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Electoral Fraud

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to use national insurance numbers to help eliminate electoral fraud in Northern Ireland. [21819]

Mr. Browne: I have noted the arguments pressing for the inclusion of national insurance numbers as one of the items of personal information required of an elector in Northern Ireland on registration. I am looking closely at how national insurance numbers might be used in the electoral process and whether their use would help our efforts to combat fraud.

European Court Judgments

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the Government intend to change the law to comply with the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights delivered on 4 May in the cases of Jordan v. UK, Kelly v. UK, McKerr v. UK and Shanaghan v. UK; and if he will make a statement. [22458]

Jane Kennedy: As a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, the Government take very seriously the findings of the European Court of Human Rights. The Court's 4 May judgments identified a procedural breach of Article 2 of the Convention with respect to the regimes in place at the time to investigate deaths caused by the security forces. However, the Court was not prescriptive about the mechanisms the

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Government should put in place in order to comply with their obligations under Article 2. This is a matter for the Government to determine in consultation with the Committee of Ministers (the Council of Europe body that oversees the implementation of European Court judgments) in Strasbourg.

The Government are giving active consideration to a package of measures necessary to satisfy our Article 2 obligations and have already been in contact with the Committee of Ministers. Finalising the package of measures has proved a detailed exercise, requiring wide- ranging consultation across Government Departments, and it would not be appropriate for me to comment on such discussions.

I should point out that some areas that caused the Court concern have already been addressed, notably through the establishment of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. The Government have also indicated the strong likelihood that they will remove Rule 9(2) of the Coroners Rules (Northern Ireland) 1963, dealing with compellability, and the Belfast Coroner was so advised on 14 September.

The Government are committed publicly to finalising their response in time for the next meeting of the Committee of Ministers, expected in February 2002. Our final decision with respect to the changes that we intend to make to comply with Article 2 will therefore be a matter of public knowledge very shortly.

Saville Inquiry

Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of the Saville inquiry is to date; and what estimate he has made of the cost of the whole inquiry. [19773]

Mr. Browne: The cost of the Bloody Sunday inquiry to the Northern Ireland Office, as at 4 December 2001, is £52 million. The current estimated cost to the Northern Ireland Office for the whole inquiry is £100 million. This figure assumes that the rates of payment to lawyers remain as at present for the remainder of the inquiry, and makes no allowance for any change of venue which may follow the divisional court's judgment of 16 November 2001, currently subject to appeal. Neither of these figures includes cost to other Departments such as the Ministry of Defence.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Departmental Sickness

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General how many days were lost due to sickness absence by staff in her Department in each of the last four years. [23378]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service has lost days due to sickness absence in the last four years for which data have been published, as follows:


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The CPS has issued guidance to managers to assist them in managing attendance proactively, and we are working towards achieving the challenging targets set to reduce the level of sickness absence by 20 per cent. on the 1998 average by December 2001.

The Serious Fraud Squad ('the SFO') has lost the following days due to sickness:


The SFO is continuing in its commitment to reduce sick absence through careful monitoring and regular management reporting. The annual figures have shown a reduction in absence over the past two years, and the SFO is on course to meet its target of reducing sick absence by 20 per cent. (8.8 days) by the end of 2001. The aim is for absence to be reduced by 30 per cent. (7.7 days) by the end of 2003.

In the Treasury Solicitor's Department the average days lost was:


A specific target to reduce sick absence days by 30 per cent. is included in the Treasury Solicitor's Department's Service Delivery Agreement. The Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers is included in the figures for the Treasury Solicitor's Department.

The Law Officer's Departments are fully committed to managing sick absence effectively.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Council of Ministers (UK Delegation)

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at which Council of Ministers' meetings since May 1999 National Assembly Ministers have (a) been present and (b) led the United Kingdom delegation. [20595]

Peter Hain: The information is as follows:








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Afghanistan

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of European involvement in dealing with the flow of illicit narcotics from post-Taliban Afghanistan; what assessment has been made of the role of the restructuring of Afghanistan in curtailing drug production; and if he will make a statement. [22356]

Mr. Bradshaw: We and our European partners are committed to preventing the flow of illegal drugs from Afghanistan. The Central Asian Drugs Action Plan, which may be formally signed later this month, is an EU initiative to provide a framework for tackling the flow of Afghan opiates to and through the central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. We and our EU partners also give assistance to other countries that lie on the drug transit route to Europe, such as Iran, Pakistan and Turkey.

The Afghan interim administration fully understand that there can be no place for illegal drug production in Afghanistan in the future and that they have a responsibility to root out that problem. One objective of the international reconstruction effort will be to promote economic and law enforcement policies in Afghanistan which encourage and support former opium poppy farmers in pursuing other livelihoods.

Gibraltar

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes to the constitution of Gibraltar will be subject to primary legislation in the United Kingdom. [21744]

Peter Hain [holding answer 10 December 2001]: Should a comprehensive agreement affecting sovereignty emerge from the current Brussels Process discussions, changes to the Gibraltar constitution which flowed from such an agreement would trigger primary legislation in the United Kingdom.

Public Service Agreements

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target to prepare an overseas estate rationalisation programme. [22549]

Mr. MacShane: We are making progress in estate modernisation.

Properties that are surplus, not operationally effective, or not providing value for money, are being sold. Under an agreement with the Treasury, the proceeds are then reinvested. In financial year 1999–2000 we recycled £30 million for investment, and in financial year 2000–01 some £19 million. This financial year, we are aiming to

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achieve sales worth over £40 million, thus meeting our target of £90 million for the CSR triennium financial year 1999–2000 to financial year 2001–02. In the period financial year 2001–02 to financial year 2003–04 we aim to sell property worth £100 million.

The proceeds of estate sales have enabled us to fund a range of estate improvement projects, including in Accra, Algiers, Baku, Bucharest, Caracas, Dar es Salaam, Lima, London, Moscow, Tunis and Yerevan.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for the British Council to keep overheads as a proportion of turnover below 5 per cent. over the period 2001–02. [22583]

Mr. MacShane: Since 1997 the British Council has reported corporate overheads as less than 5 per cent. of turnover. The current estimate for the financial year 2001–02 is 4.8 per cent.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target performance indicator for the percentage of passports issued within five working days. [22514]

Mr. Bradshaw: In 2000, 92 per cent. of posts issued passports within the PSA target of five working days.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for making savings through improved procurement procedures. [22590]

Mr. MacShane: Savings of over £9.1 million had been achieved by 30 September.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for securing alignment of financial legislation in the UK's Overseas Territories with international standards. [22511]

Mr. Bradshaw: In the year following publication of the KPMG review of financial regulation in the Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda in October 2000, the Overseas Territories have made good progress in strengthening their financial regulatory frameworks in line with international standards and good practice, particularly in the priority areas of money laundering, regulatory co-operation and the establishment of independent regulatory authorities. All the Overseas Territories reviewed now have comprehensive anti-money laundering frameworks fully in place. The HM Treasury/FCO press release of 3 December, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House, provides further details of the progress that has been made in other areas and where further work is required.

The Overseas Territories have agreed to publish further progress reports in February 2002 to explain how implementation of the KPMG recommendations are progressing. The UK will continue to work closely with the Overseas Territories to enable them to meet international standards in full.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress in 2000–01 towards meeting the Public

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Service Agreement target performance indicator for the percentage of posts meeting target times for decisions on non-settlement visa applications. [22512]

Mr. MacShane: In financial year 2000–01 89 per cent. of posts met the target time for resolving straightforward non-settlement visa applications within 24 hours, against the Public Service Agreement target of 90 per cent.

This answer is based on monthly statistical reports from the 112 posts where 98 per cent. of applications were received.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for the consolidation of business units that supply services within his Department into a service organisation to yield efficiency gains. [22509]

Mr. MacShane: FCO Services was set up in April 1999 by the FCO as a single service providing organisation in order to maximise efficiencies and create an internal market. By April 2002 FCO Services will have realised efficiency gains of approximately £7 million. As part of the process to develop the internal market, to enable the FCO to secure best value for money from its support services, FCO Services opened to external competition services worth £21 million annually in April 2001 with more scheduled to be opened to competition in April 2002.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for the proportion of business undertaken electronically. [22538]

Mr. MacShane: The FCO's continued progress towards the Prime Minister's goal of making all services available electronically by 2005 is detailed in the most recent electronic service delivery report which was published by the Cabinet Office on the Office of the e-Envoy's website.

Seventy nine per cent. of the FCO's services are now available electronically. We are on track to have 93 per cent. available by the end of 2002, and to meet the PSA target of 100 per cent. by the end of 2005.

Consular, passport and immigration information, forms and assistance are all available electronically from the FCO. We offer users of our website the chance to communicate with us electronically, provide information about foreign embassies in London and detailed information on a host of foreign policy issues. Our award winning website www.fco.gov.uk has been recognised by The Sunday Times as one of Britain's best websites.

We aim to have 99 per cent. of the FCO's worldwide staff on the same IT network by June 2002.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for progress towards implementation of the White Paper on Overseas Territories. [22510]

Mr. MacShane: Considerable progress has been made in key areas covered by the White Paper. The Bill giving effect to the offer of British citizenship has been introduced into Parliament. Structured political dialogue

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between the political leaders of the territories and HMG has been strengthened by three meetings of the annual Consultative Council and visits by the Minister for the Overseas Territories. Constitutional modernisation reviews are in progress in most territories. A number of good governance programmes have been supported in areas of law enforcement, drugs interdiction, prison monitoring and electoral process in Montserrat. Environment Charters were adopted by the UK and territory governments in September. Progress has been made in strengthening territory financial regulatory frameworks in line with international standards and good practice in the UK; human rights programmes to support compliance with international convention obligations with regard to children and families and excluded groups have been supported in all territories, economic studies have been undertaken in Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. A Caribbean regional drugs strategy has been prepared. A study on institutional arrangements for aviation safety and security has been supported and regional conferences on disaster preparedness and aviation safety held.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress in 2000–01 towards meeting the Public Service Agreement target performance indicator for the percentage of posts meeting target times for interviewing applicants for non-settlement visas. [22513]

Mr. MacShane: In financial year 2000–01, 72 per cent. of posts met the target of dealing with non-straightforward non-settlement visa applications within 10 working days, against the Public Service Agreement target of 90 percent. The shortfall was due to increased demand and staffing supply difficulties.


Note:
This answer is based on monthly statistical reports from the 112 posts where 98 per cent. of applications were received.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for BBC World Service efficiency savings in 2000–01 following restructuring of the BBC supplier directorate. [22584]

Mr. MacShane: The Public Service Agreement target for BBC World Service cumulative efficiency savings over the period April 1999 to March 2002 is £25 million (i.e. a little over £4 million per annum new savings). New savings of £4 million were achieved in 2000–01. By the end of 2000–01 the BBC World Service was on track against target having achieved cumulative savings of £14 million.

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Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the use of a scorecard approach for monitoring progress with the Public Service Agreement target for increasing public support for European Union activities. [22518]

Peter Hain: The FCO sets public and internal objectives for each financial year, and allocates resources according to these objectives. Our Public Service Agreement commits us to promoting increased support for and better understanding of the merits of EU membership. We review progress against our objectives on a regular basis.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for reducing accommodation running costs in London. [22508]

Mr. MacShane: We have made good progress. The number of properties occupied by the FCO in London has been reduced from 10 in 1997–98 to five (soon to be four) at present. These are shown in the list. Annual expenditure on rent, rates and service charges has consequently been reduced by 70 per cent., from £12 million to the current figure of £3.7 million.


















Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the performance indicator of posts fulfilling consular action plan targets based on the Citizen's Charter. [22515]

Mr. Bradshaw: In calendar year 2000, most of our overseas posts met or exceeded consular action plan targets (set for the year ending March 2000). Details are:

Function Timeframe setPSA target (percentage)Performance by posts (percentage)
Birth registrationsFive working days to issue92.093.6
Death registrationsFive working days to issue94.098.4
Notarial actsOne working day to produce document93.097.8
Customer satisfactionIn response to questionnaires97.299.1
Prison visitsContact within 24 hours of notification92.099.9
Hospital visitsContact within 24 hours of notification98.0100.0

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Passport issuing performance is covered in my answer to the hon. Member's question UIN 22514.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target performance indicator for the percentage of his Department's internal services to be reviewed under Better Quality Services guidelines by 2001–02. [22588]

Mr. MacShane: The PSA performance target


The FCO's BQS programme, agreed with the Cabinet Office in 1999, is broadly on target. Two major reviews, of consular services and security, were due to commence in the early autumn, but had to be put on hold following the events of 11 September. These have now been rescheduled for completion during the first half of 2002. The Department will not be in a position until the end of the financial year to say whether the performance indicator of 60 per cent. of internal services reviewed by end 2001–02 has been met.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. [22516]

Peter Hain: There is no specific FCO Public Service Agreement target on reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, for which the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the lead Department. But we are working with DEFRA towards the common Government objective of the reform of the CAP under FCO PSA target 6: a


We want to reduce the overall burden of the CAP, align EU and world prices more closely, and target support measures on the rural economy and the environment. These are also important for our ambitions for international trade and development and for an enlarged EU. The Government's objective is to secure changes that benefit consumers, taxpayers, the rural economy, the farming community and the environment. There is increasing recognition within the European Union of the need for reform.

There has been progress. In the 1980s spending on the CAP was over 60 per cent. of the European Community budget. In 2001 it will be around 45 per cent. As a result of the Agenda 2000 package agreed at the 1999 Berlin European Council, spending on the CAP will decline in real terms from 2002. Mid-term reviews of certain CAP regimes are scheduled for 2002–03.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for prompt payment for goods and services. [22539]

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Mr. MacShane: In 2000–01 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office paid 97.8 per cent. of invoices within 30 days of receipt or the agreed contract terms were these to differ. Calculations are in accordance with HM Treasury's approved method.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what practical benefits have resulted from achieving the Public Service Agreement target for obtaining commitments from other countries to co-operate with the UK in combating drugs, crime, abuse of human rights and environmental degradation. [22585]

Mr. Bradshaw: The fight against drugs and crime requires political commitment and practical co-operation. In 2001, nine more ratifications of the three UN drugs conventions have been recorded, including from Turkey, Albania and Ukraine. The FCO's Drugs and Crime Fund (£7.3 million in 2001–02), supports bi- and multilateral project work to combat drug production and trafficking, organised crime, paedophilia, child pornography and money-laundering in more than 40 countries committed to working with the UK and others on these issues. FCO-funded training for overseas law enforcement agencies and operational co-operation with them has led to some notable drug seizures, removing some of the heroin and cocaine consignments destined for the UK and Europe. The UK was a leading player in the negotiation of the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime, which already has more than 120 signatory states, and will provide a new framework for international co-operation to fight serious organised crime world-wide. The UK is currently negotiating law enforcement memoranda of understanding with 14 countries as the basis for further practical co-operation with them.

On the environment, FCO engagement helped secure successful outcomes at international climate change conferences this year in Bonn and Marrakech; in particular, by maintaining the commitment of key countries to the Kyoto Protocol following its rejection by the US. The FCO's contribution to the UK's work in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has been instrumental in maintaining the international commercial moratorium on whaling which came under heavy pressure but emerged intact from the IWC meeting in July 2001. FCO environmental project funds have helped leverage co-operation with other countries (and with UK's Overseas Territories) to directly address restoration of degraded habitats and the control or removal of invasive species of animals and plants.

As a result of our achieving our targets on human rights, a number of people who would otherwise have faced the death penalty no longer do so; there is a stronger world-wide coalition against torture and improved mechanisms for exposing it and, more generally, growing recognition of the importance of human rights. Of course, there is still a great deal to be done—including on child rights, where we have not been so successful in meeting our target (on reducing extreme forms of child labour). The Government remain committed to promoting human rights at the heart of foreign policy and to backing up action in international forums with practical support from our Human Rights Project Fund.

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Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target to achieve full cost recovery by the Government Hospitality Fund by 2000–01. [22589]

Mr. MacShane: The Government Hospitality Fund has been dissolved and the equivalent budget is now held by Conference and Visits Group (CVG), a new business unit that forms part of FCO Services. CVG are working towards full cost recovery and have installed a computerised business information system to capture the necessary information. Full cost recovery is now likely to be achieved during the 2002–03 financial year.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for reform of the EU's structural funds. [22517]

Peter Hain: The FCO's current Public Service Agreement commits the Government to pursue a modern, reformed and enlarged EU whose policies reflect UK political, social and economic priorities.

Lead responsibility for EU structural funds lies with the Department for Trade and Industry. The UK benefits substantially from the Structural Funds: UK regions will receive some £10 billion between 2000–06. The Structural Funds will be reviewed in the context of the next Financial Perspective.

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