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Crime: Drink-Driving
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were convicted of drink driving in 2008; and how that figure compares with the previous 10 years. [HL3686]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The number of persons found guilty at all courts for driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs in England and Wales for the years 1998 to 2007 (latest available) is provided in the following table. The data provided cover both drink and drugs offences combined, as volumes of convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs cannot be separately identified.
Information for Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the Scottish Executive and the Northern Ireland Office respectively.
Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
| The number of persons found guilty at all courts for driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs, England and Wales 1998 to 2007 (1)(2) | ||||||||||
| Offence type | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
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(1) It is known that for some police force areas the reporting of court proceedings, in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete.
(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform— Evidence and Analysis Unit.
Crime: Murder
Question
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
To ask Her Majesty's Government in the light of the comments by Paul McKeever, the chairman of the Police Federation, reported in The Times on 13 May, whether they will ensure that convicted murderers of police officers serve full life prison sentences. [HL3700]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The court determines the minimum term that an offender must serve under a life sentence. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 sets out the starting points that a court should adopt when determining the minimum term to be served in all cases of murder. The starting point for the murder of a police officer in the course of his duty is 30 years. The court will consider any aggravating and mitigating factors which will increase or decrease the minimum term and, in exceptionally serious cases, may consider a whole life tariff. Release on licence may only be considered by the Parole Board once the minimum term has been served and the board makes its decision on the basis of the risk to the community posed by the offender. In some cases the offender may never be released.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Questions
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to requests from the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) for sharing information about the whereabouts and movements of the leadership of the Lord's Resistance Army; and what consideration they have given to MONUC's requests for an enhanced intelligence capability to improve its effectiveness. [HL3670]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): We maintain an intensive dialogue with the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) and seek to provide assistance whenever requested, as with all UN peacekeeping missions.
The additional resources mandated by the UN Security Council in Resolution 1843 included provision of additional intelligence capability. MONUC is in the process of acquiring additional aerial surveillance capability to locate rebel groups, including the Lord's Resistance Army. In addition, MONUC has created joint civilian and military protection teams which have increased the mission's capacity to gather and analyse information relating to the protection needs of vulnerable populations.
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what logistical support they are giving to improve the military capability of the Army of the Democratic Republic of Congo and to strengthen its role in combating the militias in North and South Kivu. [HL3672]
Lord Malloch-Brown: We are not providing any logistical support directly to the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The operations currently under way against rebels in North and South Kivu are being conducted jointly by the DRC armed forces and the UN mission in the DRC.
The UK provides substantial support to the reform of the DRC armed forces. Since April this year we have provided training on logistics and communication to 225 officers. On 8 May 2009 we opened a UK-funded administration school, which will be run by the EU on behalf of the UK. In partnership with the Netherlands we are refurbishing the army's logistics school and providing a logistics training programme.
We are also providing training on human rights, accountability and administration. In eastern DRC, the UK has funded the provision of eight semi-permanent battalion camps for soldiers and their families. We are also assisting the Prime Minister's Office with support for his stabilisation plan for the east, which should improve access to food and accommodation for newly integrated members of the army and their dependants.
Energy: Carbon Emissions
Question
Asked by Lord Taylor of Holbeach
To ask Her Majesty's Government with reference to the review by the National Audit Office of the data collected by the Building Research Establishment and published in March 2007 by the Sustainable Development Commission, why carbon dioxide emissions in 2005—06 were higher in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) laboratories than the rest of Defra; and what steps they have taken to reduce emissions in the laboratories. [HL3630]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Laboratories on the Defra estate investigate and respond to animal and plant disease outbreaks. This work is carried out in energy intensive high containment laboratories which are regulated by strict legislation.
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Many of the activities and processes carried out in the laboratories are energy intensive and there are. limited opportunities for achieving efficiencies which do not impact on the health, safety and security requirements within the laboratory environment.
Defra's laboratory estate is at the cutting edge of research into animal and plant disease and a number of its laboratories have been designed to respond quickly and efficiently to outbreaks, such as foot and mouth and avian influenza. Maintaining this capability has a significant negative impact on energy efficiency.
In 2005-06, the introduction of the Stewart Stockman building, a new high containment laboratory, designed to research and respond to animal disease outbreaks (such as foot and mouth), caused a significant increase in energy consumption on the laboratory estate.
Defra has a programme in place to deliver operational efficiency savings across its estate, with initiatives specifically targeted at improving energy efficiency.
Defra has installed 14 voltage regulation units on its laboratory estate. This technology significantly reduces energy consumption of a whole building by regulating the voltage level entering the building. Average electricity consumption has reduced by 11 per cent as a result of installing this technology.
Other energy efficiency projects which have been implemented include upgrades to more efficient lighting, improvements to motor energy controls and gas boiler sequencing controls, all of which have delivered significant savings.
Thermal imaging surveys have been undertaken at a number of Defra laboratory sites. The results of the surveys will inform a programme of works to improve the thermal efficiency of buildings.
Defra is currently upgrading its electricity, gas and water meters to smart meters which will provide accurate and up-to-the-minute consumption data. These data will be used to monitor and identify excessive consumption, providing a focus for strategic consumption reduction. The Carbon Trust estimates that savings of between 5 to 10 per cent can be achieved through the identification of waste through smart metering.
To further improve operational efficiency, Defra has recently revised its requirements for facilities management (FM) provision to incorporate a more sustainable approach to the FM service. The recent sustainable workplace management contract awarded to Interserve these will further enhance Defra's capability to further embed sustainability in its operations.
Defra has adopted the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management Programme and the entire Defra estate, including laboratories, was awarded Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme (EEAS) certification in June 2007.
Energy: Heating
Question
Asked by Lord Taylor of Holbeach
To ask Her Majesty's Government with reference to the review by the National Audit Office of the data collected by the Building Research Establishment
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The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Heat generation is the most significant element of energy consumption by the UK service sector (including government). In 2007, it accounted for 68 per cent of total energy consumption.
The Defra laboratory estate generates heat for use in essential laboratory processes as well as for space heating. A significant quantity of this heat is generated using highly efficient combined heat and power plants and from energy recovery from other processes, such as incineration. The Defra office estate uses heat primarily for space heating only.
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