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Correspondence

Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire will receive a reply to his letter of 10 May on behalf of his constituent Mr. Page. [127367]

Ms Armstrong: I have now responded to the right hon. Member's letter.

Director General of Water Services

Mrs. Brinton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has for the post of Director General of Water Services. [127959]

Mr. Prescott: Sir Ian Byatt steps down on 31 July 2000, after 11 years of distinguished service as Director General of Water Services, the head of Ofwat.

Following an open competition, and after consultation with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales, I am pleased to announce I intend to appoint Philip Fletcher as the new Director General with effect from 1 August 2000.

Mr. Fletcher is currently the Receiver for the Metropolitan Police District.

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TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Post Office Users National Council

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of each of the options outlined in the consultation document on the structure of the Post Office Users National Council. [127614]

Dr. Howells: Peter Carr, the new Chair of the Post Office Users National Council, has been asked to consider what structure will best allow the Consumer Council for Postal Services being established under the Postal Services Bill to champion the interests of consumers. The consultation document was issued to help him formulate his recommendations, which I expect to receive shortly. It would not be appropriate to comment until these have been received.

Written Questions

Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many written parliamentary questions tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000 have not received substantive answers on the grounds that the information is (a) not held centrally, (b) not held in the form requested or (c) not available. [127096]

Mr. Byers [holding answer 21 June 2000]: We have answered 1,707 written parliamentary questions between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000. The information requested is as follows: (a) six, (b) 12 and (c) 23.

In some of these answers we were in fact able to provide part of the information requested, while citing the above reasons for not providing all of the information requested.

Low Pay Commission

Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Low Pay Commission has been given its new terms of reference; and if any new members have been appointed. [127856]

Mr. Byers: The Government sent new terms of reference to the Low Pay Commission on 15 May and asked it to report by July 2001. I am also pleased to announce the appointment of two new members of the Commission: David Coats and Ian Hay are replacing Bill Callaghan and Laurie Dewar. David Coats is Head of the Economic and Social Affairs Department at the TUC and Ian Hay is the Chief Executive of the Scottish Association of Master Bakers.

Under its new terms of reference, the Commission is asked to:

(i) continue to monitor and evaluate the impact of the National Minimum Wage, with particular reference to:

the effect on pay, employment and competitiveness in low paying sectors and small firms;

the effect on particular groups of workers, such as young people, women, ethnic minorities, homeworkers, people with disabilities and voluntary sector workers;

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the effect on pay structures, including the effect on differentials and different pay systems, and the impact of the special rules for output work, unmeasured hours work and salaried hours work;

the interaction between the national minimum wage and the tax and benefit systems; and

the interaction between the national minimum wage and the New Deal 18-24 and the New Deal 25 plus

(ii) recommend whether there is a case for increasing the main national minimum wage rate and the development rate, and if so, by how much, and whether there is a case for making any change to the maximum accommodation offset. In reaching views on these matters, the LPC should take into account movements in earnings and the actual and likely future impact on the economy, on employment and on training, with particular attention on the youth labour market. The recommendations on the rates may include a further examination, in the light of fuller evidence, of the case for changing the age at which workers become entitled to the adult rate.

In making its recommendations, the Commission should have regard to the wider economic and social implications; the likely effect on employment and inflation; the impact on the costs and competitiveness of business, particularly the small firms sector, and the potential costs to industry and the Exchequer.

The Commission is asked to report to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by July 2001.

Ministerial Cars

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many cars are used by ministers and officials in his Department and its non-departmental public bodies; and how many of those cars are Rovers. [125690]

Mr. Byers [holding answer 12 June 2000]: In line with the policy of successive Administrations, contracts for Ministers' cars are entered into with the Government Car and Dispatch Agency. 26 cars are used by Ministers and officials in my Department. Two are presently Rovers, including my own car.

I am currently reviewing this whole area, including the option of giving preference to UK-built cars when this is consistent with securing value for money and meeting our legal obligations.

Gas and Electricity Consumers Council

Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the regional organisation of the proposed Gas and Electricity Consumers Council. [127855]

Dr. Howells: Following extensive consultation and discussion, I can announce the future organisation of the Gas and Electricity Consumers Council. It will have a head office based in London. It will have offices in Glasgow serving Scotland, in Cardiff serving Wales, and further offices in Manchester, Birmingham, London, Newcastle and Bournemouth serving England.

Single Currency

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will estimate the costs to his Department of switching from the pound to the euro. [126400]

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Mr. Byers: Should the UK decide to join the euro, the cost of a changeover would depend on the detailed approach taken to a changeover.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Indonesia and the Moluccas

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to offer (a) assistance for managing peacekeeping operations in Indonesia and (b) funds for emergency relief assistance to the Moluccas. [126281]

Mr. Battle: We fully support President Wahid in his efforts to bring a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Maluku and other regions. As part of the international effort through the United Nations Development Programme, we have already funded two conferences on reconciliation in Maluku and a BBC seminar on objective conflict reporting for journalists there. We stand ready to help with further conflict prevention projects.

The Department for International Development is helping the United Nations Development Programme to promote reconciliation in Maluku and other areas of conflict in Indonesia. It has also seconded a specialist to work with UNDP to establish mechanisms to manage the UN humanitarian response and that of the international community, within a framework agreed by the Indonesian Government.

Sanctions (Iraq)

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of recent research published in The Lancet on the number of babies and young children dying in Iraq following the Gulf conflict and the initiation of the United Nations sanctions; and if he will make a statement. [126277]

Mr. Hain: We remain extremely concerned by reports of high rates of infant and child mortality in central and southern Iraq. But we welcome the fact that in northern Iraq--where Saddam Hussein's writ does not run--child mortality rates are now lower than they were before the Gulf War. The UK has always advocated and supported initiatives aimed at better targeting the humanitarian efforts to help the most vulnerable. We led the way over the last year in introducing significant changes to the UN humanitarian programme in Iraq, through the adoption of Security Council resolution 1284 and 1302. Those changes mean that there will be an estimated $10 billion this year alone for the programme. As the UN Secretary-General has concluded, this will put the Government of Iraq in a position to reduce malnutrition levels and to improve the health status of the Iraqi people.

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