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30 Oct 2006 : Column 240W—continued
| Gross weekly (constant price £) pay for employee jobs( a) by place of work—Peterborough | ||||||||
| £ | ||||||||
| Median | Mean | |||||||
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time | Part-time | |||||
| male | female | male | female | male | female | male | female | |
| (a) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. (b) In 2004 additional supplementary surveys were introduced to improve the coverage of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Figures are presented both excluding and including the additional surveys for comparison purposes. Note: Constant price terms have been uprated using the Retail Prices Index (RPI), re-based at April 2006. Guide to quality The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent., we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220. Key CV <= 5 per cent. * CV >5 per cent. and <=10 per cent. ** CV > 10 per cent. and <=20 per cent. X CV > 20 per cent. The median replaces the mean as the headline statistic. The weighted mean is the sum of the weighted values divided by the sum of the weights. The median is the value below which 50 per cent. of employees fall. It is preferred over the mean for earnings data as it is influenced less by extreme values and because of the skewed distribution of earnings data. Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics. | ||||||||
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations have been made to the government of Pakistan on the alleged supply route of Taliban fighters across the Pakistan border with Afghanistan. [95353]
Margaret Beckett: This issue was last discussed when my right. hon. Friend the Prime Minister met President Musharraf on 28 September. President Musharraf assured my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister that he was determined to deal with the Taliban and reduce the level of activity across the border into Afghanistan.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the (a) implications and (b) likely effect of the recent peace initiative between the Government of Pakistan and tribal leaders of Waziristan on the insurgency in Afghanistan. [95354]
Margaret Beckett: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, (Dr. Howells), gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Harry Cohen) on 20 October 2006, Official Report, column 1517W.
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimates have been made by her Department of whether the cultivation of poppies in Afghanistan has increased or diminished in each year since NATO’s military intervention. [97536]
Dr. Howells: The International Security Assistance Force is not itself directly engaged in counter-narcotics, but it has an important role to play in supporting the Afghan counter-narcotics effort by securing the future stability of Afghanistan and creating the environment in which counter-narcotics activities can have greatest impact. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime conducts an annual survey into the level of opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. According to the survey, the estimated volume of opium cultivation in each of the last four years was as follows:
| Hectares | |
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are for the renewal of the mandate of the European peacekeeping force in Bosnia beyond November 2006; and if she will make a statement. [97367]
Mr. Hoon: The EU peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Operation Althea, is mandated by Chapter VII United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1575 (2004) and 1639 (2005). This mandate is due for renewal in November 2006.
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of progress on the reform process in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and if she will make a statement. [97360]
Mr. Hoon: There has been limited progress on reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) this year. Significant progress before the elections on 1 October was unlikely, but as I made clear in my statement to the press of 2 October, it is important that the reform process is now resumed so that BiH can continue its process of normalisation and move closer towards the EU and NATO. Constitutional reform and implementing the necessary reforms to conclude the Stabilisation and Association Agreement should be the top priorities for BiH in the coming months. The full text of the 2 October statement is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391629&a=KArticle&aid=1159195053928%20&year=2006&month=2006-10-01&date=2006-10-02.
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are for the closure of the UN Office of the High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and if she will make a statement. [97361]
Mr. Hoon: At its meeting on 22-23 June 2006, the steering board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) agreed that the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina should begin preparations to close on 30 June 2007. This decision will be subject to final review and confirmation in February 2007, to take into account the domestic and regional situations before closure goes ahead. The PIC reaffirmed its commitment to this decision at its meeting on 19-20 October 2006.
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are for the role of the EU in Bosnia-Herzegovina after the closure of the UN Office of the High Representative; and if she will make a statement. [97362]
Mr. Hoon:
On 17 October 2006, the General Affairs Council of the EU welcomed the report of the Secretary-General/High Representative and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement on a reinforced EU presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) following the planned closure of the Office of the High Representative in June 2007. This report recommends that the future EU Special Representative (EUSR) will play a central coordinating role amongst the international community in BiH. We expect that the future EUSR will be mandated to engage with BiH politicians and other interlocutors in order to facilitate the reform process and help to maintain peace and stability. The European Union Force in BiH, the EU
peacekeeping mission in BiH and the EU Police Mission will also remain engaged in BiH.
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the progress made in police restructuring in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and if she will make a statement. [97363]
Mr. Hoon: There has been little progress towards the implementation of the October 2005 Agreement on Police Restructuring, which is a key condition for the conclusion of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU. This is largely because of obstruction by Republika Srpska (RS) politicians. As I made clear in my statement to the press of 2 October, it is imperative that progress is made in the coming months. I raised the matter with both RS President, Dragan Cavic, and RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, when I met them in London on 7 June and 25 July 2006. The full text of the 2 October statement is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391629&a=KArticle&aid=1159195053928%20&year=2006&month=2006-10-01&date=2006-10-02.
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are to change the number of EU-led peacekeeping forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and if she will make a statement. [97364]
Mr. Hoon: The EU's Operational Commander for Operation Althea, the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, General Sir John Reith, has submitted his six monthly mission review to the EU Political and Security Committee (PSC). This review contains recommendations for the restructuring of Operation Althea, including options for a reduction of the number of troops in theatre. The Operational Commander's proposed changes will be reviewed by the PSC and EU Military Committee before being submitted to the General Affairs and External Relations Council for a decision.
British Council
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what contracts have been awarded by the British Council to (a) Hobsbawm Macaulay Public Relations, (b) HMC Public Relations and (c) Brunswick Arts in each year since 1997; and what contracts are in place with each of these companies; [96643]
(2) what services have been provided to the British Council by (a) Hobsbawm Macaulay Public Relations, (b) HMC Public Relations and (c) Brunswick Arts in each year since 1997; and what the purpose of such services was in each case. [96646]
Mr. Hoon:
The British Council has had no contracts with and received no services from Hobsbawm Macaulay Public Relations or HMC Public Relations. However, Hobsbawm Macaulay Communications Limited were employed to manage the Architecture of
Knowledge Colloquium in 1998 and Hobsbawm Media + Marketing Communications Limited to manage the promotion of the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale from May to June 2001.
Brunswick Arts International were employed to manage promotion of the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale from August to September 2004 and Brunswick Arts Consultancy Limited to support our UK arts promotion from February to April 2002, 1 June 2002 to 31 May 2003 and 1 August 2003 to 31 July 2004.
The British Council have informed us that they have had no further contracts or services with either Hobsbawm Macaulay Communications Limited, Hobsbawm Media + Marketing Communications Limited or Brunswick Arts Consultancy Limited since 2004.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what process was followed in selecting (a) Hobsbawm Macaulay Public Relations, (b) HMC Public Relations and (c) Brunswick Arts to work for the British Council; and what other companies tendered for the work in question. [96644]
Mr. Hoon: Hobsbawm Macaulay Public Relations and HMC Public Relations have never been employed by the British Council. The Council did however employ Hobsbawm Macaulay Communications Limited, Hobsbawm Media + Marketing Communications Limited and Brunswick Arts Consultancy Limited.
British Council staff members are required to follow corporate guidelines for procurement, which are in line with Government best practice. I will arrange for a copy of the British Council’s guidelines for procurement to be placed in the Library of the House.
On this occasion the British Council does not hold records of the other companies who were considered for this work.
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