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Monkeys
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure that (a) the importation of monkeys to Shamrock Farm, Henfield and (b) the treatment of monkeys at Shamrock Farm, Henfield is conducted in accordance with approved procedures and legislation. [85362]
Mr. George Howarth: The transportation and importation of animals is primarily a matter for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. In 1996, the Home Office introduced new measures relating to the acquisition of non-human primates from overseas sources for use in procedures under the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. These are summarised in Appendix A to the 'Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain, 1997'. In support of these new measures, the Home Office set administrative requirements including that
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All designated establishments must meet the terms and conditions of the certificate of designation and, unless otherwise authorised, are expected to comply with the requirements of the relevant code of practice for the housing and care of animals.
Responsibility for abiding by the laws rests primarily with the individuals concerned and all establishments are now required to have local ethical review processes which, amongst other things, will provide advice about the care and welfare of animals.
All designated establishments are, however, regularly visited by Home Office inspectors, often without notice, to monitor compliance with all the relevant controls including those relating to the acquisition and care of animals.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to provide accommodation at prison sites for offenders convicted of offences against children on the completion of their sentence; if he will list the prisons to be used for such accommodation; and if he will make a statement. [85344]
Mr. Boateng:
There are plans to transform office accommodation within the secure perimeter of Nottingham Prison into bedsits to house two or three offenders previously convicted of offences against children. They will live under close supervision. We have no such plans for any other prison.
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many claims were lodged outside the limitation period in each year of operation of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 1996; and of these, how many were allowed to proceed. [85365]
Mr. Boateng:
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has provided the following information:
additional records be kept of the breeding and conditions of housing and husbandry at the centre from which the animals were obtained; and
after each delivery of primates from an overseas source, the Home Office be sent:
confirmation that the animals were shipped according to the agreed plan and arrived safely;
lifetime records for each animal;
a report of the veterinary inspection that must be carried out on arrival; and
within six weeks, details of any morbidity and mortality arising during the first four weeks following arrival in the United Kingdom.
These are in addition to the records on the source, use (where appropriate) and disposal of animals that all designated establishments are required to keep and make available to the Home Office on request.
(Offences against Children)
| Year | Claims outside time limit | Number allowed to proceed |
|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 5,507 | 5,426 |
| 1997-98 | 5,972 | 5,465 |
| 1998-99 | 5,948 | 5,067 |
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Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many awards at the maximum level 25 rate were (a) made and (b) remain outstanding for each year of operation of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 1996. [85366]
Mr. Boateng: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority advises that the following level 25 awards have been made:
| Year | |
|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 0 |
| 1997-98 | 1 (interim) |
| 1998-99 | 3 |
One further award at level 25 is currently on offer.
It is not possible to say how many of the thousands of applications presently in the system, and where further inquiries are being made, for example, of the police and medical authorities, will result in an offer of award at level 25.
Mr. Jack:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Newspaper Society about their members' ability to report on criminal matters and trials where young people under the age of 18 years are involved; and if he will make a statement. [85274]
Mr. Boateng:
The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Bill introduced in the House of Lords on 3 December 1998 proposes changes to reporting restrictions in respect of under 18's. A number of media organisations, including the Newspaper Society, have written to Ministers and met with my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Williams and officials to argue for a wider right to report identities. The Government are carefully considering the points made.
Goods Vehicles
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will estimate the cost per mile of running a 40 tonne goods vehicle in (a) the UK, (b) Belgium, (c) France, (d) Holland, (e) Germany, (f) Italy, (g) Luxembourg, (h) Portugal, (i) Spain and (j) Austria. [81459]
Ms Glenda Jackson: The information requested by the hon. Member is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mobile Refrigeration Units (Solar Energy)
Dr. Whitehead:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what examination his Department has made of the feasibility of installing photo-voltaic cells on the roofs of large refrigerated articulated trucks in order to power mobile refrigeration units by renewable means. [84317]
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Ms Glenda Jackson:
My Department is aware of the development work that has been carried out by J. Sainsburys plc in partnership with Southampton University and a consortium of manufacturers. An articulated HGV using photo-voltaic cells to power the refrigeration unit of the trailer has been in daily use for the past two years. Although such a vehicle requires expensive initial capital investment and the additional weight of the power unit results in a loss of vehicle payload, the technology has proved reliable and has the potential to be cost effective. The Department of Trade and Industry is supporting a project under its new and renewable energy programme looking at the further development of Sainsbury's photo-voltaic powered refrigeration unit.
The main benefit derived from use of this power source has been reduced noise, since an internal combustion engine is no longer required to power the refrigeration unit. Additional benefits are zero emissions from the refrigeration itself and low maintenance costs. As the technology can only be used to operate chill units, designed to operate at temperatures down to +3oC there is some loss of trailer flexibility.
Mr. Gordon Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what plans he has to allocate funding to highway authorities for the provision of safety measures at sites with an accident record of less than three years; [84633]
(3) what assessment he has made of the policy to restrict funding allocations under the Local Safety Scheme Programme to sites with a three-year accident record; [84631]
(4) what plans he has to review the current guidelines for highway authorities on the provision of accident reduction and traffic calming measures; [84632]
(5) what assessment he has made of the impact on road accident reduction of the Local Safety Scheme Programme. [84643]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Under the Transport Policies and Programme (TPP) regime for local capital transport expenditure, funding for Local Safety Schemes was restricted to sites which had a three year record of accidents. A consistent pattern of accidents suggested a problem with the road layout which was likely to be alleviated by engineering measures, rather than randomly occurring accidents arising from other causes, such as driver behaviour.
In terms of assessment, the 1996 Transport Research Laboratory study "Accident Reductions from Local Authority Safety Schemes using Transport Supplementary Grant" outlined the success of the general approach to these schemes. An overall 29 per cent. reduction in accidents followed the implementation of the schemes and an overall first year rate of return of 190 per cent. was achieved. Most of the schemes produced a reduction in the severity of accidents; there was a 29 per cent. drop in slight casualties, a 46 per cent. drop in serious
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casualties and an 88 per cent. drop in fatalities. A new research project is currently looking in more depth at the effectiveness of recent local safety schemes and is expected to be completed later in 1999.
The Government's Transport White Paper "A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone" announced the replacement of the TPP system with Local Transport Plans (LTPs). These plans will place much greater emphasis on targets and the strategy to achieve those targets rather than individual projects. There will be a greater emphasis on local authorities getting results, but greater flexibility in how they achieve them.
(2) what plans he has to review the criteria for allocating funding to highway authorities under the Local Safety Scheme Programme; [84634]
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