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Merseytravel

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on Merseytravel's record on project delivery across all forms of public transport. [33432]

 
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Derek Twigg [holding answer 1 December 2005]: Irefer the hon. Member to the answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 146W.

Railways

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State's oral statement of 22 June 2005, Official Report, column 301WH, if he will meet hon. Members with constituencies in the west country to discuss the night-train and sleeper service between London and Penzance. [34416]

Derek Twigg: I have met a number of hon. Members from the west country to discuss the sleeper service between London and Penzance. I would be happy to meet the hon. Member to discuss this issue.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Human Rights (Iraq)

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Solicitor-General what correspondence the Attorney-General has had with Mr.Phil Shiner regarding human rights cases against British forces in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [33574]

The Solicitor-General: Mr. Phil Shiner has written to the Attorney-General raising a number of issues concerning British forces in Iraq. The Attorney-General's officials have replied to Mr. Shiner, advising him that if he has any evidence of potential criminal offences he should bring it to the attention of the prosecuting authorities, and that he should direct to the Ministry of Defence other issues he might have about the conduct and training of the armed forces.

SCOTLAND

Civil Service Relocation (Scotland)

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many departmental civil service jobs have been relocated to Scotland in each year since 2001. [32259]

David Cairns [holding answer 28 November 2005]: Over two-thirds of the posts in the Scotland Office are already based in Scotland; the Office presently has a staff complement of 55, of whom three are based in Glasgow and 34 in Edinburgh. The remainder are based in London: this reflects the needs of the Office.

Race Equality Impact Assessments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Race Equality Impact Assessments his Department completed between (a) April 2004 to March 2005 and (b) April 2005 to November 2005; and how many assessments in each period resulted in a change of policy. [32838]

David Cairns: No Race Equality Impact Assessments have been undertaken during these periods. The Scotland Office's executive policy responsibilities are limited to the funding and conduct of elections and constitutional
 
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matters affecting the devolution settlement. We do not therefore as a matter of routine carry out such assessments.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Alcohol Sales

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many litres of alcoholic drinks have been purchased for sale (a) in bars of the House and (b) by the refreshment department at catering functions on the parliamentary estate in each year since 1975. [33660]

Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Member to my predecessor's reply on 23 March 2005, Official Report, column 874W. I am now able to update that information and confirm that the volume of alcoholic drinks consumed in the bars of the House of Commons was 46,151 litres for the full year to March 2005, and has been 23,886 in the eight months from April 2005 to November 2005. Consumption at functions catered or supplied by the refreshment department was 32,334 litres in 2004–05 and 17,959 litres in the eight months from April 2005 to November 2005.

E-networks

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what assessment the Commission has made of the level of security on the e-networks available to hon. Members and their staff (a) on the parliamentary estate and (b) in constituency offices. [34331]

Nick Harvey: It is not the Commission's practice to comment in detail on matters relating to security. The Parliamentary Communications Directorate (PCD) takes the security of the parliamentary network very seriously and uses appropriate tools and techniques in its design and management. These are subject to audit and external assessment. A similar approach is taken to facilities provided by the PCD in constituencies and other locations. The Commission has put in place governance arrangements to ensure these matters are periodically reviewed. This work is led by the Parliamentary Security Co-ordinator.

Portcullis House

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will list the (a) tree species and (b) country of origin of the wood used in the construction and maintenance of Portcullis House; and in what capacity the wood was used in each case. [33661]

Nick Harvey: The courtyard roof of Portcullis House is constructed of American White Oak, which is stronger and grows straighter than English Oak which is not stress graded in terms of strength.

English Oak was used for all the joinery-cabinets, cupboards, desks etc-as the structure of the grain is more decorative. The majority of English Oak used was from trees that fell during the storms of 1987.
 
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Stationery

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the Commission will take steps to replace the plastic window in all stationery with environmentally friendly corn paper. [32673]

Nick Harvey: The material in the window envelopes is polystyrene. This is used because it is easily recycled and uses less resources in production and produces less solid waste than other materials. The polystyrene windows are compatible with mail sorting machinery, making them efficient as well as environmentally friendly. There are therefore no plans to replace the stationery. Hon. Members may purchase envelopes from outside the standard range and be reimbursed from the Incidental Expenses Provision.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Housing (Immigration)

5. Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Deputy Prime Minister on the impact of the current level of net immigration on demand for housing. [33823]

Mr. McNulty: The Home Office works across Government to ensure that immigration policy works to the benefit of the United Kingdom. This has included discussions, both at ministerial and official level, with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Dangerous Driving

14. Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans to change the law relating to the causing of death by bad driving. [33833]

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government have tabled amendments to the current Road Safety Bill that take forward a number of proposals arising from the Review of Road Traffic Offences involving Bad Driving" consultation exercise.

These proposals include a new offence of causing death by careless driving; a new offence where an unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured driver causes a fatal accident and provision for alternative verdicts where a manslaughter charge or culpable homicide charge has failed.

Community Support Officers

16. Mr. McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what change in the number of police community support officers is planned between now and 2008; and if he will make a statement. [33836]

Hazel Blears: There were more than 6,300 police community support officers (PCSOs) in June 2005. We announced on 7 March 2005 plans to increase the number of PCSOs to 24,000 by March 2008.
 
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We informed forces and police authorities on 7 November 2005 the details of the funding for additional PCSOs in 2006–07 and 2007–08. They have been invited to submit their proposals to meet the access criteria by 12 December 2005.

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