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15 Oct 2008 : Column 1257W—continued
Omagh Bombing
13. Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to ensure full disclosure to the families of the victims of the Omagh bombing of information to be made available to Sir Peter Gibson in his review of the handling of intercept intelligence relating to that event. [225776]
Mr. Woodward: The Prime Minister has invited Sir Peter Gibson to undertake a review of the intercepted intelligence material available to the security and intelligence agencies in relation to the bombing and how it was shared. The Prime Minister has said he will report the outcome of the review to the House as soon as possible after he has received Sir Peter’s report.
On-the-run Prisoners
14. Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the number of on-the-run prisoners; and if he will make a statement. [225777]
Mr. Woodward: From 2003 to date, five prisoners remain unlawfully at large. All five were on pre-release home leave; four of the five within two months of release. The fifth, who was within five months of release, was on a town visit, prior to entering the Foyleview regime at Magilligan prison, where he would have availed of alternate weekend home leave.
2008 Olympic/Paralympic Games
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the performance of sportsmen and women from Northern Ireland in the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic games. [225773]
Paul Goggins: Although I have had no recent discussions with Northern Ireland Ministers on this matter, I understand that the hon. Member for East Londonderry, the Northern Ireland Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure has warmly congratulated all the athletes from Northern Ireland who participated in the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic games in Beijing, and held a reception for all the athletes on 6 October in Parliament buildings.
Antisocial Behaviour
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many antisocial behaviour injunctions have been issued in Northern Ireland since April 2007. [224693]
Paul Goggins: Injunctions against antisocial behaviour fall under the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 and as such are a devolved matter under the responsibility of the Department for Social Development.
However, the NI housing executive have advised that they have secured three such injunctions against antisocial behaviour since April 2007.
Winter Fuel Payments
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on increases to the winter fuel payment; and if he will make a statement. [224596]
Mr. Woodward: My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 12 March 2008 the Government's intention to increase winter fuel payments; these were discussed within Government in the normal way.
Social security is of course a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.
Duchy of Lancaster
Departmental Buildings
Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on which buildings occupied by his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies the lease will be due for renewal in the next four years. [214676]
Kevin Brennan: The Cabinet Office is responsible for leases relating to one floor of Stockley House, Victoria, London which expire in 2011. Disposal of this space is currently being pursued and there is no intention to renew the lease on expiry.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 14 July 2008, Official Report, column 238W, on departmental carbon emissions, if he will place in the Library a copy of the dataset and the accompanying methodology used by the Cabinet Office to calculate its payments to the Offsetting Fund in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07. [222217]
Mr. Watson: The information requested by the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East has been placed in the Library.
Departmental Computers
Mr. Vara: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent advice he has issued to departments on the storage of personal data on memory sticks or other portable data storage devices. [224294]
Mr. Watson: I refer the hon. Member to the Data Handling Report published on 25 June 2008, Official Report, columns 25-6WS, as well as the cross government mandatory minimum requirements in relation to personal data security.
The Data Handling Review states that where data has to be put onto removable media, departments should minimise the information transferred, use encryption and limit user access. References to this guidance can be found in paragraph 13 of the cross government mandatory
minimum measures on the following Cabinet Office website; a copy of which has been placed in the libraries of the House.
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/~/media/assets/www.cabinet office.gov.uk/csia/dhr/cross_gov080625%20pdf.ashx
Departmental Video Recordings
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 4 June 2008, Official Report, column 1046W, on departmental recordings, what the titles are of the online videos produced for internal audiences which are available on his Department's intranet. [222983]
Mr. Watson: A range of films are produced for internal audiences and are available on the departmental intranet, for example: Cabinet Secretary's address at the All Staff Event 2 July 2008; Cabinet Office Board Meeting 5 June 2008; and About the Women's Network.
Powers of Entry
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by his Department has (i) amended and (ii) enhanced existing powers of entry since May 1997. [221974]
Mr. Watson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Mr. Coaker) on 7 October 2008, Official Report, column 577W.
Home Department
Criminal Investigation: Data Protection
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what protections are planned in the proposed use of deep packet inspection equipment to ensure that data obtained by these means is not lost or stolen and that police and intelligence agencies do not use their access to this database for purposes other than fighting crime or terrorism. [225869]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 13 October 2008]: The safeguards set out in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and related statutory codes of practice govern the access to communications data irrespective of the technical means of collection. Unauthorised access to, or disclosure of, data is also an offence under the Data Protection Act 1998.
Extradition: Crimes Against Humanity
John Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many individuals have been
subject to extradition proceedings for (a) suspected war crimes, (b) crimes against humanity and (c) genocide since 2000, broken down by (i) requesting state and (ii) the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed; [224633]
(2) how many extradition requests were received under Part 1 of the Extradition Act 2003 for individuals alleged to have committed (a) war crimes, (b) crimes against humanity and (c) genocide in each year since the Act came into force, broken down by (i) requesting state and (ii) the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed. [224634]
Meg Hillier: It is not the normal policy or practice, to confirm or deny the existence of any extradition request ahead of a person's arrest. With that caveat in mind, the following table shows the number of persons arrested in the UK on such charges pursuant to extradition requests received since 2000. In all cases, the alleged conduct was carried out in the requesting state. There have been no European Arrest Warrants issued to the UK for persons accused of conduct falling within the scope of this question. The EAW has been in operation in the UK since 1 January 2004.
| Extradition requests | |||
| Year received( 1) | Number of requests | Conduct | Requesting state |
| (1) One extradition request from Spain for offences allegedly committed in Chile was received before 2000, but was refused by the then Home Secretary in March 2000. | |||
Investigatory Powers Tribunal
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has met to investigate specific cases in each year since it was established. [225162]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 9 October 2008]: No figures are available on how many times the tribunal has met in each of the years requested. However, the following table shows the number of applications it has received and investigations concluded for each of those years.
| Period | Applications received | Investigations concluded |
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she last met the Chairman of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. [225191]
Mr. Coaker: The right hon. Lord Justice Mummery is President of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has not met him.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) name and (b) title is of each person who sits on the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. [225192]
Mr. Coaker: The Tribunal currently consists of six members. They are: Lord Justice Mummery (President); Mr. Justice Burton (Vice-President); Sir Richard Gaskeil; sheriff principal John McInnes QC; Mr. Peter Scott QC; and Mr. Robert Seabrook QC.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) cost was of establishing and (b) expected annual running cost is of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. [225193]
Mr. Coaker: The Investigatory Powers Tribunal was established in October 2000 with minimal start up costs as it replaced existing bodies: the Interception of Communications Tribunal, the Security Service Tribunal, the Intelligence Services Tribunal and the complaints committee that dealt with Part III of the Police Act 1997. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal and the Interception of Communications Commissioner’s Office have a common Secretariat and the combined running costs of both for 2008-09 is £980,000.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers she has to ensure that cases of abuse of intrusive surveillance are investigated by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal; and what the process of appeal is for a person who is dissatisfied with (a) the Tribunal decision not to review their complaint and (b) the Tribunal’s decision on their complaint. [225194]
Mr. Coaker: The Investigatory Powers Tribunal’s statutory responsibilities are set out in Part IV of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. There is no domestic right of appeal against Tribunal decisions.
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