Written Answers of 18 June 2004

TREASURY

  Child Tax Credit
  Simon Hughes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Greater London, broken down by borough, are eligible for the child tax credit; and what the take-up rate is. [179401]

  Dawn Primarolo
  The estimated number of families in London receiving child tax credit (CTC) is shown in "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics. Geographical analyses. April 2004", which is on the Inland Revenue website at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/menu.htm. The estimated number of families in each London borough receiving CTC is shown in "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics. January 2004", at the same site. The estimates are based on a sample of cases, and are subject to sampling uncertainty.

  No estimate is available of the number of families in London who are eligible for the child tax credit.

  Greater London Constituencies
  Simon Hughes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Greater London constituencies experienced the greatest fall in electorate between(a) 1990 and 2000 and (b) 1997 and 2004 in (i) numerical and (ii) percentage terms, listed in descending order. [179400]

  Ruth Kelly
  The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

  Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Simon Hughes, dated 18 June 2004:

  As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the Greater London constituencies that have experienced the greatest fall in electorate between 1990 and 2000 and between 1997 and 2004. (179400)

  New constituencies came into place in 1996, therefore it has only been possible to compare figures for 1990 with those for 1995.

  I am placing four tables in the House of Commons Library.

  Table 1 shows the Greater London constituencies that have experienced decreases in electors between February 1990 and February 1995, ranked by numerical decrease. Table 2 shows the same constituencies ranked in order of percentage decreases in electorate over the same period.

  Table 3 shows the Greater London constituencies that have experienced the greatest fall in electors between February 1997 and December 2003, the latest date for which data are available (ranked by numerical decrease). Table 4 shows the same constituencies ranked in order of percentage decreases in electorate over the same period.

TRANSPORT

  A30
  Ms Atherton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date he expects a decision to be made on the A30 dualling from Bodmin to Indian Queens. [179581]

  Mr. Jamieson
  The Secretary of State for Transport and the Deputy Prime Minister are currently considering the Inspector's report of the public local inquiry and will issue their joint decision as soon as possible.

  Dunstable Northern Bypass
  Andrew Selous
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Dunstable Northern bypass from the A5 to the M1 will be built; and what funding has been specifically allocated to build it. [179442]

  Mr. Jamieson
  The M1-A5 Dunstable Northern Link Road is in the Department's Targeted Programme of Improvements. The contract is expected to be part of a package, which includes the widening of the M1 between junctions 10 and 13. Subject to statutory procedures and the availability of funds, works could start during 2008–09.

  The estimated cost of the Dunstable scheme is £48.1 million.

  Liquefied Petroleum Gas
  Mr. Simmonds
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many(a) private and (b) commercial liquefied petroleum gas fuelled vehicles there are in the UK. [179422]

  Mr. Jamieson
  According to the Liquid Petroleum Gas Association (LPGA), there were 107,000 LPG powered vehicles on the road in the UK on 31 December 2003. Although figures on the breakdown between private and commercial vehicles are not recorded, some 25,000 of these vehicles were vans, and a straw poll of major suppliers carried out in 2003 indicated that of the 82,000 remaining vehicles there were an estimated 250 black taxis in London, and at least 8,000 operating as private taxi hire throughout the UK.

  Noise Pollution
  Mr. Watson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 7 June 2004,Official Report, column 70W, on noise pollution (roads), what other methods are used to reduce noise from road surfaces. [179175]

  Mr. Jamieson
  My answer of 7 June referred to the sound-proofing of residential properties. Quieter road surfaces and noise barriers are other methods that are used to reduce noise from road surfaces on the strategic road network.

  Road Safety
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pedestrian deaths in road accidents there were where the pedestrian had over 100 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood in each year since
  1119W
  1997; and what percentage of pedestrian road accident deaths in (a) England and (b) each region this represented in each case. [179152]

  Mr. Jamieson
  Not all pedestrians who die in road accidents are tested for blood alcohol level. Among those who were tested, the percentage of pedestrian fatalities in Great Britain who had blood alcohol levels over 100 mg/100 ml are shown in the following table, for the years 1997 to 2001 (the latest year for which this information is available). Figures are not readily available for England or by region.

  Percentage of pedestrian fatalities with blood/alcohol 100 mg/ml: Great Britain

  1997

  35

  1998

  35

  1999

  37

  2000

  33

  2001

  38

  Mr. Simmonds
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatal road traffic accidents there have been in each county in England since 1997. [179423]

  Mr. Jamieson
  The information requested is shown in the following table.

  Fatal road accidents, by county: England 1997 to 2002

  Accidents

  County

  1997

  1998

  1999

  2000

  2001

  2002

  Avon

  46

  52

  37

  43

  51

  41

  Bedfordshire

  37

  28

  44

  35

  37

  44

  Berkshire

  33

  36

  44

  55

  36

  46

  Buckinghamshire

  48

  47

  44

  44

  51

  59

  Cambridgeshire

  58

  60

  63

  72

  53

  56

  Cheshire

  59

  60

  68

  66

  64

  63

  Cleveland

  23

  15

  21

  23

  25

  18

  Cornwall

  41

  31

  27

  33

  36

  48

  Cumbria

  48

  46

  54

  48

  45

  45

  Derbyshire

  62

  60

  55

  55

  42

  56

  Devon

  52

  51

  46

  54

  51

  54

  Dorset

  40

  31

  35

  39

  37

  52

  Durham

  32

  38

  29

  20

  26

  38

  East Sussex

  38

  40

  44

  55

  39

  48

  Essex

  83

  79

  104

  82

  111

  85

  Gloucestershire

  48

  36

  40

  33

  47

  38

  Greater London

  263

  220

  254

  270

  294

  267

  Greater Manchester

  111

  98

  84

  99

  102

  81

  Hampshire

  70

  72

  86

  81

  66

  84

  Hereford and Worcester

  58

  59

  29

  43

  53

  55

  Hertfordshire

  52

  53

  47

  49

  43

  54

  Humberside

  63

  58

  68

  41

  52

  44

  Isle of Wight

  4

  3

  5

  6

  1

  5

  Kent

  107

  83

  94

  82

  96

  100

  Lancashire

  75

  81

  70

  60

  74

  62

  Leicestershire

  58

  74

  82

  56

  60

  71

  Lincolnshire

  73

  75

  87

  63

  74

  77

  Merseyside

  50

  48

  54

  68

  42

  55

  Norfolk

  55

  62

  64

  64

  56

  70

  Northants

  53

  49

  61

  50

  40

  50

  Northumberland

  25

  29

  25

  18

  18

  24

  North Yorkshire

  74

  75

  63

  77

  73

  84

  Nottinghamshire

  77

  81

  62

  66

  77

  70

  Oxfordshire

  48

  59

  55

  55

  47

  36

  Shropshire

  29

  27

  42

  42

  35

  36

  Somerset

  38

  44

  34

  41

  44

  41

  South Yorkshire

  43

  53

  46

  55

  46

  56

  Staffordshire

  68

  62

  52

  64

  75

  56

  Suffolk

  42

  21

  45

  50

  49

  42

  Surrey

  66

  56

  69

  66

  48

  58

  Tyne and Wear

  45

  26

  35

  24

  24

  37

  Warwickshire

  53

  48

  42

  57

  49

  48

  West Midlands

  108

  93

  78

  71

  82

  77

  1120W

  Fatal road accidents, by county: England 1997 to 2002

  Accidents

  County

  1997

  1998

  1999

  2000

  2001

  2002

  West Sussex

  43

  54

  39

  35

  55

  38

  West Yorkshire

  115

  100

  108

  115

  128

  110

  Wiltshire

  47

  42

  43

  34

  46

  38

  England

  2,761

  2,615

  2,678

  1,659

  2,700

  2,717

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

  Fly-tipping (Merseyside)
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions Merseyside local authorities have used their new powers to investigate and tackle fly-tipping since the inception of these powers. [178330]

  Mr. Morley
  No data is collated on how often local authorities use the specific stop, search and seizure powers and investigation powers that were extended to waste collection authorities under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.

  Information can be derived from returns to the Flycapture database on numbers of prosecutions:

  St. Helens—182 incidents, 20 investigations

  Sefton—171 incidents, No actions recorded yet

  Knowsley—215 incidents, No actions recorded yet

  Liverpool City—Not yet registered for Flycapture

  Wirral—Registered but not submitted a return for April

  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on progress by Merseyside local authorities in the adoption of the standard classification system for the reporting of fly-tipping. [178331]

  Mr. Morley
  The Flycapture database that has been developed between Defra, the Environment Agency and the Local Government Association went 'live' on 5 April. The first returns were due to be sent by 25 May.

  So far, progress nationally on adopting Flycapture has been good with 92 per cent. of waste collection authorities in England and Wales registering.

  The progress of local authorities in the Merseyside area is detailed:

  Liverpool City—Not yet registered

  St. Helens—Registered and submitted data

  Sefton—Registered and submitted data

  Knowsley—Registered and submitted data

  Wirral—Registered but not submitted data for April.

  Abandoned Vehicles
  Norman Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many abandoned vehicles there were in England and Wales in each financial year since 2001–02(a) in total and (b) broken down by region. [176937]
  1121W
  Mr. Morley
  Figures for numbers of abandoned vehicles removed and destroyed are compiled from the Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey for 2001–02 and 2002–03 and the Defra Abandoned Vehicle Survey for 2002–03.

  Figures for England broken down by region are listed as follows:

  Thousand vehicles

  Region

  2001–02

  2002–03

  North East

  3.8

  6.9

  North West

  13.0

  18.5

  Yorkshire and the Humber

  12.7

  15.7

  East Midlands

  17.6

  20.5

  West Midlands

  12.0

  26.0

  East

  42.2

  44.4

  London

  104.5

  94.5

  South East

  57.3

  56.2

  South West

  23.3

  27.3

  England

  286.3

  310.1

  Norman Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many abandoned cars each local authority in England and Wales stated they had removed in their submissions to the most recent Municipal Waste Management Survey. [176938]

  Mr. Morley
  The latest data for abandoned vehicles removed and destroyed by each local authority in England are taken both from the 2002–03 Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey and the 2002–03 Defra Abandoned Vehicle Survey. The results from either survey are available in the Library of the House.

  Cardiff Process.
  Norman Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government is taking to ensure the success at EU level of the Cardiff process to integrate environmental considerations into sectoral policy. [178704]

  Mr. Morley
  The Government has been an active supporter of the Cardiff process since its launch under the UK presidency in 1998. The European Commission has recently produced a stocktaking report of the Cardiff process ['Integrating environmental considerations into other policy areas—a stocktaking of the Cardiff process' COM(2004)394]. This document shows that whilst some progress has been made in important areas such as agriculture (reform of the CAP) and energy (Directive 2004/87/EC on Greenhouse gas emissions) more work is still needed. My department will consider the recommendations in the stocktaking carefully. In the meantime my department has beer considering ways of promoting environmental integration through various other tools. For example, we see a fair and balanced impact assessment of new EU policy proposals as a key tool in promoting environmental integration; my department have commissioned a study investigating the Commission's new impact assessment system and will be sharing its conclusions and recommendations with the Commission. We will also be looking for further improvements in the EU Sustainable Development Strategy which is being reviewed this year.
  1122W

  Ceramics Industry
  Sir Paul Beresford
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the UK ceramics industry about(a) European regulation and (b) the Government's implementation thereof; and what action she has taken as a result. [177449]

  Mr. Morley
  [holding answer 7 June 2004]: The Ceramic industry is subject to a range of EU legislation. I believe that, in this case, the hon. Member may be referring to the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The ceramic industry is one of the sectors covered by EU ETS.

  Government have held discussions with the ceramic industry in relation to the EU ETS through formal consultation and a sector meeting held on 27 February. A meeting with the ceramic sector was held on 11 May to renegotiate their Climate Change Agreement targets. This work will also feed into the EU ETS allocation process. Representatives from the ceramic industry have also been present at various seminars held by Government, the most recent being on allocation methodology held on 20 May.

  Officials have also worked closely with the British Ceramic Confederation over the implementation of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive, including their involvement in implementation trials and discussions about interpretation and statutory guidance. Amendments have been made to the guidance in the light of their comments. The British Ceramic Confederation is a member of the Department's Industry Forum concerning the Pollution Prevention and Control regime, which meets twice a year.

  Common Agricultural Policy
  Andrew George
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many UK farm holdings received total annual Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments in excess of(a) £500,000, (b) £750,000 and (c) £1,000,000 in each CAP accounting year in the last five years for which figures are available. [177122]

  Alun Michael
  The number of farm holdings in England that received total annual CAP payments in the requested bands is shown in the following table.

  These figures have been taken from European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) accounts. The EAGGF financial year runs from 16 October to 15 October.

  The information for other countries within the UK is a matter for their devolved assemblies.

  EAGGF year

  Over £500,000

  Over £750,000

  Over £1,000,000

  2000

  32

  9

  4

  2001

  27

  11

  7

  2002

  25

  8

  5

  2003

  37

  19

  11

  1123W
  The Rural Payments Agency introduced a new accounting system in 1999 so complete figures for that year could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Departmental Secondments
  Bob Spink
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in her Department and its agencies were seconded from the(a) private and (b) academic sector in each of the last three years. [174821]

  Alun Michael
  The number of staff in Defra and its agencies seconded from the private and academic sector in each of the last three years is shown in the following table:

  Private sector

  Academic sector

  2001–02

  4

  2

  2002–03

  4

  0

  2003–04

  7

  0

  The purpose of bringing people into the Civil Service from other sectors is to fill skills gaps and to add dimensions and insights from outside. For the individuals themselves, the secondment provides experience of another sector and an opportunity to enhance existing skills and develop others.

  Secondments are part of the Interchange Initiative which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations. Before an interchange can occur, all parties must be satisfied that no conflict of interest arises.

  Hazardous Waste
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much hazardous waste was illegally dumped in(a) Merseyside and (b) Crosby in each of the last three years; and how many prosecutions resulted. [177861]

  Mr. Morley
  Information has been provided for the numbers of incidents involving illegal deposits of hazardous waste recorded by the Environment Agency. While the Agency holds prosecution data for all illegal deposits of waste, hazardous waste prosecutions are not themselves separately recorded.

  Local authorities may additionally hold records of those incidents and prosecutions that they have taken but this is not held centrally.

  There are no Agency recorded incidents or prosecutions relating to the illegal deposit of hazardous waste in Crosby in any of the last three years.

  Those for Merseyside are set out in the following tables.

  Table 1—Total incidents of illegal hazardous waste deposits recorded by the Agency

  Merseyside

  Crosby

  2002

  12

  0

  2003

  9

  0

  2004

  4

  0

  1124W

  Table 2-Total number of Agency prosecutions for all illegal waste deposits (including non-hazardous)

  Merseyside

  Crosby

  2002

  15

  0

  2003

  7

  0

  2004

  2

  0

  Ministerial Speeches
  Keith Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many speeches she made between 9 June 2003 and 1 February 2004; and where a copy of each speech can be obtained. [156147]

  Margaret Beckett
  I made 19 speeches during the eight month period from 9 June 2003 to 1 February 2004. Copies of my keynote speeches can be found on the Defra Website: http://defraweb/corporate/ministers/speeches/default.asp [156147]

  Orchards
  Mr. Gray
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with English Nature about biodiversity in English orchards. [177784]

  Alun Michael
  Officials have been in discussion with English Nature with a view to finding a way forward within the Single Pay meat Scheme for traditional grazed orchards (that are important in the biodiversity context) to remain eligible for CAP subsidy.

  Mr. Gray
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the EU about a derogation for(a) some and (b) all English orchards allowing them to be included in the Single Farm Scheme. [177785]

  Alun Michael
  Orchards are not eligible land for the purposes of the Single Payment Scheme and there is no prospect of a general derogation from this rule for any member state. However, officials remain in discussion with the Commission over the status of traditional grazed orchards.

  Radio Identifier Frequency Devices
  Mr. Lepper
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to commission research into the environmental impact of the use of radio identifier frequency devices in retail goods. [178245]

  Alun Michael
  We are not aware of any particular environmental concerns relating to the use of radio frequency identification devices and currently have no plans to commission any research into their impact.

  Sewerage
  Mr. Grogan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to bring forward proposals in response to the Review of Existing Private Sewers and Drains in England and Wales. [178954]
  1125W
  Mr. Morley
  The Department plans to publish a response to the consultation in the summer. This will summarise responses, give the Government's views and set out the issues that need to be addressed before a final decision can be made. A decision paper should be published early next year.

  Waste Disposal
  Mr. Anthony D. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment she has made of the(a) recycling and (b) incineration of (i) oxo-biodegradable plastic and (ii) conventional plastic; [176907]

  (2) what assessment she has made of the effect of oxo-biodegradable plastic in combating litter; [176908]

  (3) what research she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on oxo-biodegradable plastics, with particular reference to the contribution they may make to a better environment; [176910]

  (4) what assessment she has made of the effect on the environment of making short-life plastic products degradable. [176911]

  Mr. Morley
  The National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) recently published a review of current knowledge on the environmental profiles of biodegradable polymers (BDPs). The main focus of the review is on BDPs made from renewable feedstocks such as starch, polylactic acid and cellulose and their environmental performance compared to conventional plastics. The summary report, "Biodegradable Polymers and Sustainability: Insights from Life Cycle Assessment", can be viewed on the NNFCC website at: www.nnfcc.co.uk

  The Environment Agency will Follow up this work with two Life Cycle Analysis research projects. The first will consider disposable plastic carrier bags from supermarkets and alternative product systems (e.g. paper and bioplastics) and the other will look at food packaging product systems. Oil-based biodegradable (oxo-biodegradable) plastics are included in the scope of the alternative materials. The results of the research will be reported March 2005.

HEALTH

  Arm's Length Bodies
  Mr. Lansley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the arm's length bodies for which his Department has responsibility, indicating in each case whether it is an(a) executive agency, (b) special health authority, (c) non departmental public body and (d) other body. [175313]

  Ms Rosie Winterton
  A list of the Department's arm's length bodies is shown in the tables.

  Executive agencies

  Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

  NHS Estates

  NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency

  1126W
  Special health authorities

  Counter Fraud and Security Management Service

  Dental Vocational Training Authority

  Family Health Services Appeal Authority

  Health Development Agency

  Health Protection Agency

  Mental Health Act Commission

  NHS Appointments Commission

  NHS Direct

  NHS Information Authority

  NHS Litigation Authority

  NHS Logistics

  NHS Pensions Agency

  NHS Professionals

  NHSU

  National Blood Authority

  National Clinical Assessment Authority

  National Institute for Clinical Excellence

  National Patient Safety Agency

  National Treatment Agency

  Prescription Pricing Authority

  UK Transplant

  Executive non-departmental public bodies

  Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (The Healthcare Commission)

  Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health

  Commission for Social Care Inspection

  General Social Care Council

  Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

  Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts

  National Biological Standards Board (UK)

  National Radiological Protection Board

  Public Health Laboratory Service Board

  Other bodies

  Council for the Regulation of Health Care Professionals

  Dental Practice Board

  Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board

  Breastfeeding
  Ms Drown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a breastfeeding strategy for England will be included in the Children's National Service Framework. [178289]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  The national service framework for children, young people and maternity services will set out standards for a wide range of health and social care services and the interface with education. The standards are likely to set out what support should be available to children, young people and pregnant women.

  The Government encourage breastfeeding as the best form of nutrition for infants and has set an national health service priorities and planning framework target to increase breastfeeding initiation by two percentage points a year between 2003–06, focusing on women from disadvantaged groups.
  1127W

  Chorley and South Ribble PCT
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people had treatment in Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust in each of the age groups(a) two to 11, (b) 11 to 18, (c) 18 to 30, (d) 30 to 40, (e) 40 to 60 and (f) 60 to 70 in each of the last five years, broken down by gender. [179281]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  Information is not gathered on the number of people receiving treatment.

  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much public money is earmarked for health over the next two years in Chorley. [179282]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  The allocations to the Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust are as follows:

  £

  2004–05

  181,153,000

  2005–06

  205,458,000

  Depression (Young People)
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes for depression in children and adolescents there were in(a) England and (b) each strategic health authority in each year since 1996; and if he will make a statement. [178480]

  Dr. Ladyman
  The available information is shown in the table. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is currently developing a guideline on the identification and management of depression in children in primary care and specialist services. The guideline is scheduled to be published in 2005.

  Primary diagnosis (ICD-10) F32—Depressive episode and F33—Recurrent depressive episode; Count of finished consultant episodes; for age groups 0–15 and 16–17, National Health Service hospitals in England 1999–2000 to 2002–03

  0–15

  16 and 17-year-olds

  0–17 total

  1996–97

  190

  315

  505

  1997–98

  214

  283

  497

  1998–99

  212

  251

  463

  1999–2000

  227

  263

  490

  2000–01

  189

  40

  429

  2001–02

  225

  239

  464

  2002–03

  248

  270

  518

  Notes:

  Ungrossed Data

  Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data.

  Finished Consultant Episode (FCE)

  An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.

  Diagnosis (Primary Diagnosis)

  The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.

  General Practitioners
  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners are practising in 1128W
  the NHS in Lincolnshire; and how many people were practising 10 years ago. [177036]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  [holding answer 10 June 2004]: The earliest available data shows that in 1994, there were 337 general medical practitioners, excluding retainers, registrars and locums, in the then Lincolnshire Health Authority.

  The latest data shows that in 2003, there were 375 general medical practitioners, excluding retainers, registrars and locums, in Lincolnshire.

  Hospital Capacity
  Mr. Luff
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if on divert is a phrase recommended by his Department to be used by hospitals that are unable to accommodate additional patients; and how often in the last three months hospitals in the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust have been on divert. [178438]

  Dr. Ladyman
  On divert is an expression used in the national health service to describe a technique used to manage variations in local demand for emergency care. NHS trusts are said to be on divert if they have agreed with their neighbouring trusts and strategic health authority that some or all of the emergency patients who would usually be taken to one of the hospitals within that trust will, for a temporary period, be taken to alternative hospitals. Information on the number of diverts at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust during the last three months, if any, is not held centrally.

  ME
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department spends money on helping ME sufferers in(a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Chorley. [179347]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  The information is not collected centrally. Allocation of funding for particular treatments are matters for the local primary care trust.

  Mental Illness
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to educate the public about mental illnesses to tackle the stigma associated with these illnesses. [178144]

  Ms Rosie Winterton
  [holding answer 15 June 2004]: The National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) is about to publish a new five-year strategic plan to tackle stigma and discrimination on mental health grounds. The plan will be launched shortly and will build on the foundation of the Department's "Mind out for mental health" campaign and key recommendations of a scoping review commissioned by NIMHE of what works in anti stigma and discrimination. In line with the evidence, the programme will target key audiences and be underpinned by people affected by mental health problems being at the heart of all work. The brand and first resources and projects will be formally launched I on World Mental Health Day, 10 October 2004.
  1129W
  This work will support the implementation of the social exclusion unit's action plan on social exclusion and mental health that was launched on 14 June.

  MRSA
  Miss Widdecombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to compensate victims of MRSA in NHS hospitals. [178106]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  We have no plans to award compensation to patients with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in national health service trusts.

  NHS Direct
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls have been made to NHS Direct in each month since November 2001. [178455]

  Ms Rosie Winterton
  The number of calls made to NHS Direct in each month since November 2001 are shown in the table.

  Number of calls answered by NHS Direct since November 2001

  Calls answered

  November 2001

  415,845

  December 2001

  513,741

  January 2002

  518,375

  February 2002

  459,305

  March 2002

  500,547

  April 2002

  471,551

  May 2002

  478,767

  June 2002

  485,061

  July 2002

  479,096

  August 2002

  485,296

  September 2002

  420,017

  October 2002

  488,856

  November 2002

  475,026

  December 2002

  570,227

  January 2003

  547,872

  February 2003

  509,293

  March 2003

  575,946

  April 2003

  579,994

  May 2003

  552,749

  June 2003

  523,997

  July 2003

  532,447

  August 2003

  520,148

  September 2003

  476,102

  October 2003

  511,835

  November 2003

  545,826

  December 2003

  570,349

  January 2004

  548,523

  February 2004

  506,112

  March 2004

  542,014

  April 2004

  544,879

  May 2004

  554,454

  Source:

  NHS Direct health intelligence unit.

  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the 10 most common reasons for calls to NHS Direct over the last year. [178479]

  Ms Rosie Winterton
  Information on the most common reasons for calling NHS Direct has only been collected nationally by the NHS Direct health intelligence unit since January 2004. The 10 most common reasons for calls to NHS Direct from January 2004 to March 2004 are shown in the table.
  1130W

  10 most common reasons for calls to NHS Direct, January 2004 to March 2004

  Algorithm

  Percentage of overall

  Abdominal Pain

  4.4

  Chest Pain

  2.3

  Headache

  2.3

  Toothache

  2.2

  Rash Toddler (Age 1–4 years)

  2.1

  Fever Toddler (Age 1–4 years)

  1.9

  Sore Throat

  1.9

  Ingestion Toxic

  1.8

  Diarrhoea

  1.7

  Vomiting

  1.7

  Source:

  NHS Direct health intelligence unit.

  NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations
  Brian Cotter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish the Government's conclusions on proposals to amend the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 1992. [179248]

  Ms Rosie Winterton
  The Government have considered the report of the expert advisory group set up to advise how best to implement the proposals and we will come forward with further announcements as soon as possible.

  The Government remain fully committed to reforming the current regulatory regime.

  Smoking
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effects of smoking-related diseases as they affect each social class. [178934]

  Miss Melanie Johnson
  Smoking has been identified as the principal reason for the inequalities in death rates between rich and poor in the United Kingdom. We commissioned the then Heath Education Authority to undertake research into the effects of smoking related diseases. "The UK Smoking Epidemic: Deaths in 1995", published in 1998, provides information on the estimated number and percentage of deaths attributable to smoking related diseases and includes some information on deaths by social class. A copy is available in the Library.

  We have now commissioned the Health Development Agency to undertake a similar study estimating the number and percentage of smoking attributable deaths by primary care trust and strategic health authority which should be available later this year.

  There is also a larger proportion of smokers in lower socio-economic groups, therefore a disproportionately high proportion of people in those groups are likely to suffer from smoking related diseases. In England in 2002, 19 per cent. of those in managerial and professional occupations were smokers, compared with 31 per cent. of those in routine and manual groups.

  Wheelchairs
  Tim Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued to(a) NHS trusts and (b) social services departments on the expected safe lifetime of electric wheelchairs. [178497]
  1131W
  Dr. Ladyman
  The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has specific responsibility on behalf of the Secretary of State to safeguard public health where medical devices are involved. Electric powered wheelchairs come within this overall remit.

  MHRA has issued guidance, which is available to health and social services. This guidance relates to the management, purchase, repair and maintenance of medical devices. This guidance has also been incorporated into the NHS Controls assurance Standards for medical devices.

  The wheelchair manufacturer should provide information on the expected safe lifetime of his product. This is dependent on the use, repair and maintenance being carried out in line with the manufacturer's instructions.

  Many manufacturers base their lifetime information on the results that they obtain from the international standards for impact and fatigue testing of wheelchairs during their product development. This standard is generally taken to equate to approximately five years of moderate use of an occupied wheelchair.

  Infrequent light usage of a wheelchair combined with appropriate maintenance may allow the lifetime to be extended. A lower quality wheelchair and inappropriate or heavy usage combined with inadequate maintenance will shorten the expected safe lifetime of the wheelchair.

  Tim Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued to(a) NHS trusts and (b) social services departments about the use of reconditioned motors in electric wheelchairs. [178498]

  Dr. Ladyman
  The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has specific responsibility on behalf of the Secretary of State to safeguard public health where medical devices are involved. Electric powered wheelchairs come within this overall remit.

  MHRA has issued guidance, which is available to, health and social services. This guidance relates to the management, repair and maintenance of medical devices. This guidance has also been incorporated into the NHS Controls Assurance Standards for medical devices.

  Within this guidance the use of reconditioned parts such as motors for electric wheelchairs is acknowledged as an option that can be cost effective. However, the source and specification of the reconditioning process is a critical element. It is generally recommended that reconditioning is carried out by the original equipment manufacturer. If it is to be carried out by another source then it is essential that the reconditioner can prove that the process has produced the same level of safety, technical specification and performance as the original equipment. The fitting of the reconditioned motor and
  1132W
  any subsequent changes that are required to the maintenance process for the wheelchair itself will also need to be recorded in the equipment records for the wheelchairs.

WORK AND PENSIONS

  Carers Allowance
  Mr. Webb
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to reach a decision on the effect on the entitlement to carers allowance of receipt by carers of supporting people payments. [179353]

  Mr. Pond
  Supporting People payments made to carers contracted to Supporting People service providers count as earnings for the purpose of entitlement to carers' allowance.

  Child Support Agency
  Mr. Willetts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people were committed to prison because they had committed offences relating to the work of the Child Support Agency in each year since the Agency was established; [177532]

  (2) how many parents have failed to pay Child Support in each year since 1997; and of these how many have (a) received a driving ban and (b) received a jail sentence in each year; [177539]

  (3) if he will estimate the number of non-resident parents who have had their driving licences removed by the courts in each year since April 2001 as a result of the provisions introduced under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000; [177540]

  Mr. Pond
  The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

  Letter from Mike Isaac to Mr. David Willets, dated 18 June 2004:

  In reply to your recent Parliamentary questions about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is currently on leave I am replying on your behalf.

  You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were committed to prison because they had committed offences relating to the work of the Child Support Agency in each year since the Agency was established.

  You then asked two further related questions, which requested information on the removal of driving licences:
  How many parents have failed to provide Child Support in each year since 1997: and of these how many have (a) received a driving ban and (b) received a jail sentence in each year; and
  The number of non-resident parents who have had their driving licences removed by the courts in each year since April 2001 as a result of the provisions introduced under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000.
  The number of non-resident parents that have failed to make child maintenance payments since 1997 are shown as follows. The figures are taken from the 5 per cent. quarterly samples of the Child Support Computer System from March 1997 to February 2003. The data looks at compliance in every quarter of the year therefore those who are nil compliant will have been nil compliant within every quarter of the year.

  1133W

  £000

  Total cases with full maintenance Assessment

  Number of non-resident parents that are nil compliant

  1997–1998

  674.3

  45.3

  1998–1999

  854.2

  57.7

  1999–2000

  967.2

  63.8

  2000–2001

  1,052.6

  63.9

  2001–2002

  1,075.6

  59.0

  2002–2003

  1,116.4

  53.2

  Notes:

  Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.

  Committal action:

  From March 1999 to May 2004 there have been 171 suspended committal sentences. The first specific reference we have to a non-resident parent serving a prison sentence is in 2002–2003. Information pre dating 2001–2002 does not specify whether the non-resident parent served a prison sentence; the records only show whether a warrant for committal was issued.

  2001–2002—0 sentences served.

  2002–2003—4, sentences served.

  2003–2004—8 sentences served.

  Removal of driving licences:

  The power to withdraw driving licences was brought into effect on 2 April 2001 (under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000)

  2001–2002—3 suspended licence sentences issued.

  2002–2003—1 driving licence removed and 7 suspended licence sentences issued.

  2003–2004—1 driving licence removed and 9 suspended licence sentences issued.

  Please note committal to prison or disqualification from driving is only considered after all other enforcement options have been attempted or discounted. We use these ultimate sanctions as the final lever to achieve compliance rather than as a punitive measure for those non-resident parents who will not pay. This explains the huge difference between the number of warrants we obtain and the number of driving licences withdrawn or prison sentences actually served.

  Council Tax Benefit
  Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people(a) have claimed and (b) are eligible for council tax benefit in Greater London, broken down by borough, in each of the last three years. [179357]

  Mr. Pond
  The information is not available in the format requested. Estimates of the number of entitled non-recipients are not available below national level. The national level estimates can be found in a series of DWP reports entitled "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up". The latest publication relates to the financial year 2001–02; copies of this and previous reports are available from the Library.

  The available information is in the table.

  Council tax benefit recipients by London borough

  Thousand

  Local authority

  2002

  2003

  2004

  London GOR

  610.4

  625.4

  646.7

  Barking and Dagenham

  18.0

  18.4

  18.7

  Barnet

  20.0

  20.3

  21.7

  Bexley

  13.0

  13.0

  13.4

  Brent

  21.5

  22.9

  24.4

  Bromley

  15.0

  14.1

  16.2

  1134W

  Council tax benefit recipients by London borough

  Thousand

  Local authority

  2002

  2003

  2004

  Camden

  24.1

  23.8

  23.5

  City of London

  0.4

  0.4

  0.4

  Croydon

  22.9

  23.3

  24.3

  Ealing

  19.9

  19.6

  22.0

  Enfield

  23.1

  22.8

  25.0

  Greenwich

  22.8

  23.9

  24.0

  Hackney

  28.2

  29.8

  25.8

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  16.8

  16.6

  17.4

  Haringey

  24.7

  25.8

  27.1

  Harrow

  11.6

  11.5

  12.8

  Havering

  14.7

  14.6

  15.2

  Hillingdon

  16.2

  15.7

  16.8

  Hounslow

  16.4

  16.7

  16.9

  Islington

  24.9

  24.6

  26.8

  Kensington and Chelsea

  12.1

  12.5

  12.0

  Kingston upon Thames

  6.7

  6.2

  7.0

  Lambeth

  25.5

  29.9

  29.8

  Lewisham

  26.8

  26.8

  27.1

  Merton

  10.8

  10.7

  10.9

  Newham

  28.3

  31.2

  32.0

  Redbridge

  15.5

  15.7

  16.6

  Richmond upon Thames

  8.4

  8.5

  8.9

  Southwark

  33.0

  34.4

  34.4

  Sutton

  8.3

  9.8

  10.0

  Tower Hamlets

  28.8

  29.3

  29.9

  Waltham Forest

  19.9

  20.2

  20.7

  Wandsworth

  18.1

  17.6

  19.6

  Westminster

  14.1

  14.6

  15.5

  Notes:

  1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.

  2. The figures are rounded to the nearest hundred and expressed in thousands.

  3. Council tax benefit totals exclude any Second Adult Rebate cases.

  4. Figures include estimates for non-responding local authorities.

  Source:

  Housing benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in February 2002, 2003 and 2004.

CABINET OFFICE

  Departmental Responsibilities
  Norman Baker
  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what mechanisms exist to distinguish between those matters which are his Department's responsibilities and those which are directly those of the Prime Minister. [179463]

  Mr. Alexander
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 14 June 2004,Official Report, column 703W.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

  All-postal Ballots
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate he has made of extra costs arising from problems with distribution of ballot papers in regions for which all-postal ballots are being held for elections on 10 June. [178403]
  1135W
  Mr. Leslie
  Returning officers have the contractual relationship with suppliers of ballot packs. They will be submitting claims for their costs of the all-postal ballots to the Elections Claims Unit in due course. When those claims have been received, it will be possible to make an estimate of any costs falling to Returning Officers arising from any problems with printing and distribution.

  Environmental Cases
  Mr. Peter Ainsworth
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) how many applications for judicial review relating to environmental matters were granted permission to proceed in each year since 1997; and what proportion of the total number of applications this represented in each year; [179559]

  (2) how many applications there were for judicial review in the High Court relating to environmental matters in each year since 1997; and what proportion of the total number of applications this represented in each year; [179560]

  (3) how many cases relating to environmental matters were granted leave to appeal to the House of Lords in each year since 1997; and what proportion of the total number of cases heard by the legal committee of the House of Lords this represented in each year; [179561]

  (4) how many cases relating to environmental matters were granted leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal in each year since 1997; and what proportion of the total number of appeals to the Court of Appeal this represented in each year. [179562]

  Mr. Leslie
  The Administrative Court Office's case management system does not identify cases by the category of "environmental" matters. The Administrative Court cannot therefore provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate costs.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

  Greyhounds
  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many greyhounds were bred for racing in the UK in 2003. [179233]

  Mr. Caborn
  There are no precise figures available for the number of greyhounds bred for racing in the UK in 2003.

  However, 10,709 greyhounds were registered with the English Stud Book in 2003.

  Licensed Premises
  Mr. Simmonds
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many licensed premises serving alcohol in England there were in each year since 1997. [179432]

  Mr. Caborn
  Statistics on the number of licensed premises and clubs serving alcohol are collected on a triennial basis. Figures are available for 1998 and 2001—all figures are as at 30 June.
  1136W

  1998

  2001

  On licence

  104,057

  102,551

  Off licence

  42,462

  41,742

  Registered clubs

  21,084

  20,487

  Theatres

  262

  201

  Total

  167,865

  164,981

  The collection of figures for 2004 is currently under way.

  Pre-owned Assets
  Mr. Boris Johnson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the Treasury on tax on pre-owned assets. [179180]

  Mr. Caborn
  Changes to the taxation regime are a question for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Measures to amend the tax treatment of pre-owned assets, intended to deter abuse of the inheritance tax "gift with reservation" rules, were announced on 10 December 2003 in the pre-Budget report.

  The Minister for Media and Heritage—my right hon. Friend, Lord McIntosh of Haringey—wrote to the Paymaster-General in February to ensure that consequences for heritage assets were taken into account in the detailed workings of the income tax charge on pre-owned assets.

  Details of the charge, and proposals for further consultation on valuation and the rates of return for chattels and intangibles, are included in Inland Revenue 'Budget Notice 40: Tax Treatment of Pre-Owned Assets'.

  Racehorses
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many horses were bred for racing in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years. [179514]

  Mr. Caborn
  The numbers of thoroughbred horses bred for racing in the UK in each of the last five years is as follows:

  Number

  2003

  5,432

  2002

  5,156

  2001

  4,977

  2000

  5,194

  1999

  5,363

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  British Indian Ocean
  Jeremy Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultations were conducted by his Department before publication of the British Indian Ocean Territory (Immigration) Order 2004 and the British Indian Ocean Territory (Constitution) Order 2004. [179520]
  1137W
  Mr. Rammell
  Before the British Indian Ocean Territory (Constitution) Order 2004 and the British Indian Ocean Territory (Immigration) Order 2004 were submitted to Her Majesty the Queen in Council, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave very careful consideration to all relevant interests and concerns, including the feasibility of the re-settlement of a civilian population in the British Indian Oct an Territory and the likely financial and other commitments which that would entail, and also its impact on the availability and effective use of the territory for defence purposes.

  Butler Inquiry
  Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the oral answer of 15 March 2004,Official Report, House of Lords, columns 1–3, of the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, what export controls were in place at the time of the sale of biological materials to Iraq by the United States. [176578]

  Mr. Rammell
  The exports of biological materials from the United States to Iraq in the 1980s were licensed by the US Department of Commerce under the (US) Export Administration Act.

  Chagos Islanders
  Jeremy Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements have been made since 2000 for Chagos islanders to be allowed to visit Diego Garcia and the Chagos Islands. [179521]

  Mr. Rammell
  We have twice put in hand preparations to arrange such a visit, most recently in 2002. However, those preparations fell through for reasons outside our control. Nevertheless, we remain ready to consider the re-instatement of the visit once the situation permits.

  Correspondence
  David Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to reply to the letter of 5 May from the hon. Member for Walsall, North regarding a constituent, ref. PO 5158/4. [177875]

  Mr. Mullin
  A reply will be sent shortly.

  International Criminal Court
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those countries which have yet to ratify the Rome Statute; and what efforts his Department is making to encourage those countries to ratify the Statute. [177716]

  Mr. Rammell
  A list of countries that have ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court can be found on its website at: http://untreaty.un.org/ENGLISH/bible/englishinternetbible/partI/chapterXVIII/ treaty10.asp.

  It is a UK and EU objective to increase the universality and jurisdiction of the ICC by urging as many states as possible to ratify the Rome Statute. The
  1138W
  EU has a Common Position and Action Plan in support of the ICC. The plan identifies target countries and the presidency tasks individual member states with lobbying exercises. The UK has lobbied in the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana and St. Lucia as well as in Troika demarches in other countries.

  The UK also looks for appropriate opportunities to raise ratification of the Rome Statute in bilateral and multilateral fora such as annual bilateral human rights talks and the recent UK/Caribbean Forum 10–12 May. We have also made clear, at various levels in the US Government, that while we understand the US concerns about the ICC, we do not share them. We hope that, over time, the court will be able to demonstrate that US concerns are unfounded and that the US will adopt a more positive approach to the ICC.

  We recognise that ratification of the Rome Statute must be accompanied by the ability to implement the statue. We have funded a number of initiatives including courses, this year and last, for legal officials (mostly from Africa and Eastern Europe) involved in drafting implementing legislation, and are working with the Commonwealth Secretariat on a project to produce and disseminate model ICC implementing legislation.

  Working Time Directive
  Mr. Tynan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many employees in his Department have(a) signed a formal opt out from and (b) are exempt from the Working Time Directive; and how many employees in his Department have recorded hours, including any accruing on a flexitime basis, in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive in the last month for which figures are available. [178377]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  A staff survey taken earlier this year showed a total of 77 UK-based staff have signed an opt-out.

  No exemptions from the Working Time Directive apply to Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff. The directive applies to all workers in EU countries. It does therefore apply to FCO local staff in EU countries as well as to UK-based staff. It does not apply to FCO local staff in non-EU countries. We do not keep records centrally of hours recorded in excess of the maximum allowed under the directive.

  The FCO is committed to meeting the standards of the directive; line managers are responsible for ensuring that any excess hours worked are kept to an absolute minimum.

DEFENCE

  Environmental Modification
  Norman Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Ministry of Defence flights adhere in all respects to the requirements of the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques. [179458]

  Mr. Ingram
  Yes.

  Gibraltar
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Battle of Britain memorial flight aircraft will take part in the 300th anniversary celebrations of British sovereignty in Gibraltar. [179285]

  Mr. Ingram
  No.

  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many army regiments will take part in the 300th anniversary celebrations of British sovereignty in Gibraltar; and what role they will play. [179293]

  Mr. Ingram
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 16 March 2004,Official Report, column 200W.

  Iraq
  Adam Price
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of death, injury or ill-treatment in Iraq have been referred to the Attorney-General or the Crown Prosecution Service for review. [179010]

  Mr. Ingram
  One.

  Adam Price
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Statement of 8 June 2004,Official Report, columns 4–5WS, on Iraq, what the names are of the individuals concerned in the cases where investigations are still in progress where individuals died. [179029]

  Mr. Ingram
  The names of the individuals concerned are Tanik S. Mahmud, Ather Khalaf Mohammed, Ahmed Jabber Kareem, Said Shabram, G. G. H. D. Roomi, S. Kazim, R.Z. Habib and F.T. Zaab. There are also nine cases where the identity of the individual remains unknown.

  Adam Price
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Written Statement of 8 June 2004,Official Report, columns 4–5WS, on Iraq, what deficiencies in the recording and investigation of civilian deaths and injuries as a result of actions by armed forces personnel were identified as a result of the verification exercise. [179034]

  Mr. Ingram
  No deficiencies in the recording or handling of investigations by service police have been revealed by the verification exercise. The exercise has, however, served to illustrate shortcomings in the arrangements for the central reporting of information relating to investigations into the death, injury or alleged ill-treatment of Iraqi civilians as a result of actions by UK Service Personnel.

  Adam Price
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has examined in relation to the deaths of(a) Hazim Jum'aa Gattel Al-Skeiri, (b) Baha Ahmed Al-Awari, (c) Abbas Kuhdayar Gatteh, (d) Kasber Farhoud Jasim, (e) Laffeh Ahmed Awdeh and (f) Riyadh Turthi Taha Haseen. [158877]

  Mr. Ingram
  The deaths of the individuals named were all raised by Public Interest Lawyers and form part of the Judicial Review to be held in July and therefore it would be inappropriate to give details.
  1140W
  Tom Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Ministers from his Department have visited prisons run by the British coalition forces in Iraq; what the dates of the visits were; what report was made of the visit; and whether he read that report and discussed with the Minister his impressions of prison conditions in British-run prisons in Iraq. [177248]

  Mr. Hoon
  I visited Shaibah, the UK's only detention facility in Iraq, on 14 June. The facility is run to exacting standards to meet the requirements of the Geneva Convention. The International Committee of the Red Cross have inspected the arrangements in place and have declared them satisfactory.

  Namibia
  Ms Atherton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to send a fisheries protection vessel to the seas off Namibia. [179266]

  Mr. Ingram
  The Ministry of Defence has no plans to deploy fisheries protection vessels to the seas off Namibia. This would not address the root causes of the problem. UK fisheries protection vessels are currently deployed elsewhere We are, however, supporting the British High Commissioner in Windhoek and his Defence Attaché in developing proposals to assist Namibia with Economic Exclusion Zone management training.

  RAF Menwith Hill
  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans have been agreed to allow the US Third Air Force and USAFE to take responsibility for the operation of RAF Menwith Hill; and if he will make a statement. [179207]

  Mr. Ingram
  [holding answer 17 June 2004]: There are no plans for the United States Third Air Force and USAFE to take responsibility for the operation of RAF Menwith Hill. However, discussions are taking place concerning the possible provision, by USAFE, of an administrative and logistic support unit. This will not have any impact on the current management of the base nor the mission, which will remain unchanged.

  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has held with the US Air Intelligence Agency about its operation of the RAF Menwith Hill Station. [179209]

  Mr. Ingram
  [holding answer 17 June 2004]: Ministry of Defence officials work closely on a daily basis with their counterparts in the United States Air Intelligence Agency regarding the operation of RAF Menwith Hill.

  Norman Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he permits US forces based in the UK to hold(a) chemical and (b) biological (i) weapons and (ii) counter-weapon material. [178707]

  Mr. Hoon
  [holding answer 14 June 2004]: There are no United States chemical or biological weapons held in the United Kingdome. Both the US and UK are States Parties to the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons

  1141W
  Convention (BTWC). The BTWC prohibits the development, manufacture, acquisition, and stockpiling of any biological weapons.

  The US is a declared possessor of chemical weapons under the terms of the CWC and is in the process of destroying its stockpiles under Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons supervision.

  Both the CWC and BTWC provide for States Parties to maintain programmes to protect against chemical and biological weapons.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

  Free School Meals
  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what advertising campaigns his Department has run since 2001 to make eligible parents aware of their child's entitlement to free school meals. [179060]

  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  The Department for Education and Skills has not run any advertising campaigns to make eligible parents aware of their child's entitlement to free school meals. My officials provide local education authorities (LEAs) with the eligibility criteria for free school meals and LEAs disseminate this information to parents and schools.

  Racism (Schools)
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what instructions have been given to(a) local education authorities and (b) head teachers to ensure that children are not exposed to (i) racist opinion expressed by and (ii) policy decisions taken by elected representatives. [176829]

  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  There are safeguards in sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996 against politically partisan activities or teaching in schools. LEAs and schools must take reason able steps to ensure that where political or controversial issues are covered, teachers offer pupils a balanced presentation of opposing views. Guidance for teachers from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority on teaching citizenship education, a national curriculum subject which covers these issues, has been s to all schools. As part of local authorities, LEAs are bound by duty under the Race Relations Act (2000) to promote race equality, tackle unlawful racial discrimination and promote good race relations when carrying out all their relevant functions, even where those functions is are carried out by other representatives.

  Computer/Student Ratios (England)
  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the computer/student ratio is for(a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools in England, broken down by region; and if he will make a statement. [179091]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The information requested is not available centrally.
  1142W
  Figures for England, which were derived from a sample of schools, are shown in the table.

  Average number of pupils1 per computer (used solely or mainly for teaching and learning purposes) by type of school—England—year end March 2003

  Number

  Maintained primary schools

  7.9

  Maintained secondary schools

  5.4

  Maintained special schools

  3.0

  1Full-time equivalent numbers of pupils.

  The latest information on ICT in schools was published in Statistical Bulletin "Survey of information and Communications Technology in Schools 2003", which is available on the Department's website www. dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.

  Drug Testing
  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many secondary schools conduct drug testing on pupils. [176785]

  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  We do not collect these data centrally.

  Educational Visits (Health and Safety)
  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what guidance his Department has issued to(a) schools and (b) local education authorities in relation to the health and safety of pupils on educational visits; [179103]

  (2) if he will make a statement on the legal obligations and standards of care that apply to teachers participating in an educational visit. [179104]

  Mr. Ivan Lewis
  My Department has issued:"Health and Safety of Pupils on Educational Visits" (1998)
  "Standards for LEAs in Overseeing Educational Visits, Standards for Adventure" and "A Handbook for Group Leaders" (2002)
  "Group Safety at Water Margins" (2003)
  "Swimming Charter" (2003)

  Teachers must take reasonable care of their own and others' health and safety; co-operate with their employers; carry out the activities in accordance with training and instructions; and inform the employer of any serious risks. The good practice that helps teachers fulfil their statutory obligations is set out in the above documents.

  Home Computers (School Pupils)
  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate the proportion of(a) primary school age and (b) secondary school age pupils who have home access to computers; and if he will make a statement. [179089]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  The latest figures on child access to ICT at home are shown in the table. These figures are derived from the Young People and ICT 2002 survey which was a sample survey of households with children in England, carried out in September and October 2002.
  1143W

  Access to a computer at home by key stage of child

  Position as at autumn 2002

  Key stage

  Percentage

  Overall

  81

  Key stage 1

  68

  Key stage 2

  79

  Keystage 3

  83

  Key stage 4

  87

  Post 16

  87

  The full survey results have been published on the Department's website at: www.dfes.gov.uk/ictinschools/evidence/

  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research he has commissioned into the link between home computer access and learning; and if he will make a statement. [179090]

  Mr. Charles Clarke
  My Department has commissioned the University of Sheffield to conduct research into children's use of ICT at home and its impact on attainment in key stage tests and GCSEs. The project commenced in December 2003 and is due to report in spring 2005.

  Research shows that household access to ICT has increased significantly in recent years. Among school-age children, the effective use of ICT has been shown to have a positive effect on their learning. The ImpaCT2 research study (2002) quantified this as the equivalent of half a grade at GCSE in some subjects. The current research on pupils home use of ICT will help us to understand the relative contribution of home use of ICT to improving standards.

  Honours
  Brian White
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much time his Department spent dealing with honours in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by civil service grade. [173037]

  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  Between April 2003 and March 2004, the Department had the following staff dedicated to departmental honours secretariat work:

  Number

  HEO

  0.6

  EO

  1

  AO

  2

  AA

  0.8

  Members of the senior civil service spent 102 hours during the year on the twice-yearly honours sift meetings.

  The majority of the work on honours is undertaken by the departmental honours team. Information is not available on time spent on honours related work by departmental staff who are not members of the Department's honours team.

  Official Vehicles
  John Barrett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of official vehicles 1144W
  used by his Department are run on (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) liquid petroleum gas and (d) compressed natural gas. [172774]

  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  My Department's ministerial vehicles are provided by the Government Car Service (GCS). Detailed information on the breakdown of the GCS vehicle fleet has been sent from Nick Matheson, Chief Executive of GCS, to the hon. Member on 25 May and copies of his letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

  The following table provides a breakdown of my Department's vehicle fleet in 2003 by vehicle category and fuel type:

  2003

  Numbers

  Percentage

  Cars

  Petrol

  15

  34

  Diesel

  24

  55

  LPG

  5

  11

  Natural gas

  0

  0

  Total

  44

  100

  Vans <3.5 ton

  Petrol

  2

  22

  Diesel

  7

  78

  LPG/natural gas

  0

  0

  Total

  9

  100

  Bureaucracy
  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 27 May 2004,Official Report, column 1825W, on bureaucracy, what records he keeps of the information his Department automatically sends to schools. [179102]

  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  Records are based on a central publications database maintained by the Communications Unit responsible for gate-keeping mailings to schools within DfES. A nominated officer maintains a control spreadsheet which details the name of documents approved for automatic mailings and the date that they were sent.

  Pupil Records Transfers
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment has been made of the(a) cost and (b) inconvenience caused by the transfer of records between the schools of highly mobile children. [177790]

  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  Assessments have not been carried out of either the cost or the inconvenience caused by the transfer of records between schools of highly mobile children.

  However, the Department recognises the additional burden that high pupil mobility places on schools and we introduced the electronic Common Transfer File in 2002 to ease such demands.

  The Common Transfer File is an electronic record that comprises a statutory set of information on pupils who move from one school to another. Its aim is to ensure that there is a consistent set of information

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  available to teachers and staff at the receiving school, thereby saving time that would be spent in re-entry of pupil information and on reassessment of the pupil. Feedback from schools on its effectiveness has been positive.

  In addition, the Department is also conducting a review of the effectiveness of the Parent Held Pupil Record, which is currently used to transfer information on gypsy/traveller pupils between schools.

  School Sports Days
  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance his Department has issued to(a) schools and (b) local education authorities in relation to school sports days. [179105]

  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  This Department has issued no recent guidance to schools or local education authorities in relation to school sports days.

  Schools are free to hold sports days or similar events as part of the overall package of sports opportunities which they offer their pupils. The 2003/04 PE, School Sport and Club Links survey found that 96 per cent. of the 6,547 schools taking part in the survey held a sports day or similar event during the last academic year. A copy of the results of the survey has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament.

  Sixth Form Education (Greater London)
  Tom Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to encourage more students to enter sixth form education within the Greater London area. [179032]

  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  The Government are working on a number of fronts, and with a number of partners, to encourage more students into sixth form education, both in London and nationally. In London, the Government:have set out plans through the London Challenge to introduce 15–20 new sixth form institutions—whether as free-standing sixth form colleges, in schools or as autonomous centres in FE colleges—by September 2006;
  are introducing Educational Maintenance Allowances from September 2004. An evaluation of the EMA pilot found that 16-year-old participation in full time education increased by 5.9 percentage points amongst the eligible cohort, with greater increases in participation from boys and students from the lowest socio-economic groups;
  are working closely with partners to ensure a coherent approach to 14–19 provision, ensuring that it is diverse and is able to support learners irrespective of their learning needs; and
  are working with London's Learning and Skills Councils to help develop and implement Area Wide Inspection action plans for 14–19 provision, and a pan-London approach to Strategic Area Reviews, to ensure that the quality of provision is of the highest standard.

  Under-Age Pregnancy
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department takes to involve parents when under-aged pregnant girls seek the advice of a health worker at school; and if he will make a statement. [174532]
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  Mr. Stephen Twigg
  The Government continue to support the provision of school-based health services where the school identifies a need. The decision to provide such services, and the content of that service, is for the individual school governing body in consultation with pupils, parents and the school community, information about the services provided should be included in the school's Sex and Relationship Education policy. The aim of school-based health services is to improve young people's access to professional advice and support on a range of health, relationship and emotional issues which may be troubling them.

  For all consultations on contraception, sexual health and pregnancy the legal framework is clear. It involves assessing the young person's competence to understand the choices they are making, under guidelines established in 1986. Professionals are expected to encourage under-16s to talk to their parents and help them find ways of overcoming their apprehension. But where requested, a young person's right to confidentiality is respected unless there are serious child protection issues.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

  Departmental Secondments
  Bob Spink
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff in his Office and its agencies were seconded from the(a) private and (b) academic sector in each of the last three years. [174817]

  Yvette Cooper
  The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002.

  The purpose of bringing people into the civil service from other sectors is to fill skills gaps and to provide new perspectives and insights. For the individuals themselves, the secondment provides experience of another sector and an opportunity to enhance existing skills and develop others.

  From 29 May 2002 to 31 March 2003 there were 15 secondees from the private sector and three from the academic sector working in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. From 1 April 2003 until 31 March 2004 there were 13 secondees from the private sector and six secondees from the academic sector working in the Office.

  Domestic Violence
  Sandra Gidley
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many refuge places have been available for victims of domestic violence in each of the past three years. [178812]

  Yvette Cooper
  There were 5,831 units as at 1 April 2003. This figure includes both accommodation in refuges and other forms of provision including floating support services where victims are supported to remain in their own accommodation where appropriate.

  Sandra Gidley
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much Government funding was available in each of the last three years to provide refuge places for women who have experienced domestic violence. [178813]
  1147W
  Yvette Cooper
  Revenue funding for refuge places is provided through the Supporting People initiative. Information is not readily available for 2002–03 prior to the introduction of Supporting People as funding was provided through a number of different revenue streams.

  Supporting People funding is made available by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for local authorities to provide housing related support services to vulnerable people. Priorities are set locally and the proportion of the funding spent on people vulnerable due to domestic violence is a decision taken locally. When funds are spent on those who are vulnerable due to domestic violence then this does not always take the form of refuge based services. Housing related support can also be made available in other ways such as clients being visited in their own homes.

  In 2003–04, £1,814,096,410 was made available and of this £57,131,302 was spent on services for people vulnerable due to domestic violence.

  In 2004–05, £1,804,997,000 was made available and of this local authorities are spending £56,964,000 on services for people vulnerable due to domestic violence.

  In addition, in April 2003 further measures were announced to support refuge provision through capital programmes over a three year period. In 2003–04 a total of £18.8 million funding was provided for refuge places and to improve existing, run down facilities for women who have experienced domestic violence through the Homelessness and Housing Directorate and Housing Corporation programmes. In 2004–05 and 2005–06, a total of £7.5 million has been allocated for this purpose by the Homelessness and Housing Directorate and a total of £5.8 million by the Housing Corporation.

  Electoral Registration
  Chris Ruane
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much each local authority electoral registration department spent per elector in England in each of the last 10 years, listed in descending order by region. [178421]

  Mr. Raynsford
  This information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Homelessness
  Ms Oona King
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact prolonged stays in temporary accommodation have on homeless households' ability to access employment opportunities. [178737]

  Yvette Cooper
  The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has made no assessment of the impact of temporary accommodation on the employment prospects of homeless households. However we are aware of the potentially negative impact that prolonged stays in temporary accommodation can have on homeless households employment prospects and also on their health, well being and children's education.

  The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be commissioning a representative survey of homeless families this autumn. This survey will identify both
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  the prevalence of Unemployment among families in temporary accommodation, and barriers to entering employment.

  Ms Oona King
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will bring the rent liability for statutorily homeless households placed in temporary accommodation into line with the average rent for social housing in that local authority area. [178739]

  Yvette Cooper
  The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to change rent liabilities for statutorily homeless households in temporary accommodation. However, along with the Department for Work and Pensions we are currently discussing possible alternative funding mechanisms for temporary accommodation with the Association of London Government, Greater London Authority and others.

  Ms Oona King
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the London borough of Brent's decision to use some of its dedicated Homelessness Strategy funding to provide enhanced financial incentives to under-occupying tenants moving from family-sized housing to smaller accommodation. [178689]

  Yvette Cooper
  Homelessness grants from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are intended to supplement core funding received in part from Revenue Support Grant and are no longer ring-fenced. Local authorities have discretion as to how they spend the grant, provided that they deliver key outcomes on homelessness. We are aware that the London borough of Brent has been offering financial incentives to under-occupying tenants moving from family sized social housing to smaller accommodation. This type of incentive can be effective in allowing households to move to smaller and more manageable accommodation. It also releases to the authority larger family accommodation of the type generally required to house homeless families. This can help local authorities in their work to avoid the use of inappropriate temporary accommodation and sustain the government's target to end the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless families with children.

  Ms Oona King
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his Answer of 8 March 2004,Official Report, column 1222W, on homelessness, when he expects to publish research into homelessness among people from black and minority ethnic communities. [178688]

  Yvette Cooper
  The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister commissioned research on homelessness among black and minority ethnic (BME) households in February 2003.

  A draft report and guide to encourage the development of effective homelessness services for BME households has been produced and are being discussed with a selection of local authorities and other key stakeholders in order to improve the usefulness of the final document. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects a final version of the guidance to be ready for publication later this summer. Copies of both documents will be made available in the Library of the House.
  1149W

  Mobile Telephone Masts
  Mrs. Spelman
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will reply to the Question tabled by the hon. Member for Meriden on 6 May, reference 172312, on mobile telephone mast sitings. [179258]

  Yvette Cooper
  I answered this question on 17 June 2004,Official Report, column 1032W.

  Affordable Housing (London)
  Martin Linton
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many affordable homes were built under section 106 agreements by London boroughs between April 2000 and April 2004. [179203]

  Keith Hill
  The number of affordable homes built under section 106 agreements by London boroughs between April 2000 and March 2004 is as follows.

  Number

  2000–01 (outturn)

  1,106

  2001–02 (outturn)

  1,610

  2002–03 (planned)

  2,560

  2003–04 (proposed)

  3,917

  Source:

  "Housing in London 2003", Table 4.3, Greater London Authority

  Ordnance Survey
  Andrew Bennett
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects the framework document for the Ordnance Survey to be published. [176729]

  Yvette Cooper
  The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is aware that the publication is overdue. The extended timescales reflect the importance that the Government places on the Frame work Document for Ordnance Survey. We expect publication to take place before the summer recess.

  Postal Voting
  Mr. Evans
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will estimate extra costs incurred in preparing for postal ballots for the elections to be held on 10 June, attributable to problems with printing and distribution of ballot papers. [178283]

  Mr. Raynsford
  Returning officers have the contractual relationship with suppliers of ballot packs. They will be submitting claims for their costs of the all postal ballots to the Elections claims Unit in due course. When those claims have been received, it will be possible to make an estimate of any costs falling on Returning Officers arising from any problems with printing and distribution.

  Public Funding (Crosby)
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much public funding from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund has been spent in Crosby. [177851]
  1150W
  Yvette Cooper
  Projects of the value of £13,282,807 and which benefit Crosby and other neighbourhoods in the South Sefton area of Merseyside are currently being funded by the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF).

  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much public funding has been spent from the Community Participation programmes in Crosby. [177852]

  Yvette Cooper
  The Community Participation Programmes (Community Empowerment Fund, Community Learning Chest and Community Chests) provide funds for the 88 most deprived local authority areas in England. Crosby falls within Sefton, which is one of these areas.

  Community Participation funds are always provided directly to a community or voluntary sector organisation in each of the 88 areas. The Community Empowerment Fund is used to develop and support a Community Empowerment Network (CEN) helping to facilitate community and voluntary sector involvement in the LSP, especially in the most deprived neighbourhoods and hard-to-reach groups. The Community Chest and Learning Chests provide small grants to support a wide range of community activities and to develop the skills and knowledge of local communities so that they can participate in Neighbourhood Renewal at a local level.

  The organisation that administers the Community Empowerment Fund is Sefton Council for Voluntary Service and the Community Foundation for Merseyside administers Community Chest and Community Learning Chests. These organisations identify and agree spending priorities with the Community Empowerment Network and other VCS stakeholders, which is then approved by the Government Office.

  The total Community Participation grant allocation for Sefton over three years (2001–04) is £1,215,434. This financial year (2004–05) the grant allocation for Sefton will be £551,064.

  Public Perceptions (Surveys)
  Norman Lamb
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what surveys of public perceptions of his Department and of its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months; what the(a) title and (b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if he will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library. [176943]

  Yvette Cooper
  No surveys of public perceptions of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months.

  Radon Gas
  Ms Atherton
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action he intends to take to tackle radon in Cornish homes. [179461]

  Phil Hope
  Radon is classed as a contaminant and is dealt with under Part C of the Building Regulations. I expect to make an announcement shortly on improvements to Part C.
  1151W
  Government have provided guidance on radon protection of new homes since the late 1980s. The current guidance, BRE report BR211, "Radon: guidance on protection measures for new dwellings," was last revised in 1999 following the results of a survey of radon levels in all homes in England and Wales. This survey was carried out by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) and was published in 1996.

  Temporary Housing
  Chris Ruane
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost of providing temporary housing was to each local authority in each of the past 20 years, expressed at today's prices. [178429]

  Yvette Cooper
  The amount reported by local authorities in England as being spent on homelessness from the General Fund Revenue Account for each year from 1987–88 to 2003–04 expressed at 2003–04 prices is tabled as follows. This includes expenditure on homelessness including temporary accommodation, private sector leasing and bed and breakfast accommodation.

  It is not possible to give figures for expenditure on temporary accommodation from the Housing Revenue Account as this is not recorded separately.

  General Fund Revenue Account net current expenditure on homelessness at 2003–04 prices

  £million

  1987–88

  209.1

  1988–89

  183.3

  1989–90

  141.7

  1990–91

  148.1

  1991–92

  152.0

  1992–93

  167.9

  1993–94

  140.8

  1994–95

  139.9

  1995–96

  143.3

  1996–97

  142.0

  1997–98

  142.5

  1998–99

  169.7

  1999–2000

  189.5

  2000–01

  218.0

  2001–02

  198.0

  2002–03

  203.0

  2003–04

  220.5

  The figures have been revalued for previous years at 2003–04 prices using the current Her Majesty's Treasury GDP deflators.

  Figures for the individual local authorities for each year from 1998–99 have been made available in the Library of the house. Individual figures for earlier years are not available.

  Urban Regeneration
  Mr. Edward Davey
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what funding has been allocated to the Single Regeneration Budget for financial year(a) 2003–04 and (b) 2005–06, broken down by region; and what funding plans are in place to continue the work of the Single Regeneration Budget from 2005–06 onwards. [178108]
  1152W
  Yvette Cooper
  The Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) was subsumed into the Regional Development Agencies' Single Programme in April 2002 and remaining expenditure from SRB commitments will be funded from the Single Programme. Information on the level of SRB commitments is not separately collected. Funding for the RDAs' Single Programme is made up from contributions from a number of different Government Departments. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's contribution to the Single Programme is £1,524 million (outturn) for 2003–04 and –1,513 million (planned) for 2005–06. RDAs are continuing to fund regeneration activity from the Single Programme. Funding for all programmes, including those of he RDAs, from 2005–06 is being considered in the 2004 Spending Review.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Afghanistan
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the level of private sector investment in Afghanistan has been in each of the last three years. [176605]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  This information is not collected by HMG and there would be a disproportionate cost to obtain the information.

  Corus
  Denzil Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make ex gratia payments to Mr. Paul Thomas and Mr. David Morgan, former employees of Corus, whose cases have been the subject of correspondence with her Department. [178114]

  Jacqui Smith
  I am aware that Mr. Thomas has pressed for payment for himself and Mr Morgan, under the Iron and Steel Employees Re-adaptation Benefits Scheme (ISERBS) which permits us to make payments to redundant steelworkers under the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) Treaty. ISERBS was introduced in 2001 and ECSC rules permitted the scheme to be backdated to include steelworkers made redundant since January 2000. Mr. Morgan and Mr. Thomas were made redundant in 1999. The Government are not able to make ex gratia payments to individuals who do not qualify under the scheme rules.

  Export Credits Guarantee Department
  Harry Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff have been seconded from the private sector 10 the Export Credits Guarantee Department in the last 10 years, stating in each case(a) the companies from which they have been seconded and (b) the start and end dates of the secondment. [176444]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  Four people have been seconded to ECGD from the private sector in the last 10 years. They came respectively from:Barclays Bank plc between October 1989 and January 1993;
  British Aerospace for 15 working days over the period June to September 1993;

  1153W
  HSBC between January 1996 and December 1997; and NatWest Bank between July 1997 and February 1999.

  Internet Telephony
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the implications for the telecoms sector of the increasing use of internet telephony. [178716]

  Mr. Timms
  New services that can offer consumers lower prices and advanced features are welcome additions to a competitive telecommunications market. Ofcom, the telecommunications and broadcasting regulator, is currently considering the regulatory issues concerning voice over broadband (VoB) services as part of a wider strategic review of telecommunications. It has also consulted on specific issues such as numbering arrangements and runs a VoB industry group.

  The Ofcom Strategic Review of Telecommunications can be found at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/telecoms_review/index.htm

  Details of the VoB industry group can be found at: hap: //www.ofcom.org.uK/ind_groups/ind_groups/telecommunications/vob/?a =87101

  Kismet Road Project
  Mr. Sayeed
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the withdrawal by Advantage West Midlands of agreed funding for the Kismet Road project; and what assessment she has made of the effect on companies which have incurred costs as a result. [177206]

  Jacqui Smith
  Advantage West Midlands received an application for funding for the Kismet Road project but was unable to make an offer of support.

  Any funding given by Advantage West Midlands is subject to a formal appraisal process. Early on in the appraisal process, it became clear that Advantage West Midlands could not fund the project because there were irreconcilable anomalies and inconsistencies within the application's proposed funding package and the project offered no acceptable outputs. That decision was communicated to the applicant at the earliest opportunity.

  Ministerial Travel
  David Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if she will list the travel costs incurred(a) by her Department and (b) by. each Minister within her Department, for each of the last 10 years; [175646]

  (2) how many journeys were made by helicopter by each Minister in her Department in each of the last 10 years; and what the journey length was in each case. [175740]

  Ms Hewitt
  In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more luring each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These reports contain information reaching back from 1995–06. Information for earlier years could 1154W
  be obtained only at disproportionate cost and in some cases will no longer be held. Information for 2003–04 will be published in due course.

  For domestic travel the DTI has devolved to the local management the authorisation of travel claims for its staff, subject to checking procedures. It does not record the costs of taxis, train travel, helicopters or airline tickets used by staff separately. To obtain accurate data for the information requested would entail disproportionate cost.

  All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code of Practice.

  David Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much her Department spent on ministerial travel by(a) car, (b) train, (c) aeroplane and (d) helicopter, in each of the last 10 years. [175663]

  Ms Hewitt
  For part(a) of the question my hon. Friend the Minister of the Cabinet Office has asked Nick Matheson, Chief executive of the Government Car and despatch Agency to write to the hon. Member with details of the cost of ministerial vehicles provided to this Department.

  For parts (b) (c) (d) the DTI has devolved to the local management the authorisation of travel claims for its staff, subject to checking procedures. It does not record the costs of taxis, train travel, helicopters or airline tickets used by staff separately. To obtain accurate data for the information requested would entail disproportionate cost.

  All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code of Practice.

  Nirex
  Norman Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will give an assurance that the Government's intentions on the future role of Nirex will be made public before the Energy Bill completes its passage through the House. [177224]

  Mr. Timms
  [holding answer 7 June 2004]: The Government are working hard to determine the future of Nirex and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food an Rural Affairs will announce the outcome of its review as soon as it has been completed. I am not as yet able to give a firm date for the announcement.

  Ruth Lea
  Michael Fabricant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions the Permanent Secretary of the Department has had concerning Ruth Lea while she was employed by the Institute of Directors; and if she will make a statement. [179106]

  Ms Hewitt
  The details of meetings held internally between officials, or privately between officials and third parties, are exempt from disclosure under exemptions 2 and 14 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, protecting internal discussion and information given in confidence respectively.
  1155W

  Secondments
  Bob Spink
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff in her Department and its agencies were seconded from the(a) private and (b) academic sector in each of the last three years. [174822]

  Ms Hewitt
  The purpose of bringing people into the Civil Service from other sectors is to fill skills gaps and to add external dimensions and insights. For the individuals themselves, the secondment provides experience of another sector and an opportunity to enhance existing skills and develop others.

  The following table shows the secondments from (a) the private sector and (b) the academic sector for the last three years:

  Secondments from the private sector

  Secondments from the academic sector

  2001–02

  72

  3

  2002–03

  64

  1

  2003–04

  57

  3

  Letter from Claire Clancy to Mr. Bob Spink, dated 18 June 2004:

  I am responding to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on behalf of Companies House, which is an Executive Agency of the DTI.

  Companies House has not seconded any individuals from either the private or academic sector in the last three years.

  Letter from Desmond Flynn to Mr. Bob Spink, dated 18 June 2004:

  The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to you directly on behalf of The Insolvency Service in respect of your question (2003/3107) asking how many staff in its agencies were seconded from the (a) private and (b) academic sector in each of the last three years.

  The Insolvency Service seconded one member of staff from the private sector during the last three years. The secondment ended in August 2001.

  Sellafield
  Mr. Stephen O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects Sellafield's new mixed oxide plant to become fully operational. [178760]

  Mr. Timms
  The Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) is currently manufacturing Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) as part of the final stages of commissioning the plant. Formal consent to operate SMP will be sought from the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (Nil), the regulatory body in late 2005, subject to the plant achieving its manufacturing schedule.

  Sickness Absence
  Denzil Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many days were lost in her Department through sickness absence in the year ending 31 March 2004. [178344]

  Ms Hewitt
  In the year 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004, the headquarters of the Department of Trade and Industry (including Small Business Service and UK 1156W
  Trade and Investment) lost 30,910 days due to sick absence. These figures include weekend days where absences span the weekend.

  The figures can be further broken down to show that 21,184 of these days were certified and 9,726 were uncertified.

  Southampton Port
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to support the competitive position of the port of Southampton. [175577]

  Jacqui Smith
  It is for the Port of Southampton to determine their own future investment needs in discussion with the appropriate authorities. The Government through the South Last England Development Agency (SEEDA) would be keen to work with the port to develop its future strategy.

  Surveys
  Norman Lamb
  1 o ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what surveys of public perceptions of her Department aid of its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months; what the(a) title and (b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if she will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library. [176948]

  Ms Hewitt
  My department commissions surveys from time to time of customers' views of its services so as to help improve those services. Recent examples over the last 12 months include:"Fair Markets Stakeholder Survey"
  "Survey of DTI Customers in the Business Relations and Energy Group Areas'

  DTI has received some initial findings from these surveys, but the full reports are not yet ready for publication. However, early indications from the survey of DTI's Fair Markets stakeholders include that DTI was rated highly on effective stakeholder engagement, with professional and competent staff who are good at delivering on strategy and policy. Comments suggest that we could improve our consultations by engaging stakeholders earlier and providing feedback after each consultation.

  The total combined costs of these surveys were approximately £60,000.

  Working Time Directive
  Mr. Tynan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employees in her Department have(a) signed a formal opt out from and (b) are exempt from the Working Time Directive; and how many employees in her Department have recorded hours, including any accruing on a flexitime basis, in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive in the last month for which figures are available. [178372]
  1157W
  Ms Hewitt
  Formal opt-out forms from the Working Time Directive and flexitime forms are held at local management level and are not readily available centrally.

  DTI does not collect data on those who are exempt from the Working Time Directive, as all DTI employees are covered by the Regulations.

  Yumi Yet Bridge
  Mr. Simon Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Export Credits Guarantee Department has been approached for support for Phase 2 of the Yumi Yet Bridge Development Programme in Papua New Guinea. [177600]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  [holding answer 8 June 2004]: For reasons of commercial confidentiality, ECGD does not normally reveal details of applications for cover it receives in respect of prospective export transactions.

  Nevertheless, in this instance, Mabey and Johnson Ltd. has agreed to ECGD disclosing that it has applied for cover in respect of Phase 2 of the Yumi Yet Bridge Programme in PNG.

  However ECGD has not yet taken a decision on whether to provide cover for this follow on business.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Autistic Spectrum Disorders
  Mrs. Browning
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are set for doctors and psychiatrists who offer themselves as expert witnesses on autistic spectrum disorders. [178959]

  Paul Goggins
  [holding answer 15 June 2004]: In criminal law, where matters fall outside the ordinary knowledge of the court, the court may allow the opinions of an expert witness to be admitted as evidence. If either the prosecution or the defence wishes to adduce the evidence of an expert witness. they are obliged to disclose the expert's statement to the other side in advance of the trial. The other side may then request further details from the expert. This obligation also allows the other side sufficient time to prepare their arguments if they wish to challenge, the expert witness.

  The decision whether or not to allow the evidence of an expert witness to be admitted rests with the court, which must be satisfied that the material comes within a recognized field of expertise and that the witness is indeed an expert in that field. It is for the jury to decide what weight ought to be placed on any expert evidence that has been admitted.

  One exception to these general rules is that, under the Criminal Procedure (Insanity and Unfitness to Plead) Act 1991, a defendant shall not be acquitted on the grounds of insanity, or found unfit to plead, except on the evidence of two or more registered medical practitioners, at least one of whom is approved by the Secretary of State as having special experience in the diagnosis or treatment of mental disorder.
  1158W

  Protection from Harassment Act
  Mrs. Gillan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the total number of restraining orders made under section 5 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 after a conviction under section 2 of the Act was in(a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003, broken down by sex of the defendant; [159393]

  (2) what the total number of restraining orders made under section 5 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 after a conviction under section 4 of the Act was in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003, broken down by sex of the defendant; [159394]

  (3) what the total number of applications alleging a breach of a section 5 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 restraining order resulting in a conviction was in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003, broken down by gender; [159395]

  (4) what the total number of applications alleging a breach of a section 5 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 restraining order resulting in an acquittal was, broken down by gender, in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003; [159396]

  (5) how many magistrates, court and Crown court prosecutions under section 4 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 resulted in (a) conviction and (b) acquittal in (i) 2001, (ii) 2002 and (iii) 2003, broken down by sex of defendant. [159399]

  Paul Goggins
  Table A shows the number of persons sentenced to a restraining order following a conviction for an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, sections 2 and 4 at all courts in England and Wales during 2001 and 2002.

  Table A: Number of persons sentenced to a restraining order after being found guilty of an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, sections 2 or 4, all courts, England and Wales, 2001 and 2002

  Statute

  Offence description

  Year

  Sex

  Sentenced to a restraining order1

  Protection from Harassment Act 1997, Section 2

  Offence of harassment

  2001

  Male

  1,057

  Female

  147

  Total

  1,204

  2002

  Male

  1,235

  Female

  146

  Total

  1,381

  Protection from Harassment Act 1997, Section 4

  Putting people in fear of violence

  2001

  Male

  141

  Female

  9

  Total

  150

  2002

  Male

  192

  Female

  13

  Total

  205

  1These data are on the principal offence basis (but including primary and secondary disposals).

  Table B shows the number of persons acquitted or found guilty at all courts of the offence of breaching a restraining order under section 5 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, in England and Wales during 2001 and 2002.
  1159W

  Table B: Number of persons acquitted or convicted of breaching a restraining order under tit Protection from Harassment Act 1997, section 5, at all courts, England and Wales 2001 and 20011

  Statute

  Offence description

  Year

  Sex

  Acquitted 2

  Found guilty

  Protection from Harassment Act 1997, Section 5

  Breach of restraining order

  2001

  Male

  57

  501

  Female

  6

  38

  Total

  63

  539

  2002

  Male

  59

  556

  Female

  7

  48

  Total

  66

  604

  1 These data are on the principal offence basis.

  2 Charge dismissed at magistrates' courts.

  Table C shows the number of persons acquitted or found guilty at both magistrates' courts and the Crown Court of offences under sections 2 and 4 of the

  Table: C Number of persons acquitted or found guilty of offences under sections 2 and 4 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, England and Wales 2001 to 20021

  Magistrates' courts

  The Crown court

  Statute

  Offence description

  Year

  Sex

  Charge dismissed

  Found guilty

  Acquitted

  Found guilty

  Protection from Harassment Act 1997, Section 2

  Offence of harassment

  2001

  Male

  372

  2,377

  18

  98

  Female

  65

  320

  4

  11

  Total

  437

  2,697

  22

  109

  2002

  Male

  111

  2,422

  14

  107

  Female

  71

  328

  5

  6

  Total

  182

  2,750

  19

  113

  Protection from Harassment Act 1997, Section 4

  Putting people in fear of violence

  2001

  Male

  84

  371

  91

  178

  Female

  11

  32

  13

  9

  Total

  95

  403

  104

  187

  2002

  Male

  73

  376

  86

  223

  Female

  7

  26

  11

  13

  Total

  80

  402

  97

  236

  1 These data are on the principal offence basis.

  Statistics on court proceedings for 2003 will be published in the Autumn of this year.

  Animal Experiments
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent research he has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated to assess whether experiments on animals can be scientifically reproduced using other methods and subjects. [176778]

  Caroline Flint
  The Home Office has not commissioned or evaluated any formal research to demonstrate that experiments on animals cannot be scientifically reproduced using other methods and subjects, and has no plans to do so. Instead, the assessment of project licence applications under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 focuses on these issues on a case by case basis. Under the 1986 Act, the use of animals in regulated procedures is prohibited where a scientifically valid, non-animal alternative is available.

  Burials
  Norman Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been introduced by the Government in response to the shortage of space for further burials in cemeteries and graveyards. [178715]
  1160W
  Protection from Harassment Act 1997, in England and Wales during 2001 and 2002.

  Paul Goggins
  The Government are aware of concerns over the potential lack of appropriate burial space, particularly within built up urban areas. The current public consultation exercise "Burial law and policy in the 21st Century: the need for a sensitive and sustainable approach" seeks views on the existing arrangements for providing cemeteries and the on the possibility of reusing old ones. The results of this exercise, which is part of the on-going review of burial law and ends on 13 July 2004, will help to inform the Government's decision on how best to proceed.

  Corporate Killing
  Judy Mallaber
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to publish a Bill on corporate killing. [178226]

  Paul Goggins
  [holding answer 15 June 2004]: The Government are firmly committed to reforming the law on corporate manslaughter. We plan to publish a draft Bill before the end of the current session.

  Correspondence
  Sir Gerald Kaufman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter to him date 10 May from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. S. Nyathi. [178949]
  1161W
  Mr. Blunkett
  I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 17 June 2004.

  Crime Victims/Witnesses (Crosby)
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the residents of Crosby have benefited from the national strategy to improve services for witnesses and victims of crime. [177949]

  Paul Goggins
  Criminal Justice Boards have been established in each of the 42 criminal justice areas in England and Wales and their work includes delivering the Government's Public Service Agreement targets to bring more offences to justice, improve public confidence in the Criminal Justice system and increase victim and witness satisfaction.

  Every Criminal Justice Board has produced a plan to improve services to victims and witnesses.

  As part of the No Witness, No Justice programme, Witness Care Units are being established in every criminal justice area to provide a single point of contact for victims and witnesses. The provisional dates for rollout in Merseyside are between 1 April and 1 October 2005.

  In February 2004, the first pilot to help vulnerable witnesses of crime with communication difficulties to give evidence was launched in Merseyside.

  The Home Office is funding three pilots to test out the best approach to supporting victims of road traffic incidents. Aftermath Support, in Merseyside is one of these schemes and is provided by local partners.

  Criminal Justice Interventions Programme
  John Mann
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what relationship the National Offender Management Service will have to the Criminal Justice Interventions Programme; and who will allocate staffing to Criminal Justice Interventions Programmes from within the National Offender Management Service management structure. [174461]

  Paul Goggins
  The Criminal Justice Interventions Programme is a critical part of the Government's national strategy for tackling drugs. Its implementation is being phased and delivery at a local level is through community-based Criminal Justice Integrated Teams (CJITs) which adopt a case management approach to offer access to drug treatment and support for drug misusing offenders.

  With the creation of the National Offender Management Service we envisage that the drugs case manager will be the link to and, in some cases, the provider of drug treatment services. The Regional Offender Manager will be responsible for ensuring proper links are established within his or her region between offender managers and CJITs. This will avoid duplication and ensure a fully integrated package of support and management to drug misusing offenders before, during and after sentence.
  1162W

  Domestic Violence
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action the Government is taking on domestic violence other than imprisonment of offenders. [176814]

  Paul Goggins
  [holding answer 10 June 2004]: Domestic violence is a horrific crime, which claims the lives of around two women a week. This Government is determined to tackle it.

  The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill is the biggest overhaul of domestic violence legislation for thirty years. It is a key part of the Government's aim of putting victims at the heart of the criminal justice system and part of our wider domestic violence strategy to protect and support victims, as well as bringing perpetrators to justice.

  A broad range of other initiatives are being taken forward by the Inter-Ministerial Group on Domestic Violence. These initiatives include important developments in health, education and housing as well as the civil and criminal justice systems. This year we are investing £56.97 million on domestic violence services as part of the Supporting People Program. Following a positive evaluation of the effectiveness of five specialist domestic violence courts in what further action we can take to improve Court Services for victims of domestic violence.

  Mrs. Gillan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women have been killed by(a) intimate partners and (b) family members in incidents in each of the last five years for which statistics are available; and in how many of these cases children were also killed. [178354]

  Paul Goggins
  The latest available information on homicide is published in Home Office Statistical Bulletin number 01/04, "Crime in England and Wales 2002/2003: Supplementary Volume 1: Homicide and Gun Crime". It provides information on gender of victims and relationship of victim to suspect. The Bulletin does not identify individual cases where children were also killed.

  For England and Wales, the available information on women homicide victims killed by partners/ex-partners and others known to them is given in the table.

  Partner/ex-partner

  Other known1

  1998–99

  76

  82

  1999–2000

  88

  55

  2000–01

  98

  76

  2001–02

  120

  64

  2002–03

  107

  85

  1 Other known includes relationships of victim to principal suspect of son/daughter, parent, other family, friend and acquaintance.

  Note:

  Figures are as at 13 November 2003 and are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police, by the courts or as further information becomes available.

  Sandra Gidley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the performance indicators against which he plans to measure the(a) medium and (b) long-term success of his domestic violence strategy. [178817]
  1163W
  Paul Goggins
  We intend to measure the effectiveness of our domestic violence strategy over the medium and long term using the following indicators:Homicides as a result of domestic violence;
  Headline prevalence of domestic violence (as measured by the British Crime Survey Inter-Personal Violence module);
  Numbers of (a) young people and (b) all people who think that violence is acceptable in some circumstances;
  Percentage of domestic violence incidents with a power of arrest where an arrest was made related to incident and, of this, the percentage of partner-on-partner violence (within the Policing Performance Assessment Framework).
  A new indicator covering rates of attrition in domestic violence;
  The number of civil orders made;
  A new Best Value Performance Indicator designed to assess the overall effectiveness of local authority services to domestic violence victims. This will shortly go out for consultation with local authorities, and it part of a suite of indicators which will be piloted in the autumn and introduced in April 2005;
  An indicator relating to victim satisfaction with the support they have received from key agencies.

  Sandra Gidley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what easy-to-understand guidance he has issued for practitioners on the sharing of personal information where domestic violence is(a) suspected and (b) disclosed to them. [178818]

  Paul Goggins
  The Home Office Development and Practice Report 30, "Safety and justice: sharing personal information in the context of domestic violence—an overview", was published at the National Victims Conference on 28 April 2004.

  The report, which was endorsed by the Information Commissioner and by the Inter-Ministerial Group on Domestic Violence, provides an introduction to responsible and lawful sharing of personal and sensitive information between practitioners in domestic violence contexts in England and Wales. It also demonstrates that sharing personal and sensitive information can be done in a legal, pragmatic and straightforward way. We have also developed a web-based tool to accompany the report. This can be accessed at www.crimereduction.gov.uk.

  Sandra Gidley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many calls there have been to the domestic violence hotline in each month since its introduction. [178865]

  Yvette Cooper
  I have been asked to reply.

  There have been 26,070 calls to the national domestic violence helpline (0808 2000 247) jointly operated by Refuge and Women's Aid between its launch on 15 December 2003 and 15 June 2004. In addition, Women's Aid have received 42,691 calls on their previous help-line number, and Refuge 43,890 calls on their previous numbers. A monthly breakdown of these figures is given as follows.

  Calls made to the national domestic violence helpline

  Number

  December 2003

  1,345

  January 2004

  3,382

  February 2004

  3,654

  March 2004

  5,933

  1164W

  Calls made to the national domestic violence helpline

  Number

  April 2004

  3,956

  May 2004

  4,098

  June 2004

  3,702

  Driving Offences
  Tom Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were sent to prison for causing death by dangerous driving in each of the last three years. [178682]

  Paul Goggins
  The information for England and Wales for the years 2000 to 2002 is contained in the table. Data for 2003 will not be available until the autumn.

  Persons sentenced to immediate custody1 at all courts for causing death by dangerous driving2, England and Wales 2000 to 2002

  Total3

  2000

  166

  2001

  193

  2002

  199

  1Includes unsuspended imprisonment, detention under sec90/92(PCC(S))A2000), detention in a young offender institution and detention and training orders.

  2 An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s.1 as added by the Road Traffic Act 1991 s.1.

  3 These data are on the principal offence basis.

  Firearms
  Ms Abbott
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to review procedures governing the use of firearms by the police. [176268]

  Caroline Flint
  There are no plans to further review procedures governing the use of firearms by police. The Code of Practice on the Police Use of Firearms and Less Lethal Weapons, which was published in December 2003, sets out the basic principles in relation to the selection, testing, acquisition and use of firearms and less lethal weapons by police. The Association of Chief Police Officers also issue a detailed manual of guidance to police forces.

  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department low many incidents resulting in(a) fatalities, (b) serous injuries and (c) minor injuries have occurred (i) in miniature rifle ranges exempted from certification or involving weapons linked to such ranges and (ii) on theatrical, film and television productions under present exemptions or involving weapons held under such exemptions in each of the last 10 years. [177467]

  Caroline Flint
  [holding answer 9 June 2004]: Information available centrally relates only to recorded crimes resulting in injury or death and in any event does not record the location where the injury was sustained.

  Mr. Paice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences there were involving shotgun cartridges of components derived from them
  1165W
  other than in the circumstance of a crime where a shotgun itself is discharged in each of the last 10 years. [177468]

  Caroline Flint
  [holding answer 9 June 2004]: The information requested is not collected centrally.

  FRANK Communications Campaign (Corby)
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the FRANK communications campaign has benefited the residents of Crosby. [177938]

  Caroline Flint
  Crosby sits under the Sefton Drug Action Team (DAT) area. This DAT, in partnership with local agencies, has used tile FRANK campaign materials to communicate to the local population on drug and community safety issues. These have been used in schools, pupil referral units, colleges and youth centres throughout the DAT area inclusive of Crosby. In addition, 120,000 homes in Crosby will be sent information in the next few weeks about the FRANK 24 hour helpline, website and email service, in a community safety magazine commissioned by Merseyside police. Local data are not available, but nationally there have been over 1.5 million visits to the website and over 425,000 calls to the helpline.

  Funeral Rites
  Norman Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in the UK chose to have their mortal remains(a) cremated, (b) buried and (c) otherwise disposed of 1n each year since 1997 (i) in total and (ii) expressed as a percentage of all deaths per year. [178714]

  Paul Goggins
  This information is not collected centrally. The number of cremations in recent years has levelled at just over 70 per cent. (72 per cent. of 612,000 deaths in 2002). All other deaths are dealt with by burial or by other means (eg repatriation of the body out of England) and these details are not held centrally.

  Holloway Prison
  Mr. Oaten
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents involving self harm there have been in Holloway Prison in each of the past three years. [178575]

  Paul Goggins
  [holding answer 14 June2004]: The information requested is provided in the following table:

  Holloway Prison

  Number of recorded incidents of self-harm (not the number of individuals)

  2001

  542

  2002

  765

  2003

  1851

  1 In December 2002, a new form for reporting self-injury (the F213SH) was introduced across the prisons estate in England and Wales, which is known to have improved reporting practices. Much of the increase in reported self-harm in 2003 may result from the change in reporting procedures rather than reflect an actual increase in incidence of self-harm.

  1166W
  Women prisoners will benefit from a specifically targeted and separate suicide prevention and self-harm management strategy being developed for them. This draws upon specialist knowledge of suicidal and self-harming behaviour among women prisoners, and builds upon a number of interventions including: individual crisis counselling for women prisoners who self-harm; the continued development and evaluation of dialectical behaviour therapy, which is currently being trialled at Durham, Bullwood Hall and Holloway prisons; investment and planning to ensure progress on the detoxification strategy in women's prisons; and the introduction of a new training pack for all staff working with women in custody, which includes a module on the health and well-being of women prisoners. A total of £l million from the Department of Health has been allocated to women's prisons to be spent on the recruitment of psychiatric nurses.

  Juvenile Offenders
  Dr. Vis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidelines issued to prisons wishing to apply for late release of juveniles. [176783]

  Paul Goggins
  Late release provides a sanction where a young person subject to a Detention and Training Order (DTO) has been violent, dangerous or destructive while in custody, or has consistently failed to co-operate or to take responsibility for his or her behaviour. Applications for late release require the approval of a court.

  No specific guidance has been issued on the procedure for applying for late release. The introduction in May 2002 of presumptive early release with electronic monitoring provided an alternative sanction in many cases, in that DTO trainees who exhibit a pattern of bad behaviour can be required to remain in custody to the end of the first part of their Order. We are currently reviewing policy on late release in the light of establishments' experience, particularly over the two years since electronically monitored early release was made available.

  Dr. Vis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times each prison has applied for the late release of a juvenile prisoner in each of the last five years. [176786]

  Paul Goggins
  Section 102(5) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 enables a youth court, on application from the Secretary of State, to order that a young person serving a Detention and Training Order (DTO) of eight months or more should be released one month after the half-way point of the Order. (A young person serving 18 or 24 months can, alternatively, be ordered to be released two months after the half-way point.)

  The following table shows late release applications by Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) in the period beginning with the introduction of the DTO on 1 April 2000 up until 31 May 2004.
  1167W

  YOI

  Late release applications

  Approved

  Awaiting Court hearing

  Ashfield

  0

  —

  —

  Brinsford

  4

  3

  1

  Castlington

  0

  —

  —

  Feltham

  0

  —

  —

  Hindley

  0

  —

  —

  Huntercombe

  0

  —

  —

  Lancaster farms

  3

  3

  —

  Onley

  0

  —

  —

  Parc

  0

  —

  —

  Stoke Heath

  3

  1

  —

  Thorn Cross

  0

  —

  —

  Warren Hill

  0

  —

  —

  Werrington

  0

  —

  —

  Wetherby

  0

  —

  —

  Brockhill

  0

  —

  —

  Bullwood Hall

  0

  —

  —

  Eastwood Park

  0

  —

  New Hall

  0

  —

  —

  National Offender Management Service
  Julie Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the all-Wales probation board will be organised at a local level in the new National Offender Management Service. [175781]

  Paul Goggins
  While the precise arrangements in Wales have not yet been agreed, the National Offender Management Service will ensure that effective links with bodies such as Local Criminal Justice Boards, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, Drug Action Teams and local authorities, are maintained and developed. All Regional Offender Managers—including the offender manager for Wales—will be required to establish these links within their region and develop other community and neighbourhood networks as appropriate.

  Police (Specialist Skills)
  Tim Loughton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many police officers are trained to handle digital evidence; [178503]

  (2) how many police officers are (a) serving with computer crime units and (b) have higher level forensic skills. [178504]

  Caroline Flint
  The allocation of officers to computer crime units and the training of officers in these and other units in forensic investigation skills is a matter for individual chief officers. There are no centrally aggregated figures of these resources.

  However, every police force in England and Wales has expertise in the recovery and analysis of forensic evidence. These skills are utilised in a variety of investigations. With regards to training officers who are not part of specialist units, there is a module included in the probationary training for all new police officers covering the internet and new technology. Centrex are also developing an online training package for existing officers.
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  This month the Home Office has produced tactical guidance for managers of computer crime units within forces, which includes advice on running these units and practical guidance on procedures and tools for forensic analysis.

  Prison Staff
  Colin Burgon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Prison Officers' Association regarding proposed changes to the uniform worn by staff in young offender institutions. [173396]

  Paul Goggins
  The Prison Officers' Association has objected formally to a Prison Service proposal to introduce a more relaxed style of uniform in establishments holding juveniles. Discussions to resolve the disagreement are continuing.

  Prisoners
  Mrs. Gillan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) women and (b) men were being held in prison on 12 March; how many prisoners were released on early release on 12 March; how many prisoners were eligible for early release on 12 March; and how many prisoners were released on 12 March. [162199]

  Paul Goggins
  On 12 March 2004 there were 4,569 females and 70,451 males being held in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales. There were an estimated 175 prisoners with a sentence length of three months to less than four years whose Home Detention Curfew (HDC) eligibility date was 12 March 2004. On that date, 77 prisoners were actually released on HDC.

  Some prisoners with a sentence length of three months to less than four years do not quality for HDC because of the nature of their current or previous offences.

  In addition, the figure of 175 will exclude a small number of prisoners in the population who were on remand at the time of the count, but were subsequently sentenced to a custodial sentence suitable for HOC and whose HOC eligibility date falls on 12 March 2004. This occurs when they have spent a significant period on remand.

  A further 623 prisoners were discharged by other means on 12 March 2004, not including discharges following recall after release on licence, fine defaulters and non-criminals.

  Prisons
  David Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many life sentence prisoners have been released on parole in each month since January 1995. [171248]

  Paul Goggins
  Release details for all life sentence prisoners are only available in the monthly format requested from 1 April 2000 onwards. Information for the period 1995–99 is available only by calendar year.

  The annual release figures for the calendar years 1995–99 are as follows.
  1169W

  Number (first time releases only)

  1995

  92

  1996

  85

  1997

  98

  1998

  98

  1999

  122

  The release details from 1 April 2000 onwards are shown in the table.

  Releases on life licence April 2100—March 2004

  Month

  Year

  Number of releases

  April

  12000

  8

  May

  12000

  13

  June

  12000

  19

  July

  12000

  13

  August

  12000

  4

  September

  12000

  7

  October

  12000

  8

  November

  12000

  6

  December

  12000

  4

  January

  12001

  16

  February

  12001

  14

  March

  12001

  13

  April

  2001

  25

  May

  2001

  12

  June

  2001

  14

  July

  2001

  11

  August

  2001

  17

  September

  2001

  9

  October

  2001

  18

  November

  2001

  15

  December

  2001

  10

  January

  2002

  10

  February

  2002

  13

  March

  2002

  10

  April

  2002

  12

  May

  2002

  17

  June

  2002

  12

  July

  2002

  22

  August

  2002

  26

  September

  2002

  14

  October

  2002

  26

  November

  2002

  14

  December

  2002

  18

  January

  2003

  18

  February

  2003

  28

  March

  2003

  29

  April

  2003

  18

  May

  2003

  30

  June

  2003

  22

  July

  2003

  38

  August

  2003

  32

  September

  2003

  22

  1Relates to first time release cases only. Subsequent data includes cases where prisoners have been re-released following recall from life licence.

  Releases on life licence April 2000—March 2004

  Month

  Year

  Number of releases

  October

  2003

  40

  November

  2003

  15

  December

  2003

  30

  January

  2004

  15

  February

  2004

  31

  March

  2004

  38

  The lifer population in June 1995 stood at just under 3,300 and has risen at roughly 8 per cent. per year to the current level of over 5,500. This increase in population
  1170W
  has been reflected in the number of lifer cases considered each year by the independent Parole Board and in the number of cases where release was recommended (or directed) by panels. Following the European Court of Human Rights judgment in the case of Stafford in May 2002, the Parole Board is now responsible for the release of all tariff expired lifers, including mandatory lifers.

  Colin Burgon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason the Prison Service uses Contracted Supplementary Hours rather than exgratia payments to cover for staff shortfalls. [178404]

  Paul Goggins
  Contracted Supplementary Hours is a contracted agreement between management and staff for working additional hours, allowing advance planning of attendance patterns to cover periods of staff shortfall. For this purpose, Contracted Supplementary Hours are used in place of ex-gratia payments, which are primarily one-off payments to cover individual circumstances in unforeseen cases of operational emergency.

  Colin Burgon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the cost-effectiveness of the Contracted Supplementary Hours scheme to cover for staff shortfalls in the Prison Service. [178405]

  Paul Goggins
  The Contracted Supplementary Hours scheme was introduced to provide prison governors with the flexibility to provide immediate additional working hours to meet operational needs. Since it has been in operation for the majority of prisons for just over a year, no assessment has yet been made on the cost-effectiveness of the scheme in covering staff shortfalls in the Prison Service.

  Colin Burgon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the relative cost-effectiveness and flexibility of ex-gratia payments in covering for staff shortfalls. [178406]

  Paul Goggins
  Ex-gratia payments provide flexibility in individual circumstances for unforeseen cases of operational emergency. In view of the unpredictable nature of these payments, it would be very difficult to draw generalised conclusions about them. Hence, no assessment has been made to date of their cost-effectiveness.

  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average ratio of prisoners to wardens was in (a) privately and (b) publicly run prisons in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by category. [177846]

  Paul Goggins
  The information is as follows:

  Contracted prisons1

  Category

  Ratio for the number of prisoners to prison officers2

  Category B

  3.97

  Category C

  3.63

  Juvenile

  1.61

  1Privately operated.

  2 Prison custody officers are the equivalent of the public prisons prison officer.

  1171W

  Public prisons

  Category

  Ratio for the number of prisoners to prison officers

  Category B

  2.78

  Category C

  3.58

  Juvenile

  1.78

  Tom Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time teachers are employed in each London prison. [177816]

  Paul Goggins
  There are 64 full-time teachers employed in the London prisons, broken down as follows:

  Prison

  Number

  Wandsworth

  10

  Wormwood Scrubs

  10

  Feltham

  17

  Holloway

  6

  Pentonville

  4

  Brixton

  8

  Latchmere

  0

  Belmarsh

  9

  Total

  64

  Learning opportunities for prisoners are also provided by a range of other staff including part-time teachers employed by the contractor, Instructional Officers, Prison Officer Instructors and other prison staff.

  Probation Service
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) prisoners and (h) people under supervision of the probation service have obtained qualifications in basic skills in Merseyside in each year since 1997. [177935]

  Paul Goggins
  Until 2000 there were no clear definitions of what an adult should be expected to know, understand and do at each level of literacy, numeracy and spoken language. The Government's Skills for Life strategy is raising levels of adult basic skills through the introduction of national standards and curriculum documents for listening, speaking, reading, writing and numeracy. These now provide the framework for all adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL screening tests, diagnostic tools, programmes of study and qualifications.

  In 2002–03 central monitoring of literacy, numeracy and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) was introduced for offenders under the supervision of the National Probation Service (NPS). This is the first year for which national targets were set. Targets were introduced in Prison Service establishments in 2000–01, from which date only aggregate figures are available. 2002–03 is the first year from which figures are available at establishment level.

  The number of qualifications obtained by offenders in prison and under probation supervision in Merseyside from 2002–03 is contained in the tables:
  1172W

  Basic skills qualifications; offenders in custody

  Target

  Achieved

  2002–03

  506

  915

  2003–04

  692

  938

  Basic skills qualifications: offenders under probation supervision

  Target

  Achieved

  2002–03

  38

  95

  2003–04

  155

  234

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to maintain community and local involvement in the probationary services as part of the restructuring process. [175227]

  Paul Goggins
  The National Offender Management Service will ensure that effective links with bodies such as local criminal justice boards, crime and disorder reduction partnerships, drug action teams and local authorities, are maintained and developed. All regional offender managers will be required to establish these links within their region and to develop other community and neighbourhood net works as appropriate.

  Project Reflex
  Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Project Reflex. [177869]

  Caroline Flint
  Reflex is the government's response to organised immigration crime. It was established in 2000 as a multi-agency task force to co-ordinate intelligence and the law enforcement response. Led by the National Crime Squad (NCS), Reflex brings together the key agencies involved in combating organised immigration crime including the Immigration Service, the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the security and intelligence agencies, the UK Passport Service, government departments including the Crown Prosecution Service and key police forces.

  Based on its initial success Reflex was awarded £60 million over three years starting in April 2003. The core aims of Reflex are to raise the risks that organised crime gangs must take, render their illegal businesses unprofitable and reduce the opportunities for them to exploit communities.

  Reflex targets criminal groups involved in the volume facilitation of illegal migrants, human trafficking (in particular the trafficking of women and children) and running the criminal infrastructures that serve both to facilitate illegal entry and to exploit the illegal population once in the UK.

  Between April 2003 and April 2004 reflex resulted in 38 disruptions. In the same period Reflex operations resulted in 38 convictions.

  Secure Units
  Charles Hendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that children sent to secure units are contained as near to their families as possible. [175835]
  1173W
  Paul Goggins
  [holding answer 25 May 2004]: The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) is responsible for commissioning and purchasing secure accommodation for young people who receive custodial sentences, and for placement decisions.

  It aims to improve the geographical spread of places suitable for the younger and more vulnerable young people in secure training centres (STCs) and local authority secure children's homes (LASCHs). It has already expanded two STCs by a total of 64 places and a new one is due to open this summer at Oakhill, Milton Keynes. Based on modelling of the home locations of young people placed since April 2000, the 80 places it will provide—in exchange for withdrawal from 64 LASCH places—will significantly improve the geographical coverage in particular for young offenders from north London.

  Sentencing Guidelines Council
  Mr. Oaten
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is envisaged that the Sentencing Guidelines Council will examine the case for reducing sentence lengths for less serious offences. [147632]

  Paul Goggins
  The Government believe that less serious offenders should be punished by fines or community penalties; prison should be reserved for serious, dangerous and persistent offenders. The Sentencing Guidelines Council will issue guidance on the appropriate sentences for all offences. One of its first tasks is to look at the use of the generic community sentence established by the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The Government believe that this new sentence offers the opportunity for more offenders to be punished in the community and to increase the opportunities for rehabilitation.

  Shoplifting
  Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) men and (b) women were imprisoned for shoplifting offences in Greater London in the last five years. [158441]

  Paul Goggins
  The information requested is shown in the table.

  Number of persons sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for stealing from shops and stalls in the Greater London Area1, 1998 to 20022

  Sentenced to immediate custody

  Offence

  Year

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Stealing from shops and stalls

  1998

  1,957

  415

  2,372

  1999

  2,225

  418

  2,643

  2000

  2,394

  481

  2,875

  2001

  2,290

  435

  2,725

  2002

  2,730

  518

  3,248

  1Metropolitan and City of London police force areas.

  2 These data are on the principal offence basis.

  It should be noted that courts' sentencing decisions are influenced by the seriousness of the offence and take into account previous convictions.
  1174W
  Statistics for 2003 will be published in the autumn.

  Women Prisoners
  Julie Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many female prisoners were electronically tagged in(a) England and (b) Wales during the period between January and December 2003; and what the most recent available figures are for 2004. [177256]

  Paul Goggins
  In 2003 there were 2,153 female prisoners released on the Home Detention Curfew scheme (HDC). Between 1 January 2004 and 30 April 2004, there were 689 female prisoners released on HDC. These prisoners were all released from prisons in England There are no prisons for females in Wales. The country (i.e. England or Wales) in which electronically tagged prisoners reside on release is not recorded centrally.

  Julie Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women's places were not used in bail hostels in(a) England and (b) Wales during the period between January and December 2003; and what the most recent figures are for 2004. [177257]

  Paul Goggins
  There are currently 100 approved probation and bail hostels throughout the 42 probation areas which make up the National Probation Service for England and Wales. They provide a total of 2,238 places, of which 2,016 are for men and 222 for women. These approved premises broadly accept three categories of residents; bailees, those on community orders with a condition of residence at the approved premises, and those on licence following release from a custodial sentence. Five of these premises (all based in probation areas in England), are for women only. A further 28 premises (three of which are in Wales) provide mixed accommodation. However, no published data is available on how many women's places were not utilised during 2003 or 2004.

  Mr. Stinchcombe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many custodial sentences being served by female prisoners of one month or less were imposed on female convicts and served at HMP Holloway in the last year. [177494]

  Paul Goggins
  Of the women serving custodial sentences at Holloway in the last year, 123 had received sentences of one month or less. The Government does not believe that these kind of short sentences are generally effective in reducing re-offending which is why we are introducing the Generic Community Sentencewhich will enable sentencers to choose from a range of measures appropriate for each individual offender and Custody Plus which will ensure that short periods of custody are followed up with effective supervision in the community.

  Sandra Gidley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many female prisoners were in England and Wales(a) broken down by prison and (b) as a total in each year since 1997. [177510]

  Paul Goggins
  The number of female prisoners in England and Wales, broken down by establishment and as a total, on 30 June in each year since 1997 is given in the table.
  1175W

  Female prison population by establishment—England and Wales, 30 June

  1997

  1998

  1999

  2000

  2001

  2002

  2003

  Askham Grange

  131

  126

  113

  113

  128

  135

  122

  Birmingham

  0

  1

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Brockhill

  135

  132

  145

  155

  150

  161

  155

  Buckley Hall

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  203

  308

  Bullwood Hall

  125

  134

  137

  160

  162

  181

  163

  Cookham Wood

  147

  161

  147

  137

  151

  144

  143

  Downview

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  245

  212

  Drake Hall

  281

  275

  209

  162

  232

  276

  303

  Durham

  42

  45

  103

  96

  104

  97

  107

  East Sutton Park

  95

  97

  96

  70

  89

  95

  99

  Eastwood Park

  125

  259

  277

  301

  299

  322

  286

  Foston Hall

  0

  134

  171

  167

  156

  207

  224

  Highpoint

  204

  206

  198

  201

  251

  270

  293

  Holloway

  524

  516

  501

  490

  474

  480

  465

  Low Newton

  47

  83

  105

  207

  251

  286

  268

  Morton Hall

  0

  0

  0

  0

  188

  188

  347

  New Hall

  317

  364

  379

  366

  347

  348

  374

  Risley

  152

  160

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Send

  0

  55

  89

  201

  216

  215

  216

  Styal

  267

  281

  446

  449

  424

  455

  426

  Winchester

  80

  91

  91

  80

  91

  86

  84

  Total

  2,672

  3,120

  3,207

  3,355

  3,713

  4,394

  4,595

  Sandra Gidley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the women's unit at HMP Durham will close; where the female inmates at HMP Durham will be moved to; and if he will make a statement. [177575]

  Paul Goggins
  Durham is to change its role from a high security prison to a community prison by April of next year and will no longer be holding women 1176W
  prisoners. The change is due to spare capacity in the rest of the high security estate and the availability of new accommodation for women at Bronzefield in Ashford, Middlesex opening on 17 June and Peterborough in June 2005.

  There are currently around 100 women being held at the prison of whom seven are category A. The women will all be subject to comprehensive sentence plans to determine the most appropriate prison for them.