| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
5 July 2006 : Column 1094W—continued
Police
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the police stations where (a) closures and (b) manning reductions are planned, broken down by parliamentary constituency. [68498]
Mr. McNulty: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers there are in each ward in London; and if he will make a statement. [81532]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 3 July 2006]: This information is not held by the Home Office. The table sets out the number of police community support officers in each London borough operational command unit on 31 March 2006 and is provided by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.
| Metropolitan Police—Police Community Support Officers | |
| Operational Command Unit | Numbers at 31 March 2006 |
Probation Service
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) murders, (b) violent offences, (c) sexual offences and (d) other serious offences have been committed by offenders under the supervision of the Probation Service in each of the last eight years. [77129]
John Reid: This information for the years 1998 to (March) 2005 is published in annual Home Office Statistics. This can be found in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 17/05, Home Office Statistical Bulletin 15/04 and Probation Statistics England and Wales 1999.
School Safety
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are being taken to ensure that (a) knives and (b) guns are not taken into schools. [82267]
Mr. McNulty: Measures on ensuring school security are a matter for the Secretary of State for Education and Skills. We work closely with the Department on a range of issues, including current legislative proposals contained in the Violent Crime Reduction Bill on powers for head teachers to search pupils for weapons.
Tasers
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the relevance for practice in the UK of the review of the use of tasers being carried out by the US Department of Justice. [82247]
Mr. McNulty
[holding answer 4 July 2006]: This review is a long-term study by the National Institute of Justice that will be conducted in stages. The Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) are in regular communication with them via the Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations. No
major issues have been identified by the study to date. Tasers in the UK are only made available to authorised firearms officers as a less lethal alternative for use in situations where a firearms authority has been granted in accordance with criteria laid down in the ACPO Manual of Guidance on Police Use of Firearms.
Culture, Media and Sport
Agency Staff
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what average hourly rate was paid by her Department to each employment agency for staff employed through agencies in 2005-06. [81500]
Mr. Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has used two employment agencies to provide temporary staff during 2005-06. The average hourly rate for staff provided by Josephine Sammons was £14.50 and the average hourly rate for Adecco was £13.96.
Dance Facilities
Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what central funding is available for dance facilities in local communities. [82414]
Mr. Lammy: Central Government does not provide direct funding for local community dance facilities. However, funding can be made available through local government programmes and through Arts Council England revenue funding for arts organisations. Funding for dance for 2006-07 is £34 million rising to £35 million for 2007-08.
Since 1994 the Arts Council has also invested £126.4 million into establishing a national infrastructure of dedicated dance venues across the country, including Yorkshire Dance in Leeds, the Laban Centre in London and Dance City in Newcastle.
Departmental Travel
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to ensure that all flights undertaken by Ministers and officials in her Department are carbon neutral; and if she will make a statement. [81405]
Mr. Lammy: All central Government ministerial and official air travel is being offset from 1 April 2006. DCMS's aviation emissions will be calculated on an annual basis and subsequently offset.
Draft Legislation
Mr. Amess:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her practice is regarding meeting, discussing and taking into account the views
and opinions of (a) private individuals and (b) representatives of organisations, when drawing up and framing legislation to be introduced by her Department; and if she will make a statement. [81274]
Mr. Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport always seeks a full range of views when drawing up and framing legislation. Consultation is a key part of the policy-making process, both informal and formal. The Department holds regular meetings with representatives of the principal stakeholder groups for our policy areas and with relevant experts. Organisations and individuals can also contribute to the Department's formal consultation which abides by the Code of Conduct on Consultation. Known stakeholders are alerted to the fact that a formal consultation is taking place. As required by the code, the DCMS then gives feedback on the responses received and on how the consultation process influenced the policy decision.
Gambling
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with (a) her European Union counterparts and (b) Governments outside the EU on the regulation of internet gambling. [82689]
Mr. Caborn: I outlined the Government’s internal approach to regulating remote gambling when I met Jean-Francois Lamour, French Minister for Youth, Sport and Community Life recently in Paris.
The Secretary of State will shortly be writing to her counterparts inside and outside the European Union inviting them to participate in an international summit with a view to developing some international minimum standards for remote gambling regulation.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with credit card providers on the use of credit cards for internet gambling. [82690]
Mr. Caborn: Ministers and officials have met several times with international financial institutions, including credit card providers, to discuss issues relating to internet gambling. We will build on, and develop, these relationships to inform our international summit on remote gambling to explore the development of some minimum international standards for remote gambling regulation.
We are also supportive of the efforts that the remote gambling industry is making to engage the banking sector.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many cases involving misuse of credit cards for gambling over the internet have been reported in each of the last three years. [82700]
Mr. Caborn: The Government do not hold this information centrally.
Judicial Review
Mr. Amess:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what occasions an (a) individual and (b) organisation has applied for a judicial review
of decisions of her Department in each year since 1997; and what the outcome was of each case where proceedings have been completed. [80468]
Mr. Lammy: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Library Facilities
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department makes available for library facilities for older people. [82262]
Mr. Lammy: Responsibility for the provision of day to day library services lies with the 149 library authorities in England. Emphasis may differ slightly from authority to authority but older people benefit from library services which are available to all library users. Services include silver surfer sessions, help with charges such as reservations and fines, services to the housebound and homes for the elderly and provision of materials in accessible formats.
People’s Network services funded through Framework for the Future strategy programme are of particular benefit including (i) ‘Enquire’ service, giving round the clock real-time access to advice from librarians and (ii) ‘Read’ service, an on-line tool for finding interesting books for individual readers. Both these services particularly benefit people who find difficulty in visiting their library.
National Lottery
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the next lottery licence competition. [82260]
Mr. Caborn: The National Lottery Commission (NLC) began preparations for the third national lottery operating licence competition in June 2004 with an extensive period of consultation and analysis. The NLC published its statement of main principles in November 2005 before publishing a draft invitation to apply in April 2006 and the final invitation to apply on 29 June. The NLC has asked for bids to be submitted by 15 December 2006 and aims to announce the preferred bidder in mid-May 2007 and finalise the draft third licence with the next operator by July 2007, giving ample time for transition before that licence commences on 1 February 2009. I am confident that the NLC has done everything possible to provide a fair, open and transparent process to deliver a vigorous, well-run competition.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress on the work of the Big Lottery Fund. [82261]
Mr. Caborn: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for East Lothian (Anne Moffat) on 5 June 2006, Official Report, column 128W.
Post Office
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport for which services (a) her Department and (b) its associated public bodies hold contracts with the Post Office; and what the (i) start and (ii) termination date is of each contract. [81544]
Mr. Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has no contracts with the Post Office.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has over 60 sponsored bodies/Executive agencies and the figures for them could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what services (a) her Department and (b) its associated public bodies (i) make available and (ii) have made available in the last five years through the Post Office network; through how many outlets the service is or was made available; and how many relevant transactions were undertaken in each case in the most recent year for which figures are available. [79202]
Mr. Lammy: DCMS does not have any of its services provided through the Post Office network.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the only DCMS sponsored body that has used the services of the Post Office network in the last five years. It provides services for BBC TV Licensing including budget card payments and refunds from all of its available branches. However, I am unable to provide the total number of transactions because the information relating to television licence fees is not collected centrally by post offices.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |