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21 Jul 2005 : Column 1945W—continued

Management Consultancies

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which five management consultancies received the highest value of contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of the contracts awarded to each. [12576]

Mr. Hain: The Wales Office has not awarded any contracts to management consultants in any of the last three years.
 
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NHS (Wales)

Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the statement by the parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, of 12 July 2005, Official Report, column 252WH, on NHS (Wales), if he will list the 70 hospitals closed in Wales between 1979 and 1997. [13677]

Mr. Hain: A list of these hospitals is not held centrally, and due to disproportionate costs it is not possible to provide one.

However, Health Statistics Wales and Health Solutions Wales have verified that approximately 70 hospitals were closed in the period 1979 to 1997.

Olympic Games

Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on holding Olympic events in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [13953]

Mr. Hain: Cardiff's millennium stadium will play host to qualifying matches in the Olympic football tournament.

Wales will also host training and acclimatisation camps, and stands to benefit from the enormous tourism and business opportunities presented by the London Olympics and Paralympics.

Olympics

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, opportunities to place contracts with companies based in (a) Blaenau Gwent and (b) Wales to make sustainably sourced building materials for the Olympic village in East London. [13324]

Mr. Hain: The 2012 London Olympics presents a wonderful opportunity to progress UK's sustainable development objectives. I have already raised this issue with my right hon. Friend, urging the use of solar energy panels for the Olympic village and the proposed housing development on the site once the games are over.

Wales has a number of progressive companies which are involved in developing products and services in line with sustainability principles and I will continue to press the case for such companies from Wales to be involved in the substantial building programme for the Olympic games.

Secondments

Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) senior and (b) junior full-time staff are seconded (i) from the National Assembly for Wales Government to the Welsh Office and (ii) from the Welsh Office to the National Assembly for Wales Government. [13173]

Mr. Hain: As of 1 July 2005 the number of full-time staff seconded from the National Assembly for Wales to the Wales Office was 30. There are no secondments from the Wales Office to the National Assembly. All these secondments are of staff below the senior civil service.
 
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Sickness Absence

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many days the Office has lost due to sickness in the past five years for which figures are available. [11477]

Mr. Hain: The information requested is shown in the following table:

	Day
2000	231
2001	277
2002	206
2003	270

In June 2003, the Wales Office became part of the Department of Constitutional Affairs for pay and rations purposes. No separate figures for the Wales Office are available from 2004 onwards.

Special Schools

Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many special schools have closed in each constituency in Wales in each year since 1997. [13295]

Mr. Hain: No special schools have closed in Wales during this period.

Tax Credits

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with National Assembly for Wales secretaries on the effects of tax credits on the take up of childcare in Wales. [14040]

Mr. Hain: I regularly meet with Ministers from the Welsh Assembly Government to discuss a range of issues, including the effects of tax credits on the take-up of childcare in Wales.

The childcare element of working tax credit has been a success, with over 15,500 Welsh families benefiting from it. This is almost 85 per cent. higher than the peak of over 8,000 under the working families tax credit.

By April 2005, families benefiting from the childcare element of working tax credit were receiving an average of £46.22 per week, compared to £38 per week in November 2002 through Working families tax credit.

Wales Office

Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what record is kept of work done by civil servants in the Assembly for Wales Government that has been requested by the Wales Office. [13966]

Mr. Hain: Under section 41 of the Government of Wales Act 1998, civil servants working for the Assembly Government may act as agents of a relevant authority and vice versa; the definition of relevant authority" includes the Wales Office.

A number of such agreements have been made under which Assembly Government civil servants have acted and are acting as agents of the Wales Office, including in relation to work on Bills. No central record is kept of these agreements.
 
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ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture Shows

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which agriculture shows (a) she and (b) each Minister in her Department (i) visited and (ii) plans to visit in 2005. [9600]

Margaret Beckett: So far this year, Defra Ministers have attended the Royal Show, the Great Yorkshire Show; the Cornwall Show and the Devon Show.

Animal Welfare

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to enact a single statute to protect the welfare of livestock and horses as proposed by the Farm Animal Welfare Council. [14042]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Government welcome the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) report on the welfare of farmed animals at gatherings, published on 30 June. We are currently considering the report's recommendations before we consult interested parties.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) of 29 June 2005, Official Report, columns 1533–34W, on animal welfare, on what basis he has concluded that the evidence relating to welfare at circuses is anecdotal; and if he will make a statement. [15070]

Mr. Bradshaw: The basis for our conclusion are the number of prosecutions that have been brought against owners and trainers of circus animals, and the evidence that has also been submitted to the recent consultations on the Animal Welfare Bill by those who are either opposed to or want animal performances in circuses to continue.

Asbestos

Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what environmentally acceptable disposal routes for asbestos her Department has identified; and in what order of desirability. [13988]

Mr. Bradshaw: Landfill is the normal option for the disposal of asbestos. The Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002 as amended allow asbestos to be disposed of in a separate cell of either a non-hazardous or a hazardous waste landfill. Specific handling requirements on the bagging and cover of deposited asbestos are set out in the regulations, together with provisions to prevent future disturbance of the waste and potential release of fibres.

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