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30 Oct 2006 : Column 80W—continued
Diaries/Memoirs
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to request (a) Cabinet Ministers and (b) all other Ministers to disclose publicly whether they are keeping a diary with a view to publication. [97182]
The Prime Minister: Guidance relating to the publication of memoirs is set out in the Ministerial Code.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister how many manuscripts of memoirs were submitted to the Cabinet Secretary in each year since 1997; and how many of them were cleared without any amendment of the text being requested in each year. [97336]
The Prime Minister: As my answer to my hon. Friend of 12 October 2006, Official Report, column 862W, made clear, any discussions between an author and the Cabinet Office on a draft manuscript are confidential.
Iraq
Harry Cohen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to oppose a change of Prime Minister in Iraq. [98108]
The Prime Minister: Prime Minister al-Maliki and his Government have our full support. They were chosen by the democratically elected Iraqi Parliament, under the permanent new Iraqi Constitution, which was overwhelmingly endorsed by a national referendum last year.
Ministerial Meetings
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister when he last met General Richard Dannatt; and what matters were discussed. [97221]
The Prime Minister: My officials and I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a wide range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
Ministerial Statements
Mr. Amess: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to issue written Ministerial statements announcing changes to Ministerial posts and personnel; and if he will make a statement. [97869]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) on 23 June 2003, Official Report, column 616W.
Deputy Prime Minister
Departmental Staff
Mr. Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the pay grades are of the staff in his Department. [96402]
The Deputy Prime Minister: Two of my staff are Senior Civil Servants. The remainder are in a range of grades from Administrative Officer to Grade 6.
Diplomatic Gifts
Mr. Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what gifts purchased with public funds he has given to foreign dignitaries in each of the last nine years; what the (a) name of the recipient, (b) nature of the gift and (c) approximate value of the gift was in each case; and if he will make a statement. [95122]
Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when gifts have been given to overseas dignitaries at public cost by his Office in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code at paragraph 10.19; to whom such gifts were given; what the gifts were; what the value of each gift was; and whether gifts were offered in exchange in each case. [96858]
The Deputy Prime Minister: It would not be appropriate to provide details of gifts and their cost as to do so could cause offence and discourtesy.
Overseas Visits
Mr. Maples: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister who is accompanying him at public expense on his forthcoming trip to the Far East; how he will travel on each part of the journey; what the estimated cost is to public funds of the trip for all those travelling; whether he will be entertained at any stage by an (a) private individual and (b) organisation in connection with his official duties; and what the objectives of the trip are. [97477]
The Deputy Prime Minister: Details of the cost of overseas travel undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more are published annually. Information for 2005-06 was published on 24 July 2006. Copies of the lists are available in the Library for the reference of Members.
All Ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the “Ministerial Code” and “Travel by Ministers”, copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members. All official travel is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the “Civil Service Management Code”, a copy of which is also available in the Library for the reference of Members.
Trade and Industry
Airbus
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library the minutes of his meeting of 23 October 2006 with the head of (a) Airbus UK and (b) EADS on the future role of UK plants involved in the production of the Airbus A350. [97613]
Margaret Hodge: Details of the discussions with the co-CEOs of EADs on 23 October 2006 are commercially confidential.
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what undertakings he has been given by (a) Airbus UK and (b) EADS on preserving the jobs of Airbus employees in Wales. [97614]
Margaret Hodge: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced at the press conference following the Airbus ministerial meeting at the Farnborough Airshow on 17 July 2006 that
"...EADS, in principle, have agreed: 1—that the original undertakings regarding UK industrial workshare given by EADS to the UK when Airbus was formed in 2000, will survive any shareholding sale;..."
On 12 October, the co-CEOs of EADS confirmed to us that they would respect these undertakings.
The Government are working hard to safeguard British interests and will remain in close contact with EADS and Airbus as they work through the implications of ensuring that Airbus remains competitive.
Animal Experiments
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what Government funded research is undertaken at Long Than monkey farm and testing centre in Vietnam; and if he will make a statement. [95482]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 23 October 2006]: No UK Government funded research is undertaken at Long Than monkey farm and testing centre in Vietnam.
Balance of Payments
Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the annual balance of payments surplus or deficit is for (a) each of the English regions, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales. [97202]
Mr. Darling: Regional statistics are not available on a balance of payments basis.
HM Revenue and Customs publish regional data on international trade in goods. Their latest figures for 2005, combining European Union and non-EU trade on an overseas trade statistics basis, are:
| £ million | |||
| Exports of goods | Imports of goods | Difference | |
These data exclude internal UK trade between regions and countries.
Partial figures for regional exports of services are included in the DTFs annual publication ‘Regional Competitiveness and State of the Regions’. Regional figures for imports of services or for other components of the balance of payments current account are not available.
Carbon Capture
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with Commissioner Piebalgs on European Commission proposals to require all new coal-fired power plants built in the European Union to be designated to allow retrofit of carbon capture technologies. [96128]
Malcolm Wicks: None. There are currently no European Commission proposals to require all new coal fired plants built in the European Union to be made ‘capture ready’.
Construction Industry
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the construction industry of delays in utility companies carrying out the required work at new developments. [96720]
Margaret Hodge: The Department has not made such an assessment.
Corus
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with (a) Corus and (b) Tata Industries in respect of (i) the proposed takeover of Corus and (ii) its potential effects on Corus steel plants in the UK. [97701]
Margaret Hodge: There have been no meetings with either party to discuss these issues. My officials have been keeping in close touch with developments. As the takeover proposal is now a matter for Corus’s shareholders we do not plan to hold any meetings with the companies at this stage.
Counterfeit DVDs
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment he has made of the effect upon legitimate traders of the illegal trade in DVDs; and if he will make a statement. [96485]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Although the Government have not made a recent assessment of the specific effect of DVD piracy, we recognise that there is a significant effect on legitimate traders and consumers from counterfeiting and piracy in general. In order to ensure a joined up industry and Government response to counterfeiting and piracy, the Government launched the National IP Crime Strategy in 2004. The Annual Enforcement Report, published by the Patent Office, sets out the range of action being taken by Government and industry bodies to tackle this problem.
Departmental Expenditure
Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much his Department spent on (a) the Employment Tribunals Service, (b) the Insolvency Service, (c) the Patent Office, (d) the National Weights and Measures Laboratory and (e) Companies House; and if he will make a statement. [96626]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 24 October 2006]: In 2005-06 the Department's expenditure on the Employment Tribunals Service was £69.023 million, on the Insolvency Service £24.048 million and on the National Weights and Measures Laboratory £2.285 million. The figures for the latter two organisations reflect the Department's contribution, not the full cost of these bodies, which are partly funded by charges for their services.
Companies House and the Patent Office are trading funds, and in the case of the Patent Office its costs are entirely covered by fee income. The only funding provided by the Department for Companies House was £3.600 million to cover the costs of collecting late filing penalties. All other Companies House costs are met by fee income.
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