| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Accident and Emergency
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies there were in medical posts in the specialty of accident and emergency in England in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [127163]
Ms Stuart: Information about consultant vacancies in accident and emergency medicine is contained in the Department of Health Recruitment, Retention and Vacancies Survey, March 1999. Data are only available for that year and only for consultants in that specialty. The survey does not include information about other grades of medical staff in accident and emergency medicine. Copies of the survey are available in the Library.
Spanish Medicines Law
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he (a) has made and (b) plans to make to the European Commission in respect of the December amendment to Article 100 of the Spanish Medicines Law. [126667]
Dr. Howells: I have been asked to reply.
We have made no representations to the European Commission in respect of the Spanish law, and currently have no plans to do so.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Running Costs
Mr. Flynn: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the running costs of the House are on (a) sitting and (b) non-sitting Fridays. [126324]
Mr. Kirkwood [holding answer 19 June 2000]: It is not possible to distinguish running costs between sitting and non-sitting days because staff salaries are computed on an annual basis. Overtime figures for normal working days vary as a result of the unpredictability of adjournments; they are minimised wherever possible.
Heating, power and other services costs are substantially unaffected by a non-sitting Friday as normal departmental activities still have to be carried out. It is not practicable to calculate the small volume savings associated with the absence of Members, which in any case will be partly compensated for by increased visitor requirements.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Rwanda
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her Department's bilateral country programme aid for Rwanda is spent by the Government of Rwanda. [126456]
Clare Short: Of the £30 million committed in
22 Jun 2000 : Column: 265W
December 1998, £10.6 million has been used to help Rwanda service multilateral debt and £15 million has been provided as budget support to underpin Government of Rwanda's commitment to increase spending on health and education as a proportion of GDP.
Nigeria
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her Department's bilateral country programme aid for Nigeria is spent by the Government of Nigeria. [126453]
Clare Short: None of the bilateral programme is spent by the Government of Nigeria.
China
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her Department's bilateral country programme aid for China is spent by the Government of China. [126455]
Clare Short: Our programme in China is developed and implemented in full consultation with the Government of China. We do, however, work with and through a range of other actors, including non-governmental organisations and, increasingly, multilateral donors such as the World bank and the Asian Development bank.
We estimate that about 30 per cent. of our total programme resources are channelled through the Government of China, under the strict controls applicable under Financial Aid. A detailed list of our activities in China, together with our Country Strategy paper, will be placed in the Library of the House.
Departmental Publications
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the cost of her Departmental publications each year from 1992 to 1999. [126449]
Clare Short: The costs of Departmental publications since 1992 are as follows (costs are recorded on a financial year basis):
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1992-93 | 252,175 |
| 1993-94 | 248,710 |
| 1994-95 | 318,596 |
| 1995-96 | 351,867 |
| 1996-97 | 374,651 |
| 1997-98 | 381,638 |
| 1998-99 | 537,007 |
| 1999-2000 | 657,801 |
Interactive Voice Response Systems
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many agencies of her Department use interactive voice response systems when dealing with telephone inquiries from the general public. [127392]
22 Jun 2000 : Column: 266W
Clare Short: My Department has no interactive voice response systems that deal with telephone inquiries from the general public operational either within the Department or in use in any agencies thereof.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many parliamentary questions were tabled to her Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000 which requested information, pursuant to her previous answers. [127332]
Clare Short: Ten parliamentary questions were tabled to my Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000 requesting information pursuant to previous answers.
Ghana
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her Department's bilateral country programme aid for Ghana is spent by the Government of Ghana. [126451]
Clare Short: In November 1999, we committed £40 million in flexible budget support to the Government of Ghana for 2000-02. We anticipate that the larger part of this (£25 million) will be disbursed in 2000 to help Ghana recover from the economic shocks of 1999.
Additionally, we anticipate that £7 million will be provided in flexible budget support specifically for social sectors in 2000-01. Up to £11 million is available for this purpose in 2001-02.
In total, flexible budget support represents 55 per cent. of the total bilateral commitment to Ghana over the next two years.
CABINET OFFICE
People's Panel
Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when she will publish results from the People's Panel Ethnic Minority Booster Research; and if she will make a statement. [127382]
Mr. Ian McCartney: Initial research has now been carried out using the People's Panel Ethnic Minority Booster to find out more about the experiences of people from an ethnic minority background in using a range of public services. An extra 830 people from ethnic minority communities were recruited to the original People's Panel to ensure that views could be analysed in detail. Results have been published today, and I have placed copies in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will make a statement on the progress of the People's Panel. [126104]
Mr. Ian McCartney: Four major waves of quantitative research and several qualitative research projects using the People's Panel have been carried out since it was set up in the summer of 1998. Summaries of the research results have been placed in the House Library and published on the internet. A fifth wave of research, which will set a baseline for the new consumer focus for public services announced on 9 February, is under way. This will measure
22 Jun 2000 : Column: 267W
satisfaction with and expectations of key public services. The results are expected to be announced during the summer. An additional 830 people from ethnic minority communities have been recruited to allow us to examine their views in detail. The results from the first research using this group will be announced shortly.
An independent evaluation of the panel was published on 23 May 2000, Official Report, column 451W. Copies of the evaluation were placed in the Library of the House. The evaluation report concluded that the Panel had
- proved its worth as a vehicle to promote greater understanding, within local and national government, of public views, and of the need to obtain these views, and that the Panel has proved a valuable asset.
Government Annual Report
Mr. Evans: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many copies of the Government Annual Report have been (a) sold at full price and (b) given away free of charge, to date. [125745]
Marjorie Mowlam: Over 10,000 copies of the Government Annual Report 1998-99 have been bought by members of the public at full price. No figures are kept for copies requested by and supplied to members of the public from Departments or otherwise given away without charge.
Government IT Projects
Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what is her estimate of the total cost to public funds of the work of the Steering Committee and Review Team engaged upon the review of major Government IT projects. [126417]
Mr. Ian McCartney: The estimated total cost to the public fund of the review of Government IT projects is £290,000.
Expenditure in financial year 1999-2000 was £189,000 and in financial year 2000-01 it was £101,000.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |