---

Radioactive Discharge (Irish Sea)

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what forecast he has made of the level of radioactive discharge into the Irish Sea in each year to 2020, indicating the measures he will take to ensure fulfilment of the OSPAR Agreement. [138743]

Mr. Meacher: The consultation document on a UK Strategy for Radioactive Discharges 2001-20, which was published in June, shows how we shall implement the agreements on radioactive discharges reached at the 1998 Ministerial meeting of the OSPAR Commission. It includes projected discharge profiles by sector for the nuclear industry, for the period to 2020. Responses to the consultation are now being considered, with a view to issuing the final strategy in the spring. The final strategy will show separate projections for radioactive discharges into the relevant OSPAR sea areas, one of which is the Celtic Seas, which includes the Irish Sea. Statutory guidance to the Environment Agency, which is about to be issued in draft for consultation, will ensure that future discharge authorisations are consistent with the discharges strategy. The strategy will also contain environmental concentration data for a key set of indicators designed to monitor progress in implementing our OSPAR commitments and will be updated every four years. Comprehensive data on the amounts of radionuclides

20 Nov 2000 : Column: 24W

discharged from UK installations and their concentrations in the marine environment are published annually in "Radioactivity in Food and the Environment", a joint report by the Food Standards Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Bill Boards

Mr. Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on his plans to change the restrictions on the siting of bill boards in the countryside. [138868]

Ms Beverley Hughes: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury, North (Mr. Chaytor) on 7 November 2000, Official Report, column 136W.

Departmental Pay Bill

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2000, Official Report, column 467W, on payroll administration, what the total wage bill is estimated to be in 2000-01 for his Department and its agencies. [139011]

Ms Beverley Hughes: The estimated wage bill for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and its Agencies, in the financial year 2000-01, is £464 million.

Ministerial Visit (Santiago)

Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the purpose was of the visit of the Minister for Housing and Planning to Santiago, Chile on 9 and 10 November; and what was the total costs to public funds. [138484]

Mr. Raynsford: I led a very successful trade mission to Brazil and Chile from 5-10 November. We visited Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Santiago. Accompanying me were around a dozen representatives from the British construction industry. The purpose of the mission was to promote British construction exports. In Santiago we met with the Chilean British Chamber, the Minister of Justice, the Under-Secretary for the Economy, Energy and Mining, the Under-Secretary for Finance and the Director General of the Ministry for Public Works and participated in a seminar to promote the use of Public-Private Partnerships to facilitate greater investment in public infrastructure. A large number of UK construction companies are now pursuing the opportunities opened up during this mission. While I was in Santiago, I took the opportunity to address the Canning House conference on Chile and the EU which coincided with my visit. Other speakers from the UK included Baroness Hooper, Chris Patten and Lord Garel-Jones.

The cost to public funds of the mission to Brazil and Chile was approximately £27,400. This covered the cost of my travel and accommodation and that of four officials who accompanied me. It also included part sponsorship of the seminar to promote Public-Private Partnerships and the cost of the Chairman of the Movement for Innovation joining the Chilean part of the mission to discuss plans to promote the principles of "Rethinking Construction" in Chilean construction projects.

20 Nov 2000 : Column: 25W

Millennium Dome

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received from Mr. PY Gerbeau regarding the operation of the Millennium Dome after 31 December. [139307]

Ms Armstrong: Since the withdrawal of the bid from Nomura for the Dome in September, we have received numerous unsolicited expressions of interest from parties interested in procuring the Dome, including one from PY Gerbeau. These have all been outside the terms of the competition.

Within the context of the competition, the competition team has been continuing its discussions with Legacy plc, and in the light of progress the Government have now decided to grant Legacy preferred bidder status. Legacy plc have been awarded preferred bidder status because they have confirmed that they will resolve all outstanding contractual issues within an agreed timetable. Negotiations will continue, and if all goes well we expect to exchange contracts during February. Progress will be reviewed regularly.

English Partnerships will be working closely with Legacy plc to agree a masterplan for the Dome and associated land.

In addition, English Partnerships and the London Borough of Greenwich are working together, and are in discussion with the London Development Agency, to put in place a new partnership for the next stage of the regeneration of the Greenwich Peninsula. This will build on the work done so far on the development of the Peninsula, including the Dome site, the Millennium Village, and retail and commercial investments, and the emerging development framework for East Greenwich Riverside.

The aim will be to work closely with local stakeholders, including private sector landowners, employers and residents, to establish and implement a new masterplan framework for the Peninsula. This will maintain the momentum established by the Millennium Experience and the enormous improvements in transport infrastructure that have been made, maximising private sector investment and regeneration benefits for the Peninsula. I have asked English Partnerships to consider, in their discussions with other parties, the possible establishment of an urban regeneration company, following the principles set out in our White Paper published last week.

20 Nov 2000 : Column: 26W

PRIME MINISTER

Regulatory Impact Unit

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister how many officials in his office work (a) part time and (b) full time in the Regulatory Impact Unit; and if he will make a statement. [136020]

The Prime Minister: None.

Constituency Matters

Sir Richard Body: To ask the Prime Minister if it is his practice to notify hon. Members when he has received a complaint about a personal constituency matter for which the hon. Member would expect to take responsibility; and if he will make a statement. [137772]

The Prime Minister: It would depend on the circumstances of the correspondence and the nature of the complaint.

Saudi Air Hijack

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 30 October 2000, Official Report, column 280W, what factors underlay his decision not to hold discussions with the Iraqi Government on the hijacking of a Saudi Arabian aircraft. [136861]

The Prime Minister [holding answer 15 November 2000]: The Iraqi Government severed diplomatic relations with the UK in February 1991. The Saudi Government naturally took the lead in discussions with the Iraqi Government to resolve the hijacking of Saudi Air flight SV115. I am grateful for the assistance provided by the Russian Embassy in Baghdad which was in touch with the local authorities on our behalf.

Official Histories

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister how many Government sponsored official histories are in preparation; when each was commissioned; who the authors are; what the estimated dates of completion are; and what the estimated cost in each case is. [138778]

The Prime Minister [holding answer 17 November 2000]: The original programme of official histories, commissioned by the War Cabinet and covering military and civil histories of the second world war, was extended in 1966 by the then Prime Minister to include selected periods or episodes of peacetime history. The following are in preparation:

20 Nov 2000 : Column: 25W

Title	Author	Date commissioned	Estimated publication date
UK Accession to the EEC volume 1	Professor Alan Milward	1993	2001
UK Accession to the EEC volume 2	Professor Alan Milward	1997	2005
Falklands Campaign	Professor Lawrence Freedman	1997	2002
North Sea Oil and Gas	Professor Alexander Kemp	1999	2004
External Economic Policy since the War volume 2	Professor Leslie Pressnell	1974	2002
Defence Organisation since the War	Professor Donald Cameron Watt	1974	2001
Secret Flotillas--revised edition	Sir Brooks Richards	2000	2001
SOE in France--revised edition	Professor M. R. D. Foot	2000	2002
SOE in the Low Countries	Professor M. R. D. Foot	1987	2000
SOE in Italy	Christopher Woods	1989	2002
SOE in Greece	Professor Richard Clogg	1984	2002

20 Nov 2000 : Column: 27W

The cost of preparing official histories is borne mainly by the Cabinet Office with royalties payable by the publisher offsetting the costs. It is not possible without disproportionate cost to itemise the cost of all the individual histories.

---