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Fuel Prices
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the factors affecting the price charged by oil companies for (a) ultra low sulphur diesel and (b) unleaded petrol. [147830]
Mr. Timms: The price charged by oil companies reflects the influence of a number of variable commercial and economic factors, including production and distribution costs, supply and demand on world oil markets, conversion rates against the US dollar, and taxation. The Government do not intervene in commercial price-setting.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he has put in place to ensure that fuel duty reductions on ultra low sulphur petrol, announced in the pre-Budget Statement, will be passed on to motorists. [147832]
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Mr. Timms: The Government do not intervene in commercial price-setting. The United Kingdom Petroleum Industry Association (UKPIA) has stated that it anticipates that the 2 pence per litre duty cut will be passed on to the consumer.
Euro (Price Fixing)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his policy towards EU-level investigations into price-fixing in currency transactions within the eurozone; and what estimate he has made of the level of mark up which has occurred. [147529]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government welcome all efforts to enhance competition and deliver better value for consumers.
CABINET OFFICE
Right hon. Member for Hartlepool
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much severance pay the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the right hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Mandelson), will receive; and if she will make a statement. [148030]
Marjorie Mowlam: Under the terms of the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991, all Ministers (except the Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor) are entitled to a severance payment equal to one quarter of their final ministerial salary on leaving office, provided that the individual has not attained the age of 65 or been appointed to another paid office within a period of three weeks.
Secondments
Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office for each year between 1992 and 2000, how many (a) people were seconded to the senior civil service from the private sector and (b) senior civil servants were seconded to the private and voluntary sectors; what the average length of their secondment was in each case; and how many (i) senior civil servants and (ii) permanent secretaries were on performance related pay. [145187]
Mr. Stringer: Information on secondments of senior civil servants by sector is not held centrally. Information held by the Cabinet Office Interchange Unit relates to overall instances of Interchange activity across Departments. The Interchange Unit does not hold information on the length of individual secondments.
In 1998-99 there were 343 instances of Interchange (with all sectors) at senior civil service level. In this period there were (at all grades) 905 instances of Interchange between the civil service and the private sector, and 278 instances of Interchange between civil service and the voluntary sector.
In 1999-2000 these figures rose to 354 instances of Interchange at senior civil service level, 981 instances of Interchange with the private sector and 525 instances of Interchange with the voluntary sector.
All senior civil servants are on performance-related pay.
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Modernising Government White Paper
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much for each financial year from 1998-99 until the latest date for which sums have been allocated his Department has spent and expects to spend on the implementation of the Modernising Government White Paper. [143701]
Mr. Wilson [holding answer 21 December 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, on 21 December 2000, Official Report, column 245-46W.
Classified Material (Leak)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library the report on the leak to Russian agents of EU classified material in Helsinki of September 1998; and if he will make a statement. [147521]
Mr. Vaz: This was dealt with primarily as a national matter by the Finns. We are not aware of any publishable official report into it.
The Moluccas
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in the Moluccas regarding (a) security and (b) religious freedom. [147380]
Mr. Battle: The second anniversary of the outbreak of unrest in the Moluccas on 19 January was marked by renewed violence in Ambon. At least 14 people were killed in clashes between Moslems and security forces. This latest break-down illustrates the fragility of the security situation and has cast a shadow over recent improvements in Ambon, including the calm period over the Moslem and Christian holidays. We remain deeply concerned by reports of attempts to force Christians to convert to Islam in Kesuiu and Tior. The Governor of Maluku led a second mixed-faith mission to the islands on 23 January. If necessary, the mission will arrange to evacuate all those wishing to leave the islands. We continue to urge the Indonesian Government to exercise tolerance and restraint, and remind them of their responsibility to maintain law and order and take immediate steps to bring the perpetrators of the violence to justice. I did so most recently with Foreign Minister Shihab on 12 December.
Immigration
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for how long a person who applied for settlement at (a) each post in the Asian sub-continent, (b) Accra, (c) Lagos, (d) Aluja, (e) Manila, (f) Bangkok, (g) Moscow and (h) Kingston in December 2000 can expect to wait for interview; and for how long the last people interviewed in each of these posts in December 2000 had waited. [147749]
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Mr. Vaz: The settlement queue lengths (in weeks) at the end of December 2000 were:
| Post | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dhaka | 14 | 21 | 14 | 35 |
| Islamabad | 4 | 17 | 20 | 28 |
| Bombay | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| New Delhi | 0 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
- Queue 1--Right of abode cases and Dependent Relatives over 65;
- Queue 2--Spouses and Children under 18;
- Queue 3--Fiance(e)s and Other First Time Applicants;
- Queue 4--Re-applicants.
- Calcutta--0
- Colombo--9
- Karachi--11
- Madras--7
Other Posts
- Accra--27 (latest available information: October 2000)
- Lagos--9
- Abuja--5
- Manila--20
- Bangkok--6
- Moscow--4
- Kingston--2.
We are obtaining from the Posts the answer to the second part of the question. When the information is available, I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Libraries of the House.
Iran
Kali Mountford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent authorisations for the issue of export licences for Iran as exceptions to the national arms embargo there have been. [147699]
Mr. Wilson: The Government have recently issued a licence for the export of industrial gas turbine parts to Iran for civil end use. This particular industrial engine has been developed from a military engine and is commonly used to drive pumps and electric generators. The engine is not subject to export control when it is exported as a complete unit. However, when it is broken down into component form, a very small percentage of its parts are unchanged from their original form and, as military components, come within the scope of the UK's arms embargo and are controlled under Part III of Schedule 1 of the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994.
The Government are satisfied that Iran does not possess any aircraft powered by the original military engine, and that the risk of the components being diverted for use by the Iranian military is minimal.
British Indian Ocean Territory
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral
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statement by the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle), of 9 January 2001, Official Report, column 194WH, what is the timetable of his feasibility study relating to environmental problems of BIOT. [146303]
Mr. Battle: We estimate that it will take at least a year to plan, undertake the complete scientific research and report on the work recommended as necessary by the independent consultants who conducted the preliminary study in 2000.
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral statement by the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle), of 9 January 2001, Official Report, column 194WH, what analysis he has made of who wants to return from (a) Mauritius and (b) the Seychelles to Diego Garcia and other atolls. [146304]
Mr. Battle: Our intention is to consult the Ilois during the further phases of the feasibility studies we are undertaking in order to establish how many Ilois, be they based in Mauritius or the Seychelles, may want to return either to visit or to settle in the Territory.
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