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22 July 2008 : Column 1025W—continued
Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether local authorities will have powers to stop collecting household waste from dwellings which refuse to pay or are late in paying the charges in areas where charges for the collection of household waste are being piloted. [221252]
Joan Ruddock: The Climate Change Bill allows for up to five local authorities to pilot waste incentive schemes. Such schemes do not permit local authorities to stop collecting household waste from dwellings where householders have not paid, or are late in paying.
Waste Management: Private Sector
Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps his Department takes to advise local authorities in their choice of private sector waste management partners; [221459]
(2) what powers his Department has to instruct and manage the private sector companies that are short-listed for local government waste management contracts; [221460]
(3) for which local authorities his Department has instructed the authority to exclude certain private sector companies from the short list for waste disposal contracts. [221461]
Joan Ruddock: The procurement of local authority contracts is a matter for the authority.
Waste Stakeholder Group
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who the members of the Waste Stakeholder Group are; when it has met; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of its meetings. [221255]
Joan Ruddock: The meeting dates, board members, and minutes for the Waste Stakeholder Group are all published on the DEFRA website.
Waste Strategy Board
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who the members of the Waste Strategy Board are; when it has met; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of the meetings. [221253]
Joan Ruddock: The meeting dates, board members and minutes for the Waste Strategy Board are all published on the DEFRA website.
Wales
Departmental Alcoholic Drinks
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what purchasing process is used by his Department for the purchase of alcohol for hospitality purposes; [219936]
(2) what measures are in place in his Department to monitor expenditure on alcohol for hospitality purposes. [219586]
Mr. Paul Murphy: For the three receptions that I have hosted this year, limited alcoholic refreshments were provided. For the two receptions in London these were sourced on line. The one reception Cardiff was sourced through the National Assembly for Wales. Expenditure on receptions is recorded and monitored in Wales Office accounts.
Departmental Paper
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of paper used (a) for photocopying and (b) in printed publications by his Department was from recycled sources in each of the last two years. [220731]
Mr. Paul Murphy: In each of the last two years the Wales Office has used 100 per cent., recycled paper for photocopying and printing, and the paper used in our publications, in each of the last two years, has been at least 75 per cent., recycled.
Disabled
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what proportion of staff in his Department are disabled; and what the average salary in his Department is of (a) full-time disabled staff, (b) full-time non-disabled staff, (c) part-time disabled staff and (d) part-time non-disabled staff. [220178]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Wales Office has a few staff with disabilities. For reasons of privacy no details are given, in line with Cabinet Office guidance.
Northern Ireland
Departmental Alcoholic Drinks
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures are in place in his Department to monitor expenditure on alcohol for hospitality purposes. [219593]
Paul Goggins: The amount spent on alcohol cannot be separated from other hospitality expenditure except at disproportionate cost.
The Department has specific guidance on the provision of hospitality in accordance with the principles of the “Managing Public Money and the Treasury” handbook on regularity and propriety.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what purchasing process is used by his Department for the procurement of alcohol for hospitality purposes. [219942]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office purchases alcohol via contracted suppliers in line with Government procurement rules.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department and its agencies spent on branding and marketing activity in 2007-08. [212050]
Mr. Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office and its agencies spent £262,784.11 on branding and marketing activity in 2007-08.
Departmental Overtime
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hours of overtime were worked by staff in each pay grade in his Department in each of the last 12 months. [221237]
Paul Goggins: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Sick Leave
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many and what percentage of staff in his Department have had more than two periods of sickness absence of less than five days in each of the last three years; [218711]
(2) how many staff in his Department have had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in two or more of the last five years. [218977]
Paul Goggins: The information requested could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.
Offensive Weapons: Crimes of Violence
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were (a) charged and (b) convicted of knife-related crime in Northern Ireland in the first six months of (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008. [220158]
Paul Goggins: In answer to (a), the data are not available in the format requested. The following table outlines the number of crimes which involved a knife that were cleared by means of a charge or summons. The data do not record whether the knife was used.
| Cleared by means of charge or summons | |
| Source: Central Statistics Unit, PSNI | |
On (b), court conviction datasets do not contain background information in relation to offences committed; it is therefore not possible to identify separately the number of convictions for all offences where a knife was involved. For instance, if a knife was used in murder, this information would not be recorded. Prosecution and conviction data are also collated on the principal offence rule; so only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included in the data.
I welcome the recent agreement between the PSNI and the Public Prosecution Service that people caught in possession of a knife in a public place with no reasonable excuse can expect to be prosecuted. The re-launch of the PSNI's knife campaign on 21 July will help to reinforce this message and help to raise awareness of the dangers of knives more generally.
I have recently announced a range of tough new sentencing powers to tackle knife crime. The commencement of provisions in the Criminal Justice Order on 16 July means the maximum penalty for carrying a knife in a public place, including school premises, is now a four year custodial sentence.
I intend to consult on a number of other proposals including a retail licensing scheme, a retail code of practice and a test purchase scheme to enforce the age limit on the sale of knives. All these initiatives will be underpinned by new research to obtain up-to-date local information on the attitude of young people in Northern Ireland to knives.
Official Visits
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 7 July 2008, Official Report, column 1200W, on George W Bush: official visits, whether the cost of £306,000 was drawn from the existing policing budget or whether additional funds were provided. [220604]
Paul Goggins: No additional funding has been made available to the Police Service in respect of the visit by George W. Bush, and costs are charged against existing police budgets.
Olympic Games 2012
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues in the last 12 months on securing benefits to Northern Ireland from the 2012 Olympic games. [220549]
Paul Goggins: Since the majority of issues associated with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games are devolved matters in Northern Ireland, the Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure takes the lead for the Northern Ireland Executive in ensuring that it maximises the potential benefits for Northern Ireland that will arise from the 2012 games. They work closely with my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Olympics, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic games.
In addition, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State sits on the Cabinet sub committee that co-ordinates and oversees issues relating to the London 2012 games.
Police: Finance
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of policing in Northern Ireland was in the last year for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the average daily cost of policing in each of the last five years. [220391]
Paul Goggins: The latest figures available for the total cost of policing are the annual financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2008.
The following table details the cost of policing for the last five years and the average daily cost for each year.
The figures are calculated using information as published in the annual financial statements and exclude pension accounts, operating income, exceptional items and interest paid.
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | |
Prisoners Transfers
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners sentenced in Northern Ireland have been transferred to prisons in (a) England and Wales and (b) Scotland in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [220053]
Paul Goggins: There were three prisoners transferred to prisons in England and Wales in the last 12 months, one in January 2008, one in March 2008 and one in July 2008.
Those prisoners transferred in January and March were transferred to England for assessment under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983. Hospital Orders were later issued when they were transferred to
secure hospitals in England for treatment. As they have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983, they are no longer classed as Northern Ireland sentenced prisoners.
There were no prisoners transferred to Scotland.
Sexual Offences
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland were (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted on charges relating to having sexual intercourse with an underage person in each of the last two years; what percentage of these cases resulted in a custodial sentence; and what the average length was of the prison term. [220559]
Paul Goggins: The following table outlines the number of prosecutions and convictions, the percentage of those convicted who received a custodial sentence and the average custodial sentence length (in months) for sexual intercourse with an underage person.
The data cover the calendar years 2005 and 2006 (the latest available years) and are collated on the principal offence rule; so only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
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