28 Jun 2000 : Column: 495W
Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 28 June 2000
NORTHERN IRELAND
Shootings
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the shooting dead of James Alfred Cornhill on 19 April. [123057]
Mr. Ingram: No. The matter is currently under investigation and the investigation is being supervised by the Independent Commission for Police Complaints.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the result of the ICPC inquiry into the shooting dead of Robin Charles Scott Maxwell in January 1994; and what were the findings of the coroner's inquest. [123056]
Mr. Ingram: The Independent Commission for Police Complaints issued a statement of satisfaction as to the conduct of the investigation.
A Coroner's inquest found that, on the evening of 27 January 1994 two masked men entered the High Trees Garage with the intention of robbing the premises. The owner, Mr. Weir, spotted the robbers and alerted two policemen who were hidden in the store at the rear of the shop. On entering the shop the policemen were confronted by the two robbers, one carrying a cudgel and one holding a firearm to Mr. Weir's head. The policemen issued a warning and the robber who held the cudgel fled from the premises pursued by Constable Fox. The other robber, Robin Charles Scott Maxwell, turned and pointed a weapon in the direction of Constable 'A', who, fearing that his and the owner's life was in danger, discharged his firearm, killing Mr. Maxwell almost instantaneously. The jury found that the police had no plan to intercept or arrest the robbers before their arrival at the premises.
Extraditions
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons sought by the (a) RUC and (b) other UK police forces were extradited from the Irish Republic to the UK in (i) each of the previous three years and (ii) the current year. [125543]
Mr. Mandelson: The table provides details of the numbers of persons sought by the RUC and other UK police forces who have been extradited from the Irish Republic to the UK in the last three years and the current year. The figures include both terrorist and non-terrorist cases. It should be noted that the figures for England and Wales are not necessarily complete, as the information is not collated centrally.
28 Jun 2000 : Column: 496W
Given the complex nature of extradition proceedings, it is not possible to compare directly the number of extradition requests with the number of individuals extradited in any given year. With appeal proceedings the process may take a number of years to be completed.
| Applications made | Extradited | |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | ||
| 1997 | 22 | 10 |
| 1998 | 29 | 16 |
| 1999 | 17 | 11 |
| 2000 | 4 | 1 |
| Northern Ireland | ||
| 1997 | 8 | 3 |
| 1998 | 6 | 6 |
| 1999 | 6 | 3 |
| 2000 | 1 | 1 |
Police
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on how arrangements for Best Value will be made within the proposed new structure for policing under the Police (Northern Ireland) Bill. [126577]
Mr. Ingram: The Police (Northern Ireland) Bill will provide for the new Policing Board to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement, or 'Best Value', in the way in which its functions are exercised. The Policing Board, in its capacity as a high level regulatory body, will have lead responsibility for economy, efficiency and effectiveness arrangements. 'Best Value' will provide a framework for the Board to deliver continuous improvement, and the Board will be held accountable to the people of Northern Ireland for ensuring that they achieve 'Best Value' from the police service.
The Government do not wish to be prescriptive about the exact arrangements. It will be for the Policing Board, in association with the Chief Constable, to determine the precise arrangements for managing 'Best Value', in accordance with best practice elsewhere.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
BSE
Mr. Drew: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what access he has to the work of the Harvard University Center for Risk Analysis and United States Department of Agriculture on risk analysis relating to BSE. [123392]
Ms Quin [holding answer 25 May 2000]: Officials of my Department have been contacted by members of the Harvard University Center for Risk Analysis team, and have assisted them by providing information on request. The team also visited the UK in 1999 and spoke to both officials and external experts. We understand that they were gathering information to determine their own approach to BSE; not undertaking a risk analysis of the UK situation.
28 Jun 2000 : Column: 497W
Farm Production Methods
Mr. Robertson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts about the inspection of their farm production methods with particular reference to welfare, hygiene and environmental aspects of production; and if he will make a statement. [126954]
Mr. Morley: EU standards are negotiated and adopted in these areas by the Council of Ministers. Once EU measures have been adopted, checking that member states have taken proper steps to implement and enforce them is the responsibility of the European Commission. There have been no discussions with ministers from other member states on these matters recently, although at last week's Council of Ministers my right hon. Friend the Minister strongly urged his colleagues to enforce EU rules on the welfare of livestock in transit strictly, as we do in the United Kingdom.
Milk
Mr. Robertson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the EU intervention level for milk. [126958]
Ms Quin: There is no intervention price for milk under the CAP milk regime. The market is supported by means of intervention prices for butter and skimmed milk powder. The intervention price for butter is 3,282 euros per tonne and 2,055.2 for skimmed milk powder. The intervention prices expressed in sterling can vary on a daily basis since they are converted into national currency using the daily sterling/euro market rate of exchange.
EU Intergovernmental Conference
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his Department's negotiating objectives for the Nice Treaty. [127198]
Mr. Morley: The Government set out their objectives for the IGC in the White Paper presented to Parliament by the Foreign Secretary on 15 February.
Common Fisheries Policy
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list projects being assessed by his Department for potential submission for funding under EU budget line B2-903A: strengthening the dialogue with the fishing industry and groups affected by the Common Fisheries Policy. [127189]
Mr. Morley: Budget line B2-903A covers the costs of:
- (a) Meetings arranged by European trade organisations to prepare for meetings of the Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, which advises the European Commission on matters concerning the Common Fisheries Policy;
- (b) Regional workshops organised by the European Commission to address particular issues of local fisheries management; and
- (c) Disseminating information and explanatory material on the Common Fisheries Policy to the fishing industry and others with an interest.
Applications for funding of national projects are not invited under this budget line.
28 Jun 2000 : Column: 498W
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the joint policy proposed by the Scottish Fishermen's Federation and the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, A New Vision for Europe's Fisheries; and what assessment he has made of whether implementation of that policy would require the unanimous agreement of the Council of Ministers. [127843]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 26 June 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave to the hon. Member for Teignbridge (Mr. Nicholls) on 22 June 2000, Official Report, columns 302-04W.
Regional Offices
Mr. Steen: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the staffing levels are in each of his Department's (a) regional offices in England and Wales and (b) offices in (i) Bristol, (ii) Exeter and (iii) Plymouth. [127730]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 26 June 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) of 9 June 2000, Official Report, column 427W.
This sets out the number of substantive staff on a full-time equivalent basis at each of the MAFF Regional Services Centres, on 1 May 2000, including the offices at Bristol and Exeter. There are currently seven staff based at the Ministry's District Fisheries Office at Plymouth.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much time officials in each of his Department's regional offices have spent in meetings with farmers in each of the last five years. [127731]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 26 June 2000]: The information in the form requested is unavailable. However, in 1999, farmers made some 79,000 visits to the nine MAFF Regional Service Centres, the equivalent of around 5 per cent. of the total estimated farmer contacts with the RSCs.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |