---

Lockerbie

Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reason was given by the Syrian Government to justify their refusal to provide documents requested by the Government during the Lockerbie trial; and if he will make a statement. [144770]

Mr. Battle: The Syrian authorities, in their reply to the letter of request sent by the Scottish Court in the Netherlands, stressed that, in their opinion, they should not have been asked the question in the first place and would therefore prefer not to have to send a formal reply.

The Lord Advocate, therefore, informed the court on 8 January that it was unlikely that the court would get a formal response, certainly not within any short time scale, and that any formal response would undoubtedly be negative.

DEFENCE

HMS Invincible

Mr. Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what manpower reductions are necessary to the crew of HMS Invincible during 2001 so that HMS Ark Royal can be brought up to a full complement. [144404]

Mr. Spellar: The crew of HMS Invincible will be reduced to reflect the ship's programme of a phased reduction in readiness leading to her refit commencing in late 2001. Overall, the current crew level of around 640 (excluding the embarked Air Group) will reduce to about 120 in refit. Some of the manpower released will be transferred to HMS Ark Royal as part of the Navy's overall manpower management plan.

Air Fleets

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the fleet size is of (a) Tornado GR1, (b) Tornado GR4, (c) Tornado F3, (d) Harrier, (e) Jaguar, (f) Nimrod, (g) Sentry, (h) Tristar, (i) Puma, (j) Sea King,

11 Jan 2001 : Column: 606W

(k) Chinook and (l) Merlin; how many were (i) allocated to front-line units, (ii) fully serviceable, (iii) unserviceable 1 line, (iv) unserviceable 2 line, (v) unserviceable 3/4 line, (vi) on trials, (vii) held in reserve use and (viii) undergoing upgrade on 12 December; what percentage of the fleet size this represents for each category; and if he will make a statement. [143191]

Mr. Spellar [holding answer 10 January 2001]: I will write to the right hon. and learned Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee

Mr. Rapson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he was consulted on the programme to celebrate Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee; and for what reason a Fleet Review will not take place. [144838]

Dr. Moonie: I have been kept fully informed about the development of plans for the armed forces to celebrate Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee.

It has been agreed with Buckingham Palace that in view of the demands of a very full royal programme during Golden Jubilee year, the Queen will make a single visit to the armed forces which will reflect their role in the 21st century, emphasising the importance of the Joint Service co-operation that exists between the three Services. In view of this, it was decided that single Service events, including a Fleet Review for the Royal Navy, would not be appropriate. Contrary to reports in the press, the decision had nothing to do with budgetary constraints.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Judges' Lodgings

Mr. Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2000, Official Report, column 167W, regarding lodgings for judges, for how many days cars were hired for the Lewes lodging during (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000. [144707]

Jane Kennedy: Cars were hired for the Lewes lodgings as follows:

1997-98--110 days;

1998-99--145 days; and

1999-2000--95 days.

NORTHERN IRELAND

RUC

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what regulations govern the wearing of personal identification, full uniform and regalia of the RUC; and what are the disciplinary procedures in the event of non-compliance. [142276]

Mr. Ingram: Guidance on both aspects is contained within the Royal Ulster Constabulary (Conduct) Regulations 2000 (SR 2000/315).

11 Jan 2001 : Column: 607W

Police Oversight Commissioner

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the annual budget is for the Police Oversight Commissioner; if he will break down the costs into the main budget heads; and what representations he has received regarding the moneys allocated for this purpose. [142319]

Mr. Ingram: The Government have been in discussion with Mr. Constantine, the Oversight Commissioner, regarding the resources he requires. Mr. Constantine identified costs for the work of the Commission, and I have set aside £739,000 for this financial year and £737,000 for the 2001-02 financial year. The figures are broken down as follows:

	£000
	Year one--June 2000-March 2001
Establishment Costs	149
General Office Expenditure	48
Commissioner's Costs	91
Staff and Associated Costs	451
Year one total	739
	Year two--2001-02
General Office Expenditure	61
Commissioner's Costs	91
Staff and Associated Costs	585
Year two total	737

Costs for the 2002-03 financial year have yet to be finalised.

11 Jan 2001 : Column: 608W

SOCIAL SECURITY

Benefit Payments

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the percentage of benefit payments were found to be accurate in each benefits area directorate for (i) 1979-80, (ii) 1996-97 and (iii) the most recent period for which figures are available. [143104]

Angela Eagle: The administration of benefits is a matter for Alexis Cleveland, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Mr. Paul Burstow, dated 10 January 2001:

The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what percentage of benefit payments were found to be accurate in each benefits area directorate for (i) 1979-80, (ii) 1996-97 and (iii) the most recent period for which figures are available.

The accuracy of benefit payments in all Area Directorates is measured by the Benefits Agency Quality Support teams which were established in 1994. Unfortunately, no data is available for 1979/80 as accuracy figures were not collated at that time. Figures for the main benefits checked by the Quality Support teams in 1996/97 and 1999/2000 (the most recent period available) are set out in the tables.

I hope this is helpful.

Table 1: Percentage of benefit payments found to be accurate

		National figures
Benefit	1996-97	1999-2000
Retirement pension	93.20	95.29
Incapacity benefit	91.57	94.63
Income Support	80.80	86.79
Jobseekers Allowance	87.10	89.38

11 Jan 2001 : Column: 607W

Table 2: Percentage benefit accuracy across benefits agency area directorates

	Income Support (IS)		Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)		Short Term Benefits (STB)		Long Term Benefits (LTB)
Area Directorate (AD)	1996-97	1999-2000	1996-97	1999-2000	1996-97	1999-2000	1996-97	1999-2000
1. East London and Anglia	76.07	84.32	--	86.52	87.57	92.66	94.79	92.22
2. Chilterns	76.22	82.20	--	86.13	--	94.73	91.63	85.58
3. London, South	77.25	85.79	--	86.72	87.79	94.18	89.17	94.71
4. West Country	80.08	86.26	--	91.63	90.91	94.86	94.15	94.38
5. Mercia	81.57	87.66	--	80.23	--	94.95	98.44	96.30
6. West Midlands	86.17	84.95	--	91.44	90.84	95.14	92.50	92.78
7. Wales	85.14	88.21	--	90.89	91.18	94.93	92.76	94.83
8. North West Coast	80.69	87.99	--	89.52	90.91	94.10	93.36	97.88
9. Greater Manchester	81.69	86.67	--	90.51	90.67	95.63	94.30	96.13
10. Yorkshire	81.49	87.08	--	88.02	90.35	93.84	93.30	95.95
11. Tyne Tees	84.23	90.50	--	88.85	93.37	96.49	94.43	96.32
12. West of Scotland	83.97	90.28	--	92.16	93.36	95.10	92.46	92.09
13. East of Scotland	84.82	92.88	--	93.21	92.84	94.70	92.21	93.60
National	80.81	86.79	87.10	89.38	90.41	94.62	93.28	94.75

Notes:

1. Short Term Benefits (STB) incorporates results for Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement allowance and Maternity Allowance. STB results in 1996-97 were based on a re-performance of local checks. Where there are no entries in the columns this designates that a check by the Quality support teams was not undertaken in that Area Directorate in that year.

2. Long Term Benefits (LTB) consists of Retirement Pension and Widows Benefit.

3. Jobseekers Allowance was introduced in October 1996 and Quality Support checks were undertaken to provide a national result.

11 Jan 2001 : Column: 607W

---