| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Investment Dispute
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he intends to take to inform British (a) missions and (b) international investors of the consequences of the World Bank's Ad Hoc Committee's decision to uphold the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes judgment in the case of WENA Hotels against the Government of Egypt. [39723]
Mr. Bradshaw: International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes publishes awards rendered in its proceedings on its website (http://www.worldbank.org/ icsid/) and in its journal, provided it has the consent of both parties. Either party may also decide to publish awards on its own initiative.
Correspondence
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 21 January from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Houria Meziani. [42796]
Mr. Bradshaw: I regret that, due to an administrative error, my right hon. Friend has not yet received a reply to his letter of 21 January.
12 Mar 2002 : Column 870W
The matter is being checked urgently and a reply will be sent in the next few days.
General Affairs Council
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether a Scottish Executive Minister will be a member of the UK delegation to the forthcoming General Affairs European Union Council of Ministers meeting on 11–12 March; and what information is being provided by his Department to guarantee effective pre-council scrutiny by the European Committee of the Scottish Parliament. [42686]
Peter Hain: I attended the General Affairs Council on 11–12 March, representing all parts of the UK.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 February 2002, Official Report, column 66W, which appeared on 4 March 2002.
DEFENCE
Afghanistan
Mr. Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what role British forces are playing in the destruction of the Afghan opium poppy crop; [40387]
- (2) what instructions have been given to British forces in Afghanistan in respect of preventing the export of heroin to the United Kingdom; [40388]
(3) what role British forces are playing in the tracking down and destruction of heroin stockpiles in Afghanistan; [40386]
(4) how many tonnes of heroin stockpiled in Afghanistan have been destroyed by (a) British forces and (b) the Afghan Government. [40391]
Mr. Ingram: The International Security Assistance Force's role in Afghanistan is to assist the Afghan Interim Authority in providing security and stability in Kabul. Some opiate stockpiles may have been destroyed during coalition military attacks on terrorist targets. I understand that the Afghan Interim Authority is planning to destroy the opium crop this month.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the Afghan Government about the role of British forces in Afghanistan. [39595]
Mr. Hoon: I met the Afghan Defence Minister in London on 31 January 2002. I also met members of the Afghan Interim Administration (AIA) in Kabul on 5 February 2002, notably the Chairman of the AIA and the Interior and Defence Ministers. We discussed a variety of issues, including the role of British forces in Afghanistan.
Air Conditioning
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which consultant was used to advise on the installation of air conditioning during the recent refurbishment of (a) his Department's main building and (b) RAF High Wycombe. [41171]
12 Mar 2002 : Column 871W
Dr. Moonie: Main building will be comfort cooled using a chilled beam system. This system incorporates heat recovery on both air and water systems. The Ministry of Defence's advisers were Roger Preston and Partners.
TPS Consult advised the Ministry of Defence on the chiller replacement project in the Strike Command Operations Centre at RAF High Wycombe.
A400M
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors will be considered in the decision about which company will supply the A400M engine for the European project; and if he will make a statement. [41602]
Dr. Moonie: The prime contract with the Airbus Military Company is for the development and production of the A400M, including its engines. The contract specifies overall performance guarantees that the company must achieve. It is for the prime contractor, therefore, to define the selection criteria against which to judge potential engines and engine manufacturers; but among these would undoubtedly be performance and cost.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Government Costs
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the cost of governing Northern Ireland (a) under devolution excluding the cost of reserved matters and (b) under direct rule. [36707]
Dr. John Reid: (a) The cost of governing Northern Ireland after devolution is a matter for the Assembly—however, the Department of Finance and Personnel provided the following NI Block totals.
(b) The table shows the cost of governing NI in the year before devolution began (1998–99), and the years in which devolution/suspension took place (1999–2000 and 2000–01).
| NIO | NI Block | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | WW | DEL | AME |
| 1998–99 | 975 | 4,687 | 3,534 |
| 16 | |||
| 1999–2000(1) | 11,026 | 4,914 | 3,631 |
| 37 | |||
| 2000–01(1) | 1,138 | 5,249 | 4,965 |
| 39 | |||
(1) Devolution began in December 1999 and was suspended between February and May 2000, with the result that in:
1999—2000 £4,221K for NI Assembly was included in the NIO totals.
2000—01 £1,733K for NI Assembly was included in the NIO totals
12 Mar 2002 : Column 872W
Ministerial Private Offices
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the running costs were of (a) his Ministers' private offices, separately identifying expenditure on staff, and (b) his Department in each year from May 1997 to the nearest date for which the information is available. [40983]
Dr. John Reid: For the 1997–98 financial year, no breakdown is available from May, therefore the total is for the whole year. For the 2001–02 financial year—the total spend is not yet available, therefore the figure is an estimate based on spend to date.
Details of the Department's (including it's agencies, but excluding NDPBs as we do not have access to a breakdown of their expenditure) total expenditure on:
| (a) | Ministers | Staff |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 3,218,755 | (2)— |
| 1998–99 | 2,109,653 | 1,317,114 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,810,886 | 1,319,753 |
| 2000–01 | 1,897,659 | 1,209,805 |
| 2001–02 | 1,163,750(3) | (3)1,186,332 |
(2) Total—including staff
(3) Est
| Year | £ |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 1,012,450,000 |
| 1998–99 | 985,989,705 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,044,332,169 |
| 2000–01 | 1,199,617,636 |
| 2001–02 | (4),120,667,473 |
(4) Est
Press and Public Relations
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the annual budget for communications activities, including press, public relations, marketing and internal communications, was for his Department for each financial year from 1997–98 to 2001–02. [39913]
Dr. John Reid: Details of the Department's (including its agencies, but excluding NDPB's as we do not have access to a breakdown of their expenditure) total expenditure on:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 1,077,706 |
| 1998–99 | 2,466,691 |
| 1999–2000 | 695,017 |
| 2000–01 | 591,075 |
| 2001–02 | (5)1,201,623 |
(5) To date. Estimated total is £1,441,173.
It is not possible to identify separate costs for internal communications (i.e. staff magazines or press cuttings).
12 Mar 2002 : Column 873W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |