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8 Sept 2004 : Column 1267W—continued
Police Animals
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) dogs and (b) horses are employed by each police force, broken down by species. [187219]
Ms Blears: There are 305 horses used by the police in England and Wales and 33 in Scotland.
In England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, including the UKAEAC (UK Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary) there are approximately 2,200 dogs used by the police. These are predominately German Shepherd dogs. There are also Malinois (similar to a German Shepherd, but a little smaller, and a handful of Rottweilers. These are generally used for General Purpose and Non-Compliant Attack Dogs. The dogs that are used in connection with scent detection are generally Springer Spaniels and Labradors.
Police Authorities
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next plans to meet with the heads of police authorities in the UK; and what he plans to discuss. [186819]
Ms Blears: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and I have frequent bilaterals with the Chairman of the Association of Police Authorities, as well as meeting individual chairs rather than heads of individual police authorities, and the discussions cover a very wide range of policing and crime reduction issues.
Security Vetting
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment will be made of vetting arrangements in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Scotland in taking forward recommendations arising from the Bichard Inquiry. [186645]
Ms Blears: Representatives from the Northern Ireland Office and the Scottish Executive sit on the Bichard Implementation Programme Board and Working Groups, taking forward the programme to implement the Bichard Report's 31 recommendations.
The work to enhance vetting procedures in the light of Sir Michael's recommendations will be considered by the Programme Board in the light of the full range of requirements, including those appertaining to Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps will be taken to include relevant organisations and bodies in Northern Ireland in taking forward recommendations arising from the Bichard Inquiry, with particular reference to the Police Service of Northern Ireland. [186646]
Ms Blears:
The Bichard Implementation Programme Board will oversee the work to implement all 31 of the Bichard report's recommendations. The President of the Association of Chief Police Officers has accepted an invitation to sit on the Board, convened by the Home Office as co-ordinating Department, and to liaise with Police Service of Northern Ireland on emerging issues and outcomes.
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Representatives from the Northern Ireland Office participate in the Programme Board and its feeder Working Groups. This provides a firm link into issues which are specific to Northern Ireland and a connection to other relevant organisations.
Special Constables (Northampton)
Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables there are in Northampton; and how many there were in (a) 2001 and (b) 1997. [186518]
Ms Blears: Figures for the total number of special constables in Northamptonshire police force are contained in the annually published police service strength figures. The latest are contained in Home Office Statistical Bulletin 11/03 and are for the year ending 31 March 2003. They are shown, together with figures for 1997 and 2001. Figures for March 2004 will be published later this year.
| Number of special constables | |
|---|---|
| March 2003 | 189 |
| March 2001 | 188 |
| March 1997 | 316 |
There are no separate statistics published for the number of special constables in Basic Command Units.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Belarus
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on democracy in Belarus. [186748]
Mr. MacShane: Belarus' record on human rights and democratisation is poor. In the past year numerous independent newspapers, NGOs and opposition parties have faced increased harassment, giving rise to concerns that the Belarusian Government is waging a campaign to stamp out any criticism prior to parliamentary elections in October.
The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has condemned previous elections in Belarus for failing to meet OSCE commitments for democratic elections. The Belarusian authorities have so far refused to amend unsatisfactory electoral legislation. EU Heads of Missions in Minsk have already conveyed our concerns to the Belarusian Government. We welcome the recent invitation from the Government of Belarus to ODIHR to send an Election Observation Mission. The UK plans to contribute 10 per cent. of the short and long-term observers as well as the Head and Deputy Head of the mission.
Cyprus
Mr. Love:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Tooting (Tom Cox) of 14 July
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2004, Official Report, column 1184W, on Cyprus, what matters he discussed with members of the Government of Cyprus relating to the outcome of the referenda held earlier this year. [186988]
Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend and I have discussed with the Government of the Republic of Cyprus a variety of issues relating to the outcome of the referenda held earlier this year. These have focused on the future of the island, particularly now that Cyprus has joined the EU; and on how the EU might deliver on its commitment of 26 April to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots.
EU Enlargement
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the effect of EU enlargement upon the UK-EU relationship. [186647]
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Mr. MacShane: Enlargement is one of the EU's greatest policy successes, spreading peace, prosperity and stability across the continent. This Government have consistently championed EU enlargement, demonstrating the constructive role we play at the heart of the EU. We will continue to work closely with all our EU partners, including the new member states, to sustain our influence within the enlarged EU.
EU Funding
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list (a) youth, (b) campaigning and (c) social groups that received EU monies in the last year for which statistics are available, under the A-30 budget lines; and if he will deposit the (i) audits and (ii) original bids in the Library. [187336]
Mr. MacShane: The groups that received money in 2004 under the budget lines formerly known as the A-30 budget lines were as follows:
| Old nomenclature (pre-2004) | Activity based budgeting nomenclature (2004>) | Recipient group |
|---|---|---|
| Equality between men and women | ||
| A-3037 | 04 05 01 | European Women's Lobby |
| A-3046 | 04 05 03 | Women's organisations |
| Education and Training | ||
| A-3010 | 25 02 01 01 | Historical archives of the European Union |
| A-3011 | 15 02 01 03 | European University Institute, Florence |
| A-3012 | 15 02 01 04 | European Law Academy (Trier) |
| A-3013 | 15 02 01 05 | European Institute of Public Administration (Maastricht) |
| A-3014 | 19 04 01 | European Inter-university Centre |
| A-3017 | 03 02 01 | Organisations for co-operation in the field of European Law |
| A-3022 | 15 02 01 06 | Study and research centre |
| A-3027 | 15 02 01 07 | International Centre for European Training |
| A-3044 | 15 02 01 08 | European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education |
| Youth | ||
| A-3023 | 15 07 01 01 | European Youth Forum |
| A-3029 | 15 07 01 02 | Support for international non-governmental youth organisations |
| Culture | ||
| A-3015 | 15 04 01 01 | European Bureau for Lesser-used Languages and Mercator |
| A-3035 | 15 04 01 02 | Preservation of Nazi concentration camps sites as historical memorials |
| A-3042 | 15 04 01 03 | Subsidy for cultural organisations advancing the idea of Europe |
| Promoting European Civic Participation | ||
| A-3016 | 18 06 03 | Association of the Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the Union |
| A-3020 | 15 06 01 02 | "Our Europe" Association |
| A-3021 | 15 06 01 03 | Grants to European think tanks and organisations advancing the idea of Europe |
| A-3024 | 15 06 01 04 | Associations and federations of European interest |
| A-3026 | 15 06 01 05 | European think tanks |
| A-3030 | 18 03 01 | European Council on Refugees and Exiles |
| A-3036 | 15 06 01 06 | Support for the Jean Monnet House and the Robert Schuman House |
| Promoting mutual understanding between EU and non-industrialised regions | ||
| A-3031 | 19 02 02 | Institutes specialising in relations between the European Union and third countries |
Organisations seeking A-30 budget lines submit their bids directly to the Commission and are not required to send copies to member state governments. The Council can amend the funding proposed for each of the former A-30 budget lines during annual negotiations on the general budget of the European Communities.
The European Court of Auditors (EGA) audits the EC Budget on an annual basis though its report will not include separate audits of each organisation receiving A-30 budget line funding. However, the ECA may decide to issue a special report on particular activities—a list of these reports is published at the back of the
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ECA's latest annual report which has been placed in the Library of the House. Additionally, individual organisations may be required to publish annual accounts under their terms of establishment.
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