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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Montenegro
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid has been given to Montenegro in 1999; and how much is planned for 2000. [101464]
Mr. Foulkes: We expect to provide around £92,000 in bilateral development technical assistance to Montenegro in the 1999-2000 financial year. This is mainly in support of privatisation programmes and public administration reform. Work was disrupted by the Kosovo crisis, during which we provided around £650,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance.
For 2000-01, we are considering renewed activities in economic reform, support to civil society and public administration reform. The level of support has yet to be determined.
The European Commission has committed about 56 million euro to Montenegro since April 1998 for public administration reform, private sector development, agriculture, budgetary support and humanitarian aid. The UK share of this is some 17 per cent.
Vaccine Damage (Compensation)
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will ensure the payment of compensation to those damaged by vaccines. [102167]
Mr. Bayley:
The existing Vaccine Damage Payment scheme, which has been in place since 1979, provides
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a one-off payment to people severely disabled by vaccination against certain diseases. The scheme is not intended as compensation but is designed to ease the present and future burdens of those suffering from vaccine damage, and their families.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for each of the buildings under his Department's control how many rooms are set aside for (a) ethnic minority religious use, (b) pregnant and nursing mothers and (c) smokers. [102337]
Angela Eagle:
The utilisation of specific rooms within individual Departmental buildings is a matter for local management. The information is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Mr. David Davis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what arrangements (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have put in place for the taking and keeping of minutes of meetings between Ministers and people outside his Department. [102369]
Angela Eagle:
Decisions on the format of minutes of meetings will depend on the nature of the discussion.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many full-time employees were employed in each metropolitan, unitary or county area in North-East England by (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies, in each of the last three years for which information is available. [102432]
Angela Eagle:
The information is in the tables.
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| 30 November 1999 | BA | CA(8) | ITSA | HQ | CSA | WPA | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northumberland | 430 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 439 |
| Newcastle | 3,359 | 0 | 561 | 204 | 710 | 0 | 4,834 |
| Washington | 2,550 | 0 | 87 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2,644 |
| Wearside | 457 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 475 |
| County Durham | 662 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 0 | 718 |
| South Tyneside | 188 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 188 |
| Gateshead | 218 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 0 | 284 |
| Teesside | 807 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 2 | 839 |
| Totals | 8,671 | 0 | 648 | 211 | 889 | 2 | 10,421 |
Note:
(8) With effect from 1 April 1999, all CA staff transferred to Inland Revenue.
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Notes:
1. As staff details are not held by county or metropolitan areas, we have grouped information from our offices to give approximate coverage by those areas. The following groupings have been used:
Northumberland--Ashington, Berwick, Blyth, Hexham, North Shields and Wallsend
Newcastle--Broadway West, Gosforth locations including North-East outstation, Newcastle Central Office and local offices
Washington--Durham House and Child Benefit Centre
Wearside--Sunderland and Wearside DIRC
County Durham--Bishop Auckland, Chester-le-Street, Darlington, Durham, Houghton-le-Spring, Peterlee, Seaham and Stanley
South Tyneside--Jarrow and South Shields
Gateshead--Gateshead Local Office
Teesside--Eston, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Northallerton, Redcar and Stockton.
2. "Full-time employees" has been interpreted to mean all permanent staff, including those on non-standard hours; and excluding staff who are casuals or on fixed term contracts.
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Kali Mountford:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he plans to consult on draft pension sharing regulations. [103126]
Mr. Rooker:
The consultation document "Pension Sharing on Divorce: Consultation on Draft Regulations" is published today. The consultation period will run until 14 February 2000. Copies have been placed in the Library and the Vote Office. The document is also available on the DSS website.
Departmental Employees (Disabled People)
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of the total workforce in his Department is registered as disabled; and what steps he is taking to encourage the employment of disabled people in his Department. [102039]
Mr. Mandelson: Following the devolution of power to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 2 December 1999, the Assembly took on responsibility for all the Northern Ireland Civil Service Departments. The Secretary of State's responsibility is now limited to the Northern Ireland Office, and the following information relates to that Department only.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which came into force in 1996, removed the requirement for individuals with disabilities to register as disabled and, as a result, such information is no longer held on staff in the Northern Ireland Office. Individuals may, however, provide information regarding their disabilities on a voluntary basis. Statistics based on this information indicate that 4.04 per cent. of staff in the Northern Ireland Office have declared that they have a disability under the Act.
The Northern Ireland Office is an Equal Opportunities employer and has a number of policies in place relating to the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities. Where open recruitment competitions are advertised, disabled people are among those under-represented groups who are encouraged to submit applications. The NIO also sponsors a number of people with disabilities to provide them with work in the Department under the Training and Employment Agency's Employment Support Scheme.
The NIO has a dedicated Disabled Person's Liaison Officer whose role is to provide assistance and advice to staff and managers on what reasonable adjustments can be made to enable staff with disabilities to do their jobs. Consideration is also being given to joining the Positive about Disabled People "Two Ticks" scheme to indicate the NIO's commitment to people with disabilities.
Since 1997 the Northern Ireland Office has funded a bursary for staff with disabilities. This provides the bursary holder with a two year programme of training and mentoring to enable them to develop the competencies needed to gain promotion. Two members of NIO staff are currently benefiting from the scheme.
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Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what correspondence he has received from outgoing members of the Parades Commission; and if he will place copies in the Library. [101889]
Mr. Ingram:
No such correspondence has been received.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reason he is to review the workings of the Parades Commission; what are the terms of reference of this review; what organisations and individuals have been consulted over the terms of reference; and what body has been appointed to conduct the review. [101887]
Mr. Ingram:
On 8 October the previous Secretary of State announced a review of the workings of the Parades Commission. The terms of reference are:
Officials from my Security Policy and Operations Division have been asked to conduct the review.
"Within the existing framework of law and structures, and taking account of views received from interested parties and the experience of the marching seasons over the last two years, to consider
possible ways of achieving even greater acceptance of the approach to handling contentious parades; and, in particular,
the arrangements for mediation;
and to report to Ministers by the end of December 1999".
As part of the announcement the Secretary of State made a general invitation for contributions from any interested parties. Subsequently a wide range of interested parties have been specifically invited to contribute.
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