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7 Dec 2009 : Column 19W—continued
Waste Management
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department will provide a clear time line for amending the Environmental Permitting Regulations to reflect the adoption of the end of waste concept; and if he will make a statement. [304326]
Dan Norris: In DEFRA's view, it would be premature to carry out a review of the requirements of the Environmental Permitting Regulations that apply to fuel manufactured from waste before the conclusion of the procedures necessary to comply with the Technical Standards Directive (TSD) (98/34/EC) in relation to the draft end-of-waste protocol for fuel produced from waste lubricating oils, developed in response to the Appeal Court's judgment in the OSS case. The European Commission and Austria have now commented on that draft protocol under Article 8(2) of the TSD. The UK is required to take such comments into account and this legal obligation is currently being fulfilled. On conclusion of our consideration of the comments made under Article 8(2) of the TSD, we will consider further a review of the requirements of the Environmental Permitting Regulations that apply to fuel manufactured from waste.
Water: EU Law
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the water industry of meeting the water quality targets contained in the EU Water Framework Directive. [303423]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The most recent estimate of cost to the water industry across England and Wales of achieving water quality targets determined under the first planning round of the Water Framework Directive is £174,000,000. This includes £117,000,000 in one-off costs and £57,000,000 average annual costs over the six years of the first River Basin Management Plans from 2009-2015. These figures include the costs of investigations which are essential to progressing work within the future planning rounds of the Directive.
Northern Ireland
Capita
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether any contracts between Capita Group plc and his Department have been cancelled before completion since 1997; and whether Capita Group plc has been liable for any penalties arising from failings in the administration of contracts since 1997. [303090]
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, has no record of any contracts awarded to Capita Group plc since 1997.
The NIO departmental disposal policy states that records of contracts do not have to be held longer than six years and financial records seven years. Central Procurement Directorate (CPD) records go back to 2001. No records are available beyond this year.
The information provided is based on contracts which have been conducted through the NIO central procurement unit prior to November 2003 and the Department of Finance and Personnel's CPD since November 2003.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many full-time equivalent press officers (a) are employed by and (b) work for his Department. [303604]
Mr. Woodward: There are a total of 8.5 press officers employed by, and work for, my Department.
Departmental Legislation
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criminal offences have been (a) abolished and (b) created by primary legislation sponsored by his Department since 1 May 2008. [303255]
Paul Goggins: The primary legislation made by the Northern Ireland Office since 1 May 2008 which abolished or created criminal offences is as follows:
The Sexual Offences (NI) Order 2008, implemented in February 2009, reformed the body of law on sexual offences. The order contains all criminal offences in relation to sexual offending behaviour. Articles 81 and 83 and schedules 1 and 3 to the order list the old offences which were repealed and article 5 abolished the common law offence of rape.
The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008, made in May 2008, created nine new offences. Articles 52, 53, 65(6) and 91(4) contain four new driving-related offences; article 68 created one new offence in relation to alcohol consumption in designated public places; and the remaining offences relate to prison security. Article 71, a single offence of assisting or permitting a person to escape from lawful custody has replaced the separate offences of rescuing, or assisting or permitting the escape of, a person sentenced to death or for life, and rescuing or assisting or permitting the escape of other prisoners, formerly in sections 29 and 30 of the Prison Act (NI) 1953. Articles 77 and 78 create offences in relation to conveying articles into or out of prison. These replace the offences of conveying spirits or alcohol or other articles into prison (formerly in sections 34 and 35 of the Prison (NI) Act) with a more extensive prohibition. No offences were repealed by the order.
Departmental Pay
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in his Department received bonus payments in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09; what proportion of the total work force they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was; and if he will make a statement. [300892]
Paul Goggins: Non-consolidated performance payments are made to staff in the senior civil service in line with Cabinet Office Guidance and also to staff at grades D2 to A in line with HM Treasury Guidance. These payments are made at the end of the reporting year to reward performance throughout the year retrospectively.
Under a separate scheme special performance payments are awarded to staff at grades D2 to A.
Figures for the last two years are set out in the following tables.
| Non-consolidated performance payments | ||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| (1 )The details for the 2007-08 non-consolidated performance payments do not include payments made by the Northern Ireland Prison Service to staff below senior civil service. | ||
| Special performance payments | ||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost to his Department was of the provision of office facilities to (a) special advisers and (b) press officers in the 2008-09 financial year. [302967]
Paul Goggins: Northern Ireland Office (NIO) special advisers and press officers are located alongside other NIO staff in a number of buildings. Rent, rates and utilities, etc., are charged on the basis of the entire building, and the cost of specific areas of the building or accommodation for groups or individuals within the building could not be separated from the overall running costs of the entire building.
Disabled
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what meetings he has had with disability organisations since his appointment. [303472]
Mr. Woodward: I have not met directly with any of the disability organisations since my appointment as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Iraq Committee of Inquiry
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what position each official in his Department seconded to the Iraq Committee of Inquiry held between January 2001 and December 2003; and for what matters each was responsible in each such year. [303145]
Paul Goggins: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Tessa Jowell) on 3 December 2009, Official Report, columns 974-75W.
Prisoners: Foreign Nationality
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many foreign national prisoners were discharged from a sentence of imprisonment in Northern Ireland in (a) 2008 and (b) each month in 2009 for which figures are available. [303832]
Paul Goggins: In 2008, the Northern Ireland Prison Service discharged 188 sentenced foreign national prisoners.
From 1 January to 30 November 2009, the service discharged 234 sentenced foreign national prisoners, as shown in the following table.
| Number discharged | |
Sexual Offences
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many sex offenders were housed in dormitory accommodation in HM Prison Magilligan (a) in the nine months up to August 2009 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available; on what authority they were so housed; and what steps have been taken to move them to single cell accommodation; [304438]
(2) how many sex offenders have been moved to open type accommodation at Foyleview in the last three months; and what steps have been taken to inform the local population of the matter. [304439]
Paul Goggins: In the nine months up to August 2009 there was an average of 55 sex offenders held in dormitory type accommodation; at 3 December 2009 there were 47 sex offenders held in this accommodation unit. Staff at Magilligan are in the process of reallocating prisoner accommodation, following the refurbishment of H blocks, which will reduce the numbers in dormitory accommodation to 32, with the intention of introducing partitions to provide for increased privacy.
All prisoners, regardless of offence, may occupy cellular accommodation, single rooms or dormitories.
On 24 September 2009 five sex offenders were transferred to Foyleview semi-open accommodation unit (a low supervision unit within the Magilligan prison complex) and as of 3 December 2009 nine sex offenders were located there. This is part of our strategy to make the most effective use of prisoner accommodation, based on prisoners satisfactorily completing a risk assessment and meeting the strict criteria necessary for their placement.
Before being transferred to Foyleview, prisoners must be assessed at category C level-the lowest category of risk assessment. Each prisoner accepted to Foyleview has been admitted as a result of his progression through the prison regime, though where a prisoner fails to comply with the requirements of the unit, they may be returned to the main prison complex.
There is no obligation on NIPS to inform the public.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Colombia
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to seek to ensure the implementation of EU guidelines on the protection of human rights defenders in Colombia in 2009. [302764]
Chris Bryant: When I visited Colombia, I issued a joint statement with President Uribe and the Foreign Minister declaring that
"the defence of human rights is necessary and legitimate for democracy, in a country like Colombia which is proud of being fully open and ready for international Scrutiny on this subject".
We work closely with EU partners, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and human rights defenders on implementation of the EU guidelines on human rights defenders. For example, we have made visits to rural communities, including the Curvarado River Basin, and more recently Popoyan, to visit communities and human rights defenders that are under threat, and we are planning further visits in conjunction with EU partners.
We also make representations to the Colombian authorities in specific cases of violence or threats against individual or collective human rights defenders. Our ambassador recently wrote to the Colombian Director of Human Rights, Carlos Franco, to request a greater level of protection for a human rights defender under threat. We also make our support clearly visible by visiting those under threat at their places of work.
We undertake a range of project work alongside Colombian and international NGOs aimed at supporting the work of human rights defenders. For example, we run two projects on tackling impunity in the criminal justice system, and three specifically aimed at promoting and strengthening the position of human rights defenders in Colombia.
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has plans to monitor the trial in Colombia of Jorge Noguera Cotes, former head of the internal security department in that country. [302765]
Chris Bryant: Yes, we will follow this trial with interest.
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to assist human rights defenders in Colombia in each quarter of 2009; and if he will make a statement. [302766]
Chris Bryant: We are involved in a number of activities to help human rights defenders in Colombia, and to support their cause. In October 2009 I visited Colombia, where I urged President Uribe to ensure that human rights defenders were properly supported and protected.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary recently met Eduardo Carreno, a Colombian human rights lawyer, to discuss the problems human rights defenders face, and to express the UK's support for their cause. Our ambassador in Bogota and his officials make representations to the Colombian Government in specific cases of violence or threats against human rights defenders, and visit them at their offices to demonstrate the UK's support.
In addition to our lobbying activities, we also provide practical support through our project work in the areas of freedom of expression, tackling impunity, equality and promoting civil society.
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