House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 17 May 2000 (pt 8)

Departmental Vehicles

Mr. Pearson: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many (a) cars and (b) commercial vehicles operated by his Department were manufactured (i) in the UK, (ii) in the EU and (iii) elsewhere. [122254]

Mr. Bayley: The Department has a total of 2,753 cars and commercial vehicles currently on its fleet.

Breakdown of the place of origin

Cars Commercial vehicles Total

UK 1,1717 61 1,778

EU 883 26 909

Elsewhere 60 6 66

Total 2,660 93 2,753

	Cars	Commercial vehicles	Total
UK	1,1717	61	1,778
EU	883	26	909
Elsewhere	60	6	66

Total	2,660	93	2,753

Note:

Some caution should be exercised with the figures in the table. The largest single make of car owned by the Department is Vauxhall and the totals for the UK above include 397 Astras and 60 Cavaliers. There is no guarantee that every one of these cars was built in UK--some may have been built elsewhere in the EU. This is true of a further 114 cars of other makes on the fleet also shown above as built in UK. Disproportionate cost would be involved in trying to establish individually where all these units were manufactured.

For information on cars provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency I refer my hon. Friend to the Written Answer which will be provided by my right hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Decommissioning

6. Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of when the decommissioning section of the Belfast agreement will be implemented. [121150]

Mr. Mandelson: The Government regard the recent IRA statement as a very significant development, including for the first time a definite commitment to put weapons completely and verifiably beyond use.

We believe we can now build on this announcement so that the Good Friday Agreement can be implemented in all its aspects.

11. Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of when he expects the decommissioning provisions of the Belfast agreement will be implemented. [121155]

17 May 2000 : Column: 150W

19. Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in the process of decommissioning illegally-held weapons and explosives. [121163]

23. Mr. Ian Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made on the decommissioning of illegally held arms and explosives. [121168]

26. Mr. Forth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made on the decommissioning of illegally held arms and explosives. [121170]

Mr. Ingram: I refer the right hon. Member and the hon. Members to the answer given earlier by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.

17. Mr. Maginnis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the current status is of the de Chastelain commission; and if its role will be extended beyond 22 May. [121161]

Mr. Ingram: The role of the IICD will continue to be as stated in the joint declaration by the two Governments on 5 May:

The IICD will continue its task under the Agreement. The Governments will now ask the IICD to consider urgently, in consultation with representatives of the paramilitary organisations, whether there are any further proposals for decommissioning schemes which offer the Commission greater scope to proceed in a more effective and satisfactory way with the discharge of this basic mandate, and to report. The Governments will make further reports as necessary. Those reports will be published promptly by the two Governments.

21. Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his policy is towards the inclusion of political representatives of paramilitary groups in the Northern Ireland Executive without the decommissioning of illegally held arms and explosives. [121165]

Mr. Mandelson: Our policy is to achieve both devolution and decommissioning on terms consistent with the Good Friday Agreement. With the British and Irish Governments' Joint Statement on 5 May and the IRA statement of 6 May, I believe there is now a basis for making progress in achieving both objectives.

EU Structural Funds

8. Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he last met European Commissioners to discuss EU structural funds allocated to Northern Ireland. [121152]

Mr. Ingram: On 25 November 1999 I met with Commissioner Neil Kinnock (Vice President Administrative Reform) over dinner at Hillsborough Castle but was unable to meet Commissioner Barnier (DG Regio) during his visit on 4 February 2000 due to political developments in relation to the suspension of devolution.

I hope to have the opportunity to meet Commissioner Barnier on 18 May in London.

17 May 2000 : Column: 151W

Devolution

9. Sir Raymond Whitney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps have been taken to re-establish the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly. [121153]

15. Mr. Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps have been taken to re-establish the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly. [121159]

27. Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the prospects for re-establishing the Executive in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [121171]

Mr. Mandelson: I refer the hon. Members and my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip-Northwood (Mr. Wilkinson).

Peace Process

10. Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the current state of the peace process. [121154]

Mr. Mandelson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my statement to the House on 8 May.

14. Mr. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he last met the Irish Prime Minister to discuss progress towards peace. [121158]

Mr. Mandelson: I last met the Irish Prime Minister during an intense period of negotiations at Hillsborough on 4 and 5 May.

Exiles

12. Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take further steps to gather statistics on the numbers of those exiled from their homes in Northern Ireland by paramilitary organisations. [121156]

Mr. Ingram: Currently the RUC record figures relating to reported intimidation but paramilitary expulsions cannot be separately identified. Figures on exclusions are particularly hard to calculate, since those affected are often reluctant to notify the police. Exclusions can also vary from temporary decisions to leave a town or area within it and total "exclusion" from Northern Ireland. We would be prepared to explore ways with the police in which the quality of these statistics could be improved, but it is not easy to gather accurate statistics in this area.

Security

18. Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the security situation in Northern Ireland. [121162]

Mr. Ingram: The main paramilitary groups are maintaining their ceasefires and the recent IRA statement reflects a real reduction in the threat from that quarter. There remains a threat from dissident paramilitaries who

17 May 2000 : Column: 152W

are opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, and the security forces will continue to thwart attempts by these groups to undermine the peace process.

Victim Support

20. Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact of the Government's programmes for victim support. [121164]

Mr. Ingram: Victim Support, which is funded by £737,000 from Government, dealt with 33,000 referrals of victims of crime during 1999-2000. The Government have also committed more than £6.25 million over three years to support victims of the Troubles. An evaluation of the Small Grants Scheme operated by the Community Relations Council is currently under way, and we have agreed to review the Core Funding Programme for victims groups, which is being administered by the Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust, during the 2001-02 financial year.

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