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4 Nov 2002 : Column 41W—continued
Middle East
Mr Drew: To ask the Prime Minister what progress has been made with his offer to convene a peace conference between Israel and the Palestinians. [79044]
The Prime Minister: The immediate priorities are for the quartet (the US, EU, UN and Russia) to agree a roadmap leading to a comprehensive settlement by 2005, and for the parties to commit to implementing it. We believe that a conference of the parties involved in the peace process should be a key element of that roadmap. We are examining how we can best contribute to achieving this goal.
Parliamentary Recall
Mr. Allen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will propose changes to Standing Order No 13 to grant the power to initiate a recall of Parliament to the Speaker. [78844]
The Prime Minister: I have no plans to do so.
Scottish MPs (Redundancy Payments)
Mr. Swire: To ask the Prime Minister what the anticipated cost is of one-off redundancy payments to Scottish MPs losing their seats as a result of the proposed reduction in the number of Westminster constituencies; from what budget they will be paid; and if he will make it his policy to extend such payments to English MPs who lose their seats as a result of the redrawing of boundaries by the Boundaries Commission. [77956]
The Prime Minister : There are no arrangements for additional compensation for Members who lose their seats as a result of the redrawing of boundaries by the Boundaries Commission. All Members of Parliament who retire or are defeated at a General Election are entitled to payment of a resettlement grant. The amount of the grant is calculated on the basis of age and length of service, and the cost involved is determined by the actual Members who are ultimately affected. The resettlement grant is available to all eligible Members of Parliament.
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Sellafield
Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what matters in respect of Sellafield were raised by his Irish counterpart at the Heads of Government Summit in Brussels on 25th October; and what response he made. [78651]
The Prime Minister The Taoiseach did not raise Sellafield at the Brussels European Council on 25 October. However, Irish concerns over Sellafield have been made clear through other fora. We continue to respond as fully as possible to such concerns and to assure the Irish Government that we take very seriously our responsibilities in respect of the effective and safe management of the Sellafield site.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Postalisation of Gas Prices
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce postalisation of gas prices in Northern Ireland. [78801]
Mr. Pearson: The provisions to give effect to postalisation of gas transmission costs were included in the draft Energy Bill which had entered Committee stage prior to the suspension of the devolved Administration. Subject to the Secretary of State's consent, it would be my intention that the Energy Bill would be converted to an Order in Council and included in the programme for the next legislative session.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and the Regulator are involved in ongoing discussions with the pipeline owners about the precise arrangements for introducing postalisation.
Public Employees
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many public employees there are in Northern Ireland; and what percentage they represent of the overall workforce in Northern Ireland. [78335]
Mr. Pearson: At June 2002, there were 204,952 public sector employee jobs in Northern Ireland. This represents 27.1 per cent. of the workforce jobs figure for Northern Ireland.
Selective Education
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Education and Skills regarding the future of selective education in Northern Ireland. [79251]
Jane Kennedy: The review of post-primary education was taken forward by the devolved Administration. No formal discussions have been held with the Department for Education and Skills.
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DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Business Organisation (West Midlands)
Mr. Luff: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the business organisations in the West Midlands with which he makes it his policy to consult on matters of relevance to the business sector. [79488]
Mr. Leslie: An example of recent consultation undertaken across the West Midlands region by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister related to draft Regional Planning Guidance for the West Midlands. The list set out follows shows the range of business organisations consulted on that occasion.
- Business Organisations in the West Midlands consulted on Draft Regional Planning Guidance
- Advantage West Midlands
- Birmingham and Solihull Chamber of Commerce
- Birmingham and Solihull Business Link
- Birmingham City 2000 (now known as Birmingham Forward)
- Black Country Chamber and Business Link
- 1 British Property Federation (Based in London)
- 1 British Retail Consortium (Based in London)
- British Trade International
- Business in the Community
- CBI West Midlands
- Country Landowners Association
- Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce
- Coventry and Warwickshire Business Link
- Coventry and Warwickshire Co-operative Development Agency
- Coventry and Warwickshire Partnerships Ltd.
- East Mercia Chamber of Commerce
- Engineering Employers Federation
- Federation of Small Businesses
- Freight Transport Association
- Heart of England Tourist Board
- Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce and Business Link
- House Builders Federation
- Institute of Asian Businesses
- Institute of Directors
- Institution of Highways and Transportation
- Midlands Environmental Business Club
- National Farmers Union
- North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce
- Staffordshire Business Link
- Road Haulage Association
- 1 Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Ltd. (Based in London)
- Shropshire Chamber and Business Link
- West Midlands Business Policy Group
- West Midlands Enterprise Board
- West Midlands Rural Network
- West Midlands Regional Group of Chambers of Commerce
- 1 Not located in the West Midland region
Council Housing
Alan Simpson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister where council tenants vote against the transfer of housing stock to an arm's length management organisation or other social landlord, how the local authority will access the debt write-off provisions offered by the Government. [79067]
Mr. McNulty: Where council tenants vote against the transfer of housing stock to a Registered Social Landlord (RSL), their authority's attributable housing debt will continue to be serviced through Housing Revenue Account subsidy and the provisions for addressing overhanging debt will not arise.
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Overhanging debt payment is only made when transfer is to an RSL, it does not apply to transfers to Arm's Length Management Organisations (ALMOs), as the authority still owns the stock.
Domestic Fires
David Wright: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people were killed in domestic house fires in the last year, broken down by region. [78551]
Mr. Raynsford: The table shows fatal casualties in dwelling fires attended by local authority fire brigades in the UK in 2000 by region. 2000 is the latest year for which data are available.
(1) Including late call and heat and smoke damage incidents.
(2) Including caravans, houseboats and other non-building permanent dwellings.
(3) Data are provisional and fatality figures are likely to be revised downwards as later information becomes available.
(4) Estimates of the revised figures for United Kingdom and England and Wales are shown in brackets.
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