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Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list (a) his Department's policies and initiatives designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and (b) the departmental policies and initiatives designed to reduce other greenhouse gases; if he will

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estimate for each the annual reduction in tonnage of greenhouse gas emissions achieved in the most recent year for which figures are available compared to those for 1990; and what estimate he has made of further reductions, or increases, predicted for 2000 and 2010, assuming continuation of current policies. [15537]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the United Kingdom's Second Report under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which was published in February 1997. It reports the United Kingdom's progress in implementing its programmes for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and gives a projection of what the programme is expected to deliver by 2000. The report projects forward to 2020 what the current programme is expected to achieve.

Emergency Communications Working Party

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the purpose of the ad hoc working party on emergency communications; who attends its meetings; how often it meets; on what dates it has met since 1993; when it was established; and if the papers of the working party are made available to the public. [15533]

Mr. George Howarth: The ad hoc working party on emergency communications (AWPEC) first met in 1985. It provides a forum for the exchange of information on emergency communications between the Home Office, other home departments and local authorities. It has met in March and September 1993, April and October 1994, April and December 1995, July 1996 and February 1997. The working party proceedings have not been made available to the public.

EU Conventions

Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 1 July, Official Report, columns 74-6, relating to two conventions of the European Community concerning extradition between its member states additional to those extant, by what means and on what dates each convention received parliamentary scrutiny; what consultation Ministers held with other bodies and persons affected by each convention; what notice was given to the public of the drafts of each convention; by what means the conventions will be ratified; when he expects to introduce legislation to amend the Extradition Act 1989; and what plans he has to publish explanatory memoranda prior to that date. [15566]

Mr. Michael: The right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard), the previous Home Secretary, wrote to the Chairmen of the Scrutiny Committees on 3 March 1995 about the Convention on Simplified Extradition Procedure, enclosing a copy of the draft Council Act, a copy of the draft Convention and an Explanatory Note. He wrote to the Chairmen of the Scrutiny Committees on 3 April 1996 about the Convention Relating to Extradition Between Member States of the European Union enclosing a copy of the draft Convention, the draft Council Act and an Explanatory Note. He wrote again to the Chairman of the Select Committee on the European Communities on 7 May 1996. A further letter was sent to the Chairman of

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Sub-Committee E, House of Lords, on 25 June 1996 in response to comments received by that Committee from Liberty, Justice and Fair Trials Abroad.

Government consultation was carried out at official level with interested Whitehall Departments. During the course of negotiations, European Union conventions remain confidential between member states. Each member state is required to complete its own internal procedures to provide for ratification. In the case of the United Kingdom, this will require primary legislation to amend the Extradition Act 1989. I am not in a position to announce when this legislation might be introduced.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those Private Finance Initiative contracts entered into by his Department which transfer (a) volume risk, (b) risk of a return lower than one tied to movements in the retail prices index and (c) risk associated with ownership of the capital asset after the contract period; and if he will make a statement. [15593]

Mr. Straw: The following Private Finance Initiative contracts entered into by my Department transfer:

(a) volume risk:

























All Home Office contracts are signed with value for money in mind.

Transfer of volume risk is impractical for contracts for prison facilities, as the client has control over the level of business. In such cases, risk is transferred by payment in relation to the contractor's liability to ensure that contractually specified facilities are made available to the demanding contractual timetable and that the availability of the service is maintained at a high level thereafter.

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Payments to contractors may fall below movements in retail price levels if service quality is below specified standards.

Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what capital assets his Department will acquire under signed Private Finance Initiative contracts; what is the value of those assets; if, in each case, his auditors have provided an opinion that the asset will be recognised by the private sector contractor for accounting purposes; and if he will make a statement. [15601]

Mr. Straw: My Department will obtain services, not assets, under the duration of signed Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts. Design, Construct, Manage and Finance prisons (Altcourse, Parc and Lowdham Grange) and the Secure Training Centre for young offenders (Cookham Wood) will automatically become the Department's assets at no capital cost at the end of the PFI contracts in 25 and 15 years respectively. The Home Office has an option to acquire assets of the Immigration Caseworking project, and of the United Kingdom Passport Agency's passport processing contracts, at the end of the initial contract, on terms specified in the contracts. Any decision by the Home Office on whether to take up the options will depend on circumstances at the time.

It is not for the Department's auditors, the National Audit Office, to provide an opinion on whether assets will be recognised by the private sector for accounting purposes.

Telephones

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the access overload control scheme was established; what is its aim; how many categories there are in the scheme; how many mobile phone companies are subject to the scheme; which agencies or Government Departments are authorised to put the scheme into practice; and how many times the scheme has been put into practice since it was established.[15535]

Mr. George Howarth: The access overload scheme was first established in November 1989. Its aim is to ensure that in an emergency, essential users at the scene of an incident will have priority access to cellular radio networks which might otherwise be congested by non-essential users.

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the purpose of the Government telephone preference scheme; when it was established; how many categories there are in the scheme; how these categories are defined; and how many times the scheme has been put into practice since 1967. [15534]

Mr. George Howarth: The purpose of the Government telephone preference scheme (GTPS) is to provide assured access for essential users in an emergency, when there may be a heavy load placed on the public telephone network, or the network itself may have been damaged. It was established in the late 1950s when there was a threat of massive nuclear war destroying significant parts of the national infrastructure.

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There are three categories in the scheme, the first category being that of essential users such as the emergency services or government response teams. The second category is public call boxes and some payphones, and the third is the general public.

Records prior to 1987 are no longer available.

Since 1987, the preference scheme was activated by British Telecom as follows:







There are two categories in the scheme. First, public access in ten classes of equal status and, secondly, essential user access in three classes.

The Police Incident Commander has the authority to request the invocation of the scheme or exceptionally, the Cabinet Office, in consultation with the lead Government Department for the incident.

The scheme has been invoked on three occasions at Aintree, Crewe and Gatwick, all in April 1997.

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