Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what is the budget allocated by his Department and associated agencies for each of the next five years for, and how many staff or staff hours equivalent have been allocated to achieve the objectives of, the programme for action to achieve equality of opportunity in the civil service for disabled people;
(2) what is the number and percentage of disabled people employed by his Department and associated agencies over the past five years; and what are the projected figures for the next five years.
The Prime Minister: For these purposes, my office is classed as part of the Cabinet Office. I therefore refer the hon. Member to the reply given today by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service and Science.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the reduction in the number of persons by grade and gender employed by his Department and associated offices and agencies, nationally and regionally over the next three years, as a result of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget statement of 29 November, indicating which branch, agency and region will be affected and stating his estimate of the number of job losses in each year which will be by (a) natural wastage, (b) voluntary redundancy and (c) compulsory redundancy; and what estimate he has made of the yearly total of savings in wages and associated costs as a result
Column 13
of these reductions in each Department, branch and agency.The Prime Minister: For these purposes, my office is classed as part of the Cabinet Office. I therefore refer the hon. Member to the reply given today by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what basis the public sector research establishments in the Ministry of Defence and those in Northern Ireland were excluded from the on-going efficiency scrutiny.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: Defence establishments were excluded from the multidepartmental efficiency scrutiny of public sector research establishments in the light of the separate "Front Line First" review under way within the Ministry of Defence. Developments in that review were, however, monitored by the scrutiny team. The Northern Ireland civil service, as a distinct and separate entity, is not normally included within the remit of multidepartmental efficiency scrutinies but shadows them to ensure that best practice is read across in a manner tailored to local circumstances.
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the additional contributions to the large hadron collider project which could come from future participants.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: It is too early to say what additional contributions to the large hadron collider project might be forthcoming from new future participants. Discussions are generally at a very early stage.
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the total cost of the large hadron collider project so far.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: Nothing.
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the amount of the United Kingdom contributions to the large hadron collider so far.
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will name the countries which are interested in contributing to the large hadron collider project at CERN.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: Many countries have expressed interest in participating in the large hadron collider project at CERN which will be the world's premier particle physics endeavour. Negotiations with individual countries are at various stages of advance and we hope these can be successfully concluded as soon as possible once formal approval of the project has been given.
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the costs, so far incurred, of
Column 14
the efficiency scrutiny being carried out into the public sector research establishments.Mr. Robert G. Hughes: As stated in the report published on 11 July 1994, the cost of the undertaking this scrutiny was approximately £157,000. This figure does not include the costs incurred by establishments and others in providing information: these costs are not collected centrally. The costs to date of co-ordinating the public consultation process amount to some £27,400.
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what consideration underlay the decision not to publish after 1989 an annual report on the acceptance of outside appointments by Crown servants as promised in the "Statistical Report 1980"; (2) when he next intends to publish a statistical report of acceptance of outside appointments by Crown servants.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: Statistics on the acceptance of outside appointments by the Crown servants have been published in various forms over recent years, including in the statistical reports published periodically by the Cabinet Office since 1986. Since the last formal report, covering the period ending 31 December 1989, comprehensive statistics have been supplied by the Cabinet Office for publication in the fourth report of the Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee, Session 1990 91; in the minutes of evidence taken before the Treasury and Civil Service Sub-Committee on the role of the civil service on 23 November 1993; and in answer to various questions from hon. Members, most recently in answer to a question from the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 20 April 1994, Official Report , columns 577 80 . I intend to publish a further formal statistical report in 1995.
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list those quangos to which members are appointed by the Government or nominees of the Government and the annual cost of salary or emolument payments to members of the quangos.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: I refer the hon. Member to the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1993", copies of which are available in the Libraries of both Houses. This lists all non-departmental public bodies, and certain other bodies, and shows appointments by the Queen and her Ministers, including those made on their behalf or jointly, as well as any remuneration of board chairmen or members.
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussion he has had, in his capacity as chairman of the ministerial committee on regeneration, on policies aimed at the restoration of pride in inner cities.
Mr. David Hunt: Discussions in my role as chairman of a ministerial committee are confidential.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the reduction
Column 15
in the number of persons by grade and gender employed by his Department and associated offices and agencies, nationally and regionally over the next three years, as a result of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget statement of 29 November, indicating which branch, agency and region will be affected and stating his estimate of the number of job losses in each year which will be by (a) natural wastage, (b) voluntary redundancy and (c) compulsory redundancy; and what estimate he has made of the yearly total of savings in wages and associated costs as a result of these reductions in each Department, branch and agency.Mr. David Hunt: The information requested is not available. The Department's staffing plans for 1995 96, 1996 97 and 1997 98 will be set out in the 1995 departmental report, to be published in late February-- early March 1995.
The Government's aim has been, and will continue to be, that reductions in the size of the civil service should as far as possible be achieved without redundancies.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the number and percentage of disabled people employed by his Department and associated agencies over the past five years; and what are the projected figures for the next five years.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: The figures are as follows:
Cabinet Office, including the Prime Minister's Office and the Office of Public Service and Science Year |Number of registered|Percentage of |Disabled Staff |registered disabled |staff in |Department/ Agency ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1990 |27 |1.1 1991 |38 |1.6 1992 |31 |1.3 1993 |38.5 |1.7 1994 |24 |1.1
HMSO Year |Number of registered|Percentage of |disabled staff |registered disabled |staff in |Department/ Agency ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1990 |69 |2.1 1991 |61 |1.8 1992 |55 |1.7 1993 |53 |1.7 1994 |46 |1.6
Central Office of Information Year |Number of registered|Percentage of |disabled staff |registered disabled |staff in |Department/ Agency ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1990 |11 |1.5 1991 |8 |1.2 1992 |7 |1.1 1993 |5 |0.9 1994 |4 |0.8
Projected figures for the aforementioned areas are not available.
Column 16
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the budget allocated by his Department and associated agencies for each of the next five years for, and how many staff or staff hours equivalent have been allocated to achieve the objectives of, the programme for action to achieve equality of opportunity in the civil service for disabled people.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: My Department's expenditure in support of the programme for action to achieve equality of opportunity in the civil service for disabled people includes a proportion of the cost of its personnel and support services. This sum, which covers training, special equipment, modification of buildings and accommodation, cannot be disaggregated. Within the Office of Public Service and Science there is, however, an equal opportunities division which is responsible for promoting equality of opportunity service-wide. The total budget in 1994 95 for EOD's disability branch is £117,000.
Successful implementation of the action programme will require the commitment not only of equal opportunities officers but of other personnel specialists, training officers, and individual line managers throughout the organisation. The number of staff hours that will be devoted to this cannot be estimated with any accuracy.
Mr. Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make available in the Vote Office the background note to the Budget, news release from the Cabinet Office--OPSS 242/94--on science expenditure maintained at record level in 1995 96.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: I have made available in the Vote Office the news release from the Cabinet Office--OPSS 242/94--with the background note to the science budget attached. I have also arranged for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the special advisers employed by his Department in each of the last five years indicating when they (a) joined and (b) left his Department and the annual salary they received.
Mr. David Hunt: My Department did not exist in any comparable form before 1992. Figure for earlier years are therefore not available. The figures since 1992 are:
|(a) |(b) -------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. I. Wilton |April 1992 |November 1993 Dr. J. Nicholson |September 1992|July 1994 Mr. D. Rutley |January 1994 |July 1994 Mr. M. McManus |July 1994 |to date
I have also been asked to list the special advisers in the Chief Whip's Office as follows:
|(a) |(b) ------------------------------------------------------------ Miss S. Hole |September 1991|to date Miss S. McEwen |June 1992 |to date Salaries for special advisers are negotiated individually in relation to their previous earnings, and are confidential.
Salaries for special advisers are negotiated individually in relation to their previous earnings, and are confidential.
Column 17
Sir David Mitchell: To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon- Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission if he will list the members of staff of the House whose salaries are higher than those of (a) junior Ministers, (b) Ministers of State and (c) Cabinet Ministers.
Mr. Beith: There are 37 Officers of the House at grade 5 and above whose salaries are higher than those received by junior Ministers, 17 who receive higher salaries than Ministers of State and three whose salaries are higher than those for Cabinet Ministers. Details of the posts and grades were set out in my answer of 23 November, Official Report, columns 191-93.
Sir David Mitchell: To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon- Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to his answer of 23 November, Official Report, column 191, if he will list those staff of the House not included in his answer whose salary plus additional payments takes their emoluments above the salary of hon. Members.
Mr. Beith: There are 45 staff at grades 7 to 12, in addition to those listed in my answer of 23 November, Official Report, columns 191-93, whose salary plus additional payments takes their emoluments above the salary of hon. Members.
35. Mr. Winnick: To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the work of the Serious Fraud Office.
The Attorney-General: The Serious Fraud Office has a current case load of 49 cases. Since 6 April 1988, it has been responsible for 139 trials involving 303 defendants, of whom 191 have been convicted.
36. Dr. Goodson-Wickes: To ask the Attorney-General what trends he can report on appeals against lenient sentencing.
The Solicitor-General: As the Attorney-General's power of review becomes more widely recognised and his jurisdiction extended, the number of sentences he is asked to consider has increased.
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Attorney-General (1) if he will publish a detailed explanation of his role in the Brendan Smyth extradition case and related issues;
(2) if he will set out any points of difference or emphasis that he has with the detailed explanation of the Irish Attorney-General's into the circumstances surrounding the extradition to Northern Ireland of Brendan Smyth which was published in Dublin on 9 November 1994.
The Attorney-General: I refer the hon. Member to my written answers to him on 21 November 1994, Official
Column 18
Report, columns 37-38; 25 November 1994, columns 388-89; and 28 November 1994, column 512.I understand that the report of the former Irish Attorney- General to his Cabinet on the circumstances surrounding the processing by his office of the request for extradition of Brendan Smyth has been placed in the library of the Dail, and that the present Irish Attorney-General has published in The Irish Times of 2 December 1994 a further detailed report, which includes extracts from the former report. Copies of The Irish Times are in the Library.
Dr. Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the United States of America about rejoining UNESCO.
Mr. Baldry: My right hon. Friend has not had any recent discussions with his United States counterpart about rejoining UNESCO. My officials here and in Washington and Paris are, however, in regular contact with their United States counterparts. We are keeping the issue of rejoining closely under review but have come to no decision yet.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the number and percentage of disabled people employed by his Department and associated agencies over the past five years; and what are the projected figures for the next five years.
Mr. Goodlad: The number and percentage of registered disabled people employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, including the Overseas Development Administration, in the past five years are set out in the table. Projected figures for the next five years are not available.
Year |Number |Percentage -------------------------------------------- 1990 |45 |0.57 1991 |49 |0.62 1992 |49.5 |0.62 1993 |50.5 |0.65 1994 |51.5 |0.65
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the budget allocated by his Department and associated agencies for each of the next five years for, and how many staff or staff hours equivalent have been allocated to achieve the objectives of, the programme for action to achieve equality of opportunity in the civil service for disabled people.
Mr. Goodlad: FCO-ODA expenditure in support of the programme for action to achieve equality of opportunity in the civil service for disabled people includes cost elements associated with staff numbers, training, special equipment, modification of buildings and accommodation and cannot be disaggregated. The Department is committed to achieving the objectives of the programme,
Column 19
but the number of staff or staff hours equivalent allocated to achieve these objectives cannot be estimated since successful implementation will require the commitment not only of equal opportunities officers but of personnel managers, recruitment officers and individual line managers throughout the Department.Mr. Parry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government support the social clauses proposed in the GATT negotiations, to be discussed in the social summit convened in Copenhagen by the United Nations in March 1995.
Mr. David Davis: The Government do not support calls for the inclusion of a social clause in the GATT or other multilateral trade agreements. We remain unconvinced that trade measures are an appropriate or effective way of addressing the issue of labour standards. We believe this issue is better addressed in other ways and other forums, notably the International Labour Organisation. We are concerned that changes to GATT rules, ostensibly to promote social objectives, could be used as a cover for protectionist action.
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what submissions he has made to the Romanian Government concerning the proposed introduction of a prison sentence for those who fly Hungarian flags or sing Hungarian anthems.
Mr. Baldry: Legislation for a revised criminal code is being considered by the Romanian Parliament. We are monitoring developments closely.
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what considerations led Her Majesty's Government to abstain in the vote on the resolution regarding nuclear disarmament proposed by Japan, A/C.1/49/L.33/rev.1, in the first committee of the United Nations.
Mr. David Davis: We abstained out of concern that this resolution, which was tabled after the main body of resolutions on nuclear issues, could be seen to cut across existing initiatives in the sensitive area of nuclear arms control.
Ms Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his current policy on the safe areas in Bosnia; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg: We fully support United Nations Security Council resolutions 824, which designates the cities of Sarajevo, Tuzla, Zepa, Gorazde, Bihac and Srebrenica as safe areas in Bosnia, and 836, which authorises UNPROFOR, acting in self-defence, to take the necessary measures, including the use of force, in reply to bombardments against the safe areas or to armed incursions into them.
Column 20
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the reduction in the number of persons by grade and gender employed by his Department and associated offices and agencies, nationally and regionally over the next three years, as a result of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget statement of 29 November, indicating which branch, agency and region will be affected and stating his estimate of the number of job losses in each year which will be by (a) natural wastage, (b) voluntary redundancy and (c) compulsory redundancy; and what estimate he has made of the yearly total of savings in wages and associated costs as a result of these reductions in each Department, branch and agency.
Mr. Goodlad: The information requested is not yet available. The Department's staffing plans for 1995 96, 1996 97 and 1997 98 will be set out in the 1995 departmental report, to be published in late February-early March 1995.
The Government's aim has been, and will continue to be, that reductions in the size of the civil service should as far as possible be achieved without redundancies.
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to raise the matter of the application of Euratom safeguards to all Swedish nuclear facilities on accession to the Economic Union, at the next Foreign Affairs Council.
Mr. David Davis: I understand that Sweden has accepted the safeguards provision of the Euratom treaty and the application of existing safeguards in full. There is therefore no need to raise the matter in Council.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to publish the 1993 94 appropriation accounts.
Mr. Goodlad: Volume 2 of the 1993 94 appropriation accounts will be laid before the House of Commons and published once the Comptroller and Auditor General has completed his audit work. At present, this is expected to be in January 1995.
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the United Kingdom embassies and missions which have officials working full time as labour attache s; and which of them are seconded from other Ministries.
Mr. Goodlad: Four overseas missions, in Bonn, Brussels, Madrid and Paris, have full-time United Kingdom-based labour attache positions. At present, these are all filled by secondees from the Department of Employment.
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list each of the incidents that have taken place in detention centres in Hong Kong holding Vietnamese boat people where either the police
Column 21
or armed forces were called in to quell a disturbance since 1 January 1994.Mr. Goodlad: Since 1 January 1994, there have been three occasions on which the royal Hong Kong police force and the correctional services department of the Hong Kong Government have had to enter detention centres holding Vietnamese migrants to maintain order. The first was on 7 April at the Whitehead detention centre. The second on 19 and 20 September, and the third on 20 November, were at the High Island detention centre, both preceding repatriation flights which took place a few days later.
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total number of Vietnamese boat people being held in detention in Hong Kong on 28 November.
Mr. Goodlad: On 28 November 1994 there were 23,538 Vietnamese migrants in detention in Hong Kong.
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 24 November, Official Report, column 304, what plans he has for consultations with the President of the Commission over the reallocation of the post of the EU Fisheries Commissioner following the Norwegian referendum.
Mr. David Davis: It is for the incoming President to allocate portfolios in consultation with the other Commissioners-designate. We have long argued that the Fisheries Commissioner should be fully committed to stock conservation and to the cost-effective operation of the common fisheries policy.
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions since 1979 civil servants in his Department have been asked to draft speeches of a constituency nature for use in a Minister's own constituency.
Mr. Baldry: None. Civil servants may provide briefing of a factual nature for Ministers on matters relating to their own Departments. In addition, Ministers preparing for a constituency speech can draw on material produced by their Department during the normal course of business.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the United Nations by states of the Economic Community of West African States about (a) the cost of the ECOMOG peacekeeping operations in Liberia, (b) the need for more logistical support and (c) their commitment to the Liberian operations; and what has been the response of the United Nations.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 29 November 1994]: The only formal approach to the United Nations by ECOWAS has been that of President Soglo of Benin, who wrote to the Secretary-General of the UN following the signing of the Cotonou agreement to ask for UN support for the ECOWAS monitoring group, ECOMOG. In response, the UN Secretary-General established the UN trust fund to support the expanded ECOMOG operation.
Column 22
More recently, President Abacha wrote to the UN Secretary-General on 17 October 94 about the material difficulties faced by ECOMOG. A high-level UN mission is now visiting west Africa to investigate the ways in which UN-ECOMOG co-operation can be enhanced.The UN secretariat stays in close contact with all states contributing to ECOMOG. The regular calls for support for ECOMOG which appear in both UN Security Council resolutions and reports by the Secretary-General reflect the widespread concern that ECOMOG should be properly resourced to fulfil its role.
41. Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures his Department has taken to ensure that Britain's aid programme benefits the world's poorest people.
Mr. Baldry: Our aid to low-income countries is designed to promote lasting reduction of poverty through the encouragement of broad-based economic growth, through investment in social and infrastructure systems, through direct poverty reduction activities and through targeted help for those unable to benefit from growth.
43. Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of overseas aid goes towards meeting basic needs.
Mr. Baldry: We estimate that in 1992 93 around 10 per cent. of United Kingdom bilateral aid expenditure was on basic human needs. In addition, we provided £150 million of bilateral emergency aid, most of which went to meet basic needs in times of crisis, as did much of the 46 per cent. of aid channelled through multilateral agencies. 44. Mr. Carrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the overseas development budget goes towards assisting the world's poorest countries.
Mr. Baldry: In 1992 93 80 per cent. of United Kingdom bilateral aid to the developing countries which is allocable by income group was spent on aid to the poorest countries.
42. Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the aid projects now being financed by the United Kingdom in Sri Lanka.
Next Section
| Home Page |