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Local Government
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has for changes to the structure of local government in England. [96689]
Ms Beverley Hughes: There are no plans at present to reform the structure of local government in England. Our programme of reform for local government is about how councils work and how they can be more in touch with the people whom they serve. This will also give the stability that local government needs in order to deliver an efficient and effective service.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Restraining Orders
Mr. Robertson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what requirement there is for all parties to be (a) informed and (b) represented before a restraining order can be agreed to by the courts; and if he will make a statement. [96699]
Jane Kennedy:
Under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, a court sentencing or otherwise dealing with a
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person convicted of an offence under section 2 or 4 of the Act may make a restraining order under section 5 of the Act to protect the victim of the offence (or any other person mentioned in the order) from further harassment. The defendant would be present at the time of sentence and would be entitled to be represented. The parties in a criminal trial are the prosecution and the defendant. There is no specific requirement for the court to inform the victim or any other person mentioned in the order, or for those persons to be represented at court, before the order is made. In the civil courts, an application for an injunction, the equivalent of a restraining order, would be served on the defendant before the hearing. There is no specific requirement for the defendant to be represented.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list all performance targets set for the Lord Chancellor's Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies since May 1997, other than those listed in Public Service Agreements 1999-2002 [Cm 4181], stating in each case (a) the target to be reached and (b) the date by which it was to be reached. [94982]
Jane Kennedy:
The Department has set out the key performance targets on which it will be judged in its PSA, and the measures of success it will use in the Output and Performance Analyses (OPA) published in March this year. The Lord Chancellor's Department Departmental Reports 1998-99 and 1999-2000 include targets and achievement for the Public Records Office, Her Majesty's Land Registry, and the Northern Ireland Court Service. The targets and target dates for the Court Service Agency and the Public Trust Office can be found annually in the Next Steps Report, and for the Legal Aid Board in the annual Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies Report.
Equal Opportunities
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if an action plan for increasing the representation of women in public life has been (a) prepared by his Department and (b) published since November 1998. [94853]
Mr. Kilfoyle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 25 October 1999, Official Report, column 682.
UK BVRAAM Competition
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the expected date on which the Equipment Approval Committee will make its final recommendation for the UK BVRAAM competition. [95347]
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Mr. Kilfoyle:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence hopes to reach a decision on the outcome of the competition in the new year.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what estimates he has made of the savings in each of the next five years through the RAF private finance initiative for the non-combat vehicle fleet management project; [95755]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
A five year PFI contract for the RAF non-combat vehicle fleet was placed in 1996. It is expected to deliver total savings of almost £6 million in Net Present Value terms against conventional procurement methods. Five further non-combat vehicle PFI projects, covering national tri-Service requirements on a regional basis, are under way. It is not possible at this stage to quantify the savings which are expected from the five tri-Service contracts and the re-let of the RAF contract.
Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Tayside North of 19 February 1998, Official Report, columns 842-43, on departmental employees, if he will provide figures for research contracts by region for the most recent financial year. [95366]
Mr. Kilfoyle
[holding answer 26 October 1999]: The information requested is not available in precisely the form requested. The number and total value of extant research contracts in Financial Year 1998-99 in the following locations is as listed:
(2) what estimate he has made of the economies of scale which could result from a tri-services private finance initiative for non-combat vehicle fleet management; and if he will make a statement. [95795]
| Location | Number of contracts | Value of contracts (£) |
|---|---|---|
| (a) London | 82 | 11,695,303 |
| (b) the rest of the South East of England | 250 | 274,714,231 |
| (c) England (including (a) and(b)) | 908 | 393,879,546 |
| (d) Scotland | 21 | 1,692,493 |
| (e) Wales | 1 | 26,019 |
| (f) Northern Ireland | 0 | -- |
The information cannot be provided by the Regions requested as such information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ministry of Defence Police
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department's police are next due for inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. [96542]
Mr. Spellar:
The next inspection of the MOD Police by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary is due in the year 2001.
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Mr. Stinchcombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken to ensure that his Department complies with S.I. 1997 No. 135, the Health and Safety (Young Persons) Regulations 1997. [96464]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
S.I. 1997 No. 135, the Health and Safety (Young Persons) Regulations 1997 have been implemented as MOD policy. The instruction was incorporated into the MOD Health and Safety Handbook, Joint Service Publication 375 Volume 2 Chapter 10 in April 1997. A copy of the Joint Service Publication is available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the possible cost to his Department of retrospective claims for compensation following the ECHR ruling in the cases of Mr. Prean, Mr. Beckett, Miss Smith and Mr. Grady regarding discrimination in the armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [96889]
Mr. Spellar:
In light of the ECHR's judgment on 27 September 1999, the Secretary of State for Defence has authorised that settlement negotiations be entered into with those individuals discharged as a result of their homosexuality who have submitted Employment Tribunal applications.
As these negotiations are currently underway, I am withholding disclosure of my Department's financial provision for settling these claims under Exemption 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Effective Management and Operations of the Public Service) as this information could compromise the negotiations and delay settlement.
Mr. Blunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the net inflow/outflow figures for the Army for each month since January 1998 to date. [96121]
Mr. Spellar:
A breakdown of UK Trained Army Personnel inflow and outflow, in the period January 1998 to September/August 1999 (the latest date for which information is presently available), is detailed in the table:
(2) Outflow of UK Trained Army Personnel, includes natural wastage and voluntary wastage.
(3) Inflow to trained strength from basic training of Regular Army Personnel.
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Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on Army recruitment and retention. [96065]
Mr. Spellar: The Government inherited a shortfall on Army manning and are committed to achieving full manning by around 2005. We recognise fully that improved recruiting and retention will be key to realising this goal.
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