broken rail. HSE has also made assessments of the remedial measures taken by Railtrack, and is satisfied that these measures are appropriate to the risk identified. Further work is under way to improve understanding of gauge corner cracking and the best methods of dealing with it.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the safety and public health reasons for the Royal Parks management providing mechanical sweepers to follow horses on road carriageways while providing no similar cleaning up facilities on cycle-ways and footpaths. [HL423]

Responsibility for the subject of this Question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency under its Chief Executive, William Weston. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which organisations are responsible for street cleaning the footpath and cycle-way connecting Green Park and Constitution Hill and Hyde Park. [HL422]

Responsibility for the subject of this Question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency under its Chief Executive, William Weston. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have to ensure that police officers, when requesting information from Internet service providers, are adequately aware of the nature of information available in technical terms and appropriately authorised to obtain the confidential data; and [HL412]Whether they support the proposal from Internet service providers that there should be a list detailing what Internet service providers will tell law enforcement agencies about their customers under criminal investigation; and whether the Internet service providers have indicated how much they will charge for the information. [HL413]

Law enforcement agencies meet regularly, through working groups, with communication service providers (CSPs) to discuss issues such as the capability of the CSP to provide different types of communications data. A new more controlled regime to access such data is being introduced through Chapter II of Part I of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).These provisions describe the kind of data that may be required to be disclosed in response to a properly authorised notice and the statutory tests to be fulfilled before any such authorisation can be given. The provisions are subject to a statutory code of practice, a draft of which will be published for public consultation shortly. Agreements are in place between CSPs and law enforcement agencies that provide for cost recovery where a CSP is called upon to provide communications data. The agreements have been reached independently of the Government and take account of the fact that a requirement to provide communications data places operational and financial burdens on the CSP.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many people claimed asylum in the United Kingdom during 2000; how many of them have so far (a) been granted asylum; (b) been refused asylum; or (c) evaded control of asylum; and how many are still awaiting a decision. [HL473]

Provisional information on the number of asylum applications for 2000 is available on the department website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm.Information on how many applications made in 2000 are still awaiting a decision, and on the outcome of decisions on such applications, is not yet available.Information on the number of people who applied for asylum in 2000 and have subsequently absconded in an attempt to evade the control is not available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What has been the cost of administering asylum control during the last 12 months for which figures are available. [HL474]

The total cost of running Immigration and Nationality Directorate operations in 1999–2000, including the cost of administering the asylum control, was £260 million. The current costs of administering asylum control are currently not distinguished separately from overall operational costs.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What "one-stop-shop" support services for asylum seekers are currently supported with funding from the Home Office; where they are located; and which organisations provide them; and [HL433]What is the maximum distance that asylum seekers are expected to be located from the nearest "one-stop-shop" support service; and which "cluster areas" are further than this distance from the nearest one. [HL436]

The Home Office provides grant funding to a number of key voluntary organisations to develop a network of one-stop-services in the cluster regions. The following list indicates where such services are being provided within the regions and by which voluntary sector organisation. The voluntary sector one-stop services which are funded by NASS are not intended to provide a drop-in service to asylum seekers supported by NASS and therefore distance from one-stop services and accommodation within the cluster areas is not relevant.

Location	Voluntary Organisation
London	Refugee Council
Ipswich	Refugee Council
Birmingham	Refugee Council
Leeds	Refugee Council
Newcastle	North of England Refugee Service (NERS)
Sunderland	North of England Refugee Service (NERS)
Middlesbrough	North of England Refugee Service (NERS)
Dover	Migrant Helpline
Folkestone	Migrant Helpline
Margate	Migrant Helpline
Hastings	Migrant Helpline
Brighton	Migrant Helpline
Belfast	NICEM
Glasgow	Scottish Refugee Council
Edinburgh	Scottish Refugee Council
Cardiff	Welsh Refugee Council
Swansea	Welsh Refugee Council
Leicester	Refugee Action
Nottingham	Refugee Action
Manchester	Refugee Action
Liverpool	Refugee Action
Bristol	Refugee Action
Exeter	Refugee Action
Plymouth	Refugee Action
Southampton	Refugee Action
Oxford	Refugee Action
Northampton	Refugee Action

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which prisons are currently being used to hold asylum seekers; and how many are being held in each. [HL434]

The requested information is contained within a monthly table provided as deposited papers that are placed in the Library on a monthly basis. The most recent table shows the number of detainees as at 31 December 2000. A copy of this table is provided aside for ease of reference.These figures include all those persons detained in prisons exclusively under Immigration Act powers, not just asylum seekers. No-one is detained solely because they have made an application for asylum. These figures are not recorded in such a way as to identify those who are held pending deportation or those serving a sentence following criminal conviction, who may have applied for asylum at some point.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What are the criteria which are used in making decisions to hold asylum seekers in prisons. [HL435]

The power to detain in designated places of detention, including prisons, are contained in the Immigration Act. Detention criteria are set out in the White Paper Fairer, faster, firmer. Where the decision to detain an individual has been made, he is allocated a detention space. No one is detained solely because he has made an application for asylum.The Government accept that there will always be the need to use prisons for Immigration Act detainees. This is for reasons of security, control, geographical constraints and availability of space. Prisons will also be used for those prisoners subject to deportation at the end of a prison sentence and those Immigration Act detainees who may need the particular healthcare facilities at a prison.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What proportion of robberies and assaults reported to the Metropolitan Police area are reported by the victim as having been carried out (a) by black assailants and (b) by white assailants. [HL439]

Information is only available on the ethnicity of persons arrested for these offences. Such information was published on 18 January 2001 in the annual Home Office publication Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System. Copies are available in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will explain the methodology by which they calculate their estimates of numbers of would-be immigrants currently illegally at large in the United Kingdom. [HL465]

There is no official estimate of the number of immigrants unlawfully present in the United Kingdom. However, we are considering commissioning research into this area and expect to let the contract for a feasibility study of possible survey methods shortly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made with the review of the Parole Board and the operation of supervised conditional release in the light of the study by the University of Oxford Centre for Criminological Research,

The final report of the Quinquennial Review of the Parole Board and the associated Comprehensive Review of the wider parole processes for determinate and life sentenced prisoners will be completed shortly. The Home Secretary has already accepted an earlier recommendation from the Quinquennial Review that the Parole Board should continue in its capacity as a Non-Departmental Public Body. Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons already monitors the procedures in prison establishments in England and Wales by which prisoners receive parole decisions. This function includes the examination of the timeliness of those procedures and sampling the quality of parole reports.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many new criminal offences were created in (a) public and (b) local and private legislation enacted during the session 1999–2000. [HL461]

Although the Home Office is responsible for scrutinising proposals for new offences in both public and private legislation no comprehensive records are kept centrally of all new offences created in public legislation. The following information about public legislation therefore relates only to Home Office measures which have been enacted during the 1999–2000 parliamentary Session. The information about local and private legislation covers all private measures during the period in question.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have reached a decision about Criminal Records Bureau charges, in respect of information about criminal records of people volunteering to work with young people. [HL462]

Work is continuing to determine the bureau's costs. Fees will be set to recover the costs of the bureau. An announcement about the level of charges will be made as soon as possible.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many persons are currently detained under the various Immigration and Asylum Acts; how many of them have been placed in HM Prisons; and which prisons are involved; and [HL458]How many of those now detained under various Immigration and Asylum Acts are:

The requested information is shown in the table below, which is placed in the Library on a monthly basis. The most recent information relates to the number of detainees as at 31 December 2000.These figures include all those persons detained in prisons exclusively under Immigration Act powers, not just asyulum seekers. These figures are not recorded in such a way as to identify those who are held pending deportation or those who may have applied for asylum at some point.

Persons recorded as being in detention1 in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers as at 31 December 2000, by place of detention
Location	Total Detainees
Immigration detention centres2
Campsfield House	176
Dover Harbour	13
Harmondsworth	80
Heathrow Queens Building	15
Longport	2
Manchester Airport	7
Tinsley House	113
Prison establishments3
Altcourse	6
Bedford	7
Belmarsh	43
Birmingham	10
Blakenhurst	2
Brixton	14
Brockhill	2
Bullingdon	3
Canterbury	3
Craiginches	6
Doncaster	10
Dorchester	2
Durham	6

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answers by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 17 January (

It has been the policy of successive governments to support the fluoridation of water and the British Fluoridation Society has been responsive to that policy. The society has both a promotional role and an information gathering function. I have asked the society to ensure that it produces objective, evidence based information when responding to enquiries.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When the sub-group of the Food Standards Agency, formed to investigate the adequacy of existing measures to prevent bovine tuberculosis entering the human food chain, will report; and when that report will be made public. [HL481]

The Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food's Working Group on Mycobacterium bovis will hold its first meeting on 28 February. The committee hopes to report to the Food Standards Agency by the summer. We anticipate that the committee's report will be published once it has been considered by the agency. Copies will be placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What have been the major activities of the Health Development Agency since its inception on 1 April 2000. [HL441]

The Health Development Agency (HDA) has been engaged on a wide range of initiatives reflecting the functions assigned to it under its Establishment Order. In particular, it has provided expert support to the development and implementation of the public health aspects of the NHS Plan. The agency's chair was a member of the Prevention and Inequalities Modernisation Action Team and is a member of the Inequalities and Public Health Task Force, and the chief executive is a member of the Coronary Heart Disease Task Force. In addition, since its inception the HDA has completed or initiated a wide range of projects. It has:developed "Evidence Base", an online gateway providing access to the best available information on what works to improve health and reduce health inequalities. It is aimed at a wide range of practitioners and researchers engaged in public health work. It has also developed an online public health information service, maintaining and updating a number of websites providing information and guidance to public health professionalscompleted, published and disseminated a survey of health improvement programmes, the first of a series of annual reviewsprepared, published and disseminated guidance for supporting the primary prevention parts of the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Diseasepublished updated guidelines for health professionals on smoking cessation, followed by a series of seminars to publicise themunder the National Healthy School Standard, carried out a formal assessment of 16 local education authorities, completed accreditation training for 68, and more than doubled the number of schools involved

asked Her Majesty's Government:How the money for public education about HIV/ AIDS was spent by the Department of Health in 1999–2000 and 2000–01. [HL443]

In 1999–2000 the Department of Health spent £1.6 million on work for gay men and people who travel to, or have links with, high-prevalence countries and £1.4 million on the general population, including World AIDS Day.In 2000–01 the department allocated £1.6 million for gay men and people who travel to, or have links with, high-prevalence countries and £0.73 million for the general population.The Government also fund the National AIDS Helpline.In addition, the department allocates £55 million to health authorities to spend on HIV/AIDS prevention.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make a statement on farm incomes. [HL551]

Revised estimates of farm income during 2000 were published this morning. These confirm the significant reduction forecast last November, and indicate a fall of 25 per cent.This fall is largely due to pressure on prices for agricultural outputs caused by a further rise in sterling against the euro, as compared to 1999.The Government remain committed to providing a framework within which the industry may react to the challenges presented by the current situation.Detailed estimates of the income, output and productivity of agriculture in the United Kingdom in 2000 have been placed in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they expect to announce the conclusion of the Quinquennial Review of the Committee on Standards in Public Life. [HL552]

I am pleased to announce that the report of the Quinquennial Review of the Committee on Standards in Public Life is published today. Copies are being placed in the Libraries.The report recommends that the committee should continue in its present form for the time being. It notes that there may not always be a need for the committee to be continuously involved in a full-time inquiry but that in the future less active periods of monitoring may be called for. It recommends that the committee should react flexibly to requirements and developments in the field of standards in public life. The Government are grateful to Lord Neill and his committee for the work they have done in this area and agree with the report, which concludes that the committee has itself become a part of the fabric of public life.

asked Her Majesty's Government:For each local education authority in England, what is the average funding available for education per pupil from all sources including Standard Spending Assessments and direct grants. [HL467]

The following table sets out, for each local education authority, the funding per pupil available for 2000–01, through Education SSA and through special and specific grants.

Unit funding for pupils aged 4–19—2000–01
LEA No. and Name	SSA	Per Pupil Grants	Total	Government Office Region
812 North East Lincolnshire	£2,820	£250	£3,070	East Midlands
813 North Lincolnshire	£2,750	£280	£3,030	East Midlands
830 Derbyshire	£2,610	£210	£2,820	East Midlands
831 Derby	£2,840	£240	£3,080	East Midlands
855 Leicestershire	£2,560	£190	£2,750	East Midlands
856 Leicester	£3,030	£320	£3,350	East Midlands
857 Rutland	£2,560	£290	£2,850	East Midlands
891 Nottinghamshire	£2,680	£190	£2,870	East Midlands
892 Nottingham	£3,110	£400	£3,500	East Midlands
925 Lincolnshire	£2,720	£190	£2,920	East Midlands