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Business Rates
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the total amount of business rates collected in Wales in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) 2000. [7697]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The total amount of revenue raised in Wales from the business rate between 1996–97 and 1998–99 was as follows:
| Year | £ |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 427,156,005 |
| 1997–98 | 460,306,025 |
| 1998–99 | 464,847,538 |
Since 1 July 1999, this has been a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Probation Board for Northern Ireland
Liz Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Probation Board for Northern Ireland's annual report for 2000–01 will be published. [8243]
Jane Kennedy: The Probation Board's annual report for 2000–01 was published on 16 October 2001.
A copy of the report has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Electoral Research Project
Liz Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish the results of the electoral research project recently commissioned on the district council and parliamentary elections which were held in Northern Ireland. [8244]
Mr. Browne: I have today placed copies of the electoral research report in both Libraries of the House.
Oversight Commissioner
Liz Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish the latest report received from the Oversight Commissioner. [8245]
Jane Kennedy: In accordance with section 68(4)(a) of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000, I have today laid a copy of the Oversight Commissioner's second statutory report for the year 2001 in both Houses.
Northern Ireland Policing Board
Liz Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board; and if he will publish the names of those bodies consulted by him under the provisions of Schedule 1 Part 111 paragraph 8(2)(c) to the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000. [8246]
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Jane Kennedy: On 29 September my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced the appointment of the following nine independent members:
- Denis Bradley
Viscount Brookeborough
Brian Dougherty
Barry Gilligan
Tom Kelly
Pauline McCabe
Rosaleen Moore
Professor Desmond Rea
Suneil Sharma.
- Alex Attwood MLA
Joe Byrne MLA
Fred Cobain MLA
Ivan Davis MLA
William Hay MLA
- Lord Kilclooney MLA
James Leslie MLA
Eddie McGrady MP MLA
Ian Paisley Junior MLA
Sammy Wilson MLA.
In line with the requirements of Schedule 1 Part III paragraph 8(2)(c) of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000, the Secretary of State wrote to the following individuals and bodies at the outset of the process:
- The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
The Chief Police Officers' Staff Association
The Church of Ireland
The Democratic Unionist Party
The Equality Commission
The Green Party
The Human Rights Commission
The Labour Party
The Methodist Church in Ireland
The Northern Ireland Conservative Party
The Northern Ireland Unionist Party
The Northern Ireland Women's Coalition
The Oversight Commissioner
The Police Federation for Northern Ireland
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland
- The Progressive Unionist Party
The Roman Catholic Church
Sinn Fein
The Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Superintendents' Association for Northern Ireland
The Ulster Democratic Party
The Ulster Unionist Party
The United Kingdom Unionist Party
The United Unionist Assembly Party
16 Oct 2001 : Column: 1149W
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Regional/Minority Languages Charter
Mr. Mudie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the appointment will be made of the UK member to the Committee of Experts for the Council of Europe European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. [8267]
Mr. MacShane: I am pleased to announce that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe elected on 4 October Emyr Lewis as the UK member to the Committee of Experts for the Charter. The Committee of Experts acts as a monitoring mechanism examining the periodical reports submitted by Parties on compliance with the Charter. Emyr Lewis is a fluent Welsh speaker, whose legal expertise and experience of minority language issues make him an ideal representative for the UK on this Committee.
G8 Summit, Genoa
Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, in the aftermath of the G8 summit held in Genoa on 20 July, consular officials from other EU countries were able to gain access to their detained nationals earlier than British consular officials. [8268]
Mr. Bradshaw: We understand that no other EU state was granted access to their detained nationals ahead of British consular officials. However, detainees were held in several widespread locations, so it is impossible to confirm definitively which nationals were seen first on Wednesday 25 July, when access was finally granted. Our Consul visited one detainee in hospital as early as Sunday 22 July. British consular officials had visited all of our detainees ahead of most other EU states. American officials were the first to gain access to their nationals in the detention centres.
Throughout the night of Wednesday 25 July, when the detainees were awaiting deportation at the airport, British consular officials provided support to British nationals and to many foreigners, including those from other EU countries, in the absence of their own consular representatives.
United Nations Subscriptions
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the United States' paying its United Nations subscriptions. [7301]
Peter Hain: The payment of United Nations contributions is the responsibility of individual UN member states. However, we understand that the US
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Congress has recently agreed to release the second tranche of a US arrears package, worth $582 million. We welcome the forthcoming payment of these funds.
UN Resolution 1373
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on UN Resolution 1373 (2001). [7829]
Peter Hain: UN Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), adopted on 28 September, is the first resolution to impose obligations on all states to respond to the global terrorist threat. It focuses on two key areas: suppressing the financing of terrorism and denying terrorists a safe haven from which to operate. The United Kingdom Permanent Representative to the United Nations has been appointed Chairman of the Security Council committee that will monitor the implementation of this Resolution.
The United Kingdom is obliged to implement immediately the mandatory provisions of the resolution. The Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2001, the Terrorism (United Nations Measures) (Overseas Territories) Order 2001, the Terrorism (United Nations Measures) (Isle of Man) Order 2001 and the Terrorism (United Nations Measures) (Channel Islands) Order 2001 were adopted by the Privy Council on 9 October 2001 and came into force on 10 October 2001. They will implement the mandatory provisions on terrorist financing in the United Kingdom, the Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies.
The orders have been made under section 1 of the United Nations Act 1946. They implement paragraph 1(c) and (d) of the resolution by restricting the making available of any funds or financial services to terrorists and providing powers to freeze accounts of suspected terrorists. Paragraph 1(b) on criminalising fundraising for terrorist purposes can be implemented through the Terrorism Act 2000 in the United Kingdom. However, a specific provision on fundraising is included in the Overseas Territories, Isle of Man and Channel Islands Orders. Copies of all four orders have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
We are also considering urgently what further domestic legislation may be required to take action against terrorism in line with Security Council resolution 1373 (2001).
Civil Service
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 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. [6820]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) employs staff in three of the Regions in England: London, Croydon in South East Region and at Milton Keynes in Eastern Region.
The number of staff by grade at each location and the percentage of the total staff are shown in the table. The FCO has recently completed its own grading structure and the grades shown are the accepted Civil Service Equivalents.
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| Grade | London | (%) | Eastern | (%) | South East | (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Grade | 29 | 93.5 | 1 | 3.2 | 1 | 3.2 |
| Senior Manager | 75 | 89.3 | 6 | 7.1 | 3 | 3.6 |
| Grade 6 | 91 | 77.1 | 10 | 8.5 | 17 | 14.4 |
| Grade 7 | 225 | 74.2 | 39 | 12.9 | 39 | 12.9 |
| SEO | 142 | 52.8 | 108 | 40.1 | 19 | 7.1 |
| HEO | 436 | 66.9 | 202 | 30.9 | 14 | 2.1 |
| EO | 433 | 75.8 | 120 | 21.0 | 18 | 3.2 |
| AO | 541 | 73.2 | 174 | 23.5 | 24 | 3.2 |
| AA | 259 | 81.7 | 56 | 17.8 | 1 | 0.5 |
The average salaries paid to the staff, including payments towards national insurance and superannuation made by the FCO on behalf of staff are:
| Average salary | ||
|---|---|---|
| Grade | London | Outside London |
| Senior Grade | 111,000 | 111,000 |
| Senior Manager | 75,000 | 75,000 |
| Grade 7 | 60,990 | 52,850 |
| Grade 6 | 49,840 | 44,740 |
| SEO | 37,030 | 37,600 |
| HEO | 30,780 | 31,420 |
| EO | 24,460 | 22,660 |
| AO | 20,630 | 19,005 |
| AA | 15,860 | 14,715 |
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