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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 24 March 1999
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Palace Lifts
Mr. Baker: To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee if the Committee will investigate the possibility of increasing the speed of lifts within the Palace. [78254]
Sir Sydney Chapman: The Parliamentary Works Directorate has a rolling programme of lift machinery modernisation. Five lifts in the Palace are to be refurbished in 1999. When new machinery is installed the lift winding speed can be adjusted and I have asked the Director of Parliamentary Works to ensure that speeds are carefully set with regard to both the convenience and the comfort of users. Door speeds are generally set so as not to inconvenience any users with disabilities.
WALES
Crickhowell House
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the cost of furnishing Crickhowell House for the Welsh Assembly; and if he will make a statement. [77462]
Mr. Hain:
The current estimated cost of furnishing Crickhowell House for the Assembly is £2 million. This is included in the estimate for establishing the Assembly stated in the Explanatory and Financial Memorandum to the Government of Wales Bill.
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Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales for what reason no external assessment has been made of the plans of his Department for millennium compliance. [78461]
Mr. Hain:
Independent assessment of the Welsh Office's Year 2000 programme is being undertaken by the Department's Internal Audit Service, who report separately to the Permanent Secretary from the staff responsible for implementing the compliance programme.
The content of the programme was audited at inception and progress against established activities is reviewed on a regular basis. Internal Audit are free to recommend changes to the programme as they see fit.
Duplicating this effort by employing external assessors is unnecessary and would add additional costs to the compliance programme.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when was the last time that (a) the ALA and (b) the EDF Committee of the European Commission completely rejected a proposed project (i) on any subject and (ii) on environmental and social grounds; what was the title of the project; and what were the grounds for the objections. [77930]
Mr. Foulkes:
The Asia and Latin America (ALA) and European Development Fund (EDF) committees have not completely rejected any proposal within the last 12 months. Such rejection is rare for three reasons. A proposal cannot be blocked by a single member state acting alone. Secondly, if the commission senses that there is wide opposition to a project, it may choose to voluntarily withdraw the proposal from the agenda. Finally, in order to secure sufficient support from member states to proceed, the Commission may undertake to revise aspects of its proposals to take account of the views expressed by member states. In the last 12 months, the following projects have either been withdrawn or blocked as a result of pressure applied by the member states.
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| Date/Project | Action taken | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| July 1998 | ||
| IGAD--fisheries | Withdrawn | Regional instability |
| Guinea Bissau--(3 projects) | Withdrawn | Insecurity |
| September 1998 | ||
| Ivory Coast--Decentralisation Programme (1st presentation) | Blocked | Insufficient poverty focus/lack of specific outputs |
| December 1998 | ||
| Kenya--northern corridor | Blocked | Maintenance concerns |
| Ivory Coast--Decentralisation Programme (2nd presentation) | Blocked | Insufficient poverty focus |
| March 1999 | ||
| Haiti--Direct Budged Aid | Withdrawn | Political circumstances in Haiti |
| Haiti--Rural development | Withdrawn | Political circumstances in Haiti |
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Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when was the last time that (a) the ALA and (b) the EDF Committee of the European Commission demanded that an independent (i) environmental impact assessment should be conducted
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before a project was given approval and (ii) evaluation be conducted on a Commission (1) project and (2) programme that was currently under implementation or had recently been completed. [77931]
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Mr. Foulkes:
During the last 12 months neither committee has demanded an independent Environmental Impact Appraisal as a pre-condition to approval. The Commission is required to undertake Environment Impact Appraisal screening as part of its project appraisal process and environmental issues are often raised at Committee meetings. For example, at the last European Development Fund (EDF) Committee on 17-18 March 1999, the UK raised environmental issues on 4 out of the 9 projects under consideration. Monitoring and evaluation arrangements are normally agreed when project proposals are submitted to the Committees for consideration. At the last EDF Committee, the UK raised the question of evaluation with regard to 3 projects.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 15 March 1999, Official Report, column 495, if he will rank police forces according to the number of accidents in 1997-98 involving police vehicles which resulted in injury and death. [78203]
Mr. Boateng:
Ranking of police forces by number of accidents involving police vehicles would be misleading, as many different factors can affect the figures, such as force size and local road conditions. For accidents during pursuits and emergency responses broken down by force, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham (Mr. Efford) on 18 January 1999, Official Report, column 334.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings he has had regarding the reorganisation of Lunar House and the introduction of a new computer system to deal with immigration and asylum applications; what representations he has received about delays in the provision of immigration services; and if he will make a statement. [78245]
Mr. Mike O'Brien
[holding answer 23 March 1999]: I have had a number of meetings regarding the reorganisation of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and will continue to do so. I have received representations about the current delays there from hon. Members, from interest groups and from the business community. I am, therefore, taking a close personal interest in improving the level of service.
The Home Secretary and I recently met with officials from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and Siemens Business Services to discuss the casework programme. Siemens Business Services have reiterated their commitment to working in partnership to deliver the major modernisation programme as a whole.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to improve the situation for clients at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in Croydon. [77346]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The reorganisation in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in Croydon has caused significant disruption and delays in the throughput
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of cases. A number of steps have been taken to improve matters. These include taking on additional staff, running special exercises to target priority cases and providing additional temporary accommodation to the Public Caller Unit to ensure that all callers are seen on the day by a member of staff. In addition, there have been changes in procedure which have resulted in increasing productivity particularly relating to straightforward cases. Extra training has also been provided in certain key areas to ensure maximum flexibility of staff resources and a steady throughput of work.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (i) police officers and (ii) immigration officers were based at each port in England and Wales in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [77280]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
Operational deployment of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable. Details of the number of police based at ports in England and Wales is not collated centrally.
| 1 January 1997 | 1 January 1998 | 1 January 1999 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 775.5 | 759.0 | 694.9 |
| Dover ports | 295.4 | 274.0 | 265.9 |
| Gatwick | 290.5 | 294.3 | 282.4 |
| Waterloo | 115.0 | 110.0 | 102.8 |
| Manchester airport | 60.6 | 63.7 | 66.3 |
| Stansted airport | 46.6 | 47.8 | 47.8 |
| Birmingham airport | 37.8 | 35.5 | 32.1 |
| Harwich | 34.0 | 34.0 | 33.1 |
| Portsmouth | 28.0 | 29.0 | 29.0 |
| Luton | 19.1 | 18.1 | 17.3 |
| Tyne ports | 17.1 | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Newhaven | 16.7 | 15.7 | 16.0 |
| East Midlands airport | 14.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| London City airport | 13.5 | 13.1 | 13.3 |
| Leeds Bradford | 11.6 | 12.6 | 12.6 |
| Southampton | 10.8 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| Bristol | 10.0 | 10.0 | 9.8 |
| Cardiff | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| Hull | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| Liverpool | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| Plymouth | 7.5 | 8.6 | 8.6 |
| Stockton | 7.0 | 6.6 | 6.4 |
| Norwich | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Felixstowe | 5.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Poole | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Bournemouth | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| South Humberside | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| Brize Norton | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Mildenhall | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Swansea | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Southend | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Cambridge | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Total | 1,868.3 | 1,825.6 | 1,730.8 |
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