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8 Dec 2004 : Column 577W—continued
CABINET OFFICE
Correspondence
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what her target time is in 2004–05 (a) to reply to letters from hon. Members and (b) for the officials in her Office to reply to letters received directly from members of the public. [202319]
Ruth Kelly: The Cabinet Office target time for replying to letters from hon. Members is 15 working days. The same target time applies to officials replying to letters received directly from members of the public.
Information on the departmental handling of correspondence from Members of Parliament/Peers is published annually by the Cabinet Office. The 2003 annual report is available in the Library.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the total cost to the Office was for the use of external consultants in each of the last two years. [202326]
Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Tayside (Pete Wishart) on 11 November 2004, Official Report, column 855W.
EU Directives
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will list the European Union directives and regulations relating to the Office that have been implemented in each of the last two years, specifying (a) the title and purpose of each, (b) the cost to public funds of each and (c) the cost to businesses of each. [202324]
Ruth Kelly: The Cabinet Office has not implemented any EU directives or regulations in the last two years.
Regulatory Reform Orders
Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many Regulatory Reform Orders have been approved by the House in each year since 2001; and what target has been set by the Government for the number of Regulatory Reform Orders to be approved by 2005. [200683]
Ruth Kelly: Since 2001, a total of 20 Regulatory Reform Orders have been made, and a further eight proposals have been laid for parliamentary scrutiny. The number of Regulatory Reform Orders made each year since 2001 is as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 1 |
| 2002 | 7 |
| 2003 | 8 |
| 2004 | 4 |
In 2002 the Cabinet Office set a Public Service Agreement target to deliver 60 Regulatory Reform Orders by the end of financial year 2005–06.
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Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) whether she has been informed of breaches of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers in her Department since its implementation; [201342]
(2) how many appeals were made by civil servants to the Civil Service Commissioners regarding special advisers in her Office between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004; and when each appeal was lodged. [201369]
Ruth Kelly: Paragraph 22 of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers states that any civil servant who believes that the action of a special adviser goes beyond that adviser's authority or breaches the Civil Service Code should raise the matter immediately with the Secretary of the Cabinet or the First Civil Commissioner, directly or through a senior civil servant.
Information relating to complaints made by civil servants to the Civil Service Commissioners is set out in the Civil Service Commissioners' annual report. Copies of reports for the period 1996–97 to 2003–04 are available in the Library and can also be obtained on-line at www.civilservicecommissioners.gov.uk.
Sustainable Timber
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans her Department has to fund the (a) establishment and (b) maintenance of the Central Point of Expertise on Timber. [201073]
Ruth Kelly: Cabinet Office has offered to assist with funding for the creation of a Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET). It is the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) responsibility to establish whether offers and/or fees and charges would be appropriate for the establishment and maintenance of CPET.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Angola
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid programmes, have been supported in Angola during each of the last five years; at what value; and what programmes his Department is planning for the next three years. [203288]
Hilary Benn: The following areas of work have been supported by DFID during each of the last five financial years:
8 Dec 2004 : Column 579W
In addition to the figures in the table DFID is also supporting a democratisation programme to the value of £200,000 in the year 2004–05.
DFID's current activities in the above areas of focus (peace-building, humanitarian reform, economic reform and poverty reduction) will continue until the end of 2006. DFID will remain actively involved in supporting Angola's post-conflict transition and is also looking at how we can strengthen our collaboration with the World Bank (WB) and European Commission (EC). We are also looking at what more we can do to include Angola in DFID's support to the wider South African Development Community (SADC).
DFID is also funding programmes in Angola multilaterally, through the EC and the UN. In 2002 (the latest available figures) the UK's attributed share of multilateral expenditure in Angola was as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| EC | 5 |
| UN | 1.5 |
Departmental Costs
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost of was of (a) in-house canteen and (b) other catering services provided by his Department in each of the last two years. [200863]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: The cost of in-house canteen services provided in the UK in each of the last two years were as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 111,859 |
| 2003–04 | 181,237 |
The increase, year-on-year, is in part attributable to costs incurred with re-tendering and setting up of the new canteen contract in our East Kilbride office.
8 Dec 2004 : Column 580W
There are no other catering services provided by DFID. Costs incurred in our overseas offices are not available centrally and could not be obtained without incurring a disproportionate cost.
Burma
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government are taking to assist humanitarian agencies in overcoming obstruction of the delivery of assistance to displaced persons on the border between Thailand and Burma. [202858]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: Most internally displaced people live in sensitive or conflict-affected areas to which international agencies have limited access. Securing increased access to such areas for development agencies is an important objective of DFID. We are currently working with International organisations such as the UN to encourage the Burmese authorities to do this. DFID is providing £500,000 to support the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross which has been able to gradually increase its access within Burma over the last three years and is now operating in significant areas of Shan and Karen states and Tenassarim division.
The UK Government are doing everything they can to press the Burmese authorities to begin a genuine process of reform involving all political parties and ethnic groups in Burma. Political progress is essential to underpin an end to the conflict that is both a major cause of displacement of people in Burma and a fundamental obstacle to meeting the needs of many poor people in Burma, including internally displaced people.
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate the Government have made of the number of people that remain displaced from their homes in the eastern regions of Burma; and if he will make a statement. [202862]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: The UK has not made an independent estimate of the number of people displaced from their homes in eastern Burma. However, in October 2004, the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) estimated that the number of people displaced from their homes in eastern Burma was at least 526,000. The TBBC estimated that of these people, 365,000 were living in temporary settlements in areas administered by the ethnic minority cease-fire groups; 77,000 were living in designated relocation sites in areas administered by the Burmese authorities; and 84,000 were in hiding in conflict areas.
The situation of these internally displaced people, and that of many other poor people in rural Burma, is extremely vulnerable. Reliable statistics are not available. But access to education and primary health care is limited, and poverty is widespread. DFID is working with the UN, International Committee of the Red Cross and others to help improve access to these populations and to provide protection and assistance to them.
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