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20 Jun 2008 : Column 1206W—continued
Armed Forces: Planning
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the armed forces last operated within his Department’s planning assumptions; and when he next expects the armed forces to be operating within these planning assumptions. [212388]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 19 June 2008]: As set out in the MOD’s recent annual reports, the armed forces have been operating above our current planning assumptions since 2002. A return to operating within these assumptions will depend upon future commitments.
Defence: Thesauri
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the (a) UK Defence Taxonomy and (b) UK Defence Thesaurus. [211887]
Derek Twigg: The UK Defence Taxonomy is a living document and is therefore subject to alteration to accurately reflect the changing nature of UK Defence business. Moreover, due to the size of the document, and the dependencies within it, the Taxonomy is designed for electronic application and is most conveniently viewed in electronic format.
The UK Defence Taxonomy is complemented by, and interlinked with, the UK Defence Thesaurus, and the two products are jointly known as the UK Defence Terminology. The UK Defence Thesaurus is an expansion of the UK Defence Taxonomy and provides greater detail.
Electronic copies of both these publications will be placed in the Library of the House.
Departmental Assets
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with (a) the devolved institutions and (b) political parties on the allocation of receipts from the sale of assets held by his Department to (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales and (iii) Northern Ireland. [209810]
Derek Twigg: In line with HM Treasury guidance, receipts retained by the Ministry of Defence are reinvested by the Department in key priorities. Therefore, no discussions have been held with administrations regarding their allocation.
Departmental Buildings
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value of the property held by (a) his Department and (b) associated public bodies was at the most recent date for which figures are available. [212910]
Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 May 2008, Official Report, column 1310W to the hon. Member for Westbury (Dr. Murrison). The National Asset Register includes Executive Non- Departmental Public Bodies, Trading Funds and the Oil and Pipeline Agency and those assets used by the reserve forces and cadets association which are owned by the Ministry of Defence.
Departmental Conditions of Employment
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the policy of his Department is on granting staff leave to attend criminal trials in order to provide (a) a witness statement and (b) evidence; and if he will make a statement. [212435]
Derek Twigg: Special paid leave may be granted for attendance at a court of law if MOD employees are requested by the police or Crown Prosecution service to give evidence or a witness statement. A voluntary witness may be granted special unpaid leave.
Ex-servicemen: Mentally Ill
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces veterans were diagnosed with mental health problems in each of the last 15 years. [211399]
Derek Twigg: The information is not held by the MOD.
Home Department
Alcoholic Drinks: Young People
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people aged (a) 12 to 14, (b) 15 to 16 and (c) 17 years were (i) prosecuted and (ii) given a penalty charge notice for disorder for purchasing alcohol in the Peterborough City Council area in each year since 2001; and if she will make a statement. [192461]
Mr. Coaker: There were no persons aged 12 to 18 who were proceeded against at magistrates courts in the Cambridgeshire police force area for the offence of purchasing alcohol by a person aged under 18 years for the years 2001 to 2006. It would not be possible to provide information for Peterborough city council, as data at this level of detail are not held centrally.
In addition, under the Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND) Scheme, established by the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, the police can issue a fixed penalty of £50 for the offence of “Buying or attempting to buy alcohol by a person under 18” section 149(1) of the Licensing Act 2003 (c.17). No PNDs have been issued for the offence to anyone under 18 by Cambridgeshire police force in 2005 or 2006, the latest year for which confirmed data are available.
Animal Experiments: Primates
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which overseas primate supply or breeding facilities which export primates to the UK for the purposes of scientific research her Department has
(a) inspected and approved and (b) not inspected in the last two years; what country each is in; and if she will make a statement. [210716]
Meg Hillier: 10 overseas centres are currently accepted to supply non-human primates to designated user establishments in the United Kingdom. Of these, four, in China, Vietnam and the Netherlands, have been visited by Home Office inspectors since June 2006. The remaining centres in the Netherlands, Israel, Mauritius and the United States of America have not been visited in that period.
The acceptability of an overseas centre supplying non-human primates to UK designated establishments is reviewed at least once every two years. This biennial review takes into consideration all available information including full details of the breeding centre, submitted to the Home Office on a standard pro-forma, responses to specific questions on current care and accommodation, routine reports submitted by users following receipt of each consignment of animals and, where possible, informal reports from users who have visited the centre.
Normally, centres will be visited every two to four years depending on the findings from the previous visit, the need to reassess on site and whether animals are being supplied from the site. Visits by the Inspectorate are risk based, depending on the need to monitor standards of husbandry and care or progress of improvements.
Extradition: USA
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will review the extradition treaty with the US with a view to ensuring that the UK is able to extradite suspects from the US under the same conditions pertaining to extradition from the UK to the US. [209876]
Meg Hillier: The Government consider that our extradition arrangements generally, and with the United States in particular, are balanced and fair and do not require amendment.
The ‘probable cause' test that the US requires of extradition requests made to it by the UK is broadly comparable to the requirement for "information" about the offence that the UK requires of the US ("information that would justify the issue of a warrant for the arrest of a person within the judge's jurisdiction...." - i.e., "reasonable suspicion"). To reintroduce the prima facie test would be to recreate an unequal relationship.
Olympics
Olympic Games 2012: Kettering
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what assessment she has made of the potential for Kettering constituency to become involved in the 2012 Olympic Games; and if she will make a statement. [212752]
Tessa Jowell:
The Government and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) are working hard to ensure that the benefits of 2012 reach across the UK and have
established a Nations and Regions Group (NRG) to oversee this work chaired by Charles Allen. Kettering's involvement in the Games is represented through the Northamptonshire 2012 Steering Group. Northamptonshire is one of five county-level groups established by the County Sports Partnership across the region to maximise the benefits of 2012.
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and LOCOG expect to directly procure £6 billion worth of contracts. In January, the Olympic Family launched the London 2012 Business Network, helping businesses across the UK to access these contracts. CompeteFor is a key component of the Business Network, as it enables businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, across the UK to access contracts from the ODA and LOCOG supply chains. The ODA has already awarded 27 contracts to companies registered in the east midlands. Businesses in every constituency, including Kettering, should be encouraged to sign up and get support via the London 2012 website:
to compete for and win contracts.
Additionally, one facility from Kettering—Kettering Leisure Village—offering three sports disciplines is to be included in the official London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp Guide.
I also understand there are plans to hold the 2008 Northamptonshire Cultural Olympiad festival (working title) in Kettering on 24 August. This will be held at Wicksteed Park— plans include live coverage of the Beijing closing ceremony and handover as well as a number of sports, arts and cultural events.
Justice
Olympic Games
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department plan to attend the Beijing Olympic games; to what purpose in each case; and what estimate he has made of the cost. [212114]
Mr. Wills: No Ministers or officials from the Ministry of Justice will be attending the Beijing Olympic games in an official capacity.
Prospects Project
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the objectives of the Prospects Project were; and if he will make a statement on its progress. [212854]
Mr. Hanson: The Prospects programme was designed to reduce crime in local communities by assisting offenders with a history of drug taking to lead law-abiding lives. It offered such offenders a 12-16 week residential place with comprehensive services and support followed by identification of suitable accommodation where support was provided for up to six months in the community. It was originally aimed at drug-using offenders serving short prison sentences who became abstinent in custody and entered into voluntary support on release to the programme.
The numbers of offenders dealt with by the programme were not as high as expected and following a commercial review it was considered that the costs of the programme outweighed the benefits being realised. This view was supported by independent evaluation. I consequently agreed to the closure of the programme on the 7 January 2008. Members of Parliament for the respective constituencies in which the hostels are located have been informed.
Culture, Media and Sport
Bingo
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the future prospects for the bingo industry; and if he will make a statement. [212751]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I hope to make a statement to the House on this and related matters shortly.
Culture: EU Grants and Loans
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the value of cultural grants made to UK organisations from the European Union’s Regional Development Fund was in each year since 2000. [211325]
Margaret Hodge: The remit of my Department does not extend beyond England, but the current available figures for cultural grants made to English organisations from the European Union’s Regional Development Fund since 2000 are set out in the following table:
| £ million | |||
| ERDF | |||
| Current spending | Capital gains | Total | |
| (1) Based on spending plans. Note: All figures are from the HM Treasury Country and Regional Analysis Data Collection Exercise | |||
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding (a) the Arts Council, (b) Arts Council regional offices, (c) the Museum, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and (d) MLA regional offices received from the EU (i) Structural Funds and (ii) Social Fund in each of the last five years. [211534]
Margaret Hodge: The information requested, provided by the bodies in question, is set out in the following table:
| £ | |||||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | |
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