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Rainforests

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action the Government have taken to reduce the logging of rainforests and to discuss these matters with mining companies. [53653]

Clare Short: I have been asked to reply.

Logging of rainforests is not necessarily a bad thing. It can bring income and jobs to poor people. If done carefully logging need not threaten the long-term sustainability of these forests or the environmental services they provide.

Logging should not take place in protected areas or in contravention of other laws and regulations. My Department is working with a number of countries to help improve forest law enforcement and governance and tackle illegal logging and associated trade.

The Government have not discussed logging of rainforests with mining companies.

Co-product Feeds

Mrs. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what estimate she has made of the amounts of moist co-product feeds and liquids used as feed materials by livestock farmers in conjunction with home-produced feeds or as complements to bought-in feeds in the last year for which figures are available; and what assessment she has made of the importance of co-product feeds to the UK livestock industry; [42247]

(2) if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on co-products as feed materials; and what representations she has made to the European Commission to include co-product feeds on the EU's proposed positive list of approved feed materials. [42248]

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.

I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that industry estimates nearly two million tonnes of moist feed and over one million tonnes of liquid feed is fed annually to British livestock. Many materials derived during the manufacture of food and drink are fed by livestock

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farmers, or used by manufacturers for feed sold to farmers. These co-products have a nutritional value and are considered an important range of feed materials for the UK livestock industry.

The European Commission has commissioned a feasibility study on the possibility of having a positive list of approved feed materials for use in animal feed. If any such list is to be compiled it is likely that it will include co-products.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Christopher Reeves

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement about her Department's handling of the case of Christopher Reeves, Oxford Crown court T2000/022. [51371]

The Solicitor-General: Dr. Alfred Christopher Reeves was tried at Oxford Crown court, on a number of allegations of indecent assault. On 22 May 2000, he was acquitted on all charges, part way through the defence case, at the direction of the trial judge, Her Honour Judge Mowatt.

Following the conclusion of the case, Dr. Reeves and the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Matthew Taylor) wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions complaining about the CPS handling of the case. These complaints have been investigated thoroughly and the Crown Prosecution Service and the Attorney-General have provided comprehensive responses to both the hon. Member and Dr. Reeves' solicitors.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Young People

Dr. Starkey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on what subjects and on which dates his Department has recently consulted organisations representing young people; and if he will list such organisations. [52508]

Mrs. Roche: The Cabinet Office does not hold this information centrally and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The Cabinet Office is committed to the new core principles for the involvement of children and young people published by the Minister for Young People in November 2001. The Cabinet Office will shortly be publishing an action plan setting out for the first time how it will implement these principles to extend the participation of children and young people in the design, provision and evaluation of policies and services that affect them.

Fraud

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the estimated level of losses to fraud and corruption

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was in (a) his Department's Vote 1 budget and (b) his Department's Vote 2 budget for (i) 1999–2000 and (ii) 2000–01. [54700]

Mr. Leslie: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Buckingham on 29 January 2002, Official Report, column 252W.

Sustainable Timber

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library certificates showing that timber used for the doors, doorframes and window frames in the refurbishment of Norman Shaw South came from a certified sustainable source. [55261]

Derek Conway: I have been asked to reply.

Wallis Joinery, the manufacturer of the new timber windows, doors and joinery for the Norman Shaw South refurbishment project, operates a Quality Assurance system. This requires their timber suppliers to provide evidence (in the form of import licences and certificates) to show that timber supplied has been legally obtained and is from sustainably managed sources. The contractor is required to provide these licences and certificates to the House. When they are received I will ensure that copies are placed in the Library.

Balfour Beatty

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what contracts the Government have with Balfour Beatty; which ones are under way; and what the start dates are of ones on which work has not started. [55293]

Mr. Andrew Smith: I have been asked to reply.

This information is not held centrally.

DEFENCE

Sea King AEWs

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he plans to withdraw the Sea King AEW force from service. [49767]

Mr. Ingram: On current plans the Sea King Airborne Early Warning force is projected to remain in service until at least 2012.

Deployments

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 858W, on deployments, if he will reconcile his figure for the number of service personnel serving in the Balkans with the answer given on 16 April 2002, Official Report, column 825W. [53823]

Mr. Ingram: The answer I gave on 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 858W, showed only UK regular forces deployed on military tasks overseas, including operations. Personnel on NATO commitments and Mobilised Reservists were not included.

Reconciliation of this answer with the answer given on 16 April 2002, Official Report, column 825W, is shown in the following table.

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Number deployed

	Balkans Tasks	NATO and Mobilised Reservists	Balkans total
Royal Navy	—	100	100
Army	3,823	744	4,567
RAF	233	—	233
Total	4,056	850	4,900

Note:

NATO and Mobilised Reservists figures are approximate.

Cyprus

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what British service personnel are deployed in the Republic of Cyprus. [54732]

Mr. Ingram: The United Kingdom contributes 414 service personnel to UNFICYP. British forces in the sovereign base areas on Cyprus, and therefore on British territory and not in the Republic of Cyprus, number approximately 3,230.

Ethnic Minorities

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) men and (b) women from ethnic communities were serving in the British forces on 1 May. [54640]

Mr. Ingram: Figures for 1 May 2002 are not yet available. A re-survey of the ethnic origin of armed forces personnel is currently being undertaken using the categories contained in the national census of 2001. The last available figures using the previous ethnic categories are those of 1 October 2001 and are as follows:

Ethnic minority (EM)	Number	EM as a percentage of EM plus non-EM
Male	3,173	1.73
Female	314	1.92
Total	3,487	1.75

Women

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many women are serving in each of the armed forces. [54634]

Mr. Ingram: As at 1 April 2002, the number of women serving in the UK regular forces is as follows:

	Number of women serving
Naval Service	3,521
Army	7,901
RAF	5,616
Total	17,038

These figures are taken from TSP1 'UK Regular Forces Strengths and Changes', a monthly publication, a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons Library.

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Land Mines

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British service personnel are involved in land mine destruction; and in which countries such personnel are working. [54632]

Mr. Ingram: British Service personnel provide technical expertise, management and specialist skills to support mine action programmes worldwide. As at 1 May 2002, personnel were deployed as follows:

Senior Technical Adviser to the UN Mine Action Centre in Bosnia.


Staff Officer within the Humanitarian Demining Training Centre at the US Army's Engineer School.


Head of Technical Unit at the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining.

In Bosnia, as part of the Stabilisation Force (SFOR), UK military personnel are involved in the co-ordination and monitoring of mine clearance; emergency disposal of mines and unexploded ordnance as required; and mine awareness training. We also maintain an Explosive Ordnance Disposal detachment in the Falkland Islands. Additionally, UK personnel have provided technical information to the United Nations and to non- governmental organisations on mines that could be found in Afghanistan.

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