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AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Correspondence

Miss Geraldine Smith: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the hon. Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale will receive a reply to her letter to him dated 3 January regarding farming issues in Morecambe and Lunesdale. [119741]

Ms Quin: I replied to the letter from my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale on 19 April 2000.

20 Apr 2000 : Column: 615W

WALES

Energy Efficiency

Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the percentage change compared to 1990-91 in his Department's energy efficiency in each year since 1990-91; and if he will make a statement. [118996]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Mr. Meale) on 22 July 1999, Official Report, columns 580-84W, which reported progress for all central government Departments to 31 March 1998.

Figures for the Wales Office are currently included within the data for the National Assembly for Wales.

Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his Department's energy efficiency performance target, expressed as a percentage change in comparison to 1990-91, for each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [118997]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment on 22 March 2000, Official Report, columns 548-49W.

Birth Certificates

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales for what purposes his Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons. [120310]

Mr. Paul Murphy: My Department requires those applying for employment to provide either a birth certificate, passport, or driving licence in order to prove identity. Contractors, potential contractors, and other persons are not required to provide their birth certificates.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Pest Control

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee how many reports of (a) mice and (b) other vermin in the Palace of Westminster he has received in each of the last five years. [119557]

Sir Sydney Chapman: Reports of mice and other vermin in the last five years have been as follows:

Year	Mice	Other vermin
1995	113	32
1996	187	34
1997	135	20
1998	53	30
1999	102	29

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what action is being taken to reduce the numbers of (a) mice and (b) other vermin within the Palace of Westminster. [119556]

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Sir Sydney Chapman: A specialist pest control contractor is employed regularly to set and check bait boxes in all areas, particularly in Refreshment Department areas and other places where mice are seen. Further specialist advice is obtained from the MAFF expert. Apart from mice, the only other vermin generally found in the Palace of Westminster are insects; these are treated with insecticides appropriate to the type of pest and situation.

CABINET OFFICE

Public Appointments

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what contracts are let with KPMG relating to public appointments. [118295]

Marjorie Mowlam: The information is not held centrally. However, in respect of public bodies sponsored by the Cabinet Office, no contracts are held with KPMG relating to public appointments.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will make a statement on her policy in respect of the use her Department, its agencies and public bodies will make of the powers relating to the authorised obtaining of communications data in Part I, Chapter II of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill once the Bill is enacted. [119513]

Marjorie Mowlam: I refer to the answer my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary gave on 19 April 2000, Official Report, column 509W.

Drug Action Teams

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what financial and logistical support the Cabinet Office has provided for Drug Action Teams. [119960]

Mr. Ian McCartney: Drug Action Teams (DATs) are a partnership of local agencies such as health and local authorities, police, probation and local eduction authorities. Funding for their activities is channelled for the most part through these agencies. However, they receive a grant from the Home Office Drug Prevention Advisory Service (DPAS) to fund the running costs for DATs, namely the post of the co-ordinator and administration costs. That grant is set to rise from some £5 million to some £6.7 million over this year to fund the creation of additional DATs, bringing the total up to some 150.

DATs are supported by DPAS in partnership with the UK Anti Drugs Co-ordinator and Cabinet Office UK Anti Drugs Co-ordination Unit (UKADCU). DPAS provides the link between central government and local delivery and has nine regional offices providing advice and support to the DATs in their area in driving forward the Co-ordinator's Strategy. The Co-ordinator and staff of UKADCU also visit DATs and, in partnership with DPAS, organise conferences for DATs to discuss current and future issues.

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National Farmers Union

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what meetings she has had with the National Farmers Union as part of her duties as Chair of the Ministerial Group on Rural Affairs. [119937]

Marjorie Mowlam: None. I am currently arranging a mutually convenient date for a meeting with the President of the NFU, Ben Gill.

Special Advisers

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what public speaking engagements have been undertaken by special advisers within her Department in each of the last three years. [119968]

Marjorie Mowlam: The UK Anti-Drugs Coordinator and his Deputy have undertaken a large number of public speaking engagements in support of the Government's strategy to combat illegal drugs.

Other special advisers within the Cabinet Office have not undertaken any official public speaking engagements over the last three years.

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will list the foreign visits taken by Ministers on which they were accompanied by a special adviser since May 1997. [119933]

Marjorie Mowlam: Information in the form requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. A list of Cabinet Ministers' visits overseas, and information on spend by all Ministers on travel overseas for the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 is currently being assembled, and will be published as soon as possible. The overall figure on spend on Ministers' travel overseas will include the cost of travel of any Special Advisers accompanying Ministers.

Drugs (Prisons)

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what targets are to be set for reducing the use of drugs in prisons; and what specific measures relate to those targets. [119930]

Mr. Ian McCartney: My Department has agreed the following targets with the Prison Service:

By March 2000

Have established CARATs, (Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare) the basic treatment framework to improve the assessment, advice throughcare and support of prisoners; and put in place more and better quality treatment programmes.

Put in place more dogs trained to detect drugs; more CCTV in visits areas; obtain better information about supply routes and availability of drugs to prisoners; and discourage families from smuggling drugs.
By March 2002

Ensure that the CARATs annual caseload reached 20,000; that there are 30 new prison-based rehabilitation programmes and that 5,000 prisoners per year go through treatment programmes.

Have developed and implemented a model to assess the levels and routes of supply of drugs within prisons.

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To reduce the rate of positive tests from prison random drug tests from 20 per cent. (in 1998-99) to 16 per cent.
The targets for March 2000 have been met through the introduction of CARATs in all prisons and twenty-one new treatment programmes. A further eight treatment programmes and four new therapeutic communities will start this year. There are 60 new passive and twelve new active drug dogs, bringing the totals to 121 and 196 respectively. CCTV is available in visits areas in 118 prisons. Improving intelligence is an ongoing task. New sanctions for visitors caught smuggling drugs were introduced in April 1999. They include a ban on the visitors concerned and the imposition of closed visits for three months.

The Prison Service is on course to meet these targets.

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what meetings she has had in the last year with prison governors on the reduction of drug use in prisons. [119961]

Mr. Ian McCartney: None. My right hon. Friend the Minster for the Cabinet Office visited HMP Kirklevington Grange at Yarm, Cleveland, on Friday 11 February. This visit was to launch the Learning Labs initiative and to meet participants on the Prisoners' Passport project. On this occasion the prison governor was unable to be present.

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will give details of the financial support provided by her Department for programmes designed to reduce the use of drugs in prisons. [119959]

Mr. Ian McCartney: The Prison Service receives no financial support from the Cabinet Office to support its drugs strategy.

The Prison Service received an additional £76 million from HM Treasury for the three year period 1999-2000 to 2001-02 for its drugs strategy as a result of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

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