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31 Mar 2003 : Column 523W—continued
Telecommunications Network
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the risk of short term disruption to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Telecommunications Network in the event of the failure of the providing company; and if he will make a statement. [105186]
Mr. Rammell: Since the FCO's private sector supplier, Global Crossing, went into Chapter 11 proceedings in the US, the FCO has taken steps to ensure continuity of the FTN service. Contingency arrangements are in place to allow the FCO's essential services to continue to operate should Global Crossing, for any reason, withdraw their service. We are closely monitoring the company's progress towards exit from Chapter 11.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the (a) telephone system and (b) network connections were provided as part of the Foreign and Commonwealth
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Office Telecommunications Network to the British Embassies in (i) Egypt, (ii) Syria, (iii) Jordan and (iv) Turkey; and if he will make a statement. [105185]
Mr. Rammell: The installations of the telephone systems and network connections at the embassies in Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Turkey were completed, under the FTN contract, by Global Crossing as follows:
| Embassy | FTN Network Connection | Telephone Systems Installed under FTN |
|---|---|---|
| Amman | 21 December 2000 | 11 March 1999(9) |
| Ankara | 26 March 2002 | None(10) |
| Cairo | 12 March 2002 | None(10) |
| Damascus | 24 May 2002 | 21 October 2001 |
(9) The telephone installation at Amman was completed prior to signing the FTN contract with Global Crossing. The installation was completed under the 'Instruction to proceed' process to ensure Year 2000 software compliance.
(10) Legacy telephone systems are in service at the Embassies in Ankara and Cairo. These telephone systems were installed prior to the FTN contract being signed and are still operating within their expected design life. Both systems are connected to the new network allowing embassy staff to benefit from the full range of FTN services and facilities.
Western Sahara
Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Western Sahara. [105982]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: On 25 March 2003, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1469, extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 May 2003 and requesting that the Secretary-General report by 19 May on the situation in the territory. James Baker, the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, is currently considering the parties' formal responses to his most recent proposal. Neither proposal nor responses have been made public.
PRIME MINISTER
10 Downing street
Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister how many times 10 Downing street has been used for charitable functions in the last 12 months; for which organisations; and how much money was raised in each case. [105653]
The Prime Minister: Since 2002, 38 charity receptions have been held at 10 Downing street, including events for Sane, Sight Savers International, Prisoners of Conscience, Saving Faces and Guide Dogs for the Blind. Fund-raising is a matter for the charities concerned.
Assassination (Government Policy)
Mr. Viggers: To ask the Prime Minister what the policy of Her Majesty's Government is on assassination of (a) civil and (b) military public figures. [105222]
The Prime Minister: Our policy is to act in accordance with UK and international law.
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Committee on Standards in Public Life
Tony Wright: To ask the Prime Minister whether the Committee on Standards in Public Life has to receive his approval before undertaking an inquiry. [105274]
The Prime Minister: The position remains as set out in the report of the Quinquennial Review of the Committee on Standards in Public Life published in January 2001, which is: "Both it (the Committee) and the Government have been free to propose topics, and the programme of work has been established after consultation between the Committee and the Government".
E-envoy
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the meetings he has had with the e-Envoy since the office was created. [105631]
The Prime Minister: I have regular meetings with; civil servants and others on a wide range of subjects, and will continue to do so. As with previous Governments, it is not my practice to provide details of confidential discussions, under Exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Gibraltar
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he had regarding Gibraltar with the Prime Minister of Spain; and if he will make a statement. [106420]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) on 27 March 2003, Official Report, column 309W.
IRA Murders (South Armagh)
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Prime Minister what reports he has received from the Victims Group FAIR concerning a number of IRA murders committed in South Armagh; and what progress has been made in the police investigation into each of these murders. [106065]
The Prime Minister: As far as I am aware, I have not received any reports from FAIR on this issue specifically. Currently, the Police Service Northern Ireland are employing a group of former detectives in a civilian capacity to review the case files of a number of unsolved murders in the South Armagh area. It is not the Government's policy to comment on this on-going review.
Iraq
Mr. Allen: To ask the Prime Minister if he has discussed with President Bush the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq to assist the task of accounting for Saddam Hussein's alleged stocks of weapons of mass destruction; and if he will make a statement. [106056]
The Prime Minister: I continue to discuss the full range of Iraq issues regularly with President Bush, including how to resolve outstanding disarmament issues.
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Mr. Allen: To ask the Prime Minister what his policy is on the use of war to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction. [106055]
The Prime Minister: The UK has never sought to use military means to enforce disarmament without first having exhausted all other avenues open to us.
Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on paragraphs (a) two and (b) three on the Al-Amn Al-Askari military security service in Iraq in the dossier, "Iraq—its infrastructure of concealment, deception and intimidation", published on 3 February. [105590]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 February 2003, Official Report, column 583W, and Prime Minister's Questions on 12 February 2003.
Poland
Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to visit Poland. [105651]
The Prime Minister: It will be important to work with Poland and other countries about to join the European Union. I hope to visit again in the future.
Special Advisers
Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the names of his special advisers. [105652]
The Prime Minister: At 28 March, the following special advisers are currently in post in my office:
- Andrew Adonis
- Arnab Banerji
- Phil Bassett
- David Bradshaw
- Alastair Campbell
- Hilary Coffman
- Patrick Diamond
- Matthew Elson
- Kate Garvey
- Sarah Hunter
- Peter Hyman
- Katie Kay
- Roger Liddle
- Liz Lloyd
- Chris McShane
- Fiona Millar
- Sally Morgan
- Joanna Nadin
- Geoff Norris
- Carey Oppenheim
- Jonathan Powell
- Catherine Rimmer
- Justin Russell
- Derek Scott
- Carl Shoben
- Simon Stevens
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Civil Servants
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil servants have been employed by (a) his department and (b) each of its agencies and non departmental bodies in each year from 1994–95 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement. [92357]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Paisley, South on 23 January 2003, Official Report, column 333W, for HCS staff. In addition, the overall figures for the Northern Ireland Office for NICS and HCS are collated in September of each year and are as follows:
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 1994–95 | 5,705 |
| 1995–96 | 4,779 |
| 1996–97 | 4,590 |
| 1997–98 | 4,446 |
| 1998–99 | 4,232 |
| 1999–00 | 3,929 |
| 2000–2001 | 3,306 |
| 2001–02 | 3,318 |
| 2002–03 | 3,361 |
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NDPBs are generally supported by civil servants from their sponsor departments, and do not employ their own staff with exception of the Probation Board for Northern Ireland and the Juvenile Justice Board. The figures for the NIO agencies and NDPBs are collated in September of each year and are as follows:
| Compensation agency | Forensic science Northern Ireland | NI prison service | Probation board for Northern Ireland | Juvenile justice board | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–95 | 149 | 126 | 4,265 | 2 | 0 |
| 1995–96 | 132 | 125 | 3,515 | 1 | 0 |
| 1996–97 | 131 | 123 | 3,377 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997–98 | 120 | 122 | 3,212 | 1 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | 139 | 125 | 3,085 | 1 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | 128 | 123 | 2,720 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | 138 | 128 | 2,123 | 1 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | 141 | 137 | 2,143 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002–03 | 137 | 131 | 2,137 | 1 | 2 |
The following table shows the number of civil servants (permanent and temporary, non-industrial and industrial employees) in Northern Ireland Administration bodies from 1994–95 until 2001–02, with figures for each agency and non-departmental body shown separately. Only those non-departmental bodies employing civil servants have been included. Statistics for 2002–03 are not yet available.
| 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland Departments | 15,980 | 8,869 | 7,630 | 7,230 | 6,820 | 6,943 | 8,667 | 9,102 |
| Sponsored agencies: | ||||||||
| Business Development Service | — | — | 259 | 227 | 238 | 278 | 268 | 266 |
| Child Support Agency | 1,044 | 968 | 1,151 | 1,229 | 1,206 | 1,424 | 1,470 | 1,612 |
| Construction Service | — | 725 | 690 | 576 | 557 | 516 | 509 | 507 |
| Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency | 242 | 253 | 261 | 275 | 297 | 320 | 351 | 398 |
| Driver & Vehicle Testing Agency | 252 | 289 | 312 | 318 | 326 | 319 | 348 | 391 |
| Environment & Heritage Service | — | 370 | 353 | 352 | 360 | 354 | 372 | 410 |
| Forest Service | — | — | — | — | 412 | 395 | 387 | 372 |
| Government Purchasing Agency | — | 58 | 68 | 72 | 91 | 100 | 79 | 89 |
| Industrial Research & Technology Unit | 149 | 156 | 152 | 143 | 141 | 148 | 154 | 171 |
| Land Registers for NI | — | 230 | 220 | 205 | 199 | 195 | 194 | 201 |
| NI Health & Social Services Estates Agency(11) | — | 125 | 117 | 120 | 117 | 114 | 119 | 119 |
| NI Statistics & Research Agency | — | 107 | 125 | 177 | 219 | 255 | 290 | 301 |
| Ordnance Survey NI | 195 | 192 | 179 | 177 | 178 | 175 | 176 | 179 |
| Planning Service | — | 422 | 407 | 386 | 420 | 452 | 484 | 529 |
| Public Record Office NI | 90 | 91 | 80 | 62 | 67 | 68 | 70 | 69 |
| Rate Collection Agency | 286 | 282 | 252 | 256 | 250 | 233 | 238 | 234 |
| Rivers Agency | — | — | 493 | 460 | 431 | 420 | 402 | 408 |
| Roads Service | — | 2,379 | 2,269 | 2,207 | 2,163 | 2,162 | 2,175 | 2,230 |
| Social Security Agency | 5,655 | 5,699 | 5,799 | 5,555 | 5,582 | 5,526 | 5,732 | 6,091 |
| Training & Employment Agency | 1,318 | 1,334 | 1,200 | 1,318 | 1,365 | 1,269 | — | — |
| Valuation and Lands Agency | 317 | 313 | 288 | 270 | 222 | 267 | 268 | 279 |
| Water Service | — | 2,384 | 2,353 | 2,278 | 2,228 | 2,216 | 2,176 | 2,202 |
| Sub Total | 9,548 | 16,377 | 17,028 | 16,663 | 17,069 | 17,206 | 16,262 | 17,058 |
(11) Average figures.
Note:
The absence of a yearly figure in the table indicates that the agency/NDPB was not in existence at that time.
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