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Overseas Trips

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the overseas trips made by himself and other members of his Ministerial team in 2002; and what the (a) purpose and (b) cost was in each case. [101491]

Dr. Moonie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W, by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office.

Scotland

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many special advisers in the Department (a) have left and (b) will be leaving to work in Scotland for the Labour Party in the forthcoming Scottish parliamentary elections. [103619]

Dr. Moonie: The rules relating to special advisers' political activities are set out in the Model Contract for Special Advisers. Further guidance in respect of elections for the Scottish Parliament is set out at paragraph 13 of the Guidance on Conduct for Civil Servants in United Kingdom Departments, published by the Cabinet Office on 10 March.

The reasons for a special adviser's resignation are a private matter between the department and adviser, and are therefore exempt from disclosure under Exemption 12 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans ministers of the Department have to (a) visit Scotland on official business, (b) announce public appointments and (c) make ministerial announcements in April. [103653]

Dr. Moonie: Departmental business during the campaign period preceding elections to the Scottish Parliament will be conducted in accordance with the

20 Mar 2003 : Column 890W

Guidance on Conduct for Civil Servants in United Kingdom Departments in respect of elections to the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales, published by the Cabinet Office on 10 March.

SCOTLAND

Fishing Industry

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when she discussed with the Chancellor of the Exchequer new funding for fishing communities following the EU decision in December 2002 on quota cuts. [103957]

Mrs. Liddell: I have regular discussions with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a wide range of issues.

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Scotland Office was first informed of the £55 million EU funding for Scotland's fishing industry; and by whom it was informed. [103959]

Mrs. Liddell: Other Government Departments and the Scottish Executive keep the Scotland Office regularly informed of all important matters relating to the fishing industry.

TRANSPORT

Biofuels

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the (a) number and (b) locations of biofuel filling stations in the UK; and what efforts are being made to increase the number of filling stations where biofuels are sold. [103550]

Mr. Jamieson: The Government estimate that there are currently approximately 100 filling stations retailing biodiesel in the UK, with the distribution of outlets largely skewed towards the north of the country. The number and regional availability of these sites is expected to continue to increase as the market develops further, driven by the 20 pence per litre duty incentive, introduced in July 2002, and positive customer reaction to the fuel.

Biofuels are one of the many ways in which companies and individuals can reduce the impact on the environment of their transport decisions. In order to give consumers better access to information on biofuels, the Government have commissioned the Energy Saving Trust to develop its TransportEnergy website (www.TransportEnergy.co.uk) to include helpful advice on biofuels, including the location of UK retailing sites. This information should be on-line shortly.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Brain Injuries

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will include brain injury as a

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classification sub-heading within the overall published statistics for accidents sustained and injuries treated in NHS hospitals in Northern Ireland. [103239]

Mr. Browne: To routinely include brain injury as a classification sub-heading could be misleading and would not necessarily meet the needs of the majority of the users of the published statistics.

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety is currently working towards the production of detailed statistics to be published on the Internet. These will include tables showing the number of patients admitted to hospital by the type of injury or disease using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD10).

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the facilities funded by the Department of Health for post-acquired brain injury rehabilitation. [103240]

Mr. Browne: Information on the range of facilities is not held centrally. Provision of post-acquired brain injury rehabilitation varies widely depending on the clinical needs of the individual. It includes statutory provision and that provided by specialist voluntary sector organisations, which may also be funded by the Department.

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many acquired brain injury incidents related to road traffic accidents and other causes there were in each of the last three years, broken down by health board area; and what the survival rates were among such patients. [103241]

Mr. Browne: Details on the number of persons admitted to hospital with an acquired brain injury related to road traffic accidents and other causes by health board area are provided in the tables. Information on their survival rates is not available.

Admissions to hospital with brain injuries related to road traffic accidents and other causes 1999/200 to 2002

Board orResidence	Related to Road Traffic	Other causes	All Brain Injuries
1999–2000
Eastern	42	176	218
Northern	27	62	89
Southern	40	98	138
Western	39	131	170
Total	148	467	615
2000–01
Eastern	36	183	219
Northern	24	93	117
Southern	33	64	97
Western	18	85	103
Total	111	425	536
2001–02
Eastern	41	179	220
Northern	27	101	128
Southern	21	77	98
Western	24	67	91
Total	113	424	537

Figures have been supplied from the Hospital Inpatients System (HIS) for 1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2001–02, the latest three years for which data are available.

Brain injury has been defined as persons suffering from an intracranial injury (SO6 in the international classification of diseases ICD10).

Data are supplied by Health Board of residence.

Discharges and deaths are used as an approximation for admissions.

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Ladies' Hockey

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money has been allocated to ladies' hockey in Northern Ireland from (a) lottery funding and (b) Exchequer funding in (i) 2000–01, (ii) 2001–02, (iii) 2002–03 and (iv) 2003–04; and how much money in total has been allocated to the women in receipt of funding for help in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games. [103707]

Angela Smith: The total amount of money allocated to ladies' hockey in Northern Ireland from (a) lottery funding and (b) Exchequer funding in the years listed is as follows:

£

Funding	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04
Lottery	0	8,850	24,400	Not available
Exchequer	22,000	22,000	26,000	Not available

Note:

The lottery figures take into account awards made from the Talented Athlete, Talented Athlete Next Generation and Talented Junior programmes.

No additional funding is available or has been allocated to ladies' hockey beyond those listed above. Furthermore any funding awarded is to assist ladies' hockey prepare for major competitions in general rather than for specific competitions such as the 2004 Olympic Games.

Local Government Finance

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what cash reserves are available to Castlereagh Borough Council; and what statutory requirement there is for local authorities to keep reserves. [103359]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I am not in a position to state the level of cash reserves available to Castlereagh Borough Council. There is no statutory requirement for district councils to keep reserves nor is there any obligation on them to publish annual accounts. There is provision, however, in local government legislation which allows the ratepayers of the district access and opportunity to examine the detail of the accounts of their local council.

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the indebtedness is of the councils in Northern Ireland. [103360]

Mr. Paul Murphy: The latest figures available relating to the level of indebtedness of district councils are at 31 March 2002 and have been extracted from the unaudited accounts for the financial year 2001–2002. The amounts of loans outstanding, per head of population for each district council are set out in the following table.

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District council	Amount (£)
Antrim BC	232
Ards BC	231
Armagh C and DC	439
Ballymena BC	344
Ballymoney BC	125
Banbridge DC	321
Belfast CC	88
Carrickfergus BC	239
Castlereagh BC	277
Coleraine BC	385
Cookstown DC	55
Craigavon BC	160
Derry CC	188
Down DC	136
Dungannon and ST BC	48
Fermanagh DC	47
Larne BC	167
Limavady BC	265
Lisburn BC	250
Magherafelt DC	2
Moyle DC	310
Newry and Mourne DC	252
Newtownabbey BC	369
North Down BC	200
Omagh DC	209
Strabane DC	73

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what level of debt Castlereagh Borough Council has acquired up to the end of the last financial year. [103361]

Mr. Paul Murphy: At 31 March 2002, the amount of loans outstanding, per head of Castlereagh Borough Council's population is 277. This figure has been extracted from the unaudited account for the financial year 2001/2002.

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