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17 Dec 2007 : Column 941W—continued
Translation Services
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the reasons were for the decision to terminate the contracts of suppliers of translation services to his Department and change the procurement process for these services. [169435]
Mrs. McGuire: There are no contracts which have been cancelled for the provision of translation services since the current DWP framework for translation services was awarded in December 2005.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what rate per 1,000 words is charged by the companies employed to translate documents for his Department; [169436]
(2) what rate was paid to translators per 1,000 words providing direct services to his Department in the last 12 months; [169437]
(3) which companies have been awarded a formal contract for providing translation services to his Department; [169438]
(4) which translators carried out work for his Department in each of the last three years; and how much was paid to those translators. [169439]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department is currently conducting a procurement exercise for the provision of translation services and as such, under the commercial and restricted information rules (sections 41 and 43 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and section 43 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006), I regret that the information requested, in particular current pricing rates, cannot be released as this may be seen as a breach of competition rules.
Welfare Tax Credits: EC Action
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the oral answer of 29 November 2007, Official Report, column 426, on tax credits, whether the Government held discussions during the UK presidency of the EU on reform of EC Regulations 1408/71 and 574/72; and whether it has done so since then. [174672]
Mr. Plaskitt: No discussions on reform of EC Regulations 1408/71 or 574/72 were held during the UK presidency of the EU in the second half of 2005.
Early in 2004, under the Irish presidency, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament had reached agreement on all but the Annexes to Regulation 883/2004, which updates Regulation 1408/71. This will start to apply when its implementing Regulation comes into force. Discussions on the details of an implementing Regulation to replace Regulation 574/72 began, under the Austrian presidency, in February 2006 and are continuing.
Proposals for the Annexes to Regulation 883/2004 have also been under discussion since early in 2006. Minor miscellaneous amendments to the Regulations are also made approximately annually.
Parliament is kept informed of these proposals and of the progress of negotiations through the scrutiny process.
Prime Minister
Conrad Black
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Prime Minister what communications there were between the Government and the Government of Canada on the proposal to appoint Conrad Black to the United Kingdom peerage relating to his Canadian citizenship at that time. [173096]
The Prime Minister: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by my predecessor (right hon. Tony Blair) on 26 June 2007, Official Report, column 618W.
Pensions
Paul Rowen: To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has received on the timetable for pension and benefits payments in the period before Christmas 2007. [174867]
The Prime Minister: Since 27 June 2007 my Office has received approximately 2,170 letters about pensions and benefits. Given the volume of correspondence I receive, thousands of letters each week covering a broad spectrum of issues, my office records letters by subject rather than by view expressed.
Regional Government: Public Participation
Mrs. May: To ask the Prime Minister (1) who was invited to take part in the consultation on the Government's draft legislative programme by the Ministers for (a) the North East, (b) the North West, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber, (d) London, (e) the South East, (f) the South West, (g) the East Midlands, (h) the West Midlands and (i) the East of England; [169595]
(2) what representations he has received on central government policy relevant to economic growth and sustainable development from the ministers for (a) the North East, (b) the North West, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber, (d) London, (e) the South East, (f) the South West, (g) the East Midlands, (h) the West Midlands and (i) the East of England; [169597]
(3) which high level events have been attended by the Ministers for (a) the North East, (b) the North West, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber, (d) London, (e) the South East, (f) the South West, (g) the East Midlands, (h) the West Midlands and (i) the East of England. [169599]
Hazel Blears: I have been asked to reply.
Ministers in their Regional Ministers’ role do not make policy decisions for their regions; they are Central Government's advocates in the regions.
All Regional Ministers consulted with stakeholders on the Government draft legislative programme in September and October. In addition a number wrote to interested parties inviting their views. Among those consulted were representatives from local authorities, business, public institutions, voluntary and community sectors, Members of Parliament and Peers, and environmental groups.
Regional Ministers have contributed to the development of Government policy across a range of areas, including economic growth and sustainable development, since their establishment in June.
All Regional Ministers have taken part in a number of high level engagements within their regions, including meetings with local authorities and other organisations, attendance at stakeholder events and visits to local projects and communities.
Home Department
101 Calls
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sum she has allocated to the 101 helpline service in the Northumbria police authority area; and how many calls have been received. [172480]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 10 December 2007]: From 31 December 2005 to 31 December 2007, £4,280,756 has been allocated to fund the implementation and operation of the 101 service in the Northumbria police authority area. The service has received approximately 250,000 calls from the public since being launched on 3 July 2006.
Alcoholic Drinks: Crime Prevention
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local authorities have contacted her Department expressing an interest in establishing an alcohol disorder zone since the detailed guidance on the scheme was published. [173834]
Mr. Coaker: None. The consultation with stakeholders regarding alcohol disorder zones (ADZ), following the receipt of Royal Assent to the enabling provisions of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, included the Local Government Association and focused on the detail of the policy rather than seeking to determine the likely take-up of the statutory power by local areas. The guidance outlines that an ADZ can only be designated jointly with the police force, and we would not expect therefore to receive representations from local authorities until final ratification of the statutory instrument in Parliament.
Alcoholic Drinks: Sales
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police basic command units are participating in the Responsible Alcohol Sales Campaign; and how much funding for this purpose each will receive from her Department. [173832]
Mr. Coaker: 93 police basic command units nationally are currently participating in the Responsible Alcohol Sales Campaign. Listing the units taking part in the live campaign at this time may undermine the influence and impact of the campaign.
The Home Office is providing £250,000 funding for the campaign.
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria will be used to assess the effectiveness of the Responsible Alcohol Sales Campaign. [173833]
Mr. Coaker: Evaluation of the campaign will be conducted using the data returns from each participating BCU and assessing performance against the criteria for participation in the campaign compared to those areas that did not participate in the campaign.
Alcoholic Drinks: Young People
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of retailers who have sold (a) tobacco and (b) alcohol products to underage customers in each local authority area in Hampshire since 2005. [172818]
Mr. Coaker: Information on the number of defendants proceeded against for offences relating to the sale of (a) tobacco, and (b) alcohol to underage persons can be found in Table 1.
In addition, information on the number of penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued to persons aged 16 and over for offences relating to the sale of (b) alcohol to underage persons can be found in Table 2.
Court proceedings and PND data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.
The Home Office does not routinely record or hold information in relation to the proportion of tobacco sales at the national or local level.
Following the Tackling Underage Sales of Alcohol Campaign (TUSAC) 2007 the proportion of underage alcohol sales in Hampshire through the test purchase failure rate of targeted perceived problem premises was 15 per cent.
| Number of Penalty Notices for Disorder issued to all persons aged 16 and over, for the offence of sale of alcohol to a person under 18 in Hampshire police force area for the years 2005 and 2006( 1) | ||
| £80 ticket offences | ||
| (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Court proceedings database held by RDS OCJR (Office for Criminal Justice Reform) - Ministry of Justice | ||
Asylum
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate she has made of the number of failed asylum seekers in the UK in each of the last 10 years; [170369]
(2) what estimate she has made of the number of illegal immigrants living in the UK in each of the last 10 years; [170371]
(3) what estimate she has made of the proportion of immigration which was illegal in each of the last 10 years. [170372]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 3 December 2007]: No Government have ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who remain in the country illegally. Some will go to considerable lengths to remain undetected, others leave without informing the authorities, and it is therefore impossible to quantify accurately.
Asylum: Free School Meals
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recipients of support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 were (a) eligible for and (b) claiming free school meals in the latest period for which figures are available. [172403]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 10 December 2007]: All pupils whose parents are being supported under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are eligible for free school meals. The Border and Immigration Agency does not have access to data on how many of those eligible are claiming school meals.
Asylum: Young People
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications have been made by persons aged under 18 years old in each of the last four years; how many have been (a) granted and (b) refused; and how many such persons have been granted leave to remain. [166168]
Mr. Byrne: The following table shows asylum applications received in the United Kingdom by persons aged under 18 years old at time of application in each of the last four years.
Information on the number of initial decisions made on these applications would be available only by examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
Information on asylum applications by age of applicant is published annually. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
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