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Defence Evaluation and Research Agency

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if employees of DERA will remain members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme consequent upon his proposals for privatisation. [93705]

Mr. Kilfoyle: Any staff transferring out of the civil service as a result of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) transaction cease to be civil servants and, as such, are no longer eligible for membership of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). The Government Actuary's Department is responsible for certifying that any new scheme they join offers broadly comparable benefits to those offered by the PCSPS. Staff will be treated fairly and in line with the Government's Statement of Practice for Staff Transfers in the Public Sector which sets out comprehensive guidance for the treatment of staff in PPP deals, including new guidance on the protection of staff pensions.

BRC Information System

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on (a) the current status and (b) the future of the biological, radiological and chemical information system. [95801]

Mr. Hoon: The Biological, Radiological and Chemical Information System (BRACIS) is a computer-based prediction system. If a Biological, Radiological or Chemical hazard were detected, the system would assist commanders in the field to understand the implications of the hazard, and take appropriate action.

BRACIS was acquired in 1995 and is used by all three Services. An updated version of the software was acquired

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this year and this recently began to be used for training purposes at the Defence Nuclear, Biological & Chemical (NBC) School.

A more capable system is being developed with a communications capability which will enable it to be integrated with other systems contributing towards digitisation of the battlespace.

Under 18-year-olds

Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK service personnel under 18 years of age have been killed in 1998 and 1999 [95630]

Mr. Spellar: Between 1 January 1998 and 26 October, 1999 five UK Service personnel under 18 years of age have been killed, two in 1998 (one drowning, one fall) and three in 1999 (two road traffic accidents, one alcohol poisoning).

Correspondence

Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire can expect a reply to his letters of 17 June and 1 September on behalf of his constituent, Mr. Allan. [96281]

Mr. Hoon: I replied to the right hon. Member on 23 October.

Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Minister's letter of 30 August, when the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire can expect a substantive reply to his letter of 10 August on behalf of his constituent, Mr. Hall. [96280]

Mr. Hoon: I expect to be in a position to write to the right hon. Member soon.

Departmental Estate

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the review of his Department's estate in London to be published. [95526]

Mr. Kilfoyle: Following on from the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) a detailed Strategic Development Plan for the Greater London area (SDP GL) is being prepared. Substantial progress has been made on this review of the Department's occupancy of its London-based estate and I expect to be able to make a statement early in the new year following our evaluation of its conclusions and recommendations.

Departmental Contracts

Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list for the most recent financial year contracts valued in excess of £10,000 including the value of each for (a) London, (b) the South-East of England, (c) England, (d) Scotland, (e) Wales and (f) Northern Ireland. [95352]

Mr. Kilfoyle [holding answer 26 October 1999]: The information requested is available only at disproportionate cost. In aggregate the number and value of prime contracts valued in excess of £10,000 extant in Financial Year 1998-99 by the following locations is listed:

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Location	No. of contracts	Value of contracts (£)
London	3,026	3,460,927,447
South-East England	10,734	13,130,333,195
England	34,894	54,202,614,303
Scotland	2,297	3,346,377,904
Wales	923	517,423,851
Northern Ireland	226	587,707,167

Forces Married Quarters

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's policy is on the use of armed forces married quarters by forces personnel, after the breakdown of a marriage, during subsequent relationships. [96432]

Mr. Spellar: MOD policy bans cohabitation in Family Quarters. Occupation is therefore restricted to Service personnel and their spouses, together with dependent children if applicable. While this policy is kept under review, there are currently no plans to change it.

In the event of marital breakdown, the Marital Category of the Service person is changed from married to single. At this point, unless the Service person has custodial responsibilities for a child, they are no longer entitled to occupy a Family Quarter and are consequently required to move into single living accommodation. The estranged family is also required to vacate the Family Quarter, but is given a 93 day notice period in which to do so. However, individual circumstances are given consideration consistent with service requirements.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Education Spending

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the levels of spending on education per head of the population in each county of England in each year since 1995-96. [94313]

Ms Estelle Morris [holding answer 19 October 1999]: The information requested is contained in tables, copies of which have been placed in the Library.

Accurate information per head of population is not available for each of the years requested. Information has, therefore, been provided on the basis of expenditure per pupil. The information contained in the tables shows for each county in England, (i) total spending in primary, secondary and special schools since 1995, (ii) the total number of pupils in those schools, and (iii) the total spending per pupil.

Emotional Development (Children)

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the ability of schools to provide conditions for formative emotional development. [95218]

Jacqui Smith: The Government are committed to fostering children's emotional well-being and to doing

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everything they can to ensure that they have the emotional maturity and security necessary for effective learning. This is a key theme of the Government's booklet "Desirable Outcomes for Children's Learning" and the recently launched Early Learning Goals.

We are making £21 million available through the Standards Fund for 2000-01 to support innovative work in Local Education Authorities on early identification and assessment of emotional and behavioural difficulties. A further £18 million of Standards Fund Grant is available to support implementation of the revised National Curriculum framework. Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) in the Curriculum contains provision for pupils to learn how to recognise the symptoms and address the causes of stress and depression.

National Grid for Learning

Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many additional personal computers there are in schools as a result of the National Grid for Learning Initiative. [95639]

Jacqui Smith: A Statistical First Release, published in August, indicated that in 1999 there was, on average, one computer for every 13 pupils in primary schools compared to every 18 pupils in 1998. Similarly in secondary schools, there was one computer for every eight pupils in 1999 compared to every nine pupils in 1998. These are the first signs of the effect of the Government's focused investment on ICT in schools through the National Grid for Learning programme and we expect to see further improvement over the next two years.

School Security

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to assess the threat to security of school premises arising from adjacent public rights of way. [94945]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 25 October 1999]: We treat the issue of school security very seriously and support measures which make schools a safer and more secure environment for pupils and staff. The Department's Working Group on School Security, which includes a representative from the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), has specifically highlighted public rights of way across school premises an issue to be addressed, and is aware of some local cases. The recent DETR consultation paper, Improving Public Rights of Way in England and Wales, accordingly invited views on proposals to enable highway authorities to divert or close public highways where to do so would protect the safety of the public. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, will announce decisions in the light of the consultations on this in due course. The Department also continues to provide specific grant for school security measures under the Standards Fund : a total of £22 million per year is available specifically for school security improvements, which may include security fencing and other access control measures in order to prevent intrusion.

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