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Public Appointments
Mr. Vaz: To ask the President of the Council how many public appointments she has made since 1 May; and how many and what percentage of these (a) received remuneration and (b) are of (i) Afro-Caribbean and (ii) Asian origin. [16784]
Mrs. Ann Taylor: My Department is responsible for the formal procedures leading to a large number of appointments by the Crown, the Privy Council and myself, the majority of which are part-time and unpaid. Since 1 May I have made nine appointments to the governing bodies of Higher Education institutions and have been involved in a further six such appointments. All of these appointments are unpaid. Additionally I have been involved in six unpaid appointments to statutory medical and similar bodies. Information about ethnic origin cannot be provided since to do so would risk identifying individuals without their consent. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has provided information for all departments in an aggregated form.
Prayers
41. Mr. Fabricant: To ask the President of the Council if she will meet the Speaker's Chaplain to discuss Prayers preceding the day's business. [17133]
Mrs. Ann Taylor: While I would be happy to meet the Speaker's Chaplain to discuss the temporal aspects of modernisation of the House, the content of Prayers is a matter for Madam Speaker.
Sitting Hours
42. Mr. Tyler: To ask the President of the Council what plans she has for reform of the hours which the House sits; and if she will make a statement. [17134]
Mrs. Ann Taylor: The hon. Member will be aware of the significant change to sitting hours achieved since the Jopling report was implemented in 1994. The Modernisation Committee is looking again at this matter.
Special Standing Committees
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the President of the Council what representations she has received concerning increasing the use of Special Standing Committees. [17121]
2 Dec 1997 : Column: 131
Mrs. Ann Taylor:
The use of Special Standing Committees was mentioned in the debate on modernisation on 13 November 1997, Official Report, columns 1061-1129. I have not received any more recent representations.
Mr. Harvey:
To ask the President of the Council what plans she has relating to the redesign of the Chamber. [17126]
Mrs. Ann Taylor:
None. I told the House on 15 July 1997, Official Report, column 152 that I did not think the House would be willing to change its layout unless there was a broad measure of agreement to do so.
Mr. Alan Simpson:
To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will make a statement on the responsibilities of the Commission in relation to passive smoking; and what actions are being taken in consequence. [17125]
Mr. Kirkwood:
The Commission is responsible for the terms and conditions of the staff of the House and their working environment. Currently individual heads of the six House departments seek to agree an acceptable smoking policy, including passive smoking, with staff. The Board of Management is carrying out a review of this policy, at the request of the Commission.
A policy on smoking in shared areas of the parliamentary estate, such as corridors and lifts, is a matter primarily for the Administration Committee. Smoking policy in restaurants is a matter for the Catering Committee. Smoking in the offices of hon. Members and their staff is a matter for Members themselves.
Publicity and Advertising
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what is her estimate of the total expenditure on all forms of publicity and advertising by (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies for (i) 1993-94, (ii) 1994-95, (iii) 1995-96, (iv) 1996-97, (v) the 1997-98, year to date, (vi) the 1997-98, full year estimate and (vii) the 1998-99 planned expenditure. [15265]
Mr. Foulkes [holding answer 12 November 1997]: The amount spent on publicity by the Department for International Development (DFID) (ODA in previous years) was:
- 1993-94: £1.20 million
- 1994-95: £1.35 million
- 1995-96: £1.27 million
- 1996-97: £1.30 million
2 Dec 1997 : Column: 132
- 1997-98 full year estimate: £1.30 million
- 1998-99 planned expenditure has not yet been agreed
DFID does not carry out any advertising for publicity purposes. Recruitment advertising in these years amounted to:
The amount spent on NRI publicity expenditure is as follows:
The figures for 1993-94 are not available.
On 1 May 1996 ownership of NRI was transferred to the University of Greenwich.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many public appointments she has made since 1 May; and how many and what percentage of these (a) receive remuneration and (b) are of (i) Afro-Caribbean and (ii) Asian origin. [16787]
Mr. Foulkes:
One unremunerated appointment has been made since 1 May.
The information about ethnic origin cannot be provided since to do so would risk identifying individuals without their consent. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has provided information for all departments in an aggregated form.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list each of the overseas trips made by herself and other members of her ministerial team since 2 May, specifying in each case (a) the participating Minister or Ministers, (b) the destination of the trip, (c) the purpose of the trip and (d) the cost of the trip; and if she will make a statement. [15264]
Mr. Foulkes
[holding answer 12 November 1997]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development and I have made a total of 20 trips overseas since 2 May. A breakdown is shown in the attached tables. The precise cost of each trip is not identifiable separately except at disproportionate cost. The total cost of the Secretary of State's trips is £53,845 (this will not include all the costs of the Ottawa visit). The total cost of my overseas visits is £31,802 (this does not include all the costs of my trip to Ukraine).
2 Dec 1997 : Column: 133
1993-94: £472,263.37
1994-95: £727,707.66
1995-96: £625,928.42
1996-97: £665,276.68
1997-98 to date: £815,093.77
1997-98 full year estimate: £1.40 million
1998-99 planned expenditure has not yet been agreed
1994-95: £56,000
1995-96: £56,000
| Date | Country | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 4-5 June | Luxembourg | EU Development Council |
| 8-10 June | Switzerland | Humanitarian Forum |
| 22-24 June | USA (New York) | UN General Assembly Special Session |
| 1 July | France | Bilateral discussions with French Government; Ceremony to mark UK rejoining UNESCO |
| 15-19 September | Bangladesh | Review DFID Programmes |
| 19-23 September | Hong Kong | Attend IMP/IBRD Annual Meetings |
| 23-25 September | Japan | Bilateral discussions with Japanese Government |
| 6-10 October | Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda | Review DFID Programmes |
| 21 October | Brussels | Bilateral discussions with Belgian Government |
| 22 October | Paris | Attend UNESCO Conference |
| 27-29 October | Sweden and Norway | Attend Seminar on International Solidarity and Globalisation (Stockholm) and International Conference on Child Labour (Oslo). |
| 9-10 November | Brussels | Attend General Affairs Committee |
| 19-20 November | Strasbourg | Attend European Parliament |
| 27-28 November | Brussels | Attend Development Council |
| 2 December | Ottawa | To sign the Convention on Anti-Personnel Landmines |
| Date | Country | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 20 to 22 May | Canada | Caribbean Development Bank Annual Meeting |
| 4 to 5 June | Luxembourg | EU Development Council |
| 26 to 31 July | Botswana and South Africa | Commonwealth Education Ministers Conference; visits to UK-funded development projects and bilaterals with Botswana and South African Government Ministers |
| 31 August to 2 September | Montserrat and Antigua | Official talks with Governments of Montserrat and Antigua |
| 6 to 7 October | Italy | UN Conference on Convention to Combat Desertification, Rome |
| 12 to 13 October | Switzerland | UNHCR Executive Committee, Geneva |
| 23 to 26 November | Ukraine | Visit to Know-How Fund Project and bilaterals with Ministers |
2 Dec 1997 : Column: 134
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