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10 July 2007 : Column 1390W—continued


Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which research projects his Department has conducted on agricultural biotechnology in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost was of each. [146231]

Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 28 June 2007]: A list of DEFRA research and development (R and D) contracts related to agricultural biotechnology has been placed in the Library of the House. Project titles and costs are included for all relevant R and D projects from the formation of DEFRA to the current financial year.

For this purpose, DEFRA has defined biotechnology as being the application of biological organisms, systems and processes to manufacturing and service industries. This definition covers genetic modification research but goes much wider to include fused cell techniques, protein engineering, fermentation and cell culture techniques, the production of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies and many other techniques. It excludes pathogen characterisation and epidemiology.

Sewers: Water Companies

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date water companies will be obliged to adopt private sewers. [146470]

Mr. Woolas: The Government announced on 22 February that existing private sewers and lateral drains connected to public sewers in England should be transferred into the ownership of the nine statutory water and sewerage companies. The Government undertook to consult on a range of ways the transfer could be implemented and to examine how to prevent the proliferation of new private sewers. The consultation would also pose questions on the scope of assets to be included in the transfer.

The 12 week consultation on implementation options is planned to take place over the summer. Following this, regulations will be drafted, consulted on and amended accordingly. The timing of the process cannot be stated exactly, but the earliest date for regulations to be in force is likely to be summer 2008.

Water Supply

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of miles of English water pipes which need replacing; and how many miles of pipes will be replaced in 2007-08. [146295]

Mr. Woolas: Ofwat, as the economic regulator of the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales, sets price limits every five years. Ofwat’s final determination in December 2004 set out the price limits and outputs for each company for the years 2005-06 to 2009-10.

Following the last price review in 2004, each company produced a monitoring plan covering the period up until 2010, containing estimates of the activity levels needed to achieve their outputs. The plans include the estimated length of mains renewal and relining that will be needed. The following table shows the monitoring plan estimates for companies in England for 2007-08 and overall for 2005-10.

Miles
2005-10 2007-08

Mains renewal

7,100

1,600

Mains relining

3,600

750


Wood: Procurement

Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the proportion of timber produced in England that is used for the manufacture of (a) paper, (b) chipboard and (c) other building materials. [148126]

Joan Ruddock: Not all the information requested is available in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

It is estimated that, in 2005, 277,000 green tonnes of timber harvested in England was used directly by integrated pulp and paper mills out of the UK total use of 714,000 green tonnes of UK roundwood. Use by the
10 July 2007 : Column 1391W
panel board industry, which includes chipboard, is only available as a UK total, which is 1.5 million green tonnes.

There are no statistics for wood's use as building materials, but in 2005 construction markets were reported to take 34 per cent. of all sawnwood from larger softwood sawmills in the UK (each producing more than 5,000 cubic metres of sawnwood). Within this UK total the larger softwood mills in England sold 23 per cent. for use in construction. Not all sawn timber produced in England came from logs harvested in England.

Home Department

Crime: Vandalism

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to introduce the practice of recording incidents of graffiti as a separate sub-category of criminal damage; and if she will make a statement. [147995]

Mr. Coaker [holding answer 9 July 2007]: There are currently no plans to record incidents of graffiti as a sub-category of criminal damage.

Information on graffiti is not routinely recorded by all police forces as part of their information on criminal damage. There is also an absence of a precise legal definition of graffiti, which would result in inconsistencies in data that is held by forces.

Currently, the main sub-categories of recorded criminal damage are based on the type of property damaged. They are:

These four are then sub-classified according to whether the offence is racially or religiously aggravated.

Police forces may have their own local methods for recording incidents of graffiti. Some local authorities have also made great efforts to make it easier for the public to report graffiti, so any attempt to estimate a total for graffiti would ideally include local authority data.

Departments: Performance Appraisal

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in her Department did not achieve an acceptable mark in their annual report in 2006-07. [146933]

Mr. Byrne: The 2006-07 reporting year ended on 31 March 2007 and we are currently continuing to compile the report markings for staff below the grades of senior civil service. Of those reports compiled, the figures contained in the following table include the returns for unsatisfactory performing staff:


10 July 2007 : Column 1392W
Number/Percentage

Total reports processed

15,388

of which unsatisfactory

75

as percentage of processed reports

0.30


Genetics: Databases

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individual records were added to the national DNA database under section 10 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, in each year since 2003. [146965]

Mr. McNulty: Section 10 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 amended the Police and Criminal Evidence Act to extend the power to take and retain DNA samples to all those arrested for a recordable offence. This legislation came into effect on 1 April 2004.

The number of profiles added to the National DNA Database for each year since 1 April 2004 under this power (including those who were later charged or convicted) is as follows:

Number

2004-05

468,177

2005-06

607,940

2006-07

661,433


It is currently estimated that 13.7 per cent. of profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates, i.e. that a profile for a person has been loaded on more than one occasion (one reason for this is that the person gave different names, or different versions of their name, on separate arrests). Thus these profiles refer to the following estimated numbers of individuals:

Number

2004-05

404,037

2005-06

524,652

2006-07

570,817


Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many profiles were loaded onto the national DNA database in each quarter of each of the last five years. [147783]

Jacqui Smith: The number of profiles added to the National DNA Database (NDNAD) for each quarter of the last five years is set out in the following table . It is currently estimated that 13.7 per cent. of profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates, i.e. that a profile for a person has been loaded on more than one occasion (one reason for this is that the person gave different names, or different versions of their name, on separate arrests). Thus, the number of individuals on the database is approximately 13.7 per cent. less than the number of subject profiles. The presence of these replicate profiles on the NDNAD does not impact on the effectiveness and integrity of the database. Nonetheless, a long-term exercise is under way to identify issues associated with the removal of all such redundant replicate profiles.


10 July 2007 : Column 1393W
Number of profiles added
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

2002-03

127,915

125,899

113,383

121,322

2003-04

110,049

120,337

106,326

138,585

2004-05

112,209

124,276

145,672

138,961

2005-06

156,685

169,133

184,936

204,391

2006-07

175,598

209,495

171,807

165,564

2007-08

154,496


Police: Pay

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to make changes to the system of police pay. [147911]

Mr. McNulty [holding answer 9 July 2007]: Effective and affordable pay arrangements are essential for a modern police service. I announced to the House last November a review of police pay arrangements. We are working with ACPO, the APA and the staff associations and trade unions in the police to progress this.

Stop and Search

Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Taunton, of 12 June 2007, Official Report, column 977W, on stop and search, what data are held on the offences for which people were arrested. [147768]

Jacqui Smith: The section 44 Terrorism Act 2000 Stop and Search aggregated collection, held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, records resultant arrests either in connection with terrorism or for other reasons. The specific offences for which persons are arrested are not recorded.

Stop and Search: Forms

Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what regulations or guidance there is on the design of forms issued by police forces to people who are stopped and searched under counter-terror legislation. [147765]

Jacqui Smith: Comprehensive guidance on all aspects of stop and search, including the use and importance of forms, was published by CENTREX in July last year. This guidance can be found at

and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Theft: Bicycles

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many stolen bicycles were recovered by each police authority in each of the last five years. [148642]

Mr. Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally. There is no requirement for police forces to notify the Home Office of the number of stolen bicycles that are recovered.


10 July 2007 : Column 1394W

Work and Pensions

Departments: Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in his Department in the last three years; and at what total cost. [146994]

Mrs. McGuire: The answer is in the following table.

Performance bonus payments are awarded to employees on the basis of their individual performance. They are paid after the completion of the performance year. The expenditure incurred is as follows:

Table 1: Amount paid in performance bonuses to DWP staff since 2002 and the numbers of staff receiving bonuses
Financial year Total paid (£ million) Number of employees receiving bonus

2004-05

38.61

129,855

2005-06

42.82

123,285

2006-07

40.68

116,096


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