---

Iran

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to name the new ambassador to Iran; and if he will make a statement. [30733]

Mr. Bradshaw: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 14 January 2002, Official Report, column 4W.

British Expatriates (Spain)

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK citizens live permanently in Spain. [30726]

Peter Hain: According to official Spanish figures, the number of UK nationals permanently resident in Spain is in the region of 500,000.

Morocco

Mr. Terry Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Morocco regarding the Spanish enclaves of (a) Ceuta and (b) Melilla. [30729]

Peter Hain: Ministers and officials have regular contacts with their Moroccan counterparts to discuss a wide range of bilateral and foreign policy issues. There have been no specific discussions regarding the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, as this is a bilateral matter between the Governments of Spain and Morocco.

Hamas

Mr. Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made as to which Governments (a) provide support to Hamas terrorists and (b) allow Hamas to operate within their borders. [31129]

Mr. Bradshaw: We are aware that Hamas receives some funding from Iran. Hamas also receives funding from a wide variety of sources across the middle east, including substantial funding from private foundations and individuals in the Gulf. Hamas activity covers a wide spectrum, from charitable social and educational support in the community to terrorism. We have no clear evidence of any Government allowing Hamas terrorists to operate within its borders. We take all evidence of external involvement in Hamas very seriously. Such involvement can only complicate the international community's efforts to help the Palestinians achieve viable statehood, and Israel and the region to enjoy lasting security.

28 Jan 2002 : Column 37W

Mr. Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact on the middle east peace process of the intention of the Hamas terrorist group to wage an all-out war against Israel. [31131]

Mr. Bradshaw: We are gravely concerned by the violence in the middle east, including Hamas' declared intention to wage 'general war' against Israel. The Government's view on terrorism is clear: we have repeatedly condemned terrorism in all its forms. We have accordingly proscribed the terrorist wing of Hamas. We continue to urge President Arafat to make 100 per cent. effort to dismantle terrorist networks. We will continue to urge both parties to end the violence and resume substantive dialogue.

Greenpeace

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the case of the 17 Greenpeace activists and two journalists who were arrested near Vandenberg Airbase, California. [30221]

Mr. Bradshaw: Three British nationals were among 17 people arrested for entering a restricted area at Vandenberg Airbase, California, on 15 July 2001. Two of these British nationals have been sentenced to a period of probation of one year. The third British national is due to be sentenced on 15 April. We have offered all three detainees full consular assistance since their arrest and will continue to do so.

Brussels Process

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what agenda has been set for future discussions under the Brussels Process; and if he will make minutes of the meeting under the Brussels Process available to Parliament. [30639R]

Peter Hain [holding answer 25 January 2002]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to his question on 6 November 2001, Official Report, column 121W. We will continue to ensure that the House is kept fully informed of progress under the Brussels Process.

Al-Aqsa Brigades

Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the links between the Palestinian Authority and the Al-Aqsa Brigades who have claimed responsbility for recent terrorist attacks. [31130R]

Mr. Bradshaw: We understand that the Al-Aqsa Brigades is the name used by members of Fatah when they carry out attacks on Israeli targets. Fatah is a political party The Palestinians after the Oslo accords. As such, there is no direct link between the Palestinian Authority and the actions of individual Fatah members. Fatah is President Arafat's political party but both he and more generally the Palestinian Authority have repeatedly condemned terrorism.

28 Jan 2002 : Column 38W

WORK AND PENSIONS

Pension Credit

13. David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to introduce the pension credit. [28153]

Mr. McCartney: Pension credit will be introduced from October 2003, so that no pensioner will need to live on less than £100 per week (£154 a week for couples). For the first time, we will reward—not penalise—savings, ensuring those who have worked hard to save modest amounts will gain from having done so.

28. Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures he will put in place to ensure the application procedures for the pension credit are transparent and easily understandable. [28168]

Mr. McCartney: Pension credit will be delivered, from 2003, by the Pension Service which will be launched in April this year. The aim of the Pension Service is to promote a modern service that is tailored to meet customers' needs. The Department is currently designing and developing the processes and customer products (forms, leaflets, etc) that will support the introduction of pension credit next year.

Plans for pension credit communications are being worked up at present and we intend to engage customer representative groups and partner organisations during the first half of 2002, in helping us to develop detailed marketing, communications and take-on plans. We will also test customer products, such as the claim form and leaflet, with these expert groups to ensure that they are easy to understand. They will of course, be approved by the Social Security Advisory Committee. We will ensure that everyone who is entitled to pension credit knows in good time what they need to do to apply for their pension credit entitlement.

Pension Schemes

15. Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the savings ratio with respect to pension schemes. [28155]

Mr. McCartney: Overall contributions to non-state pensions have increased year on year since 1997. It has risen from:

£50 billion in 1997


£60 billion in 1998


£65 billion in 1999


£69 billion in 2000.

Additionally, the introduction of stakeholder pensions has increased access to pension schemes and promoted greater pension saving generally. For example, the value of new pensions sales rose by 9 per cent. in the third quarter of 2001 to £2.8 billion.

National Insurance

16. Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many uncancelled national insurance numbers there are in issue. [28156]

28 Jan 2002 : Column 39W

Malcolm Wicks: As I explained in a reply to the right hon. Member on 7 November last year, the national insurance numbers (NINOs) currently in issue are needed for a variety of purposes.

Since 1998 we have removed over 375,000 NINOs from the system. We are also marking suspected fraudulent NINOs when they are discovered. However our main focus is to tighten up the identification process to prevent false numbers being allocated in the first place.

New Deal

17. Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to make the new deal for young people more responsive to the needs of (a) young people and (b) employers. [28157]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: We are continually seeking to develop the new deal for young people to ensure that it is responsive to the needs of employers and young people.

We have already introduced a number of measures to increase the flexibility of the programme for employers and young people. For example, since June 2001 we have:

introduced 'Recruit', a pilot initiative to help employers in deprived areas employ more people through the new deal's employment option;


broadened training within new deal to allow training that leads to a certificate recognised by employers in their occupational areas;


increased the permitted length of work experience placements for new dealers to eight weeks to enhance their employability; and


revised the entry conditions for the new deal employment option, so participants can enter the option from the day they enter the programme.

We are introducing tailored pathway pilots, the first of which began on 2 January. These pilots will enable young people to use the new deal options more flexibly and move into sustained employment. New deal clients will be able to access a mix of full-time training, work experience and employment through the new deal options.

From February, employers will be given more flexibility in the training they provide for new deal clients taken on under the employment option. Employers will be able to give new deal clients their own in-house training so that they have greater freedom to deliver training that best meets their needs.

19. Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps are taken to safeguard the training needs of the long-term unemployed on new deal projects when the Department terminates training contracts. [28159]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: The continuity of programmes for all new deal participants is of paramount importance, particularly where contracts expire or are terminated. Should termination or expiry occur, contracts contain clauses to minimise any disruption caused to participants, and to assist in the implementation of contingency plans allowing participants to complete their programme.

24. Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will extend the new deal to 14 to 18-year-olds; and if he will make a statement. [28164]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: We currently have no plans to extend the new deal to 14 to 18-year-olds.

28 Jan 2002 : Column 40W

34. Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have entered work through the new deal since May 1997. [28175]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: Latest results show that over 600,000 people have entered work through the new deals.

---