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Wildlife and Countryside Act

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State forEnvironment, Food and Rural Affairs how manyprosecutions have taken place under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; and if she will make a statement. [32801]

Jim Knight: There are no specific data available for prosecutions brought for offences under Part 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The only figures available relate to the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts for offences under the categories of Cruelty to Animals and Wild Bird Protection Acts, which may include offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. These data can be found through the following link;

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/commandpubs1.html

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Army Prosecution Authority

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Solicitor-General if the Attorney-General will make a statement on his (a) responsibility for and (b) role in general superintendence of the Army Prosecution Authority. [32427]

The Solicitor-General: A paper on the Attorney-General's ministerial superintendence of the Army Prosecuting Authority was placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 14 June 2004.

Crown Prosecution Service

Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Solicitor-General what proportion of cases handled by the Crown Prosecution Service in Northamptonshire were abandoned (a) for
 
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evidential reasons, (b) for public interest reasons, (c) because the prosecution was unable to proceed and (d) for other reasons in the last year for which figures are available. [32048]

The Solicitor-General: During the year ending September 2005 the number and proportion of prosecutions stopped by the CPS in Northamptonshire was as follows:

	Number	Percentage
Evidential reasons	702	5.6
Public interest reasons	624	5
Prosecution unable to proceed	306	2.5
Other reasons	152	1.2
Total	1,784	14.3

Lynne Jones: To ask the Solicitor-General whether, in coming to the decision not to prosecute Babar Ahmad, the Crown Prosecution Service asked the United States authorities to provide the evidence upon which they were basing the request for extradition. [32118]

The Solicitor-General: At the time of making the decision not to prosecute Babar Ahmed, the Crown Prosecution Service was aware of the nature of the evidence in the possession of the United States authorities.

Mr. Maples: To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases Warwickshire Crown Prosecution Service has (a) considered for prosecution and (b) prosecuted in each of the last five years; and how many convictions were obtained in each of those years. [32511]

The Solicitor-General: Crown Prosecution Service case outcomes are measured in relation to the number of cases completed, rather than the number considered. The following table shows the number completed in Warwickshire in each of the last five financial years and, of this total, the number in which a prosecution proceeded to trial or guilty plea, and the number resulting in a conviction. The table also shows the number of cases which resulted in an early termination, and the number which resulted in acquittal after trial.
Case outcomes CPS Warwickshire

	2000–01		2001–02		2002–03
	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Total completed cases	8,030	—	8,863	—	8,144	—
Early terminations:
Discontinuances	765	9.5	860	9.7	760	9.3
Administrative finalisations	395	4.9	505	5.7	357	4.4
Total early terminations	1,160	14.4	1,365	15.4	1,117	13.7
Cases proceeding to a hearing	6,870	85.6	7,498	84.6	7,027	86.3
Of which:
Acquittals	66	0.8	42	0.5	49	0.6
Guilty pleas	5,684	70.8	5,989	67.6	5,647	69.3
Proofs in absence	887	11.0	1,301	14.7	1,161	14.3
Convictions after contest	233	2.9	166	1 .9	170	2.1
Total convictions	6,804	84.7	7,456	84.1	6,978	85.7

 
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	2003–04		2004–05
	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Total completed cases	8,945		9,312
Early terminations:
Discontinuances	860	9.6	713	7.7
Administrative finalisations	222	2.5	127	1.4
Total early terminations	1,082	12.1	840	9.0
Cases proceeding to a hearing	7,863	87.9	8,472	91.0
Of which:
Acquittals	54	0.6	50	0.5
Guilty pleas	5,901	66.0	5,735	61.6
Proofs in absence	1,768	19.8	2,460	26.4
Convictions after contest	140	1.6	226	2.4
Total convictions	7,809	87.3	8,421	90.4

Departmental Staff

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Solicitor-General what assessment he has made of the (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills of new recruits to the Law Officers' departments. [20998]

The Solicitor-General: New recruits are required to meet a level of skills, knowledge and experience appropriate to the post. Specific assessments are made of literacy and numeracy skills only if the job requires a particular level of expertise which cannot be otherwise demonstrated by the candidate.

Iraq

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Solicitor-General on how many occasions the Attorney-General has taken a decision on whether to prosecute cases relating to personnel serving in Iraq. [32426]

The Solicitor-General [holding answer 28 November 2005]: None.

TRANSPORT

A21

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to hold public consultations on the proposed A21 upgrade other than in Hurst Green, East Sussex. [32693]

Dr. Ladyman: Public consultation on the proposed upgrade of the A21 from Pembury to Hastings was carried out in 2002–03. The consultation included specific proposals for the Tonbridge to Pembury and Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst sections. East Sussex county council held consultation during February/March 2004 for their Bexhill to Hastings Link Road, which included the Highways Agency's proposals for the A21 Baldslow Link. The proposals for upgrading the remainder of the A21, Lamberhurst to Flimwell and Robertsbridge to Hastings, will be reviewed in the light of progress on the Flimwell to Robertsbridge Improvement.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to hold public consultations on the proposed Bexhill to Hastings link road in East Sussex. [32692]

 
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Dr. Ladyman: Public consultations on the Bexhill to Hastings link road are a matter for East Sussex county council, as the local highway authority promoting the scheme.

Airport Policing

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his written statement of 21 November 2005, Official Report, column 98WS, on policing airports, whether Newcastle airport will be included in the wide-ranging review he has announced; and what the criteria are for airport designation under section 25 of the Aviation Security Act 1982. [32434]

Ms Buck: The review will look at policing at airports generally. It will consider the appropriateness of the current system of designation, including the criteria that might be applied, as well as possible alternative options.

Crown Land

Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on authorising the compulsory purchase of third party interest in Crown land for which he is responsible. [27937]

Dr. Ladyman: The Secretary of State's consideration of authorising compulsory purchase of third party interests in Crown land is a statutory, not policy, one. When considering whether to authorise such compulsory purchase, in an order submitted by a local highway authority for which he is confirming authority, the Secretary of State will consider the merits of the proposals including the acquisition of third party interests in Crown land and take into account any objections from those affected by the proposals. In reaching a decision he will take into account the guidance given by the Deputy Prime Minister in circular 6/2004. Similar considerations will be applied when a compulsory purchase order is promoted by the Secretary of State and a decision is taken whether the order should be made.

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