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Insurance Industry

Mr. Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 11 May 2000, Official Report, column 468W, on the insurance industry, what his policy is on permitting discrimination between consumers by the insurance industry on the grounds of (a) disability, (b) ethnicity and (c) sexual orientation. [127394]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government expect insurers to treat customers fairly, and act in accordance with the law.

Community, Voluntary and Charitable Groups

Jackie Ballard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated cost of giving a full fuel tax rebate to community, voluntary and charitable groups. [127414]

Mr. Timms: No estimate of the cost of giving a full fuel tax rebate to community, voluntary and charitable groups is available.

Climate Change Levy

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent proceeds from the Climate Change Levy will be used to promote the development of offshore wind energy. [127477]

Mr. Timms: Offshore wind generation stands to benefit in two respects from the climate change levy package. Firstly, the Government intend to exempt from

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the levy electricity generated from 'new' renewable sources of energy, such as offshore wind. Secondly, £50 million of the revenue raised by the levy will be recycled to business as a whole via an 'energy efficiency' fund. This fund aims to promote the development of 'new' sources of renewable energy and low carbon technologies and provide energy efficiency advice and audits to businesses. Allocations of the fund between these aims will be announced in the forthcoming spending review.

Charitable Giving

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to grant further concessions for charitable giving in aid of public services. [127242]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 22 June 2000]: In his Budget Speech the Chancellor announced a generous package of measures aimed at increasing charitable giving. The Getting Britain Giving measures emerged as a result of our review of charity taxation and go well beyond the initial proposals set out in our consultation document. The measures are estimated to be worth around £400 million a year to charities and a wide range of charities and donors have welcomed them.

We have no plans to grant further concessions for charitable giving at this time.

Credit Unions

Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to encourage the use of credit unions as part of neighbourhood renewal schemes. [127162]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 22 June 2000]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 7 December 1999, Official Report, columns 521-22W.

Air Passenger Duty

Miss Geraldine Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the reduction in air passenger duty on economy flights within the European Economic Area will come into force; and what the reduction will be. [127641]

Mr. Timms: At present the air passenger duty on any flight from the UK to a destination in the EEA is £10. From 1 April next year the air passenger duty on passengers in the lowest class of travel on a flight within the European Economic Area will be £5. It will remain at £10 for those not in the lowest class of travel.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the written parliamentary questions tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April have not received substantive answers, for the reason that the information is (a) not held centrally, (b) not held in the form requested and (c) not available. [127681]

Mr. Timms: Obtaining the information requested would entail the scrutiny individually of nearly, 1,500 written answers and could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

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Correspondence

Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to letters from the hon. Member for West Derbyshire, dated 2 March and 25 May, about Mr. Nigel Francis of Sudbury, Derbyshire. [127728]

Mr. Timms: I replied to the hon. Member on 21 June.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Police Witnesses (Waiting Time)

Dr. Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what progress has been made in the last three years in reducing the waiting time of police officers in (a) magistrates' and (b) higher courts. [127345]

Jane Kennedy: Police witnesses in magistrates' courts in November 1997 waited an average 1 hour 21 minutes before they were either called to give evidence or released. This fell to 1 hour 18 minutes in November 1998 and 1 hour 15 minutes in November 1999 (the latest survey for which results are available). In the Crown court, police witnesses waited an average of 3 hours 12 minutes in November 1997, 3 hours 6 minutes in November 1998 and 2 hours 54 minutes in November 1999.

Asylum Seekers

Mr. Etherington: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will review the adequacy of provision of and access to legal information and help services for asylum seekers and refugees living in Sunderland and Newcastle; and if he will make a statement. [127232]

Mr. Lock: The Legal Services Commission has awarded seven contracts in the immigration category of law, both to solicitors and not-for-profit organisations, in the Sunderland and Newcastle area.

The Commission is aware that there is at present an increase in need due to the dispersal of asylum seekers to the North East Region. It has taken immediate steps to ensure that legal advice is available by making arrangements for suppliers from outside the region to travel to provide the necessary help.

The Government have already increased remuneration rates for immigration and have allocated an additional £23 million of resources to the Commission for asylum work.

The Commission is now in the process of implementing a package to improve the availability of sufficient quality legal representatives for asylum seekers dispersed throughout the country. As part of this, the Commission is looking at the way in which payments are made to immigration practitioners and how cash-flow could be improved.

Addressing payment regimes, along with the funding of training programmes around the country and a range of other measures, will increase expertise and encourage existing firms to expand and new firms to enter this important area of work.

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Human Rights Act

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 10 April 2000, Official Report, column 21W, on human rights legislation, to my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe), if he will break down the overall figure for the costs of implementing the Human Rights Act 1998 in the courts. [127620]

Jane Kennedy: The Government have planned carefully for implementation of the Act by setting aside funds for extra court sitting days if they are needed. These funds are contained within the Government's planned overall spending totals. The information requested is set as follows:

Court service costs	£million
Crown Court	16.3
Crown Office and Court of Appeal	2.3
Magistrates' Courts	2.4

Civil Justice System

Mr. Coleman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he intends to publish plans for the use of information technology in support of the civil justice system. [128062]

Mr. Lock: The Lord Chancellor's Department will publish a paper tomorrow, entitled 'Civil.Justice.2000: A vision of the Civil Justice System in the Information Age'. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and on the internet at the Lord Chancellor's Department website (http://www.open.gov.uk/lcd).

WALES

Welsh Assembly Committees

Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the occasions when (a) ministers and (b) officials from his Department have been invited to give evidence to Welsh Assembly committees; how many have been accepted; how many have been refused; if he will give the reasons for each refusal; and what was the subject matter to be discussed for each invitation. [126684]

Mr. Paul Murphy [holding answer 22 June 2000]: No Ministers or officials from my Department have been invited to give evidence to a Committee of the National Assembly for Wales.

Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will outline his policy on (a) ministers and (b) officials from his Department accepting invitations to give evidence to committees of the Welsh Assembly in relation to the impact of reserved matters on devolved policy areas. [126683]

Mr. Paul Murphy [holding answer 22 June 2000]: The Government policy for Ministers and officials accepting invitations to give evidence to committees of

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the Welsh Assembly is that set out in Devolution Guidance Note Number 12, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

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