Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 14 June 2006
Church Commissioners
Commissioners Chief Accounting Officer
The Secretary, appointed by the Church Commissioners, is the principal officer responsible to the Commissioners for the conduct of all business in their name and on their behalf. The current Secretary is Andrew Brown BSc (Hons) FRICS. He qualified as a chartered surveyor in 1982 and after 13 years in private practice, the last three as a partner, he joined the Church Commissioners as their first chief surveyor. He was appointed Secretary in 2003.
Transport
A3 Hindhead Improvement Scheme
We are continuing to consider the inspector’s report into this scheme alongside the advice from the south east region on the priority it attaches to the improvement of the A3 at Hindhead within the indicative funding allocation for major transport schemes in the south east. We hope to make an announcement on the way forward for this scheme before the summer recess.
Criminal Offences
The question is taken to refer to criminal offences created directly in primary (rather than subordinate) legislation sponsored by the Department for Transport that received Royal Assent in the period 1 May 2005 to 9 June 2006.
No criminal offences have been created directly by such legislation during this period.
Departmental Pension Liability
Pension liabilities are not estimated for individual Departments. They are estimated for individual pension schemes.
HM Treasury have produced a technical note which shows the breakdown in liabilities per pension scheme. This note was placed in the Library of the House on 2 March 2006 following an oral statement in Parliament by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Government Car Service
The Government car service operates eight cars made by Peugeot/Citroen.
Highways Agency
Vehicles operated by Highways Agency employed staff as part of the traffic officer vehicle fleet are as follows:
Model Number Land Rover Range Rover TD6 SE Auto 7 Land Rover Discovery 2.7 TDV6 S Auto 32 Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2 DiD Classic Auto 50 Nissan Pathfinder 2.5 dci SE Auto 26 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0 D4d Lc3 Auto 36 Total 151
Motor Traders
There is no intention to accept motor trade policies as evidence of insurance for vehicles registered in different names, unless a satisfactory link between the policy and the keeper can be established.
When a vehicle is licensed, the law requires evidence that there is insurance in force in relation to the keeper’s use of the vehicle. Motor trade policies provide cover for vehicles in the policyholder’s possession, allowing the trader to drive a vehicle in the course of business. This cover does not extend to the re-licensing of vehicles except when a vehicle is registered in the policyholder’s name.
Road Safety
The Department’s revised guidance to local traffic authorities on setting local speed limits will be published in the coming weeks.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Badgers
(2) whether he plans to start the cull of badgers on the same date in England as in Wales.
No decision has yet been made on whether to cull badgers. However, given the seriousness of the disease situation. We aim to proceed as quickly as possible while giving the issue the thorough consideration it requires. The decision is not a simple one and we are taking into account all the evidence.
In considering this decision we will liaise closely with the Welsh Assembly Government.
Coastal Access
We do not hold information on the exact number of locations where the UK coastline is inaccessible, or the reasons for this. It would be at disproportionate cost to gather this information.
Commons Bill
The Trap Grounds judgment has clarified rights and protections over greens, and reversed the earlier ruling that action taken on land after a registration application can affect the determination of the application.
The judgment has no significant implications for the current drafting of the Commons Bill, but we intend to clarify the term “local inhabitants” in clause 15 in the light of relevant remarks on the judgment.
Correspondence
I apologise for the delay in replying to the hon. Member's letter. A response was issued on 9 June 2006.
Deceased Horses
We have recently consulted on proposals to recover microchips from dead horses in line with Council Directives 90/426/EEC and 90/427/EEC. The consultation closed on 2 June and a response will be issued shortly.
Departmental Expenditure
The information requested is in the following tables.
Vendor name Total (£) Snowie 52,104,548.54 ADAS Consulting Ltd. 43,116,767.38 J D M Midlands Ltd. 32,422,787.45 Carillion Building 22,888,509.96 Cumbria Waste Management Ltd. 19,279,807.43 Greyhound Plant Services 18,547,297.02 Atos Origin IT Services UK Ltd. 17,713,023.32 Citex Property & Facilities 16,612,220.86 Sungard Sherwood Systems Ltd. 15,908,892.90 Barr Ltd. 15,037,846.27
Vendor name Total (£) T X U Warm Front Ltd. 51,076,421.84 Fujitsu Services Ltd. 25,701,067.05 ADAS Consulting Ltd. 20,509,113.40 Sema UK Ltd. 19,866,954.53 Sherwood International Group Ltd. 16,244,929.20 Ineos Fluor Ltd. 8,599,347.99 Prudential Prop Investment Managers Ltd. 8,072,617.52 Citex Professional Services Ltd. 7,640,578.10 L G C Limited 6,524,579.54 Walter Lilly & Co Ltd. 6,475,931.82
Vendor name Total (£) T X U Warm Front Ltd. 42,339,918.28 Atos Origin IT Services UK Ltd. 25,427,385.15 Fujitsu Services Ltd. 22,523,122.39 Shepherd Construction Ltd. 22,032,872.75 Sungard Sherwood Systems Ltd. 20,606,648.32 ADAS Consulting Ltd. 17,947,361.18 L G C Limited 11,869,607.39 Ineos Fluor Ltd. 8,599,347.99 Prudential Prop Investment Managers Ltd 8,322,218.23 P A Consulting Group 6,899,587.19
Vendor name Total (£) Powergen Warm Front Ltd. 45,608,787.33 Atos Origin IT Services UK Ltd. 38,972,053.09 IBM United Kingdom Ltd. 27,553,043.55 ADAS Consulting Ltd. 16,203,252.37 Fujitsu Services Ltd. 14,291,390.70 Sungard Sherwood Systems Ltd. 13,401,396.55 Shepherd Construction Ltd. 11,764,738.01 Overbury Plc. 11,559,685.86 Citex 11,433,165.67 Prudential Prop. Investment Managers Ltd. 10,065,515.29
Vendor name Total (£) IBM United Kingdom Ltd. 76,494,621.18 Carillion Services Ltd. 12,520,824.53 ADAS Consulting Ltd. 10,891,788.70 Walter Lilly & Co Ltd. 9,968,584.41 Shepherd Construction Ltd. 8,988,503.71 Prudential Prop Investment Managers Ltd. 8,435,480.73 Overbury Plc. 6,506,083.88 Atos Origin IT Services UK Ltd. 5,949,934.53 Barclaycard Business Issuing 5,751,629.76 Lombard North Central Plc. 5,099,360.68
Fisheries
[holding answer 13 June 2006]: I regard the request from English Nature very seriously. I also recognise that Lyme Bay represents an extremely important fishery for the south west and the socio-economic impact of any action needs to be taken into account in reaching a decision. My officials have attended meetings with English Nature and Southern and Devon Sea fisheries Committees and, more recently, with the newly formed South West Scallopers Association. This dialogue is continuing.
I hope we can urgently broker a local solution to this issue which will be acceptable both for the marine environment and the livelihoods of fishermen. If this is not possible, or if individual scallopers choose not to respect any negotiated agreement, I will not hesitate to accede to English Nature’s request.
Fungaflor
My Department has received representations from the Horticultural Development Council, the Cucumber Growers Association and a cucumber grower about both fungaflor and a possible substitute product.
GM Crops
The Commission’s general policy is that coexistence measures should be proportionate and science-based, and that they are best determined and implemented at member state level. This is confirmed in the recommended guidelines that the Commission has issued to help member states develop their national coexistence strategies. These are available at http://ec.europa.eu/comm/agriculture/publi/reports/coexistence2/guide_en.pdf. More up to date background on the Commission’s thinking in this area is contained in the report that it issued earlier this year on the implementation of national coexistence measures. This can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/comm/agriculture /coexistence/com104_en.pdf.
Ivory
Since 2004, 174 Article 10 certificates for ivory have been granted under Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97. The certificates cover a range of products including jewellery, walking sticks, chess sets and carved figures. Items under each certificate are detailed in the following table.
Item Number Five items of carved ivory jewellery: Ivory solid bangle 1 Ivory-beaded necklace 1 One ivory heart-shaped pendant 1 Two ivory drop earrings 2 Ivory tusk carved into a group of elephants. 1 Chess set with sixteen carved ivory pieces. 1 Carved ivory figure of a Japanese woman carrying a fan. 1 Ivory carving of a group of three rhinos. 1 Ivory carving of hippo. 1 Carved ivory head of a woman. 1 Ivory carving of a man carrying a pack. 1 Carved ivory pots with lids. 2 Decorated ivory vase. 1 Ivory carving of a man sitting on a decorative sphere. 1 Ivory carving of an African woman carrying a pot on her head. 1 Ivory carving of a crocodile. 1 Brooch with a carved ivory rose bud feature?circa 1950. 1 Gold mounted cello bow with an ivory face plate. 1 Pair of ivory salad servers (two in total) acquired approx. 1958 1 Thorn walking stick with horn knob handle and ivory spacer. 1 Ox horn walking stick with silver cap handle and ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with ebony dog handle with ivory eyes and ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with carved walnut lion head handle on Malacca with ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with ebony crook with ivory insets and ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with walnut pear cap and ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with snake wood crook and large ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with ebony crutch and ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with rosewood crutch and ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with rosewood crosshead and ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with carved ebony dog handle and ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with snake wood crutch and ivory spacer. 1 Certificates, each for one walking stick with violet wood trumpet top and ivory spacer. 2 Walking stick with walnut pistol butt on rosewood and ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with ebony crutch and ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with rosewood greyhound and ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with ox horn knob and ebony and ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with buffalo horn, ducks head and ivory washer and spacer. 1 Certificates, each for one walking stick with walnut boars head, ivory washer and tusks with ivory spacer. 2 Walking stick with carved sheep head on hazel, ivory washer with ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with carved staghorn, ivory washer with ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with buffalo shepherds crook, ivory washer with ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with carved wood boar, ivory tusks with ivory spacer 1 Walking stick with carved ivory dog head on ebony with gilt collar. 1 Walking stick with carved ivory skull on ebony. 1 Walking stick with carved ivory elephant on ebony. 1 Walking stick with carved ivory deer on Palmyra, gilt collar. 1 Walking stick with carved ivory bulldog head on snakewood, silver collar. 1 Walking stick with ivory and hardwood spacer stick. 1 Walking stick with rosewood, walrus ivory handle with elephant ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with ebony, walrus ivory handle with elephant ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with lancewood, walrus ivory handle with elephant ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with ebony, with elephant ivory handle and spacer. 1 Certificates, each for one walking stick with rosewood, walrus ivory handle with elephant ivory spacer. 2 Walking stick ebony, elephant ivory handle and walrus ivory spacer. 1 Walking stick with ebony, ivory handle and spacer. 1 Silver mounted viola bow by J. Finkel with ivory head plate circa 1960 1 Silver mounted viola bow by R. Grunke with ivory head plate circa 1950. 1 Ivory carving representing four standing revolutionary figures .circa 1966-70. 1 Carved wood boars head with ivory tusks, on rosewood stick. 1 Horn thimble cap on ebony stick with ivory spacer. 1 Certificates, each for one carved horn hoof on hazel stick with ivory spacer. 2 Carved wood boars head with ivory tusks on hazel stick, with ivory spacer. 1 Carved wood ox head with ivory horns on hazel stick, with ivory spacer. 1 Carved horn toad on log, on a blackthorn stick, with ivory spacer. 1 Carved wood hares head, on a Palmyra stick, with ivory spacer. 1 Gents maple crook stick, inlay ivory pattern on nose. 1 Ladies maple crook stick, inlay ivory pattern on nose. 1 Gents acacia crook stick, ivory slipper cap on nose. 1 Ladies acacia crook stick, ivory slipper cap on nose. 1 Gents rosewood crutch handle on maple stick with ivory spacer. 1 Gents olive wood crutch handle on maple stick with ivory spacer. 1 Certificates, each for one carved wood duck head umbrella with ivory spacer 2 Certificates, each for one carved ivory whistle 3 Carved ivory figures representing men holding ritual objects. 8 Ivory and silver paper knife. 1 Ivory tusk carved with the figure of a woman with a headdress. 1 Silver and ivory mounted violin bow by Louis Gillet. 1 Gold and ivory mounted violin bow by Marcel Lapierre. 1 Gold and ivory mounted violin bow by Johanned Finkel. 1 Silver and ivory mounted violin bow by Percival Wilfred Bryant 1 Silver and ivory mounted violin bow by H.R Pfreteschner 1 Silver coloured metal and ivory ewer. 1 Silver coloured metal and ivory peppermill. 1 Gold and ivory mounted viola bow, by Malcolm Taylor. Circa 1975. 1 Certificates, each for one ivory bracelet polished and worked into torus shape with roughly square profile. 12 Certificates, each for one ivory bracelet polished and worked into torus shape with d profile. 2 Ivory bracelet polished and worked into torus shape with triangular profile. 1 Certificates, each for one ivory bracelet polished and worked into torus shape with flattened u profile. 2 Silver mounted violin bow with an ivory head plate, W.E. Hill and Sons, circa 1948. 1 Silver and ivory mounted violin bow. Circa 1950. 1 Carved ivory magic ball and one carved ivory base of three horses. 1 Carved hollow tusk depicting three giraffes. 1 Silver mounted violin bow by Jacques Audinot. Circa 1960. 1 Gold mounted violin, the bow has an ivory head plate. 1 Ivory carving of a male head, with cracks in base and on side of head. 1 Carved ivory horse, circa 1957.one carved Hindu goddess, circa 1957. 1 Carved ivory horses, purchased in United Arab Emirates circa 1971. 7 Certificates, each for one ivory tusk carved with people. 2 Ivory tusk carved with elephants. 1 Walking stick with carved buffalo horn and elephants head mounted on ebony. 1 Elephant tusk with carved animals. 1 Ivory thermometer acquired circa, 1947 1 A metal tea set comprising teapot, sugar bowl and milk jug. Teapot contains ivory, circa 1957 — Silver jug with rosewood and ivory handle, circa 1957 1 A metal tea set comprising coffee pot and cover, sugar bowl and milk jug. Coffee pot contains ivory. — Necklace containing ivory, moonstone and pewter, circa 1972-1973 1 Ivory and silver necklace by Caroline Broadhead with matching earrings, circa 1973 1 Gold and ivory mounted violin bow by Garner Wilson, circa 1970. 1 Nickel mounted child’s violin bow with ivory head plate by Morizot Freres. Circa 1950. 1 Silver mounted cello bow with ivory head plate by Albert Nurnberger 1 Silver mounted cello bow with ivory head plate by Roger Francois Lotte. Circa 1950. 1 Ivory walking stick acquired pre-1972 1 Certificates, each for one carved ivory knife acquired pre-1972 2 Certificates, each for one carved ivory crocodile acquired pre-1972 5 Carved ivory figure of a woman acquired pre-1972 1 Carved ivory tusk with a number of figures acquired pre-1972 1 Carved ivory head acquired pre-1972 1 Carved ivory ornament acquired pre-1972 1 Certificates, each for one small elephant tusk with small leaves carved at the lip end. 2 A thirty two piece ivory chess set, circa 1960. — Ivory pieces. — Certificates, each for one ivory tusk. 2 Certificates, each for one juvenile elephant tusk. 2 Certificates, each for one elephant tusk 17 Worked ivory tusk depicting five elephants moving through bush. 1 Certificates, each for one silver mounted ivory tusk. 2 Certificates, each for two uncarved ivory tusks mounted on a wooden plinth with a gong. 2 Portions of elephant tusks in stands. 2 Carved elephant tusk. 1 Unworked elephant tusk with branded markings. 1
Ministerial Visits (Accommodation)
The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Department records expenditure as either for the UK or other countries. The core Department and most of its agencies differentiate between overnight accommodation costs and other travel expenses.
(a) Civil Servants 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 UK 345 326 513 Abroad 474 570 603 (b) Special Advisers UK 1,220 2,044 2,487 Abroad 698 702 910 Note: These figures exclude the Rural Payments Agency and the Central Science Laboratory.
Payment Schemes
[holding answer 12 June 2006]: The information is as follows:
103,005 applications were received by 31 May.
120,367 applications were received for 2005 (this is up to the final deadline on 10 June 2005).
[holding answer 12 June 2006]: The current planned budget sum to cover payments for these schemes, which form part of the England Rural Development Programme (including domestic and European funds) during 2006-07, is:
£ million Entry Level Stewardship (includes Organic Entry Level Stewardship) 66 Higher Level Stewardship 3 Other environmental and rural development policies which come under the umbrella of the England Rural Development Programme 1342.7 1 Includes Countryside Stewardship Scheme, Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme, Energy Crops Scheme, Organic Farming Scheme, Woodland Grant Scheme, Farm Woodland and Farm Woodland Premium Scheme Rural Enterprise Scheme, Vocational Training Scheme and Processing and Marketing Grant.
Due to the nature of Entry and Higher Level Stewardship, payments commence some time after agreements are entered into. Consequently, the value of payments shown above for 2006-07 reflects scheme uptake activity from the previous financial year (2005-06).
Arrangements for the Hill Farm Allowance for this financial year are currently being considered, in light of the recently closed public consultation on support for upland areas.
The transition between the current and new England Rural Development Programme takes place on 1 January 2007. Funding arrangements from 2007 onwards are currently being discussed within government. The above figures should be seen as indicative only until these discussions have concluded.
All partial payments under the Single Payment scheme have been calculated at a rate of 80 per cent. However, the calculation took account of data held in RPA's validation system at a specific point in time, which in some cases meant payment was reduced to reflect late claim penalties.
Details of payments made in England up to 30 June 2006, including by constituency and county, will be published in due course.
Poultry Culling
There are no formally agreed levels of poultry culling capability. However, there are a range of culling methods available to the state veterinary service. These include maceration (for day old chicks only), lethal injection, neck dislocation, percussion killers, gassing in containers, whole-house gassing and, as a last resort when no other method is practicable, ventilation shutdown.
Killing capacity has been progressively increased over the last two years through the establishment of contingency contracts with catchers and equipment suppliers. Capacity has been further increased since January 2006 through the development of a system based on the gassing of poultry in containers using a mixture of argon and carbon dioxide; the Department has commissioned 50 of these units, each capable of killing 2,000 chickens per hour. In addition, we have purchased a number of percussion killers for use on larger birds and plan to further increase our capability to gas poultry in their sheds.
However, it is not possible to state the total killing capacity per month because this figure depends on a variety of factors. These include the age and species of poultry, the housing system, the size, location, quantity and geographic spread of the affected holdings, and the availability of catchers, gas and resources.
Rural Payments Agency
Arrangements for the 2006 Single Payment Scheme, including the possible use of partial payments, are discussed regularly at the fortnightly meetings that my noble Friend Lord Rooker, and the Interim Chief Executive of the Rural Payments Agency have with industry leaders. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has also had a useful discussion on the issue with the Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel.
The following tables show the staff numbers, broken down as requested.
2001-02 October November December January February March Permanent 2,940 2,950 2,915 2,904 2,934 2,954 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 70 77 93 110 126 149 Casuals 231 252 278 290 270 248 Total (Actual Staff numbers) 3,241 3,279 3,286 3,304 3,330 3,351 Permanent 2,845.28 2,839.25 2,801.31 2,788.97 2,816.02 2,834.72 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 70.27 76.81 92.55 108.91 124.91 146.88 Casuals 230.81 249.73 275.27 287.00 268.00 246.05 Total (Full-time equivalent) 3,146.36 3,165.79 3,169.13 3,184.88 3,208.93 3,227.66 Note: During this period the Intervention Board (IBEA) amalgamated with the Rural Development Service (RDS)
April May June July August September Permanent 2,935 2,902 2,868 2,830 2,828 2,811 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 187 208 213 212 213 211 Casuals 265 255 278 358 364 399 Total (Actual Staff numbers) 3,387 3,365 3,359 3,400 3,405 3,421 Permanent 2,816.39 2,782.36 2,759.32 2,719.02 2,715.03 2,699.59 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 184.30 204.78 210.54 209.54 209.78 209.78 Casuals 263.22 252.82 276.20 355.42 361.23 397.09 Total (Full-time equivalent) 3,263.91 3,239.97 3,246.06 3,283.98 3,286.05 3,306.46
October November December January February March Permanent 2,796 2,782 2,761 2,757 2,752 2,741 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 250 282 311 311 348 379 Casuals 334 393 373 363 359 339 Total (Actual Staff numbers) 3,380 3,457 3,445 3,431 3,459 3,459 Permanent 2,683.14 2,675.05 2,649.30 2,645.26 2,638.22 2,627.69 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 247.05 278.67 307.48 307.48 344.48 375.29 Casuals 331.59 390.49 370.55 359.55 354.90 335.99 Total (Full-time equivalent) 3,261.79 3,344.21 3,327.33 3,312.29 3,337.60 3,338.97
April May June July August September Permanent 2,717 2,680 2,677 2,637 2,611 3,076 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 379 382 387 454 467 495 Casuals 303 280 291 314 310 318 Total (Actual Staff numbers) 3,399 3,342 3,355 3,405 3,388 3,889 Permanent 2,605.16 2,567.80 2,565.33 2,524.84 2,499.17 2,948.51 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 374.90 377.90 382.44 449.25 462.17 489.96 Casuals 300.25 277.60 286.70 310.89 307.08 315.21 Total (Full-time equivalent) 3,280.31 3,223.30 3,234.47 3,284.98 3,268.42 3,753.68
October November December January February March Permanent 3,058 3,025 3,003 2,982 2,972 2,962 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 499 490 492 488 516 507 Casuals 274 276 304 315 312 321 Total (Actual Staff numbers) 3,831 3,791 3,799 3,785 3,800 3,790 Permanent 2,925.31 2,890.04 2,868.36 2,847.48 2,835.56 2,819.40 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 494.42 485.78 488.17 483.85 511.70 502.12 Casuals 271.60 274.06 300.20 311.20 307.25 316.28 Total (Full-time equivalent) 3,691.33 3,649.88 3,656.73 3,642.53 3,654.51 3,637.80 Note: The large rise in staff numbers between August and September is due to the amalgamation of BCMS into RPA
April May June July August September Permanent 2,944 2,916 2,900 2,894 2,889 2,874 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 501 467 464 479 482 465 Casuals 323 323 339 380 424 436 Total (Actual Staff numbers) 3,768 3,706 3,703 3,753 3,795 3,775 Permanent 2,802.82 2,776.96 2,764.02 2,758.97 2,753.95 2,738.76 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 496.19 460.75 457.35 470.55 473.71 455.65 Casuals 317.82 318.21 334.22 375.93 420.19 431.78 Total (Full-time equivalent) 3,616.83 3,555.92 3,555.58 3,605.45 3,647.85 3,626.20
October November December January February March Permanent 2,838 2,824 2,791 2,751 2,718 2,695 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 437 426 422 417 403 399 Casuals 449 458 486 502 509 512 Total (Actual Staff numbers) 3,724 3,708 3,699 3,670 3,630 3,606 Permanent 2,700.93 2,685.32 2,651.86 2,611.94 2,581.54 2,560.12 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 427.36 416.53 411.98 406.73 393.67 389.62 Casuals 443.86 451.57 479.57 495.57 502.62 505.24 Total (Full-time equivalent) 3,572.15 3,553.41 3,543.40 3,514.24 3,477.83 3,454.98
April May June July August September Permanent 2,654 2,579 2,527 2,524 2,325 2,290 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 376 357 345 340 295 292 Casuals 515 539 531 576 526 505 Total (Actual Staff numbers) 3,545 3,475 3,403 3,440 3,146 3,087 Permanent 2,521.10 2,449.90 2,399.95 2,396.33 2,209.98 2,174.03 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 367.61 349.37 337.77 333.69 289.20 286.20 Casuals 508.91 534.42 525.92 567.84 521.04 501.32 Total (Full-time equivalent) 3,397.62 3,333.69 3,263.63 3,297.86 3,020.21 2,961.55
October November December January February March Permanent 2,278 2,262 2,250 2,230 2,235 2,312 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 286 281 280 277 307 314 Casuals 489 571 592 588 591 591 Total (Actual Staff numbers) 3,053 3,114 3,122 3,095 3,133 3,217 Permanent 2,160.84 2,142.79 2,129.95 2,110.66 2,112.26 2,187.72 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 280.09 275.13 273.29 270.24 300.01 307.01 Casuals 480.69 548.84 559.80 557.78 561.04 563.18 Total (Full-time equivalent) 2,921.62 2,966.76 2,963.03 2,938.68 2,973.31 3,057.90
April May Permanent 2,301 2,348 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 295 322 Casuals 577 565 Total (Actual Staff numbers) 3,173 3,235 Permanent 2,174.85 2,219.31 FTA (Fixed Term Appointments) 287.41 314.41 Casuals 550.19 538.61 Total (Full-time equivalent) 3,012.44 3,072.33 Note: The rise in staff numbers between April and May is due to the amalgamation of Horticultural Marketing Inspectorate (HMI) and Defra's Investigation Branch (IB) into RPA
Single Farm Payments
Feed merchants are, to varying effects, likely to be affected by the cash-flow issues faced by farming business waiting for receipt of payments under the 2005 Single Payment Scheme (SPS). Over £1.3 billion, representing 89 per cent. of the total value of such payments, has been disbursed and the Rural Payments Agency remains focused on paying the outstanding sums as soon as possible for the benefit of all concerned.
The Rural Payments Agency contributed to the advice supplied to Ministers before the decision was taken to adopt the flat rate model of the Single Payment Scheme. That advice pointed to a greater degree of challenge in implementing a flat rate, as opposed to a historical, model of the SPS, but at no point was any suggestion made that the chosen model was undeliverable. Given that EU regulations required member states implementing the SPS in 2005 to notify the Commission of their chosen models by 1 August 2004, subsequent assessment of different models would not serve any practical purpose.
As at 6 June 2006 the number of full and partial payments made under the Single Payment Scheme was 96,000, with a total value of £1.33 billion.
The average payment based on the above values is £14,000.
The total number of single payment scheme customers is approximately 120,000. As at 6 June 2006, 24,000 customers had not received either a full or partial payment.
Details of payments made in England up to 30 June 2006, including by constituency and county, will be published in due course.
The payment window for the 2006 Single Payment Scheme opens on 1 December 2006 and runs until 30 June 2007.
The Rural Payments Agency is working hard to ensure that payments are made as soon as possible within this time frame. Staff have already started basic validation checks on a proportion of the 2006 application forms.
The question of interest arises only in respect of payments made after the legal deadline of 30 June. We have not reached that point yet and I do not want to deflect the Rural Payments Agency in the interim period from concentrating on its main priority, which is to ensure that outstanding payments are made as soon as possible.
The Department and the European Commission are in regular contact in order to help further our common interest in ensuring that the Single Payment Scheme is implemented as smoothly as possible.
Experience among member states implementing the Single Payment Scheme in 2005 has indicated that there is a greater degree of challenge in implementing flat rate models. However, the precise timing of payments in each member state will have been dependent on a range of factors.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derby, South explained her reasons for adopting the flat rate model of the Single Payment Scheme when she announced that decision on 12 February 2004, Official Report, column 1585. This followed analysis of advice and supporting data from officials, responses to a public consultation document and discussions with stakeholders.
Tendring Hundred Water Company
The Environment Agency's report, “Drought Prospects 2006—Spring Update”, explains the likely consequences of a continuing rainfall deficit and recommends action by water companies. The report recommends that water companies in Norfolk and Suffolk should monitor their water resources carefully and be prepared to take further steps to manage supply and demand if the drought intensifies. This report is available from the Agency's website:
www.environment-agency.gov.uk.
Each water company has specific plans to manage short-term water shortages depending on the severity of a drought. These drought plans are a statutory requirement, and also subject to public consultation. A consultation on Tendring Hundred Water services draft drought plan is currently in progress. This can be viewed on the company's website at:
http://www.thws.co.uk/
Water Shortages
The Secretary of State and I met with representatives of the water industry, including water companies, on 1 June. Leakage reduction was discussed and a commitment was reached to keep leakage targets—set by the Economic Regulator—under review, taking account of costs, technology and best practice. All parties are set to meet again before the end of the year.
Ofwat is responsible for leakage target setting and enforcement. A Leakage Study commissioned jointly by Ofwat, the Environment Agency and Defra was published in March 2003, and all water companies were asked by Ofwat to update their appraisals of leakage in line with best practice identified in the study. Ofwat assesses the leakage appraisals to ensure that water companies meet the best practice principles identified in the report.
The study is available at: http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/aptrix/ofwat/publish.nsf/Content/tripartitestudycon tents.
Water Supplies
Water company leakage figures are published annually by the water services regulation authority (publicly known as Ofwat) in the ‘Security of supply, leakage and the efficient use of water’ reports. Total water company leakage for each year since 1996-97, in megalitres per day, was reported as follows:
1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Anglian 242 240 206 190 194 224 192 216 214 Bournemouth and W Hants 29 26 26 23 23 22 22 22 22 Bristol 65 59 56 54 55 55 53 53 53 Cambridge 16 14 13 13 13 14 14 14 14 Dee Valley 13 12 12 13 12 11 11 10 11 Dwr Cymru 357 329 306 288 260 224 192 216 214 Folkestone and Dover 12 9 9 8 9 8 8 8 8 Mid Kent 38 36 30 29 29 29 28 30 29 Northumbrian North 192 184 171 168 164 161 153 160 155 Northumbrian South 85 82 76 73 72 73 67 70 67 Portsmouth 31 32 31 30 30 30 30 30 30 Severn Trent1 479 399 344 340 340 340 514 512 502 South East 99 108 98 97 85 75 72 69 69 South Staffordshire 90 82 77 76 72 71 71 71 74 South West 129 101 92 84 84 83 84 84 83 Southern 113 99 95 93 92 92 92 92 92 Sutton and East Surrey 27 26 25 24 24 24 24 24 24 Tendring 6 6 6 5 6 5 5 5 5 Thames 108 906 770 662 688 865 943 946 915 Three Valleys 199 172 157 145 140 157 152 152 149 United Utilities 666 579 510 487 463 452 465 479 500 Wessex 129 110 100 88 84 79 75 75 73 Yorkshire 430 377 342 317 304 297 296 295 293 1 In spring 2003, Severn Trent Water revised its water balance data. The company attributed most of the increase in leakage to methodological changes.
Education and Skills
Building Bulletin 100
Public consultation on Building Bulletin (BB) 100, “Designing and Managing Against the Risk of Fire in Schools”, concluded in November last year. There were 66 responses to the 12 questions asked and many included additional comments, some extensive. An analysis of these responses has been completed and will shortly be published on the Department’s website.
This feedback has now been incorporated into a new draft of BB 100, which is being internally reviewed. We hope to publish the final, agreed version before the end of this year.
Class Sizes
Information on class sizes in Havering local authority area is given in the table. This shows that the average size of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 classes has decreased since 2002. The average size of classes in secondary schools has remained the same.
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 (provisional) Key Stage 1 classes4 Average class size 26.6 26.7 26.6 26.1 26.2 Number of classes 294 291 273 284 277 Percentage of classes with: 1-30 pupils 99.3 100.0 100.0 100.0 98.9 31 or more pupils 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.1 Number of pupils 7,823 7,762 7,268 7,416 7,249 Percentage of pupils in classes with: 1-30 pupils 99.2 100.0 100.0 100.0 98.7 31 or more pupils5 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.3 Key Stage 2 classes Average class size 27.5 27.5 27.6 27.3 26.8 Number of classes 402 392 368 384 390 Percentage of classes with: 1-30 pupils 71.9 77.6 80.2 81.8 87.2 31 or more pupils 28.1 22.4 19.8 18.2 12.8 Number of pupils 11,058 10,764 10,159 10,501 10,434 Percentage of pupils in classes with: 1-30 pupils 67.2 73.7 77.3 78.4 84.7 31 or more pupils 32.8 26.3 22.7 21.6 15.3 Classes in primary schools Average class size 27.1 27.1 27.1 26.7 26.5 Number of classes 719 706 686 692 686 Percentage of classes with: 1-30 pupils 83.2 87.0 88.0 89.2 91.7 31 or more pupils 16.8 13.0 12.0 10.8 8.3 Number of pupils 19,506 19,137 18,613 18,509 18,181 Percentage of pupils in classes with: 1-30 pupils 79.9 84.4 85.8 86.8 89.9 31 or more pupils 20.1 15.6 14.2 13.2 10.1 Classes in secondary schools Average class size 21.8 21.7 22.0 21.9 21.8 Number of classes 709 731 732 724 708 Percentage of classes with: 1-30 pupils 94.6 94.1 94.4 93.2 92.5 31 or more pupils 5.4 5.9 5.6 6.8 7.5 Number of pupils 15,457 15,878 16,087 15,846 15,399 Percentage of pupils in classes with: 1-30 pupils 92.2 91.4 91.9 90.2 89.2 31 or more pupils 7.8 8.6 8.1 9.8 10.8 1 Classes as taught during a single selected period in each school on the day of the census in January. 2 Includes middle schools as deemed. 3 For secondary schools, excludes sixth form colleges. 4 Includes reception classes. 5 Key Stage 1 classes of 31 or more may contain pupils who have been admitted as exceptions. Source: Schools’ Census
Education Act 1996 (Prosecutions)
Home Office data for 2004, the latest year for which figures are available, show 8,140 prosecutions in England and Wales under the Education Act 1996. These include:
3,393 prosecutions for truancy under section 444(1);
1,091 prosecutions for truancy under section 444(1A) (the aggravated offence);
3,654 prosecutions for various offences under the Education Act. These are likely to include some prosecutions under sections 444(1) and (1A); and
two prosecutions for child employment offences.
Prosecutions related to section 7 for truancy are brought under section 444 of the Act. Information is not collected on the characteristics of pupils or their families.
Examinations
The awarding bodies AQA, Edexcel and OCR are the only organisations that currently submit GCSE and A-level specifications to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), which regulates qualifications in England. Any other organisations that wished to submit such a specification would have to show that it could abide by the relevant regulations.
Information and Communication Technology
The Department established a high level Technology Group in October 2005 to oversee the system wide implementation of the e-Strategy in England. The Department is supported in this role by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta), and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)—lead delivery partners for the e-Strategy.
The e-Strategy is being delivered through four interlinked transformational programmes:
Strategic Technologies—strategic and cost effective deployment of technological infrastructure.
E-Maturity—building people and institutional capacity for effective use of technology.
Personalised Content—multimedia resources adaptable to learners’ needs and learning styles.
Knowledge Architecture—improving the way in which information is shared and managed to support more personalised learning.
There was no specific funding allocated for the purchase of ICT equipment in 1997. ICT funding allocations for schools in England in each year from 1998 to 2006 are detailed in ‘Funding for ICT in Schools in England’ which is available in the House Library.
From 2006-07 we have moved to a new method of funding for ICT equipment and there is no specific amount for ICT. The amounts previously allocated specifically for ICT have been included in allocations for Devolved Formula Capital and School Development Grant. Schools may use their overall resources, including their Devolved Formula Capital grant and their Schools Development Grant, to purchase ICT equipment and services. This supports schools in their financial management and provides greater flexibility on how they spend funding to target their priorities.
Maintained Schools
The Department does not hold information on whether schools offer level 3 qualifications to pupils in Key Stage 4.
School Fires
The earliest figures we have from the Department for Communities and Local Government are for 2000 and the latest are for 2004. These cover school fires in England and Wales.
Number—fires Total costs (£ million) 2000 1,275 45 2001 1,529 67 2002 1,332 67 2003 1,313 61 2004 1,291 52
The costs are rounded to the nearest million and are derived from the (then) ODPM publication “Economic Cost of Fire, estimates for 2004”. They cover property damage and the costs of the fire and rescue services attending the fires.
School Sprinkler Systems
Last autumn, the Department commissioned the Building Research Establishment to carry out a cost benefit analysis study of installing sprinklers in schools. This will include a quantitative assessment of the costs and benefits of fitting automatic fire suppression systems in new schools, based on actual system costs and proposed system costs. It should therefore provide reliable figures for the costs of installing sprinklers in schools.
The study is continuing and we expect to receive the final report within two months.
School Uniform Grants
The information requested is not collected by the Department for Education and Skills.
Science Laboratories
Capital investment underpins the Government's drive to raise standards of education and we are fully committed to taking forward our programme to renew and improve all schools. Funding for investment in schools is £6.8 billion this year and it will rise to over £8 billion by 2010-11. This compares to under £700 million in 1996-97.
Our aims include rebuilding or renewing all secondary schools through the Building Schools for the Future programme, including their science laboratories, in fifteen waves of investment which started last year. Already about 350 schools have been prioritised in the first three waves, and we aim to include up to a further 600 schools in the next three waves. We also aim to have 200 Academies open or in the pipeline by 2010. In all, by 2010 almost a third of all secondary schools will be funded to improve their science teaching facilities.
Building Schools for the Future is only one of our capital programmes, and is allocated just over a third of the total capital funding for schools. All schools and authorities get additional funding for their priorities. This includes the funding which schools get directly—a typical secondary school will get over £100,000 of its own money this year, which can be rolled over to allow larger projects such as science facilities to be addressed.
We are providing the resources to improve school laboratories where this is the priority. What is now important is to ensure that the new laboratories are designed not just to teach the curriculum, but that they have 21st century facilities and are inspiring places to teach and to learn. Our aim is to enthuse pupils with an interest in science, both as a subject and a possible career. Therefore we are planning shortly to launch a “School Science Labs of the Future” project which will bring together teams of leading designers and bodies with specialist interest in, and practical knowledge of, the teaching and learning of science to develop a range of exemplar designs. The most exciting of these will be built in schools around the country so that there is a range of practical examples to act as benchmarks and to disseminate the learning.
Although this is over a longer timescale, we believe that this is the best way of ensuring comprehensively that all young people have the opportunity to learn in high quality facilities which inspire them to pursue their dreams and achieve their potential, and not be turned off by science.
Standards Fund Grant
Standards Fund Grant 31a existed in 2004-05 and 2005-06. The following table shows the allocations to local authorities in those years (including local authority matched funding).
£ LEA name DfES grant LA Total Corporation of London 25,369 23,289 48,659 Camden 638,246 323,313 961,558 Greenwich 929,030 478,680 1,407,709 Hackney 741,338 377,522 1,118,860 Hammersmith and Fulham 514,969 257,240 772,209 Islington 636,481 339,437 975,919 Kensington and Chelsea 318,385 165,495 483,879 Lambeth 762,731 413,268 1,175,999 Lewisham 938,417 496,180 1,434,597 Southwark 945,383 508,762 1,454,144 Tower Hamlets 1,034,421 523,747 1,558,168 Wandsworth 785,307 412,339 1,197,646 Westminster 552,410 286,569 838,979 Barking 706,361 380,404 1,086,764 Barnet 1,264,921 667,714 1,932,634 Bexley 974,821 517,191 1,492,012 Brent 964,198 511,352 1,475,550 Bromley 1,185,425 629,196 1,814,622 Croydon 1,333,569 691,847 2,025,416 Ealing 1,015,701 538,310 1,554,011 Enfield 1,194,542 611,064 1,805,606 Haringey 867,567 457,988 1,325,554 Harrow 735,539 394,189 1,129,727 Havering 926,259 509,400 1,435,658 Hillingdon 1,014,820 544,709 1,559,530 Hounslow 890,057 478,190 1,368,248 Kingston upon Thames 520,790 284,070 804,860 Merton 565,146 309,081 874,228 Newham 1,155,307 593,878 1,749,184 Redbridge 1,022,492 528,252 1,550,744 Richmond upon Thames 521,472 278,096 799,569 Sutton 710,360 387,731 1,098,091 Waltham Forest 887,501 488,531 1,376,031 Birmingham 4,638,095 2,451,247 7,089,342 Coventry 1,300,932 687,708 1,988,640 Dudley 1,272,967 673,680 1,946,647 Sandwell 1,270,530 697,660 1,968,190 Solihull 964,300 515,823 1,480,124 Walsall 1,216,430 665,402 1,881,832 Wolverhampton 1,087,966 576,668 1,664,633 Knowsley 728,071 402,322 1,130,392 Liverpool 2,018,060 1,094,479 3,112,539 St. Helens 749,709 408,775 1,158,483 Sefton 1,229,079 655,585 1,884,665 Wirral 1,416,085 752,729 2,168,814 Bolton 1,215,699 667,167 1,882,866 Bury 752,860 425,238 1,178,099 Manchester 1,784,035 966,541 2,750,576 Oldham 1,089,744 607,776 1,697,519 Rochdale 926,326 509,051 1,435,377 Salford 942,423 521,403 1,463,826 Stockport 1,136,873 623,703 1,760,575 Tameside 956,565 537,417 1,493,982 Trafford 929,567 513,540 1,443,108 Wigan 1,308,022 733,488 2,041,510 Barnsley 878,071 505,103 1,383,174 Doncaster 1,362,660 782,926 2,145,586 Rotherham 1,235,495 690,499 1,925,993 Sheffield 1,950,661 1,044,345 2,995,006 Bradford 2,159,533 1,183,949 3,343,483 Calderdale 937,365 540,475 1,477,841 Kirklees 1,702,939 974,683 2,677,622 Leeds 2,922,458 1,609,268 4,531,726 Wakefield 1,355,390 767,751 2,123,141 Gateshead 821,693 449,973 1,271,666 Newcastle upon Tyne 1,022,205 539,405 1,561,610 North Tyneside 837,885 437,251 1,275,136 South Tyneside 680,295 368,275 1,048,571 Sunderland 1,222,967 650,513 1,873,481 Isles of Scilly 35,655 31,495 67,150 Bath and North East Somerset 716,583 414,963 1,131,545 Bristol 1,348,544 733,240 2,081,785 North Somerset 742,045 432,521 1,174,567 South Gloucestershire 1,089,066 619,371 1,708,437 Hartlepool 404,872 222,860 627,733 Middlesborough 592,233 313,079 905,312 Redcar and Cleveland 642,454 365,796 1,008,249 Stockton-on-Tees 838,411 450,049 1,288,460 Kingston-upon-Hull 1,029,032 557,049 1,586,080 East Riding of Yorkshire 1,402,450 846,846 2,249,296 North East Lincolnshire 701,278 401,114 1,102,392 North Lincolnshire 724,524 430,809 1,155,333 North Yorkshire 2,882,150 1,805,887 4,688,036 York 678,009 370,565 1,048,574 Bedfordshire 1,797,038 1,079,807 2,876,845 Luton 874,341 436,264 1,310,606 Buckinghamshire 2,052,075 1,216,068 3,268,142 Milton Keynes 919,597 536,020 1,455,617 Derbyshire 3,205,782 1,946,675 5,152,456 Derby City 939,661 532,578 1,472,239 Dorset 1,563,515 945,506 2,509,022 Poole 485,524 260,453 745,976 Bournemouth 515,095 270,055 785,150 Durham 2,288,822 1,341,944 3,630,767 Darlington 404,870 232,427 637,296 East Sussex 1,825,665 1,045,406 2,871,071 Brighton and Hove 790,827 418,483 1,209,309 Hampshire 4,779,980 2,777,432 7,557,412 Portsmouth 707,634 375,228 1,082,862 Southampton 803,848 436,288 1,240,136 Leicestershire 2,598,077 1,521,606 4,119,683 Leicester City 1,260,350 654,614 1,914,963 Rutland 149,431 91,187 240,618 Staffordshire 3,549,366 2,067,269 5,616,635 Stoke-on-Trent 958,068 533,096 1,491,163 Wiltshire 1,942,709 1,222,358 3,165,067 Swindon 750,976 438,539 1,189,516 Bracknell Forest 379,752 213,549 593,301 Windsor and Maidenhead 523,443 307,317 830,760 West Berkshire 706,540 423,433 1,129,973 Reading 478,401 250,418 728,820 Slough 522,917 274,341 797,258 Wokingham 628,608 353,822 982,431 Cambridgeshire 2,157,879 1,316,880 3,474,759 Peterborough 767,752 435,346 1,203,098 Cheshire 2,928,886 1,726,983 4,655,869 Halton 558,327 308,711 867,037 Warrington 821,924 461,644 1,283,569 Devon 2,904,378 1,798,577 4,702,954 Plymouth 1,065,968 570,687 1,636,654 Torbay 475,486 261,024 736,509 Essex 5,424,368 3,123,529 8,547,896 Southend-on-Sea 664,733 361,449 1,026,182 Thurrock 584,031 330,670 914,701 Herefordshire 780,095 492,828 1,272,922 Worcestershire 2,247,542 1,328,330 3,575,872 Kent 5,731,717 3,274,868 9,006,586 Medway 1,104,758 624,246 1,729,003 Lancashire 5,036,448 2,943,831 7,980,280 Blackburn with Darwen 660,125 370,570 1,030,695 Blackpool 523,934 275,150 799,085 Nottinghamshire 3,162,661 1,864,656 5,027,318 Nottingham City 1,060,407 588,632 1,649,040 Shropshire 1,238,181 781,591 2,019,773 Telford and Wrekin 1,284,034 972,846 2,256,880 Cornwall 2,169,031 1,332,816 3,501,847 Cumbria 2,418,583 1,518,508 3,937,091 Gloucestershire 2,516,819 1,517,105 4,033,923 Hertfordshire 4,605,862 2,701,081 7,306,942 Isle of Wight 590,765 349,885 940,649 Lincolnshire 2,977,721 1,833,022 4,810,743 Norfolk 3,425,700 2,125,199 5,550,898 Northamptonshire 2,865,912 1,721,213 4,587,125 Northumberland 1,542,598 954,543 2,497,141 Oxfordshire 2,470,822 1,462,164 3,932,987 Somerset 2,154,983 1,307,743 3,462,727 Suffolk 2,964,114 1,769,284 4,733,397 Surrey 3,689,521 2,114,442 5,803,964 Warwickshire 2,149,805 1,263,875 3,413,681 West Sussex 2,851,475 1,629,395 4,480,871 Total 208,110,851 118,650,000 326,760,851
Student Finance
(2) what total amount of payments collected via the income contingent model was not allocated to student loan accounts in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 1 June 2006.
Student Income and Expenditure Survey
The most current Student Income and Expenditure Survey was carried out in the 2004-05 academic year and was published on the 30 March. It can be found on the internet at: www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR725.pdf. The Department plans to repeat the survey in the 2007-08 academic year.
Culture, Media and Sport
2012 Olympics
Improving the quality of the UK’s hotels, and other visitor accommodation, is a key aim for my Department and its partners in the tourism sector. The grading schemes operated in England, Scotland, and Wales are central to that process of improvement, and to consumer certainty in the quality of the British tourism product.
VisitBritain’s net expenditure on accommodation quality grading work in 2005-06 was £2,374,600 (after Value Added Tax). This figure represents payments to the Quality in Tourism division of GSL, which operates VisitBritain’s quality scheme under contract, less participation fees received. These figures will change over time, but it is likely that a net minimum of £12.5 million will be spent on the quality scheme by VisitBritain from its grant in aid resources over the life of the 5 year contract, to 2010. VisitScotland and the Wales Tourist Board additionally invest significant amounts in their own quality schemes, which have been fully standardised with those of VisitBritain and the Automobile Association since May 2005.
My Department will shortly start a major consultation of the tourism sector, to inform a comprehensive strategy for making the most of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games of 2012. Funding for any new work on accommodation quality, which may arise as a result of that consultation, will be considered before the tourism strategy is issued.
British Slave Trade
Among other support, my Department is contributing £250,000 per year to the new International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, due to open in 2007. In addition, museums in Hull, Bristol, Liverpool and London will, by 2008, have received £910,000 from my Department and DfES to encourage more informed and effective teaching about slavery as part of the Understanding Slavery Initiative education project, working with schools and communities. Many other museums, galleries, arts organisations, heritage sites, archives and libraries are currently planning their contribution and how best to involve their local communities. There are plans by faith leaders for a commemoration service in Westminster Abbey; and commemorative stamps and coins. The Heritage Lottery Fund has also funded the following community organisations:
Action Force Africa
African Caribbean Emancipation Trust
African Forum
Anti Slavery Arch group, Stroud
Anti Slavery International
Birmingham and District Local History Association
Birmingham City Archives
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (working with The Equiano Society)
Bristol City Council—Bristol Museums and Art Gallery
Diversity Arts Incubation programme
Durham University
Global Education Milton Keynes
Harewood House Trust
High Street Ltd.
Hull Museums and Art Gallery
Kender Primary School
Kingston upon Hull City Council (City Arts)
Lyric Theatre Hammersmith Ltd.
Merton Black Educational Forum
Milton Keynes Council
National Maritime Museum
National Museums Liverpool
Open Doors Forum
Rendezvous of Victory
St. Pauls Church, Mill Hill
Streetbase
Stroud Brunei Group
Trafford Youth Service
Watford African Caribbean Association
Windrush Foundation
Women in Jazz
Consultations
The costs and demands of a public consultation can vary considerably, and as such would be difficult to quantify. As an integral part of policy development, the costs associated with public consultations are met from divisional budgets. I have no plans to record or keep the costs of public consultations.
Criminal Offences Legislation
Criminal offences are created by the following provisions of the Gambling Act 2005:
s.33(1); s.37(1); s.41(1); s.42(1); s.43 (1); S.44(1); s.46(1); s.47(1), (4), (5), (6) and (7); s.48(1); s.49; s.50(1); s.51(1); s.52; s.53; s.54(1) and (2); s.55(1) and (4); s.56(l); s.57 (1); s.58; s.59(1); s.101(6); s.105(3); s.108(2); s.109(4); s.122(5); s.134(2); s.138(3); s.139(2); s.185(2); s.186(6); s.229(2); s.242(1) and (2); s.243(1) and (2); s.244(1); s.245(1); s.258(1); s.259(1); s.260(2); s.261(2); s.262; s.275(7); s.281(7); s.301(2); s.316(5); s.326(1); s.328(5); 5.330(1); s.331(1); s.337(5); 5.342(1); s.345(5); schedule 10 paragraph 20; schedule 12 paragraphs 13(1) and 15(6); schedule 13 paragraph 10(1); schedule 14 paragraph 20.
Members should consult the texts of the Gambling Act 2005 for full details of the offences.
Gaming Machines
There is no policy to freeze stake and prize limits. We announced in October 2004 that our policy has been to increase the maximum stake for amusement with prizes (AWP) machines from 30p to 50p, and for jackpot machines in bingo halls from 50p to £1. This would be on full implementation of the Gambling Act in September 2007. The Government made their position clear during the passage of the Gambling Bill through Parliament that these changes would need to be connected with measures to improve social responsibility.
The stake and prize limits are only one factor amongst many affecting seaside economies. The Government are conscious of the issues facing the machine manufacturing industry, and the pubs, clubs and entertainment centres to whom AWP machines, in particular, are so important.
Survey Databases
The information is as follows.
(a) To date approximately 22,000 people have been interviewed as a result of Taking Part: The National Survey of Culture Leisure and Sport.
The total, annual sample size for this survey will be about 30,000. This large sample size is needed to measure changes of 2-3 percentage points in participation rates with a high degree of confidence (95 per cent.), in support of the Department’s Public service agreement target 3.
Until the launch of Taking Part: The National Survey of Culture, Leisure and Sport in 2005, several of our non-departmental public bodies commissioned their own surveys, for example the sport and leisure module within the General Household Survey. Taking Part is a collaborative cross-sectoral survey and in many cases replaces the need for our partner bodies to undertake additional surveys.
(b) Aside from Taking Part, the main quantitative surveys of members of the public to which the Department has contributed funding comprise:
the International Passenger Survey of 250,000 people a year from 2000-01. This is run by the Office for National Statistics and funded mainly by a consortium of Departments. These data are required to meet requirements of the European Union directive on tourism statistics.
the General Household Survey of 20,000 people a year between 2000-01 and 2004-05, also run by the Office for National Statistics. This provided the Department with data on specific issues such as digital television; and our funding enabled our non-departmental public bodies to commission a more substantial module of questions on sport and leisure; and
several smaller surveys of 7,500 or fewer, which in total amount to about 50,000 interviews since 1997.
Tourism Tax
I have commissioned neither an assessment nor research on the potential impact of a bed tax. Sir Michael Lyons is considering a wide range of local government role and funding issues, including the potential for local taxes and charges. The Government will not take any decisions on changes to local government finance, until it has had the chance to consider and reflect on Sir Michael’s report and recommendations, due at the end of 2006. I will fully assess the potential impact of Sir Michael’s recommendations once he has made them, as is appropriate in the case of an independent review, and respond accordingly.
TV Licences (Outlets)
Contractual arrangements for the sale of television licences are a matter for the BBC as licensing authority, taking into account both value for money and the convenience of licence fee payers. It would be inappropriate for the Government to intervene in such matters.
The Government are considering this issue as part of the current review of the future funding of the BBC. Our conclusions will be announced in due course.
International Development
Budgetary Support (Developing World)
DFID provides budget support—either direct budget support or sector support—to countries where:
the partner Government's planned budget priorities support the reduction of poverty;
there is commitment to strengthening administrative, financial and technical systems so that UK funds help to reduce poverty effectively and where,
giving aid in this way produces benefits that would be unlikely to be achieved through other forms of aid delivery.
Currently, budget support counts for only 25 per cent. of the UK's bilateral aid programme.
HIV/AIDS
The United Nations General Assembly high level meeting agreed a political declaration which met virtually all of the UK's objectives, including: committing countries to develop, by the end of 2006, ambitious national plans to work towards universal access by 2010; drawing up comprehensive HIV prevention programmes, treatment, care and support, with interim targets for 2008; ensuring that no credible, sustainable national plan should go unfunded, recognising the need to provide from donor countries, national budgets and other sources $20-23 billion annually by 2010 for AIDS responses; and intensifying efforts to develop new technology, especially microbicides and vaccines.
Overseas Aid
Evidence shows that the European Commission has improved its effectiveness substantially since 2000, when a major reform programme commenced. Today, delivery is faster, with implementation undertaken by strengthened field offices. The European Commission is also more active internationally, supporting the UK's push for increased aid volumes. However, there is still a case for further reform, with a focus on impact, quality and more devolution.
Climate Change
DFID is working to improve the availability and use of climate risk information in Africa through the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), contributing £5 million over 5 years. We have launched a research programme, with Canada, which aims to improve African countries' capacity to adapt to climate change by building a body of knowledge and research skills which can be incorporated into planning processes, contributing £24 million over 5 years. We are contributing £20 million over 3 years through the United Nations to help countries develop national adaptation strategies. We have started to carry out climate risk assessments of DFID country programmes, starting with Bangladesh.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The UK is the largest bilateral donor to the electoral process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), providing more than £23 million over 2 years. This is funding electoral operations through the Independent Electoral Commission, conflict prevention and mediation initiatives, international and national observation projects to ensure the equal participation of men and women, and training and equipping the police to provide security during the elections. The UK has also provided important and sustained political pressure to ensure that the transition remains on track and will continue to do so. I hope to visit the DRC after the electoral process is complete in the autumn.
Zimbabwe
DFID liaises closely with UN agencies and NGOs that closely monitor ongoing vulnerability among the 700,000 people whose homes or livelihoods were destroyed by the Government of Zimbabwe during last year's Operation Murambatsvina (Drive out Rubbish). The UN is also investigating new episodes of evictions.
Last year, DFID committed £1.8 million to the humanitarian response, which reached some 200,000 people with food, blankets and other essentials. For many the situation remains difficult, especially regarding shelter. We recently contributed a further £1.1 million to provide practical assistance to vulnerable urban families. We continue to raise concerns through the UN.
Millennium Development Goals
Improvements in health require progress against all MDGs. Progress is mixed; many countries have made significant gains but massive challenges persist in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. On current trends, many poor countries will not meet the goals. Without underestimating the challenges, the means to ensure that every country achieves the goals are available. The task is to live up to the commitments made by G8 leaders in 2005 to support countries efforts to ensure access to essential health services. DFID is currently revising its health strategy to meet this challenge.
Indonesian Earthquake
Immediate relief needs during the emergency phase are largely being met, and we have no plans to commit further humanitarian assistance in addition to the £5 million already announced. The Government of Indonesia are now planning for longer term reconstruction. The UK is ready to support longer term reconstruction, and we will decide on the appropriate level of funding on the basis of an assessment of needs.
Bilateral Aid (Water and Sanitation)
DFID commissions an independent report on its expenditure on water and sanitation, including bilateral expenditure and all spend through other agencies. This report, ‘Financial Support to the Water Sector’, is produced by Atkins Consultants and is publicly available on the DFID website at http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/water-sector-finance.pdf. Copies have also been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The report provides detailed estimates of how much DFID spends on water and sanitation. It includes spending on programmes and projects for which water and sanitation improvement is the main objective. It also includes estimated proportions of spend for other programmes in education, health etc., where water and sanitation form part of the overall programme. It includes all themes covered by water and sanitation: water resource management, assessment and protection; urban and rural water supply and sanitation; humanitarian assistance; and water for food. It presents a breakdown of expenditure by region, country, theme and bilateral aid type. Sensitivity analysis of the necessary assumptions is also presented. An update of the report, with details of expenditure for 2004-05 and 2005-06 will be published in autumn 2006.
Burma
The humanitarian situation in Burma is very poor. Reliable data are scarce, but many of Burma’s 50 million people live in serious poverty—a situation exacerbated by the Government’s actions. There are reportedly half a million people internally displaced in Eastern Burma, with around 100,000 in hiding in conflict areas, and more than half a million refugees in neighbouring nations. Communicable disease is an acute problem. Over 70 per cent. of the population live in malaria risk areas and Burma has one of the most serious HIV epidemics in Asia.
Departmental Staff
The following table gives the number of non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID staff over the last three years with total costs for each year.
Number of awards Total cost (£) Percentage of DFID’s total paybill 2003-04 711 475,101 0.77 2004-05 576 497,350 0.79 2005-06 1,171 892,965 1.27
Defence
Arms Trade Treaty
As part of a cross-Whitehall team the Ministry of Defence is fully committed to working together towards an international arms trade treaty.
We continue to play an active role and have committed Defence resource to support the delivery of this treaty.
Army Bases/Personnel (Northern Ireland)
I refer the hon. member to the answer I gave to him on 18 July 2005, Official Report, columns 1320W-1322W. The number of armed forces personnel (Army, Navy and Air Force) stationed in Northern Ireland since then is set out in the following table:
Number of armed forces personnel 31 October 2005 9,490 31 May 2006 8,890
In addition, other troops can be made available to the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland from Land Command if required, for example during the marching season.
A list of military sites (military bases and installations, joint PSNI/military bases, towers and observation posts) as at 31 January 2006 was given in the ninth report of the Independent Monitoring Commission. This was laid before Parliament by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in a written ministerial statement, on 9 March 2006, Official Report, column 79WS.
Since 31 January 2006, three observation towers (R21, R13A and G40) have been closed. Work has been completed on R21 and R13A, and the land has been handed back to Defence Estates for disposal. Work is still ongoing on the G40 site.
Army Land Rovers
For UK holdings, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 25 May 2006, Official Report, column 1992W. In respect of Iraq and Afghanistan I am withholding details of the military capability deployed on operations since its disclosure would reveal the strength and capability of UK forces operating in theatre, and could have a bearing on operational security.
Bonuses
The number and value of annual appraisal related bonuses paid to members of the senior civil service (SCS), to fixed term appointees and to civil servants below the level of the SCS, over the past three years, are listed in the following tables one to three. In addition, the Ministry of Defence awards special bonuses to individuals and teams for exceptional performance in a specific task or for the achievement of professional qualifications which benefit MOD and the individual; these are shown in table four. The final table (five) shows the total value of all bonuses paid: in cash terms and as a percentage of the total civilian pay bill.
2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 Number of bonuses paid 184 136 134 Value of bonuses paid (£) 909,500 711,737 672,460
2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 Number of bonuses paid 12 16 13 Value of bonuses paid (£) 80,478 119,668 80,347
2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 Number of bonuses paid 38,766 36,043 27,497 Value of bonuses paid (£) 37,962,800 29,312,275 20,203,875
2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 Number of staff who received bonus(es) 10,131 10,074 11,872 Value of bonuses paid (£) 4,364,400 3,962,482 3,909,531
2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 Value of all bonuses paid (£) 43,317,178 34,106,162 24,866,213 Percentage of total civilian pay bill Accounts not yet published 1.15 1.01
Casualty Statistics
[holding answer 25 May 2006]: The Ministry of Defence publishes casualty information compiled from a number of sources. One of these sources is the UK's main (Role 3) Field hospital in Shaibah in Iraq. The current figure (around 240 personnel) cited for troops wounded as a result of hostile action on Operation Telic is based on the records of those treated at the Shaibah Field hospital. This figure does not therefore include UK forces treated only at US facilities.
To present a more complete picture and to capture UK military and civilian personnel injured in Iraq and not included in the Shaibah figure for those wounded as a result of hostile action, we have published figures on Telic casualties drawn from other sources. These are the Notification of Casualty (NOTICAS) reporting and Aeromed figures.
The Aeromed figure includes all UK military and civilian personnel medically evacuated from Iraq whatever the cause and from any location in Iraq, including Baghdad, to any destination outside that country. This reporting includes all UK service personnel who have lost a leg and have been treated at US medical facilities in Iraq.
The Notification of Casualty reporting is comprehensive from January 2005 onwards, when the Joint Compassionate Casualty Centre (JCCC) was set up, and includes all UK personnel treated at US facilities for serious injuries. But during the early phases of Operation Telic the tempo of operations meant that the paperwork associated with the NOTICAS process was not always completed properly. As a result we cannot be certain that all our NOTICAS records covering this early period are complete.
We are working to cross check historic information to improve our Telic casualty reporting, including records for RFA Argus and 202 Field hospital. Once this information has been verified, I will place a copy in the House of Commons Library.
Criminal Offences Legislation
The Ministry of Defence has sponsored no primary legislation since April 2005 and has, therefore, created no criminal offences.
Dartmoor National Park (Firing Ranges)
I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Iraq
Our records show that 732 armed forces personnel were aeromedically evacuated from Iraq in 2005. Of these, 666 were diagnosed with physical conditions, and 309 of them were treated at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Selly Oak, Birmingham, which is the Ministry of Defence's main receiving hospital for aeromedically evacuated personnel. The others were transferred to other NHS hospitals or referred to community-based care for ongoing treatment. We are unable to determine precisely how many of these patients required hospital treatment or were discharged at the airhead for ongoing care in the community as the relevant database does not contain this information. To provide this information, individual patient records would have to be consulted, and this could only be done at disproportionate cost and with the patient's permission.
Determining the number of personnel who returned from Iraq with a mental health condition is not straightforward. Sixty six personnel were aeromedically evacuated in 2005 specifically because they were diagnosed as suffering from a mental health condition, but the number who were diagnosed, after their return, with psychological problems as a result of their service in Iraq is greater than this. The Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) was notified of 727 personnel who were referred to the MOD's Departments of Community Mental Health in 2005 with possible mental health problems and subsequently identified as having a psychiatric disorder related to their service in Iraq at any date from 2003. It can also be difficult to determine the underlying causes of some mental health problems, some of which could be caused by a combination of other life events that occurred before or after service in Iraq.
MARS Programme
As indicated in the Defence Industrial Strategy, UK yards and other UK suppliers will be given every opportunity to compete for this shipbuilding work and should see it as a challenge and an opportunity to demonstrate world-class performance. With the high planned workload on CVF and Type 45, the complex warship design and integration capabilities that we intend to sustain in the UK will remain healthy for some years.
New Technologies (Research)
The overall spend on research in relation to overall defence spending is available in the UK Defence Statistics 2005 publication. Table 1.1 ‘Defence Expenditure/Budget 2003-04’ of the publication displays the net Defence budget as some £31 billion. Table 1.7 ‘MOD Research and Development Expenditure 2003-04’ records the net budget spent on research as £574 million.
Parliamentary Ombudsman
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer which my noble Friend Lord Drayson, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, gave in another place on 3 May 2006, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA87.
Public Consultations
The Ministry of Defence undertook 13 public consultations in the last year.
To obtain the cost of the 12 consultations carried out by Defence Estates (DE)—the Ministry of Defence agency with responsibility for the defence estates—would incur disproportionate costs, but it is likely to be in the thousands.
The thirteenth public consultation was carried out by the Met Office, which is a trading fund of the Ministry of Defence. The total estimated cost in terms of man hours for this consultation was £120,000.
In addition, the Ministry of Defence carried out 10 consultation meetings with local government elected representatives and officials relating to proposed RAF projects within local areas. The total cost of these consultation meetings, on a capitation rate basis, was less than £10,000.
Public Transport (Incentives)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) encourages the use of more sustainable travel as part its work on sustainable development. MOD offers staff interest free loans to purchase bicycles and public transport season tickets for commuting to and from their place of work. Subject to meeting our business needs the MoD also allows staff to stagger their working hours if that will assist them using public transport before or after the rush hour.
RAF Menwith Hill/Fylingdales
As at 1 June 2006 the figures for RAF Menwith Hill were: 484 US military personnel; 538 US contractors; 458 US civilians, of which 243 are US Department of Defence civillians; 11 UK military personnel; 161 Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency personnel; I am withholding the number of GCHQ employees in accordance with Government policy of not commenting on intelligence matters; and 231 UK civilian personnel work at the base.
As of 1 June 2006 the figures for RAF Fylingdales were: one US military personnel; 20 US contractors; nine US civilians; 85 RAF personnel; 104 Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency personnel; there are no GCHQ employees working at RAF Fylingdales; and 37 UK civilian personnel work at the base.
Redress of Grievance Cases
The number of redress of grievance cases that have been withdrawn1 having reached higher authority or service board level between 30 April 2005 and 1 May 2006 are shown in the following table. Records of grievances raised and withdrawn at unit level are not held centrally.
1 The term “withdrawn” describes a complaint that was neither settled nor rejected, but was withdrawn by the complainant before action was completed.
Armed force Number Royal Navy 6 Army 19 Royal Air Force 4
Sexual Relationships (Dismissals)
Officers would not be dismissed but may be required to resign their commissions or be administratively discharged.
No Royal Navy or Royal Air Force officers have been required to resign for having a sexual relationship with a subordinate in the last five years.
Information for the Army is only available for the last three years and is shown in the following table:
Number 2003 7 2004 5 2005 3
Submarines
There are 13 decommissioned and de-fuelled nuclear powered submarines awaiting disposal that are stored safely afloat—seven at Rosyth and four at Devonport (Plymouth). Two other submarines at Devonport are awaiting de-fuelling prior to being stored afloat pending disposal. The spent fuel is the only high-level radioactive material on these submarines.
On leaving naval service each submarine contains approximately 83 tonnes of intermediate-level waste (ILW) and 81 tonnes of low-level waste (LLW). A proportion of the ILW will decay over time to LLW. For example, after 30 years, the quantity of ILW would have reduced to approximately 19 tonnes and the LLW proportionally increased to 145 tonnes.
Typhoon Aircraft
The spares and support arrangements for Typhoon are being built up as the RAF aircraft fleet grows, and the availability of spares varies from day to day depending on the maintenance that is required.
Communities and Local Government
Best Value Surveys
The Department has published detailed guidance for authorities carrying out the Best Value user satisfaction surveys on a dedicated website established for the purpose of administering the surveys.
The website, www.survey.bvpi.gov.uk, serves as a single portal for authorities undertaking the surveys, hosting all materials required and enabling the upload of the data. The Department has been working very closely with the Audit Commission to provide the necessary support to local authorities undertaking the surveys. The Commission is administering the website and providing a helpdesk and the Department is running a series of seminars to field questions on the Best Value surveys.
The website and guidance went live in March 2006 and all authorities were contacted to ensure that they were aware of the publication. All local authorities have either registered on the website or are in communication with the Audit Commission about the surveys; a statement about the availability of the guidance is therefore felt to be unnecessary.
Citizen Information Project
We have no record of any correspondence received from The Citizen Information Project on 10 January 2005.
Council Tax
The number of properties in Wiltshire designated as second homes and claiming a discount in council tax as at 19 September 2005, the latest date for which figures are available, is shown in the following table.
Number of properties Kennet 497 North Wiltshire 43 Salisbury 976 Swindon 79 West Wiltshire 467
In September 2005 the Government announced the postponement of council tax revaluation in England, and have made it clear that they do not expect that revaluation will occur during the present Parliament. The Government await the final report of the independent inquiry into local government by Sir Michael Lyons, which is due to be submitted by the end of 2006, before deciding whether any reforms to the council tax system are required.
Debt Collectors
The Department for Communities and Local Government and its Executive Agencies do not currently use the services of private debt collectors. One DCLG non-Departmental body uses a private debt collector.
Fire Services
Perfluorooctane sulphonate, known as PFOS, is used in a number of industrial applications and was used as an ingredient in two particular firefighting foam concentrate ranges for petrochemical fires.
In October 2004 DEFRA consulted on a national action to restrict the use of PFOS following evidence to suggest that it could be harmful in certain circumstance to both the environment and humans. However, before consultations had been completed, the European Commission suspended our unilateral action and subsequently issued its own draft directive to restrict the marketing and use of PFOS. In this draft, all current PFOS uses, including firefighting foam, would be allowed to continue. This would not therefore allow the UK to set regulations to ban its use.
The stocks of foams based on PFOS are diminishing but it is likely that some fire and rescue services do still hold some stocks.
As a result DCLG, jointly with the Environment Agency, are proposing a voluntary phasing out of PFOS-based firefighting foams and will shortly be issuing guidance to the fire and rescue services requesting them to no longer use these foams and instead to consider the use of alternatives once they are satisfied the performance of these alternatives meets their needs. Some fire and rescue services have already voluntarily substituted their stocks of PFOS foams with alternatives, the old foam having been destroyed by incineration.
Home Information Packs (Denmark)
I have been asked to reply.
The reforms to the Danish home buying and selling process have been widely welcomed by professionals and consumer representatives who assess that the reforms have improved the efficiency of the housing market. The latest figures show that there were 79,543 sales completed in 2004 as against 77,455 in 1996 (the year before the reforms were introduced). House prices have increased by 73 per cent. in Denmark during the period 1997 to 2005, compared to a 166 per cent. rise in Britain during the same period.
Local Strategic Partnerships
Since the launch of LAAs in July 2004, their scope, and the opportunities they offer to local areas, have grown with each round. We have, in particular, seen a significant increase in the number of funding streams capable of being pooled, the introduction of automatically pooled funding streams, the launch of a new economic development block and the trialling of an increasing number of single pot agreements.
LAAs are rapidly becoming key to the way central Government and local areas do business together. We will continue to refine the LAA framework in the light of experience and in the wider context of the local:vision agenda.
Ministerial Visits (Accommodation)
I have been asked to reply.
The information is not collected in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
New Deal for Communities
The Department is currently working with the NDC partnerships to support their planning in continuing progress after the NDC programme ends in 2010-11. This could involve the partnerships evolving into different succession organisations and encouraging partners to mainstream services.
The 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review will examine all DCLG programmes including regeneration and neighbourhood renewal.
Nuclear Rail Freight
I have been asked to reply.
Part 1 of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 establishes a statutory framework for civil protection activity at the local level. Under this legislation all principal local authorities and other key partners are required to maintain emergency plans, informed by risk assessments, to ensure that they can mobilise an effective emergency response to a range of emergencies including transport accidents. The legislation also requires local authorities and other key partners to exercise these plans and ensure that relevant staff receive adequate training.
The transport of radioactive material, including nuclear materials, is governed by the stringent internationally agreed standards recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Parliamentary Ombudsman
Since 1997 the Department for Communities and Local Government and its Agencies have not refused or omitted to give effect to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman, either concerning complaints about administrative practices, service delivery or complaints made under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Information available for Department for Communities and Local Government on specific cases that concern Government offices shows that they have not refused or omitted to give effect to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Ombudsman, either concerning complaints about administrative practices, service delivery or complaints made under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
The Department for Communities and Local Government holds no comprehensive central information on the status of all Ombudsman cases in other Government Departments involving, or partly involving, Government offices. That information would be available only at disproportionate cost.
Party Wall etc. Act 1996
I currently have no plans to amend the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 as suggested.
Public Transport
The Government continues to consider all aspects of regeneration as part of the remit of the Domestic Affairs (Communities) cabinet committee.
The two Departments work together to ensure that the Government’s aims to deliver sustainable improvements in economic performance, and inclusive society, a better environment and better quality of life are achieved. Not only is this work carried forward inter-Departmentally across central Government, but it is undertaken on a day to day basis by the integrated Government offices in each region.
Trade and Industry
Arms Exports
All export licence applications are assessed against the consolidated criterion taking account of any information we may hold on the end-user, the criterion specifically require assessment of the risk of diversion. If there is a clear risk that the proposed export would contravene any of the criteria, a licence is refused. In the case of Iraq, where not explicitly exempt, UNSCR 1546 additionally requires certification from the Iraqi Government or the multi-national force assisting it, that the goods are necessary for the purposes of giving effect to UNSCR 1546 and are therefore exempt from the embargo on Iraq.
Defence Contracts
On the following dates, the value of Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) cover for Government to Government defence contracts was:
As at 31 March each year: £ million 2005 856 2006 497
ECGD Costs
The Export Credits Guarantee Department’s audited administrative costs in each year between 2002-03 and 2004-05 were:
2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Staff costs 14.022 14.806 15.157 Accommodation costs 4.282 5.271 4.201 Consultancy costs 1.031 0.833 0.539 IT costs 4.388 5.676 8.580 External legal costs 0.822 0.324 1.081 Other costs 1.620 3.625 1.804
The audited costs for 2005-06 are not yet available.
Gas Storage
The Department has written to the following in the last two years regarding the national need for additional gas storage facilities. The county councils of:
Cheshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
Lancashire
Lincolnshire
and the borough councils of:
Redcar and Cleveland
Stockton on Tees.
We have received a response from Lancashire county council with some questions arising from the letter that the Department sent to them in April 2004.
On 16 May, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, laid the ‘Energy Statement of Need for additional gas supply infrastructure’ in Parliament encouraging planning professionals and local decision makers to consider the national interest when looking at planning applications.
Nuclear Power Stations
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) assumed responsibility for the decommissioning and clean up of the UK’s civil nuclear legacy on 1 April 2005. The NDA has four operational Magnox nuclear power stations: Dungeness A, Sizewell A, Oldbury, and Wylfa; and, seven that are being decommissioned: Berkeley, Bradwell, Chapelcross, Calder Hall, Hinkley A, Hunterston A, Trawsfynydd. The recently approved NDA strategy contains the following assumptions of end dates and states, but also signals that the NDA intends to review these in consultation with stakeholders in the near future. Details are as follows:
Non-operational Magnox Lifetime End state/date Berkeley (Gloucestershire) 1962-1989 Delicensed/2083 Bradwell (Essex) 1962-2002 Delicensed/2103 Calder Hall (Cumbria) 1956-2003 Site cleared for delicensing/2117 Chapelcross (Scotland) 1959-2004 Undetermined/2128 Hinkley Point A (Somerset) 1965-2000 Delicensed/2104 Hunterston A (Scotland) 1964-1989 Delicensed/2090 Trawsfynydd (Wales) 1965-1991 Delicensed/2096
Operational Magnox Lifetime/planned closure date Dungeness A (Kent) 1965-2006/planned to cease generation end 2006 Landscaped/2111 Sizewell A (Suffolk) 1966-2006/planned to cease generation end 2006 Delicensed/2110 Oldbury (Gloucestershire) 1967-2008/planned to cease generation end 2008 Delicensed/2118 Wylfa (Wales) 1971-2010/planned to cease generation end 2010 Brownfield/2125
British Energy (BE) has eight operational power stations (seven advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) stations and one pressurised water reactor (PWR)). The following table sets out BE’s current estimated dates for station closure (and thereby decommissioning). Any changes to these dates will be a matter for BE, subject to approval from the NDA in certain circumstances: Current proposals are:
AGR Stations Dungeness B (Kent) 35 years 2018 Hinkley Point B (Somerset) 35 years 2011 Hunterston B (Scotland) 35 years 2011 Heysham 1 (Lane's) 30 years 2014 Hartlepool (Teesside) 30 years 2014 Torness (Scotland) 35 years 2023 Heysham 2 (Cleveland) 35 years 2023 PWR Station Sizewell B (Suffolk) 40 years 2035
The NDA’s Strategy is available through its website at: www.nda.gov.uk.
I have been asked to reply.
The option of building new nuclear power stations is still being considered as part of the Government’s Energy Review. Any implications for public water supply would be considered as part of the environmental impact assessment for the planning of individual power stations.
OECD Guidelines (Multinationals)
(2) how many UK registered companies have adopted the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises;
(3) what steps his Department has taken to co-operate with non-Governmental organisations in the promotion and implementation of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises;
(4) To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints have been investigated by the UK National Contact Point in each year since 2000; and when each case was (a) filed and (b) concluded;
(5) To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the (a) nature and (b) outcome was of each complaint made to the UK National Contact Point in each year since 2000.
The Government are committed to the effective promotion and implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. For example, on 20 December 2004, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry wrote to the chairmen of all FTSE 100 companies drawing their attention to the importance of the guidelines and their relevance in developing corporate codes of conduct. The UK’s National Contact Point (NCP) for the guidelines also liaises with non-governmental and business organisations on a regular basis, both formally and informally, to discuss the promotion and implementation of the guidelines.
In September 2005, the Government consulted stakeholders on possible improvements to the NCP’s promotion and implementation of the guidelines. We intend to publish a formal response in the near future.
The guidelines are recommendations addressed by governments to multinational enterprises. They are not adopted, as such, by companies.
Date filed Complainant Respondent Date concluded Outcome May 2001 Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) Binani/Roan Antelope Mining Company Zambia 2001 Discontinued when companies liquidated February 2002 Citizens for a Better Environment (CBE) Zambia, Afronet Rights and RAID Anglo American plc and Konkoia Mining Company Ongoing April 2003 RAID and other non-governmental organisations Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline: BP and consortium partners Ongoing July 2003 CBE National Grid Transco July 2005 Closed by NCP due to lack of evidence from complainant September 2003 International Union of Food and Allied Workers British American Tobacco (BAT) November 2003 Withdrawn by complainant following BAT’s decision to disinvest from Burma February 2004 UN Panel on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo De Beers May 2004 NCP concluded the allegations to be unsubstantiated June 2004 UN Panel on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo; RAID Orys Natural Resources June 2005 NCP drew the attention of the company to the provisions of Chapter II (general policies) of the Guidelines June 2004 UN Panel on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo Avient September 2004 NCP drew the attention of the company to the provisions of Chapter II (general policies) of the Guidelines June 2004 UN Panel on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo; RAID DAS Air Ongoing November 2004 RAID Alfred Knight Ongoing May 2005 Corner House BAE Systems, Airbus, Rolls Royce April 2006 Withdrawn by complainant following changes to ECGS’s anti-bribery and corruption procedures
Offshore Petroleum Licensing
[holding answer 13 June 2006]: As of 13 June 2006, two 24th Round licence applications have been received—neither are for acreage in the Cardigan Bay area. However the Round is open to applications until 16 June 2006. Once the Appropriate Assessment for the Round has been completed we will take a decision on whether to publish the results. In any event, the results of this and any other necessary Appropriate Assessments relating to the Round will be available on request.
Also, as indicated in my Answer of 23 May 2006, Official Report, columns 1635-36W, drilling and production consents are not part of the licence award and have to be sought separately from the Department at a later stage and are subject to further environmental scrutiny.
Secured Debt Financial Products
The laws concerning the advertising of financial products have recently undergone a thorough review. While they do not specifically deal with celebrity endorsement of products, the Consumer Credit (Advertisements) Regulations 2004 provide that advertisements must be clear, fair and not misleading. In the case of a loan secured on a debtor’s home, that advertisement must include a health warning regarding the consequences of not keeping up with repayments. Rules emanating from the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, under which first charge mortgages are regulated, contain similar provisions concerning financial promotions.
Minister for Women
Civil Service Pensions
I have been asked to reply.
The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) is a final salary scheme. Benefits are worked out as a proportion of final pensionable earnings multiplied by years of service. Men and women have paid the same level of contributions and received benefits calculated on the same basis, including contingent dependants’ benefits, in respect of service from 1 July 1987. To the extent that they have consistent career and salary patterns, the pension scheme therefore provides equal benefits.
New entrants to the civil service since October 2002 have, as an alternative to joining the PCSPS, been eligible to join partnership, a stakeholder pension arrangement, providing benefits on a money purchase basis. Employer contributions to partnership are between 3 per cent. and 12.5 per cent. of pensionable earnings based on the member’s age but regardless of gender. Employers also match employee contributions up to 3 per cent. of pensionable earnings.
In addition amendments to the rules of the PCSPS will be laid before the House before the summer recess. These amendments will ensure that the pension arrangements do not discriminate on the grounds of age without any objective justification.
Duchy of Lancaster
Public Sector Information
There have been 436 public information films produced since 1997. The numbers of public information films broken down by commissioning Department are shown in the following table.
Client Number Charity Commission 1 Countryside Agency 6 Countryside Agency for Wales 1 Department of Communities and Local Government 22 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 29 Department for Education and Skills 25 Department for Transport 36 Department for Work and Pensions 20 Department of Health 48 Department for Trade and Industry 63 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 7 Electoral Commission 2 Energy Savings Trust 33 Experience Corps 2 Financial Services Agency 1 Food Standards Agency 2 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 25 Health and Safety Executive 1 Highways Agency 2 HM Revenue and Customs 10 Home Office 18 London 2012 6 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 4 National Statistics 2 NHS Blood and Transplant 46 Office of Fair Trading 1 Scotland National Blood TS 1 Tidy Britain Group 2 University for Industry 3 Victim Support 1 Water UK 1 Welsh Assembly Government 15 Total (since 1997) 436
Production of a public information film costs approximately £60,284 (based on an average of all public information films produced during the last three years).
Screening costs for a public information film are: broadcast tape copies, £2,500; annual marketing of film to broadcasters, £7,650; and airtime, free of charge.
We expect a public information film to recoup both production and marketing costs in equivalent airtime value within the first three months in circulation.
The Central Office of Information (COI) is not responsible for scheduling public information films. They are scheduled in donated airtime at the discretion of broadcasters. The COI does, however, promote the usage of public information films to broadcasters, requesting relevant time slots and programming environments, where possible.
In each of the past three years, public information films have been shown on broadcast television in ratios shown in the following table.
Time Percentage of films shown Number of transmissions April 2003 to March 2004 Breakfast (6.00-9.29) 14 14,705 Morning (9.30-11.59) 10 10,938 Afternoon (12.00-17.14) 16 17,107 Evening (17.15-23.59) 18 19,045 Night time (00.01-5.59) 40 4,261 April 2004 to March 2005 Breakfast (6.00-9.29) 14 18,345 Morning (9.30-11.59) 13 16,575 Afternoon (12.00-17.14) 23 30,570 Evening (17.15-23.59) 27 35,751 Night-time (00.01-5.59) 23 30,039 April 2005 to March 2006 Breakfast (6.00-9.29) 13 25,221 Morning (9.30-11.59) 11 21,505 Afternoon (12.00-17.14) 27 50,961 Evening (17.15-23.59) 28 51,818 Night time (00.01-5.59) 20 38,099
The Central Office of Information (COI) meets with public service and commercial broadcasters regularly to discuss both the screening and scheduling of public information films. COI also maintains regular contact with broadcast contacts via telephone, e-mail and via a monthly paper and electronic newsletter, which highlights the availability of material or related statistics to support the case for transmission. There is an online catalogue to facilitate broadcasters’ selection of appropriate materials for slots they have available.
In the last three years, this activity has resulted in 2,127,007 transmissions, across 122 different television channels, in airtime worth an estimated £75,335,000 (based on average ITV station rate card).
Additionally, the COI also targets owners of out-of-home media. For example the 5-A-DAY campaign was screened free of charge on “Tesco TV”, in shopping centres including Trafford Centre, Lakeside and Metro Centre, gyms such as Holmes Place, Cannons and David Lloyd and some doctors’ surgeries. Out-of-home ratecard airtime value was estimated at £1.5 million for this film.
House of Commons Commission
Administration Estimate
The information requested is as follows:
Clerks at the Table Serjeants at Arms Speaker’s Office 2003-04 3,658 8,773 6,483 2004-05 5,802 17,343 4,828 2005-06 4,016 13,507 7,267 Note: These figures include the uniform allowance for the Assistant Secretary to the Speaker.
Dining Facilities
(2) on how many occasions in the last 10 years a booking for dining room (a) A, (b) B, (c) C and (d) D has been refused due to the intention of the sponsor to use the booking for party political fundraising.
The Banqueting Regulations, which are issued to all Members at the time of booking, state that the private dining rooms
“are not to be used for direct financial or material gain by a Sponsor, political party, or any other person or outside organisation”.
The banqueting booking confirmation requires Members to state whether they have a declarable interest relating to their sponsorship of the function and, if the interest is not registered, to provide details. Members in any doubt about the need to register an interest are given further guidance in paragraph 4.4 of the Banqueting Regulations, which states that
“any Sponsor in doubt about the requirements to declare any interest should consult the Parliamentary Commission for Standards”.
Furthermore, the Code of Conduct for Members, as approved by the House on 13 July 2005, provides that:
“Members shall at all times ensure that their use of expenses, allowances, facilities and services provided from the public purse is strictly in accordance with the rules laid down on these matters, and that they observe any limits placed by the House on the use of such expenses, allowances, facilities and services”.
No record is kept of advice provided to Members when enquiring about the use of the private dining rooms, and so there is no record of any booking being refused due to the intention of the sponsor to use the booking for party political fundraising.
Refreshment Department
The Refreshment Department can generally identify from its purchasing records the quantity and value of organic meat, poultry, fish, fruit and vegetables purchased over the past year, and the quantity and value of some organic grocery and counter-line products readily identifiable as organic (for example, certain brands of sandwiches, salads, yoghurts, biscuits, cakes, etc.). However, the Department does not keep a comprehensive list that specifically identifies the quantity of all organic foods used. No record is kept of the quantity of food sourced within 50 miles of London.
Spoiled Pre-paid Envelopes
The Serjeant at Arms leaflet entitled “Stationery post paid envelopes and the use of the crowned portcullis” asks Members to send back spoilt envelopes to the Postmaster. A notice will be placed in the All Party Whip as a reminder. It would not be practicable to provide collection points as the incidence of spoilt envelopes is likely to be small.
Tours
Between June 2005 and May 2006 inclusive, 7,374 tours ran for 620 Members of the House of Commons. By mixing smaller groups together (up to each tour slot’s maximum capacity of 20), this accommodated 7,911 Member groups. The highest number of tour slots supplied to an individual Member was 89. It is not the practice to publish details of the use made by individual Members of such facilities.
Works of Art Collection
There have been no reports of missing or stolen works of art in the House of Commons since 1997. The Parliamentary Art Collection (Lords and Commons) has approximately 7,500 works of art, spread widely throughout the parliamentary estate. Some 5,000 are currently recorded as being within the House of Commons buildings.
Northern Ireland
999 Calls
The numbers of emergency 999 calls received by emergency services in Northern Ireland in the last calendar year was as follows:
Calendar year 2005 Fire 52,430 Ambulance 116,635 Police 94,916 Total 263,981
Alcohol Consumption
There are no comparable figures for Northern Ireland as currently such data are collected and presented on a UK basis. The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland launched the New Strategic Direction for Alcohol and Drugs 2006-11 on 8 May 2006. It contains a number of regional and local outcomes aimed at reducing the overall level of harm caused by alcohol in Northern Ireland, including reducing the level of binge drinking and the amount of under-age drinking.
Ambulance Service
Ambulance cover in the Strabane district council area is provided from stations in Strabane and Castlederg. A 2004-05 Estate Appraisal, carried out by the Health Estates Agency, identified the need for separate male and female facilities at Strabane ambulance station and some minor alterations at Castlederg ambulance station. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) is currently making arrangements to carry out this work.
During the last three years, ambulance cover has been provided as follows:
Days Strabane Ambulance Station 08.00 to 20.00 hours (1 A and E crew) Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 08.00 to 20.00 hours cover provided from Altnagelvin Thursday 20.00 to 08.00 hours (1 A and E crew) Monday to Sunday Castlederg Ambulance Station 08.00 to 17.00 hours (1 A and E crew) Monday to Saturday 17.00 to 23.00 hours (cover provided by Strabane and Omagh stations) Monday to Saturday 08.00 to 23.00 hours (cover provided by Strabane and Omagh stations) Sunday 23.00 to 08.00 hours (1 A and E crew) Monday to Sunday
No ambulance crews have been redeployed from the Strabane or Castlederg ambulance stations to stations in Derry. Cover at the new Northland Road deployment point is provided by Altnagelvin Ambulance Station crews. As NIAS deploys ambulance resources dynamically to match predicted and actual demand, Strabane or Castlederg ambulances may respond to incidents in Derry. However, control staff ensure that time spent by crews away from their base station is kept to a minimum.
Benefit Payments
The information requested (at March 2006) is shown in the following table:
Method of payment Percentage of social security agency customers Direct payment into a bank or building society account 58.8 Via a Post Office card account 37.7 Cheque payment 3.5 Cash ? Total 100
The Social Security Agency now reports its findings based on calendar years. The following tables set out the information requested for the 2005 reporting year (January 2005 to December 2005).
20051 (£ million) Percentage of expenditure Income support 11. 3 2.4 Jobseeker’s allowance 2.8 3.0 Disability living allowance 4.6 0.8 Incapacity benefit 3. 5 1.1 Carer’s allowance 5. 6 6.7 Retirement pension2 Minimal —
20051 (£ million) Percentage of expenditure Income support 25. 6 5.4 Jobseeker’s allowance 4. 1 4.4 Disability living allowance 54. 7 9.5 Incapacity benefit 13. 8 4.3 Carer’s allowance 7.5 9.0 Retirement pension2 9. 2 0.8 1 January to December 2005 2 This includes bereavement benefit
Child Abuse
Information is not collected centrally in the format requested. However, information is collected on the number of child protection referrals to social services where the source of referral is categorised as “hospital”. The number of such referrals is shown in the following table for the financial years 2002-03 to 2004-05. The number of referrals does not equate to the number of children referred, as a child may be referred more than once during the financial year.
Number 2002-03 115 2003-04 119 2004-05 96
All children and young people who are seen by hospital staff will be managed in accordance with the regional Child Protection Policy and Procedures guidance issued by the Health and Social Services Board Area Child Protection Committees.
All hospital staff have access to the child protection register and there would be an expectation that appropriate checks would be made where there are concerns about any child.
Child Support Agency
The figure of probably uncollectable debt as at 31 March 2006 is £36,845,910, a reduction in the financial year 2005-06 of £2,084,496.
It is to be noted that the agency’s annual accounts are still subject to audit and will not be laid before both the House of Commons and the Northern Ireland Assembly until July. Following this, the report will be available in the public domain.
Children in Care
Information is not collected centrally on the average number of children in care; however, the number of children in care at 31 March 2006 each year is collected and this is detailed in Table 1 below annually from 1995 to 2005, the latest year for which information is available.
Column 1 of table 1 details the year to which the information relates, column 2 the numbers of children in care on 31 March for that year, column 3 shows the numbers of children in care per 10,000 of the population aged under 18, and column 4 details the year to year percentage change in the numbers of children in care at 31 March 2006.
Number of children in care at 31 March 2006 Rate per 10,000 population Percentage from previous year 1995 2,624 56.2 1996 2,625 56.2 0.0 1997 2,431 52.1 -7.4 1998 2,354 50.8 -3.2 1999 2,324 50.5 -1.3 2000 2,422 53.1 4.2 2001 2,414 53.6 -0.3 2002 2,453 54.8 1.6 2003 2,446 55.3 -0.3 2004 2,510 57.4 2.6 2005 2,531 57.9 0.8
Information on the number of children in care reported missing for periods of more than 24 hours is not collected centrally. However a consultative document produced in 1998 entitled “Children Matter: A regional view of residential child care services in Northern Ireland” details the number of untoward incidents recorded in Northern Ireland during the period 31 March and 30 September 1997. It reports a total of 488 incidents of absconding recorded during that period, of which 227 related to periods of 24 hours or more.
An extract from table 4 of “Children Matter: A regional view of residential child care services in Northern Ireland” is shown as follows.
Nature of untoward incident Vol and stat homes Regional centres Total Absconding Under 24 hours 115 146 261 24 hours plus 126 101 227 Total 241 247 488
Classroom Assistants
The total number of classroom assistants employed in each type of secondary school in the Western education and library board area is as follows:
Number Controlled 60 Maintained 145 Controlled integrated 41 Grant-maintained integrated 43 Irish Medium 0
Clinical Trials
All hospitals in Northern Ireland can potentially carry out clinical trials of medicinal products as long as the chief investigator has successfully completed the Research Governance Process including having a favourable ethical opinion from a recognised NHS/HPSS Research Ethics Committee (Ref: UK Clinical Trials Regulation (2004)).
Since February 2004 and the establishment of the HPSS Research Ethics Committees (RECs), 21 Northern Ireland-based clinical trials of investigational medicinal products have been given a favourable ethical opinion. The trials are occurring in the following hospital trusts:
Number of trials Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 11 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 5 Greenpark Healthcare HSS Trust (primarily Musgrave Park Hospital) 3 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 1 Ulster Community and Hospitals HSS Trust 1
I fully support the work of the HPSS RECs and the Office for Research Ethics Committees in Northern Ireland (ORECNI) in their mission to maintain a Research Ethics Service to protect the rights, dignity and welfare of research participants within the HPSS/NHS, and to protect the rights of researchers to perform ethical research and legitimate investigation.
Departmental Finance
Targets for resource-releasing savings for each Department were set in the course of the Priorities and Budget 2005-08 process, with the relevant amounts being redistributed at that time.
The following table summarises the targets for each Department, with the amount specified covering the core Department, its agencies and non-Departmental public bodies. Efficiency technical notes, outlining how Departments intend to deliver their efficiency targets, are available on departmental websites.
Outturn information in respect of the efficiencies delivered in 2005-06 is not yet available.
£ million 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Total efficiencies Of which: resource-releasing Total efficiencies Of which: resource-releasing Total efficiencies Of which: resource-releasing DARD 6.8 3.4 13.8 6.9 21.0 10.5 DCAL 2.6 1.3 5.2 2.6 7.9 4.0 DE 46.4 20.7 81.2 41.9 120.0 63.6 DEL 18.3 8.6 36.4 17.3 53.0 26.3 DETI 8.2 3.7 14.4 7.0 20.6 10.9 DFP 3.9 1.0 8.7 5.7 16.2 11.7 DHSSPS 78.3 43.3 156.7 81.7 239.2 124.2 DOE 3.7 1.8 7.1 3.6 10.3 5.6 DRD 24.1 17.8 39.1 30.3 48.5 39.4 DSD 13.6 6.8 27.5 13.8 49.5 35.7 OFMDFM 2.1 1.7 2.6 2.4 2.7 2.4 FSA 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Total 208.0 110.1 392.9 213.4 588.8 334.4
Deprivation
Drumgask, Drumnamoe, Corcrain, Drumgor and Court areas in Craigavon were identified by the Northern Ireland Measures of Deprivation (New Noble Index) as being in the 10 per cent. most deprived urban areas in Northern Ireland.
The Government’s main strategy for tackling areas of high urban deprivation is neighbourhood renewal and three local Neighbourhood Partnerships have been established in the Craigavon borough council area to help take forward the strategy in the areas that have been identified as deprived. The Drumgask and Drumgor areas are covered by the Brownlow Partnership; the Court and Drumnanoe areas are covered by the Lurgan Partnership and the Corcrain area is covered by the Portadown Partnership.
All three partnerships are currently working in consultation with interested parties to develop a vision framework and action plan that will set out in detail the programmes and activities needed to address deprivation and improve services. Local consultation is expected to take place later this year.
Early Years Services
On 26 May 2005, my predecessor, the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the hon. Member for St. Helens, South (Mr. Woodward), announced an additional £1.2 million to support projects previously funded under ‘Peace Measure 2.5—Investing in Childcare’.
Projects were invited to apply for this funding and had to demonstrate that they met the criteria in providing direct services to children in areas of low provision where the service is critical to provision in that area; or services that have targeted provision for ethnic minorities, traveller children and children with a disability.
In 2005-06 £1.2 million has been committed to 128 successful projects, and all funds have been fully utilised.
Head Teacher Vacancies
The education and library boards and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools have advised that all principal vacancies during 2005 were filled immediately. If there is a delay in a principal taking up duty, the vice principal is required to undertake the role of acting principal in accordance with the terms of employment of the vice principal.
Hospital Waiting Times
The proportion of in-patients waiting for elective admission (ordinary admission or day case treatment) in the trauma and orthopaedics specialty that were seen during 2004-05 and 2005-06 in an NHS hospital in Northern Ireland in (a) under three months and (b) under 12 months is provided in the following table:
Under 3 months Under 12 months 2004-05 41.3 76.1 2005-06 38.6 81.5
Waiting time is calculated from the original date the decision to admit was made to the actual admission date. Data include in-patients who were medically deferred while waiting and in-patients who self-deferred or did not turn up for a previously arranged admission date.
Housing
No assessment is made as housing is allocated on the basis of need through the Common Selection Scheme and not on the basis of community affiliation.
Knives
The following table provides PSNI statistics on knife crime incidents over the past five years. The incidents are sorted by the recorded crime categories used by the police. While it is known that a knife was used in all incidents recorded below, it is not possible to indicate how the knife was used.
Clearly the categories of murder and attempted murder refer to the most serious incidents. While the overall incidents of use of a knife in crime rose last year, the number of murders and attempted murders reduced.
A knife amnesty and media campaign is currently in place. In early autumn an educational package will be introduced into schools and legislation giving powers to increase the minimum age for buying a knife will be introduced. I am hopeful that these actions will impact on these figures and we will see a reduction in knife related crimes this year.
Crime type 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Class 1: Offences against the person 350 369 368 394 430 Murder 12 12 2 10 8 Attempted murder 15 20 22 32 27 Assaults 283 275 292 214 320 Class 2: Sexual offences 8 4 7 4 13 Class 3: Burglary 25 30 39 26 19 Class 4: Robbery 365 431 324 265 359 Class 5: Theft 33 12 21 19 22 Class 6: Fraud and forgery 0 0 0 0 0 Class 7: Criminal damage 148 67 129 161 121 Class 8: Offences against the state 85 71 90 131 165 Possessing offensive weapon 85 71 90 131 165 Class 9: Other notifiable offences 2 2 7 0 1 Total crime 1,016 986 985 1,000 1,130
Medication (Sell-by Dates)
A pharmacist is required to conform to all the legal controls pertaining to the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines, whether prescription or over- the-counter. In addition his/her professional standards of ethics and practice require him/her to ensure that dispensed products are in date.
This is also the case in relation to homeopathic or herbal medicines. However, many alternative therapies are not licensed medicines and are, therefore, subject to the laws governing foods.
National Insurance Numbers
(2) how many applications for National Insurance numbers made in Northern Ireland have been refused as the result of an immigration check in each of the last five years.
The information is outlined in the following table.
Financial year Number 2001-02 Not available 2002-03 562 2003-04 731 2004-05 1,015 2005-06 2,158
Information on applications refused as a result of an immigration check is not available.
National Stadium
Officials from the Department of Culture Art and Leisure (DCAL) and the strategic investment board (SIB) have had one formal meeting with Belfast city council specifically on the proposal for a new multi-sports stadium. In addition SIB officials have had several informal discussions with Belfast city council officials. There have been no discussions between officials from either my office or SIB with Lisburn city council or other local authorities on the same issue.
NHS Finances
Final audited and approved 2005-06 accounts for the 19 health and personal social services (HPSS) trusts will not be available until August 2006. However, based on projections as at 31 March, only one trust, Sperrin Lakeland, is forecasting a deficit. The forecast is £90,000, which is treated by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety as being within an acceptable margin of break even as it represents only 0.06 per cent. of the trust’s 2005-06 income.
Planning Applications
The number of (a) residential, (b) commercial and (c) industrial planning applications that were (i) received and (ii) decided by the Planning Service in Northern Ireland in (A) 2004-05 and (B) 2005-06 are in the following table.
Category 2004-05 2005-06 2004-05 2005-06 Commercial 2,892 2,947 2,407 2,579 Industrial 1,354 1,356 987 1,312 Residential 29,132 28,798 22,043 24,583 Total 33,378 33,101 25,437 28,474 Note: There is no direct correlation between the number of planning applications received and the number of decisions issued
In the fiscal year 2005-06 the proportion of residential applications processed by the planning service within 14 weeks to decision or withdrawal was 29.77 per cent.
In the fiscal year 2005-06 the proportion of applications processed by the planning service within 15 weeks to decision or withdrawal was 33.11 per cent.
In the fiscal year 2005-06 the average time to process planning applications by the planning service was 31.04 weeks.
The 2005-06 customer survey of applicants/agents has just recently been completed and results are currently being analysed. I will write to the hon. Member to advise him of the results when they become available.
In the fiscal year 2005-06 the proportion of industrial applications processed by the planning service within 17 weeks to decision or withdrawal was 40.01 per cent.
In the fiscal year 2005-06 the proportion of commercial applications processed by the planning service within 18 weeks to decision or withdrawal was 42.65 per cent.
Somme Commemoration
The award winning exhibition “Conflict: The Irish at War” opened in December 2003 and will be on display until the museum’s closure for redevelopment at the end of August. The exhibition incorporates artefacts and stories associated with the experience of Ulstermen at the Somme in 1916.
The Ulster Museum has also advised and contributed to a major exhibition marking the Battle at the Historial de la grand Guerre Chateaux in Peronne, France.
The Government will be represented at the service of remembrance at the cenotaph in Belfast by Lord Rooker who will lay a wreath.
The Secretary of State will attend the annual commemoration of the Battle of the Somme at the Ulster Tower in France on 1 July.
Sustainable Energy
Northern Ireland Electricity has confirmed the following figures for the number of customers on their eco energy tariff:
As at March each year: Customers 2005 14,024 2006 18,207
Vaccines
The Department of Health (London) purchases stocks of MMR vaccine under the national childhood vaccine contract to meet the needs of the entire UK vaccination programme. Northern Ireland participates in this national contract and HPSS trusts purchase supplies of MMR vaccine as required to meet local needs. Vaccine is purchased on a demand basis from UK stocks based on previous usage. Therefore Northern Ireland has not committed to purchase any firm quantity of MMR vaccine for 2006-07 and 2007-08 but will purchase vaccine to meet the needs of the vaccination programme.
Waterside Health Centre
The development of the new Waterside Health Centre, Distillery Brae, is being taken forward independently by three GP practices in the area. The full use of the building has yet to be confirmed, but, as part of the development, Foyle Health and Social Services Trust has agreed to utilise the third floor of the building in order to provide a range of essential local health services. The cost of the design, preparation and fit-out for this floor will fall to Foyle HSS Trust and is estimated to be £927,417.
Level 3 £ Design 79,299 Fit-out 848,118 Total 927,417
Solicitor-General
Child Sexual Abuse (Northern Ireland)
All prosecution decisions are reached in accordance with the provisions of the Code for Prosecutors in that there must be sufficient evidence to afford a reasonable prospect of a conviction and prosecution must be in the public interest. The Public Prosecution Service takes all allegations of sexual abuse very seriously and an indication of the factors that are required to be considered in reaching decisions are set out in the Code.
The following table sets out the figures requested for prosecutions in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.
Crown court Magistrates court 2001-02 14 2 2002-03 32 7 2003-04 43 9 2004-05 75 7 2005-06 69 7 Total 233 32
Constitutional Affairs
Antisocial Behaviour (York)
(2) if she will meet the City of York council scrutiny board to discuss (a) reasons for anti social behaviour in York and (b) means of reducing and eliminating such anti social behaviour;
(3) if she will meet the courts service in York to discuss the conclusions of the City of York scrutiny board review of drug and alcohol-related anti social behaviour in the city.
A letter to the Home Office from the Chief Executive of the City of York council, enclosing the ‘Final Report and Recommendations of the Economic Development and Community Safety Scrutiny Board’ on alcohol and drug-related anti-social behaviour, was received by the Department for Constitutional Affairs on 1 June 2006. A response will be sent shortly. If asked, I will meet with the City of York council scrutiny board and representatives of the court service in York to discuss the reasons for anti social behaviour in York and the means of reducing and eliminating such anti social behaviour.
Coroners (Oxfordshire)
The deputy coroner for Oxfordshire in 2003 was Dorothy Margaret Flood. The assistant deputy coroner for Oxfordshire in 2003 was Dr. Richard Michael Whittington. They were appointed in 1997 and 2000 respectively and both continue in these appointments.
Courthouses
Currently no consortium or company holds equity in the Essex magistrates court scheme as this only occurs at contract close which is unlikely to be reached until early 2009.
Courts Administration
This information is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.
Departmental Staff
Members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) can pay additional contributions to top up their pension either through the Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contributions Scheme (CSAVCS), a money purchase arrangement, or by buying added years of service in the PCSPS. As an alternative to membership of the PCSPS recruits from 1 October 2002 have been able to join a stakeholder arrangement, the partnership pension account.
The number and percentage of staff in the Department for Constitutional Affairs who are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension as at 1 June 2006 are shown in the table.
Number Percentage CSAVCs 333 1.08 Added years 445 1.45 Partnership 122 0.4
Disability Access
Save for the exceptions detailed below, the majority of buildings used by the Department for Constitutional Affairs are now believed to be compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as regards accessibility for all users. There was some slippage with regard to works required by 1 October 2004 deadline at a small number of locations, but these have since been addressed.
Following on from the transfer of the magistrates courts estate to Her Majesty's Courts Service (an Executive agency of the Department for Constitutional Affairs) on 1 April 2005, a programme of access audits has been carried out to establish the degree of compliance of the magistrates courts buildings with the Act and to put in place managed solutions where appropriate. In parallel with this interim solution, a programme of works has now been agreed and costed and will be implemented as soon as practical.
Dr David Kelly
The coroner did not issue a death certificate for Dr. David Kelly. It is the responsibility of the local registrar to issue death certificates or more properly certified copies of entries in the register of deaths.
There was no inquest verdict in the case of Dr. David Kelly. The coroner did not resume the inquest after it had been adjourned pending the Hutton inquiry.
The Oxfordshire coroner advises me that he notified the registrar on 16 March 2004 in accordance with the requirements of section 17A(6) of the Coroners Act 1988. I understand that notification would have contained personal information about Dr. Kelly and it would not be appropriate for it to be put into the public domain.
None of the evidence submitted to Lord Hutton for his inquiry has been destroyed.
The website for the inquiry www.the-hutton-inquiry.org.uk contains a list of all evidence submitted to the inquiry. Where that evidence has been withheld from the public a reason has been given. Most of the evidence is, however, available to the public through the website.
The original documents supplied to the inquiry are held at the National Archives.
The Lord Chancellor took the decision that Lord Hutton did not need the formal powers of the 1921 Act. It was made clear that if Lord Hutton required more powers he could ask for them. Lord Hutton did not make any request for more powers.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many copies of the Hutton Report were printed; how many were sold; at what price; how many were obtained by No. 10 Downing Street; and to whom they were issued.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right. hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess), on 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 758W.
FOI Requests
The National Archives has received 42 requests to access information contained in the 1911 census returns in the period between 29 January and 17 May 2006. All of these requests, including one where the inquirer provided evidence that all persons believed to be resident at a particular address in 1911 are now deceased, were denied on the grounds that the s.41 exemption of the Freedom of Information Act—relating to information provided in confidence—applies. These decisions were taken in the context of the Government’s policy that decennial census returns should be closed for 100 years.
Information Commissioner
The Information Commissioner’s Office is an independent statutory body. It receives a wide range of complaints, principally under the Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information Act 2000, Environmental Information Regulations 2000, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. The Information Commissioner’s Office introduced a Casework Management and Enquiry Handling system from 2003 onwards to provide support for all of these complaints activities.
Separate costings for the functionality of the different elements of the Information Commissioner’s Office casework system are not available and there was no specific expenditure to cover complaints under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003.
Legally Aided Litigants
No formal assessment has been made. However, the role of cost protection and its impact on clients and opponents was considered by the Department in 2004-05. It was decided to remove cost protection from most family cases but retain the existing rules for non-family proceedings. The purpose of cost protection is to ensure that vulnerable clients are not deterred from bringing proceedings by the threat of having to pay excessive costs, should they lose their case. Clients bringing certain types of civil proceedings with the help of legal aid are protected so that they can only be ordered to pay costs which are reasonable, given their circumstances. However, in certain circumstances, courts can also direct that costs awarded to an individual, against a funded client, should be paid by the Legal Services Commission, if the individual will suffer financial hardship if the costs are not paid.
Ministerial Travel (Accommodation)
This information is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.
Official Residences
The Lord Chancellor’s official residence is used by the Lord Chancellor as the Speaker of the House of Lords. The Lord Chancellor does not live there, but it is used for official entertaining and charitable receptions. It is maintained by the House. No figures are held by the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
Potters Bar Rail Crash
I refer the hon. Member to my previous reply of 13 February 2006, Official Report, column 1594W. Further to that reply, the coroner has appointed Mr. Justice Sullivan as assistant deputy coroner to hold the Potters Bar rail crash inquests.
Victims of Crime
The Victim Personal Statement scheme allows victims an opportunity to tell criminal justice agencies and services dealing with their case how the crime has affected them. Anyone who sees the case files should consider the Victim Personal Statement when making decisions. The scheme is one of a range of measures designed to give victims a voice, such as the use of Victims' Advocates. In some local areas, victims may also request a restorative justice process, which brings together the victim and offender, and the wider community, to address the harm caused by crime.
Treasury
Climate Change Levy
The announced increase in the rates of the climate change levy in 2007 will not affect the revenue to the National Insurance Fund.
HM Revenue and Customs
HMRC has in the past and continues to offer development programmes to members of staff based on their sex, race or sexual orientation, usually with a mix of participants from various backgrounds.
These training programmes are offered as part of the Department's positive action programme which is in place to assist in righting the imbalance of under represented groups at higher grades. Both the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976 allow positive action.
The HM Revenue and Customs office at Regian House, Liverpool is not closing. However processing work currently carried out in Regian House and other offices in the Liverpool area, is being centralised in Manchester as part of HM Revenue and Customs' overall efficiency plans.
Special Protection Areas
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 14 June 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question regarding the population in each ward (a) in and (b) adjacent to Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in (i) Surrey, (ii) the Thames Basin and (iii) the UK in the last period for which figures are available. I am replying in her absence (76637).
I am placing tables in the House of Commons Library, which provide the information you have requested The most recent population estimates for England and Wales wards are for mid-2002. These ward population estimates have been published with the status of “experimental statistics”. Therefore these estimates should be treated with some care. The latest ward population figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are from the 2001 Census.
Tables 1 to 3 include the wards which are covered, wholly or partly by SPAs for Surrey, the Thames Basin and the UK respectively. Tables 4 to 6 include the wards which are adjacent to the wards covered, wholly or partly by these SPAs for Surrey, the Thames Basin and the UK respectively, for all tables, the local authorities covered by these wards have been included.
Please note that in Scotland, many of the SPAs cover uninhabited islands which do not have a ward assigned to them, and therefore no ward information is included. In addition, a number of SPAs are on islands/or in lochs and so have no direct populations. The adjacent ward populations for these SPAs have been included in the data.
Stamp Duty (Peterborough)
Estimates of the number of property transactions at local authority/unitary authority level and for parliamentary constituencies are only available for 2004-05 and 2005-06, and are given in the following table grouped by stamp duty band.
The number of transactions bearing stamp duty will be lower than the number shown in the non-zero bands due to the use of various reliefs, e.g. disadvantaged area relief, group relief, registered social landlord relief etc. There are also some lease transactions which fall in the 0 per cent. band on account of consideration, but which bear stamp duty on the lease rental.
0 per cent. rate1 1 per cent. rate2 3 per cent. rate3 4 per cent. rate4 Total Peterborough city council 2004-05 1,200 4,700 260 80 6,300 2005-06 3,300 2,400 320 130 6,100 Peterborough constituency 2004-05 780 2,600 96 46 3,600 2005-06 2,000 1,100 100 58 3,300 1 Residential threshold was £60,000 in 2004-05 and £120,000 in 2005-06. Non residential threshold was £150,000 in both years. 2 £60,001-£250,000 range for residential transactions in 2004-05, £120,001-£250,000 for residential transactions in 2005-06, £150,001-£250,000 for non-residential transactions. 3 £250,001 to £500,000. 4 £500,001 or more.
Tax Credits
For November 2005 to April 2006 I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 5 June 2006, Official Report, column 187W.
The figure for May 2006 is 53 seconds.
Since my statement to the House on 26 May 2005, Official Report, column 22W, HM Revenue and Customs have introduced a series of measures to improve the service. I made a statement on the progress that has been made on these measures at the Treasury Select Committee on the 1 February 2006.
In my written statement to the House on 5 December 2005, Official Report, column 5W, I announced further measures, as part of the pre-Budget report, to provide more certainty over tax credits award for families while maintaining flexibility to respond to falls in income and changes in circumstances.
(2) what his latest assessment is of the level of tax credit overpayment for 2006-07.
Estimates for 2004-05 of the numbers of in-work families with tax credits awards, including information on overpayments and underpayments, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2004-05 are published in “Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards. 2004-05.” This publication and provisional estimates for the number of in-work families with tax credit awards as at selected dates in 2005-06 are available on the HMRC website at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm.
Measures announced in the 2005 pre-Budget report, which are being introduced from April 2006, are expected to reduce overpayments by one third once they are fully implemented.
HMRC repay underpayments or offset them against any outstanding overpayments, as soon as the underpayments are recognised.
The characteristics of adults and children as initially captured in all tax credits claims, including rejected claims, are not available, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The numbers of tax credits awards to in-work families with particular characteristics at selected dates from July 2003 to April 2006 are available in publications on the HMRC website:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm.
(2) what external research his Department has commissioned on the case for a return to a system of fixed tax credit awards; and if he will make a statement.
As the 2005 pre-Budget report stated, the Government will continue to listen to the case for a system of fixed awards, but believes on balance that it is preferable to maintain the current system that flexibly responds to changing circumstances.
The Department has not commissioned any external work on the case for a system of fixed tax credit awards.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Bali Bombing
The Government are contributing £260,000, plus £44,000 VAT, to the London memorial project in memory of the victims of the 2002 bombings in Bali.
Basson/Project Coast Handling Strategy
The meeting on 13 January 2006 was attended by 13 officials from a number of relevant departments and agencies, including the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Health Protection Agency, to review what information was available on Project Coast and to ensure that the 12 parliamentary questions under consideration received consistent, full and accurate answers.
British Citizens (Overseas Convictions)
When Consular staff are informed that a British national who has been imprisoned overseas is to be deported to the UK, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London passes details of the individual and the date of deportation, if known, to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). It is then for SOCA to ensure that this information is passed to the relevant authorities responsible for any necessary supervision of the deportee’s activities following their arrival in the UK.
Commonwealth Meeting (Uganda)
The Kampala Commonwealth summit is not until November 2007. While it is too soon to be certain, both my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and Her Majesty the Queen expect to attend Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings.
Departmental Pensions
HM Treasury placed a technical Note about the total liability of unfunded public service occupational pension schemes in the Library of the House on 2 March 2006, Official Report, columns 388-90W following an oral Statement by my right hon. Friend the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Des Browne).
The Government Actuaries Department do not estimate pension liabilities for individual departments but for different pension schemes. UK-based staff at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are covered by the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). Table 1 of HM Treasury’s Note of 2 March 2006 sets out estimates of the liabilities of the PCSPS.
James Miller
My noble and learned Friend the Attorney-General is responsible for matters relating to possible prosecutions in the United Kingdom. Following the coroner’s verdict he and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary separately met James Miller’s family. During his subsequent visit to Israel in May, the Attorney-General had detailed discussions on this matter and indeed the killing of Thomas Hurndall, with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Minister of Justice, Attorney-General and Military Advocate General and others. In addition the Attorney-General raised the issue of holding an independent inquiry into the death and subsequent investigation and pressed for appropriate compensation to be paid to the family without delay. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is in contact with the Attorney-General about how this matter will be taken forward.
Peru
We followed the Peruvian presidential election campaign closely through our embassy in Lima and we fully support the Peruvian Government’s efforts to ensure the elections were free and fair. An Electoral Observation Mission of the Organisation of American States monitored the second round of the elections on 4 June 2006, with the participation of some 100 international observers. The European Parliament also sent an observer mission.
Terrorism
Hambali (aka Riduan Isamuddin) was captured in Thailand in August 2003. It is the longstanding policy of the Government not to comment on intelligence matters.
UK-Israeli Relations
The Government regrets the decision by the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) to vote in favour of boycotting Israeli academics and institutions. We believe that such boycotts are counter-productive and that far more can be obtained through dialogue and academic co-operation.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my noble Friend Lord Triesman of Tottenham, issued a public statement on the boycott on 29 May 2006. The full text of the statement is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391638&a=KArticle&aid=1148472774425%20&year=2006&month=2006-05-01&date=2006-05-29
I understand that, following the merger between NATFHE and the Association of University teachers on 1 June, the boycott has now been suspended.
Zimbabwe
The new embassy in Zimbabwe will be located on a greenfield site in Mount Pleasant, a suburb six kilometres north of the centre of Harare. Construction should begin this year with a new embassy completed late 2008. We are unable to make public the cost of the project as to do so would prejudice our commercial interests in circumstances where the contracts have still to be tendered.
There are 110 staff, UK based and locally engaged, working in our existing embassy in Harare. This figure includes the staff of the Department of International Development-Zimbabwe who are co-located with the embassy. This number is unlikely to change on transfer to the new building. Our embassy in Harare has been in contact with Government of Zimbabwe about our plans and has obtained the necessary permission to build. There are no plans for Ministers to attend the opening of the new embassy.
Health
Ambulance Services
[holding answer 13 June 2006]: Where there are problems with assimilation of staff onto agenda for change terms and conditions NHS Employers uses implementation teams, working in partnership with national unions represented on the NHS staff council, to provide the necessary support.
We shall shortly be agreeing the basis for partnership between Staffordshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust and the new West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust. It is of course paramount that the safety of the public is protected, and this must be the main consideration in going forward.
As stated by the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham), in his statement to the House on 16 May 2006, for now Staffordshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust will remain a separate trust, working in partnership with the new West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, but will merge at a later date.
No timescale has been set for this merger.
Cannabis (Therapeutic Use)
There have been two main investigators of cannabis based medicinal product and these are Dr. Zajicek and GW Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Zajicek published the results of his study in The Lancet in November 2003 (Cannabinoids for treatment of Spasticity and other symptoms related to multiple sclerosis (cannabis in multiple sclerosis (CAMS) study). The 3 year CAMS trial, involving more than 600 patients in the United Kingdom, has yielded no definitive verdict on whether the drug can ease the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. I am not aware of any other ongoing studies by Dr. Zajicek.
On 17 March 2006, GW Pharmaceuticals announced the preliminary results from a Phase III study of Sativex (cannabis based medicinal product) in the relief of spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). This study is a randomized, placebo controlled group study in 335 MS patients with spasticity. According to the GW website, this study is one of a number of Phase III studies which are currently taking place to support approval of Sativex across Europe in a range of targeted indications.
Consultant Contract Benefit Realisation Team
The consultant contract benefit realisation team was established in March 2005 and ended on 31 May 2006. Their remit was to work with national health service trusts on a more proactive approach to job planning; to gather and share examples of good practice; and to make recommendations to the office of strategic health authorities. There were five people employed in the team for most of this period.
Correspondence
This letter was replied to on 12 June 2006.
Cosmetic Surgery
(2) how much has been spent by the NHS on tattoo removal in each of the last 8 years;
This information is not collected centrally.
Departmental Pension Liability
I refer the hon. Member to the technical note by HM Treasury that was placed in the Library on 2 March 2006, Official Report, columns 388-90W, following an oral statement in Parliament by the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury,
Pension liabilities are not estimated for individual departments, they are estimated for individual pension schemes, as shown in the breakdown of liabilities per pension scheme given in table one of the technical note.
Departmental Statistical Publications
Timing of annual and other statistical publications produced by the Department is pre-announced by way of a 12-month publication plan which is available on the Department's website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Statistics/CodeOf Practice/12MonthPlan/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=40164238&chk=Eldbg/
This plan also currently includes statistical publications produced by the information centre for health and social care.
The Department process for pre-announcing statistical publications is carried out in accordance with the National Statistics protocol for release practices. Month of publication is given six months ahead with exact date at least two weeks ahead.
Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin
A number of alternative sources of information and advice remain readily available to prescribers following the Department’s decision not to renew its bulk contract for the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin. I understand that individuals and organisations can subscribe direct to the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin if they wish to do so.
There was no requirement to consult on the decision not to renew the contract.
The decision not to renew the Department’s national contract for distribution of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin was informed by our policy to devolve as much responsibility as possible to the national health service and to look very critically at central spending. It is our policy that central spending should be kept to an absolute minimum in order to maximise the resources available for the NHS to manage at the local level. The decision also took account of the availability of other sources of medicines information.
A number of alternative sources of information and advice remain readily available to prescribers following the Department’s decision not to renew its bulk contract for the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin. I understand that individuals and organisations can subscribe directly to the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin if they wish to do so.
The Department has taken the decision not to renew its contract for the central purchase and distribution of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin. Future distribution arrangements are a matter for the publisher, Which? Limited, although officials have been discussing with them how the Department can best support this transition.
Generic Medicines
The estimated savings made by the national health service from the centralised process for generic medicines in 2005 obtained through the national contracts sourcing programme for generic pharmaceuticals are £51 million.
Data from the prescription pricing division of the Business Services Authority (formerly known as the Prescription Pricing Authority) indicates that from January to March 2006 the estimated savings that could have been achieved through the compulsory generic dispensing of the top 40 (in terms of the amount of potential saving that could be achieved) proprietary drugs for which a generic alternative is available and where the proprietary drug is suitable for substitution, was £11.7 million.
GP Contract
Introduction of the new primary medical care contractual frameworks represents a fundamental change in the way in which contractors are incentivised to deliver patient care. The new arrangements were underpinned by a three-year deal, ending in 2005-06, which guaranteed a 36 per cent. increase in resources in England, rising from £5 billion in 2002-03 to £6.8 billion in 2005-06.
Evidence from primary care trust (PCT) expenditure returns show PCTs have also made available additional resources to secure the wider range of services and improvements in care to meet national and local priorities.
The increased investment is directly benefiting the vast majority of patients who are experiencing improvements not only in the range of services available locally but also improvements in the quality of clinical services they receive.
HC1 Forms
The HC1 form is available in English in England. For those whose first language is not English a telephone translation service is provided via any of the telephone numbers in the publicity material. The cost of advertising the availability of form HC1 is not identified separately. It is included in the range of ‘Help with Health Cost’ material produced. There is no record of the number of people who obtain from HC1. Forms may be ordered by individuals from Department’s publications order line 08701 555 455. Forms are also ordered in bulk by national health service and other bodies for individuals to obtain from NHS practitioners, NHS hospitals, or Jobcentre Plus offices or citizens advice bureau. The numbers distributed in the past five years are shown in the table.
Volume 2001-02 2,196,057 2002-03 1,986,232 2003-04 1,924,258 2004-05 1,681,846 2005-06 1,515,389
Medical Services Contracts
Individual general practitioners or providers of alternative provider medical services are not required to disclose to the Department the amount of money they receive per patient, or profit levels. Information about quality and outcomes framework scores for providers who participate in this scheme is published by the information centre for health and social care.
Mental Health
Not all the information requested is collated centrally. The most recent information is derived from provisional figures from the 2005 child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) mapping exercise. In November 2005, there were 26,207 cases waiting to be seen by specialist CAMHS in England, a reduction of 2,674 from the previous year.
In November 2005, 52 per cent. of new cases were seen by specialist CAMHS within four weeks, an additional 33 per cent. within 13 weeks, and a further 10 per cent. within 26 weeks. 5 per cent. of cases waited over 26 weeks to be seen by specialist CAMHS.
The Department is committed to ensuring that comprehensive CAMHS are available to all who need them. Our vision is set out in the national service framework for children, young people and maternity services, published in September 2004.
[holding answer 22 May 2006]: Seven events were held, attended by about 430 people across England and in Wales as part of the process of consultation to assess the potential race impact of the proposed amendments to the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The black and minority ethnic (BME) mental health network was involved in the initial development of the race equality impact assessment (REIA) consultation events. Due to an unfortunate breakdown in communications over the timing of the events, the network decided to withdraw their support from the events. We apologised for any misunderstanding and sought to involve the network in the events. The events were attended by a range of users and carers, including representatives from the African-Caribbean, South Asian, Irish, Pakistani and Chinese communities.
Professor Antony Sheehan, Director General of the care services directorate, is now personally overseeing this work and is meeting with members of the BME network on 19 June 2006 to discuss how to continue taking this forward. This meeting will be followed by a ministerial meeting with members of the BME network on 20 June 2006. In the meantime, the Department's REIA advisory group met on 31 May and agreed to further work on the impact of the amendments to the Mental Health Act. The REIA advisory group has met on 13 June 2006. One of the members of the Department’s REIA advisory group is from MIND, and is also the co-chair of the BME network. The BME network continue to engage as part of the wider REIA process and we value their helpful input.
Modernising Medical Careers
Allocations to strategic health authorities (SHAs) for 2006-07 will be issued shortly. They will include funding for modernising medical careers. The precise costs of the transition are not known as much of it will be managed at local level through the re-badging of existing posts rather than the creation of new ones. As a result, it will be for SHAs working closely with their postgraduate deaneries to determine exactly how much funding they will need to provide for modernising medical careers in their locality.
Overseas Doctors
(2) how many trainee doctors from (a) Pakistan, (b) India, (c) New Zealand and (d) South Africa are working in hospitals in England.
It is the responsibility of any employer for applications for work permits. No extra funding will be allocated to national health service trusts.
The numbers of general practitioners (GP) hospital and community health services (HCHS) doctors in training and equivalents in England by specified countries of qualification as at 30 September 2005. Many doctors in this category are not in posts that are academically approved.
Registrar group Senior house officer House officer and foundation programme year1 All countries of qualification 18,006 21,642 4,663 Of which: India 3,581 5,329 184 New Zealand 68 27 0 Pakistan 435 1,041 165 South Africa 327 251 2 1 Doctors in training and equivalents is the term used to refer to people in the registrar group, senior house officers, house officers and other staff in equivalent grades who are not in an educationally approved post. 2 Excludes all dental staff. Information about country of qualification is derived from the General Medical Council. For staff in dental specialties, with a General Dental Council registration, the country of qualification is therefore unknown. Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care, medical and dental workforce census. The Information Centre for health and social care, general and personal medical services statistics.
Payment by Results
Under payment by results, hospitals are paid according to the number and complexity of cases treated and on the basis of the national tariff. The national tariff paid to individual providers is adjusted for market forces factor (MFF), to account for unavoidable cost differences in land, labour and buildings. This could be expressed as a formula: activity x (tariff x MFF).
Prescriptions
The number of prescription messages issued using the electronic prescription service is shown in the following table:
Date Prescription messages 20-28 February 2005 607 March 2005 3,442 April 2005 2,887 May 2005 3,576 June 2005 3,394 July 2005 6,135 August 2005 6,432 September 2005 14,400 October 2005 46,039 November 2005 69,823 December 2005 68,365 January 2006 87,074 February 2006 153,771 March 2006 260,898 April 2006 262,952 May 2006 439,427 Total 1,429,222
Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham
The capital cost of Portsmouth Hospitals National Health Service Trust’s private finance initiative (PFI) scheme for the redevelopment of Queen Alexandra Hospital is £236 million. The annual payment the trust will make to its private sector under the PFI contract is £32,866,000 million, subject to satisfactory performance by the contractor and other factors such as refinancing. The contract is for 35 years; payment commences after the first three and a half years upon the successful construction and handover of the new facilities to the trust.
Work and Pensions
Advertising and Publicity
The information is not available in the format requested and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. A breakdown of publicity costs for each financial year can be found in the Departments Reports’ which are available in the Library. The 10 most expensive advertising and publicity campaigns for 2005-06 are set out in the following table:
Campaign Spend (£000) Targeting Benefit Fraud 7,459 Pension Credit 3,000 Age Partnership 2,475 Winter Fuel/Age Related Payments 1,416 Disability Discrimination Act 1,313 Future Pensioners/Informed Choice 1,059 Pensioners Guide 1,000 State Pension Deferral 927 State Second Pension 818 Age Positive 750 Notes: 1. The table does not include the following as the information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost; spend by non-departmental bodies, statutory bodies for which the Department is responsible or other body sponsored by the Department details of highly localised publicity activity by the Department’s customer-facing businesses; recruitment or procurement advertising. 2. All figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand. 3. All figures are exclusive of VAT. 4. Spend is recorded by financial year only, rather than calendar years.
Air Miles
The Department of Work and Pensions does not have any scheme which collects free air miles gained from business journeys.
Benefit Recipients
Information is not available broken down below national level. For the available information I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the right hon. Member for North Tyneside (Mr. Byers), on 3 March 2006, Official Report, column 1034W.
The information is not available in the format requested. Social fund and family credit data is not available at ward level. Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance data are not available at ward level prior to August 1999. The available information for incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance is in the following table.
Ward name Total claimants Average weekly amount (£) Adwick 1,260 84.41 Askern 765 87.06 Bentley Central 980 84.50 Bentley North Road 630 84.16 Stainforth 1,045 87.14 Thorne 1,280 84.52 Notes: 1. Claimant numbers have been rounded to a multiple of 5 and average amounts to the nearest penny. 2. Claimants figures include all incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance cases, including incapacity benefit credit only cases. 3. The average weekly amount does not include credit only cases. Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent data.
Benefits (Information Leaflets)
Although there is no national agreement for the display of leaflets at libraries, doctors’ surgeries, council offices and citizens advice bureaux there are a number of routes which ensure the availability of leaflets at these locations.
The Pension Service’s local service teams, located throughout England, Scotland and Wales, have local partnerships with external organisations and formally monitor the use and availability of leaflets at ‘Hard Copy Information Points’ on partner premises. They also share local knowledge and experience of which leaflets are the most popular and most useful to our customers.
The 80,000 subscribers to the Department’s Publicity Register receive a quarterly newsletter called ‘Touchbase’ which provides details of current and forthcoming information campaigns. Subscribers are also able to order leaflets directly from the Department through its on-line catalogue of information products.
Some private companies provide information services in public locations such as libraries and doctors’ waiting rooms. The costs of providing this service are usually met directly by the Department or by the venue but the information remains free of any charge to the public.
Recent customer research has indicated that disabled people would prefer information to be available at the point of diagnosis. The Disability and Carers Service are proposing to develop an awareness poster for display in locations such as doctors’ surgeries, hospitals and local authorities that will signpost potential customers to more detailed information. Where possible the outlet displaying the poster will also hold stocks of leaflets.
There is no longer any contractual agreement with the Post Office to display DWP leaflets.
Carers
[holding answer 12 May 2006]: Yes, the payment of carer’s allowance is affected by receipt of state pension.
The payment of state pension takes precedence because it is a contributory benefit, either extinguishing the payment of carer’s allowance, or reducing it if the amount of carer’s allowance due is higher.
Although this will mean that carer’s allowance is not payable, or not payable in full, an underlying entitlement to carer’s allowance gives access to the carer premium in housing benefit and council tax benefit and to the carer’s additional amount in pension credit.
Correspondence
[holding answer 2 May 2006]: I replied to the hon. Member on 2 May 2006.
Departmental Expenditure
The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in 2002. The Department does not co-ordinate the purchase and distribution of Christmas cards centrally. However details on the cost of cards sent by Ministers, the Permanent Secretary and other areas of the Department can be found in the following table. Figures provided prior to 2005 in respect of other areas of the Department are based on the available information but may be under-estimates.
Ministers Permanent Secretary Other areas 2002 11,695 0 2003 1,502 229 668 2004 1,649 210 777 2005 1,573 351 1,187 1 Breakdown not available.
Christmas cards are also sent out by the Department’s Executive Agencies, and I have asked the respective chief executives of these agencies to write to the hon. Members separately. A copy of their letters will be placed in the Library.
No expenditure was incurred on Christmas decorations in any year since the Department was formed.
Expenditure on Christmas parties was as follows:
£ Cost to DWP1 Cost 2002 — 2— 2003 94 326 2004 79 320 2005 72 217 1 The Department only paid for approximately one third of the total cost. The Secretary of State and the Permanent Secretary paid personally for the remainder of the total cost reflecting broadly the proportion of external guests invited. 2 Information not available.
The following tables show the total expenditure for staff training and development for DWP, its agencies and its associate bodies at a national level. Full information by region is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
£ million 2002-03 132.3 2003-04 175.43 2004-05 200.6 2005-06 87.51 1 Information for 2005-06 is incomplete.
£ million Agencies 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Jobcentre plus 78.4 74.3 129.1 37.7 The pension service 32.0 38.6 19.7 24.1 Disability and carers’ service 21.9 10.4 9.7 5.3 Child support agency — 24.0 21.6 6.8 The appeals service — 0.6 2.1 n/a The rent service1 0.797 0.814 0.869 n/a 1 Information taken from the Rent Service Business Plan 2005-2006.
The categories of data gathered during this period have changed, limiting the usefulness of any year by year comparison. In addition to formal training, staff are developed in a variety of other ways including e-learning, coaching, and mentoring in the work place. All these learning interventions are now reflected in the investment figures. Records have therefore become more accurate and comprehensive resulting in the apparent increase shown.
£ 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Disability Employment Advisory Committee (DEAC) n/a 2,000 — 2,000 Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board (DLAAB) — — — — Disability Rights Commission (DRC) 210,472 205,511 203,124 1419,000 Health & Safety Commission (HSC) and Health and Safety Executive 5,200,000 4,700,000 3,900,000 14,600,000 Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (MAC) 0 0 0 0 Independent Living Funds (ILF) 58,016 46,773 126,430 1142,310 National Employment Panel (NEP) 3,013 16,079 38,891 111,338 Pensions Ombudsman (PO) 27,800 5,100 7,200 114,000 Private Pensions Fund (PPF) n/a n/a n/a 1130,000 Remploy Ltd. 4,700,000 6,200,000 7,300,000 16,200,000 Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) 0 0 0 0 The Pensions Regular (TPR) n/a n/a n/a 1793,000
£ 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Independent Review Service & Social Fund Commissioner (IRS SFC) 19,902 18,245 26,284 1, 244,912 Motability 35,792 55,446 32,931 165,000 The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) 15,067 4,714 20,141 119,000 1 Planned expenditure. 2 This includes the costs of external training providers. It does not include staff costs for training or the costs of in-house trainers.
The information is in the following table.
£000 Year ending 31 March 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Benefits agency 1,016,270 1,000,897 1,035,114 1,056,033 991,199 — — — The pension service — — — — — 207,556 309,238 292,785 Contributions agency 118,131 117,455 — — — — — — Child support agency 120,692 108,053 116,690 133,306 148,654 169,193 176,694 184,242 Veterans agency 15,895 13,580 14,214 15,351 15,261 — — — Jobcentre plus — — — — — 1,419,939 1,388,633 1,454,555 Disability and carers — — — — — — — 48,482 The appeals service 17,949 22,336 22,342 21,203 18,902 19,884 20,527 20,758 Corporate 37,449 47,707 52,582 74,471 237,642 418,983 413,192 401,901 Total 1,326,386 1,310,028 1,240,942 1,300,364 1,411,658 2,235,555 2,308,284 2,402,723 Percentage movement — -1.2 -5.6 4.6 7.9 36.9 3.2 3.9 plus Employment service 450,015 478,533 504,251 538,755 595,878 — — — less Veterans’ agency (15,895) (13,580) (14,214) (15,351) (15,261) — — — Total (incl ES & excl. VA) 1,792,296 1,802,141 1,759,407 1,854,470 2,022,797 2,235,555 2,308,284 2,402,723 Percentage movement — 0.5 -2.4 5.1 8.3 9.5 3.2 3.9 Notes: Listed above are the salaries paid to civil servants, in the years stated, by agency. The figures exclude NI contributions, superannuation, bonuses, short term circumstances (e.g. deputising allowances) and staff on short term promotion. The first total includes all the agencies in the OWP (formally DSS) and therefore The veterans’ agency (formally war pensions) is included but the employment service is excluded up to March 2002. This produces a large increase (36.9 per cent.) in 2002-03 when ES became part of the DWP. The second total includes ES and excludes war pensions from 1997-98 and therefore reduces the effect of the agency movements.
As part of its policy development activity, the Department for Work and Pensions ran six formal public consultation exercises in 2005. The consultation process involved not only the formal consultation document, but also ongoing dialogue with stakeholders. The precise cost of this consultation activity is not collated on a central basis and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Formal public consultation papers, summaries of replies, and Government’s responses, are available at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2005/index.asp.
My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will write to the hon. Member with details of the Civil Service Islamic Society Eid-ul-Adha event. Copies of her letter will be placed in the Library.
Departmental Legislation
The information requested is as follows:
In force (a) Acts since 1976 for which the Department is responsible Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 (c.17) The whole Act, except sections 10 and 11 (repealed) Social Security Act 1979 (c.18) Sections 1, 20 and 21 Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 (c.41) The whole Act Social Security Act 1980 (c.30) Sections 6, 9, 12, 16, 19 to 21 except section 4 Social Security and Housing Benefits Act 1982 (c.24) Sections 10, 39, 42, 45 to 48 Social Security Act 1986 (c.50) Sections 37, 39, 54, 56, 57 and 83 to 90 Social Security Act 1988 (c.7) Sections 12, 13, 15 to 16 and 18 to 20 Social Security Act 1989 (c.24) Sections 4, 6, 22 to 24, 28 to 30, 31 and 33 Social Security Act 1990 (c.28) Sections 6, 7, 15 and 18 to 23 Disability Living Allowance and Disability Working Allowance Act 1991 (c.21) Sections 2, 4, 10 and 15 Child Support Act 1991 (c.48) The whole Act except sections 13, 18, 19, 20A and 21 (repealed) Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (c.4) other than parts 1, 12, ZA and 12 ZB Parts 2 to 12 and 12A and 13 except sections 25 to 30, 31 to 34, 49, 50, 53, 57 to 59, 80, 81, 86, 158 and 159 (repealed) Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c.5) The whole Act except for parts 2 and 4 and sections 11, 72, 110, 110B, 114A, 122A, 127, 128, 177 and 178 (repealed) Social Security (Consequential Provisions Act) 1992 (c.6) The whole Act Social Security (Mortgage Interest Payments) Act 1992 (c.33) Section 2 Social Security Act 1993 (c.3) The whole Act except section 1 (repealed) The Disability Grants Act 1993 (c.14) The whole Act Pension Schemes Act 1993 (c.48) The whole Act except part 2 of schedule 5 and schedule 7 (not yet in force) and sections 2 to 6, 22, 24, 48, 59, 64 to 66, 77 to 80, 102 to 108, 111, 111B, 112, 114, 116, 118, 119 to 122, 133 to 144, 172, 173 and 187 (repealed) Statutory Sick Pay Act 1994 (c.2) The whole Act Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (c.18) The whole Act except sections 2(4), 9(1) to (3) and 10 (repealed) Jobseekers Act 1995 (c.18) The whole Act except sections 33 and 34 (repealed) Pensions Act 1995 (c.35) The whole Act except sections 145 (not yet in force) and 1, 2, 5, 13, 16 to 21, 26A to C, 30A, 31, 42 to 46, 48, 56 to 61, 95 to 114, 127 and 150 (repealed) Child Support Act 1995 (c.34 ) The whole Act except for sections 12, 13, 15, 16 and 24 (repealed) Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (c.50) except parts 4 and 5 Parts 1 to 3 and 6 to 8 except for sections 7, 9, 11, 12, 17, 18, 50, 62, 63 and 66 (repealed) Social Security (Overpayments) Act 1996 (c.51) The whole Act Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 (c.27) The whole Act Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997 (c.47) The whole Act except sections 6, 12, 14, 17 and 18 (repealed) Social Security Act 1998 (c.14) The whole Act except for section 35 (repealed) Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (c.30) The whole Act except for sections 4, 5 and 17 (repealed) Disability Rights Commission Act 1999 (c.17) The whole Act except section 11 (repealed) Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 (c.19) other than part 4 (contributions) Parts 1 to 3 and 5 except for sections 43 to 46 Social Security Fraud Act 2001 (c.11) The whole Act State Pension Credit Act 2002 (c.16) The whole Act The Age-Related Payments Act 2004 (c.10) The whole Act Pensions Act 2004 (c.35) Except for sections 118, 153, 155 to 159, 187, 234 to 238 and 308, the other provisions are either in force or partially in force Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (c.13) except sections 5 to 9 and 15 Except for section 14, the provisions for which DWP are responsible are either in force or partially in force (b) Parts of Acts for which the Department is responsible Part 2 of the Health and Social Security Act 1984 (c.48) Sections 15, 21 and 23 to 29 Section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (c.33) Section 115 Sections 6 and 8 of the Children (Leaving Care Act) 2000 (c.35) Sections 6 and 8 Sections 48 to 50 of the Employment Act 2002 (c.22) Sections 48 to 50 Sections 254 and 255 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c.33 ) Sections 254 and 255 Sections 43, 88 and 89 of the Equality Act 2006 (c.3) Sections 43, 88 and 89 Note: References to an Act or part of an Act are to that Act or part as amended and include references to provisions which have not been repealed but are obsolete or spent.
Departmental Staff
This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The rules on political activities that Departments are required to enforce are set out in chapter 4.4 of the Civil Service Management Code. This does not directly state that Members of the House of Lords cannot be employees of the civil service.
The statistical information requested is not recorded by the Department and therefore not available.
All new recruits to the Department are required to provide their nationality on the application form to check eligibility for employment within the civil service. If an EU or non-EU foreign national applies for a specific post that requires vetting action over and above the standard pre appointment enquiries, either a security check or a developed vetting checks would be undertaken (depending on the nature of the individual post).
This information is not available centrally and to provide it would be at disproportionate cost.
The Department for Work and Pensions records complaints relating to racial discrimination and harassment that are formally investigated by the Department.
The following table contains information about the number of complaints that were formally investigated in the years 2003-04 to 2005-06. The information is not available before 2003.
Number of investigations Number upheld 2005-06 19 11-3 2004-05 12 3 2003-04 8 1 1 Cases are ongoing
DWP staff can find out how to complain from their line managers or from the Department’s internal intranet site.
Initial complaints are considered by line managers (or their manager if the complaint is about the line manager) to decide the appropriate course of action. A number will either be resolved without any further action or by Line Manager’s enquiry where the potential for minor misconduct is identified.
If there is a suggestion of serious or gross misconduct, the complaint is referred for formal investigation by the Human Resources Investigation Service.
The information requested is shown in the following tables.
Number of periods Number of staff 2 23,929 3 11,800 4 5,504 5 or more 5,541 Total 46,774
Number of periods Number of staff 2 21,241 3 10,144 4 4,817 5 or more 5,051 Total 41,253
Number of periods Number of staff 2 18,507 3 8,989 4 4,194 5 or more 4,736 Total 36,426
The information requested is not available for 2003-04. For the last 2 years the information is in the following table:
Number of Non-pensionable bonuses paid to staff in DWP Cash Sum (£) As percentage of the total pay bill 2004-05 139,701 23,534,250.90 0.76 2005-06 133,766 45,661,356.80 1.86
Disability Access
The Department for Work and Pensions has reviewed the duties placed upon it under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to make reasonable adjustments to its premises to improve access to the public and for its staff.
The Department, through its property management and services partner LandSecurities Trillium, commissioned a survey of all its occupied buildings (approximately 1,500) to identify the need for public access improvement works. The resultant programme of works commenced in 2004 and was completed in March 2005 with the exception of approximately 55 Jobcentre Plus refurbishments projects that are due for completion by July 2006.
The existing arrangements are subject to annual review and any subsequent measures identified are scheduled through the annual buildings maintenance programmes conducted by LandSecurities Trillium.
Access improvements for members of staff are conducted on an ongoing basis as and when the need arises or is identified upon recruitment, transfer or when an existing condition deteriorates and further measures are required.
Early Retirement
The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001 bringing together the former Department of Social Security and the Employment Service. Information on the number of staff taking voluntary early retirement and voluntary early severance in each year since the Department's formation is shown in the table.
Information on the number of staff taking early retirement is not available prior to the Department’s formation.
Year ending March: Number of staff 2002 415 2003 339 2004 768 2005 467 Notes: 1. Figures are full-time equivalent (rounded). 2. The above figures include those who have retired voluntarily with an actuarially reduced pension, those who have retired with benefits under the civil service compensation scheme and those who have retired on ill-health grounds.
Equal Pay
The Department for Work and Pensions conducts equal pay audits as a minimum every three years. The last one was completed in 2005 and a further review is planned for later this year. The review completed in 2005 did not show any significant differences in pay arrangements for men and women. Some recommendations were made about the need to understand how policies are applied in practice and we are currently working on an action plan to address these recommendations. We conduct full impact assessments for every new policy we introduce.
Grievance Procedures
The Department for Work and Pensions does not centrally record the number of grievance procedures initiated.
Home Working
DWP employees may work from home:
(a) Permanently, on a contractual basis; and
(b) On an ad-hoc basis.
A DWP wide home working policy becomes effective from 19 June 2006, but existing employees may already apply to become a permanent home worker under their legacy terms of employment as a former employee of the DSS or one of its agencies, or the Employment Service.
The parents of children aged under six (18 if the child is disabled) also have a statutory right to apply to become a home worker under the terms of The Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations 2002.
The total staffing figures for DWP for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006, and therefore the number of employees who might apply to become permanent home workers, and the specific number who have contracted as permanent home workers are as follows:
As at March each year: Permanent employees Contracted home workers 2004 143,610 4 2005 133,479 5 2006 127,147 6
Managers may exercise discretion and authorise employees to work from home on an ad-hoc basis for a variety of reasons.
Statistical data have never been collected about ad-hoc home working arrangements, which are treated the same as any other absence from the normal work place on official duties.
Incapacity Benefit
The Green Paper sets out our aspiration to see a million fewer claimants of incapacity benefits, over the course of a decade, through the combined efforts of the Government, employers, local authorities and health professionals. We are still at an early stage and will establish precise measures, including a baseline year, in due course.
[holding answer 23 May 2006]: While it is difficult to model the precise impact of our proposed measures at this stage, the Green Paper sets out our aspiration to see a million fewer claimants of incapacity benefits over the course of a decade, through the combined efforts of the Government, employers, local authorities and health professionals. More precise measures will be established in due course.
Leased Land
The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001. The Department does not lease any property or land in Southend, West Constituency, Essex, Hertfordshire or the Metropolitan Police area of London. The Department’s estate in these areas has been sold or transferred under a PFI partnership deal to Land Securities Trillium (LST) and in return for the payment of a unitary charge, LST is responsible for providing a full facilities management service across the estate. A list of all the estate sold or transferred to LST by Government Office Region was placed in the Library with PQ33250 on 16 February 2006, Official Report, column 2430W.
This response excludes The Health and Safety Executive, an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body and The Rent Service, an Executive Agency, as their records are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The Department is not able to provide information about land and property leased in the years 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992 and 1997 in the areas, as the information is not available in the format requested.
Pathways to Work
The Pathways to Work Evaluation database hold information on most of the end-to-end process of Pathways, including National Insurance number (encrypted), Pathways starts, benefit claims, work focused interviews (WFIs), referrals and starts to programme provision, Return to Work Credit (RTWC) awards and job entries.
There are 179 variables (fields) on the database, a large proportion of which are derived variables that are used for calculation purposes such as classifying dates into months, creating binary flags or enabling the merging of data from different sources. The full list of variables has been placed in the Library.
A report, summarising information produced from the database appeared as a DWP Departmental Working Paper in January 2006 entitled “Incapacity Benefit Reforms—Pathways to Work pilots Performance and Analysis (Working paper no.26)”, which is in the Library. Members of the public can access that information on the Department’s website at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/wp26.pdf
Pay Gap
This Department has not undertaken any research into the pay gap between disabled and non-disabled workers. However, the Low Pay Commission reports that, in 2004, the pay gap for people with a work-limiting disability was 13 percentage points.
The employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), as amended and strengthened by this Government, place a duty on an employer not to directly discriminate against a disabled person, or to treat the disabled person less favourably for a reason related to that person's disability, unless this can be justified. The Equal Opportunities Commission’s Code of Practice on Equal Pay also makes clear that it is good practice for employers to compare the pay of disabled and non-disabled people doing equal work.
As a result of a strong economy and active labour market policies, the employment gap between disabled and non-disabled people is starting to close. The employment rate for disabled people was 38.1 per cent. in spring 1998, rising to 46.6 per cent. by spring 2005; over the same period, the employment gap fell from 35.1 per cent. to 28 per cent.
The Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit report, “Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People” set out a 20 year strategy to realise our vision of substantive equality for disabled people. This strategy is being driven by a new Office for Disability Issues, which was launched in December 2005.
Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr. Murphy) on 29 March 2006, Official Report, column 1030W.
Print/Broadcast Media
Departments analyse coverage in the press and broadcast media as part of their day-to-day operations. This is an important part of best practice in communications (in both public and private sectors) as it enables us to measure the impact of our communications activities and so helps us manage future activity more effectively.
Private Members' Bills
None.
It is not possible to state the Department's position on private Member's Bills that did not reach Second Reading. Only one private Member's Bill has completed that stage since 2001 and the Department opposed the Bill.
Private Office Staff
DWP Private Office consists of seven Ministers’ offices, the Permanent Secretary’s office, the Special Advisers office and the Parliamentary and Correspondence Teams. Of a total 73 staff in post, the percentage of Private Office staff in the Department for Work and Pensions who are recorded as (a) male, (b) female and (c) disabled is as follows:
(a) 41 per cent. male
(b) 59 per cent. female
(c)The number of disabled staff included in the above is between 0-4. The Civil Service Code of Practice prevents diversity data being declared when small numbers are involved in order to protect the identity of individuals.
It should be noted that departmental records of disability are solely based on voluntary declarations of disability under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
Registered Disabled (Mobility Aids)
Information on the number of registered disabled persons who use cycles of various kinds as mobility aids is not available.
There are several types of cycles on the market designed for use by disabled people. However, we have made no assessment of the extent to which they, or other forms of cycles, are used as mobility aids and information to inform such an assessment is not held centrally. The extent to which cycles benefit the mobility of disabled people when compared with other forms of mobility aids has therefore not been determined.
Similarly, we have made no assessment of the status of cycles as a mobility aid in relation to duties under Part 3 or Part 5 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Part 3 of the Act includes provisions which place duties on service providers not to discriminate against disabled people and to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people in the way that they provide their services. Since 5 December 2005, the duties in Part 3 have started to be extended in stages to more areas, including private clubs, public bodies in their carrying out of public functions, and letting of premises. An adjustment for a disabled person who required a cycle as a mobility aid would need to be considered by those with duties under the Act when deciding what may be a reasonable adjustment to make. Factors such as the cost and practicability of making an adjustment, and the resources available to the service provider, private club or landlord may be taken into account in deciding what is reasonable in any individual situation.
Part 5 of the Act concerns accessibility regulations for all land-based public transport (trains, buses, coaches and taxis) rather than private modes of transport.
Remploy
The Review of Remploy, which was announced on the 16 March, is about creating more employment opportunities for disabled people. The Department commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers to undertake a review, supported by an independent disability expert, Stephen Duckworth from Disability Matters, in order to put forward options for a strategy to enable Remploy to help more disabled people into work.
[holding answer 5 June 2006]: Remploy has 81 factories in the Great Britain. The requested breakdown is in the following table.
Number England 59 North West 14 North East 8 Yorkshire and Humber 9 East Midlands 6 East of England 3 West Midlands 4 South East 4 South West 6 London 5 Scotland 10 Wales 12
Small Change Big Difference
The Department for Work and Pensions has not launched any new initiatives specifically linked to the Small Change Big Difference Campaign. It has, however, a good track record over many years of working with its occupational health consultants and local partners to promote a healthy lifestyle.
The Department of Health is leading the implementation for this initiative as part of its cross-government commitment to deliver the public health White Paper ‘Choosing Health’. As the programme of work develops the Department of Health will be working across all of government to ensure the programme joins up to promote maximum impact.
Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)
The target level of employment by 31 March 2008 in the Department is 101,900 full-time equivalent posts. The target is benchmarked against those activities undertaken by the Department at the start of the efficiency challenge, 1 March 2004.
In addition, 625 full-time equivalent posts have been approved by HM Treasury to fulfil new public service commitments.
Telephone Advice Lines
The Department for Work and Pensions and its non-departmental public bodies (NDPB’s) have a total of 28 telephone advice lines. The information that is available (from the advice lines where some relevant data are held) is included in the following table.
Funding information is not held on a consistent basis. We do not provide any funding for helplines run by the voluntary sector. The constructing better health CLG helpline run by the Health and Safety Commission/Executive receives funding from another Government Department, Department of Trade and Industry and from the private sector. The pensions regulator raises an administration levy on pension schemes and money raised from this levy is offset against funding provided by DWP.
The number of advisers shown in the table are full-time equivalents at March 2006 for those who spend the majority of their time answering calls.
The Pension Service (TPS) operates its telephony service as an integrated part of its business, and does not hold separate data on the number of telephone advisers nor is it able provide specific data for telephony costs alone. Other pension service helplines are run by private companies and, under the terms of confidential commercial contracts, suppliers are not required to provide information on staffing or budgeting information.
Debt management staff undertake both telephony and non-telephony duties, therefore separate data are not available for the number of telephone advisers or telephony budgetary information.
Helplines (a) Number of advisers DWP Child support agency CSA national helpline 454 DCS Benefit enquiry line 70 Disability living allowance/ attendance allowance 316 Jobcentre Plus1 Employer direct Not available Jobcentre plus direct—jobseeker direct 527 Jobcentre plus direct—first contact 3607 National benefit fraud hotline Not available Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPB) Executive NDPB Disability Rights Commission (DRC)2 40 Health and Safety Commission/Executive (HSC/E) Health and safety infoline 70 Health and safety gas safety advice line Incident contact centre Workplace health connect Health and Safety Executive/Freight Transport Association advice line Constructing better health CLG Remploy Ltd. 4.5 The pensions regulator 20.5 Other bodies funded by DWP The pensions advisory service (TPAS) 4 Pension protection fund (PPF) (public corporation) 4 1 For national benefit fraud hotline and employer direct specific data on the number of telephone advisors is not available as data collected relates to all staff employed regardless of their responsibilities. 2 Helpline is contracted out.
Twickenham Social Security Office
The Department for Work and Pensions has vacated 121/125 Heath Road Twickenham. It was surrendered to our Estates Service Providers, Land Securities Trillium, on 28 February 2006. The Department is not involved in any disposal plans for the building.
Home Department
Charity Commission
[holding answer 8 May 2006]: I have been asked to reply.
The role of the Charity Commission as the regulator of charities in England and Wales is to secure compliance with charity law, to deal with abuse and poor practice, and to enable charities to work better within an effective legal, accounting and governance framework. In its work with charitable schools the Commission is concerned with the governors’ compliance with their legal obligations in exercising control and management of the school under charity law and it has substantial expertise in this area. The Commission is not competent to judge the quality and standard of education and care.
Commission on Integration and Cohesion
I have been asked to reply.
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government expects to be in a position to make an announcement about the timetable and scope for the Commission on Integration and Cohesion before the summer recess.
Community Support Officers
Information on the number of police community support officers (PCSOs) at basic command unit level is collected annually. At the end of June 2005 (latest available data) the M2 operational command unit which covers the Coventry, South parliamentary constituency had four police community support officers. The deployment of PCSOs within the West Midlands police area is a matter for the chief constable. Data are not collected below operational basic command unit level.
Crime Control Orders
Information on persons given drug treatment and testing orders and other community orders and those breaching them, is published in table 4.13 of ‘Sentencing Statistics, England and Wales, 2004’ (Home Office Statistical Bulletin 15/05). Information relating to termination of community orders, including DTTOs, is published in table 5.1 of ‘Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004’ (Home Office Statistical Bulletin 17/05).
These publications can be found in the Library and also on the Home Office website, as follows:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1505.pdf
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1705.pdf
For offences committed after 4 April 2005, drug treatment and testing orders are no longer available. The new community order may comprise up to 12 requirements, one of which is the drug rehabilitation requirement.
The number of ASBOs issued at all courts in 2004, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, is 2,668. From 1 January 2005 to 30 September 2005 (latest available) 2,679 ASBOs have been issued. Between 1 January 2004 to 30 September 2005 notification has been received of 11 ASBOs being revoked.
ASBO breach data are currently available from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2003 for ASBOs issued since 1 June 2000. During this period, of the 1,892 ASBOs issued, 793 persons were convicted of breaching their ASBO on one or more occasions. Of these, 134 were for breach of ASBO alone.
Criminal Record Checks
The average unit processing cost for a disclosure for the financial year 2005-06 was £26.10. This figure includes payments to Police, the CRB’s Public Private Partner, Capita, and the Agency’s own costs. It does not include the Bureau’s development costs. 20 per cent. of applications processed in 2005-06 were for volunteers and did not attract a fee. While the 2005-06 Standard and Enhanced Disclosure fees were respectively £29 and £34, the non-paying status of volunteers meant that the average unit income for a disclosure during the financial year 2005-06 was £26.15.
E-crime
We do not collect figures specifically on e-crime. However, the “DTI Information Security Breaches Survey”, published April 2006, found that 52 per cent. of businesses (84 per cent. of large businesses) suffered premeditated and malicious breaches in 2006, compared with 68 per cent. in 2004 and 44 per cent. in 2002. In assessing costs, the survey showed the average cost of all incidents, both criminal and non-criminal, rose from £10,000 in 2004 to £12,000 in 2006 and estimates the total cost of all incidents is of the order of £10 billion per year, up roughly 50 per cent. since 2004.
The 2003-04 “British Crime Survey”, published April 2006, showed that 27 per cent. (compared with 18 per cent. in 2002-03) of households with internet access reported their home computer had been affected by a computer virus and a third of those reported the virus had damaged their computer. 2 per cent. (in both 2002-03 and 2003-04) of households with internet access reported that someone had accessed or hacked into files on their home computer in the previous 12 months.
APACS, the UK payments association, estimate that internet fraud using UK plastic cards amounted to £117 million in both 2005 and 2004 and that losses from online banking fraud were £23.2 million in 2005, up from £12.2 million in 2004 (figures from the APACS “Fraud: The Facts 2006” publication, February 2006).
I refer the hon. Member for Eastbourne to my written answer of 12 June 2006, Official Report, column 1025W.
Experience Corps
[holding answer 9 January 2006]: I have been asked to reply.
The Experience Corps received grant-aid from the Home Office over three financial years until 31 March 2004. It is not a condition of Home Office grant aid that independent charities in receipt of public funding are required to issue public briefing papers.
Human Trafficking
We are currently considering the responses to the consultation paper on proposals for tackling human trafficking, many of which focus on the issue of victims and how best to respond to their needs. A summary of the consultation paper responses will be published on the 21 June.
This is an area of concern which requires a careful response and consideration of these issues will form a central part of the National Action Plan against trafficking which will be published later this year.
Misuse of Drugs Act
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 provides the legal framework for the control of drugs that are considered “dangerous or otherwise harmful”. Through the operation of the Act, the UK has a stable mechanism of drug control which allows the police and the criminal justice system to function effectively in respect of the enforcement of the Act. The Act also enables health professionals to have appropriate access to drugs that have proven medical use.
A list of the Statutory Instruments made under the Act is set out as follows.
The control of drugs gives rise to a wide variety of views and representations on the operation of the Act are regularly made across their full spectrum.
Misuse of drugs legislation—listing the statutory instruments that have been made under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (ch. 38) (as amended)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 1973 (SI 1973 No. 771)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 1975 (SI 1975 No. 421)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 1977 (SI 1977 No. 1243)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 1979 (SI 1979 No. 299)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 1983 (SI 1983 No. 765)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 1984 (SI 1984 No. 859)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 1985 (SI 1985 No. 1995)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 1986 (SI 1986 No. 2230)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 1989 (SI 1989 No. 1340)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 1990 (SI 1990 No. 2589)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 1995 (SI 1995 No. 1966)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 1996 (SI 1996 No. 1300)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 1998 (SI 1998 No. 750)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 2001 (SI 2001 No. 3932)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) Order 2003 (SI 2003 No. 1243)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Modification) (No. 2) Order 2003 (SI 2003 No. 3201)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2005 (SI 2005 No. 3178)
Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985 (SI 1985 No. 2066)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 1986 (SI 1986 No. 2330)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 1988 (SI 1988 No. 916)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 1989 (SI 1989 No. 1460)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 1990 (SI 1990 No. 2630)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (SI 1995 No. 2048)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1995 (SI 1995 No. 3244)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 1996 (SI 1996 No. 1597)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998 No. 882)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999 No. 1404)
Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (SI 2001 No. 3998)—consolidated the 1985 Regulations and subsequent amendments made from 1986-99 above
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003 No. 1432)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003 No. 1653)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003 No. 2429)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No. 271)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) (No, 2) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No. 1653)
Misuse of Drugs and Misuse of Drugs (Supply to Addicts) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No. 2864)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No. 3372)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No. 986)
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No. 1450)
Misuse of Drugs (Designation) Order 1986 (SI 1986 No. 2331)
Misuse of Drugs (Designation) (Variation) Order 1990 (SI 1990 No. 2631)
Misuse of Drugs (Designation) (Variation) Order 1995 (SI 1995 No. 2047)
Misuse of Drugs (Designation) (Variation) Order 1998 (SI 1998 No. 881)
Misuse of Drugs (Designation) Order 2001 (SI 2001 No. 3997)—consolidated 1986-98 Designation Orders
Misuse of Drugs (Designation) (Amendment) Order 2005 (SI 2005 No. 1652)
Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1973 (SI 1973 No. 798)
Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) (Amendment) Regulations 1974 (SI 1974 No. 1449)
Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) (Amendment) Regulations 1975 (SI 1975 No. 294)
Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) (Amendment) Regulations 1984 SI 1984 No. 1146)
Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) (Amendment) Regulations 1985 (SI 1985 No. 2067)
Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) (Amendment) Regulations 1986 (SI 1986 No. 2332)
Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999 No. 1403)
Misuse of Drugs (Notification of and Supply to Addicts) Regulations 1973 (SI 1973 No. 799)
Misuse of Drugs (Notification of and Supply to Addicts) (Amendment) Regulations 1983 (SI 1983 No. 1909)
Misuse of Drugs (Supply to Addicts) Regulations 1997 (SI 1997 No. 1001)—revoked the 1973 and 1983 Regulations above
Misuse of Drugs and Misuse of Drugs (Supply to Addicts) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No. 2864)
Homicide
[holding answer 5 June 2006]: The available information relates to under 18 victims of homicide for each year from 1990 to 2004-05, with three tables giving breakdowns by age, gender and police force area. Local authority information is not collected centrally for this measure.
Age under 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 January 1997 to March 19984 1 24 28 27 27 24 17 27 37 1 13 13 6 11 9 9 7 12 2 4 14 6 9 6 4 5 4 3 3 3 5 3 4 3 4 6 4 1 7 4 4 5 3 4 1 5 7 3 2 1 3 3 6 7 6 2 2 1 — 4 6 5 2 7 1 5 2 2 — 10 2 4 8 1 2 1 — 2 3 1 3 9 — 3 2 2 3 3 2 2 10 4 — 1 — 1 l 1 1 11 3 2 — 1 2 1 2 — 12 1 3 — 2 2 2 1 4 13 1 — 1 2 1 3 4 1 14 1 5 5 3 3 4 4 4 15 1 3 5 2 7 8 5 3 16 10 5 8 3 3 4 11 10 17 8 12 6 11 14 4 10 8 Total under 18 85 110 82 83 93 88 101 109
Age under 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Total 1990 to 2004-05 1 37 31 49 17 30 31 23 429 1 5 4 11 10 9 9 7 135 2 9 3 4 5 7 5 6 91 3 4 3 4 2 8 3 4 59 4 2 1 1 3 2 1 — 39 5 5 1 — 3 3 3 3 50 6 — 5 4 4 3 3 3 44 7 5 3 4 3 4 2 1 48 8 3 3 5 3 1 — — 28 9 — 2 — 1 3 — 1 24 10 2 1 2 1 4 2 1 22 11 1 2 2 1 1 — 2 20 12 2 1 4 1 2 — — 25 13 1 4 2 — — 4 4 28 14 1 — 3 4 4 5 3 49 15 5 1 3 6 4 8 4 65 16 11 10 12 13 4 5 8 117 17 15 9 13 13 14 9 8 154 Total under 18 108 84 123 90 107 90 74 1,427 1.As at 28 November 2005; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and the courts, or as further information comes to light. Excludes cases that result in an acquittal or conviction of a lesser offence. 2 Murder, manslaughter and infanticide. 3 Excludes cases where age of victim is unknown. 4 This is a 15 month period that reflects the transition from calendar year reporting to financial year reporting in April 1998.
Force area 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 January 1997 to March 19984 Avon and Somerset — 2 1 2 1 4 3 5 Bedfordshire — — — l 1 1 2 — Cambridgeshire 2 1 1 — 1 — 1 — Cheshire — 3 2 6 — 4 — 1 Cleveland — 2 1 — 3 — 2 1 Cumbria — 2 1 — — — — 1 Derbyshire — — 2 1 1 1 3 3 Devon and Cornwall 4 3 2 1 3 — 1 3 Dorset 1 — 1 1 6 1 1 — Durham — 1 1 2 3 1 — 1 Essex5 4 — — 1 3 1 3 3 Gloucestershire — 4 1 3 5 — 1 1 Greater Manchester 5 4 8 3 3 6 8 6 Hampshire 2 3 1 1 — — 8 l Hertfordshire5 — 1 — — — — — 1 Humberside 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 Kent 1 4 2 3 3 2 2 2 Lancashire — 1 2 4 5 — 7 6 Leicestershire — 3 2 1 — — 2 — Lincolnshire — 5 — — 1 — — — London, City of — — 1 — — 1 — — Merseyside 2 6 — 2 3 2 5 4 Metropolitan Police5 20 15 9 13 11 18 15 26 Norfolk 1 — 2 — 1 5 — 3 North Yorkshire 1 — 1 2 1 — — 1 Northamptonshire 1 1 — 1 — — 2 1 Northumbria 2 3 5 2 4 1 2 3 Nottinghamshire 1 9 5 2 7 — 1 2 South Yorkshire 2 5 3 5 5 6 1 — Staffordshire 3 1 1 2 1 3 1 2 Suffolk — — — — 1 2 1 — Surrey5 1 2 3 — — — — — Sussex 5 1 4 1 1 — 1 4 Thames Valley 5 3 3 3 — 4 5 4 Warwickshire — 1 — — 1 1 — — West Mercia 2 2 3 4 1 — — 4 West Midlands 8 3 8 7 8 7 11 6 West Yorkshire 6 7 1 3 5 9 3 5 Wiltshire 3 — 2 2 — — 2 2 Dyfed Powys 1 1 — 1 — — 2 — Gwent — 2 — 1 1 — 1 — North Wales — — — — — 1 — 1 South Wales 1 7 1 — — 4 1 3 85 110 82 83 93 88 101 109
Force area 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Grand total Avon and Somerset — 3 1 5 2 1 — 30 Bedfordshire — 3 1 5 — 1 — 15 Cambridgeshire 2 1 1 1 3 — 2 16 Cheshire 5 — — 1 1 3 1 27 Cleveland 1 — — 2 2 1 1 16 Cumbria — 1 — 3 1 3 — 12 Derbyshire — 4 — 1 2 1 1 20 Devon and Cornwall 3 — 8 6 2 1 4 41 Dorset 1 — — — 1 — 1 14 Durham — — 1 1 1 — — 12 Essex5 4 — — 3 — 2 2 26 Gloucestershire 4 — — 1 2 1 1 24 Greater Manchester 7 4 8 10 3 5 6 86 Hampshire 1 1 3 6 6 1 2 36 Hertfordshire5 — — 1 — — — 1 4 Humberside 2 — 2 1 1 2 4 31 Kent 4 2 4 4 3 — 3 39 Lancashire 1 3 3 1 3 5 1 42 Leicestershire 4 — 1 — 2 3 1 19 Lincolnshire 4 — 3 1 2 1 — 17 London, City of — — — — — — — 2 Merseyside 4 2 1 1 2 2 6 42 Metropolitan Police5 18 12 19 17 22 19 12 246 Norfolk 3 1 3 — 1 1 — 21 North Yorkshire — 1 — — — — 1 8 Northamptonshire — 1 5 — 1 1 — 14 Northumbria 4 4 3 — 3 3 — 39 Nottinghamshire 2 4 1 1 4 1 3 43 South Yorkshire 1 — 5 3 4 1 4 45 Staffordshire 8 1 5 1 1 2 — 32 Suffolk 2 2 4 — 3 5 — 20 Surrey5 — 1 3 1 3 — — 14 Sussex 4 3 6 1 — 2 3 36 Thames Valley 4 4 2 — 2 1 2 42 Warwickshire 1 — 1 1 — — — 6 West Mercia 4 3 3 — 2 2 1 31 West Midlands 5 8 5 8 7 8 5 104 West Yorkshire 1 3 8 3 6 6 5 71 Wiltshire — 1 4 — 1 1 — 18 Dyfed Powys — 1 — — 1 — — 7 Gwent — — 2 1 1 1 — 10 North Wales 2 1 2 — 4 1 1 13 South Wales 2 9 4 — 2 2 — 36 108 84 123 90 107 90 74 1,427 1 As at 28 November 2005; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and the courts, or as further information comes to light. Excludes cases that result in an acquittal or conviction of a lesser offence. 2 Murder, manslaughter and infanticide. 3 Excludes cases where age of victim is unknown. 4 This is a 15 month period that reflects the transition from calendar year reporting to financial year reporting in April 1998. 5 These force areas were subject to boundary changes on 1 April 2000.
Gender 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 January 1997 to March 19984 Male 55 52 41 44 40 50 59 65 Female 30 58 41 39 53 38 42 44 Total 85 110 82 83 93 88 101 109
Gender 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Total 1990 to 2004-05 Male 66 52 73 62 48 59 45 811 Female 42 32 50 28 59 31 29 616 Total 108 84 123 90 107 90 74 1,427 1 As at 28 November 2005; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and the courts, or as further information comes to light. Excludes cases that result in an acquittal or conviction of a lesser offence. 2 Murder, manslaughter and infanticide. 3 Excludes cases where age of victim is unknown. 4 This is a 15 month period that reflects the transition from calendar year reporting to financial year reporting in April 1998.
[holding answer 5 June 2006]: The available information relates to under 18 victims of homicide for each year from 1990 to 2004-05, with the tables giving a breakdown by method of killing.
Method of killing 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 January 1997 to March 19984 Sharp instrument 14 19 15 6 14 19 16 14 Blunt instrument 7 2 4 2 3 1 7 8 Kicking or hitting etc. without a weapon 21 23 26 18 24 17 6 8 Strangulation 13 10 7 6 12 16 7 6 Exhaust fumes5 2 9 5 2 6 6 6 — Other poisoning — 8 1 3 4 — 9 3 Shooting6 2 4 3 3 2 — 1 4 Exposure of newly born child7 1 3 1 — — — — — Negligence or neglect — 1 2 2 — 1 5 1 Aborting — — — — — — — — Explosion — — 1 2 — — — — Drowning 1 5 7 2 6 1 2 6 Causing to fall against a hard surface 6 1 4 6 2 1 1 4 Burning, scalding 1 3 2 — 3 — — 2 Struck by motor vehicle8 3 3 1 1 1 — — — Suffocation, asphyxiation or smothering 4 8 2 17 6 5 2 10 Arson 7 10 1 5 6 12 9 11 Other9 3 1 — 6 — 7 28 26 Not known — — — 2 4 2 2 6 Total 85 110 82 83 93 88 101 109
Method of killing 1998-89 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Total Sharp instrument 14 16 18 19 12 17 5 218 Blunt instrument 2 5 5 4 1 — 2 53 Kicking or hitting etc. without a weapon 7 4 3 7 9 3 4 180 Strangulation 7 6 14 4 6 4 1 119 Exhaust fumes5 5 6 2 — 5 — 2 56 Other poisoning 7 2 5 3 6 3 3 57 Shooting6 — 2 3 8 4 3 2 41 Exposure of newly born child7 2 2 2 — — — — 11 Negligence or neglect 1 3 5 2 5 6 7 36 Aborting — — — — 1 — — 1 Explosion — — — — — — — 5 Drowning 5 2 5 4 5 4 4 38 Causing to fall against a hard surface 5 3 3 3 3 5 3 34 Burning, scalding 1 — 1 — — 1 1 6 Struck by motor vehicle8 — 1 2 3 — 4 2 12 Suffocation, asphyxiation or smothering 12 3 13 9 8 5 8 75 Arson 11 3 4 6 10 7 4 77 Other9 21 18 37 13 22 16 16 204 Not known 8 8 1 5 10 12 10 64 Total 108 84 123 90 107 90 74 1,427 1 As at 28 November 2005; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and the courts, or as further information comes to light. Excludes cases that result in an acquittal or conviction of a lesser offence. 2 Murder, manslaughter and infanticide. 3 Excludes cases where age is unknown. 4 This is a 15-month period that reflects the transition from calendar year reporting to financial year reporting in April 1998. 5 Includes all carbon monoxide poisoning, i.e. car exhausts, gas fires etc. 6 Includes use of weapons other than firearms e.g. crossbows, catapaults. 7 Killed by natural elements. 8 Excludes deaths by careless/dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking (which are not homicides). 9 Includes non-specific methods in baby battering cases i.e. shaking etc.
Passports
With the introduction of biometric passports the Passport Agency Support System has been amended to capture and store the facial Biometric data. This data is not being stored on any other database.
Referendums
I have been asked to reply.
It is for the Charity Commission, the independent regulator, in any particular case whether or not a charity is in breach of the legal rules on political activities by charities. I have asked the Commission’s Chief Executive to write to the hon. Gentleman.
Security Industry Authority
The SIA do not calculate average processing times. Some, such as those involving overseas criminal records checks, unavoidably take a considerable time. The SIA have a published target of processing 80 per cent. of all applications within six weeks, measured from the date that a properly completed application enters the processing system to the date that a licence is issued.
From April 2004 until August 2005 the SIA processed 62 per cent. within six weeks and 88 per cent. within nine weeks.
Since September 2005, there has been a backlog of applications that have been waiting to enter the system. These have added an additional time of between two and four weeks to the process, so it is now taking up to 10 weeks to process most applications.
UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs
On 7 March 2006 the Office of Fair Trading published a review of undertakings given by the pharmaceutical supplier Macfarlan Smith Ltd., who supply opiate derivatives in the UK. The OFT report also recommends that the Government consider competition when licensing opiate derivatives.
The Government are committed to responding within 90 days to OFT recommendations that cover the impact of regulation on competition. On 5 June 2006 the Minister for Trade, wrote to the Chief Executive of the OFT explaining that a full response would take a further 45 days, owing to the need for Government to perform a wider analysis of the market beyond the scope of the OFT review. As part of that process officials have had discussions with Macfarlan Smith Ltd.
I have made no recent assessment of the enforcement by my Department of the convention itself. However, the convention establishes a framework for control which, in the United Kingdom, is implemented through the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. So any assessment of the enforcement of the convention is, in effect, an assessment of the enforcement of the Act. The Act establishes the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to advise me on all matters relating to drug misuse. The council meets, and makes recommendations to me, regularly.