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Housing Executive Dwellings
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if the Northern Ireland Housing Executive will ensure that any repair work following a fire in one of its dwellings brings that dwelling up to the current standard of building regulations; [18971]
- (2) if the building regulations apply to dwellings constructed (a) by or (b) on behalf of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. [18968]
Mr. Moss: I am advised by the chief executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that the answer is yes.
Mr. Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what investigations the Housing Executive carries out to determine whether dwellings erected by it, or on its behalf, comply with building regulations. [18969]
Mr. Moss:
I am advised by the chief executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that all dwellings erected either by or on behalf of the Housing Executive are subject to on-site inspections by the building control department of the relevant district council at specified intervals during construction, to ensure compliance with the building regulations.
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Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many hospitals have reported cases of MRSA in Northern Ireland in the past 12 months; how many cases there were in total; and in how many cases MRSA was the cause of or contributed to death; [19849]
Mr. Moss:
Information relating to the number of cases of MRSA in hospitals in Northern Ireland is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Last year the Department issued for distribution to residential and nursing homes a booklet entitled "Guidelines on the Control of Infection in Residential and Nursing Homes" which contained a section on MRSA. On 7 February 1997 two publications dealing specifically with MRSA were issued to a wide range of medical and nursing personnel. These were a "Patient Information" leaflet and a booklet called "Guidelines for Residential and Nursing Home Staff for Management of Residents with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus".
(2) what measures are being taken to prevent the spread of MRSA outside hospitals; and if he will make a statement. [19850]
Bahrain
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what inquiries officials at the British embassy in Bahrain have undertaken into the detention of Mr. Yasser A. Al-Sayegh; and if he will make a statement. [19017]
Dr. Liam Fox: Mr. Al-Sayegh has been in detention since 5 December 1996 for possessing and distributing illegal pamphlets. Mr. Al-Sayegh is a dual British-Bahraini national, living and working in Bahrain where he has a family. The Bahraini authorities do not recognise dual nationality and denied the British embassy consular access in February. The embassy has no jurisdiction to intervene in his case.
Treaties
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the treaties ratified by Her Majesty's Government during 1996, giving the date of signature for each. [19221]
Dr. Liam Fox: A list of the treaties ratified during 1996 with signature dates will be deposited in the Libraries of the House shortly.
Departmental Web Site
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department established its Internet site; what representations he has received and what data he has collated on the use and utility of the site; and what steps he is taking to increase the amount of information available via the site. [19146]
Mr. Hanley:
"FCO On-Line", the worldwide web service of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (diplomatic wing), was launched on 1 May 1995. Updated
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several times daily, it is now one of the most heavily accessed sites in Whitehall distributing many thousands of documents a week to a world audience. Over 1,000 pages of information are available, including speeches, statements, press releases, consular and travel advice, foreign policy briefing papers, visa forms and more. Recent additions include sound and video files. Anecdotal evidence shows a high level of use by many international organisations worldwide, including London embassies.
A growing number of British missions overseas now have their own web sites, offering public information, sometimes in the vernacular, to a regional audience. These are all referenced on the FCO homepage.
The Overseas Development Administration is a major partner of the successful "OneWorld OnLine" web site, which hosts organisations concerned with human development and global justice.
The addresses are as follows:
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many answers to parliamentary questions by Ministers in his Department in the last 12 months have exceeded the advisory cost limit; and if he will make a statement. [19344]
Sir Nicholas Bonsor
[holding answer 10 March 1997]: Where the cost of answering a particular parliamentary question is estimated to exceed £450, it is the general practice for departments to make it clear that the question could be answered only by incurring disproportionate cost. Given the large numbers of questions tabled, it would be unreasonable for this Department to calculate systematically the exact cost of answering every single parliamentary question.
Mr. Madden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action was taken by the first secretary (immigration) and consul at the British high commission in Islamabad on receipt of letters dated 25 October 1996 and 20 November 1996, from Kenningham Underwood Armstrong, solicitors at Bradford, about the entry clearance application on behalf of Shakil Hamid; when a decision is to be taken on this application; when replies will be sent to the solicitors; and if he will make a statement. [19737]
Dr. Liam Fox:
I have asked our high commission in Islamabad to provide a detailed account of the position. Thereafter, I will send the hon. Member a substantive reply as soon as possible.
Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 27 February, Official Report, column 314, if he will commission an independent expert valuation of the provenance and estimated worth of gifts from the President of Albania. [19746]
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Sir Nicholas Bonsor:
Gifts received by Ministers in their official capacity are dealt with in accordance with the procedures set out in "Questions of Procedure for Ministers". The details are not made public. There is no case for an independent valuation.
Mr. Madden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a decision by the British embassy in Islamabad on the application by Taqir Mahmood (Ref. IMM/B2368) to join his wife in the United Kingdom will be made; by what date the documents requested by the post of the sponsor in the United Kingdom were received; and if he will make a statement. [19738]
Dr. Liam Fox:
I have asked our high commission in Islamabad to provide me with a detailed account of the position. Thereafter, I will send the hon. Member a substantive reply as soon as possible.
Mr. Madden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date a recommendation was received at the British post in Islamabad from the Home Office in London concerning the issuing of entry clearance to Mr. Javed Iqbal (Ref: TH/21422/96) following the upholding of his appeal against refusal to grant him entry to the United Kingdom; on what dates the post referred inquiries about this case to the Home Office in London; and if he will make a statement. [19744]
Dr. Liam Fox:
I have asked our high commission in Islamabad to provide me with a detailed account of the position. Thereafter, I will send the hon. Member a substantive reply as soon as possible.
Mr. Blunkett:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many four-year-olds who have already received three terms of pre-school education in phase one of the voucher scheme have now been sent vouchers in respect of provision for a fourth term. [19011]
Mr. Robin Squire
[holding answer 10 March 1997]: Following formal consultation with admission authorities, including local authorities, on the arrangements for national implementation of the nursery education voucher scheme there will be uniform dates by which children become eligible for vouchers. These differ from those used in the first phase.
As a consequence of the change, some children would be left without a voucher for the term before they reach compulsory school age if they were not issued with a fourth voucher. This transitional issue affects an estimated 700 four-year-olds in the phase one local education authority areas in the summer term of 1997. A similar effect will apply for the autumn term of 1997 and the
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spring term of 1998, involving some 6 per cent. of the estimated number of children eligible to receive three vouchers.
FCO: http://www.fco.gov.uk/
ODA: http://www.oneworld.org/oda/
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