To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether it is his Department's policy to use (a) incandescent light bulbs and (b) LED lights for festive decorations on departmental premises. (173497)

The information is as follows:

Ministry of Justice Headquarters Estate:

The Corporate HQ Facilities M&E Contractor (ASEL) purchases lights for festive decoration across the CHQ Estate. The only festive lights ASEL have purchased are lights for the Christmas tree and there is currently no policy in place with regards to light bulb type. The overriding decision making process is governed by Health and Safety policy.

In respect of the delivery Agencies of the Ministry of Justice (including NOMS, HMPS, HMCS and tribunals), these are matters that are left to local management, who are best placed to judge what is most appropriate for local circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's policy is on the selection of (a) real and (b) artificial Christmas trees for his Department's festive decorations; and how real trees are disposed of. (173513)

There is currently no written policy in place for the selection of Christmas trees for the Corporate HQ Estate. However, the Corporate HQ Estate Christmas trees are sustainably sourced and recycled after use.

The Corporate HQ Facilities Team organise for MJ Ferguson to purchase the trees from www.pinesandneedles.com. The trees are recycled at Cringle Dock Waste Management, which comes under Western Riverside Waste Authority (www.wrwa.gov.uk). Cringle Dock Waste Management has a special section for Christmas tree recycling.

In respect of the delivery agencies of MoJ (including NOMS, HMPS, HMCS and tribunals), these are matters that are left to local management, who are best placed to judge what is most appropriate for local circumstances. They are, however, being advised to take advantage of the Woodland Trust's scheme for the sustainable disposal of Christmas trees.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on (a) Christmas cards and (b) postage of Christmas cards in 2007. (176917)

This is the first year that an MoJ Christmas card has been produced by our print room. To date, 6,000 have been ordered at a cost of 34 pence each, totalling £2,040. These cards are not centrally funded, and each business area will cover the costs of the cards they have ordered from their stationery budgets.

It is not possible to ascertain the specific postage costs relating to these Christmas cards, as all postage is accounted for as a whole, rather than broken down into separate components.

The Department has a general policy where all post is sent out second class unless it is stated otherwise.