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Women's Prison (Ashford)
Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the timetable for building a women's prison at Ashford, Middlesex. [80426]
Mr. George Howarth: The cost of construction and management of the proposed new prison at Ashford will fall outside the period of the current comprehensive spending review. The timetable for its construction will depend upon funding and other priorities within the Prison Service estate.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parliamentary questions have been tabled to his Department for written answer on a named day since May 1997; and what percentage of them received a substantive reply on that day. [80737]
Mr. Straw: Between 1 May 1997 and 12 April 1999, a total of 2,269 Named Day parliamentary questions were tabled for answer by my Department. Of these, 75.4 per cent. (2,012) received a substantive reply on the day requested.
Prisoners (Hepatitis)
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people currently detained in prison are suffering from hepatitis; and what proportion of the prison population this figure represents. [80209]
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Mr. George Howarth:
The number of prisoners reported by Prison Service establishments as suffering from various forms of hepatitis at 30 September 1998 (the last date for which a complete set of figures is currently available) was:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Hepatitis A | 3 |
| Acute hepatitis B | 25 |
| Chronic hepatitis B | 75 |
| Chronic hepatitis C | 463 |
| Total | 566 |
| Prison population | 65,913 |
| Proportion of population | 0.86% |
Prison Sites (Essex)
Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is examining potential sites for a prison (a) in Colchester and (b) elsewhere in Essex. [80517]
Europol
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Mr. Maclean) of 18 March 1999, Official Report, columns 721-22, on Europol, if he will provide a breakdown by category of the types of request submitted by the United Kingdom for information from Europol. [80456]
Kate Hoey: There was a total of 394 requests made by United Kingdom law enforcement agencies during 1998 of which 82.5 per cent. were drug related; 5.6 per cent. were linked to immigration; 8.1 per cent. covered money laundering activities; 3 per cent. were related to trafficking in stolen vehicles and 0.8 per cent. concerned trafficking in human beings.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many parliamentary questions have been tabled to her Department for written answer on a named day since May 1997; and what percentage of them received a substantive reply on that day. [80728]
Clare Short: Since May 1997, 454 questions were tabled to my Department for a written answer on a named day; 95 per cent. received an answer on that day.
Public Appointments
Mr. Brady:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the public appointments for which her Department is responsible and which carry a fee or salary, indicating for each type of appointment the fee or salary band which applies. [80757]
15 Apr 1999 : Column: 318
Clare Short:
The only public appointments for which my Department is responsible and for which remuneration is provided are to the Board of the Commonwealth Development Corporation. The information is as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Board Member | Remuneration (per annum) |
| Earl Cairns (Chair) | 30,000 |
| Ms J. Almond (Deputy Chair) | 10,000 |
| Mr. H. Singhania | 7,500 |
| Dr. J. Kydd | 7,500 |
| Mr. R. Murray | 7,500 |
| Professor D. Pearce | 7,500 |
| Ms C. Hayman | 7,500 |
| Mr. R. Seal | 7,500 |
| Mr. P. Kent | 7,500 |
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
IACS Maps
Mr. Maclean: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what cost benefit analysis he has carried out on IACS map checks. [73343]
Mr. Rooker: The programme of map checks was introduced following evaluations undertaken by the European Commission of the Department's arrangements for developing a central IACS database recording details of field areas included in Area Aid Applications in accordance with the requirements of Community legislation. There would have been a risk of significant disallowance of reimbursement of Exchequer expenditure from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund on the schemes to which IACS applies if such checks had not been instituted.
Mr. Maclean: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the administrative cost to date to his Department of carrying out IACS map checks. [73290]
Mr. Rooker: The information is not available. A number of checks are undertaken to meet the requirements laid down in Community legislation governing IACS and administrative costs of carrying out IACS map checks between 1994-1998 were not separately recorded.
Pig and Poultry Bonemeal
Mr. Sawford: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to allow the use of pig and poultry bonemeal. [75843]
Mr. Rooker: The existing bans on the use of mammalian meat and bone meal (MBM) in feed for farmed animals and as fertiliser on agricultural land do not extend to MBM derived from poultry.
Representations have been made by the pig industry and the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) to allow porcine MBM to be fed to poultry on the condition that processing takes place in rendering plants dedicated to pig waste. The existing ban was put in place on the
15 Apr 1999 : Column: 319
recommendation of SEAC, and the Government continue to base their handling of BSE on the advice on the Committee.
Before we would be prepared to ask SEAC to look at the use of porcine MBM for export or poultry feed purposes the industry itself will need to address the key issues of how monitoring at all stages of production and distribution would be carried out to avoid the possibility of cross contamination.
Mr. Tyrie:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the total number of occasions when (a) departmental and (b) non- departmental Special Advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity since 2 May 1997. [76819]
Mr. Nick Brown:
Between 2 May 1997 and 28 February 1999, Special Advisers in this Department have made visits overseas on 12 occasions in an official capacity. All travel complied with the requirements of the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code. Costs are accounted for within the total costs for any overseas trips by Ministers. I have 2 departmental operational advisers and no non-departmental special advisers.
There have been no occasions since 2 May 1997 when Special Advisers in this Department have travelled abroad in an official capacity unaccompanied by Ministers.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list for (a) farms and (b) other agriculture-related industries (i) all licences and permits issued by his Department and its agencies to farms or companies enabling them to carry out their business, (ii) the cost of each such licence or permit in (A) 1997-98 and (B) 1999-2000 and (iii) current number of farms or companies which are in receipt of each such licence or permit. [76873]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 16 March 1999]: The 106 authorisations, including those relating to approval or registration of premises enabling farms and other agriculture-related industries to carry out their businesses, have been placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the basis for maintaining the European Union banana import regime; and when he expects the publication of the arbitrator's report on the matter. [79159]
Mr. Rooker:
The EU's banana regime is designed to meet both our commitments to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries under the Lome Convention, Protocol 5 in particular, and our World Trade Organisation (WTO) obligations.
Reports from both the WTO arbitrator and the Dispute Settlement Panel were published on 12 April and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.
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Dr. Iddon:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to ensure that his ad hoc expert advisory group on vitamins and minerals takes note of the recommendations of the Agriculture Committee's report on vitamin B6 in relation to (a) the quality of scientific advice and (b) the use of safety factors. [79484]
Mr. Rooker:
Members of the Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals are aware of the conclusions and recommendations of the Agriculture Select Committee's report on vitamin B6 and will take these into account in carrying out its remit. The Group will, as a matter of course, give consideration to the use of safety factors and the quality of the available scientific evidence, and I am satisfied they are capable of reaching their own conclusions on these matters.
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