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4 July 2006 : Column 973W—continued
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many properties were repossessed in each quarter since 2001, broken down by parliamentary constituency. [82131]
Ms Harman: The information is not available centrally in the exact format requested. The Department for Constitutional Affairs collects data on the number of mortgage possession orders made at each of the county courts in England and Wales. These figures, however, do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
Figures showing the number of these county court possession orders made in every quarter since 2001 are given in the relevant table that has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The civil procedure rules provide that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, these county courts cover areas that are not necessarily consistent with other administrative or constituency boundaries, and therefore for each county court, the figures in the given table may relate to properties in other constituencies besides their own.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many court orders have been issued for the repossession of homes in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) the Somerset county council area and (c) the south-west since 1997. [82143]
Ms Harman: The table shows the number of mortgage possession orders made at Yeovil county court, Somerset county council area and the south-west area since 1997.
The civil procedure rules provide that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, these county courts cover areas that are not necessarily consistent with other administrative or constituency boundaries, and therefore for instance repossessions at Yeovil county court may relate to properties in other constituencies besides Yeovil.
These figures do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
| Number of mortgage( 1) possession orders made( 2) in Yeovil county court, Somerset county council and the south-west, 1997-2005 | |||
| Yeovil | Somerset | South-west | |
| (1) Local authority and private. (2) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. | |||
Watkins Report
Mark Durkan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will publish the findings of the Watkins report into guidelines for procurement in the criminal justice system. [80973]
Bridget Prentice: The Northern Ireland Court Service has established an independent investigation into the acceptance of gifts and hospitality by its staff. This investigation is being undertaken by a retired senior Northern Ireland civil servant, Mr. David Watkins CB. In the course of his investigation Mr. Watkins has provided an interim report into the procurement arrangements of the Northern Ireland Court Service on the basis of which the Court Service has arranged for the procurement service of the Northern Ireland Office to undertake procurement activity on behalf of the Court Service. As this interim report forms part of the overall investigation being carried out by Mr. Watkins, the interim report will not be published until the investigation is concluded.
Health
Abattoirs
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abattoirs have been closed in each year since 1997. [78208]
Caroline Flint: The number of red meat and poultry abattoirs in the United Kingdom which surrendered their licences/approvals to operate or had them revoked in each year from 1997 to May 2006 is shown in the tables.
| Red meat abattoirs | |||||
| England | Scotland | Wales | Northern Ireland | Total | |
| Poultry abattoirs | |||||
| England | Scotland | Wales | Northern Ireland | Total | |
Abortion
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she last discussed the issue of abortion with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church; what reply she gave; whether a note of the meeting was kept; whether she has further plans for such a meeting; and if she will make a statement. [80163]
Caroline Flint: My hon. friend, the Secretary of State for Health, met with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church on 21 June. It was a private meeting so no note was kept. However, a statement was issued after the meeting saying:
“The Cardinal raised several issues with the Secretary of State including the 24-week time limit on abortion. The Secretary of State reiterated the Government's position that it has long been the parliamentary convention that proposals for changes in the law on abortion have come from backbench members and that decisions are made on the basis of free votes. The Government believes this should still be the case and it has no plans to change the law on abortion.”
The Secretary of State has no further plans for such a meeting.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 20 June 2006, Official Report, column 1794W, on abortion, if she will ensure that the publication ‘Abortion Statistics, England and Wales 2005’ is made available on her Department’s website on 4 July at 9.30 am; and if she will make a statement. [81164]
Caroline Flint: The 2005 abortion statistics were published on the Department’s website at 9.30 am on 4 July 2006.
Agenda for Change
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of whether adjustments need to be made to the calculation that was made of the costs of bank holidays in the Agenda for Change process. [76385]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The estimates of the cost of implementing agenda for change were based on a wide range of assumptions covering all the pay and conditions of service of staff. After taking into account the scope for management action, it was decided to adjust reference prices over and above the planned increase in agenda for change investment in 2006-07 to take fuller account of assimilation costs.
Alzheimer's Disease
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) meetings were held and (b) correspondence was exchanged between (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in her Department and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) regarding the NICE appraisal of Donepezil, Rivastigmine, Galantamine and Memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. [81667]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 3 July 2006]: Ministers received a brief oral update on this appraisal from National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) officials on 7 June 2006. The progress of this appraisal also has been discussed with Ministers within the context of NICE's wider work programme at meetings on 2 March 2005 with NICE's chief executive and on 9 June 2005 with NICE's chief executive and chair.
Departmental officials have had no meetings with NICE specifically to discuss this appraisal, but the progress of the appraisal has been discussed as part of the regular communications between NICE and the Department.
The Department responded in writing to NICE's two consultation documents as part of this appraisal. Copies of the Department's responses are available in the Library.
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