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18 Apr 2006 : Column 442W—continued
Departmental Staff
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what proportion of (a) staff and (b) new staff employed in his Department were registered as disabled in each of the last three years for which data are available. [61381]
David Cairns: The Cabinet Office collects and publishes annually statistical information on the civil service by Department. This includes data on the number of staff in departments who have voluntarily declared a disability. The latest available information at April 2004 is available in the Library and on the civil service website and the following addresses.
http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/publications/xls/disability_apr04_4nov04.xls for data relating to 1 April 2004 and
http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/archive/index.asp for previous reporting periods.
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Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of members of the principal civil service pension scheme in his Department joined the scheme before the age of (a) 20, (b) 25, (c) 30, (d) 35, (e) 40, (f) 45 and (g) over 45 years old. [61995]
David Cairns: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, on Wednesday 29 March.
Time
David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will assess the merits of devolving to the Scottish Parliament responsibility for setting time in Scotland. [62929]
David Cairns: This matter was considered at some length during the passage of the Scotland Bill. The Government remain of the view that this issue should be reserved.
World Cup (Complimentary Tickets)
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many complimentary tickets his Department has received for games taking place at the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. [63902]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office has not received any complimentary tickets for the World Cup taking place in Germany this summer.
World Heritage
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which Minister in his Department has responsibility for issues relating to World Heritage sites. [63477]
David Cairns: Lead responsibility for policy on World Heritage sites rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. I take an interest in issues relating to such sites in Scotland.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Animal Testing
Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many LD50 animal tests have been carried out on botulinum toxin in each of the last 10 years. [58344]
Andy Burnham: Information regarding acute lethal toxicity tests is contained in Table 12 of the annual publication Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain, a copy of which is in the Library.
It is not possible to identify individual substances which were tested using the various types of test described in Table 12 using the data collected by the Home Office under the provisions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Neither is it possible to identify separately LD50 tests from other types of lethal toxicity test.
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Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of botulinum toxin subject to LD50 animal tests was destined for (a) cosmetic and (b) therapeutic uses in the last period for which figures are available. [58345]
Andy Burnham: Animal testing of botulinum toxin, licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, is conducted solely in relation to its use for clinical purposes as a prescription-only medicine.
Furthermore, no substances intended solely for use as cosmetics, or cosmetic ingredients, have been tested on animals in the United Kingdom since 1998 and no licences for this purpose have been granted since that date.
Information regarding acute lethal toxicity tests is contained in Table 12 of the annual publication Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2004, a copy of which is in the Library. Home Office records do not show how many of these procedures related to the testing of botulinum toxin.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spenton temporary staff in each year between 2001 and 2005; and how much it has spent on such staff since July 2004. [59912]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Between the years 2001 and 2005, the Home Office has spent the following amounts on temporary staff:
| Spend on temporary staff (£) | |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 20,669,056 |
| 2002 | 41,713,675 |
| 2003 | 54,466,279 |
| 2004 | 38,963,830 |
| 2005 | 15,309,071 |
Expenditure on temporary staff since July 2004 is £55,371,473.14.
The immigration and nationality directorate accounted for approximately 75 per cent. of the cost for this financial year, 2004–05. During the current financial year, this has reduced to approximately 36 per cent. of the total cost.
The use of temporary staff provides the Home Office with cost effective, flexible resources which can be employed at very short notice. Their employment often allows the Department to react quickly to changes in the demands that it faces by deploying appropriately skilled and experienced individuals quickly to those areas of the business where they are most needed.
Departmental Televisions
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many television sets are in operation in the Department (a) in total, (b) in Minister's private offices and (c) in each office building in the Department; and how many television licences are held by the Department. [62792]
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Mr. Charles Clarke: The Department does not hold central records of television sets in operation across its estate. Within 2 Marsham Street there are 77 sets centrally provided for operational purposes, 21 of which are in Ministers' private offices and a further 70 are provided for general staff communications. The latter provision has enabled a saving of over £140,000 per annum on poster campaigns and other methods of communication previously used. This amends the reply given to the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb) on 11 January 2006, Official Report, column 185W, which did not refer to all sets used for operational purposes. No TV licence is required for these sets.
DNA Databases
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the compatibility of DNA databases in England and Wales with those in (a) Scotland and (b) Northern Ireland; and what procedures need to be followed for making samples held by the police in one part of the UK available to police in another part. [63095]
Andy Burnham: The profiles on the 'local' DNA databases in Scotland and Northern Ireland are fully compatible with those on the national DNA database. Subject sample profiles taken in Scotland and Northern Ireland and crime scene profiles from Scotland and Northern Ireland are added to the national DNA database (NDNAD) as well as the local databases. Any matches resulting from a speculative search of the Scottish and Northern Ireland profiles against the NDNAD are automatically reported to the relevant police forces in Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the countries to whom DNA data collected in the UK has been sent; and how many pieces of data were sent to each in each year in which such data was sent. [63157]
Andy Burnham:
There are a number of channels for the exchange of DNA information between the United Kingdom and other countries. They include: the United
18 Apr 2006 : Column 446W
Kingdom National Central Bureau for Interpol (UK NCB) based at the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) which is often used to provide DNA profile data to other countries; bi-lateral direct liaison between law enforcement authorities; and formal mutual legal assistance channels. Exchanges of DNA information via these channels will almost always be a response to the needs of a specific criminal investigation.
The UK NCB is not currently able to provide data on the countries to which DNA profiles have been sent or on the number of DNA profiles sent to other countries in pursuit of specific criminal investigations. This information will be available later this year following the introduction of a new data collection system (this will not apply to retrospective data). However, it is estimated that DNA data are sent out by the UK NCB to one or more countries on two or three occasions each week. DNA data are only sent abroad where this is deemed necessary by the investigator, and are subject to data protection and human rights risk assessment. No data are available on the number of exchanges of DNA information which occur through direct liaison between law enforcement authorities or formal mutual legal assistance channels.
There have been two significant exchanges of DNA information in the last two years. In October 2004, 1,687 DNA crime scene profiles from undetected sexual offences in the UK were submitted to the Interpol DNA database (via the UK NCB). In February 2006, 10,763 DNA crime scene profiles from unsolved serious crimes committed in the UK were sent to the Netherlands for checking against the Netherlands DNA database.
The latter resulted from direct liaison and the development of a reciprocal agreement between the Dutch police and UK police representatives as the Netherlands is currently unable to take advantage of existing exchange mechanisms such as the Interpol database due to legislative restrictions. The Dutch authorities are working towards a solution to allow ratification of the existing mechanisms and also intend to send DNA profiles from unsolved Dutch crime scenes for checking against the UK national DNA database.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has ruled out use of DNA material as part of his proposed identity card scheme. [63158]
Andy Burnham: There are no powers in the Identity Cards Act 2006 to require an applicant for an ID card to provide a DNA sample.
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