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Teachers' Salaries
Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills by how much the take home pay of a teacher with five years experience will increase after the rise of 3.5 per cent. in salary and London weighting. [31246]
Mr. Timms: A teacher in inner London with five years's experience would normally be paid on point six of the teacher's main scale, which will be worth £24,729 per annum on 1 April 2002. This represents an increase of £867 per annum over 1 April 2001. On 1 September such a teacher will assimilate to point M5 of the new main pay scale, and will earn £26,973 per annum. Take-home pay is subject to an individual's tax position.
Assaults on Staff
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many school staff were assaulted on local education authority property in each of the London local education authorities in each of the last five years. [31366]
Mr. Timms: The Department does not collect this information from local education authorities.
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
India-Pakistan Border
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the number of anti-personnel mines on the India-Pakistan border. [31280]
Mr. Bradshaw: We are concerned by reports that both India and Pakistan are laying anti-personnel land mines (APLs) along the international border, and will continue to monitor the situation closely. We urge India and Pakistan to cease the deployment of land mines, to clear existing mines and to sign the Ottawa Convention. We continue to press for India and Pakistan to resolve the issues between them through dialogue.
The British Government are completely opposed to the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of APLs. We ratified the Ottawa Convention in July 1998 banning APLs, and announced a complete ban on their use by British forces.
Genocide
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made through the ICC on agreeing an international definition of genocide. [31265]
Mr. MacShane: The crime of genocide is defined in Article II of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This definition is repeated as Article 6 of the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The Rome Statute will come into force once 60 states have ratified or acceded to it; 48 States have done so to date including the United Kingdom.
Gibraltar
Mr. Terry Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Government of Gibraltar regarding the appointment of the Head of Police in Gibraltar. [30730]
Peter Hain [holding answer 28 January 2002]: Under the provisions of the 1969 Gibraltar constitution the Governor is responsible for the internal security of Gibraltar, including the Royal Gibraltar police. The Governor appointed the current Commissioner of the Royal Gibraltar police on 1 November 2001.
Mr. Terry Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence the Government have collated regarding Spanish allegations on the level of smuggling out of Gibraltar; and if he will make a statement. [30731]
Peter Hain [holding answer 26 January 2002]: We have asked the Spanish Government to make available to us evidence that they have of smuggling. We will investigate such evidence.
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Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will secure the support of the Government of Gibraltar for an agreement between Spain and Britain on the future status of Gibraltar before seeking the support of the people of Gibraltar through a referendum. [30698]
Peter Hain [holding answer 25 January 2002]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Mr. Jenkins) on 21 November, Official Report, column 331W. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs stated in the House on 14 January we have invited the people of Gibraltar, represented by the Government of Gibraltar, to take part in the talks under the Brussels Process. The Foreign Secretary and I discussed this further when we saw the Chief Minister of Gibraltar in London on Friday 25 January.
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if a referendum in Gibraltar on the future sovereignty of the territory will be held before the resumption of talks with Spain under the terms of the Brussels Process. [30621]
Peter Hain: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Mr. MacKinlay) on 12 December 2001, Official Report, column 853W.
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with which organisations he has discussed (a) the replacement of the Governor of Gibraltar and (b) an extension to the present Governor of Gibraltar's period in office. [30619]
Peter Hain: None. Her Majesty the Queen appoints Governors to all Her overseas territories.
UN Subscriptions
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) of 16 October 2001, Official Report, column 1149W, whether the sum referred to in his statement has been released to the United Nations; and what proportion this represents of the total moneys due. [29730]
Mr. MacShane: United States Congress authorised payment of arrears to the United Nations in three tranches. Tranche I was paid in 1999. Of the tranche II total of $582 million, a $465 million cash payment was made by the United States to the United Nations in November last year. The remainder is being offset in the form of reimbursements owed to the US by the United Nations. We expect tranche III to be paid some time this year.
Tranche II represents approximately 60 per cent. of the moneys due to the United Nations in the three-tranche package.
Departmental Expenditure (Publications)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his estimate is of the expenditure of his Department on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in each of the last four years. [30101]
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Mr. MacShane: The information is as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 489,895 |
| 1998–99 | 586,510 |
| 1999–2000 | 566,067 |
| 2001–01 | 588,078 |
Market Research
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what expenditure has been incurred by his (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each of the last four years on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; and if he will list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each. [27941]
Mr. MacShane: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has conducted little opinion polling and market research in the United Kingdom. No focus groups were used. In the last four years total expenditure was:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | 15,550 |
| 2001–02 | 39,913 |
The figures cover market research for the "Know Before You Go" consular awareness campaign, and an opinion poll of public knowledge and understanding of the European Union. The results of the latter polling were laid in the Libraries of the House of Commons on 5 December 2001.
Overseas, various embassies have commissioned surveys about attitudes towards the United Kingdom to underpin strategies aimed at increasing positive foreign perceptions of Britain.
The FCO's non-departmental public body, the British Council also undertook an overseas research project to explore how well-informed young professionals perceive the United Kingdom. The survey was entitled "Through Other Eyes". Countries were researched in 1999 and 2000.
In the United Kingdom, the British Council has made use of focus groups and market research: (i) to assist in the understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of UK education compared to that in the United States and Australia, (ii) to evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives to increase the number of international students studying in the UK, and (iii) to assess perceptions of the British Council in Scotland post-devolution.
The cost of this research and activity was:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | (17)36,000 |
| 2000–01 | 15,275 |
| 2001–02 | 2,878 |
(17) Estimate
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