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Public Bodies

Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many appointments to the public bodies listed in "Public Bodies" for his Department were made during 1994-95 from names supplied by the public appointments unit; and if he will list them. [25950]

Mr. Hanley [holding answer 22 April 1996]: During 1994-95, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office made five appointments from names supplied by the public appointments unit to public bodies listed in the FCO 1996 departmental report.

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They are as follows:


DEFENCE

Private Finance Initiative

Ms Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of funding to be made available to his Department through the private finance initiative in (a) 1995-96, (b) 1996-97 and (c) 1997-98. [26175]

Mr. Soames: Capital expenditure by the private sector on private finance initiative projects within my department is estimated as follows:


Peacekeeping Forces (Weapons)

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what limitations are placed on Her Majesty's armed forces by the United Nations on the types of weapons that may be used in peacekeeping operations. [26264]

Mr. Soames: The type of weapons that may be used in peacekeeping operations is a matter for discussion between the United Nations and individual troop-contributing nations in the particular circumstances of each operation.

Israel-Lebanon Conflict

Miss Emma Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his recent speeches regarding the present Israeli-Lebanese conflict represent a change in Government policy in respect of territorial integrity between Lebanon and Israel as outlined in Security Council resolution No. 425. [26139]

Mr. Soames: No.

Late Payments

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what percentage of bills were paid late by his Department in 1995-96; [26113]

Mr. Soames: This is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Bills Agency, the Met Office and the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have asked the chief executives to write to the hon. Member.

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Information across Government on what percentage of bills were paid late by Departments in 1995-96 is being collated by the Department of Trade and Industry and will be published by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade before the summer recess.

Letter from T. R. Thurgate to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 24 April 1996:


Letter from J. C. R. Hunt to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 24 April 1996:



    I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about late payment of bills by the Meteorological Office as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive.
    On 1 April 1995 the Office took over responsibility for paying most of its bills. Since that date we have paid 100% of our bills within the target of settlement no later than 30 days after the invoice has been validated and passed for payment.
    Our payment procedures make no distinction between the public and private sectors.
    I hope this information is helpful.

Letter from John Chisholm to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 24 April 1996:



    The Secretary of State for Defence has asked me as Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation & Research Agency to reply to your questions about the percentage of bills that were paid late by this Agency in 1995/96 and what percentage of these were paid late to the private sector.
    As I said in my letter to you of 1 November 1995, we define late payment as not paying bills within 30 days of receipt of a validated invoice at our bill paying section. On this basis, virtually all DERA's 285,642 bills paid in 1995/96 were paid within the 30 day period. We keep a lot of data on bill paying, as an aid to improving our performance, but I am afraid we do not keep statistics on those very few bills that fell outside of this target.
    Nor do we keep our statistics in a way which allows us to differentiate readily between bills paid to the private sector and those paid to other areas. I regret, therefore, that the information to answer your second question is not available without incurring disproportionate costs.

Public Bodies

Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many appointments to the public bodies listed in "Public Bodies" for his Department were made during 1994-95 from names supplied by the public appointments unit; and if he will list them. [25954]

Mr. Soames [holding answer 22 April 1996]: There were no appointments made to my Department's public

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bodies using names supplied by the public appointments unit during 1994-95.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Private Finance Initiative

Ms Janet Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of funding to be made available to his Department through the private finance initiative in (a) 1995-96, (b) 1996-97 and (c) 1997-98. [26180]

Mr. Willetts: The Cabinet Office--including the Office of Public Service--Her Majesty's Stationery Office and the Central Office of Information have not yet approved any projects under the PFI. The Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency hopes to involve private finance in the provision of the Metropolitan Telecommunications Service. This could involve capital expenditure of some £750,000 in 1996-97 and £1.5 million in 1997-98. Final offers are due at the end of May 1996, and the contract is likely to be awarded in June 1996.

Late Payments

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was paid late to the private sector by his Department for goods and services in 1995-96. [26158]

Mr. Willetts: The information is not held in the form requested.

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of bills were paid late by his Department in 1995-96. [26114]

Mr. Willetts: This information is being collated by the Department of Trade and Industry and will be published by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade before the summer recess.

Small Firms

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many regulations relating to firms with fewer than (a) 100 employees, (b) 50 employees, (c) 20 employees and (d) 10 employees were in force in each of the last 20 years. [26107]

Mr. Freeman: This information is not held in the form requested. To collect such information would involve disproportionate cost.

Civil Service College

Mr. Sykes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the Government's proposals for the future of the Civil Service college. [26900]

Mr. Freeman: The Civil Service college has a continuing role in the provision of training and development courses self evidently linked to the civil service. I am also pleased to announce that the college is now developing a number of partnerships with the private sector which will enhance its status in the provision of courses for those in the public and private sectors.

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HOME DEPARTMENT

Holloway Prison

Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the occasions on which Home Office Ministers have visited Holloway prison in the past two years indicating the Minister who carried out the visit. [25620]

Miss Widdecombe: I have visited Holloway prison twice in the past two years, on 27 July 1995 and on 14 March 1996.

I am the only Home Office Minister to have visited Holloway over that period.

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