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25 Mar 2004 : Column 1001W—continued

Ministerial Travel

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she last used a train in connection with her ministerial duties. [155159]

Margaret Beckett: I last used a train on Friday 30 January 2004 to travel to Manchester to officially open the Manchester Airport Ground Transport Interchange.

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National Farmers Union

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she last met the National Farmers Union Young Farmers Club; and whether (a) dairy and (b) beef prices were discussed. [156109]

Margaret Beckett: I have not held a formal meeting with the National Farmers Union Young Farmers Club.

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Renewable Energy

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary a of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on recent trends in investment in renewable energy and the effect of those trends upon residents of Crosby. [160570]

Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.

Recent trends in renewable energy investment have been highly encouraging. More new capacity has been constructed in the last few years than in the previous decade, and a significant amount is currently in the pipeline. This covers a wide range of technologies including onshore and offshore wind, solar and biomass.

While this investment has not translated into capacity within Crosby itself there are several wind farm developments, both constructed and proposed, in the surrounding area. The first of these is the 3.6 MW 6 turbine wind farm at Seaforth Docks. It was constructed in 1999 and is roughly three miles from Crosby. The second is the North Hoyle offshore wind farm, which is located around 20–25 miles from Crosby and was opened in November 2003.

There are also two proposed developments for offshore wind farms relatively near to Crosby. The first of these is the 30 turbine Burbo Bank offshore wind farm, it is due to being constructed in 2005 and will be situated around 5–6 miles out to sea from Crosby.

The second is the Gwynt-y-Mor site, which has been awarded a licence under round two of the offshore wind programme and would be located around 15–20 miles from Crosby. The award of a site licence option is only the first step in the development of this wind farm, however, it is hoped that it will be completed by 2010.

Severely Disadvantaged Areas

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what alternative schemes for farm payments she has considered for severely disadvantaged areas. [161537]

Alun Michael: The CAP agreement provided member states with a number of methods for paying the single farm payment including historic, flat rate and hybrid options. Defra will publish shortly an analysis of the economic impact on the English farming industry of these various broad models, including the decision to allocate entitlement on the basis set out in my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's, statement to the House on 12 February.

Strategic Plant Breeding

Dr. Strang: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the strategic plant breeding research activities that have been supported by her Department in the last 10 years; and what the (a) location and (b) amount of support provided by her Department for each project was in each year of the project's existence. [161990]

Mr. Bradshaw: A table showing Defra's plant breeding research projects since the formation of the Department have been placed in the Library of the

25 Mar 2004 : Column 1004W

House. Details of the research providers, and their funding in each year are provided. A full list of the relevant MAFF research projects from 1994 to 2001 can be provided if required.

Defra's current research underpinning crop breeding is informed by an external assessment of the role of publicly funded plant breeding research. The project entitled 'The Role of Future Public Research' investment in the Genetic Improvement of UK Grown Crops was completed in September 2002. The assessment provides a strong rationale for public investment in plant breeding research to support sustainable development in farming and has informed the Defra Science and Innovation Strategy. It has been widely distributed within the research and plant breeding community, and is available on the Defra website.

Defra's current portfolio centres around the use of public research funds to revitalise public-good plant breeding through partnerships between plant breeders and the research base.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Supreme Court

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the estimated start-up costs are of the new UK Supreme Court; what the estimated running costs are per annum for the first five years of existence of the new UK Supreme Court; and which UK Government department will be responsible for meeting those costs. [162328]

Mr. Leslie: The cost of establishing the Supreme Court has been estimated for a number of potential building solutions. For those requiring capital investment, the set up costs have been estimated as being between £6 million and £32 million.

The estimated annual building running costs range from £1.6 million to £6.5 million. The other operational costs will be in the region of £4.3 million, made up of £3.2 million salaries (including £2.1 million judicial salaries), plus £1.1 million administrative running costs.

The costs of the UK Supreme Court will be met through fees and through resources provided by the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Carter Report

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the (a) future training needs, (b) career development and (c) qualifications for members of the Probation Service following the publication of the Carter Report. [155618]

Paul Goggins: The structure of the National Offender Management Service is yet to be finalised and the Probation Service will continue to function as it is for the moment. Any future changes to training and career development practices will be subject to the usual consultation arrangement with staff and unions.

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Bichard Inquiry

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of the Bichard inquiry; and what costs have been incurred by public bodies which have been required to be represented to date. [162702]

Ms Blears: Costs are estimated in the region of £2 million.

Costs incurred by other bodies are not known.

Care Homes

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many existing care home staff had enhanced level Criminal Records Bureau checks processed by 31 December 2003; what percentage this constitutes of the total number of existing care home staff; and if he will make a statement. [161936]

Ms Blears: As at 31 December 2003, the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) had completed 39,943 Enhanced Disclosure checks and 2,477 Standard Disclosure checks on existing care home staff. There are no figures to indicate what percentage of staff this represents.

In September 2003, the Department of Health issued its schedule to employers and owners in the care sector on the reintroduction of the previously postponed checks on existing care home staff. Initially, employers were asked to send application forms to the CRB by 31 December 2003. Following discussion between the Home Office and the Department of Health, this date was extended to 29 February 2004.

Crime Reporting

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many minor crimes have been reported using the online facility since its introduction. [162810]

Ms Blears: Online minor crime reports from the public have been fed to Police Services via the Police Portal (www.police.uk) since May 2001. Each must be responded to within two working days, though outcomes cannot be differentiated from normal crime figures. The Police Information Technology Organisation tallies the number of online minor crime reports. Incomplete reports trigger referral to other contacts, for example to 999 for emergencies or to a force's own website.

The following table details yearly online minor crime reports and referrals through the Police Portal since its inception:

	Minor crime reports	Referrals
2004 (January to February)	2,318	2,093
2003	14,982	11,461
2002	13,774	9,000
2001 (May to December)	2,009	2,241

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Firearms

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) fatalities other than suicides and (b) injuries, were caused by single shot target pistols in each year from 1986 to 1996. [163011]

Caroline Flint: The requested information is not available centrally.

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