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Employment Tribunals

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases against his Department, the agencies for which it is responsible and its predecessor organisations have been brought to employment tribunals in each year since 1997 in relation to (a) equal pay, (b) sex discrimination, (c) race discrimination, (d) disability discrimination and (e) unfair dismissal; how many cost awards were made against (i) respondents and (ii) applicants; and how much has been spent (A) settling and (B) contesting claims. [181476]

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested is not available and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

Energy Efficiency

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on energy efficiency in his Department's buildings. [185286]

Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office continues to improve the energy efficiency of its buildings. It is addressing the Government's target of increasing the energy efficiency on its estate in terms of kWh used per square metre of building floor area by 15 per cent. by 2010–11, relative to 1999–2000.

The Department actively improves the energy efficiency of its estate. A switch off campaign is currently in progress across the Central London and Croydon estates, which encourages staff to switch off lights and computer equipment when not in use. There is a contractual requirement to achieve energy consumption at least 10 per cent. below the targets in the Government's energy efficient best practice programme energy consumption guide at the Department's new headquarters building at 2 Marsham street. In September 2003, The Prison Service was re-accredited under the National Energy Foundation's scheme for energy efficiency.

Environmental Sustainability

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps he is taking to ensure that private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible create the minimum of environmental damage; [182214]

(2) what assessment his Department has made of (a) the sustainability of environmental impacts of private finance initiative projects and (b) the capacity of the PFI process to deliver environmentally sustainable projects; [182215]
 
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(3) what plans he has to make private finance initiative contracts more accountable and transparent in terms of environmental sustainability. [182216]

Fiona Mactaggart: Guidance for Departments on how to include environmental considerations within PFI and PPP projects is set out in Green Public Private Partnerships, issued in 2002. A memorandum of understanding, signed by the Home Office Green Minister and the Director General of the Prison Service, requires all new prisons (including those constructed under PFI) to introduce a sustainable development policy and to be managed in an environmentally sound way.

Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) certificates are obtained for major new buildings. The new Home Office in 2 Marsham Street received the BREEAM excellent level certification of its design in June 2004. Excellent is the highest category certification. Once operational it will be managed under an accredited environmental management system.

The Home Office is committed to the targets set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. The biodiversity, energy and waste sections of the framework require Departments to include clauses relating to sustainable development issues in relevant contracts, including PFIs. Future sections of the framework are likely to include similar provisions on other environmental issues.

From 1 April 2004 all Departments have been required to explicitly identify any significant environmental and social costs and benefits when carrying out a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). This will cover RIAs carried out on new PFI/PPP projects.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what parts of his Department's estate will not be covered by the commitments set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. [182222]

Fiona Mactaggart: As set out in the departmental website statement of September 2002 the sites not covered by the commitments set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate are those where one of the following apply: (a) the Department is not the major occupier, (b) the floor area of the site is less than 1,000 sq m or (c) the site has less than 50 staff.

This accounts for some, 150 office sites in the main Home Office, some 850 probation office sites, approximately 10 non-operational Prison Service establishments or premises and one UK Passport Agency site.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken by his Department to review arrangements for public reporting for sustainable development impacts. [182223]

Fiona Mactaggart: The Department has developed a series of departmental sustainable development indicators, which monitor and record progress. These are published on the Home Office website and can be found at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs2/susdevindicators.html. The Home Office also reports sustainable development
 
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progress in the Home Office annual report and through the annual Sustainable Development in Government reports. Prison Service progress is covered by its own dedicated sustainable development report.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes there have been in (a) road transport vehicle carbon dioxide emissions and (b) single occupancy car commuting from his Department against the baseline year in the framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. [182224]

Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office collected baseline data for business mileage in 2002–03 which showed that staff travelled 12,908,999 miles. Data for 2003–04 has not been collated yet. In an effort to reduce business mileage the Home Office has committed to:

Review current levels of mileage payment

The policy relating to payment of mileage claims

The scope for providing incentives for use of alternatively fuelled vehicles

Promote the use of video-conferencing facilities

Collect baseline data on the use of hire cars with a view to reducing their use

A survey undertaken in 2003 showed that there were 27,146 car park spaces at Home Office sites. These included 21,158 spaces held for the Prison Service, some 3,033 held for the Immigration Service and 1,934 for the Probation Service. The Department is committed to making reasonable efforts to reduce the number of spaces.

External Consultants

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the external consultants which have carried out work for his Department under contracts in the last three years. [181500]

Fiona Mactaggart: The use of external consultants throughout the Home Office provides the Department with specialist knowledge, skills, capacity and technical expertise that is otherwise not available in house. This enables all units and organisations within the Department to achieve the levels of service required by the Home Office and the Government and assists in obtaining value for money.

The main external consultants which have carried out work for the Home Office under contracts in the last three years are in a list, which will be sent to the Library.

Financial Systems (Security)

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of (a) cyber attack and (b) misuse of the data and information systems of UK based banks and financial services companies he estimates there were in each year since 1997. [185164]

Caroline Flint: Reports of the unauthorised access to information systems and possible offences which might arise from the misuse or modification of data, are made to local police forces. There are no centrally aggregated figures of these reports.
 
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Firearms Amnesty

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many of the firearms handed in during the amnesty of 2003 were (a) replica weapons, (b) antique or obsolete weapons, (c) toy guns, (d) blank firing airguns and (e) other types of firearms; [185400]

(2) how many firearms handed in during the amnesty of 2003 did not need a certificate for possession; [185401]

(3) whether people who handed in firearms during the 2003 amnesty that did not need a certificate were advised that they could lawfully keep them. [185402]

Caroline Flint: A detailed breakdown of the number and type of guns handed into the police was placed in the Library on 15 July 2003. These figures show that a total of 43,908 guns were handed in, including 13,974 air weapons and 9,480 imitations. It is not possible to break down these figures further into the categories requested.

The primary purpose of the amnesty was to enable people to surrender illegally held guns and ammunition. Given the stricter laws which were being introduced in relation to the possession of air weapons and imitation firearms in a public place without reasonable excuse, it also provided an opportunity for young people, and others, to hand in guns which, while not illegal, were perhaps being held for criminal or anti-social purposes, or were no longer wanted. It was for individual forces to determine the procedures to be adopted for the surrender of all such items.

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