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Illiteracy
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list those areas of public service or activity where illiteracy is a disqualification from participation. [18782]
Mr. Freeman: Information on the public service as a whole is not held centrally. As far as the civil service is concerned, Departments and agencies are responsible for prescribing the recruitment criteria, including literacy skills, necessary to ensure that recruits are able to do the work required.
EU Legislation
Mr. Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library details of fiches d'impact sent to Government Departments by the European Commission. [18738]
Mr. Freeman: Details of fiches d'impact sent to individual Government Departments are not kept centrally.
Civil Servants (Company Directors)
Mr. Byers: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which serving civil servants in his Department are presently directors of companies; and if he will indicate for each (a) the name of the company concerned and (b) if the annual remuneration was (i) £1 to £5,000, (ii) £5,000 to £10,000 and (c) above £10,000. [18144]
Mr. Freeman: Staff in the Departments and agencies for which I am responsible, and other areas which fall to the Cabinet Office vote, are required to declare any business interest, such as directorships, which might conflict with their oficial duties and to comply with any subsequent instructions regarding the retention, disposal and management of such interests. It is not my practice to disclose information on the personal interests of officials.
Non-executive directorships for civil servants for developmental reasons or on an ex officio basis are encouraged under a Government-sponsored scheme. They provide an opportunity for interchange between the civil
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service and outside organisations, particularly with the private sector. At present, however, no officials of the Cabinet Office hold directorships under this scheme.
Mr. Byers:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which serving civil servants in his Department are presently directors of companies; and if he will indicate for each (a) the name of the company concerned and (b) if the annual remuneration was (i) £1 to £5,000, (ii) £5,000 to £10,000 and (c) above £10,000. [18145]
The Deputy Prime Minister:
For these purposes, my office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster today.
Mr. Maclennan:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make it his policy that public libraries will receive a 50 per cent. discount on official publications after the privatisation of HMSO. [19231]
Mr. Freeman:
I can confirm that there are no plans to end the current arrangements for subsidising public libraries in this respect. After privatisation, the subsidy will continue to be administered from within Government by the residual HMSO, and will be entirely separate from the privatised business.
Mr. Maclennan:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make it his policy that no restriction will be imposed on the copying of official publications for private study after the privatisation of HMSO. [19233]
Mr. Freeman:
The current arrangements for administering Crown copyright allow documents covered by it to be copied for purposes of private study. As I explained in the answer I gave to the hon. Member for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth) on 9 February, Official Report, column 370, privatisation of HMSO will not alter these arrangements, and control of Crown copyright will remain in the Government.
Mr. Maclennan:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the safeguards he proposes to ensure the continued efficiency of the distribution of official publications after the privatisation of HMSO. [19276]
Mr. Freeman:
The criteria for selecting the winning bid for HMSO will place great emphasis on the commitment and ability of each bidder to meet customers' requirements.
Arrangements for distributing official publications, whether by HMSO or otherwise, are determined by the originating Department. After privatisation, each customer will have a legally binding contract with the privatised stationery office, or another supplier, for those services. The contracts can specify all aspects of a customer's requirements.
Mr. Maclennan:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish the findings made by consultants to estimate the probable effect of the proposed privatisation of HMSO on the prices to the public of official publications. [19278]
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Mr. Freeman:
There is no reason to believe that prices of official publications will be adversely affected by privatisation. HMSO's publications business already operates on a fully commercial basis, receiving no subsidy, and meets all of its costs by charging customers. After privatisation, it will remain open to originating Departments to specify cover prices, where necessary, in their contracts with the stationery office or elsewhere.
Mr. Maclennan:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he will take to ensure that the "Daily List" and other lists of official publications, include the same material and are produced to the same time scales at present, after the privatisation of HMSO. [19277]
Mr. Freeman:
The "Daily List" and other HMSO bibliographic information is maintained as it is essential for the operation of HMSO's publication and distribution functions. It is also in the commercial interests of HMSO to make the information generally available as it increases access to its products. The same internal needs and commercial pressures will apply to the new owner.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the implications for the civil service of the findings of the Scott report. [19287]
Mr. Freeman:
The Government's proposals for taking forward the recommendations of the Scott report were set out by the President of the Board of Trade and myself during the debate on 26 February. A number of these will have implications for the civil service.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has to inquire into the conduct of individual civil servants following the publication of the Scott report. [19281]
Mr. Freeman:
Where civil servants criticised in the Scott report have acted conscientiously, in good faith, and in accordance with Government policy, disciplinary action would not be appropriate. If any civil servants appeared to fall outside this category, disciplinary action would be considered in accordance with normal departmental procedures.
19. Mr. McFall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will next meet African heads of state to discuss criminal and social issues affecting their countries. [17279]
Mr. Hanley:
Criminal and social issues are a normal feature of our regular discussions with African Governments and, when appropriate, African heads of state.
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21. Mr. Spellar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has received from the Indian Government regarding the disappearance of Jasrrunt Singh Kalra. [17283]
Mr. Hanley:
The Indian Government have told us that the case is sub judice. The Supreme Court has asked the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate the case. We understand that it is expected to report in the next few weeks.
23. Mr. Touhig:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his European counterparts concerning the situation in the former Yugoslavia. [17285]
Sir Nicholas Bonsor:
European Union Foreign Ministers had their most recent discussion on peace implementation in former Yugoslavia at the 26 February Foreign Affairs Council. Discussion will continue at an informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on 9 to 10 March.
24. Mr. Pope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts about the forthcoming intergovernmental conference on the future of the European Union. [17286]
Mr. David Davis:
My right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary has regular discussions with his European counterparts about the IGC, most recently at the Foreign Affairs Council on 25 to 26 February in Brussels.
32. Mr. Riddick:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the first meeting of the 1996 IGC will take place; and how long it is scheduled to last. [17294]
Mr. Davis:
The first meeting of the IGC is scheduled to take place in Turin on 29 March. The IGC has no fixed end-date.
33. Mr. Rooney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to propose treaty amendments at the intergovernmental conference to make more open the proceedings of the institutions of the European Union. [17295]
Mr. Davis:
We are committed to making the European Union institutions more open and have supported a number of initiatives to achieve this, for example, by making more Council documents publicly available. We are considering how we might take this forward at the IGC.
Mr. Purchase:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the content of Her Majesty's Government's proposed White Paper on the intergovernmental conference of the European Union. [17274]
6 Mar 1996 : Column: 254
Mr. Davis:
The White Paper will set out the Government's approach to the forthcoming intergovernmental conference.
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