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Special Advisers/Civil Servants

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what his policy is on using (a) the services of civil servants, (b) departmental e-mails and (c) the services of his special adviser for party political fundraising. [202158]

Mr. Milburn: Civil servants and special advisers carry out their duties in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Code and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers as appropriate.

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether (a) his special adviser and (b) civil servants who report to him have sent e-mails in respect of (i) fundraising and (ii) celebrity or other endorsement purposes to Ministers or their advisers since his appointment. [202159]

 
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Mr. Milburn: I refer the hon. Member to a letter from the Cabinet Secretary to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox) on 30 November 2004. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library of the House.

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what her policy is on using the services of (a) special advisers and (b) civil servants in her Department in relation to party political (i) fundraising campaigns and (ii) celebrity or other endorsements. [202160]

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Milburn) gave him today.

PRIME MINISTER

Climate Change (UK Presidencies)

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister, if he will list the outcomes he aims to achieve in terms of progress on climate change from the UK presidency of (a) the G8 and (b) the EU. [202152]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 22 June 2004, Official Report, column 1295W.

Correspondence

Mr. Burns: To ask the Prime Minister, if he will require Government departments replying to hon. Members' constituency casework to address their responses to hon. Members' House of Commons offices, when the correspondence raising the case has issued from the hon. Member's office in the House. [201256]

The Prime Minister: Replies to Members' correspondence should be sent to the originating office unless hon. Members specifically request otherwise.

This will be made clear in the next edition of Cabinet Office guidance on the Handling of Members' Correspondence.

Equatorial Guinea

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Prime Minister whether (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials had discussions in an official capacity with the former right hon. Member for Hartlepool during the last 12 months concerning Equatorial Guinea. [200919]

The Prime Minister: I have had no discussions at any time about Equatorial Guinea with the former right hon. Member for Hartlepool. Officials in No. 10 discussed with him on one occasion recent media reports that named him in connection with the attempted coup.

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Prime Minister, when he first learned of the attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea. [201703]

The Prime Minister: As my Official Spokesman made clear on Monday 29 November 2004, I did not have prior knowledge of an attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea. I first became aware of this issue when media reports of an attempted coup surfaced in March.
 
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Europe Day

Mr. Brady: To ask the Prime Minister how he plans to celebrate Europe Day on 9 May 2005. [202659]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister for Europe (Mr. MacShane) on 30 November 2004, Official Report, column 64W.

Iraq Survey Group

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the final copy of the Iraq Survey Group's Report. [202755]

The Prime Minister: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary (Jack Straw) on 12 October 2004, Official Report, columns 151–55, to the answers I gave at the Prime Minister's questions on 13 October 2004, and to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Croydon, South (Mr. Ottaway) at Prime Minister's questions on 3 November 2004, Official Report, column 308.

Ministerial Committees

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister, on how many occasions since 1 January 2004 the Ministerial Committee on Intelligence Services has met. [202107]

The Prime Minister: This information is withheld under Exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Information as it relates to the Proceedings of a Cabinet Office.

Special Advisers

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will list the attributable interviews that his Office's special advisers gave to (a) newspapers, (b) journals, (c) books and (d) other media in their official capacity between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004; [201397]

(2) if he will list the attributable (a) articles and (b) contributions that his Office's special advisers made to (i) newspapers, (ii) journals, (iii) books and (iv) other media in their official capacity between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004. [201458]

The Prime Minister: The information is not held in the format requested.

All Special Advisers' contacts with the media are conducted in accordance wit6h the requirements of the code of Conduct of Special Advisers.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Bichard Report

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps the Chief Constable of the Police Service Northern Ireland is taking to implement the recommendations of the Bichard report. [200517]

Mr. Pearson: It is clear that this is an important challenge for the whole of the UK and I welcome Sir Michael's recommendations. Although his report does not specifically apply to Northern Ireland, we recognise
 
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its importance and we have therefore taken the initiative across Government as a whole to ensure they are appropriately applied to Northern Ireland. As a key partner in this critical work, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has established an internal working party to explore the implementation of the Bichard recommendations in the Northern Ireland policing context. The working party comprises operational detectives, staff with particular experience in child protection issues and the investigation of sexual offences, as well as officers with expertise in IT systems and data protection legislation. In addition, a core of staff is working full-time on this project under the direction of the working party.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on implementing the recommendations of the Bichard and Kelly reports as they apply to Northern Ireland. [201095]

Mr. Pearson: Although neither the Bichard report nor the Kelly report apply explicitly to this jurisdiction, it is clear that both contain vital lessons for Northern Ireland. The Government welcome the important protections for children and vulnerable adults contained within the recommendations of these reports, and recognises that it is critical that they should be given the appropriate effect in Northern Ireland. We are therefore taking positive steps to ensure that Northern Ireland benefits from these new measures.

Urgent work is being taken forward across Government to implement the recommendations of the Bichard Report. In Northern Ireland, a range of organisations are working in partnership to achieve this, including: the Department of Health; Social Services and Public Safety; the Department of Education; the Office of the First and Deputy First Ministers; the Police Service of Northern Ireland; the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People and the Northern Ireland Office. A key part of this work will be supporting the implementation of the Kelly Report.

In addition, we are also working closely with colleagues in the Home Office, the Department for Education and Skills, and others to ensure that work in Northern Ireland is effectively coordinated with the wider UK implementation programme. In driving this work forward, however, it will clearly be crucial to take the particular needs of Northern Ireland into account.

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