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17 Mar 2003 : Column 515W—continued
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Iraq
Mr. Cash: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the legal basis for military intervention against Iraq. [102902]
The Solicitor-General [pursuant to the Prime Minister's answer, 14 March 2003, c. 482W]: The Attorney-General has given a written answer to a question from Baroness Ramsey in the House of Lords today in the following terms:
Authority to use force against Iraq exists from the combined effect of resolutions 678, 687 and 1441. All of these resolutions were adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter which allows the use of force for the express purpose of restoring international peace and security:
- 1. In resolution 678 the Security Council authorised force against Iraq, to eject it from Kuwait and to restore peace and security in the area.
2. In resolution 687, which set out the ceasefire conditions after Operation Desert Storm, the Security Council imposed continuing obligations on Iraq to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction in order to restore international peace and security in the area. Resolution 687 suspended but did not terminate the authority to use force under resolution 678.
3. A material breach of resolution 687 revives the authority to use force under resolution 678.
4. In resolution 1441 the Security Council determined that Iraq has been and remains in material breach of resolution 687, because it has not fully complied with its obligations to disarm under that resolution.
5. The Security Council in resolution 1441 gave Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" and warned Iraq of the "serious consequences" if it did not.
6. The Security Council also decided in resolution 1441 that, if Iraq failed at any time to comply with and co-operate fully in the implementation of resolution 1441, that would constitute a further material breach.
7. It is plain that Iraq has failed so to comply and therefore Iraq was at the time of resolution 1441 and continues to be in material breach.
8. Thus, the authority to use force under resolution 678 has revived and so continues today.
9. Resolution 1441 would in terms have provided that a further decision of the Security Council to sanction force was required if that had been intended. Thus, all that resolution 1441 requires is reporting to and discussion by the Security Council of Iraq's failures, but not an express further decision to authorise force.
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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Arts Council of England
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the administrative cost of the Arts Council of England to each Government Office of the Region was in (a) 1999–2000, (b) 2000–01, (c) 2001–02 and (d) 2002–03. [103014]
Dr. Howells: There is no cost to the regional Government offices for the running of the Arts Council of England. The full administrative cost is met out of the annual grant-in-aid allocation made to it by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
English Heritage
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the security implications of English Heritage's placing of photographs of private buildings on the internet under its Images of England project. [102146]
Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has a legal duty to compile and publish lists of buildings of special architectural or historic importance. These lists are in the public domain, and can be accessed through local authorities, records offices, libraries, English Heritage and DCMS. Many other groups will also hold information on listed buildings, including amenity societies and local interest groups.
English Heritage undertook a security review in 2000 which looked into the implications of placing photographs of private buildings on the internet. The review consulted with the police, insurers and technical experts and concluded that no evidence could be found to support a link between the kind of information English Heritage is publishing on the internet and any physical threats to property security.
Television Licensing
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of eligible people were in receipt of a free television licence in the last year for which figures are available. [103048]
Dr. Howells: In 2001–02, an estimated 95 per cent. of the eligible population were in receipt of a free television licence.
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she intends to publish the draft guidance on licensing authorities' statement of policy that will be required under the new licensing bill. [102650]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 14 March 2003]: The Department published a rough draft of the guidance to local authorities and the police that will accompany the Licensing Bill on 13 February. Section 4 of this rough draft provides guidance to local authorities on the development and preparation of local statements of
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licensing policy, the general principles that should underpin them, and core content to which licensing authorities would be free to add. The draft guidance was placed in the Libraries of both Houses and is available on the Department's website: www.culture.gov.uk.
Regional Museums
Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress her Department has made in implementing the recommendations on making regional museums sustainable in the report "Renaissance in the Regions". [102857]
Dr. Howells: We will be providing £70 million for regional museums from this year until 2005–06. Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries will put their recommendations to Ministers on funding allocations for all nine regional hubs ready for announcement in April. All regional hubs will then be asked to submit a detailed business plan by January 2004, setting out their programme of work for 2004–06.
PRIVY COUNCIL
Pensions
Miss McIntosh: To ask the President of the Council if he will make a statement about the Lord Chancellor's pension arrangements. [102849]
Mr. Robin Cook: The Lord Chancellor's pension arrangements are set out in the Lord Chancellor's Pension Act 1832 and the Parliamentary and other Pensions Act 1972 as amended by the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991. The Judicial Pensions Act 1981 additionally makes provision for lump sum benefits and for pensions for dependants.
The Lord Chancellor's pension is based on his salary at the time of leaving office. At present, this salary is linked to that of the Lord Chief Justice, but the Senior Salaries Review Body has been asked to review the remuneration of the office of Lord Chancellor.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Award Schemes
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the award schemes in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002 promoted by the Department; what their scope was; when the relevant participating organisations are scheduled to be sent results; and whether other parties will be given notification of the results at the same time. [102061]
Ms Hewitt: The Department of Trade and Industry promotes the following awards:
DTI has, in the past two years, sponsored categories at the annual BAFTA Interactive Awards. These awards recognise and reward creative talent in interactive media. In 2001. DTI sponsored the category for the BAFTA Award for Online Game and in 2002, sponsored the BAFTA Award for Console Game.
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The Department has also sponsored awards at smaller trade association events over the past two years. For example, the International Visual Communications Association (IVCA) Awards and the British Interactive Media Association Awards, as well as the Best use of Broadband Award at the annual BizNet Awards run by the IVCA.
The British Computer Society Awards
The DTI has, for the last 10 years, sponsored the British Computer Society (BCS) awards. The BCS Annual IT awards recognise both IT excellence and benefit to business and society. The awards are open to any project developed in the field of IT in the UK, and participating organisations who make the final are notified some two to three weeks in advance of the awards ceremony. The overall winners are then announced at the annual awards ceremony. The 38,000 members of the BCS are notified of the entrants, finalists and winners and there is coverage in the press and IT journals.
The DTI run the Castle Award scheme for employers who have made significant progress in bridging the pay gap between the sexes. The award, in the form of a trophy, was given for the first time in December last year. The next presentation will take place this year in December.
The DTI, though UK online for business, is a sponsor of the annual e-Commerce Awards run by Interforum over recent years. The Awards celebrate innovative business uses of Information and Communications Technology.
Nominations and applications begin in the spring each year. National coverage is achieved through regional awards that lead to a national award event in the autumn when category winners are publicly announced—all competitors attend that event to hear the results. Web and local media coverage has been enhanced by sponsorship from the Daily Express (2001 and 2002) and the Sunday Times Enterprise Network (2003).
The DTI co-sponsored an award for Employer of the Year 2001 (together with the charity Parents at Work and Lloyds TSB). This award "recognised employers who help their employees juggle their work and home life". The awards covered the UK as well as separate categories for regions and nations; there were separate awards for small, medium and large employers. Winners were announced on 28 November 2001.
ITBeat is a competition designed for girls 11–16 years of age to engage them in information technology. The intention behind the competition is to help overcome the often negative perceptions of IT which deter many girls from pursuing the subject in education or as a potential career path. More details can be found at www.itbeat.com.
ITBeat is managed by e-Skills UK, the former national training organisation for IT and telecoms. The DTI has provided a £40,000 contribution to the costs of running ITBeat. The rest of the costs were to be met by
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industry sponsorship. The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry helped to launch ITBeat in November 2002 through a contribution to the launch press notice.
In total 852 girls registered for the competition, with 300 finalists being invited to attend the event. The finalists come from around the country including Yorkshire, Lancashire, Suffolk, Wales and Scotland. The event took place on 7 March at the Science Museum.
Metrology for world class manufacturing
In 2001 the DTI sponsored Measurement awards within "Metrology for world class manufacturing", with the themes:
- Frontier Science and Measurement
Innovative Metrology
Measurement for Manufacturing Excellence
Champions of Metrology
Materials Measurement
The Queen's Award for Enterprise
The DTI supports the Queen's Awards for Enterprise. The Queens Awards is an interdepartmental scheme and the responsible minister is the Prime Minister, advised by an Advisory Committee chaired by the Head of the Home Civil Service. The Queen's Awards were instituted by Royal Warrant in 1965, as "The Queen's Awards to Industry". All organisations—large, medium or small—which operate regularly as a 'business unit' of the UK economy, and which can meet the criteria, are eligible to apply; they do not need to be sponsored or nominated and usually apply on their own behalf.
The Queen's Award has three separate categories: International Trade, which recognises and rewards not only export earnings but any return on overseas investment; Innovation, which covers marketing, sales and support associated with technological innovation; and Sustainable Development, which spans environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The common theme across all three categories is that successful applicants must be able to demonstrate commercial success.
Successful applicants are notified in March to allow the media to prepare publicity, under embargo, ahead of the public announcement on 21 April; The Queen's personal birthday. In early April, all unsuccessful applicants receive feedback on the assessment of their applications. The names of all the winners are published in a supplement to the London Gazette, they appear on The Queen's Awards website (www.queensawards.org.uk), and are listed in special supplements in The Times, Financial Times, and other broadsheet newspapers.
Following the announcement, in April, winners are usually invited to a celebratory reception, attended by a member of the Royal family, to mark their success. Later in the year, winners are invited to send three representatives to a reception given by HM The Queen at Buckingham Palace. There is also a formal presentation ceremony, usually during the summer, at the winners' premises by the Lord-Lieutenant of the County as The Queen's representative. All of these events help to
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generate national and regional coverage. The Awards consist of a Grant of Appointment and a presentational crystal bowl engraved with the Award Emblem.
The DTI is promoting the Rosalind Franklin Award competition, which was announced last year by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to recognise the contribution of Rosalind Franklin to 20th century science. The Secretary of State officially launched the competition on 13 September 2002. It is being run by the Royal Society and encompasses all areas of science, engineering and technology. The Award consists of a medal and a cash award of £30,000 to be spent by the recipient on equipment, study tours or other research related activities. The winner of the first Award will be announced in the early part of 2003.
The competition is open to both men and women who achieve excellence in their field. Therefore, the Award will help further the aims of the Department in:
- Increasing the participation of women in SET
Improving the overall international ranking of the UK's science and engineering base
The DTI, in conjunction with STEP (Shell Technology Enterprise Programme) promoted the competition for the Best Electronic Engineer, 2002. The BEE final was in three key stages:
- agencies who had arranged electronic engineering projects nominated one candidate for consideration;
Ten candidates were selected to present their achievements at an event in Newcastle on 10 October;
Five students were selected to run an exhibition at the UK final at Church House, one of which was awarded the BEE prize.
Sunday Times 50 Best Companies to Work for 2001 and the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work for 2002
DTI supports the research for this annual list and allocated £370,000 over three years in 1999. The DTI renewed its funding for the research for the 2003 list and is exploring options for 2004.
All organisations employing over 250 employees are eligible and, depending on size, approximately 10 per cent. of the work force will be surveyed. Results are announced at the Gala Winner Event hosted in February or March and a press release is produced post event, with a colour supplement circulated in the Sunday Times following the event.
Young Electronics Designer Awards (YEDA)
YEDA is aimed at young people between the ages of 12–25, at school, college or university. Students are invited to design and develop a commercially viable electronics-based device or system for use in an everyday context. Entries are judged on originality, satisfying a genuine need and market and manufacturing potential.
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The proposed targets for this year's competition as a result of DTI support is expected to be:
- 3,500 schools registering
500 projects entered
750 students participating (23 per cent. girls)
350 projects qualifying for regional awards finals
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