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Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, (1) what the cost was to her Department of answering written parliamentary questions in 2001; and how that cost was calculated; [49109]

Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by the President of the Council and the Leader of the House on 17 April 2002, Official Report, column 929W.

Staff Pay

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what have been the total salary costs of each of the non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible in each of the last five years. [50293]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The answer covers the Legal Services Commission and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.

Salary costs for staff working in the Legal Services Commission are set out as follows. The figures include overtime payments, but exclude social security and pension costs, and have been subject to audit.


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The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) came into existence in April 2001. Salary costs for 2001–02 totalled £37,021,259.

Census Information

Mr. John Taylor: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on Government policy relating to publication of census information, with special reference to information contained in the website at http://learningcurve.pro.gov.uk/ FocusOn/census/what is/intro.htm printed on the census forms for England and Wales; and what action the Public Record Office has taken to amend the information published on its website. [51181]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The specific reference is to the PRO's Learning Curve website, which is an on-line teaching resource, structured to tie in with the History National Curriculum from Key Stages 2 to 5. Its investigation "Focus On . . . The Census" is intended to encourage schools to consult census material. At one point it states "To encourage people to provide the correct details, the Government has always guaranteed that any personal information will not be made available to the public for 100 years."

This statement compresses into a single sentence the various assurances which Governments have provided about the confidentiality of census returns at different times. Early census schedules assured individuals that the information collected from them would be published in "General Abstract only" and would not be used for "the gratification of curiosity". Although the precise wording has differed for each census, all assurances given on the forms have been to the effect that information would be kept confidential. In 1966, under Section 5(1) of the Public Records Act, the Lord Chancellor signed Instrument 12 which closed the decennial censuses for 100 years.

The PRO has now amended the wording on the Learning Curve website in order to increase its clarity.

Government Funding

Mr. Letwin: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) of 25 January 2002, Official Report, columns 1185–86W, on Government funding of the voluntary sector, if she will list the grant schemes and other mechanisms by which the Legal Services Commission distribute funding to voluntary sector organisations. [51413]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Commission funds not for profit organisations in three ways. First it pays not for profit organisations under contract to deliver legal aid services to the public by means of the Community Legal Service Fund. This accounts for most of the payments to the not for profit sector.

Second the Commission pays grants to not for profit agencies in order to improve the delivery of legal aid services, for example by offering training and support to providers or developing standards to underpin new forms of service.

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Third under the Partnership Innovation Budget (PIB), which was launched on 8 May 2001, the Commission makes grants on a joint funding basis with other Community Legal Service partner organisations. This scheme helps meet local needs with innovative services that do not fit within current funding mechanisms.

Data Protection Act

Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proposals he has to amend the Data Protection Act 1998. [49317]

Mr. Wills: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to a question from the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Matthew Taylor) on 19 March 2002, Official Report, column 188W.

PRIVY COUNCIL

Voting Procedures

Norman Baker: To ask the President of the Council if he will propose changes within the House to allow abstentions to be recorded. [49316]

Mr. Robin Cook: No.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme

Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list companies and organisations taking part in the United Kingdom's greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme. [50431]

Mr. Meacher: I have been asked to reply.

34 organisations entered the scheme as direct participants and bid in the auction, held in March 2002.

It is expected that the number of participants will increase later this year as nearly 6,000 companies with Climate Change Agreements who can chose to use the scheme to meet their targets, or sell any over- achievement, start to participate.

The 34 Direct participants are:


















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Cluster Munitions

Mr. Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what Open Individual Export licences have been granted since 2 May 1997 for the export of cluster munitions; and if she will provide the (a) number of cluster munitions exported, (b) category codes and (c) final end-use destination; [46156]

Nigel Griffiths: Licences issued covering cluster munitions are recorded on the ELATE database under ratings ML3 and ML4. These headings cover a range of other equipment including bombs, torpedoes, rockets, missiles as well as mine clearance equipment (as described on page 310 of the Government's annual report on strategic export controls for 2000). Cluster munitions are not recorded as a separate category in the annual report or on ELATE. For this reason, a breakdown by end use destination of the licences issued covering cluster munitions cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.

The DTI's Export Control Organisation records details of licences issued and licences refused. We are reviewing how this information might be better collated.

Home Safety

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on what help is available to organisations for safer building and home safety from the modernisation fund. [47910]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The DTI's consumer protection Modernisation Fund was launched early in 2001. To date we have earmarked £2.5 million to support local projects which offer practical home safety interventions. Many of the projects involve improvements to make homes safer such as stair handrails, child-proof window locks, home safety checks and installation of smoke alarms. In 2001–02 we supported 12 projects across the UK and provided support to strengthen the

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capacity of two national home safety charities, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the Child Accident Prevention Trust. Applications for awards during 2002–03 closed on 15 February and I will announce the successful projects shortly.

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