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DEFENCE

BAE Systems

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when (a) he and (b) the Permanent Secretary of his Department first became aware of allegations that a member of the Saudi armed forces project of the Ministry of Defence was provided with free holidays and gifts by BAE Systems between 2000 and 2002. [176053]

Mr. Hoon: The Permanent Secretary was made aware of the allegations on 5 April 2004 and the issue was brought to my attention later that month.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the Permanent Secretary in his Department decided that no investigation was required after he received a letter from the then director of the Serious Fraud Office on 8 March 2001 regarding allegations of fraud involving BAE Systems; and if he will make a statement. [176068]

Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces (Mr. Ingram) on 3 November 2003, Official Report, column 429W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Harry Cohen) and to the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb).
 
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Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) the Permanent Secretary in his Department held discussions with Sir Richard Evans, the chairman of BAE Systems, on the provision of free holidays and gifts by BAE Systems between 2000 and 2002 to a civil servant in the Saudi armed forces project of the Ministry of Defence; and if he will make a statement. [176072]

Mr. Hoon: There have been no discussions with Sir Richard Evans on the allegations of misconduct involving a former, but now retired member of the Saudi armed forces project. The allegations are properly under investigation by the Ministry of Defence Police, and the MOD and we will consider what further action is necessary if any once the results of this investigation are available.

Departmental Expenditure (Entertainment)

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of the amount spent by his Department on entertainment in each year from 1996–97 to 2004–05. [169002]

Mr. Caplin: Details of cash expenditure on entertainment by the Ministry of Defence in each year from 1996–97 to 2001–02 were provided in the answer I gave the hon. Member on 20 March 2003, Official Report, column 885W. Final outturn on a resource basis, which is not directly comparable with previous cash figures, for 2002–03 was £7.32 million. The provisional outturn for FY 2003–04 is £7.99 million. Expenditure on entertainment and hospitality will vary for a number of reasons, but has been rising in line with the Strategic Defence Review intention to increase engagement with other countries through defence diplomacy, aimed at preventing conflict and increasing international stability. Planned expenditure for this financial year, after allowing for the effect of inflation, is expected to be the same, or lower, than the outturn in FY 2003–04.

Expenditure incurred on entertainment is strictly for official purposes only, and is made in accordance with departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting.

Faslane

Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why secondary monitoring for all those leaving nuclear submarines is not mandatory at HM Naval Base Clyde Faslane. [178868]

Mr. Ingram: Comprehensive arrangements, which comply fully with legal requirements and have been approved by the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, are in place to ensure the safety of all personnel working on nuclear submarines. Personnel exiting the reactor compartments must be monitored before they are permitted to leave the submarine (by suitably qualified and experienced workers) using hand-held instrumentation capable of detecting very low levels of radioactive contamination. This monitoring is precautionary as work procedures and protective clothing are designed to minimise the
 
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chance of becoming contaminated. Secondary monitoring (using a walk-through monitor), which takes place after the worker has completed primary monitoring and removed his protective clothing, is compulsory when contamination is suspected or found.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral statement of the Minister of State of 4 May 2004, Official Report, column 1211, if he will make a further statement to the House on the Special Investigation Branch inquiries into alleged abuse of Iraqi civilians. [177587]

Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement I made on 8 June 2004, Official Report, columns 4–5WS.

Since then it has been announced in another place that one case, involving four soldiers, will be brought to trial. A further case is now pending a decision on prosecution.

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his statement of 8 June 2004, Official Report, columns 4–5WS, on Iraq, what the names are of the individuals whose deaths are among the cases where a decision whether to prosecute is pending. [179031]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 15 June 2004]: In my statement of 8 June 2004, Official Report, columns 4–5WS, I referred to seven cases pending a decision to prosecute on 4 May. Since then a further case has come under consideration as referred to by my noble and learned Friend the Attorney-General in a statement in another place on 15 June. Of the eight cases now under consideration, five cases involve deaths. The names of the individuals are: Hassam Abbad Saied, Baha Musa, Zaher Sabti Zaher, Ali Salaam and Nadhem Abdullah.

Trident Replacement

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what design studies have been commissioned to find a replacement for Trident nuclear submarines. [179006]

Mr. Hoon: As set out in paragraph 3.11 of the 2003 Defence White Paper (Cm 6041–1), decisions on whether to replace Trident are likely to be needed in the next Parliament. In the meantime, we will continue to take appropriate steps to ensure that the range of options for maintaining a nuclear deterrent capability is kept open until that decision point. This will include appropriate design studies.

Working Time Directive

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees in his Department have (a) signed a formal opt out from and (b) are exempt from the Working Time Directive; and how many employees in his Department have recorded hours, including any accruing on a flexitime basis, in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive in the last month for which figures are available. [178366]

Mr. Caplin: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
 
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EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Admissions/appeals

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will list, for each English local education authority, in each of the last five years, the costs of the administration of (a) primary and (b) secondary school (i) admissions and (ii) appeals. [177607]

Mr. Miliband: The Department does not collect this information. The administration of school admissions and admission appeals is the responsibility of individual admission authorities. LEAs must delegate funding for the administration of admissions and admission appeals to governing bodies of schools that are admission authorities or carry out the administration on their behalf.

Broadband

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the disadvantages to students whose schools do not have access to broadband services. [178928]

Mr. Charles Clarke: My Department is well on the way to achieving the ambitious Government target of making broadband available to over 23,000 schools in England by 2006. This is a substantial and complex task.

Excellent progress has been made during the last two and a half years. As at March 2004, 60 per cent. of schools (98 per cent. of secondary schools and 53 per cent. of primary schools) have access to broadband. We are on schedule to connect the remainder by 2006 as planned.

In the meantime, those schools that don't yet have broadband have access to a narrower, but still significant, range of resources and collaborative opportunities through standard Internet connections. They also have access to off-line multimedia resources as can be found on Curriculum Online and funded using eLearning Credits. We are supporting teachers in the use of such resources through the National Strategies.

We are encouraging schools not scheduled to be upgraded to broadband until towards the end of 2006, and which have expensive ISDN connections, to adopt more cost-effective, interim solutions.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what mechanism his Department has put in place to monitor the roll-out of broadband to schools. [178929]

Mr. Charles Clarke: My Department works with the 10 Regional Broadband Consortia (RBCs) to procure and roll out broadband connections to schools. Becta (the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency) collects LEA broadband connectivity statistics, supplied by the RBCs, which are compiled and released on a quarterly basis.

As at March 2004, 60 per cent. of schools (98 per cent. of secondary schools and 53 per cent. of primary schools) have access to broadband. The Government's target is to connect all schools to broadband by 2006.
 
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