10 May 2004 : Column 1W
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 10 May 2004
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Bribery
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2004, Official Report, column 613W, on bribery, from which countries the request for mutual legal assistance to the Serious Fraud Office came where there was a suspicion of corruption offences involving a UK citizen or company. [168656]
The Solicitor-General: The request for mutual legal assistance referred to in this question came from the USA.
Harassment
Bob Spink: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will issue guidance to the police and Crown Prosecution Service on the issuing of first stage warnings under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. [170016]
The Solicitor-General: The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 has been in force since June 1997. Guidance regarding the scope of this Act has been issued to all the criminal justice agencies, including the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, by way of Home Office Circulars 34/1997 and 28/2001. In addition, further guidance on the Act is provided to Crown prosecutors via the CPS Legal Guidance which can be accessed electronically through the Crown Prosecution Service's website.
The issue of warnings is a matter for the police rather than the Crown Prosecution Service. There is no obligation on the police to provide warnings before an arrest under this Act. However, guidance on the issuing of warnings in suitable cases was provided in the Home Office commissioned paper "Stalking and other forms of harassment—An investigators guide" published in 2001.
Iraq
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Solicitor-General what assessment she has made of whether prosecutions can be brought against those United Kingdom citizens whose names appear on the list of non-Iraqis who are alleged to have benefited from the United Nations oil for food programme for Iraq. [170743]
The Solicitor-General:
To date the Crown Prosecution Service has not received a file from the police nor been consulted regarding matters relating to recent allegations concerning the United Nations oil for food programme in Iraq.
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If a file or request for advice is received it will be considered against the relevant law and the tests set down in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
LEADER OF THE HOUSE
Advisers/Consultants
Bob Spink: To ask the Leader of the House how much his Office spent on external consultants and advisers in each of the last three years. [171873]
Mr. Woolas: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons was established in June 2003 and since then has spent £38,514.67 on external consultants and advisers. This expenditure was required for the development and hosting of the Office website (www.commonsleader.gov.uk).
Parliamentary Questions
John Thurso: To ask the Leader of the House (1) how many (a) Ordinary Written and (b) Named Day Questions his office received in (i) the 2002–03 and (ii) this parliamentary session up to the most recent date for which figures are available, broken down by month; [170770]
(2) what proportion of (a) Ordinary Written Questions to his office were answered within five sitting days of tabling and (b) Questions for a Named Day received a substantive answer on that day in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) the current parliamentary session up to the most recent date for which figures are available, broken down by month. [170771]
Mr. Hain: Ministers have an obligation to parliament to ensure that Members receive a substantive response to their named day question on the named day and to endeavour to answer an ordinary written question within a working week of it being tabled.
Ministers and their Departments should also make every effort to ensure that the live load of questions still awaiting a substantive reply should be kept to a minimum at all times.
During the 2002–03 session my office received 91 Ordinary Written and 46 Named Day Questions, of which 88 per cent. and 96 per cent. respectively were answered within the above targets.
So far this session my office has received 44 Ordinary Written and 19 Named Day Questions, of which 84 per cent. and 100 per cent. respectively were answered within the above targets.
The breakdown per month and the proportion of Questions answered are shown in the following tables:
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| 2003–04 | Ordinary Written | Percentage answered within five sitting days | Named Day(1) | Percentage answered on Named Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | 5 | 80 | 0 | — |
| December | 2 | 100 | 5 | 100 |
| January | 2 | 100 | 3 | 100 |
| February | 12 | 83 | 4 | 100 |
| March | 19 | 42 | 3 | 100 |
| April | 4 | 100 | 4 | 100 |
(1) Named Day figures include Questions not answered orally.
Productivity
Bob Spink: To ask the Leader of the House what his policy is for (a) increasing the productivity and (b) cutting the costs of his Office. [172192]
Mr. Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the reply being given today by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
My Office does, however, constantly look to achieve efficiency savings.
CABINET OFFICE
Contingency Planning
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the formula used to calculate the civil defence grants include a weight towards coastal councils to mitigate for potential terrorist attack by sea. [170057]
Mr. Alexander: The formula used for the allocation of Civil Defence Grant starts with a flat-rate component that gives each of the 179 eligible local authorities £53,000. For shire counties carrying out emergency planning on behalf of their districts, an additional £12,000 per district is allocated. The remainder of the overall sum (approximately 35 per cent.) is distributed according to each authority's Bellwin threshold.
The formula does not recognise particular risks as the Grant represents a contribution to local authority emergency planning, sufficient to provide a core service. The formula was introduced following the Civil Defence (Grant) Act 2002, and after negotiations with the Local Government Association on its detail.
The Government separately commits substantial sums to counter terrorist activity by departments and front line responders such as the police.
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Departmental Procurement
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what percentage of the (a) crockery, (b) cutlery and (c) glassware procured by his Department over the last five years is of British manufacture. [170793]
Mr. Alexander: The information is not held centrally.
The Cabinet Office bases all procurement decisions on value for money considerations and information on nationality of companies is recorded only for contracts subject to EU advertising procedures.
EU Directives
Mr. Alan Duncan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the EU directives since May 1997 which have been incorporated into UK law by Parliament; and which items of UK legislation so incorporating an EU directive have subsequently been (a) revised and (b) repealed. [171163]
Mr. Alexander [holding answer 5 May 2004]: The information requested is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
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