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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Apsley House

Mr. Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what assessment she has made of the proposals for the future administration of Apsley House by (a) English Heritage and (b) an independent trust; [107670]

(2) what the (a) rules, (b) content and (c) dates were of the competition between agencies for the future management of Apsley House. [107671]

Tessa Jowell: Initial expressions of interest in the future management of Apsley House were invited in "Government Opportunities" on 15 March 2002, for which a closing date of 12 April 2002 was set. English Heritage and the Wellington Museum Trust expressed interest and both were subsequently invited on 11 October 2002 to satisfy a number of pre-qualification criteria by 15 November 2002.

A tender evaluation panel with independent external expertise considered the responses from both parties in December 2002. My Department has been in detailed

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discussions with them since then, and a final decision will be taken soon on the shape of future management arrangements.

Film Diversity

Mr. Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the Film Council will publish its strategy for ensuring diversity in film employment, following the publication of the British Screen Advisory Council's report, Achieving Diversity in Film in January 2001. [107672]

Tessa Jowell: The Film Council intends to publish its draft diversity and inclusion strategies in July 2003 and will consult with key stakeholders about its proposals over the summer. As well as aiming to increase diversity in film employment, the Film Council wants every UK citizen to have access to film culture.

It has appointed a Head of Diversity and is working to ensure that the range of diversity and social inclusion issues is prominent when developing new policies and programmes. Meanwhile, a Cultural Diversity Group of industry practitioners is considering a range of practical measures to ensure that the UK's cultural and ethnic diversity is fully reflected both behind and in front of the screen.

National Lottery

Mr. Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is being done to revise the Fair Share scheme of National Lottery funding; and what steps are being taken to ensure that there is a workable mobility strategy in place. [108185]

Mr. Caborn: Fair Share runs until March 2005. Tenders are currently being sought for evaluation, and at present, it is too early to know if the scheme will continue beyond March 2005 and, if so, on what basis.

Regions White Paper

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress the Department has made towards the aim in the White Paper, "Your Region, Your Choice", of assessing the balance of staff between the centre and the regions in terms of effective policy design and implementation; and what examples there have been since the publication of the White Paper of the Department deciding between locating new streams of work (a) in and (b) outside London and the south-east. [108569]

Mr. Caborn: My Department is very aware of the importance of ensuring that the regions have a role in its policy design and implementation. The Department's regional agencies are largely responsible for ensuring the cultural and sporting agenda is delivered, and we already make considerable efforts to ensure that they and the Government Offices in the regions participate in the policy making process. In addition, the Department's staff embedded in the Government Offices for the regions and the eight Regional Cultural Consortiums are responsible for championing the Department's interests in the regions.

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We are currently developing the DCMS policies outlined in the White Paper, and as part of this, we will be giving full consideration to the impact the creation of one or more Elected Regional Assembly will have on staffing at the centre and in the regions.

Tourism

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department is planning a review of value added tax on accommodation, as suggested in the report, The Structure and Strategy for Supporting Tourism. [107499]

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.

On 1 April 2003, the Government laid before the House their full response to the recommendations of the report, The Structure and Strategy for Supporting Tourism (Cm 5790), in the form of a command paper. The Chancellor of the Exchequer keeps all aspects of the tax system under review.

DEFENCE

Basra (Water Supplies)

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the US and UK forces are responding to the need for electricity supplies to be restored in Basra in order that sewage treatment and water pumping can resume. [108053]

Mr. Ingram: There is little difference between the electricity supply to Basra before the conflict started and that since, with electricity generally available for around six to nine hours per day. Coalition forces have been helping the International Committee of the Red Cross to ensure that at least this level of supply is maintained.

British forces also assisted the ICRC in gaining access to the water plant north of Basra International Airport and the water supply has been restored to its pre-conflict levels, operating at 60 per cent. capacity. UK forces are continuing to assist the ICRC in gaining access to water treatment and pumping plants.

Friend/Foe Identification

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been budgeted for Friend/Foe Identification in the Defence budget since 1991; and what proportion of the budget has been spent on this purpose. [107978]

Mr. Ingram: 'Combat Identification' is the term we use to describe the capacity to distinguish between friend, foe and neutrals in modern joint and coalition military operations. Effective Combat Identification is delivered through the combination of three elements: Situational Awareness (knowledge of what is happening in the battlespace), Target Identification (the ability to positively identify a target within the battlespace), and Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (including such measures as the use of recognition devices on vehicles and the clear definition of areas of operation). Because it is so key to overall operational effectiveness, Combat Identification is a characteristic spread across a wide

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range of defence equipment, information systems, information technology applications, joint doctrine, training effort and battle procedures: it is not a stand-alone capability. It would therefore be impossible to give a meaningful dis-aggregated figure for Departmental spending on Combat Identification since 1991.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training in use of Arabic was given to military personnel and medical auxiliaries in the invasion forces in Iraq. [106426]

Dr. Moonie: A small number of military personnel were given training in Arabic language skills prior to their deployment to the Gulf in support of operations against Iraq.

That aside, no additional training in Arabic was given to the forces now serving in the Gulf. Personnel deploying to the Gulf are issued with a language card that lists useful vocabulary and its meaning. These cards contain phonetic phrases to aid pronunciation. Training in Arabic is not provided for medical auxiliaries. We do, however, employ interpreters to work alongside medical personnel caring for Arabic-speaking patients.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on how the coalition forces invading Iraq convey to Iraqi citizens how they can surrender. [106427]

Mr. Hoon: The Coalition have dropped approximately 32 million–33 million leaflets aimed at Iraqi citizens, mainly combatants, but also civilians.

Those aimed at combatants include instructions on how to surrender, including adopting a non-offensive posture, raising a white flag, stowing weapons, and parking combat vehicles in a square formation.

Those aimed at civilians advise on how to avoid being caught up in military action, by staying away from military targets, by staying indoors, and not interfering with coalition operations.

In addition, the Coalition have used radio and loudspeaker broadcasts to convey specific surrender instructions to combatants.

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Iraqi tanks and of what types have been destroyed by British Forces in Iraq since the start of the Operation TELIC. [107114]

Mr. Hoon: United Kingdom land forces in Iraq have destroyed T54 and T55 tanks. In addition, the Royal Air Force has attacked Republican Guard formations and has destroyed some of their equipment which is likely to have included T72 tanks. It will be some time before any estimate could be made about the numbers of tanks destroyed by UK forces.

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Mr. Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assurances the Government has received from the United States that any irregular Iraqi troops will be treated according to the Geneva Convention. [107832]

Mr. Ingram: Under the Geneva Convention, treatment of prisoners taken during hostilities is a matter for the Detaining Power. We will adhere to our obligations under the Geneva Convention towards all prisoners we capture. We are confident that the United States will do likewise.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to send additional British troops to the Gulf. [107977]

Mr. Hoon: As I told the House on 31 March 2003, Official Report, columns 649–50 and 3 April 2003, Official Report, column 1074, we plan to send out replacements for our forces as and when they prove necessary. At this stage, we do not require a substantial increase in the total number offerees in theatre.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many days (a) food rations and (b) water supplies are loaded on the RFA Sir Galahad; and how many people he estimates will be provided with shelter from the vessels supplies. [106603]

Mr. Ingram: On 28 March 2003, RFA Sir Galahad delivered some 300 tonnes of humanitarian aid at Umm Qasr, Iraq. The load included 100 tonnes of bottled water and 187 tonnes of food. This has been, and will continue to be distributed, as required, across an expanding area of operations. It is not accurate, therefore, to characterise the amount as 'days of supplies'. However, a large number of people in southern Iraq will benefit from the delivery.

Also, as part of humanitarian aid emergency packs, the load carried two and a half tonnes of blankets and half a tonne of plastic sheeting (normally intended to shelter the supplies, if required). None of this was specifically to provide shelter nor has this been found to be a particular requirement.

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