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Post Mortems

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of deaths in UK hospitals were followed by post mortems in each of the last 10 years. [166851]

Paul Goggins: Figures on place of death are collected at death registration. Most post mortems are ordered by coroners but a small proportion (about three per cent. all post mortems in England and Wales) are ordered by doctors. Information on post mortems carried out at the request of doctors is not collected at death registration in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In England and Wales information collected at death registration on post mortems ordered by doctors has been of variable quality during the last ten years. The impact on overall proportions of deaths with a post mortem will be small. The table as follows provides the best available estimate of the proportion of deaths in UK hospitals which were followed by a post mortem.
Number of deaths in hospitals⁽³²⁾ and the percentage which were followed by a post mortem examination⁽³³⁾, United Kingdom, 1993 to 2002 3

	Number of deaths in hospitals	Percentage of deaths in hospitals which were followed by a post mortem examination
1993	343,038	18.6
1994	325,574	18.0
1995	338,978	17.1
1996	338,036	17.3
1997	333,360	18.4
1998	335,669	18.3
1999	338,816	18.4
2000	333,164	19.3
2001	333,228	18.2
2002	340,294	17.3

⁽³²⁾ Number of deaths which occurred in general and psychiatric hospitals in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
⁽³³⁾ Figures for England and Wales include all deaths which occurred in hospital where a post mortem was ordered by either a doctor or a coroner. Figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland include deaths which occurred in hospital where the post mortem was ordered by a procurator fiscal or coroner, figures for post mortems ordered by doctors are not available.
⁽³⁴⁾ Data are for deaths occurring per calendar year for England and Wales, and deaths registered per calendar year for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Source:
Office for National Statistics, General Register Office Scotland, and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.

Active Communities Directorate

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department ensures that staff and volunteers in organisations which receive grants from (a) the Active Communities Directorate, (b) the Charities Unit and (c) the Civil Renewal Unit, where
 
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those organisations work with children, are subject to Criminal Record checks; and whether grants are conditional on such checks being completed. [182006]

Fiona Mactaggart: Obtaining Criminal Record checks for staff and volunteers is not a universal condition of all grants made by the Active Communities Directorate. Such checks are routinely carried out in the small number of organisations we currently fund that work with children.

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list organisations that have received grants from (a) the Active Communities Directorate, (b) the Charities Unit and (c) the Civil Renewal Unit in each year since their inception; and what the value was of each grant received; [182007]

(2) if he will place in the Library a list of organisations which have received grants from (a) the Active Communities Directorate, (b) the Charities Unit and (c) the Civil Renewal Unit in each of the last two years, including (i) the level of grant, (ii) the specific project for which the organisation received funding and (iii) the results of any evaluation of the projects which have received funding. [182008]

Fiona Mactaggart: Last year, the work of the Active Community Unit was expanded to incorporate a Charities Unit and a Civil Renewal Unit in a new Active Communities Directorate.

A list of organisations and the amounts of grant they received from the Active Communities Directorate, including the Civil Renewal Unit, since their inception, has been placed in the Library. The Charities Unit made no grants.

For details on grants made by the former Active Community Unit, I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given on 6 May 2004, Official Report, column 562W.

Widows and Widowers

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many widows or widowers waited for (a) an inquest and (b) for the registrar's form to be sent after the inquest in each year from 1997 to 2002, broken down by periods of three months. [146042]

Paul Goggins: Unfortunately the information requested is not held centrally.

Work Permits

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits were issued in 2003. [183103]

Mr. Browne: 145,351 work permits were issued in the calendar year 2003, of which 73,866 were permissions given to foreign nationals already in the UK in another capacity.

Over 25,000 applications for work permits were refused in the same period.
 
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Yarl's Wood

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the inquiry into the fire at Yarl's Wood to be (a) completed and (b) published. [181817]

Mr. Browne: We expect Stephen Shaw's inquiry into the events at Yarl's Wood on 14–15 February 2002 to be completed this summer. We will wish to consider the reports findings very carefully, but I can give assurance that we will arrange for it to be published as soon as possible following its receipt.

DEFENCE

Chemical and Biological Weapons

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to his answer of 28 June 2004, Official Report, column 138W, whether the UK Government and US Administration have concluded that, in the light of circumstances prevailing at this time, the US should base chemical and biological counter-weapon materials on UK territory; [182856]

(2) pursuant to his answer of 28 June 2004, Official Report, column 150W, whether the UK Government and US Administration have concluded, in the light of circumstances prevailing at this time, that US aircraft armed with nuclear weapons may use UK airspace. [182857]

Mr. Hoon: I am withholding this information under Exemption 1 (Defence, security and international relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Research and Development

Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what civil projects have benefited from his Department's research and development support for science, engineering and technology since 1997. [182014]

Mr. Ingram: Through the Defence Industrial Policy, the Ministry of Defence is committed to co-sponsoring science and technology research that may bring benefits to both civil and defence applications. MOD has also developed new procurement processes and commercial conditions to enable fuller exploitation of the technology development it funds, both for Defence and in the civil sector.

There is a multitude of ways in which civil projects have benefited from MOD's support for science, engineering and technology since 1997. These include direct funding, access to research and access to MOD's extensive research facilities. MOD also works closely with the DTI in co-funding aerospace projects with the DTI Civil Aerospace and Demonstration Programme, and with DTI and the Research Councils through the setting up of Defence and Aerospace Research Partnerships.

There are many specific examples of the civil sector benefiting from MOD's research and development support, including the use of advanced composite materials by Airbus in the new A380, QinetiQ's
 
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development of a medical system to aid cancer treatment, and the licensed transfer of military aircrew helmet materials technology for use by a Cornish company that manufactures marine safety helmets.

A large number of companies have been assisted by the Defence Diversification Agency, to varying degrees.

Eurofighter Typhoon

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions (a) he, (b) ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have met (i) members of the Saudi Arabian (A) Government and (B) Royal family and (ii) representatives of BAE Systems to discuss the possibility of selling Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft ordered for the Royal Air Force to Saudi Arabia; where and when these meetings took place; and if he will make a statement. [181850]

Mr. Ingram: The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) has a long-standing interest in developments in Royal Air Force operational doctrine, aircraft and weapons systems, and officials from both countries frequently discuss such developments. These discussions have included the role and performance of Eurofighter Typhoon. This interest on the part of the RSAF in Typhoon has also been discussed at a range of meetings between MOD officials and BAE Systems representatives. Information on the dates and locations of such meetings is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Defence Ministers have held no such discussions with the Saudi Arabian Government or Royal Family, or with representatives of BAE Systems.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2004, Official Report, columns 1346–7W, on Eurofighter, what stage discussions regarding the possibility of selling Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft ordered for the Royal Air Force to other countries without their first being delivered to the RAF have reached; whether these Typhoon aircraft would come from (a) Tranche 1 and (b) Tranche 2 of production for the RAF; whether discussions have taken place with (i) Singapore, (ii) Saudi Arabia, (iii) Austria, (iv) South Korea and (v) Switzerland; and if he will make a statement. [181954]

Mr. Ingram: As indicated by my earlier reply, RAF delivery schedules for Typhoon might be adjusted in order to provide for export of the aircraft. Any such adjustment would take into account the needs of the RAF as well as the benefits of export orders and would have to be made in agreement with our international partners. As part of our normal support for defence exports, we have had discussions with a number of countries regarding Typhoon. The details of these discussions are sensitive and I am withholding the information under Section 1b of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. Austria has already signed an order for 18 Typhoon, which industry in the United Kingdom and in our partner nations are working together to fulfil. Announcements will be made as and when further export orders are confirmed.
 
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