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ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Crown Prosecutors
Sir Nicholas Lyell: To ask the Attorney-General what are the salary bands for the Chief Crown Prosecutor for London and for each of the CPS areas. [66573]
The Attorney-General: The salary bands for the 42 Chief Crown Prosecutor posts are linked to the likely job dimension. Relevant factors include anticipated caseload, budget responsibility and numbers of staff. The table sets out in relation to each of the 42 Areas the relevant pay band, together with the estimated bracket for caseload, budget and staff numbers.
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Sir Nicholas Lyell: To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the Chief Crown Prosecutors for London and the 42 police areas who are currently in post; and if he will list those areas where appointments have not yet been made. [66574]
The Attorney-General: An open competition is at present in progress to select a Chief Crown Prosecutor for each of the proposed 42 CPS areas. Following advertisement in the national and legal press in the week commencing 16 November 1998, a selection board is at present interviewing those candidates selected for interview. Appointments will be offered to the successful candidates at the conclusion of this process and they will be invited to take up their posts in April 1999.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Overseas Telephone Calls
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Chairman of the Information Committee if he will list the (a) average annual expenditure on overseas telephone calls per hon. Member and (b) greatest amount spent by an hon. Member in each of the last three years for which information is available; and what the annual administrative cost is of collecting payment for these calls. [66567]
Mr. Allan:
The average annual expenditure for hon. Members for overseas calls for 1998 was £29.31. The greatest amount spent by an hon. Member in the preceding three years is £127.31 (1996), £403.51 (1997) and £1,289.90 (1998). The annual administrative cost of collecting payment for these calls is estimated to be £13,000 (excluding any administrative costs incurred by the Member).
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Cross-party Co-operation
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the advantages and disadvantages of involving hon. Members from the Liberal Democrat Party in the development of Government policy on matters relating to access to the countryside. [66404]
The Prime Minister [holding answer 18 January 1999]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 20 January 1999, Official Report, columns 483-84.
Iraq
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his letter of 13 January to the hon. Member for Linlithgow, what was the outcome of discussions with (a) EU partners and (b) Security Council colleagues about making more effective arrangements for alleviating the suffering of the Iraqi people. [66491]
The Prime Minister [holding answer 19 January 1999]: Discussions are still continuing with EU partners on all aspects of Iraq policy, including ways to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people, on which we have made a number of proposals to the Presidency. The General Affairs Council will consider these matters further on 25 January. Following discussions in the Security Council on 14 January, the President of the Council reported that members had discussed the need to improve the humanitarian programme and looked forward to a full report from the UN Secretary General on how this might be achieved.
However, it is important that these issues are put into context. Saddam Hussein has proven time and again that he is not prepared to provide adequately for his people's welfare. He has refused shipments of humanitarian aid, prevaricated over distribution plans for the "oil for food" programme, smuggled oil illegally out of Iraq for his own benefit and tried to sell wheat and barley to other countries at low prices, while complaining that his people are starving. The UN Special Rapporteur holds Baghdad responsible for the precarious food and health situation in Iraq. We are determined to do what we can to ease the suffering of the Iraqi people in the face of such neglect by their leader.
Government Agencies
Mr. Peter Bottomley: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy that Government agencies which choose not to pay costs ordered by a court at the end of a case must report the detailed circumstances and the reasons for any refusal to his office. [66872]
The Prime Minister:
Government agencies are bound by Orders of the Court in the same way as any other litigant and have the same remedies available to them. Where they are aggrieved by an Order or are advised that the Order was incorrectly made, their remedy is to appeal against the Order or to apply to the Court to have the Order set aside. Otherwise, they must obey the Order.
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Package Holidays
6. Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in improving protection for consumers buying package holidays. [65195]
Dr. Howells: Overall, the Package Travel Regulations 1992 are serving consumers well. Around 30 million holiday and travel packages are sold in this country each year, and produce relatively few problems. However, I am keeping the effectiveness of the Regulations under review and will not hesitate to act if necessary.
The Foreign Package Holidays (Tour Operators and Travel Agents) Order which came into force on 16 November 1998 will help consumers to shop around to get the best deals.
Parental Leave
12. Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he is proposing to provide rights for employees to take parental leave. [65202]
Mr. Ian McCartney: We expect to introduce a Bill shortly which will create the framework for a package of measures implementing our family-friendly employment proposals. All of these measures will help employees to balance work and family life and bring about a culture in the workplace which will support employees wanting to take parental leave. The measures in the Bill will be supported by regulations setting out the detailed provisions.
The package will introduce three months parental leave, enabling fathers, as well as mothers, to play an active role in raising their children and helping to encourage a workplace culture where it is acceptable for them to do so. And the Bill will recognise for the first time, the need for adoptive parents and their children to spend vital time together adjusting to their new circumstances.
Parental leave builds on the maternity leave rights. Women, and their families, will benefit from the extension of basic maternity leave to 18 weeks, and from the reduction in the qualifying period for the longer period of maternity absence.
The new right to time off to deal with family emergencies will allow people to take short-term time off to deal with emergencies without jeopardising their job security. It will apply to all employees and is a significant step which recognises that caring responsibilities may affect people at all stages of their working life.
13. Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on trade with Libya. [65203]
Mr. Wilson:
Until we see actual progress in our political relations with Libya, my Department's position remains unchanged. We neither encourage nor discourage trade.
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