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3 Dec 2009 : Column 864W—continued
Oils: Waste Disposal
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the economic viability of re-refining waste oils into base lubricating oils in the UK. [303973]
Dan Norris: Waste oil has a value and there continues to be a demand for it to be processed for energy recovery uses. If the price obtainable for waste oil for these uses reduces, this could stimulate investment in regeneration of lubricants from waste oil. Informal discussions with the sector indicate that proposed investors in regeneration continue to watch the market situation in the UK and greater re-refining remains a possibility.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume of oils was consigned for processing as waste in each year since 2001; to which (a) facilities and (b) companies such oils were consigned for processing in each such year; and if he will make a statement. [303980]
Dan Norris: A copy of the data requested will be placed in the Library of the House.
Waste Disposal: Finance
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what expenditure from the public purse on (a) anaerobic digestion and (b) composting of waste was in each of the last three years; what it is expected to be in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement. [303455]
Dan Norris: The figures for capital spend in England on anaerobic digestion and composting of waste from the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Bio-energy Capital Grant Scheme and for future spend on DEFRA's Anaerobic Digestion Demonstration Programme and the Organics Capital Grant Programme are set out as follows.
| Bio-energy capital grant scheme | |
| £ | |
| Anaerobic digestion demonstration programme | |
| £ | |
| Organics capital grant programme | |
| £ | |
The following amounts have yet, to be committed by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), which administers the Organics Capital Grant Programme on behalf of DEFRA. This provides capital support for both anaerobic digestion and in-vessel composting. WRAP is not yet in a position to say how these resources will be split between the two technologies.
| £ | |
Anaerobic digestion projects will also be eligible to bid for the upcoming round six of the Bio-energy Capital Grant Scheme. This may result in additional resources being granted to anaerobic digestion projects.
DEFRA is also making funding available for anaerobic digestion through the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). The Regional Development Agencies that deliver the socio-economic elements of the RDPE are looking to fund anaerobic digestion projects but are not yet able to say what the level of expenditure will be on these projects over the next three years.
Northern Ireland
Abortion
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) on how many occasions the working party established to develop guidance on abortion in Northern Ireland has met in each of the last five years; and if he will publish the minutes of each such meeting; [303458]
(2) what recent representations he has received from Northern Ireland on the law on abortion; [303459]
(3) how many meetings he has had with (a) the Minister of Health of the Northern Ireland Executive, (b) members of the medical profession and (c) others in relation to abortion in Northern Ireland. [303460]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has not received any requests for meetings to discuss this matter from either the Northern Ireland Minister of Health or members of the medical profession. A delegation of hon. Members met with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 5 March 2009 to discuss these issues, and the Department also received a number of representations during the passage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. From time to time the NIO receive letters from members of the public and organisations both supporting and opposing changes to the law on abortion in Northern Ireland.
I understand that the working group the hon. Member refers to was set up by the devolved administration in Northern Ireland. The Department was not represented on that group and so is not aware of its meeting schedule nor has it any access to its minutes.
Capita
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions Capita Group plc tendered for contracts let by his Department in each of the last five years; how many such tenders were successful; how much his Department paid to Capita Group plc for the execution of contracts in each such year; how many contracts which terminate after 2010 Capita Group plc hold with his Department; and what the monetary value is of all outstanding contracts between his Department and Capita Group plc. [303161]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), including its arms length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, does not record information on how many occasions an organisation tenders for a contract therefore this question could be answered only at disproportionate cost.
The Northern Ireland Office has no record of any contracts awarded to Capita Group plc during the last five years.
The information provided is based on contracts which have been conducted through the Department of Finance and Personnel's Central Procurement Directorate since November 2003.
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria his Department uses in determining the award of contracts; and how much his Department has spent on the advertisement of tenders for Government contracts since 1997. [303135]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), including its arms length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, in determining the award of contracts, uses the criteria that the most economically advantageous contract which delivers the best value for money to the Department is selected.
The Northern Ireland Office does not record information on the expenditure incurred on advertising tenders.
Departmental Disabled Staff
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people with a disability were employed in (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three years. [303471]
Paul Goggins: The following table provides information on the number of staff employed in (a) the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) and (b) its agencies who have declared a disability. Figures for 2007 are not available.
| Number | ||
| Core | Agency | |
The NIO does not hold this information for its non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). This is an operational matter for each of the NIO's executive NDPBs, who operate independently of Government. I would encourage the hon. Member to write to the respective chief executives. Details of the NIO's NDPBs can be found on page seven of the NIO 2009 Departmental Report at:
Departmental Plants
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on (a) cut flowers and (b) pot plants in 2008-09. [301014]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) does not record expenditure under these headings. However, the total costs paid by the NIO, including its arms length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPB's, to florists and nurseries in 2008-09 was £27,980.
Flowers and pot plants are purchased when the NIO hosts official events and receptions. During this period, the Department hosted a wide range of official events at Hillsborough Castle, which included receptions for military personnel and their families on return from Afghanistan, Iraq and other foreign postings; Royal Garden Parties and individual visits by members of the Royal family; receptions for local civic and community leaders; and other occasions including a number of visits by foreign dignitaries and events for charities such the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.
These figures also include flowers purchased for events which are held in Hillsborough Castle on behalf of other parties. Although the NIO does not charge these external customers directly for the cost of flowers, provision is included within a facility hire charge.
New Deal Schemes
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many young people in each ward in Northern Ireland have been helped into work under the New Deal programme (a) in total and (b) in each year since the introduction of the New Deal. [302355]
Paul Goggins: The operation of programmes aimed at supporting people into employment in Northern Ireland, including New Deal and the Steps to Work programme which replaced it, are the responsibility of the devolved Administration.
Prime Minister
Departmental Disclosure of Information
Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister whether any allegations of victimisation for whistleblowing have been reported to his Office by its staff since 6 June 2006. [302041]
Nuclear Weapons
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he had during the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Trinidad with (a) his counterpart and (b) the President of (i) India and (ii) Pakistan on the nuclear weapons capability of that country; and whether he discussed the matter of nuclear disarmament with representatives of other governments at that meeting. [302991]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement I made on 30 November 2009, Official Report, column 113WS.
Solicitor-General
Departmental Legislation
Chris Huhne: To ask the Solicitor-General what criminal offences have been (a) abolished and (b) created by primary legislation sponsored by the Law Officers' Departments since 1 May 2008. [303256]
The Solicitor-General: The Law Officers' Departments have not sponsored any legislation during the relevant period.
Domestic Violence: Prosecutions
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Solicitor-General how many prosecutions there were for offences related to domestic abuse in each of the last three years. [304218]
The Solicitor-General: The number of defendants prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service for offences of domestic violence was as follows:
| Number | |
The above figures comprise offences of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those who are, or have been, intimate partners for family members.
The increase in volumes over the three-year period is believed to reflect the greater willingness of victims of domestic violence to come forward and report offences to the police, as well as improvements in CPS record keeping.
Surveillance
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Solicitor-General how many covert human intelligence sources the Serious Fraud Office has recruited in each year since 2000. [303143]
The Solicitor-General: Owing to operational reasons, the Serious Fraud Office is unable to confirm or deny the number of covert human intelligence sources recruited since 2000.
Transport
Railway Car Park Charges
12. Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what his policy is on the levels of car park charges levied by regulated train operating companies. [303678]
Chris Mole: Railway station car park charges are unregulated and are therefore a commercial matter for the train operators. If a passenger considers that a station car parking charge is too high, this would be a matter for the Office of Rail Regulation as the competition authority for the railway sector, to investigate under the Competition Act 1988.
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