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Civil Service

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of each civil service grade in his Department is located in each region and nation of the UK; what the average salary is for each grade; and if he will make a statement. [6832]

Dr. Moonie: The information required is given in the following tables:

Number of staff by grade level and region (Full-time equivalent) April 2000

Grade equivalent (paid grade)
Government office regionSCSBand BBand CBand DBand EIndustrial/ other gradesAll grades
London1307072,3771,6213,1985578,590
South East711,2835,2684,1026,6884,96222,375
South West891,1706,0384,2217,2683,98622,772
West Midlands174991,4981,2392,1772,5838,014
North West1172603251,1094452,156
North East4242173230487
Yorks and Humber2212936931,0119662,986
East Midlands223313399829522,626
Eastern81641,3911,3312,4301,0616,385
England total3183,88117,49913,91425,03815,74376,392
Wales3373287111,3842,5124,975
Scotland3901,0801,4303,8112,9809,394
Northern Ireland1132152411,1031,6553,228
Unreported and elsewhere402611,5716167103,1466,344
Grand total3654,28220,69316,91232,04626,036100,333

Number of staff by grade level and region (Full-time equivalent) April 2000

Grade equivalent (paid grade)
Government office regionSCSBand BBand CBand DBand EIndustrial/ other gradesAll grades
London361711101029
South East19302524211922
South West24272925231523
West Midlands512777108
North West
North East11
Yorks and Humber114343
East Midlands122343
Eastern2478846
England total87918582786076
Wales11244105
Scotland125812119
Northern Ireland11363
Unreported and elsewhere116842126
Grand total100100100100100100100

Median salary by pay band as at September 2000

Grade equivalence pay bandSalary (£)
SCS56,990
Band B35,639
Band C20,873
Band D18,400
Band E16,771
Industrial/other grades26,075


Royal Navy Vessels

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Royal Navy vessels are (a) ready for active service, (b) currently undergoing refit and (c) out of service but not currently undergoing refit; what proportion of all vessels each category represents; and if he will make a statement. [6956]

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Mr. Ingram: The following table shows, as at 1 October 2001, the Royal Navy vessels undergoing refits or docking periods and the total number of vessels in each class. There are currently no vessels held out of service.

(i) Type(ii) Vessels undergoing refit/docking period(iii) Percentage of vessels(iv) Total number
SSBN004
SSNSceptre
Spartan
Torbay42 12
Trenchant
Turbulent
CVSInvincible66 3
Ark Royal
Destroyers/FrigatesLiverpool
Manchester
Iron Duke
Cardiff22 32
Cumberland
Somerset
Grafton
Minor war vesselsCottesmore9 22
Sandown
Patrol vesselsDumbarton28 7
Castle
Royal fleet auxiliariesOrangeleaf617

All RN vessels other than those listed at (ii) above are within the operation of the fleet and as such are ready for active service within agreed timescales.

Awareness Events

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) national and (b) international awareness events his Department has participated in since June 1997 in the form of (i) sponsorship, (ii) departmental attendance, (iii) similar departmental activities and (iv) a message of support. [5036]

Dr. Moonie: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

BBC World Service

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he was consulted on the ending of shortwave broadcasting by the BBC World Service to North America and Australasia; and if he will make a statement. [7355]

Mr. MacShane: Operational decisions on resource allocation are for the World Service, working within the framework of overall objectives agreed with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The World Service informed the Government of its plan to withdraw from short wave broadcasts to the regions concerned in advance. The Government have asked the World Service to review the impact on audience figures next year.

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Pakistan

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to Pakistan regarding their use of the death penalty to enforce their blasphemy laws. [7300]

Mr. Bradshaw: We were instrumental in ensuring that the EU followed up an earlier demarche to the Pakistani Attorney-General and Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights, Ms Shahida Jamil, on 28 August, which reiterated the EU's concern about the misuse of the blasphemy laws and the unacceptability of the death penalty in Pakistan.

Along with our EU partners, we will continue to look for appropriate opportunities to raise our concerns about the blasphemy laws and the application of the death penalty with the Pakistani authorities.

Coalition against Terrorism

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the United States Government regarding the role of (a) Iran and (b) Saudi Arabia in the coalition against terrorism. [7830]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Government cannot disclose the detail of confidential discussions. We are committed to building international consensus against terrorism through bilateral and multilateral diplomacy.

Kashmir

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is regarding the situation in Kashmir. [7832]

Mr. Bradshaw: We remain concerned by the situation in Kashmir and continue to urge India and Pakistan to persevere with dialogue to resolve all issues outstanding between them. In this context, we welcome the recent contacts between President Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee.

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the prospects for the people of Kashmir following the meeting between Indian and Pakistani leaders. [7090]

Mr. Bradshaw: We welcomed the talks between Prime Minister Vajpayee and General Musharraf in July. We hope that India and Pakistan will persevere with dialogue and reach a peaceful settlement to this issue.

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made since July in allowing international human rights monitors to enter Kashmir. [7089]

Mr. Bradshaw: I regret that there has been no progress since my answer to the same question by my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Mrs. Fitzsimons) on 10 July 2001, Official Report, column 474W. We continue to impress upon the Indian Government the benefits of transparency and regularly urge them to allow access for human rights bodies, including the UN Rapporteurs on

15 Oct 2001 : Column: 967W

Torture and on Extra-judicial Executions, the Working Group on Disappearances and groups such as Amnesty International.


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