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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 15 February 1999
CHURCH COMMISSIONERS
Staff Travel
Mr. Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will list the mileage rates currently applicable to staff, indicating what changes have been made to encourage staff to switch from cars to public transport and other less polluting forms of travel. [70961]
Mr. Stuart Bell: The Commissioners follow Civil Service guidelines for mileage rates. A pedal cycle allowance of 6.6 pence per mile is also payable.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Commons Kitchens (Closure)
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Chairman of the Catering Committee what facilities will be available for hon. Members and their staff during the period of closure of the Commons kitchens; and for how long the kitchens will be closed. [70382]
Mr. Dennis Turner: The final phase (Phase F) of the House of Commons Refreshment Department Modernisation Programme, which was approved by the House in July 1994, will necessitate closure of the Department's main kitchens, (which service the Members' and the Strangers' Dining Rooms, the private dining rooms and the banqueting facilities), from the end of July 1999 until the end of February 2000.
During this period, normal services will be maintained throughout the Refreshment Department's cafeterias and in the Members' Tea Room. The Members' Dining Room will continue to offer a Strangers' lunch service and a Members' evening service, although the menu will have to be considerably reduced to enable catering staff to transfer food from temporary kitchens which will be sited in Peers' Court. The Churchill Room will also remain available to Members and their guests for both lunch and dinner. It is hoped that the Pugin Room will continue to operate a normal service, although a final decision on this has yet to be made. All other bar services, including the Smoking Room will operate as normal.
I do have to advice my hon. Friend that, unfortunately, the following services will not be available from the end of July until the new kitchens are operational in March 2000: the Strangers' Dining Rooms A, B, C and D. The Chess Room will also be closed. The Terrace Pavilion will not be available for any functions requiring food service, but its possible use for "drinks only" receptions remains under consideration.
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Once the exact range of facilities that will be available has been finalised, I will write to all hon. Members to advise them of the services that it will be possible to provide.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the total number of staff (a) in his Department and (b) in each of the agencies for which he is responsible and their location in (i) London, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) each of the English regions. [70475]
The Attorney-General:
For the details regarding my Departments (The Crown Prosecution Service, Treasury Solicitor's Department, including the Government Property Lawyers Agency, the Serious Fraud Office and the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers) my hon. Friend is referred to the "Civil Service Statistics 1998", a copy of which is placed in the Library.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Attorney-General what steps he has taken to relocate staff in (a) his Department and (b) the agencies for which he is responsible to the regions of the United Kingdom with the highest levels of unemployment; and what plans he has further to decentralise the location of his Department and its agencies. [70461]
The Attorney-General:
The Crown Prosecution Service acts as the prosecuting authority for England and Wales. At present, its staff are based at CPS Headquarters, with premises in London and York, and at 13 Area Headquarters with 90 Branches throughout England and Wales. From 1 April 1999, following the recommendations in the Glidewell Report, the CPS is to be restructured into 42 Areas, aligned with police force areas. The 90 branches will remain in their present locations, subject to review in due course. There are no plans at present to relocate the Headquarters offices in London and York. Location of individual CPS offices is determined by reference to operational needs, including proximity to the courts and police served by that office.
The Treasury Solicitor's Department has no current plans to relocate or decentralise staff.
The Serious Fraud Office has no current plans to decentralise or relocate. It is considered that its strategic objectives are best served by working close by the other major organisations in the Criminal Justice System and the major financial institutions in the City of London.
The small Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers operates as my private office and as such is required to be based in London.
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many meetings of the Ministerial Committee on Defence and Overseas Policy she has attended since May 1997. [71053]
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Clare Short:
I have attended four meetings of the Committee since May 1997.
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if the Ministerial Committee on Defence and Overseas Policy discussed the issue of arms export licensing during those meetings that she attended. [71070]
Clare Short:
The agenda for meetings of the Ministerial Committee on Defence and Overseas Policy cannot be revealed since this information falls within the exemption for internal discussion and advice under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the subjects discussed at the meetings of the Ministerial Committee on Defence and Overseas Policy which she attended. [71072]
Clare Short:
The agenda for meetings of the Ministerial Committee on Defence and Overseas Policy falls within the exemption for internal discussion and advice under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information and therefore cannot be revealed.
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when proposals for her Department's involvement in security sector reform will be published. [71046]
Clare Short:
My Department's policy approach to security sector reform is to be published on 9 March 1999, in conjunction with a speech I shall be giving on the subject at King's College, London. A copy of our policy paper will be placed in the Library.
Joan Ruddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what impact her Department has had in determining the Government's objectives in the forthcoming negotiations on the Biosafety Protocol in Colombia. [70937]
Clare Short:
We are participating with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions in the current negotiations on the Biosafety Protocol. The Government's overall objective in the negotiations is to protect the environment and human health worldwide.
We are working to ensure that the Protocol includes appropriate capacity building and financial assistance through the Global Environment Facility so that developing countries can protect their interests.
Joan Ruddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with developing countries regarding their interests in the forthcoming negotiations on the Biosafety Protocol in Colombia. [70938]
Clare Short:
I have had no discussions with developing countries regarding their interests in the current negotiations on the Biosafety Protocol in Colombia.
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Joan Ruddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of the revenues which would flow from developing to developed countries as a result of genetic patenting. [70932]
Clare Short:
Given the large number of uncertainties in any such exercise, I can make no estimate of the revenues which would flow from developing to developed countries as a result of genetic patenting.
Joan Ruddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will estimate the number of genetically modified crops available worldwide which could be substituted immediately for those crops currently grown by farmers in developing countries. [71171]
Clare Short:
Subject to the approval of developing country Governments, genetically modified soybean, cotton, oilseed rape, maize, potato, tomato and tobacco could immediately replace existing crops. We have commissioned research on the potential impact on farmers in developing countries of the increased use of genetically modified crops. We will publish the results as they become available.
Joan Ruddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the genetically modified crops available worldwide which can be grown in developing countries. [70934]
Clare Short:
Genetically modified crops which have been approved for commercial production in one or more countries and which could be grown in developing countries include soybean, cotton, oilseed rape, maize, potato, tomato and tobacco. However, my Department has commissioned research on the potential impact on farmers in developing countries of the increased use of genetically modified crops. We will publish the results as they become available.
Joan Ruddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of the proportion of genetically modified crops available worldwide which can be grown in developing countries. [70933]
Clare Short:
All those genetically modified crops approved for commercial production in one or more countries could be grown in developing countries. We have commissioned research on the potential impact on farmers in developing countries of the increased use of genetically modified crops. We will publish the results as they become available.
Joan Ruddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research her Department has undertaken into the possible social, economic and environmental consequences of the introduction of genetically modified crops into developing countries. [70935]
Clare Short:
My Department is providing funding to the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to support research into the potential risks of introducing transgenic plants into traditional cropping systems. The project will examine
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environmental and social risk in the case of pigeon peas grown by smallholder farmers in India. The outcome of this research will be made public.
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