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Fundamental Rights Draft Charter
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish documents sent to the European Union Fundamental Rights Charter Drafting Body; when he expects the Charter Drafting Body to consider a draft; and how the Government will consult (a) Parliament and (b) the public on this draft. [105126]
The Prime Minister: The Charter drafting process is designed to be transparent. The Charter website, which will contain the various working documents, can be reached through http://ue.eu.int. Parliament will also have access to all the papers through its two delegates. In addition, the meetings of the Charter drafting body are televised.
Drafting will probably begin after the next plenary on 1-2 February, which will be the first opportunity for a general discussion of the substance.
17 Jan 2000 : Column: 267W
The Government have already written to the Chairs of the two Scrutiny Committees about the process and will continue to liaise closely with Parliament. The Government will also continue to consult NGOs and other independent organisations and individuals through a combination of meetings and correspondence.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Prime Minister what plans Her Majesty's Government have to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's accession to the throne. [104809]
The Prime Minister:
Planning for The Queen's Golden Jubilee is at a very early stage. A programme of celebrations will be announced in due course.
Mr. Gibb:
To ask the Prime Minister how much was spent on official entertaining at 10 Downing Street in the periods (a) 1 May 1997 to 31 March 1998 and (b) 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999. [104885]
The Prime Minister:
The total cost to my office of official hospitality, including official entertainment, at 10 Downing Street and Chequers in 1997-98 and 1998-99 was as follows:
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the President of Syria on the construction of the Ilisu Dam. [105453]
The Prime Minister:
I have had no discussion with the President of Syria on the construction of the Ilisu Dam.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact of the construction of the Ilisu Dam on the Kurdish People. [105451]
The Prime Minister:
A report, "Stakeholders' Attitudes to Involuntary Resettlement in the Context of the Ilisu Dam Project in Turkey" has been prepared by an independent social development expert following a visit to the region to ascertain the views of the local population likely to be affected by the dam. Copies of this report are in the Libraries of both Houses.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Prime Minister which EU states have joined with the UK Government in providing financial support for the construction of the Ilisu Dam. [105450]
The Prime Minister:
No financial support has yet been provided by any EU state for the construction of the Ilisu Dam.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he had with the Heads of Government of the EU at Helsinki on the future of the Ilisu Dam. [105452]
The Prime Minister:
I have had no discussion with the Heads of Government of the EU on the future of the Ilisu Dam.
17 Jan 2000 : Column: 268W
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he had with the Turkish Prime Minister at the Helsinki Summit concerning the construction of the Ilisu Dam; and if he will make a statement. [105477]
The Prime Minister:
I have had no discussion with the Turkish Prime Minister on the construction of the Ilisu Dam.
Mr. Maude:
To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the compliance of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury with the Ministerial Code in relation to his shares declared in the Register of Members' Interests. [105288]
The Prime Minister:
Guidance to Ministers on the handling of financial interests is set out in section 9 of the Ministerial Code.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he will publish the prospectus for the new youth support service. [105352]
Mr. Wicks:
We shall be publishing shortly a document to announce the key functions that we expect the new youth support service to perform. We expect to publish a specification for tender for the new service in March.
Mr. Hilary Benn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what discussions he has had with other Government Departments regarding continuity of funding for services to be provided under the proposed arrangements for the combined Youth Support Service. [104696]
Mr. Wicks:
We are working closely with other Government departments, to identify the contributions which their existing services will make to the Youth Support Service. This includes the funding which will be available. An inter-departmental steering group has been set up to assist in this process, which has met a number of times. Funding for the Youth Support Service will be settled as part of the Government's Year 2000 spending review.
Mr. Healey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for each regional development agency (a) the amounts granted and (b) the companies facing closure or large-scale redundancies to which the sums have been allocated under the rapid response scheme. [104811]
Mr. Wicks:
The information requested is contained in the following table. Where no money has been awarded in a particular region this is because no firm proposals have been received.
17 Jan 2000 : Column: 269W
1997-98: £43,777
1998-99: £53,639
This compares with total expenditure on entertainment at 10 Downing Street during 1996-97 of £50,126.
| RDA | Company/ies | Amount granted £ |
|---|---|---|
| One North East | Electrolux | 51,000 |
| Fujitsu | 415,000 | |
| Groves Cranes | 250,000 | |
| Onwa | 153,000 | |
| R.J.B. Ellington | 58,650 | |
| Siemens | 300,000 | |
| Vaux | 140,000 | |
| Wilkinson Sword | 120,000 | |
| Total | 1,487,650 | |
| Advantage West Midlands | Lear, Alvis, Abbey Textiles, Alstrom, Massey Ferguson and AP Leamington (all Coventry and Warwickshire) | 75,000 |
| IMI Refineries Walsall | 10,000 | |
| Michelin | Bid to be received | |
| Rover | 740,000 | |
| Staff Ceramics--4 firms | 268,000 | |
| Telford--4 firms | (2)50,000 | |
| East of England Development Agency | Hazelwood Foods | 50,000 |
| United Distillers Vintners | 61,000 | |
| Total | 111,000 | |
| East Midlands Development Agency | Alstom Turbines | 57,000 |
| Bryan Donkin Foundry | 23,444 | |
| RJB Calberton/Harworth | 89,500 | |
| Ladybird and Jarvis Porter | 44,985 | |
| Laporte Industries | 56,000 | |
| Midland Mining Annesley Bentinck | 177,750 | |
| Total | 448,579 | |
| South West of England Development Agency | Hoechst Trespephan | 125,250 |
| Link Group | 48,000 | |
| Rover Group (Swindon) | 16,764 | |
| Strachen Henshaw | 148,100 | |
| Total | 338,114 | |
| London Development Partnership | -- | 0 |
| North West Development Agency | -- | 0 |
| South East of England Development Agency | -- | 0 |
| Yorkshire Forward2 | -- | 0 |
| Grand total TBC | 3,528,343 |
(2) Up to £170,000 if needed
17 Jan 2000 : Column: 270W
School Attendance
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what support has been given to schools to reduce the level of unauthorised absences. [104119]
Jacqui Smith: Our objective is to reduce the learning time lost due to truancy and exclusion by one third by year 2002. Over three years we are investing £500 million across England on projects tackling truancy and school exclusion, and other initiatives to get children back into school and learning. Projects supported include the purchasing of electronic equipment to monitor attendance, additional staff to chase-up truants, and reward schemes for acknowledging regular attendance. We are also encouraging schools to set up pupil mentoring schemes and to develop home-school liaison through the implementation of home-school agreements. All of these activities are designed to help schools reduce unauthorised absence.
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