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27 Feb 2006 : Column 122W—continued
Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much is expected to be saved as a result of meeting the civil service workforce reductions targets for her Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review; and whether these savings count towards the agreed efficiency target for her Department set out in the Review. [52795]
Bridget Prentice: My Department has split delivery of its target headcount reductions of 1,100 full-time equivalents between the central department and Her Majesty's Courts Service. The former strand is expected to deliver savings of £9 million in 2007–08 as a result of achieving 300 of the 1,100 full-time equivalent reductions set out in the 2004 Spending Review. These savings count towards the agreed £292 million target described therein. The remaining 800 full-time equivalent reductions are to be delivered by Her Majesty's Courts Service, and the savings from these form part of the £41 million target they will contribute to the overall total by 31 March 2008.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much of the agreed efficiency target for her Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review is to be cashable; and under what budget headings these cashable efficiency savings will be re-spent. [52830]
Bridget Prentice: Of the efficiency target for my Department of £292 million, set out in the 2004 Spending Review, £57 million will be in cashable savings.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what total efficiency savings were achieved by her Department in 2004–05; and whether these count towards the agreed efficiency target for her Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review. [52860]
Bridget Prentice:
My Department agreed, in the 2004 Spending Review, an efficiency target of £292 million to be achieved in 2007–08. We will deliver savings in earlier years as we build up to this level. No savings prior to the 2004 Spending Review period count towards this.
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Trials
Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what processes are in place for the Crown Prosecution Service, police and other criminal justice agencies to discuss agendas and dates for trials. [54142]
Ms Harman: Listing is a judicial function and dates tend to be discussed and agreed in court in consultation with a list officer. The aim is to list cases as early as possible but so that the parties are given enough time to prepare properly. Listing has to balance a number of conflicting demands and any representations made by a party will be considered on their merits. There are mechanisms in place locally to enable representatives from the criminal justice agencies to meet regularly to discuss any concerns they may have associated with listing practices.
Voting Rights
Ms Diana R. Johnson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the planned consultation document on prisoners' voting rights will cover the position of mental health patients detained under the criminal justice system. [53245]
Ms Harman: No decision has yet been taken on the detailed contents of the consultation paper on the voting rights of prisoners within the UK, following the judgment of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights on 6 October 2005.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
A380 Airbus
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the UK's share is of the costs of the A380 Airbus initiative; and what estimate he has made of the number of jobs for UK citizens this initiative has (a) created and (b) safeguarded (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas. [53230]
Alun Michael: The Government committed support of £530 million in repayable launch investment for the design and development of the wings for the A3 80 by Airbus UK. In addition, the Government committed support of £250 million in repayable launch investment for the design and development of the Trent 600 and 900 engines by Rolls-Royce—the Trent 900 engine powers the A380.
The original estimate of the number of jobs created both directly and indirectly by the A380 project was 22,000. It was also estimated that it would help to safeguard the 62,000 Airbus-related jobs in the UK. A further 7,000 jobs were to be safeguarded by the investment in the Trent 900.
Today, Airbus employs a total of 55,000 people with 13,000 of those jobs at Airbus UK. Rolls-Royce employs a total of 36,000 people with 21,000 of those jobs in the UK.
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ACPO 2004 International Police Conference and Exhibition
Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications were made for trade licences in connection with the ACPO 2004 International Police Conference and Exhibition held at the NEC Birmingham on 11 to 13 May 2004; and how many were granted. [51397]
Malcolm Wicks: No trade licence applications were received, and no licences were therefore issued, in connection with the ACPO 2004 International Police Conference and Exhibition.
Arms Export Controls
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of arms exports controls. [52176]
Malcolm Wicks: In line with Cabinet Office guidance on Better Regulation, the Government will be carrying out a review of the controls implemented under the Export Control Act 2002 three years after the date they came into force, i.e. in 2007.
Auditing
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2001 on the quality of the auditing of companies. [51510]
Mr. Sutcliffe: None. However, the Audit Inspection Unit (AIU) reporting to the Professional Oversight Board for Accountancy (POBA), a Board of the Financial Reporting Council, monitors the audits of listed and other public interest entities.
In June 2005 the POBA published the Audit Inspection Unit's findings from its monitoring of the quality of the auditing function of the Big Four firms.
British Nuclear Group
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his plans for the British Nuclear Group. [50329]
Barry Gardiner [holding answer 9 February 2006]: BNFL has publicly confirmed its wish to sell British Nuclear Group. Ministers are currently considering that proposal in parallel with considering the draft strategy recently submitted to them by the NDA. A further statement will be made in due course.
Burma
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice the Government gives to companies intending to trade with Burma. [52216]
Ian Pearson:
The Government do not encourage trade with or investment in Burma. Nor do we offer any commercial services for companies wanting to do business with Burma. We do not give financial support for trade promotion activities and we do not organise trade missions. As my right hon. Friend the Prime
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Minister stated on 25 June 2003, trade with Burma is not appropriate when the regime continues to suppress the basic human rights of its people.
John Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the value of imports from Burma
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into the UK in November and December 2005, broken down by type. [52467]
Ian Pearson: Information on the UK's imports of goods from Burma by product in November and December 2005 is given in the following table.
nes=not elsewhere specified
Source:
HM Revenue and Customs Overseas Trade Statistics (OTS1)
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