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7 Mar 2007 : Column 2012W—continued
Visits Abroad
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what overseas visits she plans over the next 12 months. [122559]
Margaret Beckett: Foreign engagements for both myself and other Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers are kept under constant review. It is not our practice to announce such visits until they are firm. Because of the unpredictable nature of world events, final decisions are often not possible until shortly before the day of travel.
Zimbabwe: Political Prisoners
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of political prisoners in Zimbabwe. [124630]
Mr. McCartney: There are now very few political prisoners in Zimbabwe, in the sense of those serving prison sentences for holding or advocating dissenting political views. However, arrests and detentions on political grounds are commonplace, for example for participating in demonstrations or attending public meetings. In 2006 human rights organisations registered more than 2,500 of these cases, but without a single conviction. We are concerned that the recent ban on political rallies may well lead to an increase in such incidents. We oppose the ban as well as the arrest and detention of any persons in Zimbabwe on political grounds.
Scotland
Carbon Sequestration
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on the use of carbon capture and storage technology in Scotland. [121756]
David Cairns: I refer the hon. Member to the Answer given to the hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) during Scottish Questions on 27 February 2007, Official Report, column 747.
Departments: Databases
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what databases are controlled by his Department; and what percentage of the data in each database he estimates is inaccurate or out of date. [124028]
David Cairns: The primary role of the Scotland Office is to deal with issues of constitutional policy arising from the Scotland Act 1998, including the conduct of elections to the Scottish Parliament. The Office maintains only internal databases relating to its expenditure.
Departments: Freedom of Information
Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of monitoring the time spent processing requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the purposes of the proposed fees regulations. [121733]
David Cairns: I refer my hon. Friend to the Answer given by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Constitutional Affairs, on 22 February 2007, Official Report, column 1926W.
Orkney
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many visits were made by Ministers in his Department to (a) Orkney and (b) Shetland in each year since 1983. [122526]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since then—from the records available—my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Stirling (Mrs. McGuire), attended the Highlands and Islands Convention in Shetland in March 2005.
I attended the Highlands and Islands Convention in Orkney in April 2006.
Smith Institute: Finance
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money from the public purse (a) his Department and (b) its agencies gave to (i) the Smith Institute and (ii) its subsidiary SI Events Limited in each year since 1997; and for what purpose each payment was made. [123094]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office has made no payments to the Smith Institute or SI Events Limited.
Northern Ireland
Alcoholic Drinks: Young People
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children and young people between the ages of 12 and 20 years requiring hospital treatment for (a) alcohol and (b) substance misuse were accommodated in adult psychiatric units in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years. [125345]
Paul Goggins: The number of children and young people between the ages of 12 to 20 years requiring hospital treatment for (a) alcohol and (b) substance misuse who were accommodated in adult psychiatric units in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years is presented in the following table.
| Financial year | Alcohol | Substance misuse |
| Note: Any individual requiring hospital treatment for both alcohol and substance misuse will be counted in both columns. Source: HSS Trusts. | ||
Departmental Staff
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff were employed through employment agencies in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year. [102953]
Paul Goggins: The information is as follows.
| (a) Department | |
| Department totals | |
| (b) Agencies | |||||||
| Comp. Agency | Youth Justice Agency | Crown Solicitors Office | Forensic Science Northern Ireland | Public Prosecution Service | Northern Ireland Prison Service | Agency totals | |
Information regarding (i) average and (ii) longest time for which these temporary workers were employed in each year is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Police Service of Northern Ireland
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Police Service of Northern Ireland patrol vehicles are in operation in each district command unit area in Northern Ireland, broken down by vehicle type. [125014]
Paul Goggins: I have been advised by the PSNI that the deployment of patrol vehicles is a matter for the Chief Constable. For operational reasons PSNI does not provide details of the types of vehicle deployed in each area.
An overall deployment by District Command Unit is in the following tables.
| PSNI vehicles by DCU | |
| Number | |
| PSNI Vehicles by type | |
| Number | |
Public Expenditure
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether contributions under the Republic of Ireland’s National Development Plan to public sector projects in Northern Ireland will be treated by the Government as additional to increases in the block grant for Northern Ireland provided for under the Barnett formula; and if he will make a statement. [125532]
Mr. Hanson: Any contributions from the Republic of Ireland’s National Development Plan to public sector projects in Northern Ireland will be treated as additional to funding allocations determined via the application of the Barnett formula.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the role of the Strategic Investment Board is in determining which projects in Northern Ireland should receive money from the National Development Plan of the Republic of Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [125658]
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