2 Mar 1998 : Column: 417
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions his Office has had with the City of London Corporation since 1 January. [30929]
The Prime Minister [holding answer 23 February 1998]: The City of London Corporation asked my office informally last autumn whether we would be content for Chancellor Kohl to be presented with the Freedom of the City of London. I did not initiate this process, but I was delighted that they wished to do this. Following confirmation from my office that I was content and Chancellor Kohl's own agreement, the Corporation formally agreed a recommendation to this effect on 4 December 1997. Since 1 January this year, my office has been in contact with the Corporation authorities on the practical arrangements, including my own involvement.
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer of 24 February 1998, Official Report, columns 182-83, on Iraq, which of the Arab ambassadors whom he met on 23 February expressed the gratitude of their Government for the British and American stance on the threat of military action against Iraq. [32242]
The Prime Minister: The Ambassadors acknowledged the key role which the UK had played in the success of the UN Secretary-General's mission which, we hope, marks the resumption of full Iraqi co-operation with UNSCOM. It is also widely recognised, in the region and elsewhere, that this would not have been possible without the threat of force.
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answers to the hon. Member for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours) of 24 February 1998, Official Report, column 184, and to the hon. Member for North-East Derbyshire (Mr. Barnes), Official Report, column 186, on the opposition in Iraq, if he will list the organisations (a) to which he referred and (b) with which the Minister of State has been in contact (i) in Iraq and (ii) based outside Iraq. [32245]
The Prime Minister: The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett) has met representatives of the following Iraqi organisations:
2 Mar 1998 : Column: 418
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the allocation of responsibility for Government policy in respect of European affairs between the Minister for Europe and the Minister without Portfolio. [32197]
The Prime Minister: The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, North (Mr. Henderson), has ministerial responsibility in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for European Union matters. My hon. Friend the Minister without Portfolio is a member of the ministerial sub-committee on European Affairs ((E)DOP), and assists me and other ministerial colleagues on the strategic implementation of Government policy and its effective presentation.
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister what proposals he has to (a) modernise and (b) reduce the cost of arrangements for the State opening of Parliament. [30858]
The Prime Minister [holding answer 24 February 1998]: The ceremony, which should reflect the importance of the occasion, is the responsibility of the Earl Marshal. Expenditure for the next State Opening of Parliament is likely to be in line with previous expenditure on the ceremony.
Mr. Swinney: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is his latest estimate of the building costs of the new building for the British Library; and if he will estimate the value of contracts associated with this construction sourced with companies in (a) London, (b) the South East of England, (c) England, (d) Scotland, (e) Wales and (f) Northern Ireland. [30064]
Mr. Fisher
[holding answer 18 February 1998]: The construction project budget for the new British Library building at St. Pancras is £511.1 million. Negotiations continue with some contractors on their final accounts and it is not possible to estimate the final building costs until all these accounts have been settled. Nor is it possible, for this reason, to estimate the value of the contracts by the specific geographical areas set out in the question.
2 Mar 1998 : Column: 419
Mr. Baker: To ask the Attorney-General how many and what percentage of cases forwarded by the Sussex Police to the Crown Prosecution Service for prosecution were turned down (a) for evidential reasons and (b) for other reasons in each year from 1994 to 1997. [31922]
The Attorney-General: The table shows the number of defendants whose cases were discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service in Sussex, and discontinuance as a proportion of cases completed in Magistrates' Courts in each of the last four years:
Year | Discontinued | Discontinuance as percentage of completed cases |
---|---|---|
1994 | 3,246 | 12.2 |
1995 | 3,146 | 11.2 |
1996 | 3,023 | 11.2 |
1997 | 3,468 | 12.3 |
Reason for discontinuance | Percentage of all cases discontinued |
---|---|
Insufficient evidence | 43 |
Prosecution not in the public interest | 28 |
Prosecution unable to proceed (eg. because witnesses failed to attend court or refused to give evidence) | 19 |
Defendant's driving documents produced at the hearing | 10 |
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what was the number of staff employed by the CCTA for each of the last five years; [31283]
Mr. Kilfoyle:
The cash expenditure and appropriations-in-aid of and the number of staff employed by the Central Computer and Telecommunications
2 Mar 1998 : Column: 420
Agency (CCTA) in the current year and previous five years are:
£000 | £000 | £000 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Expenditure | Appropriations in-aid | Net total | Staff numbers at end year | |
1992-93 | 49,487 | 35,205 | 14,282 | 380 |
1993-94 | 48,466 | 35,791 | 12,675 | 381 |
1994-95 | 37,854 | 20,775 | 17,079 | 290 |
1995-96 | 31,884 | 20,450 | 11,434 | 265 |
1996-97 | 26,460 | 24,440 | 2,020 | 177 |
1997-98(1) | 23,400 | 23,675 | -275 | 179 |
(1) The actual outturn data are shown for 1992-93 to 1996-97, the data for 1997-98 are current forecasts.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what actions are taken by the CCTA to ensure that computer systems introduced by Government Departments and agencies meet requirements in terms of value for money and efficiency. [31281]
Mr. Kilfoyle: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) under its Chief Executive Bob Assirati. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
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