---

10 Feb 2004 : Column 1342W—continued

Public Bodies

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) who the members of the (a) Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions, (b) Chaseley Trust, (c) Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board, (d) Far East (Prisoner of War and Internees) Fund and (e) Industrial Injuries Advisory Council were on 1 January; what their term of office is in each case; and what their remuneration is; [151357]

(2) who the members of the (a) Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority, (b) Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation, (c) Social Security Advisory Committee and (d) War Pensions Committee were on 1 January; what their term of office is in each case; and what their remuneration is. [151363]

Maria Eagle: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

The Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions, Chaseley Trust, Far East (Prisoner of War and Internees) Fund, Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation and War Pensions Committees fall under the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence. Information on these bodies has also been placed in the Library.

Staff Salaries

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) lowest, (b) highest and (c) average salary is for full-time members of staff in (i) his Department, (ii) Jobcentre Plus, (iii) the Child Support Agency, (iv) the Pension Service, (v) the Disability and Carers Service and (vi) the Appeals Service. [151446]

10 Feb 2004 : Column 1343W

Maria Eagle: The information is in the following table:

Lowest, highest and average salaries in DWP, 2003£

DWP Business	Lowest	Highest	Average
DWP Corporate Centre	9,900	124,800	23,549
Jobcentre Plus	9,900	124,800	19,047
Child Support Agency	9,900	124,800	16,871
The Pension Service	9,900	124,800	17,427
Disability and Carers Service	9,900	124,800	17,363
The Appeals Service	9,900	124,800	17,734
DWP overall	9,900	124,800	18,890

Notes:

1. The lowest salary is the minimum of the Band A (Administrative Assistant) national pay scale on 30 June 2003, before implementation of the proposed 2003 pay award. The highest is the maximum current Senior Civil Service (SCS) salary in DWP as a whole—including the highest in each Business may identify individuals' salaries. They are basic rates and exclude allowances, bonus payments and pension contributions. 2. The average salaries are for staff in grades Band A (AA) to Band G (Grade 6) before implementation of the proposed 2003 pay award, and current SCS salaries. Average salaries include allowances such as recruitment and retention allowance and the employer's occupational pension contribution, but exclude overtime. Data on Permanent Secretaries have been excluded from the table.

3. The figures above encompass all pay zones (national, inner and outer London, and specified locations).

Source:

DWP Payroll Systems (FAMIS and Rebus) as processed by DWP Financial Services (ASAP), October 2003.

10 Feb 2004 : Column 1344W

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the salary bands for full-time members of staff who are on (a) clerical support, (b) management, (c) senior management and (d) senior civil service grades in his Department and each of its agencies; and how many staff are employed in each of those bands. [151447]

Maria Eagle: The information is in the table.

Staff numbers and salary bands in DWP 2003

	DWP Corporate Centre staff	Jobcentre Plus staff	Child Support Agency staff	The Pensions Service staff
Clerical support	4,806	46,152	7,262	13,031
Management	5,594	33,673	3,307	6,136
Senior management	631	525	82	126
Senior civil service	135	54	13	23
Total	11,166	80,404	10,664	19,316

	Disability and Carers Service staff	The Appeals Service staff	DWP staff	Minimum salary (£)	Maximum salary (£)
Clerical support	4,331	622	76,204	9,900	18,550
Management	2,538	217	51,465	15,220	34,870
Senior management	31	12	1,407	32,210	60,990
Senior civil service	1	2	228	52,403	124,800
Total	6,901	853	129,304	—	—

Notes:

1. Clerical support covers staff employed in Band A/Administrative Assistant, Typist, Personal Secretary, Band B/Administrative Officer, Typing Manager and Senior Personal Secretary.

2. Management covers staff employed in Band C/Executive Officers, Band D/Higher Executive Officers, Chief Typing Managers, Social Fund Inspectors and Band E/Senior Executive Officers.

3. Senior Management covers staff employed in Band F/Grade 7 and Band G/Grade6.

4. Specialist staff e.g. accountants, lawyers, statisticians and support grades who do not fit within the broad descriptions have been excluded from the above data. Permanent Secretaries have also been excluded.

5. All staff numbers are Whole Time Equivalents.

6. Band minimum and band maximum for staff below SCS are 2002 rates. The 2003 pay settlement has not yet been finalised or fully implemented. For staff below SCS the minimum is the rate for the national payband and the maximum is the rate for the Inner London payband.

Source:

DWP Payroll Systems (Dataview December 2003)

PRIME MINISTER

Honours System

Mr. Mackay: To ask the Prime Minister when firm proposals for the reform of the honours system will be laid before Parliament. [153664]

The Prime Minister: I expect to receive Sir Hayden Phillips' report on his review of the honours system within the next few months. I shall, at the appropriate time, make a statement to Parliament about it.

Iraq

Llew Smith To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the intelligence document on which he based his conclusion, placed before the Hutton Inquiry by his former director of communications, that Iraq could produce a nuclear weapon in between one and two years; [152532]

(2) pursuant to his answer of 2 February, Official Report, column 729, what the original intelligence to which he refers was that the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee relied upon in respect of his acceptance of the proposals made in his e-mail of 19 September 2002; and whether he had been informed of the contents of this intelligence when he authorised his former director of communications to press for changes in the Iraq weapons of mass destruction dossier. [153918]

The Prime Minister: The conclusions on the dossier were those of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) as

10 Feb 2004 : Column 1345W

both Lord Hutton and the Intelligence and Security Committee have made clear. As Lord Hutton makes clear,

"Mr. John Scarlett, the Chairman of the JIC, had the overall responsibility for the drafting of the dossier".

It has been the practice of successive Governments not to publish intelligence material.

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what response he made to the queries posed by the right hon. Member for Dewsbury in her comments on the draft Iraq weapons of mass destruction dossier in September 2002; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [153929]

The Prime Minister: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Newport, West (Paul Flynn) on 18 September 2003, Official Report, column 870W and on 15 October 2003, Official Report, columns 233–34W.

As Lord Hutton found in his report

"the dossier was prepared and drafted by a small team of the assessment staff of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC). Mr. John Scarlett, the Chairman of the JIC, had the overall responsibility for the drafting of the dossier. The dossier, which included the 45 minutes claim, was issued by the Government on 24 September 2002 with the full approval of the JIC".

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what the source was of the 45-minute claim about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction; and whether this intelligence information was shared with allied intelligence services, including those of the United States, between its receipt by the United Kingdom and its use in the Iraq weapons of mass destruction dossier. [153980]

The Prime Minister: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 18 September 2003, Official Report, columns 952–53W.

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister whether he was informed of the e-mail by Mr. Jonathan Powell, published on page 657 of Lord Hutton's Report, on the evidence of an imminent threat from Iraq contained in the Draft Iraq Weapons of Mass Destruction Dossier, dated 17 September 2002, before he authorised the publication of the final version of the dossier. [153996]

The Prime Minister: No. As Lord Hutton said in his Report, the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) had overall responsibility for the dossier of 24 September and accepted only drafting suggestions which were consistent with the intelligence known to the JIC.

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Prime Minister whether (a) the Secretary of State for Defence and (b) other Ministers informed him (i) orally and (ii) in writing that they believed the weapons of mass destruction which could be deployed within 45 minutes were battlefield weapons; [154082]

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his oral answer of 4 February 2004, Official Report, column 772, when he indicated when it had come to his attention that the 45 minute assertion related to battlefield mortar shells or small calibre weaponry; [154017]

10 Feb 2004 : Column 1346W

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Prime Minister on what date he first became aware to which Iraqi weapons the 45-minutes claim in the Iraq's weapons of mass destruction dossier applied. [154181]

The Prime Minister: No. As my Official Spokesman said on Thursday 5 February, I first became aware of this around the time that the Intelligence and Security Committee had been examining the issue.

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Prime Minister whether the Iraqi regime was warned (a) before and (b) during the recent conflict that any use of battlefield chemical and biological weapons would meet with a response using (i) weapons of mass destruction and (ii) nuclear weapons. [154252]

The Prime Minister: No. The Government have made clear in the past that we reserve the right to respond appropriately to any use of such weapons, using the range of options available to us. The UK does not possess biological or chemical weapons. We would never use our nuclear weapons in a manner contrary to international law.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence gave to the hon. Member for Newark (Patrick Mercer) on 3 March 2003, Official Report, column 578.

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Prime Minister whether he was informed of the possible range of battlefield weapons of mass destruction; and what types of armament he understood to be defined as battlefield weapons. [154253]

The Prime Minister: Yes. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Aldershot (Mr. Howarth) on 15 September 2003, Official Report, column 515W.

---