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Traffic Offences

Ms Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the number of outstanding parking and other minor traffic violation fines incurred by diplomatic missions during the year ended 31 December 2001. [70291]

Mr. Macshane: At the end of 2001, unpaid fines in respect of parking and other minor traffic violations incurred by Diplomatic Missions and International Organisations in the United Kingdom totalled 5,842 (£276,410.00). In April this year the Foreign and Commonwealth Office wrote to all affected Diplomatic Missions and International Organisations giving them the opportunity either to pay their outstanding fines or to appeal against them if they considered that the fines had been issued incorrectly. As a result payments totalling £62,931.00 were received, leaving a total of 4,485 (£213,479.00) unpaid fines for 2001. The attached table details those Diplomatic Missions and International Organisations that have more than 10 undisputed fines unpaid.

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Unpaid parking and minor traffic violation fines—2001—diplomatic vehicles

Diplomatic Mission/ International OrganisationNo. of fines outstandingAmount in £
Angola108844,470.00
United Arab Emirates28714,150.00
Libya22210,710.00
China156 6,400.00
Egypt151 7,030.00
Mozambique147 5,940.00
Iran140 8,250.00
Ukraine140 7,949.00
Qatar122 5,790.00
Greece111 5,650.00
Ghana96 4,090.00
France95 5,330.00
Turkey87 4,980.00
Algeria69 3,840.00
Morocco68 3,830.00
Zambia64 3,710.00
Russia51 2,800.00
Ethiopia47 1,990.00
Jamaica43 2,670.00
Jordan42 2,480.00
International Maritime Organisation40 2,000.00
Vietnam40 2,280.00
Cyprus39 1,790.00
Mongolia39 2,630.00
Georgia38 2,250.00
Brunei37 1,540.00
Kazakhstan37 2,180.00
Philippines37 2,000.00
Albania35 1,430.00
Afghanistan34 1,940.00
Hungary32 1,390.00
Poland31 1,250.00
Bahrain30 1,650.00
Malaysia30 1,360.00
Yemen30 1,410.00
Pakistan29 1,680.00
Peru29 1,680.00
United States of America27 1,010.00
Cuba26 950.00
Oman26 3,010.00
Portugal25 3,550.00
Dominican Republic23 1,390.00
Romania22 1,140.00
Rwanda20 850.00
Tunisia20 1,200.00
Uganda20 840.00
Kenya19 730.00
Sierra Leone19 2,120.00
Commonwealth Secretariat18 1,400.00
Kuwait16 6,810.00
Sudan16 760.00
Cote D'Ivoire15 1,810.00
Barbados15 600.00
Belgium15 780.00
Brazil14 950.00
Zimbabwe14 560.00
Mexico13 1,210.00
Spain13 1,050.00
Germany12 540.00
Bulgaria11 670.00
Gabon11 780.00
Uzbekistan11 470.00
Total4254 217,699

Arms Exports

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultations Her

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Majesty's Government have undertaken (a) within the UK and (b) with European partners in arriving at the new criteria on arms export components. [69507]

Mr. O'Brien: The other factors referred to by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in his response to the question from the hon. Member for Sherwood (Paddy Tipping), 8 July 2002, Official Report, columns 650–52W, were the result of extensive discussion within Government. Since they were an elaboration of existing policy covering a limited category of cases, we did not conduct consultations outside the Government within the UK. But we conducted two rounds of consultations with other EU Member States to check carefully their approach in such cases. Our consultations confirmed that other EU MS recognise the need for a special approach in such cases.

Gibraltar

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the reforms put in place since 1996 in Gibraltar in relation to company law and practice; and what deficiencies these were aimed at correcting. [67847]

Mr. Hain: Since 1996 the Government of Gibraltar has introduced both new legislation and amendments to existing legislation concerning company law and practice. These legislative changes have been made to implement EU Directives impacting on company law.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the reforms put in place since 1996 in Gibraltar in relation to company law and practice; and what deficiencies these were aimed at correcting. [69353]

Mr. Hain: I refer my hon. Friend to the above answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock.

Sheik Hamad bin Jassin bin Jaber al-Thari

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date his Department was informed of payments made by BAE Systems for its predecessor British Aerospace to his Excellency Sheik Hamad bin Jassin bin Jaber al-Thari; and if he will make a statement. [61120]

Mr. O'Brien: The first reference we have been able to trace in our records is a report in 1998 which stated that Shaik Hamed bin Jassin bin Jaber al-Thari had received commissions in connection with a defence equipment package signed in 1996 (for which BAe were the lead contractor).

HEALTH

Foundation Hospitals

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many three star hospitals have indicated a willingness to become a foundation hospital. [64325]

Mr. Lammy: Thirty-one of the acute National Health Service trusts that were awarded 3 stars in the NHS performance ratings announced in 2001 have expressed an interest in foundation status. The first wave of NHS

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foundation trusts will be selected from among the cohort of NHS acute trusts that achieve 3 stars in the performance ratings to be published in July 2002.

NHS Doctors

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors were employed in the NHS in (a) 2000 and (b) 2001, broken down by nationality. [64336]

Mr. Hutton: The Department does not collect data on individual nationalities of doctors but does collect the countries in which they qualified, broken down into United Kingdom, the rest of the European Economic Area and elsewhere.

The table only shows hospital medical staff working in the National Health Service in England. The country of qualification for dental staff is not collected.

Hospital medical staff by country of qualification

numbers
England as at 30 September20002001
All countries of qualification65,37467,838
United Kingdom45,01646,205
Rest of EEA3,6433,662
Elsewhere16,71517,971

Source:.

Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.

Notes:

Figures are rounded to the nearest ten.


The following table shows data for general practitioners. The Department does not collect data on doctors by nationality. Information is provided by country of primary medical qualification.

General medical practitioners in England by country of first qualification, 2000 and 2001

headcount
20002001
TotalTotal
All practitioners(16)31,36931,835
of which:
UK25,36726,002
Rest of EEA1,2041,253
Elsewhere4,7984,580

(16) All Practitioners include GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs, PMS Salaried GPs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS Other and GP Retainers.

Data as at 30 September 2000 and 2001.

Source:

Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.


Beta Interferon

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the discrepancies between health authorities in prescribing beta interferon and Interferon for MS; and if he will make a statement. [64459]

Mr. Lammy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received the hon. Member's letter of 20 June. According to the Department's records we have not received any other recent representations about prescribing discrepancies under the risk-sharing scheme

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for drugs for people with multiple sclerosis announced on 4 February. The scheme started to operate on 6 May and the guidance in Health Service Circular 2002–04 recognised that it may take 18 months or longer for treatment to be initiated for all eligible patients.

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans are in place and what the timetable is to introduce the beta interferon risk-sharing scheme to Hertfordshire. [68107]

Mr. Lammy: The National Health Service organisations in Hertfordshire are close to finalising arrangements to meet the requirements of the guidance in health service circular 2002–04 so that patients who meet the criteria developed by the association of British neurologists benefit from treatment with Beta Interferon.


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