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9 Jul 2003 : Column 850W—continued

Telecommunication Masts

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners live in the Elmet constituency; how many of them he expects to benefit from the introduction of the pension credit; and how many of them he estimates receive a free TV licence. [123864]

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available in the format requested but such information as is available is as follows:

As at November 2002 there were 18,500 people over state pension age receiving a key DWP benefit in the Elmet constituency. There were also 7,300 people aged 75 or over who were receiving a key benefit and therefore eligible to receive a free TV licence.

Estimates of pension credit entitlement are not available at individual constituency level due to insufficient sample cases in the survey data used. However around half of all pensioner households nationally will be eligible for pension credit.



Whistleblowers Hotline

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 16 June 2003, Official Report, column 100W, on the Whistleblowers Hotline, what the costs of administrating the Hotline were in each year since its introduction. [122772]

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Mr. Pond: The Department's Whistleblowers Hotline was established in December 2000 and is available to any member of staff who wants to report possible wrongdoing anywhere in the Department but who does not want to report their concerns through the usual management channels.

There was only a marginal increase in administration costs e.g. dedicated phone-line and publicity material, for the introduction of the Whistleblowers Hotline as the facility is supervised by staff who were already involved in the prevention, deterrence and investigation of cases of internal fraud. We estimate these marginal costs to be less than £5,000 per annum.

PRIME MINISTER

BAE Systems

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister whether allegations of corrupt practices by BAE Systems were raised during his discussions with the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic in April 2002 regarding the possible sale of Gripen jets and the Czech decision to buy supersonic aircraft; and if he will make a statement. [123003]

The Prime Minister: No such issues were raised in the course of these discussions.

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister how many written representations he has made since January 1999 to the Government of the Czech Republic regarding the possible sale of Gripen jets and the Czech decision to buy supersonic aircraft; and when each of these written representations was made. [123004]

The Prime Minister: I have written twice to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic about their future requirement for a multi-role combat aircraft.

Ministers in successive Governments have fought for British interests abroad and I regard this as an important part of my job.

It is not normal practice to release letters from the Prime Minister to another Head of Government under exemption l(b) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. Exemption 13 of the Code also applies with regard to commercial confidentiality.

House of Lords

Mr. Tyler: To ask the Prime Minister how he intends to fulfil his undertaking to make the House of Lords more representative and democratic. [124581]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr. Campbell) on 7 July 2003, Official Report, columns 617–18W.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 55W, on Iraq, how many deaths of persons in British custody have occurred in Iraq in the last three months. [123427]

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The Prime Minister: I understand that my hon. Friend is referring to my answer of 30 June 2003 Official Report, column 55W. In the last three months there have been three deaths that have occurred while individuals have been in British custody. As I explained in my answer of 30 June 2003, each of these deaths are the subject of a Special Investigation Branch investigation.

Judicial Appointments Commission

Lady Hermon: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his statement of 18 June 2003, Official Report, column 357, on changes to Government departments, in what way an Independent Judicial Appointments Commission forms part of the agreed settlement in Northern Ireland. [123832]

The Prime Minister: The Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 provides for the establishment of an independent Judicial Appointments Commission. This follows the recommendation in the Criminal Justice Review Report published in March 2000, which was itself undertaken as a commitment arising out of the Belfast Agreement. The Joint Declaration, issued by the British and Irish Governments in April 2003, included a commitment to establish a Judicial Appointments Commission prior to devolution. A second Justice Bill will be introduced into Parliament as soon as Parliamentary time will allow to give effect to this commitment.

Performance Report

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Prime Minister if he plans to publish an annual government report on performance in 2003. [124697]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 12 July 2001, Official Report, column 638W.

Public Appointments

Tony Wright: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the public appointments (a) which he makes himself and (b) on which his views are sought. [116831]

The Prime Minister: I have placed in the Libraries of the House a list of the appointments which I make and on which my views are sought.

On appointments on which my views are sought, paragraph 53 of the Ministerial Code sets out the categories of those appointments and re-appointments on which I should be consulted. The precise number of these will vary from time-to-time, depending on such issues as the public profile of the bodies concerned and the relevance of their activities to Government priorities.

Many of the appointments are statutory requirements. There are also appointments on this list on which I have not been consulted for some time. This list is reviewed periodically. The current list will be reviewed later this year.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the appointees to (a) the Museums and Galleries Commission, (b) The National Heritage Memorial Fund, (c) The Security and Vetting Appeals Panel and

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(d) the Committee on Standards in Public Life; and which of the appointees to each body are from ethnic minorities. [122990]

The Prime Minister: (a) The Museums and Galleries Commission has now been replaced by The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries (Resource). Appointments to Resource are made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

Chair















Of those who have consented to their diversity monitoring information being made available, one is from a minority ethnic origin.

(b) The National Heritage Memorial Fund
















Of those who have consented to their diversity monitoring information being made available, two are from a minority ethnic origin.

(c) The Security and Vetting Appeals Panel












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