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Teacher Recruitment

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what incentives the Government offer to aid the recruitment of teachers. [105854]

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Mr. Miliband: Since September 2000, £6,000 teacher training bursaries have been offered to students taking Postgraduate Certificate in Education courses at institutions in England. For those students who train as specialist teachers of mathematics, science, modern languages, technology or English, and who go on, after induction, to teach those subjects in maintained schools in England, a further £4,000 "golden hello" is available. From September 2002, these incentives have been supplemented by Repayment of Teachers' Loans Scheme, a three-year pilot to increase the numbers of new teachers of priority subjects by paying off their student loans over time. With better pay for teachers, and the new measures to reduce workloads and provide more support in the classroom that we have proposed, these initiatives have raised the numbers of teachers in schools to their highest level for 20 years and brought about a 20 per cent. rise in the number of recruits to initial teacher training courses since 1999–2000.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Security Procedures

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission what steps are being taken to keep the employees of the John Simon hair salon in the Palace of Westminster informed of the latest information on security procedures. [105440]

Sir Archy Kirkwood: The Serjeant at Arms is responsible for providing information to Members and staff of the House of Commons regarding security issues. He also arranges for external organisations with facilities situated within the Palace of Westminster to receive appropriate security advice. I understand that the employees of the John Simon hair salon now have the latest information on security procedures.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Domestic Violence

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women what the timetable is for the Green Paper on Domestic Violence. [97695]

Ms Hewitt: The consultation paper, setting out proposals to prevent domestic violence, deal with perpetrators and provide increased support to victims, will be published by summer 2003. It will aim to generate a comprehensive response from the public, voluntary sector and others, to ensure the widest possible agreement on what needs to be done to prevent and deal with domestic violence, as announced on 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 324W.

Women Managers

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Minister for Women what work she is undertaking in partnership with other bodies to encourage women to train for managerial positions; and with which bodies she is carrying out such work. [99134]

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Ms Hewitt [holding answer 24 February 2003]: My Department recognises how vital it is to achieve high quality leadership and management for UK productivity and competitiveness among both men and women. We have just published a Government response to the final report of the Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership (CEML), which set out 30 recommendations to tackle any management deficit in the UK's management and leadership capability.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Export Credits (Iraq)

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what payments were made by the Export Credit Guarantees Department for claims relating to Iraq since 1990; and if she will make a statement] [105189]

Ms Hewitt: The current value of claims paid by ECGD since 1 January 1990 on Iraq is £630.5 million.

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the United States Agency for International Development on potential contracts for reconstruction projects in Iraq; and if she will make a statement. [105981]

Ms Hewitt [holding answer 31 March 2003]: I have discussed post-conflict issues with Andrew Natsios of USAID. We discussed ways in which UK companies could best contribute to the future development of Iraq for the benefit of the Iraqi people. HMG is not in this for business opportunities. But UK companies would have much to offer in terms of knowledge and expertise, which could make a substantial contribution to the redevelopment of Iraq's essential infrastructure.

Oil

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the effects of (a) a conflict with Iraq, (b) problems in the Venezuelan economy and (c) problems in Nigeria on world oil prices. [105678]

Mr. Wilson: From mid-November 2002 to mid-March 2003 oil prices (Brent) rose by around $10 per barrel to over $33 per barrel due to a range of factors, including: a significant disruption to supplies from Venezuela; low levels of OECD commercial oil stocks, particularly in the United States and Asia-Pacific; very cold weather in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly the United States; and market uncertainty about international developments regarding Iraq.

Despite the loss of oil supplies from Iraq and a disruption to supplies from Nigeria, a combination of increased supply from producers (including a recovery in Venezuelan production), a seasonal fall in world oil demand, and reduced market uncertainty about developments regarding Iraq has seen oil prices fall to around $25 to $27 per barrel in late March.

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Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the effect of (a) a short and (b) a prolonged conflict in Iraq on the underlying supply and demand situation for oil. [105689]

Mr. Wilson: No significant disruption to the underlying supply and demand balance for oil is expected to arise from military action in Iraq. Prior to conflict, Iraqi oil production stood at around 2.5 million barrels per day or only 3 per cent. of total world oil production, of which only around 1.5 to 2 million barrels per day was exported. Over the past few months, producers have increased oil supplies and this incremental supply is now reaching markets, with more oil on the way. Combined with a seasonal downturn in world oil demand in the second quarter this is helping to balance the oil market. OPEC producers have pledged to use their available excess capacity to ensure that the market remains adequately supplied. Moreover, the International Energy Agency remains ready to reinforce producers' efforts, including through the release of stocks, should the need arise.

Post Office Card Account

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many third party account holders a Post Office card account holder may nominate; and why there is no provision in the scheme to allow for a temporary third party; [105397]

(2) what advice will be available for people who forget their Post Office card account PIN numbers. [105417]

Mr. Timms: This is a matter which falls within the day-to-day responsibility of Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Post Office offers a Post Office card account that is fully accessible to people with physical and sensory impairments. [105260]

Mr. Timms: The Government and the Post Office are working to provide a high quality range of services for all our customers, including those who wish to use the Post Office card account. As the service provider, it is the responsibility for Post Office Ltd. to ensure the accessibility of the Post Office card account.

Agency Workers Directive

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress towards the European Union Agency Workers Directive; and what her Department's policy is on the Directive as it stands. [105932]

Alan Johnson: The Council of Ministers held an informal discussion of the proposal at the March Employment Council. It was concluded that political agreement was not reached, but that there was significant political will to achieve political agreement at the June Employment Council. The Government are not opposed in principle to the proposed directive on temporary agency work, but would like to see a more

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flexible directive that strikes a balance between protecting agency workers and protecting employment opportunities for agency workers.

Arms Exports

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will set maximum (a) quantities and (b) values on the amounts of (i) armaments and (ii) military equipment that can be transferred under each arms licence. [106099]

Nigel Griffiths: A Standard Individual Export Licence already specifies the maximum quantity and the value of armaments and military equipment, which can be exported from the UK, under the authority of that licence.

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