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Iraq

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to address the shortcomings in preparedness for international relief in Iraq identified by the International Development Committee. [103268]

Clare Short: My Department has been fully engaged in recent months in trying to get the world to face the humanitarian risks of military action in Iraq, and make preparations. This work continues. We have provided £10 million to UN agencies and international NGOs to support their contingency planning. We are seconding specialist staff to the key offices which will have a key role in the coordination of any humanitarian effort

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(including UN OCHA and the UN Joint Logistics Centre, both in Cyprus; and the US's Office for Reconstruction in Humanitarian Affairs in Kuwait). And we are continuing to work towards establishing the right international mandates to enable the UN to take the lead role in relief and reconstruction, and to administer the Oil For Food Programme, in the event of conflict. I will provide a full written response to the recent report of the International Development committee in the next few days.

Ministerial Travel

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list internal flights made by Ministers in her Department in 2002, including in each case the (a) cost, (b) departure location and (c) destination; and of these how many were (i) first class, (ii) business class and (iii) economy class. [103586]

Clare Short: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Chelmsford west on 26 February 2003, Official Report, column 555W and the central answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office to David Laws on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W.

Refugee Camps (Pakistan)

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the conditions of refugee camps in Pakistan. [102740]

Clare Short: UNHCR is running over 150 camps in Pakistan, housing approximately 1.5 million Afghan refugees. The camps provide health and education facilities, as well as basic shelter, water, sanitation and daily rations.

Conditions are basic, but generally adequate. The camps are monitored by UNHCR and we receive periodic reports. Direct access to the camps is difficult, not least because of security considerations.

We are aware of reports of higher than normal maternal mortality rates in the camps. Conditions for women and children are monitored by UNHCR Protection Officers, who have also dealt with cases of early and forced marriages, domestic violence and other problems faced by vulnerable refugees.

Scotland

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many times she has visited Scotland on official duties each year since 2000; and what meetings were held on each occasion. [103614]

Clare Short: I visited Scotland on official duties five times in 2000 and twice in 2002. I did not visit Scotland in 2001.

In line with exemptions 2 and 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, it is not the normal practice of Governments to release details of specific meetings or their content, as some of these discussions may have taken place on a confidential basis.

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Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many special advisers in the Department (a) have left and (b) will be leaving to work in Scotland for the Labour Party in the forthcoming Scottish parliamentary elections. [103615]

Clare Short: The rules relating to special advisers' political activities are set out in the Model Contract for Special Advisers. Further guidance in respect of elections for the Scottish Parliament is set out at paragraph 13 of the Guidance on Conduct for Civil Servants in UK Departments, published by the Cabinet Office on 10 March.

The reasons for a special adviser's resignation are a private matter between the department and adviser, and are therefore exempt from disclosure under paragraph 12 of the Code of Practice on Access to Information.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans ministers of the Department have to (a) visit Scotland on official business, (b) announce public appointments and (c) make Ministerial announcements in April. [103654]

Clare Short: Departmental business during the campaign period preceding elections to the Scottish Parliament will be conducted in accordance with the Guidance on Conduct for Civil Servants in UK Departments in respect of elections to the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales, published by the Cabinet Office on 10 March.

SCOTLAND

Community Pharmacies

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions she has had with the (a) Office of Fair Trading, (b) the Scottish Executive and (c) the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in relation to their recommendation that the control of entry regulations for community pharmacy should be lifted and its application to Scotland. [100609]

Mrs. McGuire: Since the Office of Fair Trading report was published, the Scottish Executive have been consulting key stakeholders in Scotland about the response to the report. The Scottish Executive have kept the Scotland Office informed about these consultations. Scotland Office officials have also participated in inter-departmental discussions on the report.

Departmental Telephone Directory

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the most recent internal phone directory for the Department was published; how often it is updated; and if she will place a copy in the Library. [101787]

Mrs. Liddell: A staff telephone directory is held electronically within the Department and it is updated regularly, as required. It is an internal document but key numbers are publicly available in publications such as the Civil Service Year Book.

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Employers Liability Insurance

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what discussions she has had with the Scottish Executive with regard to employers' liability insurance; [100578]

(2) what discussions she has had with the Department for Work and Pensions on its forthcoming report on employers' liability insurance. [100579]

Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office wrote to a number of organisations in Scotland to ensure that they were aware of the current review of employers' liability compulsory insurance. Both the Scotland Office and the Scottish Executive have received representations from the business community about this issue. We are ensuring that the Department for Work and Pensions are aware of the points made. DWP are keeping both the Scotland Office and the Scottish Executive closely informed about progress with the review. The Scotland Office is also a member of the Insurance Cover Working Group, set up by the Home Office, to consider issues facing the voluntary and community sector regarding insurance cover.

Friends of Scotland Website

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people have visited the Friends of Scotland website from (a) the UK and (b) outside the UK. [102997]

Mrs. Liddell: Since its launch in July 2002, the Friends of Scotland web-site has proved highly successful. As at end February, it recorded 1,760,685 hits. There were 41,221 visits to the site; 26,290 (63.8 per cent.) with international domain names and a further 5,956 visits where the origin cannot be identified.

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost has been of (a) setting up and (b) maintaining the Friends of Scotland website. [102998]

Mrs. Liddell: The current Friends of Scotland website was established on 23 July 2002. The start up cost was £73,583 including VAT. The website is proving to be a major success and continues to evolve and develop. As at end February, the estimated cost of maintenance and further development of the site is £43,000.

Ministerial Travel

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many times since 2001 she has taken flights on departmental duties in the UK; how many of these were (a) charter flights, (b) first or club class and (c) by helicopter; and who accompanied her on each trip. [95393]

Mrs. Liddell: I make regular flights between Scotland and London on departmental duties but information in the form requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Since 2001, I have accompanied my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister twice on non-commercial flights between London and Scotland. I have not used helicopters for travel within the United Kingdom.

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All travel was undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Library.

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