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Wheelchair Services

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to make a statement on the future of wheelchair services and equipment loan stores. [190037R]

Dr. Ladyman: A statement is planned for the autumn on modernising wheelchair services. This will help local primary care trust commissioners shape the future of wheelchair services. The integration of health and social services' equipment loan stores, generally known since 2001 as community equipment services, is underway.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Fines

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people were fined following criminal convictions in each of the last 15 years; [190047]
 
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(2) what percentage of fines imposed after a criminal conviction were fully paid in each of the last two financial years; [190048]

(3) what the total amount was of fines imposed after criminal conviction outstanding in each of the last five financial years in England and Wales; [190049]

(4) how many people in England and Wales who were fined following a criminal conviction have fines arrears (a) in excess of £1,000, (b) in excess of £2,000, (c) in excess of £3,000, (d) in excess of £4,000, (e) in excess of £5,000 and (f) in excess of £10,000. [190050]

Paul Goggins: The number of persons fined in England and Wales for offences of all types is as follows:

	Number of persons fined
1988	1,228,029
1989	1,205,958
1990	1,172,725
1991	1,147,845
1992	1,166,347
1993	1,078,246
1994	1,043,639
1995	986,033
1996	1,061,493
1997	987,985
1998	1,049,115
1999	982,679
2000	1,003,555
2001	920,474
2002	963,977

Principal offence basis

Fines are collected by the magistrates courts. Information obtained from the Department for Constitutional Affairs states that the information on the percentage of fines which are fully paid and the total amount of fines outstanding in a financial year is not collected by the legacy systems used by the Magistrates Courts Committees. Similarly, information is not collected in terms of the numbers of people who have fines arrears in excess of a specific sum.

Animal Experimentation

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the increase in the number of procedures involving animals compiled under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. [188098]

Caroline Flint: The latest available data on the number of licensed scientific procedures involving animals are in the publication Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals in Great Britain (Command 6,291—copies are in the Library).

This shows that 2.79 million procedures, regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, were started in 2003. This is an increase of 2.2 per cent. from the previous year, but this is within the limits of what are regarded as minor variations between years. It does not necessarily signal an established upward trend in animal use.

The pattern of species use is similar to that recorded in previous years. Rats, mice and other rodents were used in 85 per cent. of the procedures. A further 10 per cent. involved use of fish and birds.
 
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The species afforded special protection under the 1986 Act—cats, dogs, primates and equidae—were used in less than 1 per cent. of the total. Though within this relatively small percentage there was an increase in procedures using primates, the number of such animals used for the first time fell slightly. This is because some animals can be reused in certain mild procedures, such as blood sampling.

The trend over recent years, whereby the overall balance of use has gradually tipped more towards genetically modified animals, has continued. Such animals—mainly mice—were used in 2003 in 27 per cent. of all procedures, which is only 1 per cent. up on 2002, but compares with 8 per cent. in 1995. Most regulated procedures concerning these animals relate to breeding and the maintenance of colonies.

The total number of procedures in 2003 is considerably less than those recorded annually in the 1970s and 1980s, though the general downward trend since then has levelled out over the last decade.

It is impossible to predict the number of procedures likely to be undertaken in future years, as many factors are involved over which the Government have no direct control. These include strategic decisions by funding bodies, global economic trends and developments as a result of scientific innovation and endeavour.

But further increases as part of a longer term upward trend are likely, as use of genetically altered animals opens up new avenues of medical research, as more drugs and medicines are developed, and as new regulatory safety and testing requirements come into effect.

The numbers used will, however, be minimised in each programme of work, through rigorous application by the Home Office of the licensing controls in the 1986 Act.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to achieve his policy to reduce the number of animals involved in experimentations. [188099]

Caroline Flint: The Government's responsibilities are to seek to reduce the animals used by minimising the number in particular projects, rather than through a reduction in the overall total, which in a demand-led area such as scientific research would not be practicable.

The use of animals can be licensed only under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 where there is no non-animal alternative, and then only when both the number of animals to be used and any resulting suffering is minimised. This reflects application of the 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement). Every step is taken in assessing licence applications, both at the establishments concerned and within the Home Office, to ensure that no 3R alternative is overlooked, and that licence authorities maintain that position.

The Home Office has previously funded work to the value of approximately £250,000 a year for projects to promote and deliver reduction and refinements. We also co-sponsored the 4th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences, and are a co-sponsor of the 5th World Congress due to take place later this year.
 
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Earlier this year we announced the setting up of the National Centre for the 3Rs, which will act as a focal point for research in this important area. This implements a recommendation of the House of Lords Select Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures. Responsibility for the National Centre rests with the Office of Science and Technology.

The Home Office continues to lead in running the Inter-Departmental Group on the 3Rs, a cross-Government body which considers many alternatives issues and keeps under review the Inter-Departmental Data Sharing Concordat.

We also support related efforts at the international level, including contributions to the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), on which there is a Home Office representative.

The main gains in the 3Rs have come from the scientific community itself, and any future progress is likely to come in the main from its own continuing efforts to develop, validate and adopt alternatives.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) acceptable behaviour contracts, (b) interim anti-social behaviour orders and (c) full anti-social behaviour orders have been issued in Mitcham and Morden. [189354]

Ms Blears: Data are not collected centrally on numbers of acceptable behaviour contracts agreed.

No notification of interim anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued within the London borough of Merton (in which Mitcham and Morden are located) have been reported to the Home Office.

The number of notifications received, up to 31 March 2004 (latest available), of full ASBOs issued, where restrictions imposed are specific to the London borough of Merton, is six.

Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders have been served in the Leeds city council area since they were introduced. [189942]

Ms Blears: The number of notifications received by the Home Office, up to 31 March 2004 (latest available), of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders issued, where restrictions imposed are specific to the Leeds city council area, is 122.

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