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28 Feb 2003 : Column 756W—continued
Departmental Staff
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his estimate is of the number of full-time staff employed by the (a) FCO and (b) British Council, in each year from 1995–96 to 2005–06 (planned); and if he will make a statement. [98433]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The number of UK-based staff employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Council since 1995 is as follows.
| Staff in post figurescorrect on 1 April | FCO | British Council |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 5,984 | Not available |
| 1996 | 5,787 | Not available |
| 1997 | 5,539 | Not available |
| 1998 | 5,412 | 1019 |
| 1999 | 5,485 | 1025 |
| 2000 | 5,480 | 1018 |
| 2001 | 5,490 | 1060 |
| 2002 | 5,680 | 1049 |
The FCO's provisional estimate of positions for 2003 is 6,033. We are unable to provide planned staffing figures for 2004, 2005 and 2006 until the spending plans have been finalised. The British Council is unable to provide a projected figure at this time.
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Estonia/Latvia
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on how many non-citizens there are in (a) Estonia and (b) Latvia; and what reports he has received on the age profiles of these groups. [100024]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Office of the Minister of Ethnic Affairs in Estonia says that there are 164,730 non-citizens in Estonia (January 2003). The age profile of the non-citizens in 2000 (the latest year for which this breakdown is available) was:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 24 and under | 32.9 |
| 25 to 44 | 32.3 |
| 45 to 64 | 25.2 |
| 65 and over | 9.6 |
According to the Latvian Naturalisation Board, there are 504,277 non-citizens in Latvia (January 2003). Their age profile is:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 25 and under | 20.3 |
| 26 to 45 | 28.8 |
| 46 to 65 | 32.7 |
| 66 and over | 18.2 |
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the non-citizens in Estonia and Latvia who hold special passports will be allowed to travel to the UK without visas for (a) recreation and (b) work following Estonia's accession to the EU. [100025]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UK requires non-citizens in Estonia and Latvia who hold special passports, in common with other stateless persons, to obtain a visa before travelling to the UK for any purpose. At present there are no plans to change this requirement after Estonia and Latvia join the EU. We are continuing to support the Estonian and Latvian Governments in their moves to encourage social integration and the take-up of citizenship.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether non-citizens in Estonia and Latvia who hold special passports will enjoy parity of treatment with holders of Estonian and Latvian passports when seeking to travel to EU countries other than the UK, following accession; and if he will make a statement. [100026]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Following accession, member states in the Schengen zone and non-Schengen member states may choose to exempt special passport holders from the visa requirement. The UK will continue to implement its own policy, subject to constant review, in line with applicable national legislation.
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Gibraltar (Terrorist Attacks)
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what precautions have been taken to protect against terrorist attacks against British citizens in Gibraltar. [100126]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Governor and his staff work closely with the Government of Gibraltar, the Ministry of Defence and other relevant bodies in the territory to ensure effective contingency planning for a range of eventualities, including terrorist attack. This includes direct contact with relevant authorities and departments in the UK.
Hospitality
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what criteria Ministers in his Department use when determining whether to offer hospitality in restaurants to interest groups at public expense; and if he will make a statement; [99512]
- (2) what hospitality has been offered at public expense in the last 12 months by each Minister in his Department to outside interest groups, broken down by (a) restaurant, (b) recipient and (c) cost in each case; [99513]
(3) how often Ministers in his Department have received hospitality in restaurants from outside groups in the last 12 months. [99588]
Mr. Straw: The giving and receiving of hospitality is conducted fully in accordance with the guidance set out in the Ministerial Code, and Guidance on Contacts with Outside Interest Groups including Lobbyists. The detailed information requested is not held centrally, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Minister for Europe next intends to visit (a) Brussels, (b) Strasbourg and (c) Luxembourg; and how many visits the Minister has made to those cities since his appointment. [96581]
Mr. MacShane [holding answer of 10 February]: I went to Brussels on 24–25 February for a meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC); and am due to travel to Luxembourg on 14–15 April for a further GAERC meeting. I also hope to be able to visit the European Parliament in Strasbourg during the coming months.
In my three and a half months in this job, I have already travelled twice to Brussels and once to Strasbourg to attend a session of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly.
Written Questions
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many named day written questions were tabled to the Department between 15 October 2002 and 24 February 2003; how many that received a holding answer were given a substantive answer (a) within three days, (b) within seven days, (c) within 14 days, (d) within 28 days and (e) over 28 days later; and
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what procedures the Department has in place to monitor performance on answering (i) Parliamentary Questions and (ii) ministerial letters. [99432]
Mr. Straw: Between 15 October 2002 and 24 February 2003, 259 named day written questions were tabled to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, of these 59 received a holding answer. Of those that received a holding answer 43 received a substantive answer within three days, seven received an answer within seven days, five received an answer within 14 days and one received an answer within 28 days. Three questions are still awaiting a substantive answer.
My Department records statistics on a daily basis to monitor performance in answering parliamentary questions. I attach great importance to replying to questions fully and promptly and regularly emphasise this to Ministers and officials.
The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on performance of departments in replying to ministerial correspondence. The Report for 2001 was published on Friday 24 May 2002, column 674W. The Report for 2002 will be published in due course.
TREASURY
Child Care Tax Credit
Mrs. Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the consequences for women of the introduction of the child care tax credit. [96143]
Dawn Primarolo: It is clear that the child care tax credit is removing an important barrier to work by making child care more affordable. According to the Repeat Survey of Parent's Demand for Childcare, around a quarter of respondents said that the impact of the child care tax credit had an effect on the number of hours they worked; and of those, 80 per cent. said that they had increased their hours. Recent data suggests that among families in receipt of WFTC and using eligible child care, around 85 per cent. claim the child care tax credit. Among lone parents receiving WFTC the figure is higher still, with over 90 per cent. of lone parents who receive WFTC and use eligible child care claiming the child care tax credit. The majority of claims for child care tax credit come from lone parents, for whom child care costs can represent one of the biggest barriers to making work pay.
Capital Modernisation Fund
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place the evaluations for the Capital Modernisation Fund projects relating to (a) Inland Revenue E-business gateway, (b) Inland Revenue unified reference validation, (c) Customs and Excise port surveillance, (d) Customs and Excise anti-drug surveillance radar, (e) Customs and Excise scanners and (f) Office of National Statistics "PAT 18: Better Information" in the Library. [97020]
Mr. Boateng: (a) The CMF funding for the Inland Revenue e-business gateway has been integrated into a number of projects, some of which are still in
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development and none of which have reached the stage when they would be considered for an evaluation review under the department's established criteria.
(b) The Inland Revenue Unified Reference Validation Project is still in its early stages. It is expected that the project will be completed in the 2003–04 Financial Year.
(c) The Customs and Excise Port Surveillance project is not due to be completed until 31 March 2004. No evaluation report is yet available.
(d) The Customs and Excise anti-drug surveillance radar project was terminated in February 2002 because of difficulties in meeting the requirements of the user specification. No further expenditure is planned on this project.
(e) The project to procure x-ray freight scanners for Customs and Excise has not yet been concluded, and a full evaluation report has therefore not been completed.
(f) As the Office for National Statistics' Neighbourhood Statistics project has not yet been concluded, no evaluation report has been completed .
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