House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 18 Mar 2004 (pt 6)

18 Mar 2004 : Column 419W—continued

Iraq

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of people employed by private security companies (a) on behalf of the coalition in Iraq and (b) by the United Kingdom in Iraq. [161989]

Mr. Rammell: Around 215 people are employed by private security companies on behalf of the Government in Iraq. We have not estimated the number of people employed by private security companies on behalf of the coalition as a whole in Iraq.

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the employment practices are of the veterinary directorate in Iraq; whether known opponents of the former regime are excluded for political reasons; and if he will make a statement. [162209]

Mr. Rammell: The employment practices of the Iraqi veterinary directorate in the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture are a matter for the Iraqi Minister of Agriculture.

We have used our influence, however, to ensure that there are safeguards in law for Iraqi employees. The Transitional Administrative Law agreed by the Iraqi Governing Council on 8 March 2004 enshrines the equality of all Iraqis and forbids discrimination on the

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basis of gender, nationality, religion or origin. It also establishes the right to form and join trade unions and the right to demonstrate and to strike peaceably. We are discussing with representatives from the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions how the Government can best help the growth of the Trades Union Movement in Iraq.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to maximise UN involvement in (a) the administration of Iraq and (b) the development of constitutional arrangements for an autonomous Kurdish region within an overall federal solution. [162191]

Mr. Rammell: United Nation's Security Council Resolutions 1483 and 1511 envisaged a major role for the UN in building a secure future for Iraq. In particular, they mandated the UN to co-ordinate humanitarian and reconstruction assistance and to work with the Coalition Provisional Authority and the people of Iraq in developing new representative systems of government. We strongly support the re-engagement of the UN in Iraq and stand ready with our coalition partners to provide security for UN personnel and premises. We believe the UN has a vital role to play in helping to forge a consensus among Iraqis on the best way to establish an Interim Government after 30 June 2004 and in preparing for elections in early 2005.

Federal issues are a matter for Iraqis to decide, including the degree of UN involvement. They will do so in the Transitional National Assembly to be elected in early 2005 and in a referendum on the draft constitution due later that year. The Transitional Administrative Law agreed by the Iraqi Governing Council on March 8 2004 recognises the administrative and legislative functions of the Kurdistan Regional Government. It also enshrines the principle that any federal system will not be based on ethnic or sectarian lines. But it leaves the final form of any federal structure to Iraqi democratic institutions to decide.

Kyrgyzstan

Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why there is no UK embassy in Kyrgyzstan; and if he will make a statement. [162393]

Mr. Rammell: We regret that financial constraints currently prevent the opening of an embassy in Kyrgyzstan. However, we still hope to appoint a locally-engaged member of staff from our embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan, to the DflD office in Bishkek.

We have had to contend with competing demands across the Former Soviet Union where we have sought to expand operations in virtually all aspects of mission activity, including counter-narcotics co-operation, good governance, and aid. This increased activity has severely stretched our budgets.

In the meantime, we will continue to give our ambassador and his staff in Almaty all the help and support we can to complement the sterling efforts they are making.

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TREASURY

Citizen Information Project

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) on what date the Citizen Information Project feasibility study was submitted to Ministers; when he expects the Office for National Statistics to publish the full text of the study; what the reason is for the delay in publication; and if he will make a statement; [162391]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the General Registrar for England and Wales, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Oaten, dated 18 March 2004:

As Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions on the Citizen Information Project (162391 and 162392),

A report on the Citizen Information Project feasibility study was presented to Ministers in June 2003. A full information note on the Citizen Information Project was published on 6 January 2004. A copy was placed in the Library of the House. At the same time I announced that Ministers had approved a 'project definition1 stage of development work. The project definition stage is now under way and I expect to report to Ministers in 2005 on whether or not this work should proceed to implementation.

Public consultation on the Citizen Information Project proposals is provisionally scheduled for the autumn of 2004. It will be conducted in line with Cabinet Office guidelines, as published by the Regulatory Impact Unit in January 2004.

Employment (Chorley)

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new jobs have been created in Chorley since 1997. [161447]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Lindsay Hoyle, dated 16 March 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about new jobs created in Chorley since 1997. (161447)

No information is explicitly available about numbers of new jobs created during this period.

However, statistics from surveys enable comparisons to be made of net changes, from year to year.

The attached table shows the number of jobs in Chorley Parliamentary Constituency (which covers the same area as Chorley Local Authority District) in each year from 1997 to 2002, the latest year for which information is available.

Number of jobs⁽¹⁾ in Chorley parliamentary constituency, 1997–2002

	Number
1997	30,400
1998	31,400
1999	31,900
2000	32,000
2001	37,500
2002	39,900
Change from 1997 to 2002	9.500

⁽¹⁾ Employee jobs only, not self-employed jobs.

Source:

1997: Annual Employment Survey, rescaled.

2002: Annual Business Inquiry (ABI).

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Income Statistics

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers there are with an income of less than (a) £5,000, (b) £10,000, (c) £15,000, (d) £20,000, (e) 23,000 and (f) £30,500. [161985]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my right hon. Friend to table 2.5 on the Inland Revenue website http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/income tax/table-25.pdf.

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the average first-time earner's tax liability was in each of their first three years of paying income tax over the last five years. [161986]

Dawn Primarolo: I regret that the information requested is not available.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Access to Government (Code of Practice)

Llew Smith: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs when his Department expects to publish the monitoring report on application of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information for 2003; and what plans he has to publicise the report on its publication. [161178]

Mr. Lammy: The Government hope to be in a position to publish the monitoring report for the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information for the year 2003 by August 2004.

As in previous years, the publication of the monitoring report will be publicised by way of an announcement in both Houses together with a press release and will be available in full on the Department for Constitutional Affairs' website.

Data Protection

Mr. Chope: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) if he will make it his policy to bring forward amendments to the Data Protection Act 1998 (a) to prevent the Information Commissioner from profiting from

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the actions of bogus collectors and (b) to enable the Information Commissioner to take legal action against unauthorised collections; [159790]

(a)

(b)

(3) for what reasons it is not possible for the Commissioner to assess from documentation submitted through bogus agencies whether a notification is mandatory or voluntary; and if he will make it his policy that such ambiguous documentation is returned for clarification prior to registration. [159818]

Mr. Lammy: The Commissioner does not profit from the actions of bogus collectors. His office is funded by government grant. It is a requirement of the Data Protection Act 1998 that all fees and other sums received by him in the exercise of his functions under the Act shall be paid to the Secretary of State, who in turn is required to pay them into the Consolidated Fund.

There are no current plans to amend the 1998 Act to enable the Commissioner to take legal action against unauthorised collectors, but the matter will be kept under review. The prosecuting authority depends on the type of legal action pursued and can be the Office of Fair Trading, Local Trading Standards Department or the Police.

I understand that there have to date been five successful legal actions initiated against these companies: four civil and one criminal. In the civil actions, the Office of Fair Trading has obtained final injunctions against companies and individuals under the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations. It has also obtained written assurances (in lieu of court action) from 14 other individuals and companies that they would no longer be involved with the publication of misleading advertisements about data protection notification services. The criminal action involved a prosecution initiated by Brent and Harrow Trading Standards Service against a company and its director under section 14 of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. Fines totalling £3,500 were imposed, plus £850 in prosecution costs.

Section 16 of the 1998 Act sets out the "registrable particulars" which must be included in a valid application for notification. The Commissioner's own application form asks data controllers to indicate whether they consider that they are exempt but have decided to notify voluntarily. As this question is not mandatory, the Commissioner would not and could not refuse to accept an application simply because the question had not been answered. The applications submitted by the agencies do not include this non-mandatory question.

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