| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
19 Nov 2007 : Column 485W—continued
Rogue States
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his definition of the term rogue state as used in his statement on Ballistic Missile Defence of 25 July 2007, Official Report, column 72WS is; whether the term differs from the term countries of concern; when the decision was taken to begin using the term rogue state in relation to UK involvement in the US Ballistic Missile Defence programme; and if he will make a statement. [163938]
Des Browne: The terms “rogue state” and “country of concern” both refer to states that operate outside of or near to the boundaries defined by international agreements and accepted norms of behaviour.
Service Complaints Commissioner
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what knowledge or experience of the armed forces the new Service Complaints Commissioner has. [165967]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Service Complaints Commissioner, Dr. Susan Atkins, does not have any direct knowledge or experience of the armed forces but she does have a wealth of experience in a wide range of areas of relevance to the post of Commissioner.
The Services will undoubtedly benefit from her expertise and independent advice. As its first Chief Executive, she set up the Independent Police Complaints Commission in 2003 and was responsible for the effective management and day-to-day running of the organisation. She has held a number of positions specialising in equality and tackling discrimination, including Deputy Chief Executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission, Director of the Women and Equality Unit with the Cabinet Office and Departmental Equal Opportunities Officer for the Home Office. She has a wealth of experience of working in human resources, policy and operational roles and with a range of different organisations, particularly in the criminal justice sector.
Dr. Atkins will have a comprehensive induction and orientation prior to assuming her duties in January 2008 when it is intended that the new Service complaints process will come into effect.
Sierra Leone: Peacekeeping Operations
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 11 June 2007, on Sierra Leone: peacekeeping operations, what progress has been made on reconciling casualty data for operations in (a) Sierra Leone and (b) the Balkans since May 1997. [162225]
Derek Twigg: Work on reconciling casualty data for operations in Sierra Leone and the Balkans is continuing. I will write to the hon. Member when the work is complete and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Submarines
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what operational roles are allocated to the attack submarine fleet; and how many boats must be deployed to fulfil them. [164730]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The roles of attack submarines include strikes against land targets using Tomahawk missiles; anti-submarine and anti-surface unit warfare; insertion and recovery of special forces; surveillance; and reconnaissance. I cannot comment in detail on the operational tasking of attack submarines or the number deployed at any one time, as this would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of the armed forces.
There are currently nine boats available to undertake these tasks. As regards the number available in the future, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 29 October 2007, Official Report, column 983W.
Territorial Army: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role is of each unit of the (a) Territorial Army and (b) cadet forces in Hertfordshire; and if he will make a statement. [165065]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: There are two Territorial Army units based in Hertfordshire: A detachment of E (Essex and Hertfordshire) Company, 3(rd) Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment in the infantry role based in Hertford; and Evacuation Squadron, 254 (City of Cambridge) General Support Medical Regiment in the medical support role based in Hitchin.
The role of the Army Cadet Force is to: provide progressive cadet training to foster confidence, self reliance, initiative, loyalty and a sense of service to other people; encourage the development of personal powers of practical leadership and the ability to work successfully as a member of a team; stimulate an interest in the Army, its achievements, skills and values; and advise and prepare those considering a career in the Regular or Reserve Forces. There are 24 Army Cadet Force detachments in Hertfordshire.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Bankruptcy: Council Tax
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many individual bankruptcy petitions were received by the official receivers where council tax arrears were mentioned as a significant reason in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [164226]
Mr. McFadden: The information requested is not held in a readily available format and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Bankruptcy: Students
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many undergraduate students in England declared themselves bankrupt in each year since 1997. [164205]
Mr. McFadden: The information requested is not available from records held centrally by the Insolvency Service.
Certification Officer: Complaints
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many complaints the Certification Officer received in each of the last five years; how many were upheld in whole or in part; and what enforcement action was taken as a result. [164083]
Mr. McFadden: The following table shows the total number of decisions made by the Certification Officer in each of the last five reporting years in response to the complaints he received. The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 provides for the Certification Officer to issue declarations in relation to those complaints where there has been a breach of union statute or rule, and he may issue orders to remedy those breaches. The table indicates the number of declarations and orders he made in each year.
| Decisions | Declarations | Orders | |
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether any of his Department's advisers have declared a conflict of interest; and if he will make a statement. [164234]
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether any of his Department’s special advisers have declared a conflict of interest. [164495]
Mr. McFadden: Special advisers are appointed under terms and conditions set out in the “Model Contract for Special Advisers”. Copies of the “Model Contract” are available in the Libraries of the House.
Enterprise Act 2002: Insolvency
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the insolvency provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002; and if he will make a statement. [164227]
Mr. McFadden: The Insolvency Service is undertaking a comprehensive evaluation of the Enterprise Act 2002 insolvency provisions, overseen by an evaluation group of independent stakeholders.
The evaluation includes both quantitative and qualitative data collected from various sources over a four-year period, including five pieces of independent academic research and internal analyses of Insolvency Service data. Benchmark information was also obtained regarding the operation and effect of the pre-existing legislation.
Full details of the evaluation are set out in documents available on the Insolvency Service website (www.insolvency.gov.uk).
The final evaluation reports on both the individual and corporate insolvency provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 are due to be published by the end of 2007.
Fossil Fuels
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the size is of the UK's strategic reserves of (a) petroleum and (b) gas. [164665]
Malcolm Wicks: EU member states are required by Directive 2006/67/EC (a codification of previous legislation dating from 1968 and 1998) to hold oil stocks equal to 90 days' average daily national consumption during the preceding calendar year. As a crude oil producer, the UK receives a derogation of 25 per cent. on its obligation and is required only to hold stocks equivalent to 67.5 days. The UK also has a stocking obligation to the International Energy Agency, although this is currently lower than the EU obligation and can be covered by the same stocks.
Latest figures for September 2007 show that the UK held oil stocks of 12.6 million tonnes, equivalent to 76 days of consumption. Other than military stocks that are excluded from strategic stockholding, all UK oil stocks are held by industry.
There are no similar such EU directives relating to gas and consequently no compulsory stocks for gas.
Fuel Poverty
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of (a) households and (b) vulnerable households in fuel poverty in England in each year since 1996. [163846]
Malcolm Wicks:
An estimate of the number of households in fuel poverty can be found in Chapter 2
of “The UK Fuel Poverty Strategy; 4th Annual Progress Report 2006” available online at
| Number of households in fuel poverty in England, 1996 to 2004 | ||||||
| 1996 | 1998 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | |
| Note: Bracketed figures in millions are based on levels using the basic income definition | ||||||
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners who live in fuel poverty. [163847]
Malcolm Wicks: The “Detailed Breakdown of Fuel Poverty in England in 2004; Version 1, April 2004”, available online at http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file29687.pdf) provides the following breakdown based on household composition.
| Percentage households in group | Number households in group ( Thousand ) | |||||
| Household composition —main analysis variable | Not fuel poor | Fuel poor | Not fuel poor | Fuel poor | Total number of households ( Thousand ) | Percentage total fuel poor in group |
Fuel Poverty: Winter Fuel Payments
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners who were lifted out of fuel poverty by the winter fuel allowance in each year since 1997. [163848]
Malcolm Wicks: We estimate that winter fuel payments took 100,000 households out of fuel poverty in 2003 and 2004. This data is available in “The UK Fuel Poverty Strategy; 4(th) Annual Progress Report 2006” (available online at http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file29688.pdf). They were introduced in 1997. The effect on fuel poverty in 2001 is not available but is likely to be of similar magnitude as 2003 and 2004 given the level of payment was similar.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |