Written Answers to Questions
Monday 18 June 2007
Prime Minister
Africa
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Prime Minister what the cost was to the public exchequer of his recent visit to Africa; and if he will make a statement. [141420]
The Prime Minister: Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. Copies of these lists are available in the Library of the House. Information on the number of officials accompanying Ministers on overseas visits is included in the list.
All Ministers’ travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel set out in chapter 10 of the “Ministerial Code”, and the accompanying guidance document, “Travel by Ministers”. Information for 2007-08 will be published in the normal way.
Czech Republic: Ballistic Missile Defence
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister what matters concerning the deployment of missile defence systems he discussed with his Czech counterpart on 13 June. [143939]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the press conference I held with Prime Minister Topolanek on 13 June 2007 (http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/ Page11944.asp). A transcript of this is available on the No. 10 website and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Departments: Attorney-General
Mr. Laws: To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions and on which dates since 1 January 2006 (a) he and (b) members of his staff at No. 10 Downing Street have spoken to the Attorney-General; and if he will make a statement. [143042]
The Prime Minister: My officials and I have regular meetings and discussions with ministerial colleagues and others on a wide range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
Departments: Visits Abroad
Mr. Amess:
To ask the Prime Minister what the cost has been of his overseas visits since 10 May 2007; which countries he has visited; how many (a) officials, (b) advisers and (c) members of his family accompanied him; what the cost was in each case; where he and those who accompanied him stayed during each visit; what the cost was in each case; if he will list those persons he met during each visit; which
British Government Departments provided briefing material for his use during each visit; and if he will make a statement. [142818]
The Prime Minister: Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. Copies of these lists are available in the Library of the House. Information on the number of officials accompanying Ministers on overseas visits is included in the list. All Ministers’ travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel set out in chapter 10 of the “Ministerial Code”, and the accompanying guidance document, “Travel by Ministers”. Information for 2007-08 will be published in the normal way.
Briefing for my visits is provided by the relevant Government Departments. I meet a wide range of people during my visits, including foreign leaders, details of which can be found on the No. 10 website.
IBM Corporation
Mr. Gray: To ask the Prime Minister when his meeting at No. 10 on 2 December 1999 with Mr. Louis Gerstner Junior of the IBM Corporation of New York was first sought to be booked; whether discussions included the transfer pricing review of IBM then being undertaken by Inland Revenue in August 1999; and whether a record of the meeting exists. [144040]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 193W.
Saudi Arabia
Mr. Laws: To ask the Prime Minister whether (a) he and (b) Downing Street staff have (i) met and (ii) had discussions with (A) Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia and (B) his representatives since May 1997; and if he will make a statement. [143091]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 16 May 2007, Official Report, column 754W.
Solicitor-General
BAE Systems: Saudi Arabia
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will request the Director of the Serious Fraud Office to reopen the investigation into the allegations of bribery in relation to the Al Yamamah contract. [142300]
Departments: Data Protection
Grant Shapps: To ask the Solicitor-General how many times the Law Officers' Departments were found to have been in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [139234]
The Solicitor-General: I am answering this question on behalf on the Crown Prosecution Service, Serious Fraud Office, Revenue and Customs Prosecutions office, HMCPS Inspectorate and the Attorney-General's office.
The definition of “found to have been in breach” can be broad. Depending on their nature, breaches by Government Departments of the Data Protection Act can be dealt with by the Information Commissioner, the courts or by Departments at an informal local level. The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Animal Welfare
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Minister for Children on the potential for co-ordination between efforts to identify potential abusers of children and of animals. [142887]
Mr. Bradshaw: There have been no discussions between DEFRA and the Department for Education and Skills on this issue.
Animal Welfare: Transport
Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2007, Official Report, column 334W, on animal welfare: transport, what the figure of 217 non-returned journey logs represents in terms of the proportion of journey logs approved by his Department between 5 January and 30 March 2007; how many of the 217 journey logs have still not been returned; and what steps he is taking in respect of those persons and organisations that have failed to return journey logs on time and in compliance with the legal requirements. [142693]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information requested is set out in the following table. The data have been collated from spreadsheets completed by Animal Health Divisional Offices from 5 January 2007 to 30 April 2007.
Warning letters have been issued, as the standard response, to transporters who have not returned journey logs. These letters cautioned that non-compliance with journey log rules, as per Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005, may lead to future journey logs not being processed until outstanding logs are returned, with the possibility that repeated offences will lead to conditions being imposed on Transporter Authorisations.
Bovine Tuberculosis
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the State Veterinary Service/Animal Health on (a) the views of individual state-employed vets on bovine TB and (b) the communication of such views to farmers. [142886]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Minister of State and DEFRA policy officials meet with the chief executive and others from Animal Health to discuss the organisation's objectives.
Those objectives include the delivery of agreed animal health and welfare strategies and policy, as well as supporting the development of evidence-based policy.
The views of individual state employed vets and the communication of such views to farmers would not form part of those discussions.
Cotswolds Conservation Boards: Finance
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the grant aid settlements given to the Cotswolds Conservation Boards by Natural England were in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what recent discussions he has had with Natural England about the level of these grants; and if he will make a statement. [143695]
Barry Gardiner: The Cotswolds Conservation Board was established in December 2004. Responsibility for its funding initially lay with the Countryside Agency but, since its creation, lies with Natural England. The funding is as follows:
| £ | |
The figures represent total funding for core (administrative) costs, specific projects and the Sustainable Development Fund. However, the 2004-05 figures do not include the Sustainable Development Fund (created in June 2005) nor one-off set-up costs for the board which were met by the Countryside Agency. The reduction in funding from 2006-07 to 2007-08 is attributable to a reduction in support for specific projects. There has been no reduction in core funding.
I have not had any discussion with Natural England about this matter.
Departments: Legal Costs
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department on legal fees in each of the last five years. [139403]
Barry Gardiner: Legal fees of counsel and solicitors in private practice incurred by this Department and its agencies over the past five financial years are as follows:
| £000 | |
Departments: Manpower
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff funded by the public purse in the Veterinary Medicines Directorate are classified as people without posts. [141640]
Domestic Wastes: Waste Management
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2007, Official Report, columns 80-1W, on Domestic Wastes: Waste Management, if he will place in the Library (a) the documents outlining the assumptions about the costs of alternate weekly collections and (b) the initial report of the preliminary benchmarking project run by Be-Environmental. [142396]
Mr. Bradshaw: I have arranged for copies of the Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP) Kerbside Analysis Tool user manual to be placed in the House Library.
The aim of the Be-Environmental study was to conduct a comparison of a number of consultants' proprietary collection cost models. This formed Phase 1 of a more comprehensive study of the costs and performance of different collection systems and involved using models to determine the costs of a number of collection options.
It is not WRAP'S intention to publish this as a stand-alone report. WRAP is using the findings to inform Phase 2 and will incorporate the relevant sections in the overall study report, which is expected to be completed early next year.
Fisheries
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many pilot projects have been established by European Union member states following the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament, “Promoting more environmentally-friendly fishing methods: the role of technical conservation measures” (COM(2004) 438 final), dated 21 June 2004; and if he will make a statement. [142282]
Mr. Bradshaw:
Since the release of the communication, the UK has developed two discard pilot projects. The first focused on improving selectivity in the north east
coast prawn fishery. I have arranged for a copy of the report of this project to be laid in the Library of the House. The second, for which the details are still being finalised, will be a project run jointly with the Irish Government, which will look at discarding across a range of fisheries in the Irish Sea.
Details of pilot projects undertaken by other member states are not available.
Forestry
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made pursuant to the duty imposed by section 1(3) of the Forestry Act 1967, of the adequacy of national reserves of growing trees. [143606]
Barry Gardiner: The Strategy for England's Trees Woods and Forests to be published on 20 June sets out our objectives for their future role in England. This strategy focuses on maximising the public benefits which trees, woods and forests can deliver. Changing demands from society mean that public benefit is the key test of "adequacy" today. Sustainable management of the existing resource is just as important as new woodland creation. Increased afforestation must be linked with identifiable public benefit.
We have seen a long-term increase in the area of woodland in England and the Forestry Commission monitors this through the national survey of woodland, which has been carried out every 15-20 years since 1924. In addition the Forestry Commission publishes softwood availability forecasts to help inform the plans of wood-using industries and investors. At present we estimate that only around one quarter of annual growth is harvested from England’s native woodlands each year, and only 60 per cent. of the annual growth from England’s conifer forests.
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