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Suez Canal Zone Clasps
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Suez Canal Zone clasps have been awarded to people who served in the Zone with the Royal Signals; and whether applications for the clasps first submitted in November 2003 are being dealt with. [185613]
Mr. Caplin: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the answer I gave to the House on 19 July 2004, Official Report, columns 1–3, to my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen).
Tarik S. Mahmud
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Tarik S. Mahmud was (a) a prisoner of war and (b) a civilian arrested during combat. [179028]
Mr. Caplin: Tarik S. Mahmud was detained by the United Kingdom forces in April 2003. At the time of his detention it was not known whether he was a Prisoner of War or a security internee. In accordance with Article 5 of Geneva Convention III his status would have to be officially determined and recorded but he died before this could be undertaken.
Textile Contracts
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of departmental contracts over £250,000 for textile items went to (a) UK companies manufacturing (i) inside and (ii) outside the UK and (b) EU companies manufacturing in the EU in the latest year for which figures are available. [183780]
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Mr. Caplin: During the period of the last twelve months there have been 21 clothing contracts let over the value of £250,000. This breaks down as follows:
| (a) UK Manufacturer | 17 |
|---|---|
| of which: | |
| (i) Inside UK percentage | 68 |
| (ii) Outside UK percentage | 32 |
| (b) EU Manufacturer | 4 |
|---|---|
| of which: | |
| (i) Inside EU percentage | 17.5 |
| (ii) Outside EU percentage | 82.5 |
Theatre Missiles
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what theatre missile defence capacity UK forces (a) have available now and (b) plan to have available; and over what timescale. [185167]
Mr. Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 9 March 2004, Official Report, column 1403–04W. We expect to receive the report on the MOD's three year research programme into Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence soon. The UK is continuing to address the risks posed by ballistic missiles and to remain abreast of the technologies available to counter them. We are active members of the NATO Missile Defence Project Group which, with the encouragement of the Istanbul Summit discussions, is currently planning the first stages of work under the NATO Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence programme. Decisions on the extent of UK involvement in this important research have yet to be taken and release of the NATO Staff Requirement for this capability to NATO industries has just been agreed.
Timber (Sustainable Sources)
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what timbers will be used in the pre-fabricated barracks to be built at (a) Aldershot and (b) Salisbury Plain; and what steps will be taken to ensure that timber used at the barracks will come from (i) legal and (ii) sustainable sources. [184948]
Mr. Caplin: Although it is too early in the design development process to say what specific type of timbers will be used, any new buildings in Aldershot or Salisbury Plain constructed under the Allenby/Connaught Project will adhere to Sustainable Development principles and Environmental Management Systems. This will include assessment of accommodation in accordance with the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM).
Welsh Regiments
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to change the number of Welsh regiments; and if he will make a statement. [183265]
Mr. Caplin:
The Defence White Paper published last December established the policy context for shaping the future structure of our armed forces. For the Army, it outlined the vision of a more balanced force that is
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flexible, rapidly deployable and sustainable for the variety of operational tasks that we envisage it undertaking.
Against this policy guidance, we have been working through the detailed implications for the Army's force structure. We anticipate being in a position to make announcements about the conclusions of this work later in the year.
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Data Protection
Harry Cohen: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs when he expects the legislation on the offence concerning Enforced Subject Access in the Data Protection Act 1998 to come into force. [185959]
Mr. Leslie: Section 56 of the Data Protection Act 1998, which gives effect to the enforced subject access provisions, will be brought into force when the arrangements for the issue of certificates of criminal conviction under Part V of the Police Act 1997 are fully in place.
Harry Cohen: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what representations he has received from the European Commission on Directive 95/46/EC and the Data Protection Act 1998. [185961]
Mr. Leslie: The European Commission has completed its initial consideration of the way in which all Member States have implemented the Data Protection Directive. The Commission has communicated its views on the UK's implementation to the Government. These views are now being considered and will be the subject of further discussion with the Commission.
Asylum Appeals
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many of the appeals in asylum cases for which legal aid had been provided failed in each year since 1997; and for what reasons. [185610]
Mr. Lammy: Information on asylum appeal outcomes from 1997 is published in the Home Office annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom. Copies are available in the Library of the House. Information on asylum appeal outcomes since 2002 is published quarterly.
Before January 2000 public funding was not available for representation at immigration and asylum appeals. We are currently establishing systems to record how many of the applications funded by legal aid are successful. The reasons for the dismissal of an appeal are not recorded centrally.
Community Legal Service Budget
Mr. Djanogly:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much of the
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Community Legal Service budget for 2004–05 is designated to each area of activity, expressed (a) as a proportion and (b) in monetary value. [185944]
Mr. Leslie: The following table shows the amount, in resource terms, that the Community Legal Service has been designated by the Treasury for 2004–05, split by civil and immigration work.
| CLS Budget | Resource (£ million) | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Civil representation | 593.62 | 79.40 |
| Immigration | 153.62 | 20.60 |
| Total | 747.24 | 100.00 |
Data Sharing
Harry Cohen: To ask the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if he will publish a data-sharing bill; and how his data-sharing policy takes account of (a) the proposed identity card and (b) the population register being established by the Registrar General. [185962]
Mr. Leslie: The Government have no plans to publish a general data-sharing bill. The Government's overall approach to data sharing is set out in the document "Public Sector Data Sharing: Guidance on the Law", which was published by my Department in November 2003. The proposed identity card scheme and the Registrar General's proposals for a possible population register are fully compatible with the framework set out in that document.
Departmental Annual Report
Dr. Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many copies of the Department's and its predecessor Department's annual report were printed in each year since 1997; how many were sold in each year; and what the (a) publication costs and (b) sales revenue were. [183840]
Mr. Leslie: The information is set out in the table as follows. Costs of printing and publication are met directly by the publisher, TSO (The Stationery Office Limited) and do not fall to DCA. In return the Publisher retains the revenues which they earn from sales and which are aimed at ensuring recovery of their costs. The Department's Annual Report is also available on the Department's website free of charge at www.dca. gov.uk/department/report2004/dca2004.pdf. Web visits to the report since April 2004 number approximately 1,022.
(12) Cost for design, photography, typesetting and web conversion. Does not include cost to purchase copies from TSO.
(13) Not available from TSO.
(14) Commercial-in-confidence to TSO.
(15) Based on sales profile from previous years TSO expects to sell a further 100 copies in 2004.
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