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WALES

Council of Ministers

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will provide a written ministerial statement outlining the key points on the agenda for each of the Council of Ministers' meetings at which his Department is represented in advance of each meeting; [188216]

(2) if he will provide a written ministerial statement outlining for each meeting of the Council of Ministers at which his Department is represented as soon as is practicable following that meeting (a) the key items of discussion, (b) the positions of the Government on those items, (c) the key positions taken by other member states that Ministers consider should be noted by hon. Members and (d) any preliminary discussion on the timing and the agenda of the following meeting. [188217]

Mr. Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her today by the Foreign Secretary.

Public Services (Comparative Provision)

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what research his Department has commissioned regarding comparative levels of public services in England and of Welsh Assembly run public services in Wales, with particular reference to (a) health and (b) education. [186754]

Mr. Touhig: None.

A wide range of information and data on health and education in England and Wales is produced by both the Government and the National Assembly for Wales and is publicly available.

The Statistical Directorate of the National Assembly for Wales produces statistics related to health and education in Wales. This can be found by accessing the website: www.wales.gsi.gov.uk.
 
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Information on health in England can be obtained from the Department of Health at: www.dh.gov.uk

Information on education in England can be obtained from the Department for Education and Skills at: www.des.gov.uk

The Office for National Statistics also produces a large amount of publicly available information, which can be accessed via their website: www.statistics.gov.uk

Truancy

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he next plans to meet Welsh Assembly secretaries to discuss strategies to deal with crime linked to school truancy in Wales. [186755]

Mr. Touhig: My right hon. Friend and I regularly meet Assembly Ministers to discuss matters affecting Wales.

A number of multi-agency arrangements are employed to tackle truancy in Wales. The police and Community Safety Partnerships are key stakeholders in these initiatives, and programmes are in place to deal with young people showing a significant risk of developing criminal and antisocial behaviour.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Serious Fraud Office

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Solicitor-General what recent assessment she has made of the conviction rate achieved by the Serious Fraud Office. [187726]

The Solicitor-General: In the year ending 4 April 2004, the conviction rate in SFO cases was 51 per cent. Over the past five years the average conviction rate was 75 per cent.

At the conclusion of each case the SFO holds a conference to consider what lessons can be learned.

PRIME MINISTER

Gifts

Sue Doughty: To ask the Prime Minister whether he received any gifts from Prime Minister Berlusconi while he was a guest of the Italian Prime Minister during summer 2004. [188111]

The Prime Minister: The Government are committed to publishing an annual list of gifts received by Ministers in an official capacity valued at more than £140. The list of gifts for 2004–05 will be published as soon as possible after the end of this Financial Year.

Honours

Mr. Drew: To ask the Prime Minister what procedures are in place for the removal of an honour from an individual convicted of a serious crime in this country or abroad. [188409]

 
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The Prime Minister: Her Majesty the Queen may, on the advice of Ministers, cancel membership of any of the Orders of Knighthood or appointment as Knight Bachelor. Cancellation is considered in cases where the retention of the appointment or award would bring the honours system into disrepute. Proposals for forfeiture are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Press (Meetings)

Sue Doughty: To ask the Prime Minister what meetings he has had with the (a) proprietors and (b) editors of national newspapers in the last 12 months; who instigated each meeting; and what subjects were discussed in each meeting. [188179]

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.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION

All-postal Ballots

20. Mr. Robathan : To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission if he will make a statement on the recent report of the Electoral Commission on all-postal ballots. [187917]

Mr. Viggers: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier this afternoon to my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Michael Fabricant).

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what steps the Committee is taking to determine whether the Electoral Commission is assessing the integrity of the postal ballot in an efficient and effective manner. [187912]

Mr. Viggers: The Speaker's Committee has a statutory obligation to satisfy itself that the Electoral Commission's Estimates and Corporate Plans are consistent with the economical, efficient and effective discharge by the Commission of its functions before it lays these before the House. Within that framework, and subject to any statutory directions it may receive from the Government in respect of particular matters, it is for the Commission itself to decide how it discharges its functions.

On 27 August, in accordance with its statutory obligations under the European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Act 2004, the Commission published four regional evaluation reports following the all-postal pilot schemes earlier this year. The reports include assessments as to the integrity of the pilot schemes; a separate report published on the same day also makes recommendations for future improvements in relation to postal voting more generally.
 
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Mr. Betts: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission if he will make a statement on the recent report by the Electoral Commission on all-postal ballots. [187913]

Mr. Viggers: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier this afternoon to my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Michael Fabricant).

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Competitive Sport

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage schools to take part in competitive sports fixtures. [187907]

Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Government are firmly in favour of competitive school sport. The Physical Education (PE) National Curriculum requires that all pupils are taught competitive games throughout their compulsory schooling. Increasing the quality and amount of competitive school sport is also a key aim of the Government's national PE, School Sport and Club Links strategy.

Spearheading action is the creation of a network of 400 School Sport Partnerships—families of schools—that work together to enhance school sport opportunities. There are already 313 School Sport Partnerships covering 50 per cent. of schools in England, All schools will be within a partnership by 2006. All partnerships deliver a programme of out-of-school hours sports activities, including sports competitions.

The 2003–04 PE, School Sport and Club Links survey—results were published on 29 April and a copy of the report was placed in the House of Commons Library—found that: 96 per cent. of the 6,500 schools taking part held a sports day, in a typical week 22 per cent. of pupils are involved in intra school sports competitions and during the last academic year 33 per cent. of pupils had taken part in inter school sports competitions.

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