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18 Oct 2005 : Column 841W—continued
BB Guns
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of offences involving imitation firearms involved BB guns in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [17153]
Hazel Blears: Statistics for crimes involving BB guns, and other types of imitation firearms, have only been collected separately since April 2004. Full data for 2004–05 are not yet available but will be published in 'Crime in England and Wales 2004–05: Supplementary Volume' in January 2006.
Environmental Sustainability
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets he has set for improving energy efficiency in his Department; and what measures are in place to achieve these targets. [16185]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The Home Office is committed to making best efforts to achieve the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate energy targets; namely to reduce absolute carbon, from fuel and electricity used in buildings on our estate, by 12.5 per cent. by 2010–11, relative to 1999–2000 and to
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increase the energy efficiency of the buildings on our estate, measured in terms of kWh of fuel and electricity use per square metre of buildings floor area by 15 per cent. over the same period.
In order to meet these targets the Department is benchmarking key office sites in order to identify those buildings which are high energy users. We then propose to undertake energy surveys at those sites, which will form the basis of site-specific action plans.
We will also incorporate energy management clauses within future contracts and include energy performance among the criteria for future site selection. The contract for the management of the new headquarters site at 2Marsham Street requires our PFI partner to operate the building at 10 per cent. below the best practice benchmark contained in the Government's Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme Energy Use in Offices Guide.
The public sector Prison Service has an Energy Efficiency Action Plan. A benchmarking guide has been developed and the data used to help set carbon dioxide key performance indicators for each prison.
The Prison Service was the first Government Department/Agency to be accredited under the National Energy Foundation's Scheme for energy efficiency and was re-accredited in 2003. It aims for reaccreditation every three years, which requires evidence of continuous progress.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of electricity used by buildings in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have come from renewable sources in each year since 1997. [16186]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The proportion of electricity from renewable sources used by the Department is set out in the table. The figures for the Home Office include key sites on the Department's agency estates, except the Prison Service, whose figures are shown separately. Figures for the Department's individual agencies could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
No renewable electricity was purchased in this Department prior to 2000 and no renewable electricity was purchased in the Prison Service prior to 2002–03. The Prison Service are evaluating the use of solar panels, wind turbines and Combined Heat and Power generation. Theperformance to date is against the targets set in theFramework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate that Departments should source at least 10 per cent. electricity from renewable sources by 31 March 2008.
| Home Office(4) | Prison Service | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 10.5 | — |
| 2001–02 | 49.9 | — |
| 2002–03 | 68.9 | 5.3 |
| 2003–04 | 67.8 | 6.6 |
| 2004–05 | 70.8 | 6.5 |
(4)These figures relate to key buildings only.
18 Oct 2005 : Column 843W
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what change there was in (a) road transport vehicle carbon dioxide emissions and (b) single occupancy car commuting in his Department in (i) 2003–04 and (ii) 2004–05. [16188]
Mr. Charles Clarke: (a) The Home Office does not collate figures on road transport vehicle carbon dioxide emissions.
(b) The Home Office does not collate information on single occupancy car commuting but the majority of office sites already have minimal parking facilities. We are currently reviewing the departmental strategy for tackling the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate (FSDGE) travel targets.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what parts of the Department's estate will not be covered by the commitments set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. [16191]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Home Office sites of an area less than 1000m 2 or with less than 50 staff have been excluded from the framework commitments.
For some of the targets we also exclude sites where we do not have direct control of the building.
Guns (Sporting Events)
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the laws banning the use of certain handguns were relaxed in order to allow sporting events involving handguns to take place at the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games. [17784]
Hazel Blears: The law was not relaxed to allow the pistol shooting events at the Commonwealth Games hosted by Manchester in 2002. The Secretary of State exercised existing powers under section five of the Firearms Act 1968.
Identity Cards
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with representatives of people with (a) facial disfigurements, (b) learning disabilities and (c) other vulnerable groups on the implications of the identity card scheme. [16729]
Andy Burnham: The identity cards team has had discussions with a number of organisations representing disabled and vulnerable people. During the consultation on the draft Identity Cards Bill in 2004, letters and copies of the consultation document were sent out to the following organisations;:
Officials gave a presentation to the RNIB as they were the only group to accept the offer of a meeting with members of the programme team. However, written responses were received from Helping Charities, Helping People (HPHC) and Rethink among others. Changing Faces, a charity that works with people of all ages who are disfigured in any way by birthmarks, cleft lips, burns, facial cancer and palsy, also took part in the consultation exercise on the draft Bill.
Members of the identity cards team attended a consultation event in July 2004, the aim of the event being to examine the legislation on identity cards and to receive feedback from the public and private sector. A number of organisations representing disabled people attended this event including; the Wheelchair User community, the deaf community, Kaleidoscope and the blind community.
Recently, members of the programme team have met the National Housing Federation which represents various housing associations. The ID cards team have also recently met the RNIB on two different occasions.
We have included a very wide range of disabilities in the United Kingdom Passport Service Biometrics trial, which tested the enrolment of 750 people with varied disabilities. Disability Matters Ltd, which was engaged to oversee this part of the trial commented:
The biometrics trial has taken comprehensive consideration of the needs of the disabled community by encompassing a pan-impairment approach. We have been impressed by the way that disabled people have been actively involved in this project".
The ID cards programme is in the process of establishing a forum to ensure that all special interest groups are consulted on developments in the ID card scheme, and have regular opportunities to express issues and concerns.
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