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Mr. Sproat: None. These are not matters for this Department.
National Lottery
Mrs Ann Winterton: To asks the Secretary of State for National Heritage on how many occasions a presenter of "National Lottery Live" has appeared on a children's television programme; what assessment he has made as to the consistency of such appearances with the provisions of the code of practice for national lottery advertising; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 15 February 1995]: The appearance by celebrities on children's programmes on the BBC is a matter for the BBC, and does not fall within the provisions of the national lottery advertising code of practice.
Television Licensing
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has received on television licensing's monthly budget plan in respect of the requirement to pay six months in advance before the licence is valid.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 17 February 1995]: Any such representations would be transferred to the BBC, which is responsible for the administration of the television licensing system, including easy payment schemes, and deals with correspondence on this subject. It is not possible to identify from the Department's records the number of representations transferred to the BBC, which related to the monthly budget plan.
BBC (Transmission)
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the status of the reports conducted by Hill Samuel, Nera and Smith Systems Engineering; what
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conclusions they reached on the privatisation of the BBC's transmission service; and if he will place them in the Library.Mr. Dorrell: The consultants have provided me with an initial appraisal of the options for the future of the BBC's transmission service. The matters considered are commercially sensitive, and I do not intend to publish their report.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps he has taken to ensure that the British broadcasting industry benefits from the increasing channels for distributing programming, from digital transmission to the information super-highway, in European and international markets.
Mr. Dorrell: The White Paper on the Future of the BBC made it clear that the development of an international multi-media market would provide unprecedented commercial opportunities for United Kingdom broadcasters and programme makers over the next few years. The White Paper set out the part that the BBC should play in expanding international markets.
Our current review of media ownership regulation is considering, among other things, how far current controls are consistent with promoting internationally competitive UK media industries. My predecessor announced on 14 July 1994, Official Report , columns 706 7 , the basis on which we intend that frequencies will be made available for new digital television services, and we hope to set out later this year the framework we propose for the operation of such services.
Discovery Channel
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many educational institutions in the United Kingdom have access to the Discovery Channel carried by cable television operators.
Mr. Dorrell: This information is not available centrally. The Government welcome diversity of provision of educational broadcasting to schools and other educational institutions.
Educational Channel
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to reserve any of the new channels facilitated by digital television transmission, as a dedicated educational channel.
Mr. Dorrell: The Government hope to set out later this year the framework that they propose for the operation of new digital television services.
Millenium Commission
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 13 February, Official Report, column 477, (1) what proposals he has for measuring the degree of public support for the proposed (a) Zaha Hadid design for the Cardiff Bay opera house and (b) the competing designs of (i) Sir Norman Foster, (ii) Professor Manfredi Nicoletti and (iii) Ms Itsuko Hasegawa; what assessment he has made of the probability factors pertaining to the raising of the private capital required to fund the residual share of the project
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cost for each of the above four designs; and if he will make a statement;(2) if it is a condition of an application for funding from the Millennium Commission that it should contain firm undertakings in relation to the availability of the private funding of the residual share of the cost of the project.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 16 February 1995]: These are matters for the Millennium Commission. I shall reply to the hon. Member in my capacity as chairman of the commission and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) what inquiries he has received in relation to his work as chairman of the Millennium Commission concerning the construction (a) of a new home for the national stadium of the Welsh Rugby Union at Bridgend and (b) extending the existing national stadium at Cardiff Arms park; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what form of representations seeking expressions of support have been received by the Millennium Commission from the Cardiff Bay opera trust; and what response the commission has made.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 17 February 1995]: These are matters for the Millennium Commission. I shall reply to the hon. Member in my capacity as chairman of the commission and place a copy of my letter in the library of the House.
PRIME MINISTER
Minister Without Portfolio
Sir Harold Walker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the responsibilities of the Minister Without Portfolio; and what salary is paid to him for these responsibilities.
The Prime Minister: The Minister Without Portfolio works with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to help co-ordinate and formulate Government policy and its delivery. He is a member of the ministerial committees: economic and domestic policy; industrial, commercial and consumer affairs, home and social affairs, local government; regeneration; the Queen's Speeches and future legislation; and the ministerial sub- committees on European questions; and on London--EDL(L).
The Minister Without Portfolio does not receive a ministerial salary.
Security Vetting
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 15 December to the hon. Member for Reading, West (Sir A. Durant), Official Report, columns 764-66 , what factors led to the exclusion of the involvement in, or association with, activities of export control guidelines, UN sanctions or the missile technology control regime from the revised vetting procedures.
The Prime Minister: Officials involved in these areas of work are not excluded from the revised vetting regime.
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Community Care Housing
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Prime Minister which Government Department has responsibility for community care housing.
The Prime Minister: The Department of the Environment has responsibility for housing issues in England, including housing for people with community care needs. The DOE works closely with the Department of Health, which is the lead Department on community care. In Wales and in Scotland, responsibility for community care and for housing rests respectively with the Welsh Office and the Scottish Office.
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 21 February.
The Prime Minister: This morning, I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
World Summit Conference for Children
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the progress made towards satisfying the goals of the 1990 world summit conference for children.
Mr. Douglas Hogg: We are responding positively to the summit's goals. The United Kingdom published in July 1992 Command Paper number 1984 entitled, "Report on the United Kingdom Implementation of the Goals agreed by the World Summit for Children". A copy was placed in the House.
The report noted a parallel initiative in the UN convention on the rights of the child, to which the UK Government have agreed to be bound. A report on the application of the convention to the UK was published in February 1994. A copy was placed in the Library of the House.
The summit's goals are also priority goals for the British aid programme which contributes in a variety of ways through our poverty alleviation and human development programmes.
El Salvador
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he will take, (a) bilaterally and (b) through the EU to ensure the implementation of (i) the land transfer programme and (ii) outstanding judicial reforms in El Salvador prior to the ending of the ONUSAL mandate in April.
Mr. Baldry: We have been consistent supporters on ONUSAL's mandate at the United Nations and have contributed substantially to its work of monitoring the implementation of the peace accords, including the land transfer programme and judicial reform. The expected outturn of UK expenditure in the financial year 1994 95 is nearly £905,000. Through the EU, we are supporting the strengthening of the democratic institutions needed to maintain law and order in El Salvador and are contributing to the resettlement of refugees. We also
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support the UN Secretary General's proposal to send a small team of professionals to El Salvador to complete the work following the expiry of ONUSAL's mandate on 30 April.Georgian Christian Refugees
Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government will take to press for the long-term right to settlement of the Georgian Christian refugees currently in Istanbul.
Mr. Hogg: The UNHCR has interviewed a group of Georgian Christians in Istanbul. We understand that they found no evidence of persecution or entitlement to refugee status.
Nicaragua
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he will take to condemn violations of human rights in Nicaragua, identified by the Tripartite Commission; and if he will support the establishment of a human rights ombudsman in Nicaragua at the San Jose XI talks.
Mr. Hogg: We make clear our concern over human rights violations, wherever they occur. We welcome the idea of a human rights ombudsman in Nicaragua and will take any opportunity at the San Jose XI conference to encourage it.
Bosnia-Croat Federation
Mr.Mcloughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support has the United Kingdom given the Bosnia- Croat Federation.
Mr. Douglas Hogg: We support the federation generously because we consider that its success is necessary for an overall settlement in Bosnia.
We have provided more than 3,000 troops to UNPROFOR in Bosnia. Their presence has helped underpin the ceasefire between Bosnia and Croat forces since March 1994. Their work with local committees and with local commanders through a system of joint commissions has been a major contribution to peacebuilding.
The Royal Engineers, together with the Overseas Development Administration, constructed the important bailey bridge which now connects east and west Mostar. ODA engineers have already completed 350 reconstruction projects and provided winter shelters for 20,000 people throughout the federation. In Sarajevo, which is dependent on gas for winter heating, ODA-sponsored engineers, despite sniper fire, have laid over 14 km of gas pipes and replaced 2,000 illegal and dangerous connections. Fifty-five ODA lorries form 25 per cent. of the UNHCR humanitarian convoy fleet, and the ODA- leased aircraft carries 20 per cent. of the airlift into Sarajevo. We are providing senior officials in support of the EU administration of Mostar and also police and good government training.
No other country has provided such a range of support at all levels for the federation.
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Ferdinand Nahimana
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action is being taken by the international authorities to detain in Cameroon, Ferdinand Nahimana, former director of Radio Mille Collines in Rwanda, and to charge him with genocide.
Mr. Baldry: The International Tribunal for Rwanda, as established by Security Council resolution 955 of 8 November 1994, is in the process of being set up. It will be for the prosecutor to decide whom to bring to trial. We expect all states to comply with their obligations under SCR 955 to surrender suspects at the tribunal's request.
TREASURY
Privatisation Advertising Campaign
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the cost of the current National Power and PowerGen privatisation advertising campaign (a) in newspapers and (b) on television.
Sir George Young: The cost of the National Power and PowerGen share sale, including the costs of the marketing campaign will be reported to Parliament in the usual way after the end of the sale.
Electronic Data Interchange
Mr Allen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Government Departments have used the electronic data interchange for procurements.
Sir George Young: The following Departments have used electronic data interchange for the procurement to some extent:
The Buying Agency
Cabinet Office
Crown Prosecution Service
HM Customs and Excise
Ministry of Defence
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Department of Health
Home Office
Board of Inland Revenue
HM Land Registry
Office of Population Censuses and Surveys
Department of Transport
Resource Accounting and Budgeting
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to publish the results of the consultation on the resource accounting and budget Green Paper.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory [holding answer 20 February 1995]: There have been more than 40 responses to the Green Paper on resource accounting and budgeting, including the National Audit Office, a large part of the United Kingdom accounting profession and academic interest as well as individuals. So far, the Green Paper has received almost unanimous support in principle, although there is a variety of views on the particular policies it proposes. Responses are still coming in. The Government will publish details of these responses when they
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announce decisions on the proposals set out in the Green Paper.HOME DEPARTMENT
Dr. Julian Lewis
Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any information from police sources about wholesalers and distributors of the magazine "Scallywag" has been made available to Dr. Julian Lewis.
Mr. Maclean: I have no information about this matter. Any release of information from police sources would be a matter for the chief officer of the force concerned.
Research Expenditure
Mr. Bill Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number and grades of personnel currently employed within his Department's emergency planning division research group; what is the total expenditure for the research group for each of the years, 1988 89 to 1993 94, and the planned and projected expenditure in (a) 1994 95, (b) 1995 96 and (c) 1996 97; and if he will list the projects on which the research group is currently engaged.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Following the end of the cold war, civil defence planning primarily for a major nuclear attack has been replaced by a more broadly based approach to improving the national response to a disaster of whatever cause. The current programme of the emergency planning research group reflects that change. Its focus is on defining and evaluating new arrangements for responding to a wide range of disasters. The programme includes work on the development of a national air attack warning system based on the media, a review of options for radiation monitoring, investigations of the consequences of disasters and public protection measures, and the archiving of wartime civil defence related material.
The number and grades of personnel currently employed within EPRG are as follows:
Grades |Numbers
---------------------------------------------
Scientific staff
Grade 7 |2
Senior scientific officer |2
Higher scientific officer |1
Scientific officer |1
Assistant scientific officer |1
Student (sandwich course) |1
Total |8
Support staff
Personal secretary |1
The emergency planning research group was formed in 1990 when the scientific research and development branch was divided into its constituent groups. Expenditure data from that date are as follows:
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Financial
year
Actuals Estimated
1990-91 |1991-92 |1992-93 |1993-94 |1994-95 |1995-96 |1996-97
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
423 |559 |799 |521 |433 |630 |663
French Nationals
Lady Olga Maitland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nationals from each French dependent territory entered the United Kingdom from France in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The information requested is not available.
South Yorkshire Probation Service
Mr. Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many court reports were completed by the South Yorkshire probation service during 1992 and 1993.
Mr. Bill Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many court reports were completed by the South Yorkshire probation service during (a) 1992 and (b) 1993.
Mrs. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many court reports were completed by the South Yorkshire probation service during (a) 1992, (b) 1993 and (c) 1994.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: South Yorkshire probation service completed 8, 752 pre-sentence reports, social inquiry reports, family court reports and other reports from courts in 1992 and 7,082 such reports in 1993. The information for 1994 is not yet available.
Mr. Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were supervised by the South Yorkshire probation service on 30 June 1994.
Mr. Bill Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were supervised by the South Yorkshire probation service on 30 June 1994.
Mrs. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were supervised by the South Yorkshire probation service on 30 June 1994.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The latest available information is for December 1993, when the number of offenders supervised by South Yorkshire probation service was 5,743.
Mr. Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were employed and at what grade by the South Yorkshire probation service, on 30 June 1992, 30 June 1993 and 30 June 1994.
Mr. Bill Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were employed and at what grade, by the South Yorkshire probation service on (a) 30 June 1992 (b) 30 June 1993 and (c) 30 June 1994.
Mrs. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were employed, and at what grade, by the South Yorkshire probation service on (a) 30 June 1992, (b) 30 June 1993 and (c) 30 June 1994.
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Mr. Nicholas Baker: Information is given in the table.
Staff employed by the South Yorkshire probation service, in post at
30 June, whole-time equivalent<1>, by grade and type.
Number of staff, whole time equivalent
|30 June |30 June |30 June
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Probation Officers
Chief |1 |1 |1
Deputy Chief |2 |2 |2
Assistant Chief |6 |7 |7
Senior |37 |40 |42
Main grade |176 |178 |180
Total probation officers |222 |228 |232
Non-probation grade staff
Probation Services'
Officers<2> |81 |78 |78
Clerical/secretarial |109 |120 |114
Administrative |34 |37 |40
Other non-probation grade
staff, excluding hostel
staff<3> |42 |40 |31
Hostel staff |64 |62 |46
Total non-probation grade
staff |330 |336 |308
Total probation staff |553 |565 |541
<1> Whole-time staff plus whole-time equivalent of part time staff. Figures rounded to the nearest
whole number. Components and totals are rounded independently and so components may not add precisely
to totals.
<2> Formerly ancillaries
<3> Figures include sessional supervisors on community service schemes, staff employed in student
training units and on miscellaneous functions.
Mr. Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the effect of the November 1993 Budget statement on the budget of South Yorkshire probation service.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The 1993 Budget statement resulted in a specific grant cash limit for 1994 95 for South Yorkshire probation service of £9.6 million, 6.1 per cent. higher than for 1993 94. It was for the South Yorkshire probation service to decide how these resources are best used and to determine what specific changes within the service should be undertaken on the basis of the total expenditure limit implied by this level of grant support. The committee's report covering the current financial year will be available from the secretary in due course.
Mr. Quddus Ali
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 9 February, Official Report, column 37, if he will make a statement about what he has learnt from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis about the police investigation into the assault upon Mr. Quddus Ali; what admissions to the police to taking part in the attack were discovered by that investigation; what the police did with such an admission; and if he will summarise the representations he has received and how he has responded.
Mr. Maclean: The commissioner has kept my right hon. and learned Friend informed of the progress of the
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police investigation into the assault upon Mr. Quddus Ali. I understand that 25 police officers were assigned to the investigation and that a special incident room was set up. Appeals for witnesses produced a good response. Nine people were arrested. One was brought to trial on a charge of affray and was acquitted. I understand that no admissions to having taken part in the assault were received by the police from any person during the course of the investigation. On 4 November 1994, my right hon. and learned Friend received a letter from the parents of Mr. Ali raising a number of issues, some concerning the handling of racial attacks in general, others specific to the case of their son. This letter was also signed by some 900 local residents. My noble Friend Baroness Blatch responded to the points which were made. A letter was also received through the Prime Minister's office from Mr. Ali, to which my noble Friend replied. A letter was received from a member of the public which was replied to at official level.Greater Manchester Probation Service
Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the effect of the November 1993 statement on the budget of Greater Manchester probation service; and what will be the impact of the November 1994 Budget statement;
(2) what will be the impact of the 1994 probation budget reduction on (a) hostel provision and (b) probation centre provision in the Greater Manchester probation service;
(3) what will be the impact of the 1994 probation budget reduction on the implementation of national standards for the supervision of offenders in the Greater Manchester probation service;
(4) what will be the impact of the 1994 probation budget reduction on staff terms and conditions of service, liaison with victim support and work with victims in the Greater Manchester probation service; (5) what will be the impact of the 1994 probation budget reduction on staffing levels within each grade of staff, and the likelihood of redundancies within each grade of staff in the Greater Manchester probation service.
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