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Local Rates

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what legal responsibilities local authorities have for new build houses with respect to maintaining (a) drains, (b) play areas that are incomplete and (c) roads which are unfinished. [129176]

Keith Hill: When granting planning permission local authorities may impose conditions to secure the completion of elements of the development. Both the imposition of conditions and their subsequent enforcement if not implemented is at the discretion of the local authority. Any decision to assume responsibility for streets which are not maintainable at public expense is entirely a matter for the relevant local highway authority. The sewers that serve developments are normally adopted by means of an agreement under section 104 of the Water Industry Act 1991. After an acceptance period the sewers will be maintained by the sewerage undertaker. Drains to groups of houses may not be adopted, but the extent of such systems has been limited to 10 connections under a protocol produced jointly by Government, the water industry and house builders in March 2002. The protocol should limit the extent of drainage systems that are maintained by householders.

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Postal Ballots

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average voter participation rate was in the areas where a postal ballot was (a) held and (b) not held in local elections. [130459]

Phil Hope: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Electoral Commission published their evaluation of the 2003 local electoral pilots on 31 July. According to their report, the average voter turnout across all local elections in 2003, including results from elections held on a pilot basis, was 34.9 per cent. The average turnout at elections where all-postal voting pilots were held was 49.4 per cent.

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many trial postal ballots have been conducted in local elections; where they were held; and how much each one cost. [130460]

Phil Hope: Sixty-eight all-postal elections have been held since May 2000.

In the May 2000 local elections, seven all-postal ballots were held in Bolton, Doncaster, Gateshead, Norwich, Stevenage and Swindon.

In the May 2002 local and mayoral elections, 13 all-postal ballots were held in Chorley, Crawley, Gateshead, Greenwich, Hackney, Havering, Middlesbrough, North Tyneside, North West Leicestershire, Preston, South Tyneside, Stevenage and Trafford.

In the May 2003 local elections, 33 all-postal ballots were held in Blackpool, Blyth Valley, Bolton, Brighton and Hove, Chesterfield, Copeland, Corby, Darlington, Doncaster, East Staffordshire, Gateshead, Guildford, Herefordshire, Hyndburn, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Lincoln, Newcastle, North Lincolnshire, North Shropshire, Redcar and Cleveland, Rotherham, Rushcliffe, Salford, Sedgefield, St. Edmundsbury, St Helens, Stevenage, Stockton-on-Tees, Sunderland, Trafford, Telford and Wrekin, Wansbeck and Derwentside, Chester-le-Street and Wear Valley who held a joint pilot.

In addition, Hackney and Stoke-on-Trent held all-postal ballots in their mayoral elections in October 2002, whilst all-postal ballots took place in 13 local authority by-elections during this period. These were: Aberdeenshire, Caldicot, Doncaster, Durham, Eden, Hackney, Kerrier, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Newcastle, Stirling, Telford and Wrekin, Trafford and West Wiltshire.

No central funding has been given to authorities conducting all-postal ballots.

Travellers/Gypsies

Andrew Selous: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the definition is of (a) a traveller and (b) a gypsy as far as planning law is concerned. [130435]

Yvette Cooper: For the purpose of planning, a gypsy is a person of nomadic habit of life, whatever their race or origin, who wanders or travels for the purpose of making or seeking their livelihood. Members of other

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groups who do not meet these criteria are not treated as gypsies for planning purposes. For the purposes of planning law, there is no definition of traveller.

Water Supplies

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the impact on the future level of water supply in the South East of the projected increased numbers of houses to be built; and if he will make a statement. [130470]

Keith Hill: The South East Regional Assembly is responsible for regional planning for the South East and as such is working with the Environment Agency and also water companies on the impact of future development on both water supply and water quality.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister understands that the Environment Agency is currently assessing the business plans of water companies in the region and will be providing advice to the Assembly on investment requirements and impact on future development in due course.

SCOTLAND

Boundary Commission

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to change the remit of the Boundary Commission for Scotland. [129700]

Mrs. McGuire: The proposed legislation to retain the present number of MSPs will require to include provisions on the review by the Boundary Commission of the Scottish Parliament constituencies and regional boundaries.

Departmental Staff

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many departmental staff are not based in Dover House; and where they are located. [128025]

Mrs. McGuire: At 18 September, 47 staff were in post in Edinburgh (including 28 staff of the Office of the Advocate General) and 29 staff were in post in Glasgow.

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the (a) foreign and (b) UK visits he has made since 1 April; what the cost was to public funds of each trip; who he met; and what gifts were received [126986]

Mrs. McGuire: The Government publish the overall costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits overseas by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500 on an annual basis. The list for the period 1 April 2002 to March 2003 was published by my right. hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 16 July 2003, Official Report, column 327W. The next list for the period 1 April 2003 to March 2004 will be published at the end of the financial year.

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In respect of gifts received, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 March 2003, Official Report, column 482W.

The information on UK travel is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

National Lottery

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to discuss the allocation of lottery funds to Scotland. [128009]

Mr. Darling: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a wide range of issues affecting Scotland.

Special Advisers

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions between 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003 (a) departmental and (b) non-departmental special advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity; what places were visited; and how much each visit cost. [126667]

Mrs. McGuire: Between 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003, one of the special advisers in the Department travelled abroad on one occasion, at a cost of £1,000.40. This was to Madrid and Segovia to accompany the Secretary of State at an intergovernmental conference on 'European enlargement, decentralisation and institutional reform' and at bilateral meetings with Spanish Government and regional Government Ministers.

All travel by special advisers is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code, and the Civil Service Management Code.

TREASURY

Capital Gains Tax

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the yield of Capital Gains Tax in each year from 1990–91 to 2005–06; and if he will make a statement. [130548]

Dawn Primarolo: The yield from Capital Gains Tax on a receipts basis, from 1990–91 to 2001–02 is published in IRS 2002 on the Inland Revenue website in Table 1.2. The link to this table is: http://www. inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/tax receipts/g t02 1.pdf

Estimates of Capital Gains Tax on a receipts basis, for 2002–03 and 2003–04 are published in Table C8 in the Budget Report 2003. Figures for later years are not available.

Customs and Excise

Ms Atherton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many (a) unauthorised persons, (b) illegal imports of cigarettes, (c) illegal imports of alcohol, (d) illegal imports of prohibited drugs and (e) illegal imports of meat were seized in each of the last five years by customs teams based in (i) Cornwall, (ii) Devon and (iii) Dorset; [127299]

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(2) what drugs were seized from yachts in the South West in the last five years; and whether each seizure was made by (a) static officers by routine inspection in each of the last five years and (b) officers acting on received intelligence. [127300]

John Healey: HM Customs and Excise has made four drugs seizures in the last five years from all types of non-commercial vessels in the area covering the Bristol Channel to the Isle of Wight including the Scilly Isles and the South West approaches, totalling 400 kilos of cocaine and 10 tonnes of cannabis.

The intended landing points may have been elsewhere in the UK.

Customs use intelligence information and targeted risk-profiling techniques to help determine how and when to deploy resources. Experience demonstrates that this flexible approach allows Customs to deploy in larger numbers, less predictably and with greater impact anywhere in the UK.

In accordance with exemption 4 (law enforcement and legal proceedings) of the Open Government Code Customs do not normally reveal whether or not they were acting on received intelligence in individual cases. Customs do not keep information on seizures delineated by county boundaries.

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