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29 Oct 2002 : Column 769W—continued
PACT
Keith Vaz: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proposals he has to assist PACT. [77369]
Ms Rosie Winterton: My Department will consider with PACT (Parents and Abducted Children Together) and other organisations how to improve awareness of the procedures involved in using the Hague Convention provisions.
Upper Age Bars
Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department for what reason people over the age of 70 are barred from (a) being magistrates and (b) jury service. [76127]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 21 October 2002]:
(a) The upper age for serving as a magistrate was set by Parliament after wide consultation and was generally supported. It enables individual magistrates to continue to make a contribution to the administration of justice for a long time.
(b) The Juries Act 1974 set the upper age limit for jury service at 65. This limit was later increased to 70 by the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The recent review of the Criminal Justice System by Lord Justice Auld, which considered the structure and representation of juries made no recommendation on increasing the upper age limit for jury service.
29 Oct 2002 : Column 770W
SCOTLAND
Friends of Scotland
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if she will list her Department's staff members working (a) full-time and (b) part-time for the Friends of Scotland Unit, broken down by location of work. [77202]
- (2) how many staff have been seconded from the private sector to work for the Friends of Scotland initiative since its inception in 2001; and from which organisations these individuals have been seconded. [77203]
Mrs. Liddell: There are currently two officials working full-time on the Friends of Scotland project. A further five officials give assistance on the project when required. Both full-time officials are based in Glasgow.
Two members of staff have been seconded from the private sector, both from the Bank of Scotland (HBOS plc).
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if she will list the events run (a) in Scotland, (b) in London, (c) in other locations within the UK and (d) outside the UK by Friends of Scotland since its inception in 2001; [77204]
- (2) if she will list the events her Department has run jointly with the Scottish Executive to promote Friends of Scotland and the GlobalScot initiatives. [77205]
Mrs. Liddell: The events run by the Scotland Office in furtherance of the Friends of Scotland initiative have been as follows:
| Events | |
|---|---|
| (a) In Scotland | |
| 22 July 2002 | A business lunch in Edinburgh |
| 13 August 2002 | A reception in Edinburgh for cultural attaches from diplomatic missions in London |
| (b) In London | |
| 27 November 2001 | The Friends of Scotland launch event in the Banqueting House, Whitehall |
| 11 June 2002 | A business dinner in Dover House, Whitehall |
| 15 June 2002 | A reception in Dover House, Whitehall |
| 23 July 2002 | A reception for the launch of the Friends of Scotland website in Dover House, Whitehall |
| (c) Elsewhere in the UK | None |
| (d) Outside the UK | |
| 23 January 2002 | A business lunch in Guangzhou, China |
| 14 October 2002 | A reception in Sydney, Australia |
The events run jointly by the Scotland Office and the Scottish Executive for the Friends of Scotland and GlobalScot initiatives were the dinner in London on 11 June and the reception in Sydney on 14 October.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) on which date the Friends of Scotland website was established; [77208]
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- (2) if she will list the (a) start-up and (b) maintenance costs of the Friends of Scotland website; [77229]
(3) what marketing her Department carried out on behalf of Friends of Scotland to promote the launch of the Friends of Scotland website; [77210]
(4) how many visits the Friends of Scotland website has received in each month since it was first established; [77209]
(5) how many (a) organisations and (b) individuals have registered their interest in Friends of Scotland through the initiative's website since its inception; and if she will list them by country of residence; [77214]
(6) if she will list the reasons given by organisations and individuals for registering their interest in the Friends of Scotland initiative, as submitted to the initiative's website; [77211]
(7) how many (a) organisations and (b) individuals have registered to receive e-mail updates from the Friends of Scotland website; and if she will list them by country of residence; [77213]
(8) how many e-postcards have been sent from the Friends of Scotland website in each month since it was first published. [77212]
Mrs. Liddell: The current Friends of Scotland website was established on 23 July 2002. The start-up cost was #62,623; the cost of subsequent maintenance and development to date has amounted to #4,711. The launch of the website was announced at a reception held in the Scotland Office on 23 July.
The website has received the following number of visits in each month since it was established:
| Number of visits | |
|---|---|
| July | 826 |
| August | 2,046 |
| September | 3,261 |
| October (up to 24) | 3,451 |
The website has attracted 32 registrations of interest since its inception. Individuals registering their own interest and those registering on behalf of an organisation cannot be differentiated. The breakdown of the total by country of residence is as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| UK | 20 |
| Australia | 3 |
| New Zealand | 2 |
| Canada | 1 |
| Japan | 1 |
| USA | 2 |
| Belgium | 1 |
| Germany | 1 |
| unknown | 1 |
Those registering their names have cited interests in culture, education and business.
Seventy individuals have registered to receive e-mail updates from the website. A breakdown of this figure by country of residence is not available.
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The number of e-postcards sent from the website during the period up to 24 October 2002 was 80. A month by month breakdown of this figure is not available.
Letters have been sent to key influencers around the world inviting them to access the website. Arising from this exercise, 136 recruits have been secured for Friends of Scotland.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what expenditure has been budgeted for by her Department to support the Friends of Scotland initiative during the financial year 2002–03. [77218]
Mrs. Liddell: A budget of #260,000 has been allocated for the current financial year. This figure does not include staffing costs.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if she will list the dates and locations of meetings of the Advisory Board to Friends of Scotland since its inception in 2001; [77219]
- (2) if she will list the costs of meetings of the Advisory Board to Friends of Scotland since its inception in 2001 in terms of (a) travel expenses, (b) refreshment costs and (c) other expenses. [77220]
Mrs. Liddell: The Friends of Scotland Advisory Group's first meeting was on 18 December 2001 in London. Its second meeting was on 1 March 2002 in Glasgow. Its third and most recent meeting was held on 20 May 2002 in Edinburgh.
The costs of the Advisory Group's meetings have been (a) #1,440 and (b) #278. There have been no other separately identifiable costs (c).
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
BCCI
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assistance her Department is giving to the liquidator of BCCI so that the liquidation can be concluded. [75663]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The progress of the liquidation of BCCI is a matter for the liquidators.
Business Start-ups
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many companies were set up in Somerset; and how many went into liquidation in (a) 1999–2000, (b) 2000–01 and (c) 2001–02. [73312]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The only official measure of business starts-ups is VAT registration data. These are based on calendar years.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 1,415 |
| 2000 | 1,560 |
| 2001 | 1,390 |
Source:
Business start-ups and closures 1980–2001
29 Oct 2002 : Column 773W
There is no single area that reports company and individual insolvencies for Somerset.
Car Pricing Order
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps have been taken to monitor the implementation and impact of the car pricing order; if a progress report will be published; and if she will make a statement. [75137]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Responsibility for monitoring the car pricing order and investigating allegations of anti-competitive behaviour lies with the Director General of Fair Trading.
His office is keeping the order under review.
The order is one of several factors influencing car prices. These include a renegotiated block exemption from EU competition rules for vehicle supply and servicing introduced on 1 October 2002.
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