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Advisers

Mr. Redwood: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list the (a) special advisers and (b) outside advisers to Ministers in her Department, indicating if each (i) receives a salary, (ii) has an office with clerical-secretarial support and (iii) can claim expenses. [8994]

Mrs. Beckett [holding answer 17 July 1997]: Dan Corry and Sheila Watson are salaried special advisers, who can claim expenses according to DTI rules. Lord Hollick is an unpaid special adviser, who does not claim expenses. They share a private secretary and a personal secretary. I also seek a range of external advice from a wide variety of sources.

Single Currency

Mr. Redwood: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of the likely impact of the single currency on the interests of British business.[7554]

Mrs. Beckett: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 17 July 1997, Official Report, columns 244-45.

BP

Mr. Redwood: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations she has received from BP since her appointment. [8972]

Mrs. Beckett [holding answer 17 July 1997]: Personally, none. However, Ministers and officials in the Department have frequent contact with major UK companies such as BP and will have discussed a range of issues with them since the election.

WALES

Welsh Office Budget

Mr. Opik: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his proposals to compensate for the real term reductions in the Welsh Office budget for 1997-98. [8428]

Mr. Ron Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 July to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) Official Report column 208.

Stationery

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on stationery provision in respect of paper items in each of the last five years. [8870]

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Mr. Ron Davies: Information in the form requested is not held centrally. The cost of my Department's stationery provision, which includes the cost of all paper items, in each of the last five years is as follows:

1992-93: £508,320

1993-94: £560,868

1994-95: £455,118

1995-96: £470,598

1996-97: £509,968

Cardiff Bay Barrage

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of whether the stated economic benefits of the proposed Cardiff Bay barrage constitute imperative reasons of overriding public interest under article 6(4) of the EC habitats and species directive (92/43/EEC). [8653]

Mr. Ron Davies: I have reviewed the content of the discussions between my Department and the European Commission on this subject. The Commission has accepted that the measures proposed by the Government would meet the requirements of article 6(4) of the habitats directive.

Welsh Assembly

Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what estimate he has made of the number of staff who will remain responsible to him after the establishment of a Welsh Assembly; and what percentage of the total number of Welsh Office staff this will represent; [8914]

(2) what plans he has to establish a staff commission for his Department, following the establishment of a Welsh Assembly. [8915]

Mr. Ron Davies: I have set out my proposals for the staffing of the Welsh Assembly in the White Paper "A Voice for Wales" which was published on 22 July.

Referendum

Mr. Opik: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his policy in relation to homeless people voting in the referendum on devolution. [8931]

Mr. Ron Davies: People living in Wales will be able to vote in the Welsh Assembly referendum if they are included in the local government electoral register in Wales. It is for electoral registration officers to determine whether an individual qualifies for inclusion in the register.

Civil Servants

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many civil servants there are in total on each pay band in his Department. [9573]

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Mr. Ron Davies: The following is the information:

Grades	Number of pay bands within grade	Number of staff within grade
Senior Civil Service	10	63
Principal Nursing Officer	1	0
Nursing Officer	1	4
Grade 6 and equivalents	3	18
Grade 7 and equivalents	4	145
SEO and equivalents	8	119
HEO and equivalents	11	296
EO and equivalents	9	505
AO and equivalents	7	566
AA and equivalents	4	561
Industrials and MSG	8	134
GLS and student placements	1	7

Some of the paybands within a grade may have no population, but that information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ethnic Minorities

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what percentage of employees, in each pay band, in the quangos for which his Department is responsible, are of (a) Asian origin and (b) Afro-Caribbean origin. [9572]

Mr. Ron Davies: The information requested is not held centrally.

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what percentage of employees in his private office are (a) of Asian origin and (b) of Afro-Caribbean origin. [9571]

Mr. Ron Davies: The information requested would breach confidentiality as it would allow the identification of individuals.

Clwydian Community Trusts

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will take steps to improve the morale of employees in the Clwydian community trusts. [9941]

Mr. Win Griffiths: The morale of staff in any organisation is a matter for its managers. The Government's intention to abolish the internal market and damaging inter-trust competition will, however, lead to a situation where staff can concentrate on their vocations rather than wasteful and unnecessary activity.

Internet

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he has taken to expedite the construction of his Department's web site; if he will ensure that priority is given to access to press notices and that adequate links to and from the web site of the Central Office of Information are included; and if he will make a statement. [9843]

Mr. Ron Davies: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr. Sheerman) on 26 June 1997, Official Report, column 625. I confirm that my Department's press notices will appear on the Welsh Office Internet site

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on the day of publication and that there will be a Hypertext link with the Central Office of Information web site. In addition there will be a dedicated site featuring information relating to the referendum for a Welsh Assembly.

European Committee of the Regions

Mr. Livsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to change the Welsh representation on the European Committee of the Regions; and if he will make a statement. [9834]

Mr. Hain: The term of office of the current three Welsh members of the Committee of the Regions and their alternates, like all UK members, will expire on 25 January 1998. The Government will be considering in due course the question of appointments after that date.

Compulsory Competitive Tendering

Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he intends to consult on proposals to modify the current compulsory competitive tendering regulation and guidance; and if he will make a statement. [10937]

Mr. Win Griffiths: Welsh Office officials will be writing tomorrow to local authorities and other interested parties with our proposals to modify the current CCT regulations and guidance. This follows a short review carried out by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions and the Welsh Office in consultation with the Local Government Association.

The Government are committed to ensuring the delivery of cost-effective quality services in local government. To this end, the proposals are designed to make the CCT statutory framework more consistent with the principles of best value. They are also intended to provide an incentive for authorities to take the voluntary route to competitive tendering and significantly reduce many of the prescriptive elements of CCT.

Full details of these proposals are contained in a consultation paper which will be placed in the Library of the House as soon as possible. We will also be consulting on revised guidance on good tendering practice which will promote fairness and transparency in procurement decisions. A draft will also be placed in the Library of the House.

The Welsh Office and local government in Wales are committed to developing the duty of best value. To take this initiative forward, we have agreed that a project group will be established to develop this important policy. The group will be co-chaired by the Welsh Office and the Welsh Local Government Association and will include representatives from the Audit Commission, Wales TUC and Wales CBI.

In developing this policy in Wales, the project group will build upon the work already undertaken by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and Scottish Office and apply it to the circumstances of Wales. Its first report should be available by mid-August.

I will make a further announcement once I have considered this report.

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