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Military Export Licences
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what deliveries of equipment on the military and dual-use lists have been made to (a) India, (b) Pakistan and (c) Israel in each month since September 2001; and if she will make a statement. [65099]
Ms Hewitt: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) on 18 March 2002, Official Report, column 54W.
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what factors the Government take into account when deciding whether to issue (a) a Standard Individual Export Licence and (b) an Open Individual Export Licence; and if she will make a statement. [65100]
Nigel Griffiths: All relevant export licence applications, whether for Standard Individual Export Licences (SIEL) or Open Individual Export Licences (OIEL), are considered on a case by case basis against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the reply from the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Peter Hain), to right hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Peter Hain), to my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Laura Moffatt) on 26 October 2000, Official Report, columns 199–203W.
In assessing applications for OIELs, the Government considers whether an OIEL would provide for sufficient control in relation to the goods and countries or end users concerned. If not, SIEL applications will be invited instead. Furthermore, OIELs will normally only be granted to exporters with a proven track record of applications for SIELs, and where the particular nature of their business makes the use of SIELs inappropriate or inefficient.
Waste Disposal
Ms Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the disposal of (a) high level, (b) intermediate level and (c) liquid form waste. [66098]
Mr. Meacher: I have been asked to reply.
There is currently no long-term management policy for either high level or intermediate level radioactive waste. Both high and intermediate level wastes are currently stored safely on licensed sites and are subject to strict regulatory control by the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate. Any discharges relating to the storage of waste are similarly regulated by the Environment Agency. Wastes in liquid form may be high, intermediate or low level. Low level liquid wastes are discharged from a number of sites throughout the country under authorisations granted by the Environment Agency under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993.
The Department and the devolved Administrations are working towards finding suitable management solutions for long-lived radioactive waste which have full public
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support. We recently held a public consultation on the matter, and will be announcing both the results and the next stages of the policy making process very shortly.
Arms Exports
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department has taken to minimise the risk of UK arms exports being diverted from the stated end-use or end-user in Pakistan. [65433]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
The Government focus their efforts on assessment of potential end-use at the export licensing stage, including where needed through checks made by our posts overseas. Carrying out effective risk assessment on end-users before making the export licensing decision is the surest way of preventing arms from falling into the wrong hands. Nevertheless, the Government remain committed to carrying out end-use monitoring in those circumstances where this will genuinely add value to our efforts to minimise the risk of misuse and diversion and where such monitoring is practicable. Our overseas posts have standing instructions to report on allegations of misuse of any UK-origin defence equipment.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Health and Safety Standards
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what statutory obligations are in force for inspection of health and safety standards in (a) residential homes, (b) boarding schools and (c) university halls of residence; and if he will make a statement. [66653]
Mr. Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) applies to residential homes, boarding schools and university halls of residence. HSWA sets out general health and safety duties which employers, the self-employed and people in control of premises have towards their employees, and others who could be affected by the work activities. It is the 'umbrella' legislation under which other, more specific, health and safety regulations are made. The Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998 allocate inspection responsibility for different types of undertakings to either the Health and Safety Executive or to the Local Authority. Inspectors are appointed under Section 19 of HSWA to carry out inspection and enforcement in relation to health and safety.
Nuclear Power
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer of 22 May 2002, Official Report, column 282, what progress has been made with his consultations about the future of nuclear power. [64221]
The Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State: Responsibility for the consultation on nuclear energy lies with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. The consultation covers the key issues for Energy Policy including the role of nuclear. The Government published a consultation document on
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14 May, arranged a debate on 20 June in the House of Commons and workshops have been arranged to discuss key issues with energy stakeholders.
Out-of-town Shopping Centres
Keith Vaz: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many out of town shopping centres he has visited in an official capacity since 1 January. [66327]
Mr. Leslie: None in an official capacity.
Local Authority Performance
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) if he will make a statement on the future of Best Value as a means of assessing the performance of local authorities; [67446]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the relationship between the role of Best Value assessments in local authorities and the new comprehensive performance assessment; and if he will make a statement. [67438]
Mr. Raynsford: Comprehensive Performance Assessments bring together different judgments about a local authority's performance, many of which arise from audits and inspections carried out under the best value powers in the Local Government Act 1999. Such assessments will be used to determine, in consultation with individual councils, the timing and content of subsequent audit and inspection activity. In the case of good performing authorities, we anticipate reduced levels of inspection from next year. All authorities can expect a more proportionate risk based programme of both audit and inspection, and better co-ordination across the range of their functions.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the cost to local authorities of complying with the comprehensive performance assessment system; and if he will make a statement. [67437]
Mr. Raynsford: Comprehensive Performance Assessments make significant use of existing performance information from the following sources:
- inspections;
audit reports;
performance indicator data;
other central Government assessment data;
together with a corporate governance assessment of the authority as a whole, which includes an element of self assessment.
Social Exclusion Unit
Mr. Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 14 February 2002, Official Report, column 555W, on the Social Exclusion Unit, what progress has been made in respect of the Social Exclusion
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Unit's work on (a) mental health issues and prisoners, (b) mental health provision for cared for children and (c) elderly persons' mental health needs to get out of the house; and if he will publish reports in respect of the work. [68005]
The Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State: (a) The Social Exclusion Unit's report on reducing re-offending by ex-prisoners was published on 1 July 2002 and copies of the report are in the Libraries of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
The report contains a detailed analysis of the mental health issues facing prisoners. It recommends that the Government develop and implement a national rehabilitation strategy, which should pull together the contributions of all relevant Government Departments. As part of this strategy, the report recommends improvements to key reception and release procedures in prison, and a 'Going Straight Contract', which would deliver improvements in mental health outcomes, particularly in how they join up with many of the other factors affecting prisoners. An action plan setting out the Government's response to the report will be published later this year.
(b) The Social Exclusion Unit has consulted widely on all the factors impacting on the educational attainment of children in care. Mental health has been raised as an important issue, especially with regard to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). The project will be published later this year.
(c) In May 2002 the Social Exclusion Unit published its interim report on transport and social exclusion entitled "Making the Connections". The report is available on the Unit's website and in the Libraries of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
The interim report highlights that one third of older people say that there are one or more activities that they would like to be able to do more often; and that half of these involved family and other social visits. This suggests a significant degree of social isolation, which may have an impact on mental health.
The Social Exclusion Unit will publish its final report on transport and social exclusion later this year.
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