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21 Oct 2003 : Column 545W—continued
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
British Summer Time
Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make British Summer Time permanent throughout the year. [132808]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
There are no current plans to change the way British Summer Time operates.
The start and end dates of summer time are harmonised across EC member states through a European Directive. The Directive provides for summer time to be one hour ahead of winter time but does not determine what these times are.
Brickworks Development (Upchurch)
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish (a) the Lawful Development Certificate and (b) the Appeal file for the site at Fourbun Field, Otterham, Quay Lane, Upchurch. [133600]
Keith Hill: An Inspector issued a lawful development certificate on 8 May 2001 for the use of land at Four Gun Field, Otterham Quay Lane, Upchurch, Kent for the purposes of a brickworks including ancillary open storage. A copy of the appeal decision and certificate will be available in the library of the House. The appeal file was destroyed 12 months after the appeal decision was issued in line with normal procedures.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will estimate the total revenue which would be raised by local authorities from charging (a) 100 per cent. council tax rate and (b) 100 per cent. business rate on second homes. [132449]
Mr. Raynsford: Approximately £160 million per year would be raised by English local authorities if 100 per cent. council tax were charged and collected on all second homes. This represents an additional £80 million because there is currently a 50 per cent. discount on council tax for second homes. However, because owners of second homes would have no reason to provide this information if discounts were to be
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entirely ended, the yield in future years would be increasingly difficult to estimate. This would, of course, affect the scope for individual local authorities to benefit directly from the reduction of discounts on second homes.
In addition, some second homes let as self-catering holiday homes are subject to business rates because it is intended that they are let as holiday accommodation for more than 140 days in a year. Business rates are usually charged at 100% for such properties, although figures the revenue raised from them are not available.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not have sufficiently detailed records to be able to calculate what would be raised if all second homes were subject to non-domestic rates rather than council tax.
Microsoft (Licensing Fees)
Norman Lamb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was paid to Microsoft in licensing fees by his Department and its agencies in each of the last three years; and how much has been budgeted for (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05. [130667]
Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. The following table summarises Microsoft licensing fees incurred by the Office since its creation, and those incurred by Agencies for the period requested:
| Agency | Spend 2000–01 | Spend 2001–02 | Spend 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ODPM Central | n/a | n/a | 346,800 |
| Fire Service College | Prior to 2002, licensessupplied from theHome Office | 6,940 | |
| The Rent Service | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| QEII Conference Centre | 6,200 | 11,900 | 7,200 |
| Planning Inspectorate | 13,000 | 185,000 | 67,000 |
Budgets for spend in 2003/04 and in future years are withheld on grounds of commercial confidentiality.
Milton Keynes/South Midlands Study
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which organisations are represented on the Infrastructure Delivery Board convened by the Minister responsible for the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Growth Area; when the Board will first meet; and at what frequency he expects the Board to meet thereafter. [132173]
Yvette Cooper: Building on the work of the existing Milton Keynes and South Midlands Steering Group, the proposed Milton Keynes and South Midlands Inter Regional Board will seek long-term commitment to delivery through high level executive membership from relevant agencies. The board, to be chaired by my right hon. Friend the Lord Rooker, would include representatives of areas of infrastructure delivery including: environment, industry, housing, water, transport, education, health, Regional Development Agencies and Regional Planning Bodies, relevant local authorities and delivery vehicles. Some other organisations will also be invited on specific topics. The board is expected to meet two to three times a year and, for the first time in its new role by the end of 2003.
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Dr. Starkey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Infrastructure Delivery Board for Milton Keynes and South Midlands will consider both capital and revenue implications of planned growth. [132174]
Yvette Cooper: The role of the proposed Milton Keynes and South Midlands Inter Regional Board will be to influence the investment of others, which will include both capital and revenue implications of planned growth.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Communications Masts
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the possible biological effects of terrestrial trunked/radio pulsing rates emanating from (a) handsets and (b) masts; what scientific research he collated to make this assessment; and how his Department's code of best practice applies the findings in respect of siting masts close to schools. [131942]
Ms Blears: In 2001, the National Radiological Protection's Board independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) published a report on "Possible health effects from Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA)". The report concluded that it was unlikely that the specific features of TETRA handsets and repeaters could pose a risk to health.
The AGNIR report also concluded that signals from TETRA masts are not pulsed and confirmed that TETRA masts are similar to other mobile phone masts in terms of health and safety. There are no plans to issue specific guidance on the siting of TETRA masts close to schools.
The AGNIR experts' recommendations for further research were taken forward by the Home Office. Recent results from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory show that signals from TETRA handsets have no effect on calcium exchanges in cells—the main concern about TETRA technology. Further information on TETRA health and safety issues is available at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/tetra.html
National Alcohol Strategy
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the national alcohol strategy. [131936]
Ms Blears: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister commissioned the Strategy Unit (SU) to undertake a project to develop an alcohol harm reduction strategy for England. I am the Sponsor Minister for the project.
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The SU published its interim analysis on 19 September and it is available on the unit's website www.strategy.gov.uk. The final report, which will set out the cross-governmental alcohol harm reduction strategy for England, is due for publication later in the year. Implementation of the strategy will begin according to timetable in 2004.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) failed asylum seekers and (b) non-asylum seekers have been deported in each quarter of each of the last three years; to which countries they have been returned; and if he will make a statement. [131979]
Beverley Hughes: Deportations are a specific subset of removals alongside persons subject to administrative removal, removal due to Illegal entry action or those refused entry at port and subsequently removed. Information on the destination of enforced removals is not available. Table 1 shows the number of principal asylum seekers who were removed from the United Kingdom between 2001and the first quarter of 2003—the latest available data—by nationality. This information is not available for removals made in 2000.
Information on the removal of persons other than asylum seekers is not available by nationality or by quarter. 37,665 non-asylum cases were removed from the UK in 2000, 39,850 in 2001 and 54,720 in 2002. These figures include those persons who departed 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them.
Information on the removal of asylum applicants is published quarterly, and on the removals of other immigration cases is published annually. The next quarterly publication will be available from the end of November 2003 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate web site at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html Information on the removal of persons other than asylum seekers is not available by nationality or by quarter. 37,665 non-asylum cases were removed from the UK in 2000, 39,850 in 2001 and 54,720 in 2002. These figures include those persons who departed 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them.
Information on the removal of asylum applicants is published quarterly, and on the removals of other immigration cases is published annually. The next quarterly publication will be available from the end of November 2003 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate web site at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
(11) Includes persons departing voluntarily
(12) after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the international Organisation for Migration, and removals on safe third country grounds.
(13) Figures rounded to the nearest five, with * = 1 or 2, and may not sum due to rounding.
(14) Figures may include a small number of dependants leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes.
(15) Figures exclude dependants of asylum seekers removed. Data on dependants removed have only been collected since April 2001.
(E) Data have been estimated due to data quality issues.
(P) Provisional figures
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Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average rate of response is by relevant embassies in replacing lost or damaged documentation of asylum seekers in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [132387]
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Beverley Hughes: The exact information requested is not available and could only be gathered at disproportionate cost by detailed examination of individual casefiles. This is because applications for documentation by the Immigration Service are not
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broken down to reflect those which arise as a result of lost or damaged documents.
The documentation of those persons who fail to be removed from the United Kingdom is an important issue and the Immigration Service Documentation Unit (ISDU) was established in order to facilitate and organise the provision of documentation in such cases. ISDU liaises closely with foreign Embassies and High Commissions in order to secure the issue of travel documents and to reach agreement on the associated processes.
Every country has its own procedures, criteria, and requirements which must be met in order to establish identity and nationality and these procedures, and the timescales associated with them, vary from nationality to nationality.
Given the wide differences between individual countries any averaged figure would be misleading and therefore unhelpful.
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers in (a) Scotland and (b) England and Wales are awaiting deportation as a result of vandalised documentation. [132388]
Beverley Hughes: The information requested is not available and could only be obtained by examination of individual case-files at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to prevent the destruction of travel documents by asylum seekers who aim to delay their deportation. [132389]
Beverley Hughes: On the 28 August 2003 my righ hon. Friend the Home Secretary made a statement that he would be considering new legislation to tackle asylum seekers who destroy their travel documents in order to delay their removal from the United Kingdom. That legislation is still under consideration, and it is expected that we will be making a further statement about this matter in due course.
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