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Committee Mandates

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the mandate of the Technical Adaptation Committee on the minimum safety and health requirements for improved medical treatment on board vessels is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if he will list the items currently under its consideration; if he will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [55229]

Mr. Jamieson: This committee has never functioned.

Together with member states, the Commission is currently conducting a review to bring existing legislation on the conduct of comitology committees into line with Council Decision 1999/468/EC, to "simplify the requirements for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission". As an obligation to this decision, the commission undertook to publish an annual report on the working of committees. The first report was deposited in the Libraries of both Houses on 26 February (Com (2001) 783 Final). As part of the review process, the UK Government have encouraged the Commission to produce and maintain an electronic database of every comitology committee, its agendas and recent actions, to be accessible through its website.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the mandate of the committee on the reciprocal recognition of national boatmasters' certificates for the carriage of goods and passengers by inland waterways is; how many

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times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if he will list the items currently under its consideration; if he will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [55684]

Mr. Jamieson: The committee's mandate is to review technical aspects relating to the mutual recognition of boatmasters' licences. The UK is not represented at the committee's meetings. There is no cost to public funds.

Together with member states, the Commission is currently conducting a review to bring existing legislation on the conduct of comitology committees into line with Council Decision 1999/468/EC, to "simplify the requirements for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission". As an obligation to this decision, the commission undertook to publish an annual report on the working of committees. The first report was deposited in the Libraries of both Houses on 26 February (Com (2001) 783 Final). As part of the review process, the UK Government have encouraged the commission to produce and maintain an electronic database of every comitology committee, its agendas and recent actions, to be accessible through its website.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the mandate of the committee on application of the legislation on the minimum level of training for seafarers and the recognition of certificates issued by training institutes or administrations of third countries (STCW) is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if he will list the items currently under its consideration; if he will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [56833]

Mr. Jamieson: The regulatory committee set up under Article 23 of Directive 2001/25/EC on the minimum level of training for seafarers has met twice in the last 12 months. The committee is composed of representatives of member states and is chaired by the European Commission. The remit of the committee is to oversee the implementation of the directive and its main focus is the recognition of non-EU certificates of competency. The UK is represented by officials from my Department and the annual cost of its work to public funds is about £1,600. The committee will next consider a revision of the maritime training directive to improve the procedure for the recognition of certificates of competency issued by non-EU countries.

Together with member states, the Commission is currently conducting a review to bring existing legislation on the conduct of comitology committees into line with Council Decision 1999/468/EC, to "simplify the requirements for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission". As an obligation to this decision, the commission undertook to publish an annual report on the working of committees. The first report was deposited in the Libraries of both Houses on 26 February (Com (2001) 783 Final). As part of the review process, the UK Government have encouraged the commission to produce and maintain an electronic database of every comitology committee, its agendas and recent actions, to be accessible through its website.

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Postal Ballots

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many allegations of fraud are being investigated in connection with the use of postal ballots in the local elections; and if he will make a statement. [55715]

Dr. Whitehead: It is for the police locally to investigate any allegations of fraud. Records of such investigations are not centrally recorded. Should either the Electoral Commission or local electoral administrators identify any issues of particular concern in relation to fraud or the procedures for processing postal votes, they will alert us.

Rail Access Charges

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if contractual provisions will be made to offer rail freight operators the same protection against increased access charges as train operating companies. [55785]

Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him on 2 May 2002, Official Report, column 901W and 7 May 2002, Official Report, column 28W.

New Homes (South-East)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimate he has made of the proportion of new homes in the south-east that will be required as a result of (a) migration from other regions and (b) immigration from overseas. [55714]

Ms Keeble: No estimate has been made of the proportion of new homes required in the south-east as a result either of migration from other regions or immigration from overseas. In determining the overall level of housing provision in the south-east, as set out in Regional Planning Guidance for the south-east (RPG9), the Secretary of State took account of a number of factors and these are referred to in RPG9.

e-Government

Mr. Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to promote e-Government at parish council level; and what funds are available to parish councils to achieve this. [55823]

Dr. Whitehead: The Government's target to see all local government services electronically enabled by 2005 only applies to principal local authorities and fire authorities, and does not apply to parish and town councils.

As they are not subject to this target, parish councils are not being funded directly under the £350 million Local Government On-Line (LGOL) Programme. The national strategy for local e-government, which is currently being subject to wide consultation, makes clear that successful local e-government and customer focused services depend upon the interaction of local authorities with a range of other public, voluntary, community and private sector bodies. Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) are potential leaders in joining up e-enabled access channels and

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service delivery at the local level. Parish councils, as their tier of government closest to local communities, have a significant role to play in these LSPs.

We are making available up to £75 million over two years to support the development of local and regional partnerships between councils, and other local service providers such as the police and the health service. Parish councils will also be able to tap into the knowledge and skills already being developed under LGOL.

Martin Sixsmith

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2002, Official Report, column 1569W, on civil servants, on what basis the termination payment to Martin Sixsmith was made. [55748]

Dr. Whitehead: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made to the House by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 9 May 2002.

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what formula was used to calculate the value of compensation paid to Mr. Martin Sixsmith. [56423]

Dr. Whitehead: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made to the House by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 9 May 2002.

Departmental Staff (Scotland)

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many and what percentage of (a) civil service, (b) executive agencies and (c) non-departmental public body jobs under the remit of his Department are located in Scotland; and how many of each have been relocated to Scotland since May 1997. [56306]

Dr. Whitehead: I would refer the hon. Member to the Cabinet Office reports "Civil Service Statistics", published on the Cabinet Office website and also available in the Libraries of both Houses. These reports give a regional breakdown of the total number of staff employed by my Department including agencies.

I am unable to say how many are employed within non-departmental public bodies, as this information is not held centrally by my Department. Since 1997 the centre of the Department has not relocated any jobs to Scotland. Information on relocation is also not held centrally for the agencies and NDPBs.

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