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A3XX Super-Jumbo Project
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, following his decision to aid the A3XX Super-Jumbo project, he will publish (a) an independent investment appraisal of the project and (b) a report on his efforts to finance the project on a fully commercial basis. [115137]
Mr. Byers: My Department has received independent advice on the financial implications of the application from BAE SYSTEMS for launch investment for the A3XX from PricewaterhouseCoopers. The specific terms of the investment are commercially confidential. I am satisfied that the basis of the Government's participation in this risk sharing partnership is fully justified by the benefits it will secure for the UK economy, by ensuring substantial UK involvement in the design and production of this advanced aircraft. Supporting innovation and enterprise, improving productivity and developing skills is the only way forward in the knowledge-based economy of the 21st Century.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Visa Applications
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for visas for settlement from family members of persons who had held exceptional leave to remain in the UK for less than four years were (a) received and (b) granted in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [114567]
Mr. Vaz: Entry clearance staff overseas do not routinely record for statistical purposes information on the immigration status of those sponsoring applications for settlement in the United Kingdom. The information is therefore not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
South-east Asia Department
Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the responsibilities of the Defence Sales Desk Officer in the South East Asia Department. [114729]
Mr. Battle:
FCO desk officers, including those in the South-East Asia Department, among other duties scrutinise and advise licence applications for the countries they cover against the UK national criteria and the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports.
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Mrs. Mahon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Latvia regarding the imprisonment of Mr. Vassily Kononov; and if he will make a statement. [114793]
Mr. Vaz:
None. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) on 16 March 2000, Official Report, column 289W.
Mr. Burns:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford to the Minister for Trade of 13 October 1999 that was transferred to the Foreign Office on 21 October 1999 concerning the issues raised by Ms P. Jones of Chelmsford. [115209]
Mr. Hain:
We will reply to the hon. Member's letter of 13 October 1999 to the Minister for Trade, enclosing a postcard from his constituent Ms P. Jones about the information contained in the Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls, as soon as possible. We regret the delay in issuing a response, which was the result of an administrative oversight. Since publication of the Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls on 3 November 1999, we have received over 1,500 letters from MPs and members of the public on the same subject.
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those United Kingdom embassies overseas where embassy staff include paid secondees from commercial companies; and for each secondee, if he will list the (a) seconding company and (b) whether the secondee is paid by (i) the seconding company, (ii) the embassy or (iii) another source. [114815]
Mr. Hain:
In line with HMG's policy of increased interchange with the private sector, as part of the modernising government agenda, there are eight private sector secondees at posts overseas, in Japan, Hong Kong, Angola, Thailand and the USA. In addition, there is one secondee with a roving remit for South-East Asia.
The secondees are bound by Diplomatic Service regulations relating to conduct and discipline, and answerable to the head of the diplomatic post at which they are serving.
I will ask the companies concerned for their agreement to their details being provided to the hon. Member and will write to him. I will place a copy of my letter in the Libraries of the House. As regards payment, the most common arrangement is for the secondee to continue to be paid by his or her employer, which in turn seeks reimbursement from the FCO. However, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 March 2000, Official Report, column 44W, to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith), in which I stated that BNFL meet the full costs associated with the appointment of the Atomic Energy Counsellor in Tokyo.
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Mr. Maude:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British embassies the Minister for Europe has visited during his period of office. [115341]
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what restrictions affect the purchase of (a) agricultural and (b) industrial land by (i) citizens and (ii) companies in (A) EU member states and (B) candidates for membership. [113146]
Mr. Caborn:
I have been asked to reply.
Under the terms of the EC Treaty, there are no restrictions affecting the purchase of agricultural and industrial land by citizens and companies in EU member states. As regards the candidate countries, there is currently a range of restrictions on the purchase by EU citizens and companies of agricultural and industrial land in the different states. Compliance with the Single Market acquis means that these restrictions should be removed on accession. The EU will respond later in the negotiation process to applicants' requests for transition periods, to allow the retention of some restrictions for a limited period after accession.
Mr. Maude:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what rules govern civil servants accompanying Ministers to overseas fund-raising functions; [115206]
Mr. Stringer:
Paragraph 60 of the Ministerial Code makes it clear that Ministers should not ask civil servants to attend, still less take part in, Party Conferences or meetings of policy or subject groups of any of the parliamentary parties. It is an established principle in the public service that civil servants in their official capacity should not accept invitations to conferences convened by, or under the aegis of, party political organisations. The situation is, of course, different when Ministers require officials to be in attendance at party political events in order to enable the Minister to carry out urgent departmental business. This guidance applies to events within the United Kingdom and overseas.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Prime Minister which of the task forces created since he came into office have had their lifetime extended beyond the original envisaged wind-up date, indicating the reason for such extensions. [113303]
The Prime Minister:
Information in the form requested is not held centrally. A full list of Task Forces established since the General Election was placed in the
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Library on 9 December 1999. The list includes details of wind-up dates, where appropriate. Task Forces which are classified as non-departmental public bodies are excluded from the list as information on them is published in the annual "Public Bodies" publication.
Individual Ministers are responsible for agreeing the programme of work of the Task Forces for which they are responsible.
Mr. Spring:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tickets for the Millennium Experience had been sold in each region of the UK on the latest date for which figures are available. [107184]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 31 January 2000]: Dome tickets can be purchased through National Lottery outlets, travel operators, the New Millennium Experience Company's website and a call centre as well as at the dome. It should be borne in mind, however, that when people purchase dome tickets, particularly those bought at the dome itself but also those purchased through the other outlets, their location at the time is not always an indication of their place of residence. For example, 7.9 per cent. of tickets were bought on the door and are counted in the proportions as having been bought in England. Of the total sales as at 7 March, 97.2 per cent. were purchased in or from addresses in England, 1.3 per cent. in Wales, 1.1 per cent in Scotland and 0.4 per cent. in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on (a) the pay rates offered to and (b) the payment schedule for production crews of the Millennium Dome. [110073]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 14 March 2000]: The New Millennium Experience Company considers the information requested to be confidential and that its release would both harm the company's relationship and negotiating position with the individuals in question and impair the company's ability to operate in a commercial and professional manner.
Mr. Yeo:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will publish the terms and conditions of standard contracts with the operators of the catering outlets that operate in and around the Millennium Dome at Greenwich. [110505]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 17 February 2000]: The New Millennium Experience Company considers the information requested to be confidential and that its release would both harm the company's relationship and negotiating position with the individuals in question and impair the company's ability to operate in a commercial and professional manner.
(2) what rules govern civil servants accompanying Ministers to party political functions. [115208]
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