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Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 7 September 2004

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Beijing Platform for Action

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Minister for Women what her plans are for involvement in the Beijing Platform for Action, known as Beijing +10. [187535]

Ms Hewitt: The celebration and evaluation of the 10 years since the Beijing Platform for Action will be an integral part of the UK Government's work on gender equality in 2005. The 49th Session of the Commission for the Status for Women (CSW) at the United Nations in March 2005 will review and appraise the implementation of Beijing over the last 10 years. The cross-Whitehall UK Government delegation will actively participate at CSW. We have already begun feeding into this process, completing a United Nations questionnaire on progress made since 1995 in the UK (available at www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk), which will feed into the UN Secretary-General's report. During the UK Presidency of the EU, July to December 2005, we will host a major European conference and a Ministerial Informal meeting to consider best practice across the EU in relation to national implementation of the Beijing Platform. The UK Government are a strong advocate of the Beijing Platform for Action and UN initiatives to further gender equality.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Divisions

36. Norman Baker: To ask the Leader of the House if he will seek to amend the practice of Divisions to allow abstentions to be recorded. [187676]

Mr. Woolas: I have no plans to do so.

Sitting Hours

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Leader of the House when he expects to publish proposals for revised sitting hours of the House. [187672]

Mr. Hain: The Modernisation Committee, which I chair, is conducting an inquiry into the sitting hours of the House. I hope that it will report its findings to the House by the end of the year.

Parliamentary Publications

Mr. Truswell: To ask the Leader of the House what representations he has received since 27 April from the Plain English Campaign regarding the language used in parliamentary publications. [187674]

 
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Mr. Woolas: My right hon. Friend has received no representations from the Plain English Campaign since March of this year, when representatives of that organisation met with the Modernisation Committee as part of its inquiry into Connecting Parliament with the Public.

SCOTLAND

Immigration

7. Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met the First Minister to discuss Scottish immigration issues. [187632]

Mrs. McGuire: My right hon. Friend and I have regular meetings with Scottish Ministers and the Home Office to discuss the Government's asylum and immigration policies. I last met the Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Nationality and the Minister for Communities on 2 June this year.

Infantry Regiments

8. Mr. Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has held with the Secretary of State for Defence regarding the Scottish infantry regiments. [187633]

Mr. Darling: My right hon. Friend and I have had recent discussions on a range of issues including the Scottish infantry regiments.

Consumer Debt

9. Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the level of consumer debt in Scotland. [187634]

Mrs. McGuire: Growth in personal debt across the United Kingdom is slowing down. Estimates of Scottish consumer indebtedness are not readily available. However, at the end of July 2004 the total UK personal debt was £1,014.5 billion.

Post Office Closures

10. John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry about the number of post office closures in Scotland. [187635]

Mr. Darling: My right hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland and I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry about a variety of issues.

Civil Service Relocation

11. Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the dispersal of Government jobs to Scotland. [187636]

Mr. Darling: Decisions about the relocation of jobs within Government Departments have yet to be made but will be based on Departments' operational needs and individual business cases rather than the particular
 
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needs of specific areas or geographies. However, I have made quite clear to other Government Departments the advantages Scotland offers as a location.

13. Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the impact of the Lyons review in areas in Scotland not named in the King Sturge report; and what active role his Department is taking towards public sector job relocation to Scotland. [187638]

Mr. Darling: Decisions about the relocation of jobs within Government Departments have yet to be made but will be based on Departments' operational needs and individual business cases rather than the particular needs of specific areas or geographies. However, I have made quite clear to other Government Departments the advantages Scotland offers as a location and have encouraged them to consider Scotland when reviewing relocation plans.

Small Business Regulation

12. Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received from small business organisations regarding regulation. [187637]

Mr. Darling: I met representatives from Chambers of Commerce throughout Scotland yesterday when a number of regulatory issues were discussed. Furthermore, my hon. Friend., the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, is a member of the Small Business Consultative Group chaired by the Scottish Executive and all meetings of this group have a standing agenda item on regulatory issues. The Government and the Scottish Executive are committed to ensuring that businesses do not face unnecessary regulatory burdens.

Scottish Parliament

14. Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to provide an opportunity to enable the people of Scotland to decide whether they wish to retain a Scottish Parliament. [187639]

Mr. Darling: No. The Scottish Parliament represents the settled will of the Scottish people expressed convincingly in the referendum of 1997.

Postal Services

15. Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received regarding postal services in Scotland. [187640]

Mrs. McGuire: My right hon. Friend and I receive a wide range of representations on Scottish matters.

Designated Accommodation

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many rooms are set aside for (a) the use of smokers, (b) worship, broken down by religion and (c) nursing mothers and pregnant women in each building and set of offices for which his Department is responsible. [187322]

 
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Mrs. McGuire: The Scotland Office has one room set aside for smokers. No rooms are currently set aside for worship or for nursing mothers and pregnant women and no requests for such rooms have been received, but appropriate arrangements can be made if necessary.

Parliamentary Boundaries

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what indications he has received from the Boundary Commission for Scotland as to when it expects to deliver to him its report on Parliamentary Boundaries in Scotland. [186383]

Mr. Darling: It is a matter entirely for the Boundary Commission for Scotland when, before December 2006, it reports to me. The Commission is aware that, following the Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004 receiving Royal Assent on 22 July, it is no longer under a duty to review the regional boundaries for the Scottish Parliament. In light of its progress so far, it seems likely that the Commission will report much sooner than its deadline, but the timing is a matter for it.

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