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18 Mar 2002 : Column 1W

Written Answers to Questions

Monday 18 March 2002

PRIME MINISTER

Ministerial Code of Conduct

Mr. Beith: To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will set out the circumstances in which he considers it acceptable for major policy changes not to be first announced in the House in accordance with the Ministerial Code of Conduct; [43371]

The Prime Minister: Individual Ministers are responsible for determining the timing and form of individual announcements taking account of the requirements of the Ministerial Code.

Mr. Burns: To ask the Prime Minister (1) which Minister is responsible for the enforcement of the Ministerial Code of 2001; [43843]

Mr. Chope: To ask the Prime Minister how many breaches of the Ministerial Code there have been since July 2001. [43839]

The Prime Minister: Section 1 of the Ministerial Code makes it clear that Ministers are personally responsible for deciding how to act and conduct themselves in the light of the Code and for justifying their actions and conduct in Parliament. It also sets out Ministers' responsibilities in relation to alleged breaches of the Ministerial Code.

Mr. Chope: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 12 March 2002, ref 42839, for what reason Ministers' responsibilities in relation to the public do not specify giving accurate and truthful information outside Parliament. [43838]

The Prime Minister: Ministers are personally responsible for deciding how to act and conduct themselves in the light of the Ministerial Code and for justifying their actions and conduct in Parliament.

Ian Stillman

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Prime Minister if he raised the case of Ian Stillman with (a) President Narayanan and (b) Prime Minister Vajpayee on his trip to India in January. [43910]

The Prime Minister: The case was not raised during my discussions with President Narayanan and Prime Minister Vajpayee, which focused on other issues.

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My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised the case on 27 February 2002 with the Indian Home Minister, L. K. Advani, and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office raised it on 18 February 2002 with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Omar Abdullah.

Our high commissioner in New Delhi raised Mr. Stillman's case with the Indian Home Secretary, Kamal Pande, on 20 December 2001. He also discussed it with Mr. Advani on 2 January 2002.

Our high commission is doing all it can to ensure that the Indian authorities are meeting Mr. Stillman's welfare requirements adequately and that his forthcoming appeal to the Supreme Court is heard as quickly as possible.

Senior Salaries Review Body

Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make an announcement about the Chair of the Senior Salaries Review Body. [44664]

The Prime Minister: I have appointed John Baker CBE to be Chair of the Senior Salaries Review Body from February 2002 for a period of three years.

WALES

Stolen Equipment

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 22 January 2002, Official Report, columns 706–07W, on stolen equipment, what criminal proceedings have been undertaken for cases of theft against his Department, stating in each case (a) whether the proceedings (i) led to a criminal conviction and (ii) were unsuccessful, (b) the cost incurred by his Department in pursuing a conviction and (c) the value of items recovered; and if he will make a statement. [41502]

Mr. Paul Murphy: Unfortunately no culprit was identified for either theft, so it was not possible to launch criminal proceedings.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Relocation Expenses

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General what her policy is on the payment of relocation expenses to staff in her Department. [41026]

The Solicitor-General [holding answer 11 March 2002]: My own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, is a small Department situated in central London and its staff are seconded to it from a number of parent Departments. The issue of relocating LSLO staff does not, therefore, arise.

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In the Departments for which the Attorney-General is responsible, details are as follows:

Crown Prosecution Service

The Crown Prosecution Service provides financial assistance to staff who are permanently transferred to a new location in the interests of the Department and, as a consequence, need to move home. The general principle employed in this situation is that staff will be reimbursed for all reasonable expenses actually and necessarily incurred as a result of the relocation. Details of the financial assistance available to CPS staff are contained in the Department's Travel and Subsistence Code.

Treasury Solicitor's Department

All the Treasury Solicitor's Department staff are located in London apart from a small group of eight staff who are co-located with their clients, the Ministry of Defence in Bristol. This small section was relocated from London to Bristol in 1998 and they were given the same relocation terms as applied to MOD staff.

The Treasury Solicitor's Department policy is that, where moves are voluntary, relocation expenses are not paid. As nearly all Treasury Solicitor's Department staff are based in London, the Department does not have a specific relocation policy. The circumstances where the Department might pay relocation expenses would be where staff who were co-located with their clients were being compulsorily moved. In such cases the Treasury Solicitor's Department would ensure that its staff received the same benefits as the clients.

Serious Fraud Office

Almost all of the Serious Fraud Office's permanent staff are based in central London. The very few that are not based in London are regionally based investigators working either from home or in local police stations.

Therefore, the Serious Fraud Office does not offer relocation expenses to its existing staff.

Nor does the Serious Fraud Office offer relocation expenses to persons transferring to the Serious Fraud Office from other Government Departments, or to newly recruited staff who need to relocate in order to take up a post with the Serious Fraud Office.

Staff Numbers

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General how many staff have been employed by her Department in each of the last 10 years. [42460]

The Solicitor-General [holding answer 14 March 2002]: The total numbers of staff employed by my own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, over the last 10 years are included in the Treasury Solicitor's Department figures. Records are not available for the years 1992 to 1994.

In the Departments for which the Attorney-General is responsible, details are as follows:

Crown Prosecution Service

The Crown Prosecution Service has employed the following number of staff in each of the last 10 years:


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These figures include all lawyers and administrative staff. Casual staff numbers are not included.

Treasury Solicitor's Department

The Treasury Solicitor's Department has employed the following number of staff in each of the last 10 years:





























The Serious Fraud Office was established in 1988. The numbers of staff employed by the Department since April 1988 are as follows:













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The figures have been obtained from Serious Fraud Office annual reports. The report for 1989–90 does not quote staff numbers. There are no other historical records containing staff numbers.

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