House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 4 Mar 2004 (pt 11)

4 Mar 2004 : Column 1096W—continued

Iraq

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he received advice from officials within his Department that a war against Iraq might be illegal. [158143]

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government received advice on the legality of war on Iraq from Government legal advisers which did not concur with the advice given by the Attorney-General. [158522]

Mr. Straw: The Government's legal advice on the legal basis for the use of force against Iraq came from the Attorney-General, who made a statement in Parliament on 17 March 2003 which set out his view.

I supplemented this with a letter of the same date to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which was also sent to every right hon. and hon. Member.

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date the Permanent Secretary in his Department was first informed as to which Iraqi weapons the 45 minute claim in the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction dossier applied. [158774]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on 10 February 2004, Official Report, column 1305W. The Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was informed of the particular weapons referred to in similar circumstances and with the same timings as the Foreign Secretary.

Russia

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sanctions against Russia are planned by EU member states if Russia does not accept the terms of the partnership and trade agreements within the European Union. [157396]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are currently working on the basis that Russia will agree to extend the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA) to the enlarged EU from May 1.

The European Commission, in consultation with member states, is seeking to agree a text of a Draft Protocol with Russia to extend the PCA, while expressing willingness to address Russia's legitimate concerns about EU enlargement.

The Commission has yet to present formal proposals to member states for sanctions in the event that Russia fails to extend the PCA to the new member states from 1 May.

Secret Intelligence Service

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether members of the secret intelligence services were in New York in February 2003. [158112]

Mr. Straw: In line with the long-standing practice of successive Governments, to comment on the deployment of security and intelligence service officials would be inappropriate. The security and intelligence services are not within the scope of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Part 1, paragraph 6).

Sudan

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, (1) what action he is taking to find an independent mediator, acceptable to both sides, to bring an end to the conflict in Darfur; [158093]

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Mr. Mullin: We are urging all parties to the conflict in Darfur to re-establish a ceasefire, preferably with international monitoring, permit humanitarian access to all those in need, and resume talks to find a peaceful solution.

We are in almost daily contact with the Government of Sudan and the various Darfur groups. We are working closely with the EU and the US, and have offered to facilitate the peaceful resolution of the conflict. We have suggested that there may be a role for the international community, including the UK, in assisting in the implementation of a peace agreement.

United Nations (Surveillance)

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have received from the Governments of (a) Angola, (b) Cameroon, (c) Chile, (d) Guinea, (e) Mexico and (f) Pakistan in respect of allegations made by Katharine Gun that the diplomatic missions of these states in New York were electronically bugged by British and United States security services. [158113]

Mr. Straw: The British embassy in Mexico City received a Note Verbale from the Mexican Government on this issue. We have not received such correspondence from the other countries mentioned.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Anaesthetists

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many anaesthetists were working in the NHS in Northern Ireland in each year since 2000, broken down by health board area. [157658]

Angela Smith: The information requested is provided in the following table.

Number of anaesthetists working within HSS⁽⁶⁾ trusts as at 31 December 2000, 31 December 2001, 31 December 2002 and 31 December 2003 broken down by health board area (headcount and WTE)

31 December 2000 31 December 2001 31 December 2002 31 December 2003

Health board Headcount WTE⁽⁷⁾ Headcount WTE⁽⁷⁾ Headcount WTE⁽⁷⁾ Headcount WTE⁽⁷⁾

Eastern board 101 97.87 101 98.78 107 103.20 116 112.20

Northern board 14 13.64 17 16.64 17 16.64 16 15.64

Western board 20 20.00 21 21.00 22 22.00 26 25.50

Southern board 19 19.00 19 19.00 20 20.00 20 19.71

Total 154 150.51 158 155.42 166 161.84 178 173.05

	31 December 2000	31 December 2001	31 December 2002	31 December 2003
Health board	Headcount	WTE⁽⁷⁾	Headcount	WTE⁽⁷⁾	Headcount	WTE⁽⁷⁾	Headcount	WTE⁽⁷⁾
Eastern board	101	97.87	101	98.78	107	103.20	116	112.20
Northern board	14	13.64	17	16.64	17	16.64	16	15.64
Western board	20	20.00	21	21.00	22	22.00	26	25.50
Southern board	19	19.00	19	19.00	20	20.00	20	19.71
Total	154	150.51	158	155.42	166	161.84	178	173.05

⁽⁶⁾ Health and Social Services.

⁽⁷⁾ Whole-time equivalent.

Curriculum

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in what ways the Northern Ireland curriculum differs from the National Curriculum. [157848]

Jane Kennedy: The National Curriculum is similar, though not identical, to the Northern Ireland Curriculum. Both prescribe a number of compulsory subjects at different key stages. The main difference lies in the fact that Northern Ireland has six compulsory cross-curricular themes which are taught through a range of subjects. These cover Information Technology, Education for Mutual Understanding, Cultural Heritage, Health Education and at post primary level, Economic Awareness and Careers Education.

Football

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 161W, on football, on what governance and accountability arrangements agreement has not yet been reached. [158323]

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Angela Smith: Agreement has not yet been reached between the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and the Irish Football Association (IFA) on recommendations for the re-structuring of the IFA that have emerged from an independent economic appraisal process commissioned by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland in accordance with normal accountability arrangements for public funds.

New Acute Hospital (South-west)

Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consultations have been held on the location for the new acute hospital in the South West of Northern Ireland; what discussions he has had on this with (a) his predecessor and (b) members of the suspended executive; and what views they held. [157439]

Angela Smith: The report of the Acute Hospitals Review Group, which included a recommendation on the location of the new acute hospital for the South West, was issued for consultation between 30 June 2001 and 31 October 2001. The paper "Developing Better Services: Modernising Hospitals and Reforming Structures", which set out proposals for future hospital services in Northern Ireland including the location of the new acute hospital for the South West, was issued for consultation between 12 June 2002 and 31 October 2002. I have had no discussions on this matter with my predecessor, Des Browne, or with former members of the Executive Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly. I have, however, held discussions with a number of MLAs who have requested to meet me to give me their views on the implications of the decision on the location for the new acute hospital for the South West. These views have extended from a wish to have the decision overturned to a concern to have enhanced services for people in the Tyrone and Mid-Ulster area.

New Schools

Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) value and (b) number of new schools built in Northern Ireland is in the last five years for which records are available. [156959]

Jane Kennedy: Records are not readily available about the value and number of new schools that have been built in each of the last five years. However, over the last five years significant investment has been announced for new schools, and for major extensions and refurbishment of existing schools, as follows:

Projects £ million

1999–2000 16 67.1

2000–01 18 72.2

2001–02 25 132

2002–03 33 175.2

2003–04 43 263

	Projects	£ million
1999–2000	16	67.1
2000–01	18	72.2
2001–02	25	132
2002–03	33	175.2
2003–04	43	263

This is a total of 135 school projects at a total value of £709.5 million.

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