27 Jan 2004 : Column 243W
Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 27 January 2004
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Domestic Violence
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases the Crown Prosecution Service has prosecuted on Merseyside that concern domestic violence which have been pursued by the police as primary complainant without the corroboration of the individual assaulted. [150145]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service does not routinely collect data that show the nature of the evidence on which a domestic violence case proceeds. CPS Policy Directorate is currently analysing the results of a national snapshot survey of cases finalised in December 2003. This will provide some information about the point raised by the hon. Member with regard to cases finalised in December 2003. Until CPS case-tracking systems are fully computerised, the detailed information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Serious Fraud Office
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Solicitor-General what the overall conviction rate for cases pursued by the Serious Fraud Office was in 2003. [150062]
The Solicitor-General: The Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) statistical information is recorded by financial year (5 April to 4 April). Since 5 April 2003, the SFO has convicted 19 out of 29 defendants, a conviction rate of 66 per cent. The conviction rate since the inception of the SFO in April 1988 is 70 per cent. (403 convictions from 575 defendants).
TRANSPORT
Cycle Lanes
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he has issued to local authorities in respect of the width of cycle lanes; and if he will make a statement. [149535]
Mr. Jamieson: Advice on the recommended widths of cycle lanes is contained in "Cycle Friendly Infrastructure", published in 1996 by the then Department of Transport in conjunction with the Institution of Highways and Transportation and others.
Speed Cameras
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 6 January 2004, Official Report, column 216W, on speed cameras, how
27 Jan 2004 : Column 244W
much money was raised in fines by the Essex Safety Camera Partnership for each of the five years prior to 2001–02. [147572]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 13 January 2004]: The amount raised in fines detected by speed cameras within the area covered by Essex Safety Camera Partnership between 1997 and 2001 was as follows:
| Court proceedings | Fixed penalties | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of fines | Total amount (£) | Average fine (£)(3) | Number of tickets(4) | Estimated revenue (£)(5) | |
| 1997 | 880 | 93,900 | 107 | 18,800 | 753,700 |
| 1998 | 1,700 | 227,400 | 134 | 8,700 | 346,600 |
| 1999 | 2,100 | 357,400 | 169 | 19,800 | 791,400 |
| 2000 | 2,800 | 317,800 | 115 | 46,300 | 2,007,200 |
| 2001 | 6,500 | 651,200 | 101 | 81,900 | 4,911,100 |
(1) Automatic cameras until 1998. All camera types from 1999.
(2) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and The Motorway Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways Regulations 1973).
(3) Includes fines imposed by courts (cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court).
(4) Paid i.e. no further action.
(5) Estimate based on £40 fixed penalty charge to October 2000. From November 2000, the fixed penalty was raised to £60.
DEFENCE
Aircraft Carriers
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will meet the March deadline for awarding the full-production contract for the CVF. [147280]
Mr. Ingram: The Future Carrier (CVF) programme is currently in Stage 3 of the Assessment Phase, which is due to continue until spring 2004. It is our intention that, at this point, Ministers will consider proposals on the overall CVF programme, and make a decision on when to proceed to the Demonstration and Manufacture Phases of the carriers. The target in-service dates for the carriers remain 2012 and 2015.
Airfield Support Service Project
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what part of his Department's budget the equipment and services to be provided under the Airfield Support Service Project will come from; and what the cost will be. [149058]
Mr. Ingram: The estimated cost of the Project is some £1.2 billion over 15 years. It will be funded from within the budgets of the stakeholders involved in the project.
Body Armour
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sets of body armour have been issued by the Army since 1989; to which units they have been issued, and in what quantities; how many men served in each of those units; and if he will make a statement. [149655]
27 Jan 2004 : Column 245W
Mr. Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Foreign Defence Equipment
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many foreign aircraft, and of what makes and type, have been hired by his Department in each of the last five years. [150408]
Mr. Ingram: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Future Rapid Effects Project
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to announce the name of the company selected to undertake the assessment phase of the Future Rapid Effects System project; how much has been allocated to fund the assessment; and when FRES is due to enter service with the Army. [149564]
Mr. Ingram: I hope to be in a position to make announcements on the way ahead for the FRES programme shortly. We are planning on early variants of the system being introduced into service around the end of the decade.
Reservists
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many man training days were available to reserve forces in each of the last five years. [R] [149407]
Mr. Caplin [holding answer 26 January 2004]: The number of man training days available to the volunteer reserves varies by Service, category of reserve, unit role, level of readiness, and individual trade or specialism. In each of the last five years all volunteer reservists have had enough man training days available to qualify for bounty.
Sea King Helicopters
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Royal Navy Sea King helicopters engaged in military action in the Gulf in March 2003 were supplied with (a) night vision equipment and (b) night flying aids. [150991]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 26 January 2004]: Night Vision Goggles (NVG) can be operated only in aircraft that have been specifically modified for this role. Naval helicopters are fitted to allow operation with NVG according to their tactical role in operations. Of the 20 Royal Navy Sea King helicopters deployed to the Gulf, the 10 amphibious assault helicopters were fitted with NVG, as their operational role required.
Aircrews are fully trained to fly at night without NVG under normal operating procedures. Safety is provided by a variety of other aids and by individual action. These include: operating procedures such as, air traffic control, awareness of hazards through radar detection, communications, lighting and lookout.
Service Personnel (Osteoporosis)
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the incidence of
27 Jan 2004 : Column 246W
osteoporosis in British Service personnel and military medical auxiliaries who served in (a) the 1991 Gulf War and (b) the invasion of Iraq in Operation Telic in 2003. [149606]
Mr. Caplin: The Ministry of Defence has no centralised system for monitoring and recording the health status of Service and ex-Service personnel. However, over 3,220 veterans of the 1990–91 Gulf Conflict have been seen at the Gulf Veterans' Medical Assessment Programme (GVMAP) to date. At the time they were seen, none had been diagnosed with osteoporosis. There are currently no data relating to the incidence of osteoporosis in those who served in Operation Telic.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Bovine TB
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what liaison takes place between English Nature and her Department in relation to the potential disease status of badgers targeted for removal and relocation. [150580]
Mr. Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer on 6 January 2004, Official Report, column 249W, and on 20 January 2004, Official Report, column 1186W.
The Department's Veterinary Endemic Diseases and Zoonoses Division (VEDZD) advise the badger licensing authorities in Defra's Rural Development Service and in English Nature, on potential bovine tuberculosis disease transmission risks associated with badger relocations. No licence is issued without first seeking advice from VEDZD.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the status is of (a) the Independent Science Group and (b) the TB Forum in relation to the control of TB; what requirement there is for her to (i) abide by and (ii) consider the advice of these organisations; and whether these organisations can veto proposals made by her Department. [150543]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB is an advisory NDPB. Its primary objective is to oversee the design and analysis of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial. Its complete Terms of Reference can be accessed on the Defra website.
The TB Forum aims to bring together experts and organisations with an interest in the Government's policy on bovine TB, to consider new measures which might be taken to control the disease in cattle.
Ministers consider carefully the advice of these bodies in formulating policy. However, there is no requirement for Ministers or the Department to abide by their advice, nor do these bodies have any formal power to veto departmental proposals.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report,
27 Jan 2004 : Column 247W
column 217W, how many closed herds where disease prevention measures have been judged by her officials to be adequate have suffered TB breakdowns in the last 10 years. [150551]
Mr. Bradshaw: Defra does not keep a record of which herds are closed and definitions of a 'closed' herd vary. Defra keeps a record of cattle births and deaths, and their movements from known locations in England, Scotland and Wales. Were a 'closed' herd to be very strictly defined, it would be possible to identify closed herds from records of holdings that only register births and deaths, but have no animal movements on. However, this could be done only at disproportionate cost.
A survey of TB breakdowns (known as 'TB99') is under way and is designed to assess potential risk factors that may predispose herds to TB outbreaks.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 December, Official Report, columns 629–30W, on bovine TB, if she will take steps to compensate herd owners for uninsurable consequential losses arising from the TB infection, where there is clear evidence of no culpability. [150846]
Mr. Bradshaw: There are no plans to compensate farmers for consequential losses after a TB breakdown.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |