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DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Government Policy
12. Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many times the Cabinet Committee on the Co-ordination and Presentation of Government Policy meets each week. [11124]
Mr. Bates: Consistent with the principle of collective responsibility, it has been the practice of successive Governments not to make public information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees.
17. Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people are employed in his Department to assist with the co-ordination of Government policy. [11130]
Mr. Bates: The co-ordination of Government policy is a ministerial activity. No staff are employed to support my right hon. Friend in this area.
18. Mr. Miller: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the role played by civil servants in the co-ordination and presentation of Government policy. [11131]
Mr. Bates: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my earlier answer to the question from the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Hutton).
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Magistrates (Bolton)
14. Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent representations he has received on the appointment of new magistrates in Bolton and their working conditions. [11126]
Mr. Freeman: I have recently approved the appointment of six ladies and eight gentleman to the Bolton bench. The only representation I have had regarding the working conditions of Bolton magistrates is from the hon. Member.
Political Advisers
15. Mr. Gunnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many political advisers are attached to his office; and what services they carry out in relation to identifying supporters of Government policy. [11127]
The Deputy Prime Minister: One; my political adviser provides appropriate research and information.
Civil Servants
16. Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent representations he has received concerning the impartiality of civil servants. [11128]
Mr. Bates: This Government are committed to a politically impartial civil service, as my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister made clear in response to representations made to me by several members of the Public Service Committee on 10 December.
Deregulation
19. Mr. Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are his main targets for deregulation during the lifetime of the Parliament. [11133]
Mr. Freeman: We will continue our successful programme of measures which, among other achievements, has already repealed or amended 1,000 regulations; set us on course to reduce the burden of paperwork by 26 per cent. by the year 2000; and introduced new business rights in enforcement actions.
22. Mr. Steen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what further deregulatory measures he plans during the next three months, in respect of UK legislation and EU regulations. [11136]
Mr. Freeman: Among many planned measures, we are consulting on an increase in the audit threshold from £90,000 to £350,000. We will also be bringing forward further orders under the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994, including an extension of the new business-friendly enforcement rights to building regulations, fire safety, consumer legislation and environmental health. In Europe, we will be launching a second round of the simpler legislation in the internal market--SLIM--initiative.
Safety (Young People)
20. Mr. Jamieson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement regarding the recommendation he has received from the deregulation task force regarding safety of young people. [11134]
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Mr. Freeman: The Government have rejected the deregulation task force recommendation to delay implementation of the young persons' activity centre licensing regime. The Government are implementing the scheme with minimum bureaucracy and will review the scheme thoroughly in 1999.
Millennium Exhibition
21. Mr. Morgan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a progress report on the provision of appropriate (a) public and (b) private funding of the millennium exhibition. [11135]
Mr. Freeman: The Millennium Commission has approved a grant of £200 million for the millennium exhibition at Greenwich; £150 million is the target for sponsorship, with the balance of the budget coming from receipts and other commercial income. More than half the £150 million sponsorship has already been identified. Negotiations are continuing in confidence with a number of major sponsors and it is hoped that the full target will be achieved in due course.
Computers (Millennium)
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what is his estimate of the cost to Government departments of the changes necessary to prepare their computers for the millennium date change. [12752]
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Mr. Freeman: I have nothing to add to the supplementary reply my hon. Friend the former Paymaster General made to the hon. Member for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours) on 9 December last year, Official Report, columns 4-5.
Departmental Publications
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the (a) White Papers, (b) Green Papers, (c) consultation papers, (d) draft regulations and (e) circulars, for which his Department has been responsible issued in 1996 which his Department assesses could give rise, (i) directly and (ii) indirectly, to significant environmental effects. [12698]
The Deputy Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the (a) White Papers, (b) Green Papers, (c) consultation papers, (d) draft regulations and (e) circulars, for which his Department has been responsible issued in 1996 which his Department assesses could give rise, (i) directly and (ii) indirectly, to significant environmental effects. [12714]
Mr. Freeman: A chapter in the 1996 White Paper "Competitiveness: Creating the Enterprise Centre for Europe" considered the relationship between economic growth and the environment. Among other things, it set out how companies can benefit from understanding and minimising the environmental impact of their activities.