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Digital Equipment

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many digital radios are owned by his Department for use in departmental buildings from which Ministers work; and what the (a) cost and (b) date of purchase of each radio was. [52857]

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Mr. MacShane [holding answer 26 April 2002]: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. We do not maintain central records of different types of radio receiver.

Chemical Weapons

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has collated on the US Government's compliance with its obligations under the chemical weapons convention. [52056]

Mr. Bradshaw: The United States is a state party to the chemical weapons convention. We have no reason to believe that it is not fully compliant with its obligations.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government will support the efforts of the US Government to remove the Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; and if he will make a statement. [52054]

Mr. Bradshaw: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Joan Ruddock) on 24 April 2002, Official Report, column 294W.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to encourage the UN Security Council to back OPCW's bid to persuade the Iraqi Government to sign the chemical weapons convention. [52055]

Mr. Bradshaw: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1284 mandated the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) to inspect, monitor and, if necessary, destroy Iraq's chemical and biological weapons and its ballistic missile systems. The first priority must be to ensure that UNMOVIC has access to Iraq to carry out its mandate and to uphold the authority of the United Nations.

The UK fully supports OPCW's efforts to achieve universal ratification of the chemical weapons convention. Iraq could, of course, ratify CWC tomorrow, but this should not in any way undermine UNMOVIC's mandate.

WALES

Departmental Contracts

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the 30 largest contracts awarded by his Department from (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999, (c) May 1999 to April 2000, (d) May 2000 to April 2001 and (e) May 2001 to the latest date for which figures are available, stating in each case the values of the contracts and the companies with which the contracts were placed. [43680]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North Tayside (Pete Wishart) on 6 March 2002, Official Report, columns 365-66W.

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Better Quality Services Initiative

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which of the services of his Department have not been reviewed under the better quality services initiative; and when they will be reviewed. [50310]

Mr. Paul Murphy: The better quality services programme was launched in 1998 as a means of delivering continuous improvements in the quality and effectiveness of Government activities and services. My Department was established on 1 July 1999 and has always sought to secure best value in contracts for services and will continue to do so.

Recruitment

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many net additional staff his Department has recruited in each month since June 2001 at (a) executive officer and (b) administrative level. [52439]

Mr. Paul Murphy: Since June 2001 this Department has taken on one additional staff member in November 2001 at executive officer level.

Public-Private Partnerships

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the difference was between the price offered in reaching preferred bidder stage and the final contract price for PPP contracts let by his Department in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [45681]

Mr. Paul Murphy [holding answer 25 April 2002]: My Department has entered no PPP contracts since it was created in July 1999.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the difference was between the price offered in reaching preferred bidder stage and the final contract price for the five largest PFI contracts let by his Department in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [45683]

Mr. Paul Murphy [holding answer 25 March 2002]: My Department has entered no PFI contracts since it was created in July 1999.

Energy Costs

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on energy costs incurred by his Department in each of the last 10 years. [42452]

Mr. Paul Murphy: My Department came into existence only on 1 July 1999. Its headquarters building is heated by the Whitehall Standby Distribution Service which, in the interests of efficiency, serves a number of buildings around Whitehall from a common source.

Railways

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has made representations to the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, regarding the full devolution of powers for the railways to the National Assembly for Wales. [32227]

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Mr. Touhig: Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales nor myself have made any such representations. Current UK Government policy is that railway powers should remain a reserved matter, particularly since the majority of the main rail routes start or end in England.

PRIME MINISTER

MOD Pensions

Mr. Gray: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Inverness West (Mr. Kennedy), about MoD pensions, if he will make a statement on the letters the MoD have sent to MoD pensioners about arrangements for collecting their pensions in post offices; and how many such letters have been sent. [53079]

The Prime Minister: Letters were sent to some 6,700 recipients of occupational pensions from the armed forces in December last year informing them about revised arrangements, to be introduced from April 2002, for those who collected their pensions at Post Offices. The revised arrangements offer a more secure system of payment, and are most cost-effective. Pensioners may continue to draw cash at Post Offices subject to having an account with the following banks—The Alliance and Leicester, Barclays, Cahoot, Lloyds TSB, Smile or the Co-Operative Bank. These new arrangements apply to armed forces occupational pensions and not to state pensions.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Coin-in, Coin-out Machines

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the value of transactions through coin-in, coin-out machines in (a) licensed and (b) unlicensed premises. [52402]

Mr. Caborn: The Department itself has made no such assessment. However, information provided separately by Business in Sport and Leisure (BISL) and the British Amusement Catering Trades Association (BACTA) suggests that the total gross yield to legitimate operators of gaming machines is within the range of £1.3 billion to £1.5 billion per year; while the British Beer and Pub Association have estimated that the annual contribution to the pub economy from gaming machines is in the region of £0.5 billion to £0.6 billion.

Lottery

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what progress she has made in the review of the procedures for reviewing the Lottery licence at the end of the prescribed licence period; [53004]

(2) what progress she has made with the review of the procedure for the allocation of the Lottery licence. [53449]

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Mr. Caborn: It is our intention to publish, before the summer recess, a consultation document inviting comments on options for changes to the current arrangements for licensing and regulating the National Lottery.

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will provide a breakdown of amounts (a) allocated and (b) retained by each of the bodies allocating Lottery money in each of the last 12 months. [52985]

Mr. Caborn: This information is not readily available. I will, however, write to the hon. Member as soon as it has been collated, placing copies of my letter in the Libraries of both Houses.

Political Donations

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if Ministers in her Department are informed of donations to political parties made by any (a) individuals, (b) companies and (c) organisations (i) before and (ii) after a meeting with them. [52882]

Mr. Caborn [holding answer 26 April 2002]: Ministers deal with the issues raised in meetings on their own merits and on a case by case basis. Ministers may be made aware of donations to political parties only if it is relevant to the matter being discussed and no central records are kept.

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