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Sustainable Development (Government Estate)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes there have been in (a) road transport vehicle carbon emissions and (b) single occupancy car commuting from his Department against the baseline year in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. [185605]

Mrs. McGuire: The use of vehicles by the Scotland Office is limited to official Ministerial travel. Vehicles are supplied by the Government Car and Despatch Agency, which has reduced vehicle carbon emissions from its fleet by 0.8 per cent. in the first year following the baseline year in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.

Vehicles are not used by the Scotland Office on a single occupancy basis.

Water

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department has joined the Watermark project. [185606]

Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office has not joined the Watermark project. The Office is now a distinct entity within the Department for Constitutional Affairs and its water usage, together with other sustainable development issues, will be reviewed in that context in the coming year.

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes there have been in water consumption by his Department in each year since 1997. [185607]


 
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Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999.

Information on water consumption is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Scotland Office is now a distinct entity within the Department for Constitutional Affairs and its water usage, together with other sustainable development issues, will be reviewed in that context in the coming year.

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the non-office sites within his departmental estate which have been identified as being likely to provide opportunities for significant water savings. [185608]

Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office does not have any non-office sites within its estate.

PRIME MINISTER

Advisory Committee on Business Appointments

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to publish the annual report of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments; and if he intends to carry out a review of the business appointment rules. [186447]

The Prime Minister: The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments has submitted its sixth report to me. The report provides an account of the work of the Committee in advising me on business appointment applications from Crown servants on the acceptance of outside appointments after leaving Government. The report covers the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2004. Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

I am very grateful to all the Committee members for giving their time so freely to it.

In addition, I have asked Sir Patrick Brown to undertake a review of the Business Appointment rules taking account of the work already done by the Committee and referred to in their report. The rules were last reviewed in 1996. Since then there has been a greater emphasis on interchange with the private and other sectors. The review will have the following terms of reference:

Butler Report

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his statement of 14 July 2004, Official Report, column 1435,
 
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on the Butler Report, what action he proposes to take to address the errors for which he has taken responsibility. [186097]

The Prime Minister: I refer my hon. Friend to my statement in the Iraq debate on 20 July 2004, Official Report, column 195.

Iraq

Mr. Dobson: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what advice he has received from the intelligence services about the impact of the Iraq war and subsequent occupation on the likely incidence of terrorism in (a) the Middle East, (b) the UK and (c) the rest of the world; [185693]

(2) what advice he has received from the intelligence services about the impact of the Iraq war and subsequent occupation on public opinion on the popularity of the UK in the Middle East. [185694]

The Prime Minister: I regularly receive intelligence assessments that address the situation in Iraq and its wider impact, including on the threat from international terrorism.

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister if he will give details of each of the false statements or omissions in the Iraqi declarations provided pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 (2002) to which reference was made in the letter sent by his private secretary to the legal secretary of the law officers on 15 March 2003, referred to in paragraph 384 of the report of the Butler Committee on the review of intelligence on weapons of mass destruction. [186186]

The Prime Minister: As set out in the Butler Report, intelligence and information from a wide range of other sources, especially from UNMOVIC, demonstrated that there were false statements and omissions in the declarations submitted by Iraq.

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister when he was informed of the proposal made by the director of the Central Intelligence Agency's weapons, intelligence, non-proliferation and arms control centre that the statements made on Iraq's attempts to secure uranium from Niger in the British Government dossier should be removed, as set out on pages 64–65 of the United States Senate report on intelligence on Iraq. [186218]

The Prime Minister: As set out in paragraph 497 of the Butler Report, the Central Intelligence Agency advised caution about any suggestion that Iraq had succeeded in acquiring uranium from Africa, but agreed that there was evidence that it had been sought.

Iraq (Statement on Mass Graves)

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what the source was for the statement he made on 20 November 2003 that the remains of 400,000 people had been discovered in mass graves in Iraq. [186040]

The Prime Minister: Human rights organisations, forensic groups and the UN have estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of people believed to be buried in mass graves. What is clear is that until a
 
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systematic investigation of Iraq's 259 reported mass gravesites is completed we are unlikely to know the complete picture.

Kosovo

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Prime Minister what measures have been taken each year to advance the undertakings he gave during his first visit to Pristina, Kosovo; what further measures he proposes; and if he will make a statement. [185632]

The Prime Minister: The UK remains committed to building a stable, democratic and multi-ethnic Kosovo, based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which set up the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to help establish an autonomous, self-governing Kosovo. Free and democratic elections were held in 2001 which resulted in the formation of a Provisional Kosovo Government (PISG). In November 2003, the UNSC set out key standards that the PISG needed to reach for a process on final status to begin. The UN Secretary General, consulting the Contact Group, will assess progress in a formal review in 2005.

The UK continues to be a leading partner in Kosovo working closely with the UN Mission in Kosovo, the EU and the Contact Group to build a Kosovo based on the rule of law. I welcome the 14 July Joint Declaration by Kosovo Serb and Albanian leaders pledging to work together on reconciliation, return of displaced Serbs and reform of local self-government.

Since the establishment of UNMIK in 1999, the UK has provided over £50 million and over 100 seconded staff. We have contributed over £115 million to programmes to help develop policy, strategy and operational systems in key areas such as public administration, social policy and health care reform.

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