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Cannabis Arrests (London)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests have been made in (a) Lambeth and (b) other London boroughs for possession of cannabis in the last 12 months. [120920]

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Caroline Flint: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that for the period June 2002 to May 2003, 132 persons were arrested for the possession of cannabis in Lambeth and 17,329 persons were arrested in other London boroughs.

Criminal Records Bureau

Mr. Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make it his Department's policy to conduct a further regulatory impact assessment on the Criminal Records Bureau to find out what impact the fee increase will have upon the voluntary sector; [120089]

(2) what assessment he has made of the impact the increase in Criminal Records Bureau check fees will have on the voluntary sector. [120090]

Paul Goggins: As the Criminal Records Bureau moves towards full cost recovery, it has been necessary to make the increases in fees that were announced by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 5 June 2003, Official Report, column 27WS. We have made it clear that checks will remain free in the case of volunteers (worth an estimated value of £10 million in the 2003–04 financial year). In other cases, responsibility for paying the fee rests primarily with the individual applicant, although it is open to the employer to reimburse the cost. I will place in the Library a Regulatory Impact Assessment which assesses the impact of the fee increase for the voluntary and business sectors.

Drugs Treatment

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what protocols there are for GP intervention in the treatment of his or her patient while that patient is under a Drug Treatment and Testing Order. [121059]

Caroline Flint: The treatment element of a drug treatment and testing order is commissioned by the Probation Service working with other local joint commissioning stakeholders. No national guidance has been issued on the extent of or timing for the involvement of an offender's GP in the delivery of the agreed treatment programme, which, if appropriate, would need to be considered in the light of the particular circumstances of the agreed programme and the delivery of the National Treatment Agency models of care standards.

Extradition

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which countries do not have reciprocal extradition arrangements with the UK. [121167]

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, North-East, (Mr. Ainsworth) on 20 May 2003, Official Report, column 760W.

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been extradited from the Irish Republic to the UK in each year since 1997; and how many related to terrorist offences. [121166]

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Caroline Flint: Extradition relations between the UK and the Republic of Ireland are governed by the Backing of Warrants Act 1965. These cases are dealt with on a police-to-police basis, with the extradition hearing taking place before the appropriate judicial authority. This process requires little or no ministerial involvement.

Details of requests made to the Republic of Ireland under the backing of warrants arrangements are not held centrally.

Official Visits

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visits have been made by Home Office (a) officials and (b) Ministers to France to look at drug treatment regimes in the last five years. [121224]

Caroline Flint: The Home Office became responsible for the UK National Drugs Strategy in June 2001. No Home Office Minister or official has been to France to look at drug treatment regimes since that time. However Home Office Ministers are familiar with drugs policies and practice in France through frequent contact with colleagues there and through advice from officials and others who keep in close touch with developments.

Public Sector Workers (Assaults)

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he plans to extend the legal protection afforded to police officers assaulted in the workplace to other public sector workers; [120649]

(2) if he plans to establish a new offence of assaulting a public sector worker in the course of their duty; and if he will make a statement. [120650]

Paul Goggins: Assaulting a public sector worker in the course of his or her duty is an extremely serious matter, as reflected in guidelines issued by the Magistrates' Association. Magistrates court guidelines already make clear that when an assault is against a "victim serving the public", it should be considered as an aggravating factor. The Criminal Justice Bill contains provisions on sentencing and sets up a new Sentencing Guidelines Council, charged with drafting and distributing a new set of consolidated sentencing guidelines applicable across all criminal courts. The purpose of the guidelines is to ensure consistency and to require the courts to take account of all the relevant aggravating or mitigating features. The guidelines could, and we expect will, refer explicitly to the fact that if a victim was at the time of the offence working with the public, it should be treated as an aggravating feature of the crime. We have no current plans to introduce specific offences for attacks on public sector workers.

Sex Industry

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women from Central and Eastern European countries are estimated to be working illegally in the sex industry in Britain. [120169]

Beverley Hughes: A Home Office research study 'Stopping Traffic' (Police Research Series 125, published in 2000), indicated that there was intelligence

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to suggest that some women and children are trafficked into the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation. This was estimated at between 140 and 1,400 per year but it was impossible to make a more accurate assessment of numbers. The report concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that this was on a large scale compared with other European countries.

Statistics collected by the Metropolitan Police's Clubs and Vice Unit suggest that up to 75 per cent. of women involved in off-street prostitution in London are non-UK nationals. Of these, 20 per cent are thought to be from the Balkans, and 28 per cent. from European countries.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Sitting Costs

Mr. Allen: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission what additional costs were incurred as a result of the House sitting after 10.30 pm on 16 June 2003. [120448]

Sir Archy Kirkwood: The main additional cost is overtime for some support staff. The information about overtime worked on 16 June 2003 is not currently available, but I expect it to be minimal compared to the daily cost of running the House.

PRIME MINISTER

Ministerial Committees

Ms Coffey: To ask the Prime Minister when he will publish the list of Ministerial Committees of the Cabinet. [122619]

The Prime Minister: I have today published the list of Ministerial Committees of the Cabinet together with their Chairmen, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. I will make an announcement on full membership and terms of reference in due course.

EU Rebate

Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister whether the proposals discussed at the European Council on 19 and 20 June 2003 in Thessaloniki would permit a reduction in the UK rebate from EU budget contributions. [121899]

The Prime Minister: The Government will not accept any watering down of decision making for EU budget contributions. We have made clear that Convention proposals to introduce Qualified Majority Voting or reduce the say of national parliaments in this area are unacceptable, and will continue to do so in the Intergovernmental Conference.

Lord Chancellorship

Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the consequences his proposal to abolish the Lord Chancellorship will have on the Church of England churches for which the Lord Chancellor has the benefice. [121895]

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The Prime Minister: The arrangements for these appointments currently remain unchanged with the appointment of my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Falconer of Thoroton as the Lord Chancellor. This will be looked at during the transitional period.

Staff Creche

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the creche facilities made available by his office to the children of his office's staff. [121114]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Minister of State, Cabinet Office gave him today.

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