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Professional Services

Mr. Peter Bottomley: To ask the Prime Minister what was the greatest amount paid from public funds to an individual (a) dentist, (b) doctor, (c) solicitor, (d) barrister and (e) accountant for services provided in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available. [139597]

The Prime Minister: The information requested is not held centrally.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Nuclear Weapons

Mr. Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is (1) on the 2000 NPT Review Conference proposals on a move to single-warhead submarine-launched ballistic missiles and multiple warhead SLBMs; [138480]

(2) on the 2000 NPT Review Conference decision on a no-first-use policy. [138479]

Mr. Vaz: No such decisions were made at the 2000 NPT Review Conference.

Mr. Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government that NATO's arms control options (1) should include an upgraded financial commitment to International Atomic Energy Agency and a public statement in support of the organisation; [138483]

(2) should include (a) recommendations for the creation of a subsidiary body within the Conference on Disarmament to deal with nuclear disarmament, (b) examination of measures regarding irreversibility, (c) removing requirement for nuclear weapons from its defence policy and (d) recommendations urging progress on the START process and the preservation and strengthening of the ABM Treaty; [138475]

(3) should reflect the 2000 NPT Review Conference decisions on resumption of testing or developing new nuclear weapons; [138540]

(4) should include examination of further verification measures; [138477]

(5) should include a declaration by the Alliance formally adopting the elimination of members' nuclear weapons as an eventual goal; [138482]

(6) should reflect the 2000 NPT Review Conference recommendation urging the US Administration to re-submit the CTBT to the Senate; [138539]

(7) should reflect the 2000 NPT Review Conference decisions on use of its existing science programme in order to support the Trilateral Initiative; [138478]

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(8) should be released as a public document; [138481]

(9) pursuant to the 2000 NPT Review Conference decisions should include a review of the reliance placed by non-nuclear weapon states on nuclear weapons held by allies. [138538]

Mr. Vaz: The scope of the exercise to which each of these questions refer is, as agreed by all Allies at the 1999 Washington NATO summit:

to consider options for confidence and security building measures, verification, non-proliferation and arms control and disarmament.

NATO has already made clear, at its ministerial meetings in Florence in May, its strong support for, and commitment to, the conclusions of the 2000 NPT Review Conference. Allies have naturally taken those conclusions into consideration in the course of this exercise. We expect Allies to reiterate their support for all of them. It will be for NATO Foreign Ministers to decide, at their meetings in December, how best to make public the conclusions of this exercise.

The Trilateral initiative involves the development of arrangements to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to verify that fissile material from nuclear weapons declared by the US and Russia to be no longer required for military purposes is irreversibly removed from military programmes. These arrangements are being negotiated between the US, Russia and the IAEA. NATO is not a party to these negotiations.

The UK and NATO Allies have of course made regular national statements in support of the IAEA, most recently at the Agency's General Conference in October. All NATO Allies make regular budget subscription payments and contributions to the IAEA Technical Co-operation Fund, in accordance with a scale guided by United Nations principles. Furthermore, last year the UK, along with 14 other NATO allies, made additional voluntary contributions to the Agency amounting to some US$15 million.

Mr. Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the policy of Her Majesty's Government are on production of fissile material for weapons use. [138474]

Mr. Hain: The previous Government announced in 1995 that the United Kingdom had stopped the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. We have welcomed similar statements by France, Russia, and the United States.

We are eager to see negotiations started in the Geneva Conference on Disarmament on a Treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

Mr. Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the policy is of Her Majesty's Government on implementation of Article VI and paragraph 4(c) of the 1995 Decision on Principles and Objectives for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. [138476]

Mr. Hain: The Government are fully committed to the implementation of Article VI and paragraph 4(c) of the 1995 Decision on Principles and Objectives for Nuclear

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Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. It hopes to see early international progress on the implementation of the agreements reached at the 2000 NPT Review Conference in this regard.

The Government's highest priorities are the entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; the negotiation of a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty; and further deep cuts in the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Russian Federation.

EU Intergovernmental Conference

Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which social protection policies are intended to be covered by the new Article 130(b) of the TEC, as proposed in the draft Treaty of Nice. [138486]

Mr. Vaz: New Article 130(b) of the TEC is a suggestion from the Presidency. It proposes that a new Committee on Employment and Social Protection with advisory status shall monitor the social situation and the development of social protection policies in the member states and the Community and promote exchanges of information, experience and good practice between member states and with the Commission. Discussion continues on the Article.

Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria will apply to determine whether representatives of the general public come from organised civil society as proposed by the amendment to Article 257 of the TEC contained in the draft Treaty of Nice. [138487]

Mr. Vaz: Each member state will decide its own criteria for determining which members of the general public best represent civil society in their country. The Government will consider a wide variety of nominees, with the aim of making our delegation to the Economic and Social Committee as representative as possible.

Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those areas which fall within the exclusive competence of the European Commission which will not be subject to the proposals for enhanced co-operation as set out in the draft Treaty of Nice. [138499]

Mr. Vaz: Discussions continue on the precise scope of the proposed enhanced co-operation arrangements. All partners are clear that enhanced co-operation could not be used in areas such as trade policy, the common agricultural policy or the single market.

Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the areas of social exclusion which are intended to be brought within the ambit of the suggested new Article 137(j) of the TEC in the draft Treaty of Nice. [138485]

Mr. Vaz: New Article 137(j) of the TEC is a suggestion from the Presidency. It proposes that the Community supports and complements the activities of member states in combating social exclusion. Discussion continues on this Article.

Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which of the provisions outlined in the draft Treaty of Nice as being

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candidates for qualified majority voting are deemed by Her Majesty's Government not to be vital to the United Kingdom's national interest. [138491]

Mr. Vaz: The Government have made it clear that we shall insist on retaining unanimity in the areas of tax, social security, Treaty change, own resources, border controls and defence. We shall consider all the other Articles on a case by case basis.

Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the regional bodies which will be politically accountable to (a) the National Assembly for Wales, (b) the Northern Ireland Assembly and (c) the Scottish Parliament, for the purpose of the amendment of Article 263 of the TEC proposal in the draft Treaty of Nice. [138488]

Mr. Vaz: The proposed amendment states that representatives to the Committee of the Regions will either hold a regional or local authority electoral mandate, or be politically accountable to an elected assembly. There would be no change to the present position in the UK.

Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place a copy of the draft Treaty of Nice in the Library. [139294]

Mr. Vaz: A copy of the Progress Report on the Intergovernmental conference has been informally available in the Library since 6 November. It is also available on the following website "www.europa.eu.int".

Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the areas where it is proposed that enhanced co-operation need not involve at least eight members of the EU. [138472]

Mr. Vaz: Talks continue on the scope of enhanced co-operation and the number of member states required for enhanced co-operation in specific areas. Some member states have suggested enhanced co-operation in foreign policy in groups of less than eight.

Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government that the EU's provisions on closer co-operation should encompass the Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy. [138473]

Mr. Vaz: The Government support the introduction of provisions for enhanced co-operation to the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy for the implementation of policies which have been agreed by consensus by all member states.

Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when draft amendments to the consolidated treaties of the European Union will be considered at Nice; when they will be (a) published, (b) placed in the Vote Office, (c) available to the media throughout the European Union and (d) sent to the Governments of candidate member states; and if he will publish communications he has made to representatives of Governments of (i) member and (ii) candidate states prior to the consideration of the proposed amendments. [139085]

Mr. Vaz: The Nice European Council will take place from 7-9 December 2000. The Presidency has been consistent in placing draft papers put to the

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Intergovernmental Conference on the Council Secretariat website www.europa.eu.int. We have passed these to the Scrutiny Committee. A final version of the Treaty will be made available to the media at the end of the European Council; this will then be submitted to Parliament in the form of a Command Paper in the usual way. The Government are in regular touch with other member states and applicant countries on the IGC. It is not the Government's policy to make public its records of meetings with other Governments.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made on the proposals in the paper Confer 4790/00, "Progress report on the Intergovernmental Conference on Institutional Reform", relating to the extension of qualified majority voting to (a) Article 13, (b) Article 100, (c) Article 137(a)(f), (d) Article 151(5) and (e) Article 161. [138355]

Mr. Vaz: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) on 30 October 2000, Official Report, column 238W.

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