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    <title>Sitting of 21 March 1997</title>
    <dateCreated>Fri, 21 Mar 1997 00:00:00 +0000</dateCreated>
    <ownerName>UK Parliament</ownerName>
    <ownerEmail>mail@robertbrook.com</ownerEmail>
    <ownerId>http://www.parliament.uk</ownerId>
    <docs>http://www.opml.org/spec2</docs>
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    <outline id='3196515' text="&lt;i&gt;The House met at Eleven o'clock&lt;/i&gt;" title='Preamble' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1997/mar/21/preamble'></outline>
    <outline id='3196516' text='[MADAM SPEAKER &lt;i&gt;in the Chair&lt;/i&gt;]&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;Message to attend the Lords Commissioners:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;The House went;&amp;#x2014;and, having returned:&lt;/i&gt;' title='PRAYERS' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1997/mar/21/prayers'></outline>
    <outline id='3196516' text='PRAYERS'>
      <outline id='3196517' text="11.39 am&lt;br/&gt;Madam Speaker: I have to acquaint the House that the House has been to the House of Peers, where a Commission under the Great Seal was read, authorising the Royal Assent to the following Acts and a Measure:&#x000A;&lt;ul&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Appropriation Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Building Societies Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Contract (Scotland) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman and&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Commissioner for Local Administration in Scotland Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Flood Prevention and Land Drainage (Scotland) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Welsh Development Agency Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Prisons (Alcohol Testing) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Sexual Offences (Protected Material) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Protection from Harassment Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Building Societies (Distributions) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Police (Health and Safety) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Crime (Sentences) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Education Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Police (Insurance of Voluntary Assistants) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Public Entertainments Licences (Drug Misuse) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Police Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Sex Offenders Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Police and Firemen's Pensions Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Road Traffic Reduction Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Birds (Registration Charges) Act 1997&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Pensions Measure 1997&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;" title='Royal Assent' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1997/mar/21/royal-assent'></outline>
    </outline>
    <outline id='3196518' text='Prorogation'>
      <outline id='3196519' text='Madam Speaker: I have further to acquaint the House that the Lord High Chancellor, one of the Lords Commissioners, delivered Her Majesty&apos;s most gracious speech to both Houses of Parliament, in pursuance of Her Majesty&apos;s Command. For greater accuracy I have obtained a copy, and also directed that the terms of the speech be printed in the Journal of this House. Copies are being made available in the Vote Office.&lt;br/&gt;The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Tony Newton): I hesitate to call this a point of order, Madam Speaker, and I am not sure whether it is in order, but I hope that you will allow me to express our appreciation of the way in which you have conducted our affairs as Speaker. On a personal note, having been Leader of the House throughout this Parliament&amp;#x2014;not always an easy task&amp;#x2014;may I express my appreciation of the courtesy and support that you have extended to me?&lt;br/&gt;Mrs. Ann Taylor: May I end this Session on a note of agreement with the Leader of the House? As Speaker, you have been an example to us of the way in which we should conduct ourselves in the House and we and the people outside in particular appreciate that. On a personal note, I thank the Leader of the House, who has always acted in the best interests of the House.&lt;br/&gt;Sir David Steel: On behalf of the minority parties, Madam Speaker, may I thank you both for your kindness and for your protection of the minority parties in the House. We are very grateful.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;The Gracious Speech was as follows:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;My Lords and Members of the House of Commons&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;The Duke of Edinburgh and I were very pleased to receive His Excellency the President of Israel on a State Visit in February. We remember with great pleasure our State Visit to Thailand in October.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;My Government continued to provide for the defence of the United Kingdom, the Dependent Territories and our allies, and for the protection of international peace and stability.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;My Government have continued to support the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and welcomed its decision in December to hold a Summit meeting in Madrid in July this year at which decisions will be taken on the adaptation and enlargement of the Alliance. My Government have supported the work of the Alliance to develop a new partnership with Russia.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;In the European Union, my Government have promoted policies aimed at greater competitiveness. They have participated in meetings of the Intergovernmental Conference and on Economic and Monetary Union.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;My Government continued strongly to support enlargement of the European Union and the necessary reform of EU policies. They have continued to promote transatlantic relations, both bilaterally and through the Union.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;In November, my Government published a White Paper on "Free Trade and Foreign Policy", which calls for global free trade by 2020. The first Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation, which took place in December 1996, made good progress towards this goal.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;In Bosnia and Herzegovina, my Government have continued to play a leading role in consolidating peace. They held a conference in London in December 1996 to set a framework for peace implementation in 1997, and have continued to contribute substantially to the country&apos;s economic and social regeneration. They are also maintaining 5,000 Service men and women in former Yugoslavia, as part of the NATO-led military stabilisation force.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;In the interests of the people of Hong Kong, my Government continued to work for a successful transfer of sovereignty to China on 30 June this year.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;My Government have continued to support the work of the United Nations Secretary-General&apos;s mission of good offices in the search for a settlement on the divided island of Cyprus.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;In the Middle East, my Government worked for and welcomed the agreement between Israel and the Palestinians on redeployment in Hebron, and were closely involved in international efforts to reduce tensions and support the implementation of that and earlier agreements.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;My Government launched two campaigns for the promotion of trade and investment, one in respect of Central and Eastern Europe and one in respect of South East Asia. They also held a successful conference in February to help strengthen trade, investment and bilateral links with Latin America.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;A large and effective development assistance programme was maintained, aimed at promoting sustainable development and reducing poverty and suffering in the poorer parts of the world. My Government continued to play a full part in promoting democracy and the rule of law throughout Africa and tackling the grave problems of the Great Lakes Region.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;Support continued for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia in their transition to democratic market economies, through the Know How Fund and with our European partners.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;My Government continued to play an active part in the Commonwealth and to prepare for a successful Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, to be held in October in Edinburgh.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;My Government played a full part in supporting the work of the United Nations and its peacekeeping operations, and participated actively in the debate on the reform of the organisation.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;My Government have maintained the fight against terrorism in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. They have pursued a comprehensive strategy to combat drug misuse, by tackling the supply of narcotic drugs at home and abroad and pursuing measures to reduce demand.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Members of the House of Commons&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;I thank you for the provision you have made for the honour and dignity of the Crown and for the public service.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;My Lords and Members of the House of Commons&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;My Government have pursued economic policies which have brought about sustained growth in output, rising living standards and falling unemployment, while keeping inflation at its lowest levels for nearly 50 years. Public expenditure has been kept under firm control, income tax has been reduced and measures have been taken to ensure that the public sector borrowing requirement continues to fall.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;My Government have continued to promote the nation&apos;s competitiveness, following up the policies and initiatives set out in the Third Competitiveness White Paper published in June, and to encourage fewer, better and simpler regulations to reduce unnecessary burdens on business. Over 1,000 regulations have now been repealed or amended.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;In Northern Ireland, my Government have continued to work towards a political settlement, through talks open to all elected political parties that demonstrate a commitment to peaceful and democratic methods. Renewed terrorist activity has been dealt with vigorously by the security forces. My Government have maintained close co-operation with the Irish Government. An Act has been passed to provide a framework for the decommissioning of arms.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;Legislation was passed to improve discipline and raise standards in education.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;An Act has been passed to support the fight against organised crime. Legislation has also been enacted to reform the sentencing and supervision of serious, dangerous and persistent offenders so as to provide greater protection for the public. An Act has been passed to strengthen controls on the ownership of firearms.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;Measures have been enacted to impose a requirement on convicted sex offenders to register changes of address with the police and to give our courts jurisdiction over sex offences committed against children abroad. Legislation has also been passed to provide protection through the criminal and civil law to victims of harassment.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;My Government have set a framework for environmental action with new strategies for air quality, water resources, recycling and urban regeneration. With their European partners, they have secured agreement to targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;Legislation was enacted to improve maritime safety and strengthen powers to protect the United Kingdom coastline from pollution from merchant shipping. An Act has been passed to authorise the construction and operation of a high speed rail link between London and the Channel Tunnel.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;An Act has been passed to improve and develop primary health care services. Legislation has been passed&lt;/i&gt;&#x000A;&lt;image src="S6CV0292P0I0569"/&gt;&#x000A;&lt;col&gt;1123&lt;/col&gt;&#x000A;&lt;i&gt;which will reduce social security fraud and improve the scheme to recover benefits from compensation payments.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;An Act has been passed to enable reform of the procedures of the civil courts.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;Legislation has been enacted to implement proposals to strengthen the role of parish and community councils, to provide rate relief for small village shops and to remove Crown exemption from non domestic rates.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;For Scotland an Act has been passed to make changes in criminal justice to improve public protection. Other Scottish measures which have been enacted include legislation to enable the transfer of publicly owned crofting estates to crofting trusts.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;Other important measures have been enacted, including measures of law reform.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br/&gt;My Lords and Members of the House of Commons&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may attend you.&lt;/i&gt; The Commission was also for proroguing this present Parliament, and the Lord Chancellor said:&#x000A;&lt;quote&gt;My Lords and Members of the House of Commons, by virtue of Her Majesty&apos;s Commission which has been now read, we do, in Her Majesty&apos;s name and in obedience to Her Majesty&apos;s commands, prorogue this Parliament to Tuesday the fifteenth day of this instant April to be then here holden and this Parliament is accordingly prorogued to the fifteenth day of this instant April.&lt;/quote&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;i&gt;End of the Fifth Session (opened on 23 October 1996) of the Fifty-First Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in the Forty-Sixth Year of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second.&lt;/i&gt;' title="Her Majesty's Most Gracious Speech" type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1997/mar/21/her-majestys-most-gracious-speech'></outline>
    </outline>
    <outline id='3204172' text='DEFENCE'>
      <outline id='3204173' text='Dr. David Clark&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; tanks, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; artillery pieces, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; RAF fighter aircraft, &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; frigates and destroyers and &lt;i&gt;(e)&lt;/i&gt; infantry were in the possession of United Kingdom armed forces in (i) 1979, (ii) 1990 and (iii) 1997. [14067]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Soames&lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;[holding answer 4 February 1997]:&lt;/i&gt; Since 1979, the circumstances in which we envisage British armed forces being deployed have changed dramatically. In particular, with the end of the cold war, and the dissolution of the Warsaw pact, we have been able to reduce the size of the front line while spending a higher proportion of the defence budget on new equipment for&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;table type="span"&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="6" align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;United Kingdom holdings of tanks, artillery, fighters, frigate and destroyers and infantry numbers,1979 to 1997&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;i&gt;Year&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Tanks&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Artillery pieces&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Fighters&lt;sup&gt;4&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Frigates and destroyers&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Infantry&lt;sup&gt;5&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;1979&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;640&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;282&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;126&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;69&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;45,600&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;1990&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;699&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;6&lt;/sup&gt;298&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;157&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;48&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;46,900&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;1997&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;388&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;240&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;100&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;35&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;31,900&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="6"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Figures are for 1 April expect for 1997, where they reflect the situation at 1 January&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="6"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Figures are for main battle tanks only and exclude armoured reconnaissance vehicles and armoured vehicles royal engineers.&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="6"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt;Figures are for field artillery pieces only and exclude air defence artillery, anti-tank guided weapon system and, in 1979 and 1990, Lance sub-strategic nuclear missile lanchers.&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="6"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;4&lt;/sup&gt;Defined as those aircraft established in the air defence role, as indicated by statements on the Defence Estimates.&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="6"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;5&lt;/sup&gt;Figures include British and Gurkha soldier but exclude Royal Marines and troops of the Ulster Defence Regiment and the Royal Irish Regiment (Home Service) battalions. Figures include soldier trainees&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="6"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;6&lt;/sup&gt;Includes the unit establishments for both M107 self-propelled guns and MLRS which was replacing them.&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/p&gt;' title='Armed Forces (Equipment)' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/armed-forces-equipment'></outline>
      <outline id='3204174' text='Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department have a statutory base; if he will list those bodies which&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; admit members of the public to all board and committee meetings and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; hold open meetings for the public; and if in each case this is under a statutory requirement. [21450]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Soames&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those of his Department&apos;s advisory non-departmental public bodies which the Government are required to&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; consult prior to legislative proposals and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; publish their response to advice from. [21734]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Soames&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; hold public meetings,&#x000A;&lt;col&gt;918&lt;/col&gt;&#x000A;the services to enhance significantly their military capabilities. Each of the three services has taken delivery of new, advanced equipment including the Challenger 2 tank, AS90 howitzer, the Duke class type 23 frigate and advanced air-to-air missiles. In addition, orders have been placed for military equipment including the Apache attack helicopter and amphibious ships which will further enhance the fighting capability and mobility of the armed forces. The Government are, of course, also committed to the procurement of the Eurofighter 2000 aircraft.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our forces are robustly configured to face the challenges of the post-cold war world and are the envy of their counterparts around the globe. The Government&apos;s forward procurement programme illustrates our commitment to ensuring that this remains the case.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The figures requested by the hon. Gentleman, which are set out in the table, should be considered in this context.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Details of Army equipment holdings are not available in the form requested or across the period concerned. The overall unit establishments for Regular armoured and field artillery regiments have therefore been given to indicate their required front-line strength in the designated years. The figures exclude equipment held by training and research establishments, in store as the war maintenance reserve or awaiting disposal.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; conduct public consultation exercises, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interests, &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; publish a register of members&apos; interests, &lt;i&gt;(e)&lt;/i&gt; publish agendas for meetings and &lt;i&gt;(f)&lt;/i&gt; publish the minutes of meetings; and whether in each case this is under a statutory requirement. [21683]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Soames&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; have a statutory base, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; publish their advice to Government, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; publish an annual report and &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; lay an annual report before Parliament; and if he will indicate in each instance whether this is (i) under a statutory requirement or (ii) voluntary. [21690]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Soames&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;image src="S6CV0292P0I1029"/&gt;&lt;col&gt;919&lt;/col&gt;' title='Public Bodies' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/public-bodies'></outline>
      <outline id='3204176' text='Mr. Dobson&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the non-elected bodies responsible to his Department which are responsible for providing advice or services in London, indicating in each case the (i) overall budget and (ii) estimated running costs for each year from 1996&amp;#x2013;97 to 1999&amp;#x2013;2000. [21378]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Soames&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Advisory Bodies (London)' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/advisory-bodies-london'></outline>
      <outline id='3204178' text='Mr. Llew Smith&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will update his answer of 11 July 1994,&lt;i&gt;Official Report&lt;/i&gt;, column&lt;i&gt;436&lt;/i&gt;, on the use of organophosphate insecticides in Operation Granby, in light of the memorandum submitted by his Department to the Defence Select Committee on 26 February. [21593]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Soames&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Organophosphates' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/organophosphates'></outline>
      <outline id='3204180' text='Mr. Llew Smith&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library the briefing material prepared by his Department in support of the appearance by the then Minister for the Armed Forces, the right hon. Member for Richmond and Barnes (Mr. Hanley), on BBC2&apos;s "Newsnight" programme on 5 July 1993 in respect of Gulf War illness. [18378]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Soames&lt;p&gt;No. The briefing material has been withheld under the terms of the internal discussion and advice exemption in part 2 of the code of practice on access to Government information.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Gulf War Syndrome' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/gulf-war-syndrome'></outline>
    </outline>
    <outline id='3204182' text='OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION'>
      <outline id='3204183' text='Mr. Robert Banks&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the transfer of Crown Agents to the Crown Agents Foundation has now been completed. [21789]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Liam Fox&lt;p&gt;Vesting of Crown Agents under the provisions of the Crown Agents Act 1996 into The Crown Agents for Overseas Governments and Administrations Ltd. and the transfer of ownership of that company to the Crown Agents Foundation took place today.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Crown Agents' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/crown-agents'></outline>
      <outline id='3204185' text='Mr. Robert Banks&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has received copies of the second annual report of the Global Environment Facility; and if he will arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library. [21788]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Liam Fox&lt;p&gt;Copies of the second annual report of the Global Environment Facility have recently been received. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;col&gt;920&lt;/col&gt;' title='Global Environment Facility' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/global-environment-facility'></outline>
      <outline id='3204187' text='Sir John Stanley&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the 20 largest overseas aid donors in descending order, indicating the total amount of aid given by each donor country. [21494]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Liam Fox&lt;p&gt;In 1995, total flows of official assistance from 21 members of the OECD&apos;s development assistance committee to developing and other countries on parts I and II of the DAC list were as follows, in descending order:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;table&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;i&gt;Donor&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;US&amp;#x0024; million&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;1. Japan&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;14,739&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;2. Germany&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;12,038&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;3. France&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;9,191&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;4. USA&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;8,647&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;5. UK&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3,563&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;6. Netherlands&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3,531&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;7. Canada&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;2,317&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;8. Italy&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,909&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;9. Denmark&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,904&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;10. Sweden&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,809&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;11. Spain&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,348&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;12. Norway&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,244&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;13. Australia&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,198&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;14. Switzerland&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,186&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;15. Belgium&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,123&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;16. Austria&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,080&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;17. Finland&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;464&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;18. Portugal&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;293&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;19. Ireland&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;155&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;20. New Zealand&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;123&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;21. Luxembourg&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;65&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir John Stanley&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list in descending order the 20 largest overseas aid donors on a per capita basis indicating the amount of aid per capita given by each donor country. [21495]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Fox&lt;p&gt;In per capita terms, the 21 members of the OECD&apos;s development assistance committee provided the following levels of official assistance to developing and other countries on parts I and II of the DAC list in 1995:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;table&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;i&gt;Donor&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Total assistance per capita (US&amp;#x0024; millions)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;1. Denmark&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;363&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;2. Norway&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;285&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;3. Netherlands&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;228&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;4. Sweden&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;205&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;5. Switzerland&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;168&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;6. Luxembourg&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;167&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;7. France&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;158&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;8. Germany&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;147&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;9. Austria&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;134&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;10. Japan&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;117&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;11. Belgium&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;112&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;12. Finland&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;91&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;13. Canada&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;78&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;14. Australia&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;66&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;15. UK&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;61&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;16. Ireland&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;43&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;17. New Zealand&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;18. Spain&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;34&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;19. Italy&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;33&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;20. USA&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;33&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;21. Portugal&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;29&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;image src="S6CV0292P0I1030"/&gt;&lt;col&gt;921&lt;/col&gt;' title='Aid Donors' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/aid-donors'></outline>
      <outline id='3204190' text="Mrs. Clwyd&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is his Department's policy to provide aid to Indonesia for projects of general application which treat East Timor as a province of Indonesia. [21405]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Liam Fox&lt;p&gt;While it is not our policy to provide aid on a Government-to-Government basis for projects in East Timor, we do not consider it necessary, or indeed practicable in most cases, to exclude East Timor from projects of general application within Indonesia. This does not imply support for or recognition of Indonesian sovereignty over the territory.&lt;/p&gt;" title='Indonesia' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/indonesia'></outline>
    </outline>
    <outline id='3204194' text='ENVIRONMENT'>
      <outline id='3204195' text="Mr. Whittingdale&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; the recommendations of the advisory committee on packaging for statutory guidance to be made by the Environment agencies under section 94(4) of the Environment Act 1995 and on accreditation of reprocessors and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; the background analysis to his decision to adopt shared producer responsibility approach as the basis for the Producer Responsibility Obligation (Packaging Waste) Regulations made under the Environment Act 1995. [21826]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Gummer&lt;p&gt;I am today placing in the Library of the House copies of Sir Peter Parker's letter to me of 7 March setting out the recommendations of the advisory committee on packaging on statutory guidance to be made by the environment agencies under section 94(4) and on accreditation of reprocessors. I am also placing in the House copies of the background analysis to the decision to adopt shared producer responsibility as the basis for the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations made under section 93(10) of the Environment Act 1995.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I am also placing in the Library of the House a list of responses to the 1996 consultation papers and arranging for copies to be available for inspection. I will be making similar arrangements for the 1995 consultations responses.&lt;/p&gt;" title='Packaging Waste' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/packaging-waste'></outline>
      <outline id='3204197' text='Mr. Raynsford&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many members of the current staff of the Building Research Establishment he estimates will leave its service through&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; retirement and early retirement and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; (i) voluntary and (ii) involuntary redundancy, before the sale of the BRE is completed; and what are the estimated costs. [21363]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Robert B. Jones&lt;p&gt;Of the 660 staff employed at BRE at close of play on 14 March, none left its service through retirement, early retirement or redundancy before the completion of the sale of BRE on 19 March.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Building Research Establishment' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/building-research-establishment'></outline>
      <outline id='3204199' text='Sir Irvine Patnick&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many jobs have been created by development corporations since their inception; and if he will make a statement. [21364]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;col&gt;922&lt;/col&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Curry&lt;p&gt;Up to 31 March 1996, the urban development corporations have created 187,277 gross jobs in new developments.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Development Corporations' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/development-corporations'></outline>
      <outline id='3204202' text='Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Office of Water Services which are subject to&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; scrutiny by the Audit Commission, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; scrutiny by the National Audit Office, &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; statutory provisions for open government, &lt;i&gt;(e)&lt;/i&gt; performance indicators and &lt;i&gt;(f)&lt;/i&gt; provisions under the citizens charter; [21452]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(2) which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Office of Water Services have a statutory base; if he will list those bodies which &lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; admit members of the public to all board and committee meetings and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; hold open meetings for the public; and if in each case this is under a statutory requirement. [21436]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Clappison&lt;p&gt;I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 22 July 1996,&lt;i&gt;Official Report&lt;/i&gt;, column &lt;i&gt;29&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; have a statutory base, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; publish their advice to Government, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; publish an annual report and &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; lay an annual report before Parliament; and if he will indicate in each instance whether this is under a statutory requirement. [21710]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir Paul Beresford&lt;p&gt;Details of the advisory non-department public bodies sponsored by my Department are listed in the Cabinet office publication, "Public Bodies 1996". A copy is available in the House of Commons Library.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I refer the hon. Member to my answer to him on Tuesday 12 March 1996, &lt;i&gt;Official Report&lt;/i&gt;, column &lt;i&gt;518&lt;/i&gt;. The information contained in that answer remains correct.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Since then, three new advisory non-departmental public bodies have been established: the Advisory Committee on Building Materials Exports; the Advisory Committee on Plant and Machinery and the Water Regulations Advisory Committee. None of these bodies has been set up on a statutory basis. There is no requirement for them to publish their advice to government, to publish an annual report or to lay an annual report before Parliament.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those of his Department&apos;s advisory non-departmental public bodies which the Government are required to&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; consult prior to legislative proposals and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; publish their response to advice from. [21736]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir Paul Beresford&lt;p&gt;Details of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by my Department are listed in the Cabinet office publication.&lt;i&gt;"Public Bodies 1996"&lt;/i&gt;. A copy is available in the House of Commons Library.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;image src="S6CV0292P0I1031"/&gt;&lt;col&gt;923&lt;/col&gt;&lt;p&gt;I refer the hon. Member to my answer to him on Thursday 21 March 1996, &lt;i&gt;Official Report&lt;/i&gt;, columns &lt;i&gt;273&amp;#x2013;74&lt;/i&gt;. The information contained in that answer remains correct.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Since then, three new advisory non-departmental public bodies have been established: the Advisory Committee on Building Materials Exports; the Advisory Committee on Plant and Machinery and the Water Regulations Advisory Committee. The Government are under no obligation to consult these bodies on legislative proposals or to publish any response to advice from them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; hold public meetings, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; conduct public consultation exercises, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interests, &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; publish a register of members&apos; interests, &lt;i&gt;(e)&lt;/i&gt; publish agendas for meetings and &lt;i&gt;(f)&lt;/i&gt; publish the minutes of meetings; and whether in each case this is under a statutory requirement. [21693]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir Paul Beresford&lt;p&gt;Details of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by my Department are listed in the Cabinet office publication,&lt;i&gt;"Public Bodies 1996"&lt;/i&gt;. A copy is available in the House of Commons Library.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I refer the hon. Member to my answer to him on Wednesday 20 March 1996, &lt;i&gt;Official Report&lt;/i&gt;, columns &lt;i&gt;213&amp;#x2013;14&lt;/i&gt;. The information contained in that answer remains correct.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Since then three new advisory non-departmental public bodies have been established: the Advisory Committee on Building Materials Exports; the Advisory Committee on Plant and Machinery and the Water Regulations Advisory Committee. All three bodies conduct public consultation exercises and conduct consultation exercises with outside&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;table type="span"&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="9" align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;#x00A3; million&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="2" align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;1996&amp;#x2013;97&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="2" align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;1997&amp;#x2013;98&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="2" align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;1998&amp;#x2013;99&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="2" align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;1999&amp;#x2013;2000&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;i&gt;Body&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Budget&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Running costs (estimate)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Budget&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Running costs (estimate)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Budget&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Running costs (estimate)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Budget&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Running costs (estimate)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;London Docklands Development Corporation&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;84.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;23.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;97.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;23.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&amp;#x2014;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&amp;#x2014;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&amp;#x2014;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&amp;#x2014;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Waltham Forest Housing Action Trust&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;31.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;32.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;2.8&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt; 20 rent&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;2.2&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;18.5 rent&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;2.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Tower Hamlets Housing Action Trust&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;12.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;2.8&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;13&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;10 rent&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;10 rent&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Stonebridge Housing Action Trust&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;9.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3.6&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;12.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;2.8&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;11 rent&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;16 rent&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3.3&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="9"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; London Docklands Development Corporation wound up on 31 March 1998.&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="9"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; HAT budgets for 1998&amp;#x2013;99 to 1999&amp;#x2013;2000 do not include rental income, which will cannot yet be estimated with accuracy being dependent on progress in redevelopment.&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In addition, a number of national bodies responsible to my Department, including the Housing Corporation, the Health and Safety Executive, English Partnerships and the Environment Agency, are responsible for delivery of services in London. Expenditure and running costs associated with these activities are not readily separable from overall national expenditure. I refer the hon. Member to my Department&apos;s annual report, published yesterday, copies of which are available in the Library.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;col&gt;924&lt;/col&gt;&lt;p&gt;commercial interests. These are not a statutory requirement. These bodies do not carry out any of the other activities specified in the question.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those of the Office of Water Services advisory non-departmental public bodies which the Government are required to&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; consult prior to legislative proposals and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; publish their response to advice from. [21749]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Clappison&lt;p&gt;None.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Office of Water Services&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; have a statutory base, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; publish their advice to Government, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; publish an annual report and &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; lay an annual report before Parliament; and if he will indicate in each instance whether this is under a statutory requirement. [21726]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Clappison&lt;p&gt;The Office of Water Services national consumer council is a non-statutory advisory body established by the Director General of Water Services. Accounts of the council&apos;s activities are published in its annual report, copies of which are in the Library. There is no statutory requirement on the council to publish or lay any papers.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Public Bodies' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/public-bodies-1'></outline>
      <outline id='3204206' text='Mr. Dobson&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the non-elected bodies responsible to his Department which are responsible for providing advice or services in London, indicating in each case the (i) overall budget and (ii) estimated running costs for each year from 1996&amp;#x2013;97 to 1999&amp;#x2013;2000. [21379]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Gummer&lt;p&gt;Non-departmental public bodies responsible to my Department for providing advice or services in London are listed below:&lt;/p&gt;' title='Advisory Bodies (London)' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/advisory-bodies-london-1'></outline>
      <outline id='3204208' text='Sir John Stanley&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the increase or decrease in real terms since privatisation in water charges. [21493]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Robert B. Jones&lt;p&gt;Between 1989&amp;#x2013;90, the year of privatisation, and 1996&amp;#x2013;97, average domestic water and sewerage charges in England and Wales increased by 35 per cent. in real terms. Since privatisation, the water&lt;image src="S6CV0292P0I1032"/&gt;&#x000A;&lt;col&gt;925&lt;/col&gt;&#x000A;industry has invested over &amp;#x00A3;18 billion and in 1994 the Director General of Water Services allowed for investment of &amp;#x00A3;24 billion over the 10-year period to 2005.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Water Charges' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/water-charges'></outline>
      <outline id='3204210' text='Mr. Cohen&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what planning guidance he has issued which relates to applications in respect of prison ships; what considerations are material to such applications; and if he will make a statement. [21413]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir Paul Beresford&lt;p&gt;Planning guidance is issued to local planning authorities for them to take into account, inter alia, in decisions on planning applications. In the case of the proposed temporary mooring of a prison ship in Portland harbour, Dorset, the local planning authority accepts that planning permission is not required. Proposals by the Prison Service for shore-based facilities to serve the ship, which are Crown development, fall to be dealt with under the procedures set out in DOE Circular 18/84.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Prison Ships' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/prison-ships'></outline>
      <outline id='3204212' text='Mr. Mullin&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to extending the life of the Tyne and Wear development corporation; and if he will make a statement. [21420]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Curry&lt;p&gt;I refer to my reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury, (Mr. Baldry), then the Under-Secretary of State in this Department, on 22 April 1994&lt;i&gt;Official Report&lt;/i&gt; column &lt;i&gt;680&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Tyne and Wear Development Corporation' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/tyne-and-wear-development-corporation'></outline>
      <outline id='3204214' text='Mr. George Howarth&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines his Department has issued in respect of decisions by planning inquiries which might bind an incoming Government. [21575]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir Paul Beresford&lt;p&gt;The Secretary of State has a statutory responsibility to decide any planning case before him taking into account all material considerations, including the inquiry report. Guidance for an incoming Government on this issue does not therefore arise.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Planning Inquiries' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/planning-inquiries'></outline>
      <outline id='3204216' text="Mr. Ainger&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the results so far of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee's marine nature conservation review; [21579]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(2) what proportion of the British coast is due to be assessed by the time the Joint Nature Conservation Committee's marine nature conservation review ends in March 1998; and what steps his Department will take to ensure that the rest of the British coast will be assessed for its marine nature conservation importance; [21580]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(3) which marine regions of Great Britain have been assessed for their marine nature conservation importance by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee's nature conservation review. [21581]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Clappison&lt;p&gt;The two major review publications&amp;#x2014; the rationale and methods volume and the first of the regional reports series, MNCR sector 6: inlets in eastern&lt;col&gt;926&lt;/col&gt;&#x000A;England&amp;#x2014;are in the Library already. I have arranged for a list of the 160 limited circulation reports also to be placed in the Library.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;By March 1998, if work in hand is completed, approximately 60 per cent. of the inshore coastal area of Great Britain will have been described and assessed. After the marine nature conservation review team finishes its work in March 1998, information collected by country nature conservation agencies and others using the review techniques will continue to be added to the MNCR database by the joint nature conservation committee, and will therefore be available to assist in management of marine resources.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Assessments of marine conservation importance have been made or are in draft for the Shetland voes, south-east Scotland and north-east England, marine inlets in eastern England, marine inlets in south-west Britain, Liverpool bay and the Solway Firth and the Scottish lagoons. Assessments for Orkney, Cardigan bay and north Wales and the Scottish sea lochs will also be undertaken.&lt;/p&gt;" title='Marine Nature Conservation' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/marine-nature-conservation'></outline>
      <outline id='3204218' text='Mr. Meacher&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he plans to respond to the second annual report of the United Kingdom Round Table on Sustainable Development published on 12 March. [21592]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Clappison&lt;p&gt;We announced in "This Common Inheritance" annual report 1997 that we would publish a response to this report within three months.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Sustainable Development' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/sustainable-development'></outline>
      <outline id='3204220' text='Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if housing associations publish&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; annual reports, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; annual accounts, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; minutes of meetings, &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; agendas of meetings and &lt;i&gt;(e)&lt;/i&gt; registers of members&apos; interests; and in each case whether this is under a statutory requirement. [21685]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Clappison&lt;p&gt;Registered social landlord are required by statute to provide a copy of their audited annual accounts to the Housing Corporation which holds them available for inspection. All other requirements are non-statutory. The main ones are:&lt;quote&gt;The tenants guarantee, which requires registered social landlords to keep their tenants informed about their housing management performance.&lt;/quote&gt;&#x000A;&lt;quote&gt;Housing Corporation performance standards, under which associations are required to conduct their affairs in an open and accountable way, disseminating widely information about their housing provision and activities.&lt;/quote&gt;&#x000A;&lt;quote&gt;The National Housing Federation&apos;s code of governance, which requires board members to declare conflicts of interest and registered social landlords to maintain records of interests of board members and senior staff and to make them available for public inspection.&lt;/quote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the statutory basis of housing associations; and if they&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; admit members of the public to all board or committee meetings and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; hold open meetings for the public; and whether in each case this is under a statutory requirement. [21768]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Clappison&lt;p&gt;Registered social landlords are independent non-profit making bodies, of which two-thirds are charities. There is no statutory requirement&lt;image src="S6CV0292P0I1033"/&gt;&#x000A;&lt;col&gt;927&lt;/col&gt;&#x000A;to admit members of the public to board or committee meetings, nor is there a statutory requirement to hold open meetings for the public.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if housing associations are subject to&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; scrutiny by the Audit Commission, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; scrutiny by the National Audit Office &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; statutory provisions for open government, &lt;i&gt;(e)&lt;/i&gt; performance indicators and &lt;i&gt;(f)&lt;/i&gt; provisions under the citizens charter. [21765]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Clappison&lt;p&gt;Registered social landlords are not subject to investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner, the Audit Commission, or the National Audit Office. However, the Housing Corporation, which has a statutory responsibility to regulate all registered social landlords is subject to investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner and scrutiny by the National Audit Office. Furthermore, under powers granted in the Housing Act 1996, the Audit Commission may undertake value for money studies for, and provide advice on audit matters to, the Housing Corporation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The corporation&apos;s statutory duties include the requirement to publish information about the performance of registered social landlords in the form of performance indicators.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There are no statutory provisions for open government which apply to registered social landlords.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Registered social landlords are eligible to apply for charter mark awards, and last year nine received awards.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Housing Associations' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/housing-associations'></outline>
      <outline id='3204223' text='Mr. Meacher&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will arrange for copies of his Department&apos;s newsletter, "Environment News", to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. [21597]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Clappison&lt;p&gt;The latest copy of "Windoe", the Departmental newsletter and successor to "Environment World", has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.&lt;/p&gt;' title='"Environment News"' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/environment-news'></outline>
      <outline id='3204225' text='Mr. Simpson&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much has been spent on the current&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;table type="span"&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Publish annual reports&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Publish annual accounts&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Publish the minutes of meetings&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Publish the agendas of meetings&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Public register of members&apos; interests&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Health and Social Services Boards&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Health and Social Services Councils&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Health and Social Services Trusts&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Health Promotion Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Regional Medical Physics Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Central Services Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="6"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; On a voluntary basis.&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="6"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; A statutory requirement.&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;col&gt;928&lt;/col&gt;&lt;p&gt;energy conservation advertising campaign; how many calls have been received by the contact number; and what is the average cost per call to date. [21786]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Clappison&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Energy Conservation' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/energy-conservation'></outline>
    </outline>
    <outline id='3204229' text='NORTHERN IRELAND'>
      <outline id='3204230' text='Mr. Robert McCartney&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what briefings have been requested by his Department from the Irish side of the Anglo-Irish Secretariat since 1 January 1990. [17701]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir Patrick Mayhew&lt;p&gt;This information is not available. It is, however, open to both sides of the secretariat to seek or offer briefings on subjects relevant to the operation of the Anglo-Irish agreement.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Anglo-Irish Secretariat' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/anglo-irish-secretariat'></outline>
      <outline id='3204232' text='Mr. McNamara&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Minister in his Department is responsible for the oversight of fair employment legislation and personnel matters. [20405]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir Patrick Mayhew&lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;[holding answer 20 March 1997]:&lt;/i&gt; Baroness Denton, by virtue of her responsibility for the Department of Economic Development, has ministerial responsibility for the fair employment legislation in Northern Ireland. My right hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, North (Sir J. Wheeler) is the Minister responsible for the Department of Finance and Personnel and hence for the general management and control of the Northern Ireland civil service. In that capacity he has a responsibility to oversee how the Northern Ireland civil service, as an employer, complies with good personnel practice including the relevant provisions of fair employment legislation.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Ministerial Responsibilities' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/ministerial-responsibilities'></outline>
      <outline id='3204234' text='Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of the national health service bodies sponsored by his Department publish&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; annual reports, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; annual accounts, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; the minutes of meetings, &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; the agendas of meetings and &lt;i&gt;(e)&lt;/i&gt; a register of members&apos; interests; and if this is in each case under a statutory requirement. [21433]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Moss&lt;p&gt;The information is as follows:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;image src="S6CV0292P0I1034"/&gt;&lt;col&gt;929&lt;/col&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department have a statutory base; if he will list those bodies which&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; admit members of the pubic to all board committee meetings and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; hold open meetings for the public; and if in each case this is under a statutory requirement. [21442]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir John Wheeler&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; have a statutory base, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; publish their advice to Government, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; publish an annual report and &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; lay an annual report before Parliament; and if he will indicate in each instance whether this is under a statutory requirement; [21721]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(2) which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department &lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; hold public meetings, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; conduct public consultation exercises, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interests, &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; publish a register of members&apos; interests, &lt;i&gt;(e)&lt;/i&gt; publish agendas for meetings and &lt;i&gt;(f)&lt;/i&gt; publish the minutes of meetings; and whether in each case this is (i) under a statutory requirement or (ii) voluntary; [21762]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(3) if he will list those of his Department&apos;s advisory non-departmental public bodies which the Government are required to &lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; consult prior to legislative proposals and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; publish their response to advice from. [21744]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir John Wheeler&lt;p&gt;I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of the national health service bodies sponsored by his Department have a statutory base; and if he will list those bodies which&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; admit members of&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;table type="span"&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Investigation by parliamentary commissioner&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Scrutiny by the audit commission&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Scrutiny by the national audit office&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Statutory provisions for open government&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Performance indicators&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Provision under the citizens&apos; charter&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Health and Social Services Boards&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td rowspan="8" align="right"&gt;not relevant in Northern Ireland&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Health and Social Service Councils&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1 2&lt;/sup&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Health and Social Services Trusts&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Central Services Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Health Promotion Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Regional Medical Physics Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="7"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; These bodies are scrutinised by the Northern Ireland Audit Office.&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="7"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; Health and Social Services Councils expenditure is identified in Health and Social Services Boards accounts.&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/p&gt;' title='Public Bodies' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/public-bodies-2'></outline>
      <outline id='3204236' text='Mr. McNamara&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; he and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; the Under-Secretary first learned that a sum of money had been paid to a civil servant formerly in her private office for sectarian harassment; and if he had to approve the payment. [20402]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;col&gt;930&lt;/col&gt;&lt;p&gt;the public to all board or committee meetings and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; hold open meetings for the public; and whether in each case this is under a statutory requirement. [21761]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Moss&lt;p&gt;The information is as follows:&lt;table&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Statutory base&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Admit public to board committee meetings&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Open meetings for the public&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Health and Social Services Boards&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Health and Social Services Councils&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Health and Social Services Trusts&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Central Services Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Health Promotion Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Regional Medical Physics Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;Yes&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;No&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="4"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; A statutory requirement.&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the national health service bodies sponsored by his Department which are subject to&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; scrutiny by the Audit Commission, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; scrutiny by the National Audit Office, &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; statutory provisions for open government, &lt;i&gt;(e)&lt;/i&gt; performance indicators and &lt;i&gt;(f)&lt;/i&gt; provisions under the citizens charter. [21727]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Moss&lt;p&gt;The information is as follows:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir Patrick Mayhew&lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;[holding answer 20 March 1997]:&lt;/i&gt; I was not required to approve this payment, but I was advised of the key elements of the proposed settlement, and agreed that the case should be settled in January 1997. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State was advised at the end of December 1996 of the key elements of the proposed settlement.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;image src="S6CV0292P0I1035"/&gt;&lt;col&gt;931&lt;/col&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. McNamara&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the Hayes inquiry into allegations of sectarian harassment in the office of the Economy Minister will be in public. [20403]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir Patrick Mayhew&lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;[holding answer 17 March 1997]:&lt;/i&gt; No. Dr. Hayes has been invited to undertake a review, not a public inquiry. The nature of the personnel issues to be examined by Dr. Hayes are unsuitable for public hearings.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. McNamara&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the report of the Hayes inquiry will be published in full. [20404]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir Patrick Mayhew&lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;[holding answer 20 March 1997]:&lt;/i&gt; Yes, subject to such matters as may derive from security and personal confidentiality considerations.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Sectarian Harassment' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/sectarian-harassment'></outline>
      <outline id='3204239' text='Mr. Robert McCartney&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money his Department has made available to the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for the purchase of a safari park in County Antrim; and if he will make a statement. [21790]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Ancram&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. and learned Gentleman.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Safari Park' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/safari-park'></outline>
      <outline id='3204241' text='Mr. Robert McCartney&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 6 March,&lt;i&gt;Official Report&lt;/i&gt;, column &lt;i&gt;721&lt;/i&gt;, if he will make it his policy to keep and make available records of the religious breakdown of those public appointments made on the proposal of the Irish side of the Anglo-Irish secretariat at Maryfield; and for what reasons they are not currently made available. [21791]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir John Wheeler&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. and learned Gentleman.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Public Appointments' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/public-appointments'></outline>
      <outline id='3204242' text='Mr. Robert McCartney&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the Orders in Council made in 1995 and 1996, indicating which were taken&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; on the Floor of the House and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; in Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation, giving in the latter case the names of the hon. Members from Northern Ireland who were nominated to each Committee. [21792]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir John Wheeler&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. and learned Gentleman.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Orders in Council' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/orders-in-council'></outline>
      <outline id='3204244' text='Mr. Robert McCartney&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff and what grades are in the private offices of (i) the Northern Ireland Office and (ii) each of the departmental private offices. [21794]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir John Wheeler&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. and learned Gentleman.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;col&gt;932&lt;/col&gt;' title='Departmental Private Offices' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/departmental-private-offices'></outline>
      <outline id='3204245' text='Mr. Robert McCartney&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on present Government policy in relation to the inclusion of Northern Ireland in the extent of appropriate Bills; and what changes he has made to this policy since he became Secretary of State. [21793]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir Patrick Mayhew&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. and learned Gentleman.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Government Legislation' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/government-legislation'></outline>
      <outline id='3204247' text='Mr. Robert McCartney&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the powers of the inquiry set up to investigate the improper copying of restricted Department of Agriculture personnel documents to the media; and if civil servants will be obliged to answer questions about the matter. [21795]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir Patrick Mayhew&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. and learned Gentleman.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Personnel Documents' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/personnel-documents'></outline>
      <outline id='3204249' text='Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will list those national citizens charters which&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; provide complaints procedures in line with recommendations of the complaints task force and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; provide financial compensation for users when particular standards have not been met; and if he will publish for each the figures for compensation paid out in each financial year since the charter was implemented; [21796]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(2) how many citizens charters adopted by national public services &lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; have their performance indicators validated and verified by an external body and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; specify enforceable rights for particular standards of service; and if he will identify those services under &lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt;; [21803]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(3) if he will list all national citizens charters, indicating which involved consumer consultation in &lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; the setting of their performance standards and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; their preparation; [21801]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(4) how many of the national citizens charters are available &lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; in an appropriate form for the visually impaired and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; in two or more languages other than English; and if he will identify those charters under &lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt;. [21815]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Sir John Wheeler&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Gentleman.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Citizens Charter' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/citizens-charter'></outline>
      <outline id='3204250' text='Mr. Nigel Evans&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the Northern Ireland social fund discretionary budget will be for 1997&amp;#x2013;98. [21806]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Moss&lt;p&gt;I am pleased to announce that the social fund gross discretionary budget for 1997&amp;#x2013;98 will be &amp;#x00A3;40.34 million. &amp;#x00A3;9.76 million will be allocated to grants; &amp;#x00A3;30.48 million to loans and &amp;#x00A3;0.1 million will be held as a contingency reserve. The new allocations represent an increase of &amp;#x00A3;3.63 million over the gross budget set at April 1996.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;image src="S6CV0292P0I1036"/&gt;&lt;col&gt;933&lt;/col&gt;&lt;p&gt;This increase in the social fund budget will ensure that more people receive help and that the fund continues to play an important role in targeting resources to those most in need. Details of the individual district budget allocations; together with a note explaining the basis on which they have been made, have been placed in the Library.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Social Fund' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/social-fund'></outline>
    </outline>
    <outline id='3204255' text='HOME DEPARTMENT'>
      <outline id='3204256' text='Mr. Llew Smith&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of his annual departmental budget was spent in Wales in each of the last five years; and how much that proportion was in&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; 1997 prices and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; cash terms for each year. [20705]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Howard&lt;p&gt;The available information is contained in the table. Other Home Office expenditure benefiting Wales, for example, crime prevention publicity campaigns and research, cannot be broken down beyond the global spend for England and Wales. In addition, for 1992&amp;#x2013;93, total Home Office expenditure cannot be broken down at all between England and Wales.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;table&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;i&gt;Year&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Home Office expenditure in Wales (&amp;#x00A3;000&apos;s)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Percentage of total Home office expenditure&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Home Office expenditure in Wales (at 1997 prices)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;1992&amp;#x2013;93&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;n/a&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;n/a&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;n/a&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;1993&amp;#x2013;94&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;203,929&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;218,114&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;1994&amp;#x2013;95&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;214,039&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;224,946&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;1995&amp;#x2013;96&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;230,813&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3.6&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;236,583&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;1996&amp;#x2013;97&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;243,215&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;243,215&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="4"&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; Estimated.&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/p&gt;' title='Departmental Budget' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/departmental-budget'></outline>
      <outline id='3204258' text='Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will develop and implement a citizens charter for&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; the Immigration and Nationality Service and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; the Prison Service. [21781]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Howard&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Citizens Charters' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/citizens-charters'></outline>
      <outline id='3204260' text='Mr. George Howarth&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department is he will list&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; the prison building projects for which contracts have been signed, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; the estimated date of completion and &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; their planned capacity once opened. [21784]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Miss Widdecombe&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Prison Building' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/prison-building'></outline>
      <outline id='3204263' text='Mr. George Howarth&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the countries with which his Department competed to purchase the prison ship Weare. [21785]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Miss Widdecombe&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;col&gt;934&lt;/col&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Cohen&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about progress with the planning application for the prison ship in Portland; and what permissions have been granted for its continued mooring there. [21412]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Miss Widdecombe&lt;p&gt;Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Harry Cohen, dated 21 March 1997:&lt;/i&gt;&#x000A;&lt;quote&gt;The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the planning application for the prison ship in Portland.&lt;/quote&gt;&#x000A;&lt;quote&gt;Portland Port Limited has leased to the Prison Service a temporary berth until a decision is reached by the Secretary of State for the Environment on the notice of proposed development. A meeting to consider the issues has been arranged by the Department of Environment for 20 March.&lt;/quote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. George Howarth&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expenses have been incurred preparing shore facilities in Dorset for the prison ship Weare; when such expenditure was first authorised; and when such expenditure first began to be incurred. [21576]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Miss Widdecombe&lt;p&gt;Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;Letter from Hugh Taylor to Mr. George Howarth, dated 21 March 1997:&lt;/i&gt;&#x000A;&lt;quote&gt;The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your question about expenses incurred preparing shore facilities in Dorset for the prison ship.&lt;/quote&gt;&#x000A;&lt;quote&gt;I will write to you when the information is available.&lt;/quote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;' title='Prison Ship' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/prison-ship'></outline>
      <outline id='3204265' text='Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the gross public spending on police authorities for each year since 1990&amp;#x2013;91, in 1996&amp;#x2013;97 prices. [21812]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Maclean&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the statutory basis of police authorities and if they&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; admit members of the public to board or committee meetings and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; hold open meetings for the public; and whether in each case this is under statutory requirement. [21769]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr Maclean&lt;p&gt;Police authorities, free-standing of local government, were established by provisions in the Police and Magistrates Courts Act 1994, now consolidated in the Police Act 1996. They, their committees and sub-committees, continue to be bound by provisions in the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, requiring meetings to be open to the public.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Police Authorities (Expenditure)' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/police-authorities-expenditure'></outline>
      <outline id='3204267' text='Mr. Alex Carlile&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received&lt;image src="S6CV0292P0I1037"/&gt;&#x000A;&lt;col&gt;935&lt;/col&gt;&#x000A;concerning &lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; the safety of the conviction and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; the case for parole, of Reginald Dudley and Robert Maynard; and if he will make a statement. [21378]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Kirkhope&lt;p&gt;Representations about the cases of Reginald Dudley and Robert Maynard have been received from a variety of sources. The latest representations that they were wrongfully convicted, and that they should be granted parole stem from an article in&lt;i&gt;The Guardian&lt;/i&gt; alleging that a key prosecution witness wished to withdraw his evidence. These are being considered.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Both cases have been considered at the appropriate times by the Parole Board; neither has yet been recommended for release on life licence.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Reginald Dudley and Robert Maynard' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/reginald-dudley-and-robert-maynard'></outline>
      <outline id='3204269' text='Mr. Cohen&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Data Protection Registrar on&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; the use by the Security Services of the exemptions in section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1984 and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; the use by the police of the exemptions in section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984; and if he will make a statement. [21416]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Howard&lt;p&gt;I have had no such discussions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Cohen&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of the implementation of the data protection directive, EC/95/46, on the problems associated with enforced subject access; and if he will make a statement. [21417]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Sackville&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Data Protection' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/data-protection'></outline>
      <outline id='3204272' text='Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department have a statutory base; if he will list those bodies which&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; admit members of the public to all board and committee meetings and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; hold open meetings for the public; and if in each case this is under a statutory requirement. [21445]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Howard&lt;p&gt;The following executive non-departmental public bodies have a statutory base:&lt;ul&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Alcohol Education and Research Council&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Commission for Racial Equality&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Criminal Cases Review Commission&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Data Protection Registrar&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Gaming Board for Great Britain&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Horserace Betting Levy Board&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Horserace Totalisator Board&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Parole Board&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Police Complaints Authority.&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;None of the NDPBs for which I am responsible admits members of the public to all board or committee meetings either under a statutory requirement or voluntarily.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Commission for Racial Equality holds conferences and seminars on race relations issues, but none of the NDPBs for which I am responsible is under a statutory requirement to hold open meetings.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;col&gt;936&lt;/col&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; have a statutory base, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; publish their advice to Government, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; publish an annual report and &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; lay an annual report before Parliament; and if he will indicate in each instance whether this is under a statutory requirement. [21719]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Howard&lt;p&gt;The following advisory non-departmental public bodies are sponsored by my Department:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;(a) are on a statutory basis&lt;/i&gt;&#x000A;&lt;ul&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Animal Procedures Committee&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Firearms Consultative Committee&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Poisons Board&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Police Negotiating Board.&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;(b) publish their advice to Government&lt;/i&gt;&#x000A;&lt;ul&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Animal Procedures Committee&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Firearms Consultative Committee&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;(c) publish an annual report and lay it before Parliament&lt;/i&gt;&#x000A;&lt;ul&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Animal Procedures Committee&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Firearms Consultative Committee&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Metropolitan Police Committee.&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/ul&gt;&#x000A;&lt;quote&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; In these cases, the bodies concerned meet a statutory requirement. In other cases, the bodies act voluntarily.&lt;/quote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In my reply of 14 March 1996 at column &lt;i&gt;711&lt;/i&gt;, I indicated that the Poisons Board and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs published their advice to Government. I regret that was incorrect.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if police authorities are subject to&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; scrutiny by the Audit Commission, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; scrutiny by the National Audit Office, &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; statutory provisions for open government, &lt;i&gt;(e)&lt;/i&gt; performance indicators and &lt;i&gt;(f)&lt;/i&gt; provisions under the citizens charter. [21767]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Maclean&lt;p&gt;Police authorities established under the provisions of the Police and Magistrates&apos; Courts Act 1994 now incorporated in the Police Act 1996 are not open to investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner, but by the Commissioner for Local Administration. Similarly, they are subject to scrutiny by the Audit Commission, not the National Audit Office. Also, the Audit Commission&apos;s citizens charter performance indicators include a range of indicators that apply to the police service, and police authorities are required to publish these annually. As regards statutory provision for open government, police authorities are bound by rules similar to those that apply for local government.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those of his Department&apos;s advisory non-departmental public bodies which the Government are required to&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; consult prior to legislative proposals and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; publish their response to advice from. [21741]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;image src="S6CV0292P0I1038"/&gt;&lt;col&gt;937&lt;/col&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Howard&lt;p&gt;The Government are required to consult the following advisory non-departmental public bodies before relevant legislative proposals:&lt;ul&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs;&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Animal Proceduares Committee;&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England;&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales;&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Poisons Board.&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In addition, the Government&apos;s response to advice supplied by the following bodies must be published:&#x000A;&lt;ul&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England;&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Dr. Wright&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; hold public meetings, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; conduct public consultation exercises, &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interests, &lt;i&gt;(d)&lt;/i&gt; publish a register of members&apos; interests, &lt;i&gt;(e)&lt;/i&gt; publish agendas for meetings and &lt;i&gt;(f)&lt;/i&gt; publish the minutes of meetings; and whether in each case this is under a statutory requirement. [21696]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Howard&lt;p&gt;The following advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by my Department:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;(a) hold public meeting&lt;/i&gt;&#x000A;&lt;ul&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Metropolitan Police Committee&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales.&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;(b) conduct public consultation exercises&lt;/i&gt;&#x000A;&lt;ul&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Animal Procedures Committee&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Firearms Consultative Committee&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Metropolitan Police Committee&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;table type="span"&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="5" align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;#x00A3;000&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="2" align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Budgeted expenditure&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="2" align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Estimated running costs&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;1996&amp;#x2013;97&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;1997&amp;#x2013;98&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;1996&amp;#x2013;97&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;1997&amp;#x2013;98&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Metropolitan Police&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,713,494&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,738,884&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,663,829&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,705,000&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Metropolitan Police Committee&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;399&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;405&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;399&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;405&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Inner London Probation Service&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;46,144&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;45,555&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;40,619&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;40,042&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;North-east London Probation Service&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;10,693&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;10,348&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;9,636&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;9,521&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;South-east London Probation Service&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;7,003&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;6,910&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;6,403&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;6,326&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;South-west London Probation Service&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;5,733&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;5,820&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;4,894&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;4,797&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Middlesex Probation Service&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;19,174&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;18,972&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;17,421&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;17,133&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Budgets for subsequent years are not yet determined.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Public Bodies' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/public-bodies-3'></outline>
      <outline id='3204274' text="Mr. Dalyell&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has had with&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; Lieutenant Colonel George Styles and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; Dr. Hugh Thomas, former chief consultant surgeon to the British Army in Northern Ireland, and &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; Professor Bernard Knight, on the circumstances of the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher. [21600]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Howard&lt;p&gt;None. The investigation of crime is a matter for the police.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Dalyell&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the actions taken by&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; his Department and &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; the Metropolitan police in&lt;/p&gt;&lt;col&gt;938&lt;/col&gt;&lt;p&gt;Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;(c) conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interest&lt;/i&gt;&#x000A;&lt;ul&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Animal Procedures Committee&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Crime Prevention Agency&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Firearms Consultative Committee&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;Metropolitan Police Committee.&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The activities listed are undertaken voluntarily by the bodies concerned.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;None of the advisory non-departmental public bodies which my Department sponsors publishes a register of members' interests, agendas for meetings or minutes of meetings.&lt;/p&gt;" title='WPC Yvonne Fletcher' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/wpc-yvonne-fletcher'></outline>
      <outline id='3204276' text='Sir Michael Shersby&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the crime rate in each of the London boroughs; and if he will publish this in the&lt;i&gt;Official Report&lt;/i&gt; giving details of each category of reported crime. [21491]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Maclean&lt;p&gt;I will write to the hon. Member.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Crime (London)' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/crime-london'></outline>
      <outline id='3204278' text='Mr. Dobson&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the non-elected bodies responsible to his Department which are responsible for providing advice or services in London, indicating in each case the (i) overall budget and (ii) estimated running costs for each year from 1996&amp;#x2013;97 to 1999&amp;#x2013;2000. [21381]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Howard&lt;p&gt;Available information on the bodies requested is given in the table:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;respect of the contents of the Channel 4 film, "Murder in St. James", broadcast in April 1996 concerning the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher. [21599]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Howard&lt;p&gt;My officials viewed the programme and had various consultations about its contents. My right hon. Friend the Minister of State responded to the allegations made in it in the Adjournment debate initiated by the hon.. Member on 8 May 1996, and he and I have answered various questions asked by the hon. Member and letters from other hon. Members and members of the public. The metropolitan police reviewed the contents of the programme as part of their continuing investigation into the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher. They remain satisfied with the findings of the inquest that the shot that killed her was fired from the Libyan People&apos;s Bureau.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;image src="S6CV0292P0I1039"/&gt;&lt;col&gt;939&lt;/col&gt;' title='Advisory Bodies (London)' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/advisory-bodies-london-2'></outline>
      <outline id='3204280' text='Mr. David Nicholson&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what instructions he has given to the immigration authorities for discretionary treatment of Albanian nationals currently present in the United Kingdom; what estimate he has made of the number of Albanian nationals who are currently in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [21772]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Kirkhope&lt;p&gt;We are urgently reviewing the situation in Albania, in consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Pending the outcome of this review, instructions have been given that action on all outstanding Albanian asylum claims should be frozen and that any removal directions for Albanians to Albania should be suspended.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Statistics on the number of Albanians currently present in the United Kingdom are not available.&lt;/p&gt;' title='Albanian Nationals' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/albanian-nationals'></outline>
      <outline id='3204282' text='Mr. Alex Carlile&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the total expenditure on the Prison Service in each of the last five years; what is projected expenditure for the next three years; and if he will make a statement. [21584]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Miss Widdecombe&lt;p&gt;Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 21 March 1997:&lt;/i&gt;&#x000A;&lt;quote&gt;The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent question about total expenditure on the Prison Service in each of the last five years and projects expenditure for the next three years.&lt;/quote&gt;&#x000A;&lt;quote&gt;Expenditure for the years 1991&amp;#x2013;92 to 1995&amp;#x2013;96 was as follows:&lt;/quote&gt;&#x000A;&lt;ul&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;1991&amp;#x2013;92 &amp;#x00A3;1,462.1 million&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;1991&amp;#x2013;93 &amp;#x00A3;1,470.3 million&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;1993&amp;#x2013;94 &amp;#x00A3;1,508.8 million&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;1994&amp;#x2013;95 &amp;#x00A3;1,597.9 million&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;1995&amp;#x2013;96 &amp;#x00A3;1,666.9 million.&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;table type="span"&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="13" align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Table A: Number of offenders convicted and conviction rate&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; for indictable offences by offence group and region 1991&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;i&gt;Region&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Violence against the person&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Sexual offences&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Burglary&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Robbery&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Theft and handling stolen goods&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Fraud and forgery&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Criminal damage&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Drug offences&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Other excluding motoring offences&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Motoring offences&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Total indictable offences&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;North&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Convictions&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3,389&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;346&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3,759&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;255&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;9,224&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,109&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;555&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;862&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,793&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;746&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;22,038&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Rate (per cent.)&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;56.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;61.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;64.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;66.6&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;69.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;70.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;56.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;80.0&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;58.0&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;78.3&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;65.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Yorkshire and Humberside&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Convictions&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;5,615&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;576&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;5,739&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;459&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;14,273&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;2,112&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1.047&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,583&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3,404&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,108&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;35,916&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Rate (per cent.)&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;60.3&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;64.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;71.2&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;64.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;74.6&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;79.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;68.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;78.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;63.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;82.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;70.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;East Midlands&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Convictions&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;4,804&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;462&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;4,174&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;362&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;10,057&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,611&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;648&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;920&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;2,179&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,245&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;26,462&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Rate (per cent.)&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;54.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;59.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;66.3&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;61.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;70.6&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;69.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;52.8&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;76.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;58.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;74.6&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;64.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;East Anglia&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Convictions&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,731&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;186&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,571&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;119&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;4,657&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;775&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;496&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;754&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;913&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;643&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;11,845&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Rate (per cent.)&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;63.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;60.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;72.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;55.3&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;78.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;74.0&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;78.2&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;83.3&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;65.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;89.3&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;73.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;South East&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Convictions&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;12,070&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1.848&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;11,795&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,802&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;41,378&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;7,510&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3,204&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;10,619&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;9,732&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;2,746&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;102,704&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Rate (per cent.)&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;53.6&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;64.0&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;70.0&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;61.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;74.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;75.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;63.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;84.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;65.6&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;76.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;69.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Greater London&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Convictions&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;5,780&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1.064&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;5,008&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,190&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;19,904&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3,877&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,495&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;6,521&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;5,288&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,045&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;51,172&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Rate (per cent.)&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;52.0&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;64.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;71.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;61.8&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;78.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;80.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;62.6&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;89.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;68.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;85.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;72.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Rest of South East&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Convictions&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;6,290&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;784&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;6,787&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;612&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;21,474&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3,633&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,709&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;4,098&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;4,444&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,701&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;51,532&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Rate (per cent.)&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;55.2&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;63.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;68.6&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;61.0&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;70.8&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;71.3&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;65.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;78.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;62.3&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;71.8&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;67.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;South West&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Convictions&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3,629&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;402&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3,431&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;240&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;10,110&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,611&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;641&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,499&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;2,158&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;996&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;24,717&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Rate (per cent.)&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;55.6&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;55.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;67.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;54.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;71.8&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;72.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;62.4&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;81.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;63.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;77.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;67.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;West Midlands&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Convictions&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;6,160&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;687&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;5,180&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;665&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;13,129&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;2,043&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,756&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,634&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;4,110&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,378&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;36,742&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Rate (per cent.)&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;56.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;64.6&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;69.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;61.6&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;71.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;77.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;61.8&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;85.0&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;58.2&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;80.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;66.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;North West&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Convictions&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;6.225&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;658&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;7,377&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;749&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;21,749&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;3,093&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;861&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;4,179&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;7,610&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;1,644&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;54,145&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td&gt;Rate (per cent.)&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;55.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;58.7&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;72.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;60.5&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;77.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;80.1&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;82.2&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;81.0&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;68.2&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;82.9&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td align="right"&gt;72.2&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;col&gt;940&lt;/col&gt;&lt;p&gt;For the current and the next three years the projected expenditure is:&#x000A;&lt;ul&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;1996&amp;#x2013;97 &amp;#x00A3;1,642.3 million (voted provision)&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;1997&amp;#x2013;98 &amp;#x00A3;1,756.8 million&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;1998&amp;#x2013;99 &amp;#x00A3;1,707.3 million&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;li&gt;1999&amp;#x2013;00 &amp;#x00A3;1,829.3 million.&lt;/li&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/p&gt;' title='Prison Service (Expenditure)' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/prison-service-expenditure'></outline>
      <outline id='3204284' text='Mr. Alex Carlile&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the percentage increase in the prison population for each of the last 60 months for which figures are available; what increases he estimates will take place in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [21585]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Miss Widdecombe&lt;p&gt;Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 21 March 1997:&lt;/i&gt;&#x000A;&lt;quote&gt;The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent question about the prison population.&lt;/quote&gt;&#x000A;&lt;quote&gt;I will write to you later.&lt;/quote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;' title='Prison Population' type='link' url='http://hansard.millbanksystems.comhttp://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1997/mar/21/prison-population'></outline>
      <outline id='3204286' text='Mr. Alex Carlile&lt;p&gt;To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the&lt;i&gt;(a)&lt;/i&gt; number of convictions, &lt;i&gt;(b)&lt;/i&gt; conviction rate and &lt;i&gt;(c)&lt;/i&gt; clear-up rate, for each category of crime, in each region, for each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [21586]&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Mr. Maclean&lt;p&gt;Information on the number of convictions and the conviction rate for the years 1991, 1993 and 1995&amp;#x2014;latest available&amp;#x2014;is given in tables A, B and C. The provision of data for other years would involve disproportionate cost.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Information on clear-up rates for 1995 and 1996 is given in tables D and E. Figures for earlier years are published annually in chapter 9 of "Regional Trends"; copies of which are available in the Library.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;image src="S6CV0292P0I1040"/&gt;&lt;col&gt;941&lt;/col&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;table type="span"&gt;&#x000A;&lt;tr&gt;&#x000A;&lt;td colspan="13" align="center"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Table A: Number of offenders convicted and conviction rate&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; for indictable offences by offence group and region 1991&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&#x000A;&lt;/tr&gt;&#x000A