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30 Apr 2007 : Column 1438W—continued
AO Administrator
Grade 7 Head of Waste Evidence Branch
SPTO, Senior Waste Technical Officer
HEO Programme Officer (Vacant)
EO Project Officer (Vacant)
AO Administrator (shared between Waste Evidence Branch and Waste
Resources Branch)
Grade 7, Head of Waste and Resources Branch
HEO (D), Policy adviser
HEO Policy adviser
EO Policy adviser
Grade 7 Team Leader and Policy adviser, Local Authority Waste Performance
Branch
2 HEO Policy advisers
3 EO Policy advisers
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many scientists are employed by the (a) Waste Management Division and (b) Waste Strategy Division within his Department. [132274]
Barry Gardiner: Official scientific capacity in these divisions resides in DEFRA’s Waste Evidence Branch (formerly the Waste Research Team).
There are two scientists in this team:
(i) the Head of Branch, a Grade 7, a Chartered Environmentalist and Waste Management Professional who holds a joint Honours BSc in Chemistry and Applied Zoology
(ii) the Senior Waste Technical Officer, a Senior Professional Technical Officer (SPTO), who holds a Master’s in Geography focusing on environment.
DEFRA is also supported on waste-related scientific and technical issues by the Environment Agency.
Wood: China
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what procedures are in place to ensure that hardwood products imported from China are not made from timber that has been illegally felled in Indonesia; and if he will make a statement; [134165]
(2) what steps he is taking to ensure that imports of hardwood finished goods to the EU from China have been sourced from sustainable timber in (a) the Far East and (b) other countries. [134596]
Barry Gardiner: Currently there is no measure available to the UK to stop forest products being imported on the grounds that some or all of the timber used in their manufacture may not have met the laws of a third country.
However, the Indonesian Government have banned the export of round logs and most categories of rough sawn timber, as a measure to help tackle illegal logging within their borders.
To introduce more effective measures, Indonesia is negotiating a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU. This would allow member states to ban imports of timber directly from Indonesia which have not been licensed by the Indonesian Government as legally harvested. The UK Department for International Development is actively supporting these negotiations. This Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) agreement, as currently proposed, would not stop Indonesian companies from exporting timber to third party countries, such as China, that do not have FLEGT type agreements with Indonesia. While the Indonesian Government have indicated that they intend to require timber exports to all countries to meet the same legality requirements as those specified under the VPA, the potential for circumvention remains a matter of concern. One solution might be the inclusion of an obligation on FLEGT partner countries to report on levels of timber imports and exports and actions taken to prevent circumvention.
The European Commission recently completed a public consultation exercise on options for additional measures. The UK has indicated particular interest in proposals for a new regulation which would make it a crime in a member state, to trade in products which contain or were manufactured from timber that had been illegally harvested, regardless of country of origin. It is important to stress that currently these options are presented in outline; the European Commission has made no formal proposal to the Council of Ministers. A great deal of detailed work must be done to ensure that any future legal instrument represents good and enforceable law.
Northern Ireland
Cancer: Drugs
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment has been carried out by his Department of the effectiveness of Sutent in treating cancer; and if he will make a statement. [133106]
Paul Goggins:
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has responsibility for assessment of the cost and clinical effectiveness of new cancer drugs such as Sutent. In July 2006, the Department established a formal link with NICE (on behalf of the HPSS) under which NICE guidance is reviewed for its applicability to Northern Ireland and,
where deemed to be applicable, is endorsed by the Department for implementation in the HPSS. Sutent has not yet been referred to NICE for assessment.
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has however assessed this drug and has not recommended its use in the NHS in Scotland. In the absence of an assessment by MCE, local commissioners will be informed by the SMC’s guidance when assessing priorities for the use of specialist drugs moneys in Northern Ireland. In this context, therefore, the Department would not expect Sutent to be widely available for patients in Northern Ireland until further evidence of the clinical and cost effectiveness of the drug is available.
Departments: Official Hospitality
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent on hospitality by (a) each department in Northern Ireland and (b) his Department in financial year 2006-07. [133253]
Mr. Hanson: The following table shows the amount spent on hospitality by each department in Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Office in the financial year 2006-07.
| Department | Amount spent on hospitality 2006-07 (£) |
These figures are based on provisional outturn and are therefore subject to change. They relate to expenditure on hospitality and entertainment provided but in the case of DE, DFP and DSD it has not been possible, without incurring disproportionate costs, to completely separate out other associated costs such as room hire.
Expenditure incurred on hospitality by the NIO includes accommodation and hospitality for members of the royal family, visiting dignitaries and Heads of State, and also hospitality for the representatives of business, voluntary and community sectors in Northern Ireland attending the annual garden party at Hillsborough Castle.
Departments: Public Opinion
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library a copy of the full results of the scoping study opinion poll commissioned from MORI by his Department. [134250]
Mr. Hanson: My Department has not commissioned a scoping study opinion poll from MORI in respect of the proposed multi-sports stadium at the Maze/Long Kesh site.
Doctors: Recruitment
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date he expects doctors who have already been interviewed in Northern Ireland to be informed of the outcome of round one. [133691]
Paul Goggins: All applicants will be informed of the outcome of round one on completion of the interview process. This is expected at the end of May 2007.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects medical applicants to the Northern Ireland unit of application to be able to express a preference for a particular hospital and location within the Province. [133692]
Paul Goggins: Successful applicants will be able to express preferences following the round of interviews, which are expected to be completed at the end of May 2007.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which specialities have already given junior doctors the opportunity to submit a CV with their application in Northern Ireland. [133696]
Paul Goggins: In Northern Ireland all recruitment panels had access to full application forms including employment history. Applicants were also asked to bring their complete portfolio to interview.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many foundation year 2 and senior house officer posts are funded, by speciality, in each of the Northern Ireland hospitals; [133697]
(2) how many foundation year 2 posts he expects to be funded, by speciality, in each of the Northern Ireland hospitals in August. [133698]
Paul Goggins: It is expected that 844 SHO training posts will be funded in total. This includes 231 Foundation 2 and 96 GP posts.
A breakdown of specialities and hospitals based on August 2006 baseline figures will be placed in the Library.
Doctors: Training
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are taken to ensure that junior doctors (Foundation Year 2 and Senior House Officer) working in paediatrics complete a certified paediatric life support course before being on call in Northern Ireland. [133701]
Paul Goggins: If, under local clinical governance arrangements, the completion of a certified life support course is a requirement for Foundation year 2 and Senior House Officers working in paediatrics, this should be supported by the Trust.
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the ratio of speciality training to fixed term speciality training appointments is by speciality in Northern Ireland. [133704]
Paul Goggins: The current ratio of speciality training posts to fixed term speciality training posts is set out in the following table. These figures will be subject to further change through the reallocation of 20 fixed term speciality training posts to GP training posts.
| Speciality | Speciality training posts | Fixed term speciality training posts | Ratio |
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps have been taken to ensure that electronic signatures are verified before assessments are entered on the online NHS eportfolio for junior doctors in Northern Ireland. [133707]
Paul Goggins: An eportfolio is individually password protected and Trainees are also required to sign a probity declaration.
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