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12 May 2004 : Column 384W—continued

Unmade Roads

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs who owns the unmade road at the bottom of Gordon Avenue and Harold Street in Queenborough, Isle of Sheppey. [171384]

Mr. Lammy: Land Registry currently holds information on the ownership of almost 19.5 million registered titled in England and Wales. This information is routinely made available to everyone, on the payment of small fee.

Land Registry processed over four million such requests in 2002–03, over 99 per cent. of which were processed within two working days of receipt. Methods of application for land registration services, and the fees payable, are prescribed by statute and it would be inappropriate for these to be circumvented by a Parliamentary Question.

I have asked the Chief Land Registrar to write to my hon. Friend setting out the options for acquiring this information.

PRIME MINISTER

Advisers/Consultants

Bob Spink: To ask the Prime Minister how much his Office spent on (a) external consultants and (b) special advisers in each of the last three years. [172341]

The Prime Minister: For these purposes, my office is part of the Cabinet Office. For the cost of external consultants for 2001–02 and 2002–03, I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Alexander) gave to the hon.
 
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Member for North East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 22 March 2004, Official Report, column 561W. Final figures for 2003–04 are not yet available.

For special advisers, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 15 January 2004, Official Report, column 836W to 837W.

GEC

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the dates of meetings he held with representatives of GEC in (a) 1997, (b) 1998 and (c) 1999, broken down by subjects discussed. [173001]

The Prime Minister: I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals. As with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings under exemptions 2 and 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Iraq

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his statement of 19 April 2004, Official Report, column 21, on Iraq and the Middle East peace process, whether the employment of civilian (a) contractors and (b) interrogators in Abu Ghraib prison forms part of the political and military strategy in Iraq. [172052]

The Prime Minister: President Bush and I have both made clear, any abuse of human rights, torture or maltreatment of civilians in Iraq is wholly unacceptable and all cases will be investigated fully.

The employment of civilian contractors and interrogators in Abu Ghraib prison is a matter for the US authorities. As has been made clear, three UK military personnel worked in Abu Ghraib between January and April of this year to assist in the gathering of information important to the Coalition's aim of establishing stability in Iraq.

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has received from hon. Members, and when, concerning maltreatment of Iraqi detainees by US forces. [172663]

The Prime Minister: As far as I am aware, as at Monday 10 May I had received one letter from one hon. Member on 30 April 2004, to which I have replied. As at Monday 10 May I had also received four written Parliamentary Questions from my hon. Friend, the Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Ms Jackson).

President Bush and I have both made clear, any abuse of human rights, torture or maltreatment of civilians in Iraq is wholly unacceptable and all cases will be investigated fully.

Productivity

Bob Spink: To ask the Prime Minister what his policy is for (a) increasing the productivity and (b) cutting the costs of his Office. [172180]


 
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The Prime Minister: For these purposes, my office is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary on 10 May 2004. Official Report, column 148W to 149W.

NORTHERN IRELAND

All-terrain Vehicles

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to increase safety measures for the use of all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles; and if he will make a statement. [171766]

Angela Smith: There are no plans to increase safety measures for the use of all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles.

These vehicles are primarily intended for off-road use, particularly for agricultural/forestry purposes or leisure use. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides advice on the safe use of these vehicles, sometimes known as quad bikes or all-terrain cycles, for example on such issues as training, protective clothing and equipment, maintenance and safe driving methods. Free leaflets can be downloaded from the HSE website: www.hse.gov.uk.

The design and construction of these vehicles do not normally meet the requirements for unrestricted road use unless they are modified to comply with regulations on construction, use and lighting. Moreover, for such vehicles to be licensed for unrestricted road use they must also comply with the requirements of the EC Directive (92/61/EC) on type approval for motorcycles.

Drivers of these vehicles, when on a road, are required to hold an appropriate driving licence and have minimum third-party insurance.

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the buildings occupied by his departmental and agency staff which require (a) remedial work on and (b) removal of asbestos; what this work will cost; what budgets are available for this work for (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; and what budget is available for future asbestos surveys. [159652]

Mr. Pearson: The following buildings occupied by staff of the 11 departments of the Northern Ireland Administration and its agencies have been identified as requiring remedial work or removal of asbestos.


 
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There are no separate budgets for all asbestos-related remedial or removal work, costs are contained within the annual maintenance budgets. No specific budgets have been set aside for future asbestos surveys.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of buildings occupied by (a) staff of the Department and (b) staff of the Department's executive agencies have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos prior to the implementation of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002. [159660]

Mr. Pearson: Central Procurement Directorate (CPD) acting on behalf of Office estates and Building standards Division (OBD) of the Department of Finance and Personnel has surveyed 94 per cent. of the buildings within the office estate to identify the presence of asbestos.
 
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Of the specialised buildings under the control of the various Departments 91 per cent. have been surveyed for the presence of asbestos.

It has not been possible to distinguish between buildings occupied by staff of the Department and staff occupied by the Department's agencies.

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