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Master Mariners
Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what financial assistance is available to existing master mariners who wish to meet the new international requirements coming into force on 1 February 2002. [68994]
Ms Glenda Jackson: Under the Government's Support for Maritime Training Scheme (SMarT), financial assistance of £25 a day (to increase to £26 a day from 1 April 1999) is paid to eligible SMarT Training Providers in respect of officers (including master mariners) already holding certificates of competency or service issued under STCW 78, who undertake approved shore-based training programmes in order to meet any extra requirements necessary for the issue of an equivalent certificate under STCW 95. Officers who are unemployed may apply for this assistance through Oceanair, a company operated by the officer's trade union, NUMAST.
Marine Guidance Note MGN 53(M), (to be revised in April as MGN 103 (M)) gives full details of the scheme and how to apply. Copies of the Marine Guidance Notes are available in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Alasdair Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the number of master mariner certificates which will become unrecognised on 1 February 2002, when the new validation requirements come into force. [68995]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The international Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Convention 1978, as revised in 1995 (STCW 95) came into force on 1 February 1997, and the UK, as a party to the Convention, was given 5 years (until 1 February 2002) to comply with the new certification requirements.
Since certificates of competency are only valid for 5 years at a time, all current holders have been given the option of either revalidating them until 31 January 2002 under the old requirements, or for a full 5 years under STCW 95 provided they meet with the new requirements.
All valid certificates will therefore be recognised on 1 February 2002 but it is not possible at this stage to estimate how many certificated master mariners will decide not to revalidate under STCW 95.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) when he expects to announce the chairperson of the Countryside Agency; [69333]
4 Feb 1999 : Column: 722
Mr. Meacher:
The Department is looking for a candidate who:
Dr. Naysmith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he proposes to take to regulate further who may drive small public service vehicles. [69801]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
I am concerned that public service vehicles with fewer than 9 passenger seats which may be driven by the holder of an ordinary car driving licence (category B), are being used in the same way as private hire vehicles but without the checks on drivers' criminal records and medical fitness that a local authority would usually make for the issue of a private hire vehicle drivers' licence.
I therefore propose to introduce regulations providing for criminal conviction and medical fitness checks for those driving small public service vehicles on a category B licence. The regulations would enable Traffic Commissioners to require such checks as a condition of a public service vehicle operator's licence. I will consult interested parties on this proposal.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will pursue with the European Commission their decision to pay a grant of £140,000 to the convicted criminal John Davies in respect of a service to help prostitutes in Hungary; and if she will make a statement. [69195]
Clare Short:
We have contacted the European Commission on this matter. We are informed that the Commission is undertaking a fraud inquiry into the payment of the funds and their alleged misuse.
Mr. Maude:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what additional legislation, not currently before Parliament, was assumed in the production of her Department's spending allocation for 1999-2000 to 2001-02 in the Comprehensive Spending Review. [68424]
4 Feb 1999 : Column: 723
Clare Short:
There is a long-standing convention that legislative proposals for each year are not announced before the Queen's Speech at the start of the relevant Session.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid (a) has been given and (b) is planned to be given to assist people affected by the earthquake in Colombia; and what discussions she has had with representatives of the Colombian Government regarding the earthquake. [69012]
Clare Short:
In total so far, my Department has contributed US$1 million through humanitarian agencies. In addition, the European Community's Humanitarian Office is providing $1.25 million of relief, of which the UK's share is around $187,500.
Our funds are supporting the Pan American Health Organisation to deploy epidemiology specialists, conduct damage assessment to health facilities, water and sewerage infrastructure and purchase medical supplies; the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to bring life-saving assistance to 100,000 people; Oxfam for a programme to provide drinking water for 80,000 people, as well as emergency shelter and household utensils, concentrating particularly on the poorer districts of the city of Armenia and outlying towns; and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to cover the immediate needs of children including those orphaned or separated from their families. Funds were also allocated to the British Embassy, Bogota for the local purchase of urgently needed medicines and chemical toilets.
We have been in contact with the Colombian authorities managing the relief operation through our Embassy in Bogota. We continue to monitor the situation and remain in close contact with the humanitarian agencies involved in the relief effort. My Department is willing to consider further requests to assist vulnerable groups where specific unmet needs are identified.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research he has commissioned on methodologies for the calculation of gross domestic product which take account of social and environmental costs of economic and industrial activities. [67676]
Mrs. Roche
[holding answer 28 January 1999]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. David Chaytor, dated 4 February 1999:
4 Feb 1999 : Column: 724
Mr. Whittingdale:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of his Department's systems are millennium compliant; and if he will make a statement. [68932]
Mrs. Roche
[holding answer 2 February 1999]: In common with other Government departments, the Treasury makes quarterly returns to the Cabinet Office on its progress in tackling the millennium bug. This information is placed in the Libraries of the House following the President of the Council's regular Quarterly Statement and published on the internet. The last review was published 2 December 1998.
(2) if he will make a statement on the qualities required of a person appointed to chair the Countryside Agency. [69334]
can demonstrate an excellent knowledge of, and commitment to, countryside and rural issues;
has excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and who is at ease in dealings with the media, Ministers and a wide range of partners in the public and private sectors;
has experience of managing a large organisation, has the ability to lead and motivate members and staff to ensure that the two existing agencies are successfully integrated into one Agency that is well equipped to take forward its exciting new mandate.
It has taken longer than we would have wished to find the right person for this challenging role, but we expect to make an announcement shortly.
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on the calculation of gross domestic product (GDP).
The calculation of an adjusted GDP to take account of social and environmental costs would involve the choice of weights for a wide range of possible factors such as health, education, unemployment, air and water pollution, depletion of oil and gas reserves, loss
of natural habitats and biodiversity, and then the assignment of monetary values to each of these components. The ONS does not believe that it is feasible to produce such a measure.
The Government Statistical Service is trying to take account of the social and environmental effects of economic activities by other methods. The ONS is working on extending and improving the environmental accounts, which link some of the major environmental impacts of economic and industrial activities, such as air pollution, to the standard National Accounts; while statisticians in the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions have produced a set of Sustainable Development Indicators covering a range of economic, environmental and social factors to monitor progress in the Government's strategy for Sustainable Development.
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