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9 Oct 2007 : Column 553W—continued
Sudan: Politics and Government
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government have taken to ensure participation of the people of eastern Sudan in the national executive, legislature, judiciary organs, civil service and other institutions and commissions at both national and state levels in accordance with Chapter 1 of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement; and what progress has been made in this regard. [153882]
Meg Munn: The government of Sudan has appointed Eastern Front (EF) representatives to posts including an assistant to the President, a presidential adviser and a Minister of State. The EF's candidates took up their positions in August. In June 2006, eight government members of the National Parliament resigned to make way for the EF Members of Parliament. EF representatives have also been appointed to state level governments both in the east and in Khartoum state.
The Civil Service Commission called for by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was only formed in August this year. The EF have not yet provided nominations to this and other CPA Commissions.
Our embassy in Khartoum discussed implementation of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA) with assistant to the President ,Musa Muhammad Ahmad of the EF, on 1 October. They made clear our support for the ESPA and the need to see both sides fully to implement its provisions, including those on power-sharing.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the implementation of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement has ensured transparency in appropriate sharing of financial resources across all states through the fiscal and financial allocation and monitoring commission. [153883]
Meg Munn:
The Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement does not include any provisions on wealth sharing
between Khartoum and the eastern states, although it has established a Reconstruction and Development Fund for Eastern Sudan.
Fiscal relations between the federal and state governments in Sudan are covered in the Wealth Sharing Protocol of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The UK monitors the implementation of the Protocol, and the activities of the Fiscal and Financial Allocation and Monitoring Commission (FFAMC) set up to carry this out, through its participation in the Wealth Sharing Group of the CPA Assessment and Evaluation Commission.
The FFAMC proposed a revised formula for the allocation of revenue which was adopted for the 2007 federal budget. This new formula should result in the more equitable allocation of resources, although evidence to date shows that there are still some discrepancies between budgeted and actual transfers.
The UK continues to monitor the new arrangements for wealth sharing and to work with others, including the World Bank, to bring about fiscal reform across Sudan.
Ukraine: Entry Clearances
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what rationale supported the decision to require applications from Ukraine for settlement in the UK to be submitted by appointment only. [154508]
Dr. Howells: The visa section in Kiev took the decision to introduce an appointment system for settlement visa applications in order to manage more effectively the number of applications received per day.
The number of settlement visa appointments has been set at seven per day from 1 October. This will improve customer service by providing pre-arranged appointment times for applicants who will no longer be subject to unpredictable waiting times at the visa section.
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what minimum notice period may be given of appointments to submit applications for settlement in the UK from Ukraine. [154509]
Dr. Howells: There is currently a minimum six-day notice period for appointments to submit an application for settlement in the UK from Ukraine.
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration is given to the distances that have to be travelled to attend appointments, when giving notice of appointments to submit applications for settlement in the UK from Ukraine. [154510]
Dr. Howells: If an applicant for a settlement visa to the UK from the Ukraine is unable to attend their appointment due to the distance they need to travel they are able to book a new appointment. This will not affect the outcome of their visa application.
Communities and Local Government
Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund: Grants
Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what investigations took place into the activities of the (a) Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, (b) the New Kadempa Tradition and (c) Soka Gakkai International before the Department took the final decision to grant funds to each organisation from the Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund. [156700]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department considered information received from the Information Network Focus on religious movements who provide objective information to Government relating to minority religious groups before agreeing that the funding could be released.
Audit Commission: Teammate International Forum
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) cost and (b) purpose was of the Audit Commission attending the Teammate International Forum in Tampa, Florida in November 2006. [155716]
Mr. Iain Wright: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and 1 will ask the Chief Executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member directly.
Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 4 October 2007:
I am writing in response to your parliamentary question asking what the (a) cost and (b) purpose was of the Audit Commission attending the Teammate International Forum in Tampa, Florida.
The Audit Commission sent two delegates to the TeamMate International Forum at a total cost of £1,912.
TeamMate is the Commission’s electronic working paper software and is fundamental to our core business. It is a proprietary product marketed around the globe by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The Commission is the single largest user of this application worldwide. Every two years PwC organises an international users’ conference.
The principal purpose of our attendance at the conference was to maintain up-to-date knowledge of how the product is being used elsewhere and planned future developments of the software. The secondary purpose was to network with other users to learn from them and ensure we keep our audit tools as efficient as possible. Attendance at the event also gives us an opportunity to influence the future development of the product to meet our developing business needs.
A copy of this letter will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
Buildings: Energy
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued on whether the forthcoming requirement for buildings over 1,000 square metres to display an energy certificate and advisory report applies to (a) churches and places of worship, (b) train stations, (c) venues licensed under the Licensing Act 2003 for the sale of alcohol and (d) care homes; and if she will make a statement. [153817]
Yvette Cooper: The Display Energy Certificate requirement will apply to buildings over 1,000 sq m that are occupied by a public authority or an institution providing a public service to a large number of persons. We are continuing to work with key stakeholders and will publish further guidance in due course.
Buildings: Standards
Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what assessment she has made of the merits of changing the building regulations to require all new build homes to be built to lifetime home standards; [155968]
(2) what assessment she has made of the merits of requiring 10 per cent. of all new build housing to be wheelchair accessible throughout. [155969]
Mr. Iain Wright: The costs and benefits of lifetime homes, which include wheelchair accessibility, are set out in the Department’s consultation document “The future of the Code for Sustainable Homes—making a rating mandatory” published on 23 July 2007 with a closing date for comment of 23 October 2007. The document proposes making lifetime homes standards mandatory within the code at progressively lower levels of the code over time.
There is currently no proposal to change the building regulations to require all new build homes to be built to lifetime home standards. However, the Government have stated, in its response to Kate Barker’s report on Housing Supply, that
“It is very important that there is progress on increasing take up of the lifetime homes standard. The Government will monitor take up and review the future need for regulation if appropriate.”
Casinos: Planning Permission
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning appeals relating to casinos or with a casino element have been considered by (a) the Planning Inspectorate and (b) the First Secretary of State since November 2005. [155686]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Secretary of State has not decided any planning applications that have included a casino element since November 2005. In the same period, the Planning Inspectorate have decided eight appeals for developments with a casino element, of which five have been allowed and three dismissed. Details of these can be found in the following tables.
| Appeals involving casinos decided since 1 November 2005 by The Planning Inspectorate | |
| Decision | Number |
| Note: Data as at 3 October 2007. Ref: 294-07-08 Source: PINS SIU Data Mart | |
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether concerns over problem gambling may be considered as a material factor when assessing a planning application for a casino. [155697]
Mr. Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Housing and Planning (Yvette Cooper) on 16 April 2007, Official Report, column 268W.
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