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28 Feb 2003 : Column 735W—continued
Paul Skuse
Tony Baldry: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the Attorney-General's decision not to refer the case of Paul Skuse to the Court of Appeal. [95934]
The Solicitor-General: No convicted parents or carers of children killed while in their care were the subject of unduly lenient sentence applications in 2001 or 2002.
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In 2001 no cases involving assaults by parents or carers of children in their care were the subject of unduly lenient sentence applications.
In 2002 the Court of Appeal considered the sentence imposed in one case where the offender, who was the victims' father, faced offences including cruelty to his two children. The Court of Appeal decided to make the sentences imposed in respect of the cruelty offences, run consecutive to the sentences he faced for other offences and increased the total sentence from eight years to 13 years.
Suicide Act
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Solicitor-General, pursuant to her answer of 7 February 2003, Official Report, column 468W, on the Suicide Act 1961, if she will answer with reference to section 2(4) of the Act. [99342]
The Solicitor-General: Section 2(1) of the Suicide Act 1961 creates the offence which allows the prosecution of an individual who is found to have assisted another to commit suicide. Section 2(4) provides that the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions must be obtained before such a prosecution is commenced.
The decision whether to grant consent to a prosecution under section 2(1) is made in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, following an investigation conducted by the police. The Director does not intend to publish any prosecution policy specific to the Suicide Act.
TRANSPORT
Bottled Water
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cumulative litre miles undertaken to transport bottled water to point of sale for the last year for which figures are available, broken down by mode of transport. [99255]
Mr. Jamieson: No such estimate has been made.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many parliamentary questions have been answered by his Department since June 2001. [99777]
Mr. Jamieson: Since my Department was formed on 29 May 2002, Ministers have answered 2,776 parliamentary questions.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Embryo Research
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many IVF embryos have been destroyed in Medical Research Council sponsored research in each of the past 20 years. [97991]
Ms Hewitt: I understand that the information requested is not available. The latest available figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology
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Authority are that, since its establishment in 1991, of 925,747 embryos created through in vitro fertilisation, 53,497 have been donated for research.
Benefit Payment Arrangements
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the financial impact on sub-post offices in Buckinghamshire of the change in payment of benefits from over-the-counter to direct bank transfer. [99910]
Mr. Timms: No such assessment has been made. The migration of benefit payment to ACT begins this year and the Post Office's strategy is to respond to that challenge with a range of banking and other services. How the migration of benefit payments affects the revenue of post offices will depend on a number of factors, not least how benefit recipients and other post office customers respond to change. The income from the various contracts Post Office Ltd. has with the spending Departments and various financial institutions, and the remuneration of sub-postmasters for banking services, is a commercial matter between the parties.
Capital Projects
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will place the evaluations for the Capital Modernisation Fund projects relating to (a) MIT/Cambridge, (b) venture capital, (c) small business service (SBS) Gateway, (d) getting SMEs on-line, (e) internet access to the employment tribunals, (f) incubators, (g) novel recycling, (h) UK Oil Portal, (i) NACAB IT System, (j) renewable energy and (k) business.gov in the Library; and if she will make a statement. [97027]
Ms Hewitt: All the projects listed are still under way and have therefore not yet been evaluated. The projects will be evaluated on completion in line with CMF rules.
Carbon Dioxide
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the technical ability of gas plants to practise CO2 capture and storage and her policy thereon. [99793]
Mr. Wilson: The energy White Paper identified the need to produce a detailed implementation plan for carbon capture and storage in the UK within six months. All potential sources of carbon dioxide can be considered, including gas turbine exhaust.
Laptops
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many laptop computers were used by (a) Ministers and special advisers and (b) officials in her Department in each year since 1995; how many were (i) lost and (ii) stolen; what their cost was; and if she will make a statement. [98708]
Ms Hewitt: The table provides the information available from records on laptop computer usage and losses within my Department since 1995. Prior to 1998, the records available only provide figures for thefts and losses.
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Although the Department still retains a number of its own laptop computers (1,338 at 31 December 2002), since 1 April 1999 the provision of a laptop computing service has been the responsibility of my Department's PFI partners. It is expected that most new laptop computer requirements will be met through the PFI service for the life of the PFI contract.
| (a) Laptops(1) | (b) Laptops(2) | Losses | Thefts | Cost £ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 8 | 2,738 | 0 | 4 | 6,375 |
| 2002 | 8 | 2,588 | 1 | 24 | 31,760 |
| 2001 | 8 | 1,887 | 1 | 8 | 15,080 |
| 2000 | 5 | 1,733 | 1 | 5 | 5,900 |
| 1999 | (3)— | 1,325 | 0 | 5 | 5,110 |
| 1998 | (3)— | 778 | 1 | 5 | 9,100 |
| 1997 | (3)— | (3)— | 1 | 7 | 12,300 |
| 1996 | (3)— | (3)— | 0 | 2 | 3,000 |
| 1995 | (3)— | (3)— | 0 | 15 | 26,300 |
(1) Used by Ministers and special advisers.
(2) Used by officials.
(3) Not available.
Recycling
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the recycling of food waste paper will attract the financial credits available under packaging regulations. [99373]
Mr. Wilson: All waste paper is eligible for Packaging Recovery Notes once recycled.
However, if it has come into direct contact with food, then it is not normally recycled back into the same material due to the excessive amounts of energy required to do this, and possible health risks of the contaminated material.
Food contaminated paper can be 'organically recycled' ie composted, and attract PRNs. Last year less than 1,000 tonnes of packaging were recycled in this way.
It is also possible to use energy recovery methods (incineration for power), for this type of waste and this method will also be eligible for PRNs.
Solar Power
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what level of subsidies for solar power equipment are available. [99233]
Mr. Wilson: Under the 20 million First Phase of the Major Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme the current maximum levels of grants available are as follows:
- Small-scale individual applications (500Wp—5kWp)— 50 per cent.
Medium and Large-scale applications (5kWp—100kWp)
Public Bodies—65 per cent.
- Private Sector—40 per cent.
Under the 10 million Clear Skies programme the current level of grants for solar water heating systems are as follows:
28 Feb 2003 : Column 739W
Warm Front Scheme
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Interministerial Group on Fuel Poverty has to discuss the future of the Warm Front scheme; and what plans she has to discuss the future funding of the Warm Front scheme with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. [99205]
Mr. Wilson: The Ministerial Group on Fuel Poverty is expected to meet during the Spring. The date and agenda for that meeting have not yet been agreed. Warm Front is the responsibility of DEFRA, and my Department has no plans for bilateral meetings to discuss its future funding.
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