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LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Deferred Maintenance
Mr. Pike: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps the Government have taken to monitor the impact of the deferred maintenance provisions enacted under the Pensions Act 1995. [15742]
Mr. Streeter: The Department has arranged for the Court Service to record numbers of periodical payments orders made under the provisions of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, as amended by section 166 of the Pensions Act 1995, and to conduct a monitoring exercise of the terms of such orders. In addition, the Government are considering carrying out research in the summer to examine the impact of these provisions, although a fuller picture is unlikely to emerge until they have been in place for some time.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
National Lottery Distributing Bodies
Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will publish (a) the names of those (i) groups and (ii) individuals who advise the national lottery and each of its distributing bodies about applications and (b) their duties and terms of reference. [16537]
Mr. Sproat: The national lottery distributors consult a wide range of organisations. The main ones are: Adapt Trust, all national governing bodies of sport including the British Olympic Association, area museum councils, Cadw, Central Council for Physical Recreation, Countryside Council for Wales, Disability Action, Disability Scotland, Disability Wales, English Heritage, English Nature, PRISM fund for preservation and restoration of industrial and scientific material, local authorities, local sports councils, London Video Film Development Agency, Museums and Galleries Commission, National Library of Scotland, National Library of Wales, Northern Ireland Environment and Heritage Service--Natural Heritage, Northern Ireland Film Council, Northern Ireland Environment and Heritage Service--Built Heritage, regional arts boards, Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland, Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Royal Fine Art Commission, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Film Production Fund, British Film Institute, Crafts Council, British Library, Countryside Commission, Theatres Trust, Victoria and Albert Museum/Museums and Galleries Commission purchase grant fund and wildlife trusts.
The National Lottery Charities Board has a series of regional advisory panels drawn from the voluntary sector for their local knowledge. The board also uses expert advisors on their medical and social research panels, and international grants programme panel.
In addition, the distributing bodies seeks advice from a very large number of individuals or specialist firms and
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organisations in assessing projects or groups of projects. It would not be practical to identify and list all those, as 12,446 awards have now been made.
It is for the distributing bodies to determine the duties and the terms of reference for each particular organisation or individual concerned and these will vary accordingly to the nature of the work required.
Mr. Donohoe:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how much her Department estimates it cost to establish each executive agency associated with her Department. [16966]
Mr. Sproat:
My Department was not responsible for the work in establishing either of the executive agencies now associated with the Department of National Heritage. Prior to the establishment of the Department of National Heritage in April 1992, royal palaces and royal parks were the responsibility of the Department of the Environment.
Mr. Ian McCartney:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the cost and number of items of equipment and furniture that (a) have been stolen and (b) are otherwise unaccounted for from her Department and its agencies during the past 12 months, listing by name any such items valued at £5,000 or more, and showing information technology material separately. [17072]
Mr. Sproat:
My Department has not had any items of equipment, furniture or information technology material, stolen or unaccounted for in the last 12 months.
In respect of my agencies, one item valued at £400 has been stolen from the Royal Parks agency. Five items of IT-related furniture and equipment, valued at £1,014, have been stolen from the Historic Royal Palaces agency.
Mr. Spellar:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to her answer of 29 January, Official Report, column 253, what is the Millennium Commission's estimate of the number of visitors who will attend the exhibition; and what is the estimated total income which will be generated. [15711]
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley:
This is a matter for the Millennium Commission. I have written to the hon. Member in my capacity as chairman of the commission and I will arrange for copies of my reply to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Faulds:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral answer of 15 January, Official Report, columns 311-12, if he will list the provisions of the joint declaration and the Basic Law which envisage an elected legislative council for Hong Kong. [17527]
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Mr. Hanley:
Sentence 49 of the joint declaration and its annexes provides that:
Article 68 of the Basic Law provides that:
Annex II to the Basic Law describes the planned development in the composition of the HKSAR Legislative Council in its second and third terms, progressing to election of 30 seats by functional constituency and 30 by geographic constituency through direct elections in the third term. It does not specify the level of development after the third term, but does stipulate a mechanism to enable such further development to be made.
Copies of the joint declaration and the Basic Law have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Faulds:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reasons the Chinese Government have given for regarding an elected legislative council for Hong Kong as contrary to the joint declaration and the Basic Law; what response the Government have made to the Chinese Government's reasons; and if he will place the communications between the two Governments on this subject in the Library. [17528]
Mr. Hanley:
The Chinese Government have provided no convincing reasons for replacing the legislature elected openly and fairly in September 1995 by more than 1 million Hong Kong people with a body chosen by a hand-picked group of 400 people.
The Government gave a full account of Sino-British exchanges on representative government in Hong Kong in its White Paper, "Representative Government in Hong Kong", Cmd 2432 of February 1994.
The Government's position on the provisional legislature is set out in my right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary's statement of 20 December 1996 which has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Madden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from (a) the Government of the Irish Republic and (b) others about
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the detention at HMP Holloway of Ms Roisin McAliskey; and if he will make a statement. [17626]
Mr. Rifkind:
The Irish Foreign Minister, Mr. Spring, has raised the question of Roisin McAliskey with our ambassador in Dublin. We have also received a number of representations from Irish Members of Parliament, US Congressmen and other individuals.
Mr Fabricant:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for a prior options review of the Government hospitality fund and Lancaster house. [17798]
Sir Nicholas Bonsor:
In accordance with the Government's "Competing for Quality" initiative, this Department is undertaking a review of the Government hospitality fund--GHF--and Lancaster house. The review will consider:
"The legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be constituted by elections".
"The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be constituted by election.
"The method for forming the Legislative Council shall be specified in the light of the actual situation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. The ultimate aim is the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage."
"The specific method for forming the Legislative Council and its procedures for voting on bills and motions are prescribed in Annex II: "Method for the Formation of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Its Voting Procedures."
(i) the functions and key outputs of, and the resources currently employed by, the GHF and Lancaster house;
In order to help ensure that all options are considered fully, an interdepartmental advisory group will be established. Interested parties wishing to comment on Government hospitality are invited to write by 17 March to:
(ii) whether these functions are necessary;
(iii) whether it would be appropriate and feasible to abolish, privatise or contract-out (with or without an in-house bid), some or all of these functions;
(iv) ways of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of GHF within the current or restructured arrangements:
(v) arrangements for departmental supervision;
and will make recommendations to Ministers.
Mr. D. Broad
FCO
Room 4.2.5
1 Palace street
London
SW1E 5HE
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