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Indonesia
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the Government's policy in relation to the sectarian conflict in Maluku; what discussions he has had with the Indonesian President on this issue; and if he will make a statement. [109109]
Mr. Battle: My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary and I discussed the sectarian conflict in Maluku with President Wahid and his Foreign Minister when they were in London on 1 February. We expressed our concerns to President Wahid about the violence and loss of life. President Wahid reaffirmed his commitment to secure lasting peace between the two communities. We shall support him vigorously in his efforts and stand ready to help him in any way possible.
NATO
Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will deposit in the Library a copy of the Wilton Park Conference report on NATO's role in maintaining European security. [109051]
Mr. Vaz: This report has now been placed in the Libraries of the House. All reports of Wilton Park Conferences are publicly available, including on the Wilton Park website (www.wiltonpark.org.uk.).
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list for the financial year 1998-99 (a) the number and (b) the total value of contracts let by his Department with external consultants and advisers that (i) were put out to competitive tender, (ii) were not put out to competitive tender and (iii) were let on a non-commercial basis, stating in each case the names of the individuals or organisations that have carried out the work. [109263]
Mr. Hain
[holding answer 9 February 2000]: The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. FCO procurement policy requires goods and services to be acquired by competitive tender unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary or they are below £500 in value. Sole source and single source procurement is subject to special safeguards.
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Mr. Willis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the number and value of contracts let by his Department since May 1997 to external consultants and advisers for the management of competitive tendering processes. [109449]
Mr. Hain:
The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Derek Twigg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will publish the next report to Parliament on Hong Kong and the Sino-British Joint Declaration. [109973]
Mr. Battle:
The sixth report in this series, covering the period July-December 1999, was published today and copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House. A copy of the report is also available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website (www.fco.gov.uk). The report includes a foreword by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary. I commend the report to the House.
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements will be made in the interval between the departure of the Governor of Gibraltar and his successor taking up his appointment; and if he will make a statement. [109505]
Mr. Vaz:
During the interval between the departure of the present Governor of Gibraltar and the arrival of his successor, the Deputy Governor will be Acting Governor.
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason there has been a delay in announcing the appointment of the new Governor of Gibraltar; and when he expects the announcement to be made. [109506]
Mr. Vaz:
There has been no delay. The announcement of the appointment of the next Governor of Gibraltar will be made in the near future.
Crown Prosecution Service
30. Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will make a statement on the background of the Crown Prosecution Service inspectorate. [107913]
The Solicitor-General: The CPS Inspectorate was established in 1997 to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the CPS. The Glidewell report recommended that the Inspectorate should be retained and that its role should be expanded. There were also recommendations for introducing a more substantial lay element. These recommendations have been accepted, but the Government have gone further and wishes to place the Inspectorate on an independent statutory basis. This House will shortly be asked to consider the CPS Inspectorate Bill.
Mr. Trickett:
To ask the Solicitor-General what proportion of the files referred to the Crown Prosecution Service by the Police do not lead to prosecution in (a) England and Wales and (b) West Yorkshire. [109054]
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The Solicitor-General:
The Crown Prosecution Service records case outcomes in terms of the number of defendants whose case was handled by the Service, rather than in terms of the number of files dealt with. During the year ending December 1999, a prosecution did not proceed in respect of 250,738 defendants in England and Wales, representing 18.4 per cent. of completed cases. In CPS West Yorkshire, a prosecution did not proceed in respect of 15,635 defendants, representing 18.5 per cent. of completed cases.
31. Mr. Ben Chapman:
To ask the Solicitor-General what assessment he has made of the Crown Prosecution Service's performance in Merseyside on speeding up the process towards the trial of young offenders. [107915]
The Solicitor-General:
When I visited CPS Merseyside in September last year, I observed at first hand the efforts made by the CPS and other local agencies to reduce the time it took to prosecute persistent young offenders. The Area, in conjunction with other criminal justice agencies in Merseyside, is implementing practices that should make further significant reductions for all young offenders.
Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Solicitor-General what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Services Authority about tackling serious financial crime. [107912]
The Solicitor-General:
As my hon. Friend is aware, the Law Officers do not have statutory Ministerial responsibility for the Financial Services Authority. I have visited the Financial Services Authority, although not in the recent past, and was given a general introduction to their work, including enforcement work. The Financial Services Authority share responsibility for tackling serious financial crime with the police, Department of Trade and Industry, Serious Fraud Office, DPP in Northern Ireland and the Crown Office in Scotland. Officials are developing guidelines on the co-ordination of the work of these bodies in relation to suspected financial crime. It is proposed to publish these guidelines when they have been agreed.
Further Education Colleges
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the potential conflict of interest in the practice of further education colleges (a) employing and (b) receiving on secondment, staff from companies engaged as the college's auditors; and if he will discuss this matter with the Further Education Funding Council prior to issuing guidance on practice. [107972]
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Mr. Wicks:
It is for individual colleges to determine whether to use auditors for other services. Audit arrangements in FE have been strengthened by the requirement that auditors cannot be responsible both for internal and external audits. The Further Education Funding Council for England require all colleges to disclose in their accounts remuneration to auditors for their services.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many further education colleges have employed external consultants to advise on unit farming; and if he will make a statement. [107973]
Mr. Wicks:
This information is not held centrally. But in designing the new funding systems that will be employed by the Learning and Skills Council, subject to the passage of legislation, we intend that arrangements should be simpler to understand, administer and audit than current arrangements.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will provide a breakdown of the total expenditure on each of the new deal schemes. [109279]
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