---

16 Jan 2003 : Column 769W—continued

Global Partners Agreement

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further steps the Russian Federation has agreed to take to advance the implementation of the Global Partners Agreement, known as ten plus ten plus ten; what further action it is required to take; and if he will make a statement. [91205]

Mr. MacShane: Russia is a committed member of the G8 'Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction'. In December 2002 the Russian Government decided to set up a new interagency committee, which will be chaired by the Russian Prime Minister. On 10 January this year Russia pledged $2 billion over the next 10 years to the Partnership. This includes $204 million on high-priority projects in 2003, focusing on the destruction of chemical weapons and work on decommissioned nuclear submarines.

However, for most of the work to begin Russia has to agree to a legal framework that is satisfactory to donor countries. At present there are problems with liability and taxation provisions and these must be solved before many large projects can go ahead. This delay also affects the UK, which has made strenuous efforts to overcome these final obstacles. Conclusion of an agreement is a prerequisite to the start of much of the project-work. We hope that an agreement can be reached very shortly, as the UK is at an advanced stage of readiness and once the legal framework is in place, projects can quickly begin.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced to Parliament last July the UK's commitment to the Global Partnership of up to $750 million over 10 years (1 July 2002, Official Report, column 21). The UK Government believe the importance of the Partnership is clear, and puts a high priority on its contribution, as part of the UK's wider non-proliferation, security and foreign policy strategies.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the Government's voting record for each measure, and amendments thereto, on the agenda of the first committee of (a) the UN General Assembly and (b) the UN Security Council in 2002. [90181]

Mr. Rammell: Voting records of First Committee resolutions of the UN General Assembly since 1997 may be accessed via the internet at http://disarmament.un.org/vote.nsf. Those for UN Security Council resolutions since 1983 may be found at http://unbisnet.un.org.

16 Jan 2003 : Column 770W

North Korea

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement regarding the situation in North Korea. [90290]

Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary issued a press statement on North Korea's intention to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty on 10 January. The text of the statement is as follows:

XI deplore North Korea's stated intention to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Such a step, if carried through, will only increase North Korea's isolation from the international community. I call on the North Korean leadership to change course. The NPT is the cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, supported by almost every country in the world. North Korea's action is therefore a matter of deep concern for the entire international community."

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in North Korea concerning its (a) nuclear power and (b) nuclear arms programmes. [90698]

Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had any direct contact with the DPRK Foreign Minister on the matter of North Korea's nuclear programmes. However, our Ambassador to Pyongyang raised this issue during meetings with the DPRK Foreign Minister, Vice Foreign Minister, and titular Head of State Kim Yong-nam, at the end of December. FCO officials have also been in regular contact with the DPRK Chargé d'affaires in London on this issue since his arrival at the beginning of November. Most recently, FCO officials summoned the Chargé d' Affairs on 10 January to protest against recent actions by the DPRK. We shall continue to use official channels in London and Pyongyang to raise our concerns with North Korea about its nuclear programmes and intention to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Statutory Instruments

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many statutory instruments have been issued by his Department in each calendar year since 1979. [89835]

Mr. Straw: Departmental records show that for each calendar year since 1979 the number of statutory instruments for which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the lead Department is as follows:

Year	Number
1979	57
1980	41
1981	60
1982	35
1983	33
1984	29
1985	44
1986	34
1987	48
1988	36
1989	35
1990	39
1991	26
1992	44
1993	35
1994	30
1995	28
1996	34
1997	77
1998	30
1999	28
2000	37
2001	38
2002	29

16 Jan 2003 : Column 771W

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Congestion Charge

Mr. Gray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what budget he has set aside for the likely cost of the London congestion charge. [91099]

Mr. Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope) on 20 November 2002, Official Report, column 125W.

Council Tax

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what changes in council tax in each local

16 Jan 2003 : Column 772W

authority would be required and possible, assuming spending next year were at FSS level and no change were made to its non-grant income. [90685]

Mr. Raynsford: Council tax is a local tax. Decisions on council tax are for local authorities to take, after consulting with their local electorate and taxpayers. It is not this Government's policy to preannounce spending totals or council tax increases for local authorities.

FSS is not, and should not be used as, a measure of assumed local spending. The spending review identifies how much is available in total grant for local authorities. The FSS distributes the available amount to authorities in a way that reflects local pressures in comparison to other areas. There is an allowance per head with top-ups for local pressures such as deprivation, labour costs and sparsity.

Housing (Rural Areas)

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much revenue was collected in real terms for each council tax band in (a) England and (b) local authorities defined as rural, by region, in each year since 1992. [90839]

Mr. Leslie: The following table shows the amount of council tax receipts, net of council tax benefit, collected each year in (a) England and (b) local authorities, by region, since 1993, shown in 2001–02 prices. Authorities are defined as 'rural' on the basis of the Countryside Agency's classification of English Local Authorities.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister collects information on the amount of council tax, net of council tax benefit, collected by each local authority in cash terms. This information is aggregated and can not be reliably broken down by council tax band.

Council Tax Receipts for XRural" Authorities from 1993–94 to 2001–02 (in 2001–02 prices)# million

	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
England	8,313	9,095	9,551	9,994	10,545	11,344	11,850	12,531	13,209
Designated rural authorities by region
East of England	388	428	451	473	504	560	598	641	679
East Midlands	275	318	336	349	382	418	439	468	492
London	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
North East	48	50	55	57	61	67	71	74	77
North West	234	262	271	281	294	324	336	354	368
South East	720	799	848	892	945	1,028	1,081	1,145	1,203
South West	473	541	553	575	614	677	711	763	804
West Midlands	176	193	197	208	220	272	292	307	329
Yorkshire and the Humber	199	224	233	232	241	260	277	292	310

The real terms are calculated using the HM Treasury GDP deflator.

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many households in (a) England and (b) local authorities defined as rural, by region, were identified as being in each band for council tax purposes in each year since the introduction of the scheme. [90838]

Mr. Leslie: The following table shows the number of chargeable dwellings in (a) England and (b) local authorities defined as rural, by region, by council tax band since 1993. Chargeable dwellings are dwellings eligible for a council tax charge. This information is taken from the Calculation of Council Tax Base for Revenue Support Grant Purposes Return (CTB1) which is based on information available to the authority in November each year. Authorities are defined as 'rural' on the basis of the Countryside Agency's classification of English Local Authorities.

16 Jan 2003 : Column 773W

Number of chargeable dwellings in Xrural" local authorities from 1993 to 2001Thousand

	Band A	Band B	Band C	Band D	Band E	Band F	Band G	Band H	Total
1993
England	5,062	3,733	4,280	2,866	1,782	962	729	115	19,529
Designated rural authorities by region
East of England	131	223	235	142	88	46	30	3	898
East Midlands	174	148	135	76	47	27	19	2	627
London	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
North East	45	16	15	11	8	6	4	0	106
North West	141	105	96	62	41	24	17	2	487
South East	86	201	366	300	215	137	116	17	1,438
South West	151	230	238	174	127	73	51	5	1,048
West Midlands	64	84	88	54	40	24	19	2	375
Yorkshire and the Humber	102	95	98	59	42	24	16	1	437
1994
England	5,128	3,792	4,298	2,900	1,781	939	698	107	19,643
Designated rural authorities by region
East of England	135	227	236	143	88	46	29	3	907
East Midlands	180	152	135	77	47	26	18	2	635
London	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
North East	47	16	15	11	8	6	4	0	107
North West	145	106	96	63	41	23	16	1	493
South East	91	207	371	305	215	134	113	15	1,452
South West	157	237	241	178	127	70	46	4	1,061
West Midlands	66	86	88	55	40	24	17	2	378
Yorkshire and the Humber	104	96	99	60	42	22	15	1	440
1995
England	5,165	3,836	4,327	2,927	1,796	938	683	103	19,777
Designated rural authorities by region
East of England	139	230	237	145	90	46	29	3	919
East Midlands	183	154	135	78	49	26	17	1	643
London	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
North East	47	17	15	11	8	6	3	0	108
North West	146	108	97	64	42	23	16	1	497
South East	94	211	376	308	217	135	112	15	1,467
South West	162	242	245	181	128	69	43	4	1,073
West Midlands	67	87	89	55	41	24	16	2	381
Yorkshire and the Humber	106	98	100	62	43	22	14	1	446
1996
England	5,203	3,871	4,351	2,956	1,813	947	688	103	19,934
Designated rural authorities by region
East of England	142	233	239	147	93	47	29	3	932
East Midlands	187	159	138	81	52	28	18	1	663
London	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
North East	47	17	15	12	8	6	3	0	108
North West	148	108	98	65	43	23	16	1	501
South East	96	214	380	311	218	137	113	15	1,482
South West	164	245	247	183	130	70	43	4	1,086
West Midlands	68	88	89	56	42	24	17	2	385
Yorkshire and the Humber	106	95	89	58	40	21	13	1	422
1997
England	5,230	3,896	4,380	2,988	1,837	962	697	105	20,093
Designated rural authorities by region
East of England	143	235	241	149	95	48	30	3	944
East Midlands	188	160	139	83	53	29	18	1	672
London	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
North East	47	17	15	12	8	6	3	0	109
North West	148	110	98	66	43	23	16	1	506
South East	97	216	383	313	220	139	115	15	1,496
South West	167	247	249	185	132	71	43	4	1,099
West Midlands	69	88	90	57	43	25	17	2	390
Yorkshire and the Humber	106	95	90	58	41	21	13	1	426
1998
England	5,242	3,918	4,405	3,017	1,862	976	707	106	20,233
Designated rural authorities by region
East of England	145	236	243	152	97	50	30	3	956
East Midlands	190	161	141	85	55	30	18	2	681
London	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
North East	47	17	15	12	9	6	4	0	110
North West	149	110	99	66	44	24	16	1	510
South East	99	217	385	315	222	141	116	15	1,509
South West	168	249	251	188	135	72	44	4	1,111
West Midlands	79	104	103	68	51	30	19	2	456
Yorkshire and the Humber	107	96	91	59	41	22	13	1	430
1999
England	5,248	3,942	4,430	3,049	1,888	993	717	108	20,374
Designated rural authorities by region
East of England	146	238	245	154	99	51	31	3	967
East Midlands	191	163	142	87	56	31	19	2	690
London	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
North East	47	17	16	12	9	6	4	0	110
North West	150	111	99	67	45	24	16	1	514
South East	100	218	386	317	224	143	118	15	1,522
South West	170	251	253	190	137	73	44	4	1,122
West Midlands	80	105	103	69	53	31	20	2	461
Yorkshire and the Humber	107	97	91	60	42	22	14	1	434
2000
England	5,296	3,972	4,462	3,086	1,918	1,012	729	110	20,586
Designated rural authorities by region
East of England	149	240	247	157	101	52	32	3	981
East Midlands	193	165	144	90	59	32	19	2	703
London	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
North East	47	17	16	12	9	6	4	0	111
North West	151	111	100	68	46	25	17	1	520
South East	102	220	389	320	226	145	120	15	1,536
South West	172	253	256	192	140	74	45	4	1,137
West Midlands	81	105	104	70	54	31	20	2	467
Yorkshire and the Humber	109	97	92	61	43	23	14	1	440
2001
England	5,295	3,991	4,487	3,117	1,947	1,028	740	112	20,717
Designated rural authorities by region
East of England	150	242	248	159	103	53	32	3	990
East Midlands	194	166	145	92	61	33	20	2	713
London	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
North East	47	17	16	13	9	6	4	0	112
North West	152	112	101	69	47	25	17	1	525
South East	102	221	391	321	228	146	121	16	1,546
South West	173	255	258	195	142	76	46	4	1,149
West Midlands	81	106	104	70	54	32	21	2	471
Yorkshire and the Humber	109	98	93	62	44	24	14	1	445

16 Jan 2003 : Column 775W

Total figures are subject to rounding.

---