To ask the President of the Council what proposals he has to improve parliamentary scrutiny of ministerial decisions which are made using the Royal Prerogative.[72954]

As the Ministerial Code makes clear, Ministers are accountable to Parliament for their decisions and actions, including decisions which are made using the Royal Prerogative. If the hon. Member has any proposals to improve parliamentary scrutiny of ministerial decisions, which are made under the Royal Prerogative, I would be willing to consider them.The introduction of Westminster Hall and the greater flexibility available to select committees should already have increased the House's ability to scrutinise all aspects of Ministers' work, and will continue to do so in the future.

To ask the Solicitor-General what the cost was of publishing her Department's annual report for each of the past five years. [70481]

[holding answer 18 July 2002]: The cost of publishing the Law Officers' Departments' annual report in each of the last four years was as follows:

	£
1999	4,327
2000	4,485
2001	6,849
2002	7,618

In 1998 the Law Officers' Departments' annual report was published as part of the Lord Chancellor's Annual Report and the cost is not separately available for that year.In addition, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Treasury Solicitor's Department and the Serious Fraud Office publish Departmental Annual Reports. The costs are as follows:

Crown Prosecution Service
	£
1998	22,695
1999	22,387
2000	18,600
2001	24,340
2002	34,000

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports sent to the IND in 2001 went missing; and of these, how many have subsequently been found. [64237]

[holding answer 25 June 2002]: The information requested is not held centrally and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost. However, a measure of the number of passports which could not be returned to their owners is the lost passport letter. Since September last year, strict controls have been in place on the way such letters are used; as a consequence more effective searches have been carried out and the number of letters issued has fallen by around 50 per cent. per month (from an average of 45 per month to about 20). Of those searches completed, less than 1 per cent. of passports cannot be found. Even so further initiatives are in place to improve the handling of passports.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to improve the efficiency of the IND. [64239]

[holding answer 25 June 2002]: We aim to consider 70 per cent. of all new general and settlement cases on initial consideration within three weeks. Due to an exceptionally large increase in the number of immigration cases in the latter part of 2001 the turnaround time increased but has now been reduced to four weeks. We are working to return performance to three weeks very shortly. However, cases which cannot be dealt with at the initial consideration stage are taking up to nine months to consider. We are looking to reduce this timescale as a priority case over the next six months. We have also reviewed our processes to speed up the consideration of cases and are looking at options for utilising additional resources within The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the policy of dispersing immigrants to Wales from the South-East of England. [63338]

[holding answer 20 June 2002]: As at the end of March 2002, 1,020* asylum seekers including dependants were being supported in National Asylum Support Service (NASS) accommodation in Wales. In addition 160* asylum seekers including dependants in receipt of subsistence only support are resident in Wales. NASS has appointed a Regional Manager in each of its regions. Regional Managers are responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the support provided to asylum seekers in their region.

*Figures rounded to nearest 10. We cannot say categorically that all dispersals were from the south-east of England.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about granting visas to Egyptian students in the past 2 months; and if he will make a statement. [65235]

I have received no such recent representations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are receiving cash-only support; and if he will make a statement. [72930]

As at the end of March 2002, 30,740* asylum seekers (including dependants) were receiving subsistence only support' from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS).Statistics on the number of asylum seekers supported by NASS are available on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website: http:// www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration.1.html.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 26 June 2002, Ref 62529 on asylum seekers, when he expects to publish the research examining the reception policies of (a) Sweden, (b) Denmark, (c) the Netherlands and (d) Germany. [66107]

The research commissioned by the Home Office on the reception policies of Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany will be published by the end of 2002. This date is provisional, subject to the work being completed on schedule by the research contractors and to Research, Development and Statistics (RDS) publication procedures (including peer review).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 May 2002, to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Mr. Lepper) Official Report, column 605W, on retail crime, if he will list for each regional crime reduction director, the amount spent on business crime in 2001–02. [71306]

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Castle Point (Dr. Spink) on 22 July 2002, Official Report, columns 862W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on motorcyclists of the proposed establishment of law enforcing arrangements; and if he will make a statement. [30826]

'Policing a New Century: a Blueprint for Reform' made no specific reference to motorcyclists. One of its themes, however, was the effective tackling of anti-social behaviour. The anti-social use of motorcycles has been a particular issue and growing concern in some areas, for example where the motorcycles have been raced around estates, across public footpaths or over public parks.The Police Reform Act was introduced by the Government to take forward the proposals in 'Policing a New Century. Amongst its provisions, the Government have given the police new powers to deal with the anti-social use of motor vehicles, including motorcycles. It is already an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 to drive inconsiderately on public roads or off-road without consent. The Act now provides an addition that if a vehicle committing one of these offences is being driven in such a way that it is causing or is likely to cause alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public, a constable in uniform will be empowered to stop and seize it. A constable will be able to enter premises other than a private dwelling to effect the seizure. The owner will be able to retrieve the vehicle on payment of removal and storage charges. Detailed arrangements will be made by regulation and will ensure that the owner is not required to pay when the vehicle was used without his consent.The new power will enable the police to deal with motorcycle nuisance more effectively by putting an immediate stop to such anti-social behaviour.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) dates, (b) location and (c) sources were of attributable (i) articles, interviews or contributions for the media, books or other journals and (ii) speeches or presentations made in the public domain, by departmental special advisers since March 2001; who in his Department authorised the activity; and on what date this activity was recorded with the departmental Head of Information. [72251]

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister (Mr. Blair) on 24 July 2002, Official Report, column 1373W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many waste disposal incinerators in the UK have planning permission but are not yet operating; and where they are sited; [73485](2) how many planning applications for waste disposal incinerators are awaiting determination by planning authorities in the United Kingdom; and where they are sited. [73486]

I have been asked to reply.Information about individual planning applications in England is not reported to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister or held centrally, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The position in other parts of the UK is a matter for the devolved administrations.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the work of the (a) Neighbourhood Renewal Unit, (b) Social Exclusion Unit and (c) Regional Co-ordination Unit will be co-ordinated within his new Department; and what impact this will have on the joined-up delivery of inclusive public services at a regional level. [63100]

The Social Exclusion Unit and the Regional Co-Ordination Unit were both previously based in the Cabinet Office. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will also include, among other responsibilities, the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit. As Minister of State for Social Exclusion, Regional Coordination, Neighbourhood Renewal and Minister for Women and Equality, my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green will ensure a co-ordinated approach on these policy areas.

Housing Capital Expenditure
(£ million)
	1997–98 outturn	1998–99 outturn	1999–2000 outturn	2000–01 outturn	2001–02 planned
Housing within the Housing Revenue Account	1,563	1,660	1,569	1,815	2,326
Local Authority Social Housing Grant	329	336	329	406	530
Other Support for RSLs	2	22	20	27	24
Other housing in the private sector	468	493	500	529	569

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many and what proportion of the public service agreements of his Department set out in the document "Public Services for the Future 1998" have been met; and if he will make a statement. [68717]

The relevant 1998 and 2000 PSA targets were transferred to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister from the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions following the recent Machinery of Government changes. Therefore, a complete list of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's PSA targets is available in the DTLR Annual Report 2002 published on 10 June. The report provides details of progress against PSA targets including those which have been met.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the empty residential properties in each London borough in the ownership of his Department and its agencies, giving (a) the type of accommodation, (b) how long each property has been vacant and (c) what the intended future use is of the property. [69493]

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister currently owns no empty residential properties in any of the London boroughs.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) public and (b) private money has been invested in housing regeneration in each of the last five years. [69379]

As regeneration is not limited to housing projects, details of expenditure cannot be broken down as requested.Public funding for housing regeneration is provided through a variety of programmes. The Housing Corporation has a target for housing regeneration, which is 65 per cent. of Approved Development Programme (ADP) grant approvals for each year; in 2001–02 86 per cent. of approvals were for regeneration. Housing also plays an integral part in many specific regeneration programmes, such as New Deal for Communities.Public funding for housing regeneration is also provided through local authority housing capital expenditure. However, this is not broken down to provide details of all regeneration expenditure. The following information is available from Housing Investment Programme returns:

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what changes to levels of housing funding for each region there have been between 2001–02 and 2002–03. [70804]

A regional breakdown of the main funding stream for housing provided by central government in these two years are set out below. The figures cover Housing Revenue Account Subsidy (including the Major Repairs Allowance), Housing Investment Programme allocations to local authorities and the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme.

	2001–02 (£ million)	2002–03 (£ million)	Per cent. change
North East	377	368	-2
Yorkshire and the Humber	596	602	+1
East Midlands	355	348	-2
East of England	297	302	+2
London	2,266	2,339	+3
South East	405	431	+6
South West	263	273	+4
West Midlands	591	565	-4
North West	918	867	-5
Total	6,068	6,096	—

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many planning matters were being considered by Ministers on 22 July. [73245]

At any one time Ministers have under consideration a large number of planning matters including ones concerning the operation of the system, the development and application of planning policy and

Personal Social Services Budgets 1997–98 to 2001–02
	1997–98 £ million	Increase Per cent.	1998–99 £ million	Increase Per cent.	1999–2000 £ million	Increase Per cent.	2000–01 £ million	Increase Per cent.	2001–02 £ million	Increase Per cent.
Inner London
City of London	4.851	6.0	4.925	1.5	5.073	3.0	5.838	15.1	7.595	30.1
Camden	73.450	12.2	79.434	8.1	83.763	5.4	88.859	6.1	93.384	5.1
Greenwich	60.872	3.3	63.217	3.9	72.498	14.7	79.992	10.3	83.700	4.6
Hackney (Provisional for 2001–02)	79.922	1.9	80.163	0.3	95.620	19.3	91.020	-4.8	95.071	4.5
Hammersmith and Fulham	59.446	15.3	62.930	5.9	73.517	16.8	69.830	-5.0	73.512	5.3
Islington	75.122	7.7	72.222	3.9	74.997	3.8	84.543	12.7	104.069	23.1
Kensington and Chelsea	53.642	11.7	57.416	7.0	62.527	8.9	67.022	7.2	71.915	7.3
Lambeth	97.948	13.4	97.511	0.4	104.777	7.5	112.703	7.6	121.500	7.8
Lewisham	71.431	14.2	78.520	9.9	88.580	12.8	92.969	5.0	93.204	0.3
Southwark	85.970	2.6	87.675	2.0	92,220	5.2	113,811	23.4	129.375	13.7

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many days he has spent on Government business overseas in the past 12 months. [65670]

In the twelve months since 1 July 2001, I have spent 34 working days overseas on Government business, deputising for the Prime Minister in the run-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what has been the average percentage increases in social services budgets in London boroughs; and what were the increases in (a) social services SSAs and (b) revenue support grants (i) for each local authority and (ii) for London as a whole in each of the last five years. [69151]

I have been asked to reply.The tables below provide the amounts and percentage increases in social services budgets, personal social services standard spending assessment and revenue grants paid by this Department for each local authority in inner and outer London and for London as a whole, for each of the last five years. The percentage increases do not reflect the changes in functions, and are not therefore, on a like for like basis. Budget figures are not available yet for 2002–03.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the staff of his Department are women; and what the percentage was in June 1997. [66909]

I refer the hon Member to the reply given to him by my hon Friend, Member for Paisley South (Mr. Alexander) on 5 July 2002, Official Report, column 622W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 March 2002, Official Report, column 1223W, on the Design Champion, which two projects the departmental Design Champion is sponsoring. [73639]

My noble Friend Lord Filkin (the Departmental Design Champion) is sponsoring the new Home Office in Marsham Street, Westminster, and is considering the selection of a second project. He will make this known when a decision has been made.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of the correlation between retail crime and street crime; [54570](2) if he will make a statement on his assessment of the correlation between retail crime and drug abuse. [54566]

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend, the Member for Brighton Pavilion (David Lepper) on 23 August 2002, Official Report, column 19W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what change there has been in the Partnership Development Fund for crime reduction in the last year. [71218]

The Partnership Development Fund aims to build the capacity of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships to manage the implementation of local projects and strategies to deliver and sustain crime and disorder reduction in their area. The fund enables Crime Reduction Directors located at Government Offices in the Regions and in the National Assembly for Wales to target resources locally. Allocations have been made to Directors totalling £15.54 million in this current financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the responsibilities of Ministers in his Department relating to specific initiatives and in particular police areas in respect of street crime. [65218]

As Minister of State for crime reduction, policing and community safety and children and young people, I have specific responsibility for the street crime initiative within the Home Office.I and nine other Ministers from across Government Departments were asked by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister (Mr. Blair) in May to act as "sponsor" Ministers for the 10 police force areas covered by the street crime initiatives. Their role is to work with the areas' street crime partnerships to ensure that local systems for dealing with street crime victims and offenders are working effectively.The 10 street crime sponser Ministers are:The right hon. Baroness Blackstone: Avon & SomersetThe right hon. Lord Falconer: Greater Manchester

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what change there has been in the partnership development fund for crime reduction in the last year. [69813]

The Partnership Development Fund aims to build the capacity of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships to manage the implementation of local projects and strategies to deliver and sustain crime and disorder reduction in their area. The fund enables Crime Reduction Directors located at Government Offices in the Regions and in the National Assembly for Wales to target resources locally. An allocation has been made to Directors totalling £15.54 million in this current financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the equipment leasing arrangements entered into by his Department in each of the last four years; and what the cost is to public funds in each case. [39084]

The Department does not hold detailed information on expenditure for all equipment leasing arrangements. To provide a full answer would incur disproportionate cost, however, the Department's main leasing arrangements are for the supply of photocopiers and fax machines, the majority of which are provided by Canon and Xerox. I am able to provide these details as follows:

£
Year	Canon	Xerox	Total
2000	1,420,112	15,168	1,435,280
2001	1,932,127	24,765	1,956,892
2002 to date	1,531,517	9,541	1,541,058
Total			4,933,230

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 30 April from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Vida Obiri Yebdah Burgess. [68196]

I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I provided to him on 15 July 2002, Official Report, column 108W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter to him dated 5 June from the right hon Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Liaqat Ali. [72147]

I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 17 July 2002.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 17 June about Mr. Faut Altunyurt (Ref A 183001). [71350]

[holding answer 22 July 2002]: I wrote on behalf of my right Hon Friend the Home Secretary to the hon Member on 30 September 2002.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Blackpool, South dated 13 December 2001, ref 925/2. [65619]

[holding answer 1 July 2002]: I replied to the hon. Member for Blackpool South on 27 September 2002.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which Scottish newspapers the post of Director-General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate has been advertised. [68848]

[holding answer 11 July 2002]: The post of Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate was advertised in the following media:Sunday TimesThe Guardian and ObserverThe VoiceNew Nation and Asian TimesCaribbean TimesAfrican TimesEastern Eye.Odgers Ray and Berndtson, the consultancy service used to administer the campaign, also advertised the post via the Internet.No newspapers exclusive to Scotland were targeted during this recruitment campaign.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is towards using open source software; and what percentage is used in his Department. [69316]

The choice of software to meet the business needs of the Home Office now largely rests with its strategic ISIT suppliers who are contracted, largely under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), to meet business requirements and provide value for money solutions, including the consideration of open source solutions. In the main, the Home Office no longer chooses specific software. Within our business requirements the Home Office ensure that any technical choices should meet relevant government software standards and provide for interoperability with our public and business partners. The Home Office supports and will respond where appropriate to Office of Government Commerce competition initiatives which encourage the availability of choice in the software marketplace. The Government's policy for Open Source Software was published in July 2002 and is available at the following web address http://www.govtalk.gov.ukCurrent suppliers to the Home Office are not known to extensively use, or have plans for implementing, open source software. None of the major non-PFI delivered projects utilise open source software.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received from the public concerning the position of victims of crimes. [66337]

The Home Office receives regular correspondence from victims of crime. Home Office Ministers and officials also have regular contact with Victim Support and other organisations representing victims of crime and take victims' views fully into account when developing policy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many police sub-stations were open in each constabulary in each of the last five years; [62365](2) how many police stations were open to the public 24 hours per day in each constabulary in each of the last five years. [62367]

I refer the hon Member to the reply given to the hon Member for Maidenhead (Theresa May) on 22 July 2002, Official Report, column 829W on the number of functioning police stations in police forces in each year since 1997.Information on how many stations are open 24 hours per day is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average daily number of mobile traffic units operating radar guns in the Metropolitan Police area has been for the last 12 months for which figures are available. [31022]

Radar guns are a type of handheld mobile speed detection device for use at the roadside. There are also laser devices used in the same way. The Government does not collect information about the use of such devices. The Metropolitan Police estimate that on any given day there are at least seven mobile hand—held speed detection devices for roadside use taken out in police patrol vehicles across London.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding is available through his Department for (a) education on, and (b) prevention of, volatile substance abuse. [73372]

Information about the dangers of volatile substance abuse is provided as part of drug education in schools. This is funded by the Department of Health, for whom volatile substance abuse is also a priority. The Department will, however, be issuing £4.5 million in 2002–03 to support the delivery of Young People Substance Misuse Plans. These plans are developed by all Drug Action Teams to outline how services will be expanded so that all young people requiring drugs services receive them. This will incorporate education and prevention of volatile substance misuse.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants have been returned to France since June 1997 under the terms of the Sangatte Protocol. [63189]

[holding answer 20 June 2002]: An agreement was signed with France dated 20 April 1995 in relation to the taking back of passengers who are refused admission on arrival in the United Kingdom ("the 1995 Agreement").That agreement covers, among other things, the arrival of persons through the Channel Tunnel and therefore has the effect of qualifying the Sangatte Protocol. But it also relates to passengers travelling between France and United Kingdom via the Channel ports. The 1995 Agreement provided that, in relation to asylum seekers, it would be superseded by the relevant provisions of the Dublin Convention once that Convention came into force. The Dublin Convention came into force on 1 September 1997. Therefore, from that dates in relation to those claiming asylum, the provisions of the Dublin Convention prevail in so far as that Convention determines which State is responsible for deciding the claim.Figures for illegal entrants returned to France under the 1995 Agreement from June 1997 are not available, but locally collated management statistics from 2001 onwards indicate that, in 2001, 6,828 passengers who arrived at the port of Dover who did not claim asylum and did not qualify for entry to the United Kingdom, were returned to France under the 1995 Agreement. In the first quarter of 2002 that figure was 2,385.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out his timetable for deciding whether further special grants will be paid to Greater Manchester Police in respect of the cost of policing the Commonwealth Games. [41411]

[holding answer 8 March 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 14 May 2002, Official Report, column 603W.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the efficacy of computer technology in matching fingerprints. [72119]

With the introduction of the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS), all of the fingerprint bureaux of England and Wales now have the ability to access, store and search national databases of both "ten-prints" from arrestees and marks from scenes of crime. The ability to automate the processing of fingerprints is a huge efficiency gain for the Police Service, where previously this was an extremely labour intensive process.While the main advantage of NAFIS is speed of search, human expertise is still required. At the forefront of fingerprint detection is the multi-disciplined team of photographers, biologists and chemists who are tasked to enhance the retrieval of fingerprint at crime scenes, and the fingerprint Officers who verify matches and make the identification of marks from scenes of crime.Response times using NAFIS have meant that arresting officers can now definitively identify persons in custody and associate them with any previous criminal history, in under an hour. Scenes of crime mark searching have equally benefited from the introduction of NAFIS and it is possible for fingerprint bureaux to obtain the responses to searches against the entire National database in under an hour.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the possible health implications of the use of the Terrestrial Trunk Radio Systems within the airwave network; and what reports he studied in order to reach conclusions from his assessment. [23182]

[holding answer 17 December 2001]: British Telecom operate the Terrestrial Trunk Radio (TETRA) systems that form part of the infrastructure which supports the Airwave network. Network operators in the United Kingdom are obliged by law to ensure that all of their installations are compliant with Health and Safety legislation. This legislation is enacted to ensure that all workers and members of the public are protected, in line with National Radiological Protection Board recommendations. There are no unique features of the TETRA systems used in support of the Airwave network that would require special assessment.The Home Office takes an active interest in Airwave health and safety issues and is sponsoring a programme of work to address the recommendations of independent scientific experts. These recommendations relate to the mobile radio part of the nextwork, which uses TETRA technology. Details of this work are available on the Home Office website.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Security Industry Authority will enforce training standards for (a) door supervisors, (b) wheel clampers and (c) other sectors within the security industry. [58172]