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25 Oct 2001 : Column: 313W

Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 25 October 2001

PRIME MINISTER

Advisers

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish a list of (a) advisers, (b) agencies and (c) task forces (i) based in and (ii) administratively linked to his office. [7153]

The Prime Minister: At 15 October, I had agreed to the appointment of the following special advisers:



In addition, I announced last week the appointment of independent advisers to work with the new Forward Strategy Unit (FSU). These roles are unpaid. Those appointed are:


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Lord Birt, my unpaid strategy adviser, will have an overarching role on a number of projects supported by the FSU.

For details of other appointments and non-departmental public bodies linked to my office, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Cabinet Office Departmental Report 2001 (www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/2001/co report), a copy of which is in the Library of the House. An up-to-date list of task forces, review groups and other ad hoc advisory groups will be published soon by the Cabinet Office.

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Prime Minister for what reason salaries of Ministers special advisers are confidential. [10221]

The Prime Minister: Details of individual special advisers' salaries are not published in order to protect the privacy of the individual concerned.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Money Laundering

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the role of the banks in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus in money laundering for (a) terrorists and (b) drug runners connected to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [8876]

Peter Hain: The "Turkish Republic of northern Cyprus" is not internationally recognised except by Turkey, and has consequently never been formally assessed by any of the leading global anti-money laundering organisations. There is evidence, however, that it is vulnerable to exploitation by those involved in money laundering, and it has taken some steps to combat this.

The United Kingdom authorities will continue to remain alert to the activities of financial institutions in the area.

Maluku

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent action the Government have taken to help Indonesian Christians and Muslims on the Maluku Islands. [9657]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Department for International Development (DfID) has pledged more than £4 million to help establish the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Conflict Prevention and Recovery Unit in Jakarta. The unit will build up capacity in conflict reduction and recovery in the provinces torn apart by ethnic conflict, particularly in north Maluku. We will continue to work with the Indonesian authorities and UNDP to promote reconciliation, begin wider reconstruction work and to offer practical assistance where appropriate.

The British Government have repeatedly encouraged the Indonesian Government bilaterally and through multilateral forums to bring to justice religious extremists responsible for human rights abuses in Maluku. I most recently raised these issues with the Indonesian Vice President, Hamzah Haz, when we met in Jakarta in August.

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Balkan Rebels (al-Qaeda Funding)

Mr. Mike O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence he has of al-Qaeda funding of the rebels in Albania [9618]

Mr. MacShane: We have no evidence of al-Qaeda funding activity in Albania.

Macedonia

Mr. Mike O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Mujahedeen who operated with the Bosnian Army in the 1990s are now involved with the rebels in Macedonia. [9617]

Mr. MacShane: We have no evidence that any Mujahedeen who operated in Bosnia are now active in Macedonia.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Plutonium Transportation

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the security arrangements covering the transportation of plutonium. [7871]

Mr. Wilson [holding answer 15 October 2001]: The transportation of plutonium is carried out in accordance with strict national and international regulations and recommendations. The standards applied are approved by the Director for Civil Nuclear Security, the Government's Regulator, to ensure that the security risks associated with the transportation of nuclear material are effectively countered by protective measures.

Pyramid Investment Schemes

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects to introduce regulations tightening controls on pyramid investment schemes. [9622]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Investment schemes fall within the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority.

Utilities

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will ensure that consumers of gas and electricity who are wrongly transferred from their supplier are compensated for resulting loss and inconvenience. [9871]

Miss Melanie Johnson: A voluntary code has been developed by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM) and the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council (Energywatch) and has been accepted by all suppliers of gas and electricity to domestic consumers. The code, known as the Erroneous Transfer Customer Charter, will come into effect in January 2002. It will ensure that consumers who have been wrongly transferred will be returned to their previous supplier with as little inconvenience as possible. The consumer will be able to contact either supplier, who will resolve the problem and provide the consumer with any necessary information.

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Bassetlaw

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses in Bassetlaw constituency have been (a) assisted and (b) established by the Small Business Service in the last year. [9879]

Nigel Griffiths: Since April 2001, 142 businesses in Bassetlaw have been assisted. In the previous 12 months a local Enterprise Agency supported 226 and facilitated 29 business start-ups.

Fishermen's Compensation Scheme

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many ex-trawlermen whose claims are outstanding have died since the fishermen's compensation scheme was announced. [9869]

Nigel Griffiths: I regret that this information is not available, since the Department is not informed of deaths in many cases.

Fireworks (Accidents)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries were caused by fireworks in each of the last 10 years. [9603]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The number of deaths and injuries caused by fireworks in each of the last 10 years is given in the following table. The seriousness of injuries is not separately identified in the annual statistics.

Total number of accidentsDeaths
20009722
19991,0560
19988310
19979080
19961,2332
19951,5300
19941,5742
19931,0580
19929420
19917230
19908050

Wind Turbines

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to promote offshore wind farming as an alternative source of energy. [10563]

Mr. Wilson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Thomas) on 22 October 2001, Official Report, column 13W.

BSkyB

Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects the Office of Fair Trading to report on its inquiry into BSkyB. [10097]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Competition Act inquiries are a matter for the Director General of Fair Trading.

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