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16 Sept 2003 : Column 647W—continued

National Federation of Retail Newsagents

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask t he Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with the National Federation of Retail Newsagents. [129506]

Mr. Sutcliffe: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has not had any recent discussions with the National Federation of Retail Newsagents.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is currently reviewing Code of Practice on newspaper distribution. OFT published a statement of provisional recommendations on 12 December 2002, for public consultation. OFT is now analysing the responses to its public consultation and will make its final report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry shortly.

Store Cards

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what discussions she has had with the Office of Fair Trading regarding high rates of interest levied on store cards; [128144]

(2) what action she is taking to protect consumers from high rates of interest levied on store cards; [128145]

16 Sept 2003 : Column 648W

(3) what action she is taking to ensure that retail customers are aware of the terms and conditions before signing up for a store card. [128146]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department has had no specific discussions regarding the interest rates levied on, or the terms and conditions associated with, store cards.

My hon. Friend is no doubt aware however, that the DTI is reaching the conclusion of its review of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Government proposals in this area will be set out in a White Paper planned for publication in the autumn. This will address issues such as the transparency of credit products including how they are sold to consumers, advertising and the form and content of credit agreements.

Through discussions and focus groups, we have been particularly careful to involve key stakeholders from consumer groups, business and enforcement agencies at all stages of the review.

In terms of consumer protection, the objective is to increase transparency and understanding throughout the UK credit market, empowering consumers to make informed financial decisions.

My hon. Friend may also be aware that the Department of Trade and Industry recently appeared to give evidence at a Treasury Committee inquiry into the transparency of credit charges.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list (a) foreign and (b) UK visits she has made since 1 April; what the cost was to public funds of each trip; who she met; and what gifts were received. [126884]

Tessa Jowell: The Government publish the overall costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits overseas by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500 on an annual basis. The list for the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 was published by the Prime Minister on 16 July 2003, Official Report, column 482W. The next list for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 will be published at the end of the financial year.

In respect of gifts received, I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 March, Official Report, column 482W.

I have taken the following UK trips since 1 April 2003.

£

Date	Destination	Event	Transport	Price
3 April 2003	Bristol	British Empire and Commonwealth Museum and speech at The Building Legible Cities Conference	Train	101.4
4 June 2003	Liverpool	Liverpool city council for Capital of Culture	Train	256
9 June 2003	Aldeburgh	Aldeburgh Festival	Train	67
24 June 2003	Eastbourne	Speech to The Royal College of Physicians	Train	51.4
25 June 2003	Newcastle	IPPR Seminar	Train	238
l July 2003	Birmingham	Visit to Lichfield Garrick	Train	160

16 Sept 2003 : Column 649W

Royal Parks

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how much peat the Royal Parks purchased in the last two years; and where it was used; [129239]

(2) how many animals and birds were culled in the Royal Parks, broken down by (a) species and (b) culling methods used in the most recent year for which figures are available; [129263]

(3) what (a) pesticides and (b) herbicides the Royal Parks purchased in the last two years, broken down by (i) type and (ii) quantity. [129264]

Mr. Caborn: Responsibility for the subject of this question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency and I have asked its Chief Executive, William Weston, to reply.

Letter from William Weston to Norman Baker, dated 16 September 2003:

I have been asked by the Secretary of State to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about the pesticides we purchase, the number of animals we cull and our use of peat, because these are operational matters which have been delegated to me.

We do not use peat in our horticultural and grounds maintenance work, but most bedding plants we purchase are supplied to us in peat. We have been looking into alternatives to peat for bedding plants and will be running a trial next year in which all the plants purchased in one park will be grown in an alternative medium. We will assess the result in terms of quality and cost of the plants involved.

The only cull we carried out last year was the annual deer cull, when 179 deer were shot.

We do not purchase herbicides or pesticides. The horticultural and grounds maintenance functions in the parks are carried out by contractors. Park managers specify what tasks require doing and how they are to be done. Where pesticides and herbicides are required, park managers approve which ones should be used and the information is not, therefore, held centrally. We could only find out which types have been used by asking contractors to obtain the information from each job order they have had from park managers for the past two years. Even that would say what type had been approved but not what quantities had been used.

Royal Parks Constabulary

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made in the implementation of the recommendations of the Speed review of the Royal Parks Police; and if she will make a statement. [129784]

Mr. Caborn: All 23 main recommendations of the Speed inspection of the Royal Parks Constabulary (RPC) have been implemented, apart from those relating to the merger with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

Agreement in principle on the merger was reached in July with the MPS and the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) to merge the RPC with the MPS to create a separate Royal Parks Operational Command Unit (OCU) within the MPS.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many officers were employed in the Royal Parks Constabulary in each of the last five years. [129785]

Mr. Caborn: The information is as follows.

16 Sept 2003 : Column 650W

As at 31 March	Officers
1999	158
2000	154
2001	155
2002	148
2003	146

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the morale of the Royal Parks Constabulary. [129786]

Mr. Caborn: A change of this magnitude is bound to cause concern among staff. This is an unusual situation and it takes time to find out exactly what is involved and how it can be achieved. During this period there is not much concrete information we can tell staff and I understand how the lack of information can lead to uncertainty which is bound to affect morale. I can only assure RPC officers that Ministers from this Department and the Home Office are working to resolve outstanding issues so that the details can be made available to them and this unfortunate period of uncertainty brought to an end.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her policy is on security of tenure of their homes for Officers of the Royal Parks Constabulary, in the event of a merger with the Metropolitan Police. [129787]

Mr. Caborn: The Royal Parks will do what it can to ensure that Royal Parks Constabulary (RPC) officers currently living in Royal Parks accommodation will not be disadvantaged by the merger with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects the merger of the Metropolitan Police with the Royal Parks Constabulary to take place. [129788]

Mr. Caborn: The aim is that the Royal Parks Occupational Command Unit should start on 1st April 2004 but this is conditional on resolving funding issues and obtaining the necessary enabling legislation.

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