1 Nov 1999 : Column: 1
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 1 November 1999
PRIME MINISTER
Correspondence
Mr. Brady: To ask the Prime Minister when he will reply to a letter dated 12 October 1999 from Dr. S. L. McKee of Devisdale Road, Bowdon, regarding his decision to appoint the right hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Mandelson) as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. [95333]
The Prime Minister: My Office did so on Friday 22 October 1999.
Kosovo
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 26 July 1999, Official Report, column 27, concerning his meeting with KLA officials on 18 May, who were the officials referred to in his answer. [95419]
The Prime Minister: At the meeting, which was held in Tirana, Albania, I was accompanied by my Foreign Affairs Private Secretary, a senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office official and an interpreter.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Prime Minister how many bodies of victims of war crimes, by nationality, have been uncovered in Kosovo. [95545]
The Prime Minister: The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which is responsible for investigating alleged war crimes in Kosovo, is collating the results of forensic work undertaken over the last four months. UK forensic teams have made a major contribution to this work. Within the next few weeks, ICTY should be able to confirm the number of bodies of victims which have been uncovered. Our estimate is that at least 10,000 civilians were killed between June 1998 and June 1999. Most of the victims have been Kosovar Albanians although the bodies of some Serbs have also been recovered.
British Business Initiative
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 26 July 1999, Official Report, column 26, what criteria are used to assess the effectiveness of the work of the Ambassadors for British Business initiative. [95785]
The Prime Minister:
The Ambassadors for British Business Initiative is a voluntary scheme in which participating business leaders make time when overseas on company business to promote the UK's wider commercial interests. The main criterion used to assess the effectiveness of the Ambassadors for British Business initiative is feedback from the Heads of our overseas
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posts. This has shown that the Ambassadors for Business are achieving their objectives of promoting and raising the profile of British Business.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list those areas (a) the EU Presidency, (b) the Commission and (c) the Government have expressed a willingness to discuss at the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference. [95543]
The Prime Minister:
Neither the Presidency nor the Commission has yet formally stated its position on the IGC. The Presidency is currently preparing a report that it will present to the Helsinki European Council in December. The Dehaene Report, published on 18 October, was commissioned to feed ideas into the Commission before the next IGC. The Commission will now consider the report and submit its formal opinion in due course.
The Government, along with the other member states outlined their position at the European Council in Cologne. This called for an IGC dealing primarily with the institutional issues not resolved at Amsterdam (Commission size, vote reweighting, possible extension of QMV). The Government will issue a White Paper before the IGC begins next year.
Mr. Hilary Benn:
To ask the Prime Minister what was the total number of Government Ministers on 1 January for each year since 1979. [96190]
The Prime Minister:
The information is given in the table for January each year.
| Date | Number of ministers |
|---|---|
| 22 January 1979 | 109 |
| 21 January 1980 | 106 |
| 19 January 1981 | 106 |
| 18 January 1982 | 107 |
| 17 January 1983 | 107 |
| 16 January 1984 | 102 |
| 14 January 1985 | 106 |
| 20 January 1986 | 106 |
| 12 January 1987 | 107 |
| 11 January 1988 | 105 |
| 16 January 1989 | 106 |
| 15 January 1990 | 106 |
| 21 January 1991 | 108 |
| 20 January 1992 | 108 |
| 18 January 1993 | 108 |
| 11 January 1994 | 107 |
| 10 January 1995 | 109 |
| 9 January 1996 | 109 |
| 13 January 1997 | 109 |
| 12 January 1998 | 113 |
| 11 January 1999 | 115 |
| 27 October 1999 | 109 |
Pensions
Mr. Webb:
To ask the Prime Minister how many letters he has received from pensioners on the subject of the April 2000 pensions uprating since the publication of the RPI for the year to September 1999. [96191]
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The Prime Minister:
Since 12 October, my Office have received approximately 800 letters about the uprating of pensions.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Prime Minister what statements he has made concerning the decisions made at the European Councils, at Cologne, and at Tampere relating to the establishment of a body to draw up the text of a draft European charter of human rights; and what action is now planned by Her Majesty's Government to implement that decision. [96500]
The Prime Minister:
I refer my hon. Friend to the Answer I gave to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 28 June 1999, Official Report, column 20, following the decisions of the Cologne European Council.
The then Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon), wrote to the Chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Clydesdale (Mr. Hood) and the Chairman of the European Communities Committee in the Other Place (Lord Tordoff) on 7 October enclosing the Presidency's proposals for the practical arrangements governing the Charter drafting body. These were finalised and agreed by Heads of Government at Tampere, and are annexed to the Tampere conclusions, copies of which were deposited in the Libraries on 19 October. The first meeting of the drafting body is scheduled for 17 December. I will be nominating a representative shortly.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the means by which hon. Members will be selected to serve on the drafting body of the working group to establish a European Charter of Rights. [96584]
The Prime Minister:
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary wrote to Madam Speaker and to my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor on 19 October inviting them to nominate two hon. Members and two alternates.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the targets to be met by central Government (a) set and (b) announced by him since May 1997, indicating in each case (i) the target to be met and (ii) the date by which it is to be met. [95820]
The Prime Minister
[holding answer 28 October 1999]: The extra investment that the Government have made, particularly in our key priority areas of health and education, is conditional on achieving higher standards, improved productivity and the modernisation of all our public services. Public Service Agreements set out what departments will deliver by when in return for these additional resources.
Central government itself does not have specific targets beyond those which are the responsibility of the Cabinet Office. The full list of the Government's manifesto commitments, together with a summary of progress to date on each of them, is contained in the Government's Annual Report (Cm 4401).
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Mr. Stevenson:
To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with Chinese President Jiang Zemin about the political future of Tibet during the State Visit this week. [94928]
The Prime Minister
[holding answer 25 October 1999]: I discussed Tibet with President Jiang Zemin at Downing Street on 21 October both during our bilateral talks, and at the lunch which followed. It is the Government's firm view that Tibetans should have a greater say in running their own affairs in Tibet. The best way to achieve this is through dialogue between the Chinese and the Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama. We take every opportunity to encourage both sides to enter into such dialogue.
In his discussion with the Chinese Foreign Minister on 20 October 1999, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary again urged the Chinese to enter into dialogue with the Dalai Lama on the future of Tibet. The Chinese replied that the door for dialogue was open provided the Dalai Lama discarded his proposals for independence and recognised one China, including Taiwan as a province.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Prime Minister what communications his office had with (i) other Government departments and (ii) police forces, pertaining to the treatment of demonstrators during the state visit by the President of China. [96580]
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Prime Minister what representations were made by his office to (a) the Metropolitan Police, (b) the Royal Parks Police and (c) Cambridgeshire Police about the policing of the state visit of the President of China. [96491]
The Prime Minister
[holding answer 29 October 1999]: None.
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