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26 Jan 2005 : Column 343W—continued
WALES
Dental Services
9. Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he plans to meet the new Minister for Health and Social Services of the National Assembly for Wales to discuss dental services in Wales. [209965]
Mr. Touhig: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Congleton (Ann Winterton). As I said then, I have already met the Assembly's new Health Minister and we plan to have further meetings and discussions in the coming weeks.
Pupil Referral Units
10. Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with his secretaries in the National Assembly for Wales on the availability of pupil referral units in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [209966]
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Mr. Touhig: I regularly meet Assembly Ministers to discuss a range of issues, including education.
Data for Wales indicate a significant rise in the number of referral unit places and pupils. The number of pupil referral units has risen from 24 in 1997 to 31 in 2004 and the number of pupils registered in the units has also risen from 49 to 1,058 in the same timescale.
Manufacturing Industry
11. Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the state of the manufacturing industry in Wales. [209967]
Mr. Hain: Manufacturing remains subject to intense global competitive pressures but, despite this, the sector in Wales still makes an important contribution to the Welsh economy accounting for 21 per cent. of Gross Value Added and employing around 180,000 people, or 16 per cent. of the workforce.
Child Trust Fund
13. Mrs. Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on the implementation of the child trust fund in Wales. [209969]
Mr. Hain: I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, including the Child Trust Fund. The Chancellor and the Assembly First Minister have met with the Child Poverty Tax Group and End Child Poverty Network to discuss ways of ensuring the CTF makes a maximum contribution to tackling child poverty in Wales.
Pensioner Poverty
14. Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on tackling pensioner poverty in Wales. [209970]
Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on tackling pensioner poverty in Wales. [209963]
Mr. Touhig: I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues including tackling pensioner poverty in Wales.
The Government are tackling pensioner poverty with an extra £10 billion to be spent on pensioners in 2005–06. The Assembly is also making £10 million available to 2006–07 for its strategy for Older People in Wales. The strategy will plan for an ageing society and improve services for older people in Wales.
Freedom of Information
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what categories of information are available under Freedom of Information legislation that have not been provided in written parliamentary answers by his Department in the last three years. [207818]
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Mr. Touhig: The Freedom of Information Act does not make specific categories of information available, but operates on the presumption that all information held by public authorities should be available, subject to the 24 exemptions of the Act.
Whether or not information is exempt under the Act requires the exercise of judgment in each case. The majority of the exemptions also require that the public interest in releasing the information should be weighed against the public interest in withholding it. If the public interest in disclosing the information outweigh the public interest in withholding it the information must be disclosed. The assessment of the public interest has to be made in all the circumstances of the case, on a case by case basis as far as each request is concerned.
Welsh Economy
Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the effects of the Chancellor's proposals in the pre-Budget report on the economy in Wales. [209968]
Mr. Hain: Regular ones. As a result of the pre-Budget report, an additional £38.5 million will be invested in Wales, measures to improve skills, productivity and entrepreneurship and Council tax support.
LEADER OF THE HOUSE
Parliamentary Questions
Paul Holmes: To ask the Leader of the House from which Government agencies letters in response to parliamentary questions are (a) published in Hansard and (b) placed in the Library; and what criteria are applied in deciding which answering mechanism should be used. [210337]
Mr. Hain: All letters from Government Agencies in response to parliamentary questions should be sent to the Official Report for printing, unless they contain personal or confidential information. If the letter is longer than the Official Report would normally publish (a maximum of four A4 pages in length in material received), notification will be printed that the response is available in the Library of the House. The response will be available to Members in the Library and on application to the House of Commons Information Office.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
CPS Prosecutions (Essex)
Mr. Amess: To ask the Solicitor General how many prosecutions were undertaken by the Crown Prosecution Service in (a) Essex and (b) Southend-on-Sea in each year since 1997; and how many resulted in (i)conviction and (ii) acquittal. [209473]
The Solicitor-General:
Cases prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service do not all conclude in a conviction or an acquittal. The difference between the
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number of defendant files prosecuted and the number of defendants resulting in conviction or acquittal will reflect the defendants that did not proceed to trial or conviction. They will be classed under the Area's performance figures as defendant cases resulting in a discontinuance or discharged committal, or defendants that are on a warrant or have been written off.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Palestine
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of Palestinian economic regeneration. [210700]
Mr. Gareth Thomas:
Prospects for Palestinian economic regeneration are bleak unless the underlying causes of economic decline and poverty are addressed. The Government of Israel need to ease the system of restrictions on the movement of people and goods imposed since the beginning of the intifada". The Palestinian Authority also needs to invigorate its programme of governance reforms in order to create an internal environment more attractive to private investors. The UK is working closely with international partners on both these issues. Economic issues will be a key theme of the London meeting on 1 March. This will be an opportunity to support the new Palestinian leadership in strengthening its institutional capacity and will also help stimulate progress on the Road Map towards a settlement which will allow the Palestinian economy to grow again.
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