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Learning and Skills Councils

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many local learning and skills councils there are in (a) the North West Region, (b) the North East Region and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber Region; and how many board members there are on each council. [167339]

Alan Johnson: Each local Learning and Skills Council must have a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 16 members, including the Chair and Executive Director, who understand the needs of their communities. The information requested is provided in the following table:

Region/Local LSC	Membership (at 20 April 2004)
North West
Cheshire and Warrington	14
Cumbria	16
Greater Manchester	13
Greater Merseyside	16
Lancashire	14
North East
County Durham	14
Northumberland	14
Tees Valley	12
Tyne and Wear	14
Yorkshire and The Humber
Humberside	13
North Yorkshire	16
South Yorkshire	14
West Yorkshire	14

School Buildings (Liverpool, Walton)

Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been invested in school buildings in Liverpool, Walton in each year from 1993 to 2003. [166959]

 
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Mr. Miliband: The majority of capital funding is now allocated to local authorities and schools by needs-related formulae. Authorities invest according to priorities agreed in their asset management plans. The following table shows total capital allocations to Liverpool local education authority (LEA) since 1996–97, the earliest year for which reliable information is readily available.
Capital allocations to Liverpool LEA £000

Year	Allocation
1996–97	5,791
1997–98	15,306
1998–99	19,230
1999–00	13,714
2000–01	(16)111,566
2001–02	21,997
2002–03	15,365
2003–04	22,706

⁽¹⁶⁾ Includes £86,800 PFI funding
Note:
The above allocations include the voluntary aided sector.

Sixth-form Colleges

Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many free-standing sixth form colleges have opened since 1997. [167583]

Alan Johnson: Two Sixth Form Colleges have been incorporated since 1997, Brooke House Sixth Form College in Hackney and Longley Park Sixth Form College in Sheffield. Brooke House Sixth Form College was incorporated in October 2001 and took its first students in September 2002. Longley Park Sixth Form College was incorporated in November 2002 and expects to take its first students in September 2004.

HEALTH

Smoking

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the safety benefits of cigarettes that go out faster than normal cigarettes when not puffed. [166838]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department has not made an estimation of the safety benefits of cigarettes that go out faster than normal cigarettes when not puffed.

United Kingdom legislation on cigarette production and presentation follows European Directive 2001/37/EC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the member states concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products. The European Commission is due to submit a report on this Directive no later than 31 December 2004. The question of fire safe cigarettes is one issue under discussion in relation to this report, and we await its publication.

Officials are aware of the development of regulations on the ignition propensity of cigarettes in New York and Canada.
 
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MRSA

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2004, Official Report, columns 1822–23W, on MRSA, what the assurance scores on infection control are for NHS trusts in England. [167533]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The infection control self-assessment scores are collected annually and will not be available until June 2004. National average scores for the past three years for national health service trusts and primary care trusts are shown in the table.

	Score (percentage)
2001	63.2
2002	63.6
2003	64.3

Obesity

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential for angiogenesis inhibitors to control obesity. [166847]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Research into angiogenesis inhibitors to reduce the growth of fat in humans is at an early stage. Therefore it would be premature to make any decisions on their potential to control obesity.

Third-party Products

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received regarding endorsement and distribution of third-party products by NHS trusts; and if he will make a statement. [166344]

Mr. Hutton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, has received recent representations regarding the distribution of packs containing products for expectant and new mothers. It is a decision for individual national health service trusts whether to allow the distribution of such packs.

CABINET OFFICE

Financial Ombudsman Service

Sue Doughty: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) whether the Better Regulation Task Force accepts submissions from members of the public who have made use of the services of the Financial Ombudsman Service on whether its powers should be curbed; [166903]

(2) whether the Better Regulation Task Force is conducting investigations into the powers of the Financial Ombudsman Service; and if he will make a statement; [166904]

(3) what concerns regarding the powers of the Financial Ombudsman Service have been brought to the attention of the Better Regulation Task Force; and how these concerns were raised with the Better Regulation Task Force. [166905]

 
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Mr. Alexander: The Better Regulation Task Force is considering the Ombudsman Service's rulings as part of a wider study into "regulatory creep". It has defined "regulatory creep" as "regulation or compliance with regulation that goes beyond the original source of authority or intention". Further details of this study are   set out on the task force's website, http://www.brtf.gov.uk/taskforce/pressreleases/creepreg.htm. As with all its studies, the task force invites submissions from members of the public. During the course of each study the task force seeks the views of a wide range of stakeholders. It will publish its findings in the summer.

Ministerial Travel

Bob Russell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance is issued to Government Ministers regarding the use of public transport for travel in connection with their ministerial duties. [168066]

Mr. Alexander: Guidance for Ministers on official travel is set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Library.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Asbestos

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the   projections for asbestos-related illness and death over   the next two decades (a) in the UK and (b) in Wales. [166748]

Jane Kennedy: There are three diseases commonly associated with asbestos exposure; mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.

Statistical modelling has been used to produce an estimate of the future peak in the number of deaths due to mesothelioma in Great Britain. The annual total number of mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain is expected to peak at around 1,950 to 2,450 deaths some time between 2011 and 2015.

It is estimated that there are one or two cases of lung cancers caused by exposure to asbestos for every case of mesothelioma, and this ratio is expected to decrease over time. Mortality from asbestosis is between 100 and 200 cases per year. However no estimates have been made of the likely deaths in future years due to asbestosis.

No separate mesothelioma prediction has been carried out for Wales. In the period 1999–2001 there were 188 deaths from mesothelioma in Wales. Great Britain as a whole had 5,090 mesothelioma deaths in the same period. This represents a lower rate of mesothelioma in Wales (annual rate of 19 per million) than for the rest of Great Britain (28 per million).

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