To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much in compensation payments was paid by his Department in 2005-06; and what the reason for the payment was in each case. (108202)

Nil.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of his Department’s (a) computers and(b) laptops were stolen in each of the last nine years; and what the total value was of stolen computers and laptops in this period. (109219)

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much has been spent by the Office on external legal advice in each of the past five years. (109094)

The Wales Office has spent the following amounts on external legal advice, all of which has come from the Treasury Solicitor.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will assess the merits of making an annual statement on the implications of the Government’s legislative programme for matters that fall within the enhanced legislative competence of the National Assembly for Wales. [109228]

Yes. The Government of Wales Act 2006 will enhance the legislative competence of the National Assembly, giving the new Assembly the power to pass its own laws for the first time from May next year. I intend in future therefore to make an annual statement making clear the implications of the Government’s legislative programme for matters that fall within that legislative competence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, columns 189-90W from the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South-East (Mr. McFadden) to the hon. Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Marsden) on the retirement age, what his Department’s policy is for the setting of retirement ages for staff below the senior civil service under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992. (108010)

Staff serving in the Wales Office are either on loan from the Welsh Assembly Government or employed by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Their individual retirement age is agreed with their home Departments rather than by the Wales Office. The Wales Office sets no standard retirement age and has a number of staff who have opted to work beyond normal retirement age.

To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough (Sir Stuart Bell), representing the Church Commissioners, if he will make representations to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to ensure that the history and heritage of England's cathedrals is taught in schools. (105530)

Contact between schools and English cathedrals is extensive. Each year, cathedrals host a large number of school visits, which support a wide range of curricular activities. Such visits usually combine a focus on the history of the cathedral and the region with the development of the children's awareness of the building's key purpose—Christian worship and the celebration of the Christian faith.

I am happy to remind the Secretary of State of this positive existing practice and to request his support in encouraging schools to take full advantage of the opportunities offered.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effect of recent reductions in British Waterways’s budget on (a) canal maintenance and (b) the number of people employed by British Waterways. (108271)

This is an operational matter for British Waterways. Major engineering works to the value of £5.6 million have been deferred this year. It is for the Board of British Waterways to decide on its future projects and maintenance programme, together with the staffing levels required to support its operations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding his Department provides (a) to the highway authorities to maintain rights of way and (b) for maintenance of coastal access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000; and if he will make a statement. (108875)

Funding for local highway authorities to maintain public rights of way is through the Environment Protection and Cultural Services block of the Revenue Support Grant. The EPCS block provides for a wide range of services. Provision for rights of way is not separately identified within the total.

The right of access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 was implemented throughout England in October 2005 for land mapped as open country and registered common land; some of this is located near the coast. The Department does not fund highway authorities in respect of their powers, for example, to make byelaws or to appoint wardens under the Act.

We are already looking at a number of ways to improve access to the English coast. I have asked Natural England to come forward with advice and recommendations on coastal access by the end of February 2007. This advice will help to inform a planned public consultation exercise.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the evidential basis was for determining that the Government’s target for GM cross-pollination should be 0.3 per cent.; and whether alternative targets were considered. (105532)

The general aim for coexistence is to minimise unwanted genetically modified (GM) presence in non-GM crops as far as possible, while recognising that it is impractical to rule out all GM transfer. This is recognised by the agreed EU threshold for labelling GM presence of 0.9 per cent. In the context of this threshold, coexistence measures have to allow for all the potential sources of GM presence, including crop-to-crop cross-pollination.

These considerations underpin our proposed crop separation distances that aim to limit cross-pollination to a maximum of 0.3 per cent. In practice, any cross-pollination would generally be less than 0.3 per cent. as crops would normally be more than the specified distance apart.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to improve scientific understanding of the effect of marine climate change; what research he has commissioned in this area; and if he will make a statement. (105081)

To improve scientific understanding, we have led the development of the Marine Climate Change Impact Partnership (MCCIP) to provide a UK-wide co-ordinating framework for the transfer of high-quality marine climate change impact evidence to policy advisors and decision-makers. The MCCIP will act as a focal point to investigate, inform, advise and encourage action, in order to adapt to the challenges and opportunities presented by the impacts of climate change in the marine environment.

The first MCCIP Annual Report Card (ARC) was launched in November. The ARC highlights the range of potential impacts in our seas. Many of these, and the connections between them, are poorly understood. We will use the ARC to help focus future research efforts of all MCCIP partners. Copies are available on the MCCIP website at http://www.mccip.org.uk and have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

DEFRA is also funding a project to look at the ‘connections’ that occur within a marine ecosystem. This project will make predictions of the effect of climate variability on the complex ecosystem connections and the consequences for the health of the sea.

Additionally, DEFRA funds the Marine Environmental Change Network (MECN) which co-ordinates and supports those collecting long-term time series information for marine waters. Long-term data series are important in understanding how much of the change we have seen in the marine environment is due to climate variability, other human pressures or natural fluctuations. One of these time series is the Continuous Plankton Recorder, run by the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (www.sahfos.org), which has collected plankton in the Atlantic, North Sea and Eastern Pacific since 1931.

DEFRA and the Department for Trade and Industry are funding research on the impact of increasing carbon dioxide on the marine environment and the consequent ocean acidification. At present, we have little evidence of changes that have occurred, or are occurring, in UK waters. Therefore, we intend to develop a pilot marine monitoring programme for measuring carbon dioxide in our shelf seas as well as taking further ecosystem-based measurements in conjunction with the Natural Environment Research Council under their Oceans 2025 initiative.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of health risks associated with pesticides in drawing up the National Pesticides Strategy. (106814)

The UK Pesticides Strategy published in March 2006 was directed at the sustainable use of plant protection products and their impact on the environment. We did not at that stage include human health issues within the strategy since we were considering the report by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) on ‘Crop Spraying and the Health of Residents and Bystanders’.

We indicated, however, that we would consider extending the strategy to cover human health issues and we will be consulting on a revised draft strategy embracing both human health and environmental protection early in the new year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations his Department has received on farmers (a) becoming bankrupt and (b) being threatened with legal action by creditors related to delayed awards of rural payments. (101379)

The Rural Payments Agency has received representations from a number of 2005 Single Payment Scheme claimants about delays in making payments. Where cases of financial difficulty have been raised, the Agency has taken additional action where possible to expedite payment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will meet representatives from the wood panel industry to discuss forecasts of softwood availability. (107520)

[holding answer 11 December 2006]: The forecasts of softwood availability are prepared and published by the Forestry Commission with assistance from the Forest Service, Northern Ireland. I have no plans to meet representatives of the wood panel industry. Any questions about the forecast should be addressed to the Forestry Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many British Transport Police officers have been (a) physically and (b) verbally assaulted in each of the last 10 years; (108907)

This information is not held by the Department for Transport but by the British Transport Police, who can be contacted at:

British Transport Police

25 Camden Road

London

NW1 9LN

E-mail:general.enquiries@btp.pnn.police.uk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many community rail line designations have been made. (108925)

12 lines have been designated. Additionally, three community rail services have also been designated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff were employed through employment agencies in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year. (102950)

The following tables provide details of responses to the request for information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how his Department estimates for planning purposes the number of passengers using the East Coast main line GNER services. (108902)

The Franchise Agreement allows us to request passenger counts from the franchise operator.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many seats there are in a GNER Mallard standard class carriage. (108903)

The seating capacity in a GNER Mallard standard coach is as follows:

Coaches B, C, D, E, have 76 seats

Coach G has 70 seats (including four tip-up seats)

Coach H has 30 seats (this coach includes the buffet and kitchen)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on the Network Rail services into London Bridge of the extension of the East London Line in 2010. (108432)

The Department has worked closely with the East London Line (ELL) project team and with Network Rail to ensure that it will be possible to deliver satisfactory levels of service from south London to both London Bridge and ELL destinations when ELL commences operations.

The direct journey opportunities offered by the extended ELL services are expected to enable significant numbers of passengers to avoid the need to travel from south to east London via London Bridge, thus easing congestion at that busy station.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what tests were applied in judging the viability of the Fareham-Gosport-Portsmouth Light Rapid Transit scheme; and by what measures the scheme fell short of each such test. (105541)

This scheme was appraised in accordance with our published guidance on appraising public transport schemes. Value for money is one of a range of factors Ministers consider when taking decisions. Funding approval was subsequently revoked in July 2004 because costs had escalated considerably.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many foreign lorry drivers have been involved in an accident on British roads in the last12 months; how many were taken to court; and how many failed to turn up for the trial. (107002)

The information requested is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on fare increases on the Kent Integrated Franchise for 2007. (108563)

A number of letters have been received from members of the public about fares changes on Southeastern.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of the condition of the track on the performance of the North Kent rail services on 7 December; and if he will make a statement. (108811)

This is an operational matter for Network Rail, as the owner and operator of the national rail network. The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to his question.

John Armitt

Chief Executive

Network Rail

40 Melton Street

London NW1 2EE

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) local and (b) national targets have been set by his Department for the uptake of low carbon vehicles in the public and private sectors since 1997; and what progress against each target has been made. (108661)

[holding answer 12 December 2006]: DfT has not set local targets for uptake of low carbon vehicles.

The Powering Future Vehicles Strategy set national targets of 10 per cent. of all new car sales to be cars emitting 100g/km of CO₂ or less at the tailpipe by 2012 and 600 or more buses coming into operation per year to be low carbon, defined as 30 per cent. below current average carbon emissions, by 2012. These targets are currently under review.

The European voluntary agreements on new car fuel efficiency require European, Japanese and Korean car manufacturers to reduce average new car CO₂ emissions by some 25 per cent. from 1995 levels by 2008-09. In 2004 (the latest year for which EU-level data is available), average CO₂ emissions from new cars sold in the EU were down by more than 12 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) Government pool cars and (b) cars run by his Department were manufactured(i) in the UK and (ii) abroad. (104810)

Information on cars operated by the Government Car and Despatch Agency, an agency of the Department for Transport, is available on page 14 of its annual report and accounts 2005-06, copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members.

Aside from the GCDA fleet, the Department and its other agencies have 843 cars. Of these, 134 were manufactured in the UK and 709 were manufactured abroad.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what sanctions are available against (a) special advisers, (b) ministers and (c) other civil servants if special advisers make use of official cars or taxis in circumstances which are not permitted; (107893)

Guidance on the use and provision of Government cars is set out in the Ministerial Code and ‘Travel by Ministers’. Guidance on the use and provision of official cars and taxis by civil servants, including special advisers, is set out in the civil service management code and departmental staff handbooks. It is for individual Ministers and their Departments to account for the use of official cars and taxis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 6 December 2006, Official Report, column 412W, on fares technology, whether he expects smart card schemes outside London to be compatible with the Transport for London Oyster card. (108927)

The current Oyster card is not currently compatible with interoperable smartcard schemes using the ITSO standard being introduced elsewhere.

Research undertaken by the Department for Transport has demonstrated that it is possible for the Oyster card to be modified so that it can be used for ITSO standard ticketing. Decisions on the future of the Oyster card are for the Mayor of London.

As announced jointly with the Mayor of London on 10 May 2006, Transport for London has agreed to work with the Department to ensure that all Oyster equipment in London is capable of accepting ITSO smartcards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the five most overcrowded train services were outside London in the last 12 months. (108904)

Passengers in Excess of Capacity (PIXC) only applies to weekday commuter trains arriving in London between 07:00 and 09:59 and those departing between 16:00 and 18:59.

The PIXC measure does not apply to other cities in the UK and so the information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many passengers have been removed from trains for threatening staff or other passengers in each of the last ten years; (108923)

This information is not held by the Department for Transport but by the British Transport Police, who can be contacted at:

British Transport Police

25 Camden Road

London NW1 9LN

E-mail: general.enquiries@btp.pnn.police.uk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of railway track have been replaced in each of the last ten years. (108922)

This is an operational matter for Network Rail, as the owner and operator of the national rail network. The hon. Member should contact Network Rail’s Chief Executive at the following address for a response to his question.

John Armitt

Chief Executive

Network Rail

40 Melton Street

London NW1 2EE

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) franchise premiums are due to his Department and (b) subsidies are payable to each rail franchise for each of the next 10 years or the remainder of the franchise. (108967)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 6 November 2006, Official Report, columns 683-84W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents involving one or more hit-and-run (a) drivers and (b) riders there were in each police force area in each year from 1997 to 2004; and how many (i) fatalities, (ii) serious injuries and (iii) other injuries resulted from those accidents. (104409)

Tables showing personal injury road accidents reported to the police involving one or more hit-and-run (a) drivers and (b) riders in each police force area in each year from 1997 to 2004; and the resulting (i) fatalities, (ii) serious injuries and (iii) slight injuries, have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues in the Home Office on the provision of face-to-face support for road crash victims. (108718)

I have had a number of discussions recently with ministerial colleagues in the Home Office on matters of road safety and the role of the police in enforcing traffic law in support of road safety. We have not specifically discussed the support for road accident victims and their families.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated premium payment to the Exchequer is by South West Trains over the life of its franchise. (108699)

Stagecoach is contracted to pay a net premium of £1.577 billion over the life of the South West franchise in 2006-07 prices to the Department for Transport. This equates to a net present value of £1.191 billion. The annual profile of these figures is available on the DfT website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his plans are for future capacity on the Waterloo to Reading railway line. (108698)

Stagecoach, the successful bidder for the South Western franchise, has committed to increasing capacity in the new franchise. Details of the allocation of the capacity increases are still to be finalised, but Stagecoach will announce its proposals in due course. However, it is recognised that the Windsor lines are crowded at peak times and that will need to be addressed.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs who the members are of the Boundary Commission for England; what qualifications are required for appointment to the Commission; and what criteria are used to appoint members. (108431)

The Chairman of the Boundary Commission is the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Deputy Chairman is the Honourable Mr. Justice Sullivan, and the two other Boundary Commissioners are Michael Lewer, CBE, QC, and Robin Gray.

The position of Chairman of the Boundary Commission is ex officio for the Speaker of the House of Commons. The Deputy Chairman must be a High Court judge. There are no specific qualifications required for the other Boundary Commissioner positions.

There are no statutory criteria for appointments to the Boundary Commission for England. Prospective appointees will generally be expected to provide evidence of an ability to: understand and apply legislation; give objective consideration to sometimes lengthy representations, many of which will express conflicting views; and deliver recommendations supported by sound reasoning.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of27 November 2006, Official Report, column 343W, on the Lord Chancellor (functions), how many functions the Lord Chancellor has held at his official residence in Admiralty House since taking up residence; and at how many of those functions staff from her Department assisted. (108476)

Since taking up residence on11 October 2006, there have been seven functions. Staff from the Department assisted at four of them.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether it is her Department’s policy not to consider any proposals for reform of family courts which contravene the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. (108695)

The Government are committed to implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in all of its policies. The UN Convention and the principles it enshrines have been and continue to be taken into account when formulating policy.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what efficiency savings have been made in her Department and agencies as a result of the Gershon review; and if she will make a statement. (108360)

The latest figures are contained within my Department’s autumn performance report and consist of £204.9 million of financial savings, 581 full-time equivalent staff reductions and 85 relocated posts.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been spent by her Department and its associated public bodies in order to achieve Gershon efficiency savings; whether these costs have been taken account of in reporting of headline efficiency savings; and if she will make a statement. (108361)

We do not hold this information centrally and it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Sir Peter Gershon’s independent report into public sector efficiency did not require that efficiencies be recorded net of up-front investment costs and the Department for Constitutional Affairs has followed this advice.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, pursuant to her answer of 29 November 2006, Official Report, column 764W, on litigants in person, what reasons the Civil Procedure Rule Committee gave for keeping the rate at which litigants in person can claim costs at its 1995 level. (108808)

There is no record in the minutes of the Committee of the reason for their decision.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what her plans are to increase diversity of membership among the magistracy in Lancashire. (108557)

Magistrates are recruited and selected by local Advisory Committees who follow the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor’s directions when making recommendations for appointment to the magistracy. This provides guidance that each local justice area should broadly reflect the community it serves. The Lancashire Advisory Committee will be meeting early in 2007 to consider what is required to improve the diversity of the magistracy in Lancashire. This will include reaching out to different parts of the community by, for example, arranging presentations for local community groups and articles in the local press.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which Government Department is paying the council tax bill on the Lord Chancellor’s ministerial residence in Admiralty House. (108480)

The Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor pays the council tax from his personal income.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether her Department expects to publish details of her consultation on the small claims court process by the end of December 2006; and what the consultation period will be. (105423)

The consultation paper will be published by the end of January 2007. The intention had been to publish by the end of this year but publication of the paper has been delayed to allow the Government to give proper consideration to recommendation 54 of the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, which was published on 6 December. The consultation period will be 12 weeks.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many of her Department's civil servants work full-time to support all departmental special advisers; and what the salary is of each such civil servant. (106514)

Support to special advisers is provided in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff were employed on a consultancy basis in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest period was for which a consultant was employed in each year. (102973)

The Department has engaged the following number of individuals to provide consultancy services as defined by the Office of Government Commerce:

The Department does not have information on the number of individuals working on contracts entered with consultancy firms.

Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

I have asked the Chief Executives of the Executive Agencies to respond directly to the hon. Member.

Letter from Tim Moss, dated 13 December 2007:

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of Companies House to your question regarding how many staff were employed on a consultancy basis in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest period was for which a consultant was employed in each year.

The following table provides detail from the financial data available on consultants employed by Companies House over the last 5 years.

Letter from Iain MacGregor, dated 13 December 2007:

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question regarding how many staff were employed on a consultancy basis in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which a consultant was employed in each year.

NWML employed staff on consultancy basis in each of the last five years as follows:

Letter from Ron Marchant, dated 13 December 2007:

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the Department’s annual budget is for employing workers on a consultancy basis; and how much of this budget has been used in each of the last five years for which records are available.

The Patent Office does not employ staff on a consultancy basis. Some professional service companies have been engaged for short term projects but any individuals are not under our direct control.

Letter from Desmond Flynn, dated 13 December 2007:

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to you directly on behalf of The Insolvency Service in respect of your question (2006/136), asking how many staff were employed on a consultancy basis in his Department and each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the average and longest period was for which a consultant was employed in each year.

Individuals and companies are engaged as consultants on ad hoc basis to undertake specific pieces of work. The number and duration of their engagements varies from activity to activity. The information you request is not collected and could only be collected at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the total amount spent by (a) small and (b) medium-sized businesses on gas and electricity in each of the last three years. (108929)

Data on the amount spent by industry is not collected by sizeband, so we are unable to provide a breakdown for small or medium sized businesses.

The total spend by business on gas and electricity over the past three years has been as follows:

In 2005, the UK price to industry for electricity was around the EU average price, and for gas the UK price to industry was 9 per cent. below the EU average price.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people lived in fuel poverty in Beverley and Holderness in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. (108463)

Fuel poverty statistics are only available at Government Office region level. Latest available figures are sourced from the 2004 English House Condition Survey and show that in 2004, 163,000 households in Yorkshire and The Humber (7.7 per cent. of all households in Yorkshire and The Humber) were in fuel poverty. This statistic cannot be broken down farther. Figures for fuel poverty in Yorkshire in 2001, 2003 and 2004 are given as follows. Figures for other years are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been spent by his Department and its associated public bodies in order to achieve Gershon efficiency savings; whether these costs have been included in reporting headline efficiency savings; and if he will make a statement. (108355)

Sir Peter Gershon's independent report into public sector efficiency did not require that efficiencies be recorded net of upfront investment costs and the Department has followed this advice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the budget required to meet household demand for grants in full under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-8 and (c) 2008-09. (108520)

Since the Low Carbon Buildings Programme was launched in April 2006, demand from the household stream has been higher than anticipated. With a limited pot of £28.5 million available under Phase 1, we announced on 25 October 2006 that a further £6.2 million would be allocated to the household stream. Together with this, we have introduced measures to manage the demand going forward, which should make it possible for us to fund the household stream through to June 2008. By this time, some of our wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold, and we believe the sector may have matured to a point where householder grants are no longer necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why household grants for all micro-renewable energy systems will be ended in 2008. (108518)

We announced on 25 October 2006 that we would be re-allocating £6.2 million of the total £28.5 million funding to the household stream, giving a total pot of £12.7 million. On projected demand levels this should allow householder funding to continue until June 2008. By this time, some of our wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold, and we believe the sector may have matured to a point where householder grants are no longer necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures in the Government's micro-generation strategy will provide, from summer 2008, capital support to a householder wishing to install micro-generation equipment equivalent to the current grant levels available under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. (108519)

The aim of the microgeneration strategy is to create conditions where microgeneration becomes a realistic alternative generation source of heat and/or electricity. This will be achieved when costs are reduced and awareness of these technologies is widespread. The low carbon buildings programme is currently helping to reduce the upfront costs of microgeneration installations, and, to complement this, the measures in the strategy are aimed at stimulating widespread demand to help achieve the economies of scale that will lead to costs falling and negate the need for capital grants. Key measures that will help to achieve this include:

Making it easier for microgenerators to access renewable obligation certificates

Working with energy suppliers to ensure that microgenerators receive a fair reward for exported electricity

A robust accreditation scheme (to build trust in the industry)

Local authorities requiring new developments to source a percentage of energy requirements from onsite renewable sources (whilst not in the strategy itself, the Housing Minister made a statement that she expected all local authorities to develop such requirements following work undertaken in relation to the strategy)

The removal of unnecessary controls in the consents regime (which regulates a wide range of developments by householders).

More detail can be found in the microgeneration strategy itself at:

http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/souurces/sustainable/microgeneration/strategy/page27594.html

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of power generation projects in the River Severn. (108955)

Between 1978 and 1994 the Government supported a number of studies under their Tidal Energy Research and Development Programme. Those studies included a detailed assessment of a Severn barrage tidal power generation scheme¹.

During the course of the recent Energy Review we received a range of views on tidal generation, including representations by the Severn Tidal Power Group² on their plans for a Severn Barrage, which could provide around 5 per cent. of current UK electricity demand by 2020 and cost in the region of £14 billion. We also received representations from a number of the Environmental Non-Government Organisations, which raised strong concerns regarding such a scheme, in view of the environmental designations that apply to the Severn Estuary.

We are interested in improving our understanding of how to make best use of the potential tidal resource in UK waters. Therefore, together with the Welsh Assembly Government, we are working with the Sustainable Development Commission, the South West Regional Development Agency and other key interested parties to explore the issues arising from the tidal resource in the UK, including the Severn Estuary, including potential costs and benefits of development using a range of tidal technologies and their public acceptability.

The final report of the study is expected to be published in June 2007 and further information can be found at

www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/tidal.html

¹ Energy Paper 57 HMSO 1989 (ISBN 0 11 412952 5)

² The Severn Tidal Power Group is a joint venture of four large power engineering and construction companies: Alstom, Balfour Beatty, Sir Robert McAlpine and Taylor Woodrow.

To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has made a decision that the implementation of electoral reviews of districts will take precedence over parish review cases. (108675)

[holding answer 12 December 2006]: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not made such a decision, and seeks to progress both parish review cases and electoral reviews of districts as quickly as possible.

To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what powers the Electoral Commission has (a) to inspect local authorities' electoral registration departments and (b) to set targets for those departments. (108484)

The Electoral Commission has statutory powers to observe the working practices of electoral registration officers, and to seek information from them on expenditure in connection with the performance of their functions. The Commission also has powers to determine and publish performance standards for electoral registration officers in Great Britain, and to prepare and publish assessments of their performance against such standards.

To ask the Secretary of Statefor Scotland how many (a) marketing officers,(b) communications officers and (c) press officers are employed in his Department; and what the total expenditure on communications for his Department was on (i) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (ii) other (A) press officers, (B) special advisers and (C) staff in the last year for which figures are available. (104359)

The Scotland Office currently has one press officer and there is one vacant post.

The Office does not record expenditure in the form requested; however, the Office spent £29,261 on communications during 2005-06, excluding overhead costs, such as accommodation, utilities and corporate services, which are paid centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the effective date is of the annual pay award for staff in his Office; and what the actual implementation date was in each of the last five years. (108948)

All the staff in the Scotland Office are on secondment from the Scottish Executive or the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) and the Office reimburses these Departments for the sums involved. The Office is not involved in pay negotiations or the implementation of any pay agreement; this is a matter for the parent Departments.

Both Departments’ annual pay awards are effective from 1 August.

Staff on secondment from the Executive have had their pay awards implemented on 1 August in each of the last five years, with the exemption of the August 2005 award, which was delayed due to protractedpay negotiations, and processed and backdated inMay 2006.

At the beginning of 2004, some Scotland Office staff formally transferred to the DCA from the Scottish Executive following the completion of a preference exercise as a consequence of the earlier merging of the Scotland Office into the DCA. These staff became eligible for the DCA’s 2004 pay award which was processed and backdated at the end of November 2004; their 2005 pay award was processed and backdated at the end of March 2006, and their pay award for August 2006 is still under negotiation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent by his Department on furniture made by British firms in each year since 2000. (105152)

The Scotland Office has generally, but not exclusively, obtained office furniture through central procurement contracts set up by the Scottish Executive. The Office does not separately identify expenditure on furniture, or the source of supply; however, the following table details the amount spent on ‘furniture and fittings’ in each year since 2000, from all sources.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to publish his Department's gender equality scheme. (101471)

The Scotland Office is part of the Department for Constitutional Affairs, who expect to publish their gender equality scheme by 30 April 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to ensure that private organisations contracted to work in his Department are aware of their duties under gender equality legislation when they are exercising public functions on behalf of public bodies. (101524)

No private organisations undertake public functions on behalf of the Scotland Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to ensure that his Department is taking steps to meet the requirements of the forthcoming duty on public bodies (a) to end unlawful discrimination and harassment and (b) to promote equality between women and men. (101565)

The Scotland Office is part of the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) who will be ensuring better performance on the general gender equality duty which will require public authorities to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and harassment and promote equality of opportunity between women and men. The Scotland Office will be working with the DCA on the implications of the Department's gender equality scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much energy consumed by his Department is acquired from renewable sources. (106152)

The Scotland Office subscribes to the sustainable development policies adopted by the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given bythe Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, East (Bridget Prentice) on 7 December 2006, Official Report, column 657W.

To ask the Leader of the House how much in compensation payments was paid by the Privy Council Office in 2005-06; and what the reason was for each payment. (108197)

None.

To ask the Leader of the House how much was spent by the Privy Council Office on furniture made by British firms in each year since 2000. (105071)

Detailed information on the country of manufacture of furniture purchased is not held by the Privy Council Office.

To ask the Leader of the House which items in the Queen’s Speech programme are (a) in part and (b) wholly consequent on proposals made at European Union level. (108091)

The written ministerial statement giving further details of the legislative programme outlinedin the Queen’s Speech, 16 November 2006, Official Report, column 7WS, listed 27 possible Bills. Of these, 19 have been introduced (some with an amended name), namely:

Concessionary Bus Travel

Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress

Further Education and Training

Fraud (Trial without a Jury)

Greater London Authority

Justice and Security (Northern Ireland)

Local Government and Public Involvement in Health

Mental Health

Northern Ireland (St. Andrews Agreement)

Offender Management

Pensions

Statistics and Registration Service

Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement

Welfare Reform

Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide

Crossrail

Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information)

Legal Services

Investment Exchanges and Clearing Houses.

The Government have also introduced the Planning Gain Supplement (Preparations) Bill. None of these Bills is in part or wholly consequent on proposals made at European Union level, though all Bills are prepared having regard generally to the extent to which EU and other international obligations are relevant to the provisions made by the Bill.

Preparation of the remaining planned Bills is ongoing. It is not possible to state how far, if at all, such Bills will be consequent on European Union proposals.

To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the Commission will take steps to replace standard light bulbs throughout the House of Commons estate with energy saving light bulbs; and if he will commission an estimate of the likely savings in (a) energy cost and (b) energy usage which would result from such a policy. (108235)

Steps are already being taken to replace standard light bulbs where possible throughout the Parliamentary Estate.

Guidelines issued to consultants designing new lighting schemes for large projects require the use of low energy lamps. Smaller projects to replace standard lamps with low energy lamps are completed as new lamp designs become available. For example, low energy lamps have been used on the Christmas trees in New Palace Yard and Westminster Hall.

The likely savings on this project and in general are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of providing development aid to states affected by conflict. (105030)

DFID does not maintain an agreed list of ‘states affected by conflict’. We do have a list of fragile states which we are currently reviewing as countries frequently move in and out of fragility and conflict, and political circumstances in a country can rapidly change. This list will include countries that are generally recognised to be conflict-affected. Detail on DFID’s definition and the list of fragile states can be found in DFID’s policy paper, “Why We Need to Work More Effectively in Fragile States”, page 7 and annex 1, which is available in the House of Commons Library. As part of the Government’s 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR07), DFID is reviewing how to maximise value for money from our spending on fragile states.

Our regular cycle of DFID Country Programme Evaluations (CPEs) includes states affected by conflict. In 2005, we teamed up with four other donors to do a joint evaluation of our work in Afghanistan. For 2007, we are planning CPEs for Nepal and Indonesia. We also do specialist reviews of our work on particular themes related to states affected by conflict: for example a review is currently under way of our support to security and justice sector reform in Africa. We are also planning an evaluation of our work in ‘fragile states’ for 2007-08. Finally, we intend to pilot a ‘conflict audit’ in a number of countries, which will help us review how well we integrate conflict into all our development work.

To maximise the effectiveness of development assistance to states affected by conflict, DFID—with other Government Departments, donor agencies, country partners and civil society—conducts conflict assessments. These help us to better understand the conflict dynamics within a region/country and ensure that at a minimum development assistance does not inadvertently fuel conflict, through, for example, being blind to the distributional impacts of aid. More than this, the assessments feed into our broader country planning processes, helping us to identify where our development assistance can be most effective. In Yemen, for example, our conflict assessment highlighted how poor access to justice and security was a significant conflict risk factor and led us to support the development of an integrated justice sector development programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent representations he has received about aid provision in states affected by conflict. (105031)

I receive numerous representations in relation to aid provision. Given that DFID does not maintain an agreed list of ‘states affected by conflict’, the only way in which this question could be answered would incur disproportionate costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the proportion of children in states affected by conflict who are able to access primary education. (105063)

The primary source of global data on out-of-school children is the Education for All Global Monitoring Report. The 2007 report was launched on 26 October.

DFID does not maintain an agreed list of ‘states affected by conflict’. We do have a list of ‘fragile states’ which we are currently reviewing, as countries frequently move in and out of fragility and conflict, and political circumstances in a country can rapidly change. This list will include countries that are generally recognised to be conflict-affected. Detail on DFID’s current definition and list of fragile states can be found in DFID’s policy paper, “Why We Need to Work More Effectively in Fragile States”, page 7 and annex 1, which is available in the House of Commons Library.

Using the DFID list of ‘fragile states’, data fromthe 2007 Global Monitoring Report and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics estimates for countries without published data, the percentages of primary-aged children enrolled in primary school in these states is calculated as 69 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) marketing officers, (b) communications officers and (c) press officers are employed in his Department; and whatthe total expenditure on communications for his Department was on (i) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (ii) other (A) press officers, (B) special advisers and (C) staff in the last year for which figures are available. (104355)

The requested staff figures are in the following table.

Communication is integral to DFID’s work and many staff in different teams are involved in communication work. It is therefore not possible to break down communications expenditure by types of staff, including special advisers. To disaggregate this information would incur disproportionate costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the decision by the government of Thailand to issue a compulsory licence for Efavirenz. (105317)

DFID welcomes countries’ efforts to use the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) flexibilities and compulsory licensing in order to improve access to medicines.

In this particular case, Efavirenz patent-holder Merck says that it has not been consulted over licensing and that the Royal Thai Government have not followed the correct procedure. Merck has requested a meeting with the Royal Thai Government in an attempt to resolve the issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Ethical Trading Initiative; and if he will make a statement. (104961)

DFID helped establish the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) in 1998 and since that time has provided over £2 million to support its development. The overall goal of our support to ETI is to improve the lives of workers and their families through the application of internationally recognised labour standards throughout global supply chains.

DFID regularly reviews the work we support. An independent review of ETI was undertaken by Ashridge Centre for Business and Society for DFID in 2005. DFID also supported the recently published Impact Assessment commissioned by ETI, which was undertaken independently by the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Sussex.

The Impact Assessment found that ETI member companies’ codes of conduct covered at least 20,000 suppliers, of which nearly all had been informed of the need to comply with the codes, and almost half (9,000) had been assessed for code compliance. The assessment found that many workers had benefited from the implementation of the ETI Base Code. In most of the supply sites in case studies used in the assessment, there were improvements in relation to health and safety, working hours, wages and child labour. For instance, it was more common for the minimum wage to be paid and for there to be greater provision for state insurance and payments, and there was less employment of children and young workers. The assessment foundless positive impact in relation to freedom of association, discrimination, regular employment and harsh treatment.

DFID is confident that the ETI takes the Impact Assessment seriously and is acting on its recommendations. We recently agreed a five-year Partnership Programme Agreement with ETI in which we have placed specific emphasis on: the need for more poor workers to know about their rights and to be supported by civil society initiatives; increasing the number of businesses taking action to ensure labour laws and standards are implemented; increasing civil society engagement with government to improve legal protection for poor workers; increasing the number of retailers in developed and developing countries that are aware of ethical trade and its benefits; and supporting the private sector to participate with trade unions and NGOs in support of DFID’s objectives.

We believe that in its relatively short life-span the ETI has done much to establish best practice in the credible implementation, monitoring and independent verification of corporate codes of conduct and we look forward to continuing to work with them to this end.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of (a) the humanitarian effects and (b) the likely effects on agricultural production of the recent floods in Haiti; and whether the British Government plans to provide assistance. (108093)

The late November floods in Haiti are reported by the Haitian Red Cross Society to have killed seven people and affected approximately 3,740 families. At least 335 of these families have been evacuated to temporary shelters.

The International Federation of the Red Cross has provided 80,000 Swiss francs for immediate relief and has launched an appeal for US $522,000. The needs are mostly for clean water, basic health care and kitchen, hygiene and sleeping items.

Several non-government organisations (NGOs) and UN agencies are also providing emergency assistance, concentrating on these needs.

The UN considers that the humanitarian needs are being met by existing or pledged assistance.

Agriculture has been damaged, with losses to fruit and vegetable crops and livestock and disruption of transport to markets. According to agencies present in the flooded areas, it is too early to measure the total damage. Some agencies have started distributing seeds and tools and to plan longer-term recovery assistance.

In view of the fact that the Red Cross, UN and NGOs are meeting immediate humanitarian needs, DFID will not be providing emergency assistance. We will continue to monitor the post-flooding needs in Haiti and will keep the possibility of support for longer-term agricultural recovery under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how the $1.5 million pledged to the global fund to fight HIV and AIDS has been spent; and which countries have received financial support from the fund. (104958)

The UK’s commitment to tackle AIDS is set out in ‘Taking Action: The UK’s strategy for tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world’. This commits the UK to spend £1.5 billion to tackle AIDS between 2005 and 2008. It outlines how the UK will act to strengthen political leadership on AIDS; to improve the global response to AIDS, ensuring international initiatives and multilateral organisations complement national approaches in developing countries; to support better national programmes, including through our bilateral assistance to country responses; and to improve the long-term response, including through support for research into new medicines, preventative technologies and AIDS programmes. An independent, interim evaluation of Taking Action is currently under way, and we look forward to its findings in early 2007.

Support to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria—the Global Fund—is one of the ways we assist efforts to tackle HIV and AIDS. We have committed £359 million to the Global Fund over seven years (2002-08). This includes £100 million for 2006 and a further £100 million for 2007, subject to the Global Fund’s performance. The UK is now the fourth largest donor for the period 2006-07 (after France, the US and Japan) and the second largest in the EU. The UK’s current commitment to the Global Fund represents around 8 per cent. of its funding.

Since it was created in January 2002, the Global Fund has approved a total of US $6.8 billion to nearly 400 grants in 136 countries. 56 per cent. of this will go to sub-Saharan Africa, 11 per cent. to East Asia and the Pacific, 10 per cent. to Latin America and the Caribbean, and 8 per cent. to Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effect of corruption on the disbursement of (a) UK and (b) international funds for earthquake relief in Kashmir; and if he will make a statement. (107907)

The Government of Pakistan (GoP) have reaffirmed publicly that every effort will be made to ensure that earthquake programmes are implemented in a fully transparent and accountable manner. It is bound to submit its audited accounts to its Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee for review.

We have been working very closely with the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) and our key donor partners, such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to help Pakistan meet this commitment. A full range of measures are being put in place by GoP, with our support, to address corruption concerns. Measures to guard against corruption include three layers of auditing, including an internal audit at ERRA, an external audit by the Auditor General of Pakistan, and independent verification of expenditures. In addition, the main seven donors (UN, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Commission, the United States, Japan and DFID) have agreed on an earthquake reconstruction monitoring and evaluation framework. The Government of Pakistan have, additionally, agreed with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and DFID a set of measures to help guard against the risk of corruption, includingthe development of a fully automated financial management information system.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions Ministers and officials from his Department have had with Ministers and officials from (a) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (b) the Treasury, (c) No. 10 and (d) other Departments on development assistance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. (108232)

DFID Ministers and officials are in regular discussion with counterparts from other Government Departments, both in London and in Jerusalem. However, it is not our policy to provide details of all such meetings.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many cars run by his Department were manufactured (a) in the UK and (b) abroad. (104817)

DFID HQ uses cars supplied by the Government Car and Despatch Agency. Information on cars operated by the Government Car and Despatch Agency is available on page 14 of its Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06, copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members.

DFID’s overseas offices do run cars, but no central record is held of their country of manufacture. All our vehicles are procured through processes designed to ensure value for money through open, untied competition.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on providing support for the victims of the tsunami. (108272)

DFID has pledged £140 millionin response to the Indian Ocean tsunami ofDecember 2005. £75 million was pledged to the immediate humanitarian relief effort, including £7.5 million to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities. Thiswas exceeded as our total commitment rose to£76.214 million. A further £65 million was pledged to meet reconstruction needs in tsunami-affected countries. The breakdown of commitment and spend to date by country (including the provision at regional level) is shown in the following tables.

The regional commitment includes DFID support to the United Nations and £7.5 million for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities. £7.222 million for DRR has yet to be disbursed. We are considering options for spending this allocation. A further £2.592 million has not been spent because projects that we supported cost less to deliver than was originally budgeted. DFID is recovering remaining unspent funds.

DFID’s focus in the reconstruction phase for Sri Lanka has been to build capacity in-country to manage the longer-term recovery effort. This work is focused upon the north and east of Sri Lanka, but has been suspended due to the current crisis.

The money committed to reconstruction and recovery in India will provide a recovery and reconstruction programme coordinated by the UN for social equity, restoration of livelihoods, shelter, ecosystem restoration, HIV/AIDS, disaster preparedness, and programme management.

In Indonesia DFID is supporting the following programmes:

(a) £38 million to the Multi Donor Trust Fund to support housing, infrastructure, transport, capacity building, and projects which support the sustainable management of the environment;

(b) £10 million providing cash for work as part of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Emergency Response and Transitional Recovery Programme (ERTR);

(c) £6 million to the World Bank Support for Poor and Disadvantaged Areas (SPADA) programme. This supports governance, growth and service delivery in Aceh and Nias. £3 million through the Decentralisation Support Facility (DSF) managed by the World Bank, to support Government and implement partners’ ability to assist tsunami-affected communities to rebuild their lives;

(d) We are also supporting a number of smaller projects aiming to improve transparency in the way reconstruction funds are managed and build capacity of local governments and agencies.

In addition to DFID funding, the British Government have also contributed through the European Commission (EC). The EC has already pledged €123 million in humanitarian assistance and up to €350 million for longer-term reconstruction. The UK’s share of this is approximately £15 million and £40 million respectively. Her Majesty’s Treasury estimates that the Government will also be contributing approximately £50 million through tax relief on public donations made through the Gift Aid Scheme.

The UK has also contributed to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, who have both pledged resources in support of the tsunami-affected area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her estimate is of the number of households which will qualify for assistance n switching over to digital television in each parliamentary constituency in the south-west. (105509)

The information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure that digital television coverage extends to (a) the whole of Blaydon constituency and (b) Crawcrook village. (109185)