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Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders

Mr. Cummings: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the progress of neighbourhood management pathfinders and their future funding allocations. [217866]

Keith Hill: Funding was made available to 20 round one neighbourhood management pathfinder schemes from 2001–02 and to 15 round two schemes from 2003–04.

Round one schemes have made good progress on working towards mainstreaming interventions and working with service providers so that their services better meet the needs of the local community. Round two pathfinders have successfully submitted their delivery plans and have completed the first stage of implementation. The 2004 National Evaluation says there is evidence of the Pathfinder programme making a real change to people's lives.

Funding for each round of the programme is for seven years with £77.6 million available to round one schemes and £44.4 million available to round two schemes over the life of the programme. The announcement for funding allocations for 2005–06 will be made in the near future.

Pendle

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Pendle constituency, the effects on Pendle of his Department's policies and activities since 2nd May 1997. [215011]

Yvette Cooper: Along with other Government Departments, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is committed to improving the lives of people across the whole of the UK. For example, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is determined that everyone should have the opportunity to have a decent home, and since 1997 we have reduced the number of non-decent homes nationally by one million.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister provides grant funding that benefits the Pendle constituency through a number of programmes.

For example over the period 2001–06 Pendle has been allocated £8.3 million Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) resources to help the local authority, in collaboration with the Local Strategic Partnership, improve services in the most deprived neighbourhoods in the area.

More broadly, since 1997 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has been able to increase the total amount of government grant given to local authorities by £22.6 billion. This is a 33 per cent. increase in real terms. Pendle council has received an average annual increase in formula grant since 1997 of 6.0 per cent.
 
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Residents of Pendle have also benefited from Lancashire county council's average annual increase in grant of 4.4 per cent.

The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at Parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 Census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at: http://neighbourhood.statistics. gov.uk/.

Right to Buy

Martin Linton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many council homes have been sold under the right to buy in Wandsworth since 1990. [218530]

Keith Hill: The local authority has reported 4,276 sales of council dwellings under the right to buy and rent to mortgage schemes in Wandsworth between 1990–91 and 2003–04.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

European Constitution

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reasoning underlay the decision to describe the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe as the treaty establishing a constitution for the European Union in the question that will be used for the referendum on the constitution. [217451]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

The treaty binds only its signatories, that is, members of the European Union, and not every state geographically in Europe. Although the treaty is said to establish a Constitution for Europe" it is clear from the very first article that this Constitution establishes the European Union ... ". Referring in the question to the Constitution for the European Union" is likely to be more intelligible to the voter since it reflects more accurately what he or she is being asked to approve.

The Electoral Commission commented in its assessment of the question on 3 February 2005 that the modification of the title of the treaty in the question does not detract from its overall intelligibility.

Falkland Islands

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the date is of the next meeting between officials representing the UK and Argentine Governments to discuss charter flights to the Falkland Islands for the purposes of cruise ship passenger transfers. [219343]

Mr. Rammell: There are no meetings scheduled between the UK and Argentine Governments to discuss the issue of charter flights. The situation on this issue remains unchanged from that given in my statement on 18 November 2004, Official Report, column 1782W to the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr. Simmonds).
 
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Firecrest

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the cost of his Department's new Firecrest contract, with Hewlett-Packard, signed on 16 February. [218705]

Mr. Rammell: The seven year deal, the largest contract the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has ever signed, will see Hewlett-Packard take on overall responsibility for the FCO's business critical IT infrastructure in partnership with in-house IT providers FCO Services, original developers of the Firecrest" system. The total cost of the contract over seven years is currently estimated at £320 million based on a contract with Hewlett-Packard UK worth approximately £180 million and FCO internal costs of £140 million, including FCO Services' charges.

Iran/Iraq

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of relations between the Iranian regime and the (a) Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, (b) United Iraqi Alliance and (c) Iraqi National Congress. [218177]

Mr. Rammell: We maintain a close dialogue on Iraq with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others in the Iranian Government. The Iranian authorities have a well-known friendship with many of the Shia groups, including the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and other component members of the United Iraqi Coalition. They also have good relations with non-Shia groups, including among the Kurdish parties. Iran has stated that it will co-operate with the future Iraqi Government, regardless of its religious preferences.

Iraq

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many contracts for the supply of security and surveillance services and equipment from the private sector have been placed by the UK Government and its agencies in Iraq, broken down by base country of the contracting company; and what the total value of such contracts is. [204613]

Mr. Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently has four contracts with two British private sector companies for the provision of security services in Iraq. The annual value of these contracts is approximately £50 million.

I will write to my hon. Friend with details of any other contracts placed by other UK Government Departments and its agencies in Iraq. I will place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts regarding the war in Iraq over the last six months. [210588]

Mr. Rammell: Over the last six months, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had continuous discussions on Iraq with his European Union (EU)
 
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colleagues. This dialogue has taken place regularly at the monthly EU Foreign Ministerials, in bilateral meetings and in other fora.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people have been registered to vote in northern Iraq (a) in numbers, (b) as a percentage of the population of the Kurdish area of Iraq, (c) as a percentage of eligible voters in Iraq and (d) as a percentage of all registered voters in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [213237]

Mr. Rammell: In the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) area, 2,124,181 were registered to vote. This represents an estimated 61 per cent. of the population within the KRG. This figure is 25 per cent. of the overall registered voters in Iraq. In addition a further 280,000 Iraqis registered to vote outside of Iraq. Figures on the number of people who are eligible to vote but not registered are not known. However, a comprehensive registration exercise was carried out in the six week period from 1 November to 15 December.

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