| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
22 Oct 2003 : Column 615W—continued
Equality Commission
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials from the Department of Finance and Personnel have had with the Equality Commission on the exclusion of Irish nationals from reserved posts. [131916]
Mr. Pearson: On 27 August 2003 officials from the Department of Finance and Personnel met Equality Commission staff for a general discussion on progress on the Senior Civil Service Review and Associated Action Plan. The discussion covered a range of issues, including the application of nationality rules to reserved posts. There have been no formal discussions between Ministers and the Equality Commission on this matter.
22 Oct 2003 : Column 616W
EU Directives
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the Northern Ireland departments in breach of EU Directives in each of the last three years, broken down by total amount of fines incurred. [128290]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Proceedings for non-compliance with EU directives can only be taken at the level of the member state. To date there have been no fines levied against the UK for any breach of EU directives.
Farming
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures have been introduced to assist (a) the early retirement of farmers and (b) new entrants into farming in Northern Ireland. [R] [133343]
Mr. Pearson: Early in 2002 independent research was commissioned from Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and University College Dublin (UCD) to investigate the viability of both a New Entrants and an Early Retirement Scheme in Northern Ireland. This research concluded that there could be economic benefits from a New Entrants Scheme in the form of an interest rate subsidy but that the latter would not offer good value for money. I have not seen any other analyses which would cause me to dispute the research project findings.
A draft New Entrant Scheme was put out to consultation on 19 May 2003. The consultation produced a positive response and I hope that an announcement about a scheme will be made shortly.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many participants have enrolled in (a) the Organic Farming Scheme and (b) the Countryside Management Scheme, in each of the last three years. [R] [133345]
Mr. Pearson: There are currently 59 individuals participating in the Organic Farming Scheme. There were 40, 13 and four new participants during 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03, respectively. To date in 2003–04 there have been two new entrants to this scheme.
There are currently 2,129 participants in the Countryside Management Scheme, 655 entered during 2001–02, 1,023 during 2002–03 and 451 have entered to date in 2003–04. There were no entrants during 2000–01.
Prescription Fraud
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the estimated cost of prescription fraud in Northern Ireland was in each of the last three years. [133344]
Angela Smith: The best estimate for the cost of prescription fraud in 2000–01 was £9.5 million, in 2001–02 it was £8.6 million and in 2002–03 it was £8.3 million.
It should be noted that the figures include the situations where a patient has deliberately set out to defraud the system and cases where a patient has misclaimed exemption from prescription charges in error.
22 Oct 2003 : Column 617W
Public Administration Review
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish proposals on the future of the Review of Public Administration; and what consultation he will undertake. [131859]
Mr. Pearson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, 24 June 2003, on the progress and priorities for Northern Ireland.
My right hon. Friend indicated that the Review team would prepare a paper for publication in the autumn, which will form the basis for discussions with local political parties and key stakeholders.
A consultation paper is now at an advanced stage of preparation and it is my intention that this will be published in the near future.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Bolivia
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the current social unrest in Bolivia; how many UK citizens are known to remain in La Paz and El Alto; when (a) he and (b) members of his Department last had discussions with (i) Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, (ii) members of his Cabinet, (iii) representatives of his Government in Bolivia and (iv) representatives of his Government in the UK; what the central issues of the discussions were; and if he will make a statement. [133321]
Mr. Rammell: Up to 20 October we believe that those British visitors who wanted to leave La Paz and El Alto have now done so. We further estimate that there are 90 British citizens remaining in those cities. Our ambassador in Bolivia met President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada on 4 September and the Bolivian Foreign Minister on 16 October when he discussed the situation.
The most recent ministerial contact in the UK was when my hon. Friend the then Minister of State at the Department of Trade and Industry (Mr. Wilson) met the Bolivian Energy Minister in January 2003. I most recently met the Bolivian ambassador on 6 October 2003.
Following the resignation of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada on 17 October the situation in Bolivia now appears to be rapidly returning to normal. We have kept in close touch, as this crisis has unfolded with our EU partners, particularly with regard to the safety of EU citizens in Bolivia. We will continue to monitor the situation closely as it develops over the next few days. We hope that Bolivia can now address its problems through peaceful dialogue and negotiation.
Burma
Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports the UK Government received of action by the Burmese authorities against the (a) Karen, (b) Karenni and (c) Shan peoples. [133095]
22 Oct 2003 : Column 618W
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We receive regular reports from International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs), the UN's Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma and the British Embassy in Rangoon on the disproportionate suffering of ethnic groups in Burma, including the Karen, Karenni and Shan.
China
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Chinese Government regarding the imprisonment of Gong Shengliang; and if he will make a statement. [133182]
Mr. Rammell: We have raised Pastor Gong Shengliang's case with the Chinese authorities on a number of occasions. Most recently we supported an EU demarche in Beijing on 18 July. The Chinese authorities said the allegations of torture and ill-treatment were untrue and that he was in good health.
We also raised Pastor Gong's case directly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 31 July they told us that Pastor Gong had had stomach problems before he was imprisoned and that following treatment the problems had stabilised. His relatives had visited him four times.
Gibraltar
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to enable Gibraltar to participate in elections to the UK Parliament. [133527]
Mr. MacShane: We have no plans to do so. Overseas Territories, including Gibraltar, are not part of the metropolitan UK.
Global Conflict Prevention Pool
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of the Global Conflict Prevention Pool and its achievements since its creation. [133142]
Mr. Rammell: Setting up the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP) has helped the partner departments (FCO, MOD and DFID) work more closely together in the field of conflict prevention. This is also helping the departments carry out more detailed and consistent policy analysis, and establish a more integrated approach to developing and implementing programmes on the ground. The Pools are therefore strengthening the UK's contribution to international conflict prevention efforts by ensuring that initiatives are based on evidence of what works and are well targeted.
In FY 2002–03 the total spent on GCPP programmes was £66 million. The budget for FY 2003–04 is £74 million. Details of the GCPP Strategies are set out in the recent publication the GCPP: The Global Conflict Prevention Pool—A joint UK Government approach to reducing conflict, which is available in the Library of the House. A copy of the booklet has also been placed on the FCO website (www.fco.gov.uk) accessible under Global Issues-International Organisations-UN-Conflict Prevention.
22 Oct 2003 : Column 619W
Since its start in April 2000, the GCPP has funded several hundred projects under a range of geographic and thematic strategies. It has been engaged in:
- Post conflict reconstruction work in Afghanistan, the Balkans, and now in Iraq.
Helping to create security, stability and encourage peace negotiations in Belize and Guatemala, Nepal, Indonesia, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sri Lanka.
Supporting more stable and democratic systems in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union.
In encouraging contact between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.
Building capacity to undertake conflict prevention work in international organisations such as the UN and OSCE.
Developing understanding and promoting activity on security sector reform as a means of longer-term prevention of conflict, and a reduction in the levels of small arms and light weapons.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |