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9 Mar 2004 : Column 1432W—continued
Skilled Migrants
Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many skilled migrants were working in (a) the NHS and (b) the education sector on the last date for which figures are available. [157584]
Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Simmonds, dated 9 March 2004:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about skilled migrant workers in the NHS and in the Education sector. (157584)
- The attached table gives the available information from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for the three month period ending in November 2003. "Migrant" workers have been identified from the survey as those people working in the UK whose nationality is not British. The surveys does not analyse data specifically according to "skills", but for this purpose "skills" have been represented in terms of a person's highest qualification.
- As with any statistical sample survey, estimates for the LFS are subject to sampling variability.
| Health authority or NHS trust | Education Sector(8) | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest qualification | ||
| Degree or equivalent | 41 | 23 |
| Higher education | 35 | * |
| GCE A Level or equivalent | * | * |
| GCSE grades A-C or equivalent | * | * |
| Other qualifications | 36 | 10 |
| No qualification | * | * |
(7) Applies to all men aged 16–64 and women 16–59.
(8) This includes University, Polytechnic or other grant funded educational establishments.
* Sample size too small for reliable estimate.
Source:
ONS—Labour Force Survey.
Social Fund
Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will provide additional assistance to those families on low incomes who receive a Social Fund (a) grant and (b) loan where the amount awarded is insufficient to cover basic household goods. [154205]
Mr. Pond [pursuant to his reply, 11 February 2004, Official Report, c. 1492W]: Community Care Grants, Crisis Loans and Budgeting Loans are part of the Discretionary Social Fund. They are designed to provide extra help for the most vulnerable people in society, helping them meet unexpected and more routine needs. The Discretionary Social Fund net budget will be increased by 6 per cent. in April 2004 and by a further 6 per cent. in April 2005.
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As the Discretionary Social Fund is cash limited and decision makers may not always be able to award the full amount that a person has asked for; however they will always consider individual circumstances when making an award.
If a person believes that the grant or loan is not sufficient to meet their needs they have the right to ask for the decision to be reviewed, first by their local office and, if they disagree with the outcome, the Independent Review Service. There are no current plans to change this procedure.
PRIME MINISTER
Correspondence
Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister whether he authorised the letter faxed to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Clare Short) on 28 February by the Cabinet Secretary. [158946]
The Prime Minister: As the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Andrew Turnbull, informed the Public Administration Select Committee on Thursday 4 March, the letter was initiated by him. I was aware of it and approved of it being sent.
Intelligence Services
Peter Bradley: To ask the Prime Minister whether he received representations (a) in the run-up to and (b) during the war in Iraq from the then Secretary of State for International Development in which she raised concerns about the alleged activities of the United Kingdom's intelligence services at the UN. [158523]
The Prime Minister: It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.
Iraq
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if he will release to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration the full advice of the Attorney General on the legality of the war with Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [159588]
The Prime Minister: In evidence to the Public Administration Select Committee on 4 March, the Cabinet Secretary made clear that discussions with the Parliamentary Ombudsman are continuing as part of the normal process of handling these cases. The Government believe that the Attorney-General's advice on the legality of the military action against Iraq is covered by exemptions 2 and 4 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister which members of the Cabinet were provided with a copy of the Attorney-General's full opinion on the legality of military action against Iraq in March 2003. [159937]
The Prime Minister: It is established practice not to disclose details of internal discussion and advice or details of the circulation of papers to the Cabinet in line with exemption 2 of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
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Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what representations were made by UK Government (a) ministers, (b) agencies and (c) Departments to (i) Dr. David Kay and (ii) the Iraq Survey Group (A) before and (B) during the preparation of its first draft report. [159943]
The Prime Minister: The UK has a number of civilian and military personnel attached to the Iraq Survey Group who are part of the process in investigating Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programmes. As part of this process, some would have contributed to the drafting of Dr. Kay's interim report on the work of the Iraq Survey Group.
Nuclear Weapons
Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Glenda Jackson) of 10 February 2004, Official Report, column 1346W, what provisions of international law cover the use of nuclear weapons. [159934]
The Prime Minister: The legality of the use of nuclear weapons depends upon the application of the general rules of international law, including those regulating the inherent right of self-defence and the conduct of hostilities.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Afghanistan
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to improve access to human intelligence for (a) British and (b) NATO forces operating in Afghanistan; and when he expects a human intelligence capacity to be available to British armed forces in Afghanistan. [159017]
Mr. Straw: It is the well-established and long-standing practice of successive Governments not to comment on operations of the Intelligence Services. The security and intelligence agencies are outside the scope of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Paragraph 6, Part 1).
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the (a) Afghans and (b) foreign nationals being held by the Coalition at Bagram airbase; and how long he expects they will be held. [158836]
Mr. Straw [holding answer 8 March 2004]: The British Government do not have detailed information about non-British detainees at Bagram. No British citizens are currently being held at Bagram and none of the detainees held there was captured by British forces. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been able to assess conditions at Bagram since 22 January 2002.
Burma
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the value is of
9 Mar 2004 : Column 1435W
Burmese assets frozen by the UK under EU sanctions; what the nature of those assets is; and where they are held. [159884]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The value of Burmese assets currently frozen by the UK under the EU Common Position is £3,573.57. The assets frozen are personal bank accounts of three individuals listed in the Annex to the Common Position, which is available on the website of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma: http://www.ncgub.net/Int'l%20Action/EU/EU%20Commission%20regulation%2023%20 December%202003.pdf.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of militia violence in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. [159254]
Mr. Mullin: Recent reports of militia violence in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) relate to a number of attacks by a renegade militia group since the beginning of this year. The UN Mission in the DRC is in the process of investigating. We deplore all violence against innocent civilians.
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