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Yarl's Wood

Mr. Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many detainees who were present at Yarl's Wood Immigration Detention Centre on the evening of 14 February had been removed from Britain as of Tuesday 21 May. [59254]

Beverley Hughes: Information about the number of detainees who have been removed is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by an examination of individual case files.

CRE (Annual Report)

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to make available the Commission for Racial Equality 2001 annual report. [66703]

Mr. Blunkett: The Commission for Racial Equality's Annual Report 2001 is published today.

I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library and for copies to be sent to the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales.

Police

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what influence the funders of the British Transport police have over its policies, operational matters and personnel; and if he will make a statement. [66446]

Mr. Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.

The duties and responsibilities regarding the organisation, control and governance of the BTP are set out in the British Transport Police Force Scheme ("the scheme"). The current text of the scheme can be found in the Schedule to Statutory Instrument 1994–609. The scheme provides that the British Transport police (BTP) is under the direction and control of the chief constable. The chief constable, who is appointed by the BTP

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Committee, is responsible for the administration of the BTP in accordance with the directions given to him by the BTP Committee.

The scheme provides that it shall be a duty of the BTP Committee to, among other things:

(i) supervise the administration of the force by the chief constable on such lines as it may from time to time determine, following consultation with the SRA and others, to give him such directions as may from time to time be necessary for that purpose;

(ii) secure the maintenance of an adequate and efficient police service by the force;

(iii) determine the number of persons of each rank in the force; and

(iv) provide and maintain such buildings, structures, premises, vehicles, apparatus, clothing and other equipment as may be required for the purposes of the force.

The scheme also prescribes the composition of the BTP Committee, which is currently nine members including the chairman. The scheme provides that the BTP Committee shall consist of a chairman appointed by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), not more than six other members appointed by the SRA and one member each appointed by the operator of the national rail network and London Regional Transport. The scheme further provides that among the six SRA appointed members certain interests must be represented. These are:

at least one member who has wide experience of, or who has shown capacity in, the control or administration of police; and


a member appointed after consultation with the Rail Passengers' Committee and who has wide experience of the interests and concerns of users of railway services and facilities.

In addition to these two specified required representatives, the SRA has currently appointed two independent members and two representatives of the train operating companies.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Certified Timber

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the refurbishment projects that (a) are in progress and (b) will start within the next six months; and what action is being taken to ensure that these will procure certified timber. [59762]

Jane Kennedy: The refurbishment projects currently being completed or due to start within the Northern Ireland Office are as follows:

Compensation Agency—Refurbishing new accommodation for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel. In progress.


Criminal Justice Division—Refurbishment work at Rathgael. In progress.


Criminal Justice Division—Refurbishment of new offices for the Youth Justice Agency. Likely to start within the next eight weeks.

Refurbishment contracts are procured for the Northern Ireland Office by the Department of Finance and Personnel Construction Service. No reference is made to the use of certified timber in any contract documents or specifications given to contractors.

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Performance Targets

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the (a) cost and (b) saving from the pursuit of the Department's Public Service Agreement targets in each year since they were introduced. [61044]

Jane Kennedy: The NIO's Public Service Agreement (PSA) was first published in October 2000 to cover the three-year period 2001–02 to 2003–04. As the PSA targets effectively embrace virtually all of our departmental activities, the cost of seeking to meet our PSA objectives is essentially the same as our total departmental expenditure. For 2001–02 (the first year of our PSA) this is currently estimated at £1.052 billion.

The efficiency elements within our current PSA are already reflected in the profiling of the budget set for the Department whereby anticipated reductions in spending in one area are redirected to offset emerging pressures in other areas.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Television Monitors

Mr. Stunell: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee what the estimated number of television monitors on the parliamentary estate is. [65727]

Mrs. Roe: It is estimated that there are 2,300 television monitors on the Parliamentary Estate.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Ministerial Salaries

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the annual cost was of ministerial salaries in his Department in (a) 1997–98 and (b) 2001–02. [60934]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The level of ministerial salaries is recommended by the Senior Salaries Review Body. From May 1997, there were at the FCO one Cabinet Minister, at an annual salary cost of £43,991; three Ministers of State, at annual salaries totalling £114,088; and two Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State, at annual salaries totalling £67,255. Since June 2001, the FCO has had one Cabinet Minister, at an annual salary cost of £68,157; three Ministers of State, at annual salaries totalling £140,995; and two Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State, at annual salaries totalling £87,796.

Those Ministers who are Members of the House of Commons also receive the full parliamentary salary, in recognition of their continuing constituency duties.

Afghanistan

Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many prisoners were taken during coalition operations in Afghanistan; and how many of these are thought to be Chechen. [64455]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: We do not hold the information requested which would need to take into account prisoners taken by British forces as well as other coalition partners.

Liberia (Timber Trade)

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the UK Government will support the extension of the United Nations sanction against Liberia to cover the Liberian timber trade; and if he will make a statement. [64354]

Mr. MacShane: The UK supports UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1408 (2002), which calls on Liberia to establish a transparent and internationally verifiable audit regime to ensure that revenue derived from the Liberian timber industry is used for legitimate social, humanitarian and development purposes, and not for purchasing arms.

EU Directives

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the EU directives and regulations that have been implemented through his Department in 2002; and what was the cost of each to public funds. [64970]

Peter Hain: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office plays a co-ordinating role in the United Kingdom's EU policy, and so rarely implements EU directives. Regulations are directly applicable in the member states without the need for further incorporation into national law.

I am not aware of any directives on which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has led on implementation this year.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the EU directives relating to his Department which have been (a) amended and (b) repealed in 2002. [64950]

Peter Hain: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office plays a co-ordinating role in the United Kingdom's EU policy, and so rarely leads on the amendment or repeal of EU directives and regulations.

I am not aware of the amendment or repeal of any directives or regulations on which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has led this year.

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