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5 Jan 2004 : Column 98W—continued
Legal Costs
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what legal costs have been incurred in defending the retention of Fisher and Wright in HM Armed Services following their release from prison. [145170]
Mr. Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 16 December 2003, Official Report, column 842W, indicating the totality of legal bills paid to date in defending Guardsmen Fisher and Wright. Of this sum approximately £11,000 was paid following their release from prison.
Military Personnel (Psychiatric Treatment)
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military personnel received treatment at the Priory, Roehampton in the last year; and what the cost was. [144151]
Mr. Caplin: One member of the Services received treatment at the Priory, Roehampton. The cost of the admission and treatment was £73,778.
Territorial Army
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance his Department provides to Territorial Army soldiers returning from overseas duty to secure employment. [145744]
Mr. Caplin: Reservists who are called out into permanent service benefit from employment protection under the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985. Under Section 1 of that Act an employer is required to take back into his employment former employees who have completed called-out service. Should an employer fail to reinstate a reservist in accordance with the provisions of that Act, the reservist may apply to a Reinstatement Committee to hear his case. The Reinstatement Committee can order the employer to reinstate the reservist, or to pay compensation, or both. Failure to comply with an order of a Reinstatement Committee is a criminal offence, and an employer may be fined on summary conviction. All reservists are advised of this process on call out.
Typhoon
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what stability problems have been encountered on test flights of the Typhoon when flying with combat loads. [145644]
Mr. Ingram: No stability problems have been encountered to date on test flights of the Typhoon when flying with combat loads.
UK Sites (USA Occupation)
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the sites in the UK occupied by the US, giving in each case the (a) acreage and (b) purpose of occupation. [145147]
Mr. Caplin: The following table lists the sites made available to the United States Visiting Forces in the UK, together with their purpose of use and size in hectares.
5 Jan 2004 : Column 99W
| Site/Purpose of use | Hectares |
|---|---|
| Main Operating Bases | |
| RAF Lakenheath | 727.00 |
| RAF Mildenhall | 469.62 |
| Standby Deployment Base | |
| RAF Fairford | 470.64 |
| Storage/Support Facilities | |
| RAF Alconbury | 81.13 |
| RAF Church Fenton | Presence |
| RAF Daws Hill | 21.12 |
| Defence Estates Eastcote | 7.76 |
| Glasgow Docks | 0.10 |
| High Wycombe offices | Presence |
| RAF Hythe | 6.80 |
| Kennington Barracks | 0.11 |
| Marchwood Military Port | 1.93 |
| RAF Molesworth | 270.94 |
| RAF Spadeadam | Presence |
| RAF Upwood | 2.45 |
| RAF Welford | 300.16 |
| RAF West Ruislip | 13.96 |
| Communications Facilities | |
| RAF Barford St. John Comms. Site | 196.18 |
| RAF Barkway | 0.90 |
| Botley Hill Communications Site | Presence |
| RAF Bovingdon | 0.89 |
| DCSA Chelveston | 0.33 |
| RAF Christmas Common | 1.03 |
| RAF Cold Blow Lane | 0.14 |
| RAF Croughton | 278.95 |
| RAF Daventry | 0.70 |
| RAF Digby | Presence |
| Dunkirk Communications Site | Presence |
| RAF Feltwell | 129.48 |
| RAF Menwith Hill | 220.57 |
| DCSA Oakhangar | Presence |
| DCSA St. Eval | 6.09 |
| RAF St. Mawgan | 5.16 |
| Swingate Communications Site | 0.22 |
| RAF Uxbridge | Presence |
Those sites listed as "Presence" are where the US Visiting Forces have a small presence on site in certain buildings but do not have a measurable hectarage allocated to them.
In addition to the sites in the above table, the US Visiting Forces also have family quarters housing allocated to them, in a variety of locations in the UK.
Wind Turbines
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to include wind turbines in the site development plans for Portsdown West and Porton Down; and if he will make a statement. [142198]
Mr. Caplin: The site development for Portsdown West and Porton Down will provide the opportunity to improve the energy efficiency of its built environment and therefore the planning will consider the use of renewable energy sources, including wind turbines.
All development plans will be subject to statutory consultations and the approval of relevant stakeholders, including the local planning authority.
5 Jan 2004 : Column 100W
HOME DEPARTMENT
Art Acquisition
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department has spent on the acquisition of works of art in each year since 1997, broken down by amounts spent on (a) paintings and (b) sculpture; what the single most expensive piece of art purchased by his Department since 1997 has been; how much it cost; and what the total revenue raised by his Department through sales of its works of art has been since 1997. [142352]
Fiona Mactaggart: Since 1997 the Home Office has purchased seven paintings at a total cost of £525. These paintings were acquired for an office in Glasgow in August 2003 from a local visual arts company which specialises in developing projects for disabled adults and children, people with mental health problems, minority ethnic groups and homeless people. An art strategy is also being developed for the new Home Office in 2 Marsham Street. Part of the cost of this, which has not been finalised, will be met by the developer. No works of art have been sold since 1997.
Correspondence
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter to him dated 7 November from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Shamus-un-Nissa Kayani. [144635]
Mr. Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 12 December 2003.
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter to him dated 10 November from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. George Marneris. [144638]
Mr. Blunkett: I replied to the letter from my right hon. Friend on 12 December.
Crime Reduction Initiatives
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how much money has been invested, and how many retailers have benefited, (a) in Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East (b) in the north-east and (c) in total from the Capital Modernisation Fund to assist small retailers in deprived areas; [144746]
- (2) what plans there are to develop the Capital Modernisation Fund to assist small retailers in deprived areas; and if he will make a statement. [144747]
Ms Blears: Over the three years of the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas Initiative (2001–04) £120,000 has been provided to Middlesbrough Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership to improve the security and immediate environment of approximately 19 individual shops and essential businesses. £76,000 has been allocated to the Redcar and Cleveland Partnership helping 23 businesses. These two partnerships cover the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency.
5 Jan 2004 : Column 101W
A total of £1,241,018 has been provided to the North East region benefiting at least 1,319 shops.
This project has enabled £14.5 million to be allocated to projects in England and Wales, providing assistance to over 12,500 shops. Many more will have benefited indirectly from this funding. A small amount of the fund (£0.5 million) has been used for evaluation and running costs.
As part of the small retailers' scheme we are providing a national security training package for small businesses in crime prevention and reduction. The Association of Convenience Stores have been selected to run the scheme on behalf of the Home Office from December 2003 to March 2004. The training will target nearly 600 key people in local businesses nation-wide through 28 seminars. Seminars will be held in Middlesbrough on 20 January 2003 and in Redcar and Cleveland on 21 January 2003.
The SRDA initiative is a three year initiative which concludes at the end of March 2004. Financial provision for similar interventions to continue, if Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships wish, is made in the Building Safer Communities fund.
We will ensure that the successes of this initiative are disseminated widely and point to effective interventions which have been shown to have a beneficial impact on crime.
Criminal Cases Review Commission
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many applications for review of alleged wrongful conviction upon indictment have been received during each of the last eight years by the Criminal Cases Review Commission; and how many cases in each year have been (a) ruled ineligible, (b) investigated with a decision of not to refer where the decision-maker was (i) a case review manager, (ii) a single commissioner and (iii) a panel of three Commissioners and (c) investigated with a decision to refer; [141816]
- (2) how many applications for review of alleged wrongful conviction upon indictment have been received to date by the Criminal Cases Review Commission; how many (a) were ruled ineligible, (b) were completed with a decision not to refer and (c) were completed with a decision to refer; and how many applications in each case were from (i) unassisted applicants and (ii) legally assisted applicants. [141818]
Paul Goggins: The Commission's data systems have been developed over time and so full data are not available for all years. The Commission first received applications in 1997. In no case is a Case Review Manager the decision-maker. The most recent information on Committee decisions is that 97 per cent. of decisions not to refer were made by a single Commissioner and 3 per cent. were taken by a committee of three Commission members. Data on all applications is as follows and the most recent information on conviction types is that 92 per cent. of applications are for convictions on indictment.
5 Jan 2004 : Column 102W
| Applications | Ineligible | Decisionnot to refer | Decisionsto refer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 1,103 | 248 | 51 | 11 |
| 1998–99 | 1,037 | 222 | 239 | 31 |
| 1999–2000 | 777 | 298 | 681 | 36 |
| 2000–01 | 800 | 257 | 808 | 45 |
| 2001–02 | 834 | 272 | 892 | 38 |
| 2002–03 | 932 | 299 | 652 | 35 |
The Commission's data do not cover legal assistance for all years. The most recent information (30 September 2003) is that 41 per cent. of applications under review at Stage 2 screen (where eligible cases are examined to see whether they can be reviewed with modest caseworker effort) have legal representation and 59 per cent. of those at Stage 2 (where eligible cases requiring considerable caseworker effort are reviewed).
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints have been received by the Complaints Manager at the Criminal Cases Review Commission in each of the last eight years; and of those complaints how many were (a) resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant and (b) upheld. [141819]
Paul Goggins: The complaints received by the Commission and the number upheld are as follows:
| Complaints received | Upheld | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 11 | 7 |
| 1998–99 | 15 | 2 |
| 1999–2000 | 34 | 10 |
| 2000–01 | 63 | 14 |
| 2001–02 | 69 | 9 |
| 2002–03 | 76 | 11 |
| 2003 to 30 November 2003 | 39 | 4 |
Complainant satisfaction is difficult to measure but only 13 complaints in total have been taken to Stage 2 of the Commission's complaints procedure following adjudication. The Commission is to introduce a feedback process for complainants.
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