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Caribbean

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has received on the implications for British posts in the Caribbean region of his Department's paper on UK International Priorities, a Strategy for the FCO. [160562]

Mr. Rammell: I understand that we have received one such representation since the publication of the White Paper, UK International Priorities: A Strategy for the FCO on 2 December 2003.

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what deadline he has set for responses to his paper on UK International Priorities, a Strategy for the FCO; and whether the paper will be discussed at the Caribbean Foreign Ministers forum in May. [160563]

Mr. Rammell: No deadline has been set for responses to the White Paper, UK International Priorities: A Strategy for the FCO. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will review the strategy every two years, inviting external contributions.

Discussion at the UK/Caribbean forum in May will focus on key areas of mutual interest, including security cooperation, trade policy and HIV/AIDS.

United Nations

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanisms exist to establish a forum at United Nations level facilitating dialogue between aid representatives and representatives of governments. [160737]

Mr. Rammell: The United Nations organises many fora where aid representatives and representatives of government can hold a dialogue. We do not believe there is a need to establish new fora. Various UN funds and programmes and specialised agencies work in the development area; the regular meetings of their governing bodies allow a dialogue between the organisations concerned and member states. The General Assembly and Economic and Social Council of the UN frequently discuss development issues. At a country level, regular exchanges between aid representatives and donor governments take place on a bilateral and multilateral basis.

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Zimbabwe

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the level of public expenditure by the Office of the President of Zimbabwe. [160721]

Mr. Mullin: Comparison of the Zimbabwe state budget for 2004 with the original and supplementary budgets of 2003 shows a significant increase in provision for the Office of the President. We have not made an analysis of how this money is actually spent.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Zimbabwe Government about its (a) Public Order and Security Act and (b) Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. [160726]

Mr. Mullin: We have made the Government of Zimbabwe aware of our concerns about legislation, which is being used to suppress basic human rights such as freedom of speech and association, and freedom of the press.

EU Foreign Ministers, including my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, met on 23 February, and issued a strong statement condemning human rights abuses in Zimbabwe which drew specific attention to these Acts.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) the European Union, (b) the United Nations and (c) the Commonwealth on the activities of the youth militia in Zimbabwe. [160730]

Mr. Mullin: The use by the Zimbabwe Government of youth militias (the so called "Green Bombers") for violence and intimidation of government opponents is well documented. We and our EU partners have called for the immediate closure of the youth training camps.

With our EU partners, we are discussing the tabling of a resolution on Zimbabwe at the UN Commission on Human Rights when it meets later this month. The intent is to highlight the level of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and to call on the Government of Zimbabwe to take action.

Violence and human rights in Zimbabwe was a major theme of discussion at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Abuja in December, which decided to maintain Zimbabwe's suspension from the Councils of the Commonwealth.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the European Union about the list of persons from Zimbabwe banned from travelling to member states in the European Union. [160733]

Mr. Mullin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) on 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 96W.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the list published in the Daily News in Zimbabwe in 2003 of (a) police and (b) others who are suspected of human rights abuses. [160736]

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Mr. Mullin: We take seriously information on reported human rights abusers in Zimbabwe such as those on the Daily News list. We will continue to make our concerns about the abuse of human rights clear to the Zimbabwe authorities.

CABINET OFFICE

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the buildings occupied by his staff which require (a) remedial work on and (b) the removal of asbestos; what that work will cost; what budgets are available for this work for (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; and what budget is available for future asbestos surveys. [159362]

Mr. Alexander: None of the buildings occupied by Cabinet Office staff including the Government Car and Despatch Agency and Central Office of Information require remedial work in relation to the presence of asbestos. The Emergency Planning College in Easingwold has one residential building that requires the removal of asbestos and it is due to be demolished in September 2004. £10,500 has been set aside for the removal of asbestos from this building.

Future asbestos surveys will be funded as required from the estates maintenance budget.

Responsibility for buildings occupied but not controlled by Cabinet Office rests with the respective landlords.

Official Publications

Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much the Department spent on official publications in each year since 1999. [159331]

Mr. Alexander: The details of my Department's spend on the production and purchase of all publications in each year from 1998–99 to 2003–04 can be found in the following table:

	Total (£000)
1998–99	2,013
1999–2000	2,815
2000–01	2,834
2001–02	2,751
2002–03	3,236
2003–04 (Estimated)	1,330

Public Service (Disqualification)

Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office in which areas of public service and activity (a) illiteracy and (b) mental ill health are a disqualification from participation. [159341]

Mr. Alexander: Recruitment to the Civil Service and for public appointments is based on merit. Within the framework laid down by the Civil Service Order in Council 1995 and the Civil Service Commissioner's Recruitment Code, departments and agencies have the authority to prescribe qualifications for appointment to positions in their organisations in relation to age,

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knowledge, ability, professional attainment, aptitude, potential, health and coping with the demands of the job.

Under the Civil Service Management Code, departments and agencies must ensure that their recruitment systems deliver recruits who are appropriate to their needs and who are able to do the work required subject to reasonable adjustments under the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

When making public appointments, departments are required to follow the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice to ensure appointment on merit. Criteria for selection can take account of the need to appoint boards that include a balance of skills and background.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance his Department has issued on the provision of (a) an estimate of the cost of enforcement of regulation and (b) a description of how the regulation is to be monitored in regulatory impact assessments. [160130]

Mr. Alexander: In January 2003, the Cabinet Office issued 'Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment' detailed guidance on the regulatory impact assessment(RIA) process. This recommends that all RIAs should include analysis of the costs and benefits of proposals and set out the necessary monitoring and evaluation processes. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House. Revised web-based guidance, building on the January version, was issued by the Cabinet Office in November 2003. This can be found at www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/regulation/ria-guidance/

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many regulatory impact statements were issued by the Small Business Service in each year since 1998; and if he will make a statement. [160131]

Nigel Griffiths: I have been asked to reply.

The Small Business Service does not issue regulatory impact assessments.

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