To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the three former senior officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC, Chris Albiston, Raymond White and Freddie Hall, who were named by the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) on 24 January 2007, Official Report, column 1415W, following a report by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, were formally interviewed concerning any alleged offence during the course of the ombudsman’s investigation into the death of Raymond McCord Junior and related matters; and if he will take steps to clear their names. (149982)

The three former senior officers, Chris Albiston, Raymond White and Freddie Hall, named by the hon. Gentleman were not formally interviewed in connection with any alleged offence in the course of the Police Ombudsman’s investigation. I am happy to put on record that these officers, in common with many colleagues, served with commitment and distinction in very demanding policing roles in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Solicitor-General how much the Law Officers' Departments spent on (a) management consultants and (b) other external consultants and advisers in each year since 2000; and which of these consultants undertook work for the Department with a total contractual value in excess of £10 million over this period. (146331)

I am answering this question on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service, Serious Fraud Office, Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office, Treasury's Solicitors Department and HMCPS Inspectorate.

It has not been possible to distinguish between expenditure on management consultants and other external consultants. The statistics are also dependent on individual budget holders allocating expenditure to the correct code.

In addition the Treasury Solicitors’ department has incurred the following costs for externally procured legal advice for representation including expenditure which is recovered from client organisations through charges as part of the business operations of TSol.

To ask the Solicitor-General what legislative provisions within the responsibility of the Law Officers' Departments introduced since 1997 have not yet been brought into force. (149681)

My Department is not generally responsible for the carriage of legislation. We are not aware of any legislative provisions within our responsibility and introduced since 1997, which have not yet been brought into force.

To ask the Solicitor-General how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there were of public sector employees for offences relating to their official duties in the last period for which figures are available. (149682)

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains no central record of whether the defendants it prosecutes are public sector employees or whether the offences for which defendants are prosecuted relate to their official duties.

This information may be held on individual case files, but could only be obtained by locating and examining a huge numbers of individual case files and would incur disproportionate cost (Code of Practice on Access to Information, part 2, clause 9).

To ask the Solicitor-General what monitoring the Law Officers' Departments undertake of the operation of the issuing of conditional cautions; and how many such cautions have been issued in each police authority. (149294)

The joint Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)/Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) prosecution team is responsible for the implementation of and the day-to-day monitoring of the conditional cautioning scheme.

Monitoring of the use of the conditional cautions is undertaken at both national and local level. An information data set has been produced, which contains national and local performance data including the number of offenders being conditionally cautioned and the types of offences conditional cautions have been issued for. The information data set is issued by the national prosecution team on a monthly basis to all staff across areas with lead responsibility for conditional cautioning.

Information contained in the information data set is obtained from the CPS case management system and management information system as well as from local areas and Home Office research, development and statistics (RDS) data. Collating the data in this way allows for a consistent, national recording mechanism which does not require additional reporting from areas.

Conditional cautioning is being implemented across each criminal justice area in a phased approach. To date, conditional cautioning is operational in 93 police basic command units across 41 out of the 42 criminal justice areas. Full implementation of the scheme across 230 basic command units is expected to be achieved by April 2008. There have been 2,963 conditional cautions issued nationally since the first pilot schemes were introduced in 2005. A breakdown of the number of conditional cautions in each CPS area is also available from:

conditional.cautioning:cps.gsi.gov.uk

In Gloucestershire, conditional cautions were introduced on 25 June 2007 in the Cotswold and Stroud division. However, to date no conditional cautions have been issued in this division.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department has spent on hospitality events in each of the last five years. (148613)

Scotland Office hospitality expenditure is detailed in the following table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent on overnight accommodation by civil servants within his Department's areas of responsibilities in the last 12 months. (149054)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 17 May 2006, Official Report, column 994W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many complaints of racial abuse relating to staff for which his Department is responsible have been (a) investigated and (b) upheld in the last 12 months. (149244)

There have been no complaints of racial abuse in the last 12 months.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many receptions have been held at Dover House in each of the last five years. (148605)

The number of receptions held at Dover House is as shown in the following table. The receptions not funded by the Scotland Office were third party events organised and funded by organisations such as charities and trade associations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the Naval Base Review, with particular reference to Faslane. (149556)

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with colleagues in the Ministry of Defence on a range of subjects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent on overnight accommodation by civil servants within his Department’s areas of responsibilities in the last 12 months. (149058)

A total of £12,263.38 was spent on overnight accommodation by civil servants in the 12 months to 31 March 2007, the latest period for which we have final figures. This reflects the increased travel requirements of Cardiff-based staff in support of the heavy parliamentary legislative programme delivered by the Wales Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on health and safety and the new Welsh gas pipeline. (149217)

My hon. Friend the Member for Carmarthen, West and South Pembrokeshire (Nick Ainger), and I had regular discussions with Welsh Assembly Government ministerial colleagues, including about the health and safety considerations of both phases of the liquid natural gas pipeline (LNG), and I will continue to do so as necessary.

I am confident that stringent conditions are attached to the approval. All pipelines in the United Kingdom are designed, tested and operated in accordance with the strictest standards established by the Health and Safety Executive and the Institute of Gas Engineers.

Both the National Grid (NG) and the Milford Haven Port Authority have been working closely with Government and security services to make sure they have robust security arrangements.

The NG takes safety and security of people and assets extremely seriously and continually carries out thorough reviews of safety and security at its sites around the country based on potential risks, and has a number of procedures in place. In 35 years the UK’s high-pressure National Grid Transmission System has never experienced a serious incident affecting life or property, and I am sure that NG is doing its utmost to maintain this exemplary record.

To ask the Leader of the House if she will commission research on the effect of the new postage and stationery rules on the ability of hon. and right hon. Members to communicate effectively with their constituents. (148357)

The monetary cap on the use of pre-paid envelopes from 1 April 2007 was balanced by the introduction of the Communications Allowance, which provides extra resources to enable Members to engage proactively with their constituents.

The rules of the new allowance will be reviewed and if necessary revised by the Members Estimate Committee in the light of experience and on advice by the Advisory Panel on Members' Allowances.

There are no plans to commission any research on the postage and stationery rules.

To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2007, Official Report, column 9W, on Members: cycling, if she will take steps to enable hon. Members to register with the Government's cycle to work scheme in their capacity as an employer so that their staff members can participate in the scheme. (148573)

As employers, Members may register for the scheme, which has costs as well as benefits for Members' staff. Any Member doing so would be responsible for administering the scheme and ensuring that the scheme rules were met.

To ask the Leader of the House when she expects the new rota for oral questions to be completed; and what provision she expects to make for (a) regional Ministers and (b) the Minister for the East Midlands to answer oral questions. (149740)

The Leader of the House confirmed the questions rota until the summer recess on 4 July for departmental Ministers. The rota, and related matters including the issue of question times for regional Ministers, will be considered during the summer recess.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many reconstruction projects have been undertaken in Helmand province over the last five years; and where these have taken place. (150023)

Through the national solidarity programme, the Government of Afghanistan (GoA) have approved 697 reconstruction projects in Helmand of which 250 have been completed. These have taken place in Lashkar Gah, Nahr-e-Saraj, Kajki, Musa Qala, Baghran, Now Zad, Washer, Nad Ali, Nawa-i-Barakzai, Dishu, Garmsir, Sangin and Reg. Through DFID's support to GoA's rural water and sanitation programme, 229 wells to provide clean drinking water in Helmand have been completed. These are located in Lashkar Gah, Nahr-e-Saraj, Nawa and Nad Ali. Work is also being undertaken on 50 kilometres of DFID-funded roads in Lashkar Gah.

Since April 2006, the UK has funded 150 quick impact projects through the provincial reconstruction team (PRT) based in Lashkar Gah. Of these, 81 were reconstruction projects and 52 have been completed. These have taken place in Lashkar Gah, Gereshk, Sangin, Garmsir, Musa Qala and Nahr-e-Saraj.

In addition to this, the United States Government through USAID have completed 75 projects through their alternative livelihoods programme over the last two years in Helmand. These projects have covered every district in Helmand except for Dishu.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many reconstruction projects undertaken in Helmand province over the last five years have been destroyed or delayed due to fighting. (150024)

Over the past 30 years, infrastructure in Afghanistan, including Helmand province, has sustained substantial damage due to conflict, and neglect resulting from the collapse of governmental institutions. Since the UK assumed the lead of the provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in April 2006, the security situation has not been suitably permissive to allow either the PRT or provincial authorities to undertake a full battle damage assessment, encompassing destroyed or delayed projects, across Helmand.

The PRT works closely with the provincial authorities to undertake consultations with communities across the province to enable them to compile a provincial development plan (PDP) that will address the reconstruction and development needs of Helmand. The civilian and military elements within the PRT are working in close partnership to minimise the future risk of damage to infrastructure and non-combatants.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when his Department expects to publish its Latin America Regional Assistance Plan 2008-11. (150485)

The Department for International Development's Latin America policy will be reviewed in the autumn in the light of consultations on a new DFID strategy for Latin America.

We expect to have the Latin America Regional Assistance Plan 2008-11 published by the end of 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he plans to use the Temporary International Mechanism as an acceptable method of delivering aid to the Palestinian population beyond its current extension to September. (150257)

Any decision to extend the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) beyond September will need to be taken by the Quartet in consultation with the Palestinians. The EU is currently discussing with Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad how best to provide financial and practical assistance to the emergency government. He has welcomed the continuation of support through the TIM, but has not yet indicated how he would like it to evolve after September.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reconstruction projects in the Helmand province have been (a) started and (b) completed in the last two years. (148723)

I have been asked to reply.

Through the national solidarity programme, the Government of Afghanistan (GoA) have approved 697 reconstruction projects in Helmand over the last two years, of which 250 have been completed. Through DFID’s support to GoA’s Rural Water and Sanitation Programme, 1,000 wells to provide clean drinking water in Helmand have been surveyed, and 229 have been completed. Since April 2006, the UK has funded 150 quick impact projects through the provincial reconstruction team (PRT) based in Lashkar Gah. Of these, 81 were reconstruction projects and 52 have been completed. Work is also ongoing on 50 kilometres of DFID-funded roads in Lashkar Gah.

In addition to this, the United States Government through USAID have completed 75 projects through its alternative livelihoods programme over the last two years in Helmand.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what responsibility his Department has for the health care of service personnel ill or injured (a) due to duties and (b) due to incidents unrelated to duties. (148233)

The MOD is responsible for ensuring the medical care of serving members of the armed forces. The actual delivery of health care is performed by a combination of the Defence Medical Services, the NHS, coalition forces or private medical providers, depending on the geographical location, circumstances and clinical need of the patient.

If service personnel require medical treatment when on leave in the UK away from their normal duty station, they should obtain it from local NHS facilities. If inpatient treatment is required, administrative arrangements are in place for the hospital to inform the relevant service authority, in order that the appropriate military medical and welfare processes can be set in motion, which may include transfer to facilities convenient to home or unit if necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision he has made for personnel being deployed abroad to assist them in securing life insurance. (149677)

[holding answer 16 July 2007]: MOD already provides significant financial support for attributable death during service. This was improved under the 2005 Armed Forces Pension Scheme and the Compensation Scheme introduced on 6 April 2005.

As a matter of policy MOD leaves the decision whether to take out additional cover in the form of personal insurance to the individual as individual needs vary and personal insurance is a complex issue.

In the past, service personnel have sometimes encountered difficulties in obtaining affordable life insurance that provides cover for war risks such as chemical or biological attack.

One scheme currently available to all service personnel, including those deployed abroad is PAX which provides personal accident and life cover. PAX covers war risks, but has in the past imposed restrictions (such as closing the scheme or introducing war and terrorism risks) for new members.

In addition, MOD's Service Risks Insurance Premiums Refunds scheme currently contributes towards extra life insurance premiums incurred by personnel involved in certain high-risk activities such as flying. The compensation available is 90 per cent. of the extra premium up to a total sum assured, which is increased every year in line with service pay and is currently £157,000.

In addition, the MOD launched on 8 May a new life insurance scheme, aimed exclusively at service personnel, Service Life Insurance (SLI). The scheme is available to all service personnel—including those deployed abroad on operations—and guarantees affordable cover, including against the risks of war and terrorism throughout their service and civilian life. Premiums are comparable to those paid by civilians, with no premium loading for personnel deployed on operations—or those involved in high-risk activities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether UK armed forces personnel will be taking part in the Nijmegen Marches in 2007; and if he will make a statement. (148130)

Around 1,060 UK armed forces personnel will be involved in the 2007 Nijmegen Marches.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the current percentage shortfalls are for each pinch point trade in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force. (148232)

A manning pinch point is defined as a trade or area of expertise where there is insufficient trained strength (officers or ratings/other ranks) to perform directed tasks. This might be as a result of adherence to single-service harmony guidelines, under-manning, and/or levels of commitment that exceed the resourced manpower ceiling for the trades or areas of expertise involved.

The percentage shortfall for each pinch point trade is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects (a) 124 Fd Sqn RE(V) and (b) 129 Fd Sqn RE(V) to form. (148980)

[holding answer 11 July 2007]: On current plans 124 Field Squadron RE (V) and 129 Field Squadron RE(V) will begin to form up from 1 April 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role his Department plays in delivering the objectives of the G8 global partnership. (149466)

I refer my hon. Friend to the Global Partnership, UK Fourth Annual Report 2006, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers were commissioned from the ranks in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. (149402)

The following table shows the number of trained soldiers who have outflowed to officer from the ranks for the period 1 April 2002 to 28 February 2007:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many people were employed within the (a) Defence Housing Executive and (b) Defence Estates in each year since 1997, broken down by occupation; (149669)

Details of civilian full-time equivalent (FTE) strengths are given in the following table.

Details of civilian FTE redundancies are given in the following table.

Information relating to occupation is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the Defence Export Services Organisation. (149158)

The Ministry of Defence will continue to offer high quality support to UK-based defence manufacturers to help them win contracts for legitimate defence exports.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with HM Treasury on the future of the Defence Export Services Organisation; and if he will make a statement. (149320)

[holding answer 12 July 2007]: I have regular discussions with colleagues at the Treasury on issues of mutual interest.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what funding the Defence Export Services Organisation received in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; (149132)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor gave on 24 April 2006, Official Report, column 845W, to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones). The net operating costs of the Defence Export Services Organisation in financial years 2005-06 and 2006-07 were £14.497 million and £15.015 million respectively.

Provision of £13.7 million has been made for the net operating costs of the Defence Export Services Organisation in 2007-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his staff took early retirement in the last five years; at what cost; what grades of staff took early retirement; and what percentage of each grade took early retirement. (148817)

The information in respect of the number, grade and percentage of staff who took early retirement is provided in the following tables:

The information requested about costs is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance he has given to military establishments on the flying of the Union flag on a daily basis; and if he will make a statement. (150117)

Guidance is set out in Queen's Regulations and stipulates that all service and major commands and headquarters are required to fly the Union flag daily. In addition, these establishments are permitted to fly flags signifying the relevant single service and commander, corps, regimental, station and establishment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many headquarters staff funded by the public purse in his Department are classified as people without posts. (142742)

Numbers are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of (a) his Department's final bid to HM Treasury for resources in the 2004 spending review and (b) the final settlement letter from HM Treasury setting out his Department's expenditure limits for the period covered by the review. (148892)

No. Publication of such documents would be prejudicial to the conduct of public affairs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the number of its staff using public transport to commute. (147320)

The Department has not estimated the number of its staff using public transport to commute. MOD encourages the use of public transport and cycling to work by providing interest-free loans for the purchase of public transport season tickets.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints of racial abuse relating to staff for which his Department is responsible have been (a) investigated and (b) upheld in the last 12 months. (149255)

The number of formal complaints of racial harassment in the Ministry of Defence and armed forces for the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007, the latest period for which figures are available, was as follows:

The Department’s Unified Diversity Strategy makes clear that harassment of any kind is not tolerated in the Ministry of Defence or the armed forces. Revised complaints procedures were published in January 2007. Ongoing internal communications keep personnel informed of their rights and responsibilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when and how ex-servicemen and women waiting for digital hearing aids due to service-related hearing loss will be informed of their priority status. (149673)

Advice regarding entitlement to priority treatment from the NHS is referenced in Leaflet 2 which is sent out by the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency with the war pension disablement acceptance notification letter.

Regular reminders about priority treatment for war pensioners are circulated by the Health Departments to senior NHS managers who are tasked to ensure that relevant clinical staff are aware. Reminder action, due this year, will reference this issue. Priority for assessment, treatment, aids etc is decided by the clinician in charge based on clinical need.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what instructions have been sent to NHS trusts in relation to affording priority status to ex-servicemen and women needing digital hearing aids due to service-related hearing loss. (149674)

MOD is working with the UK Health Departments regarding awareness of NHS priority treatment among health professionals. Later this year Health Departments will distribute reminders to the chief executives of trusts requiring them to ensure that general practitioners and hospital clinicians are aware of all those veterans who are eligible for priority treatment, including the group who have noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss accepted as caused by service. Priority refers to assessment, treatment and provision of aids. Allocation of priority is by the clinician in charge based on clinical need.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's estimate was in March 2003 of the cost of operations in Iraq in each of the subsequent five financial years. (148893)

The total estimate figures for the net additional costs of operations in Iraq, included in Spring Supplementary Estimates for the years 2002-03 to 2006-07, were as follows.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK troops are deployed on operations in Iraq. (150011)

[holding answer 16 July 2007]: As of June 2007, around 5,500 UK armed forces personnel are deployed on operations in Iraq, although numbers do fluctuate due, for example, to roulements and rest and recuperation breaks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with Airbus Cimpa on the temporary use of redundant bays in the Red Dragon hangar at MOD St Athan. (147285)

No formal discussions have taken place between the Ministry of Defence and Airbus Cimpa regarding this matter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of the decision of the Ministry of Defence Police to cancel all non-mandatory staff overtime on (a) the security of military bases and (b) the capacity of his Department (i) to implement its anti-terrorism strategy and (ii) to meet its financial targets. (148255)

I am unable to comment on security matters in detail as to do so would, or would be likely to prejudice national security. The Chief Executive of the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency is managing this reduction in overtime.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2007, Official Report, column 321W, on the MV Bugaled Breizh, whether his Department has received any communication from those conducting the French judicial investigation into the sinking of the Bugaled Breizh; and whether a completed report of that investigation has been received. (148875)

The Department has received indirect communication from the French Tribunal conducting the inquiry into the loss of the fishing vessel Bugaled Breizh via the Home Office (United Kingdom Central Authority) and the French embassy, London. This has been for additional information to assist with their inquiries and declassification of signal messages respectively. The Department has not received or had sight of any official reports from the investigation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what quantity of illegal drugs was seized by the Royal Navy in each of the last three years. (149603)

[holding answer 16 July 2007]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor gave on 26 June 2007, Official Report, column 670W, to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) original cost estimate was and (b) current cost estimate is of Project MoDEL. (148230)

The approval for the Project MoDEL contract included £177 million for capital expenditure for the development of RAF Northolt. Project MoDEL is currently forecast to remain within its original approval.

A second contract including around £30 million for capital expenditure was awarded to a separate contractor to relocate the British Forces Post Office to RAF Northolt. This contract is also currently forecast to remain within its original approval.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2007, Official Report, column 1286W, on transport: AWE Burghfield, under what circumstances special nuclear materials convoys travel from AWE Burghfield without (a) a visible police escort and (b) emergency support vehicles; and if he will make a statement. (149517)

I am withholding the information as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice national security.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether local incident management plans are put in place when special nuclear materials convoys travel from AWE Burghfield; and whether local authorities are informed before those convoys travel. (149949)

The transportation of nuclear and other hazardous materials is governed by the Radioactive Material (Road Transport) (Great Britain) Regulations 2002 and the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004 (as amended in 2005). Although the Department is exempt from the regulations, it is nevertheless MOD policy to comply with their principles although they place no obligation on a carrier to inform local authorities. The publicly available Local Authority Emergency Services Information (LAESI) document provides the emergency services, local and health authorities with information on contingency arrangements for the transport of special nuclear material.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservists are deployed on overseas operations, broken down by deployment location. (148263)

As at 31 March 2007, the latest figures available, reservists were deployed in joint operational areas (JOA) as follows:

Iraq: 451

Afghanistan: 359

Balkans: 44.

In addition, some 500 mobilised reservists were in the UK, predominantly undertaking pre-deployment training, post-deployment leave or receiving medical treatment. Finally, 35 sponsored reserves were on mobilised service and serving in or between the JOAs and the UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many recorded missing (a) weapons and (b) weapons parts reports were made to the Royal Military Police between May 2002 and May 2007. (149128)

The number of weapons and weapon parts lost, missing or stolen from the armed forces between 2002 and 2007 is shown in the table for each whole calendar year. This provides details of all cases reported to the Royal Military Police’s Service Police Crime Bureau and includes losses which have been investigated by the Ministry of Defence Police, Home Department Police Forces and other branches of the Service Police. The data cover a range of reported incidents, including weapons which have been lost or stolen in operational theatres and the loss of private firearms lodged in MOD armouries. The data are held by calendar year. To break them down in any other way could be done only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the time taken by the Child Support Agency to secure a liability order; and what the key factors are in determining that timescale. (146176)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 17 July 2007:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions regarding the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the time taken by the Child Support Agency to secure a liability order, and what the key factors are in determining that timescale.

The current time taken to secure a liability order from the courts from first referral to the Child Support Agency enforcement teams is 115 calendar days in England and Wales and 171 days in Scotland. The key factors in determining this timescale are; primarily, the local availability of court services and the requirement to allow a period of time between the court summons and court date, to allow the non-resident parent time to prepare for the hearing.

In Scottish courts, the non-resident parent also has the ability to object to the courts, which can impact on the time taken to obtain the liability order.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many requests have been made by the Child Support Agency to HM Revenue and Customs in each (a) month and (b) quarter since January 2003 in respect of access to information on the incomes of non-resident parents; and if he will make a statement. (146182)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 17 July 2007:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many requests have been made by the Child Support Agency to HM Revenue and Customs in each (a) month and (b) quarter since January 2003 in respect of access to information on the incomes of non-resident parents; and if he will make a statement.

Such information as is available is set out in the attached table, which shows the number of requests dealt with by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) where the Child Support Agency has made a request for information on the non-resident parents income.

The information supplied relates to queries dealt with by two parts of HMRC, the Centre of Research and Intelligence (CRI) and the National Insurance Contributions Office.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what limitations there are on the amount of Child Support Agency arrears which can be recovered by a deduction of earnings order from a non-resident parent; and if he will make a statement. (146138)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 17 July 2007:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what limitations there are on the amount of Child Support Agency arrears which can be recovered by a deduction of earnings order from a non-resident parent; and if he will make a statement.

Regulation 11 of the Child Support (Collection and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, requires the Agency not to exceed 40% of a liable person's net earnings when imposing a deduction from earnings order.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what expenditure by the Child Support Agency on solicitor legal costs was in each year since 2000-01. (146169)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 17 July 2007:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of state promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total expenditure by the Child Support Agency on solicitor legal costs is for each year since 2000-01.

The Agency’s accounting system does not report solicitor’s legal costs in a discreet expense account; as such I am unable to provide the information in the format requested.

Solicitors legal costs are grouped together with court fees and charges into a single expense account code. The total costs of solicitors and court fees in each of the last six financial years is shown in the table below.

The increase in legal costs in 2006-07 is a result of the increased legal enforcement action the Agency is undertaking as part of the Operational Improvement Plan.

Information for the 2000-01 financial year is not available as this year falls outside of the legislative requirement to keep accounting records for six years.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) for what reasons the Child Support Agency offices in Birkenhead and Bolton have different criteria for determining eligibility for an advance payment of arrears; (146852)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 17 July 2007:

In reply to your recent parliamentary questions regarding the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the chief executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and pensions, for what reasons the Child Support Agency offices in Birkenhead and Bolton have different criteria for determining eligibility for an advance payment of arrears, [146853] and

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and pensions, for what reasons the Child Support Agency Parliamentary Business Unit in Birkenhead are unable to communicate via telephone with the Child Support Agency office in Bolton. [146853]

All cases, including those being managed clerically at the Bolton office, are subject to the same legislative and procedural rules. This includes the decision to make an advance payment where maladministration has occurred and a range of pre-defined criteria are satisfied.

We actively encourage use of the telephone as the primary means of communication between offices to update or discuss particulars on a case. It is only in the case of a complaint being received in the Agency about a clerical case maintained by the Bolton office that, initially, the inquiry is emailed to Bolton. This is to ensure the Bolton office has all the necessary information to progress and resolve the client’s concerns. Subsequently, contact should be made by telephone.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the average processing time for pension schemes applying to qualify for initial payments was under the financial assistance scheme for each month since the scheme began operating; and if he will make a statement; (148250)

The following table shows the months in which schemes have requested initial payments and the average time taken from the date of request to the date on which the scheme was accepted for initial payments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the average processing time was for pension schemes applying to qualify for assistance under the financial assistance scheme in each month since the scheme began operating; and if he will make a statement; (148251)

In order to obtain a decision on qualification for assistance under the financial assistance scheme, a pension scheme must successfully go through the two stages of notification and qualification. This involves the trustees and administrators providing basic scheme information to the FAS operational unit.

As at 29 June 2007, the average time taken since operations started in September 2005 from receipt at FASOU of a correctly completed application form for qualification to a qualification decision being issued was 47 working days.

Equivalent information on a month-by-month basis is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer from the then Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, of 19 June 2007, Official Report, columns 1713-4W, on Industrial Health and Safety: Coroners, what steps he has taken to ensure that health and safety regulations requiring employers to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks to health and safety to which employees are exposed while at work have been carried out by those responsible for coroners and coroners’ officers. (149167)

[holding answer 12 July 2007]: Coroners are appointed and funded by the relevant local authority. Their officers are employed by the relevant local authority or police authority. Compliance with health and safety requirements for risk assessments relating to their work is a matter for the relevant employer. The Health and Safety Executive continues to work with employers to develop and implement sensible risk controls.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by the Health and Safety Executive on campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers of working at height in each of the last five years. (148860)

The HSE’s ‘Height Aware’ campaign 2006 cost about £1.7 million including publicity, promotional events and evaluation of its effectiveness. In 2005 the HSE ran some initiatives focusing on ladder safety costing around £17.500. The HSE is currently building on these with the current ‘Ladder Exchange’ initiative, for which final costs are not yet available. A falls from height campaign specifically targeting those working in the construction sector was run in 2003-04, costing £275,000. These campaigns were aimed at reducing deaths and serious injuries arising from falls from ladders which cost the British economy more than £60 million a year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pension schemes in England and Wales are eligible for the financial assistance scheme. (147299)

The FAS operational unit does not hold the precise information requested specifically for schemes in England and Wales as in many cases the principal employer of the underfunded pension schemes are no longer in existence. They have therefore been provided with the address of the scheme trustee, administrator or the official receiver which does not reflect the location of the sponsoring employer of the pension scheme.

A total of 682 schemes have qualified for FAS assistance. This is correct up to and including the 22 June 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of pension schemes whose qualification status for the financial assistance scheme is undecided are (a) waiting for scheme trustees to provide additional information before a decision can be made and (b) having their application considered by the Department; and if he will make a statement. (148603)

As at 6 July 2007 there are a total of 38 pension schemes whose status for the FAS is yet to be decided. Of these, 10 schemes (26 per cent.) are being considered based on the initial information provided by the trustees; we are awaiting further information from the trustees of 15 schemes (40 per cent.) and the remaining 13 schemes (34 per cent.) have indicated that a compromise agreement is in place, so we are unable to progress the application until the legislation to implement the extension to cover these schemes is in place.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will undertake an evaluation of the 28-day hospital stay rule for young people with cancer. (150309)

From 10 April 2006, apart from those in receipt of disability living allowance, attendance allowance and carer's allowance, patients receiving free in-patient treatment in NHS hospitals no longer have their benefits reduced to a flat rate figure.

The role of DLA is to help with the extra costs of disability-related needs. These needs are met free of charge by the NHS when someone is in hospital. Payment of DLA for adults therefore stops after four weeks to avoid duplicate provision. However, payment of DLA to children aged under 16 does not stop until after 12 weeks, regardless of their diagnosis. Carer's allowance would also normally continue to be paid to the carer for this 12-week period. The 12-week rule recognises that children may have special needs for support from their parents while they are adjusting to hospital life.

We have no plans to change the current rules.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many claimants received interest on their 2005 single farm payments for sums paid after 30 June 2006; what the total amount of interest paid was; and if he will make a statement. (148735)

As of 30 June 2007 5,745 claimants had been paid interest in respect of the single payment scheme for 2005. The total amount of interest paid was £1,203,619.97.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the level of (a) carbon dioxide emissions and (b) greenhouse gas equivalent emissions was in the UK in each year since 1990; what the percentage change was in each year; and what the comparable figures and percentages were for (i) the EU, (ii) the US, (iii) China, (iv) Russia, (v) countries in sub-Saharan Africa and (vi) other developing countries. (149810)

For information relating to UK and EU emissions, I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer provided by my predecessor on 8 March 2007, Official Report, column 2184W.

Table 1 contains UK CO₂ and greenhouse gas emissions, and percentage changes, for each year between 1990 and 2005, the latest year for which data are available. Table 2 contains comparable figures for the EU-15, who have a collective target of -8 per cent. under the Kyoto protocol.

DEFRA does not hold the information requested for the US, China, Russia, sub-Saharan Africa and other developing countries. Emissions estimates are submitted under the United Nations framework convention on climate change, which is the parent treaty for the Kyoto protocol and Montreal decisions. The United States and Russia are both Annex I parties, and are therefore required to submit annual estimates of emissions to the Convention. China, and all African countries, are non-Annex I parties to the convention, and are therefore not required to submit annual emissions estimates. All emissions data submitted to the convention are available on the UNFCCC website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research he has commissioned into reducing methane emissions from cows. (149644)

For information relating to research into reducing methane emissions from livestock, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 10 July 2007, Official Report, column 1380W.

In addition to our work on reducing emissions from livestock through nutrition, husbandry, genetics, and nutrient management, we are also exploring the potential for the use of anaerobic digestion to reduce methane emissions. Anaerobic digestion can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capturing methane from the decomposition of organic materials, such as livestock manures and slurries, sewage sludge and food wastes, to produce a biogas. The biogas can be used as a renewable energy source, both for heat and power, and as a transport fuel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department participated in the Lights out London campaign. (147126)