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19 Jun 2008 : Column 1102W—continued
Departmental Transport
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when each of his Department's and its agencies' green transport plans were introduced; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each such plan. [209416]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has had a Green Travel Procedure for commuting and business travel since March 2006. A copy of the Green Travel Procedure will be placed in the Library of the House.
Iran: Baha’i Faith
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Iranian authorities on the recent arrests of Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Neimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, members of the Iranian Baha'i community, on 14 May; and if he will make a statement. [212086]
Meg Munn: The Government are deeply concerned by the arrests of the informal Baha'i leadership in Tehran on 14 May and the ongoing persecution of the Iranian Baha'i community. On receiving reports of these arrests, and following a recommendation by the UK, the EU issued a public declaration on 21 May which reiterated the EU's serious concern about the harassment of Iranian Baha'is on the grounds of their religion and called on Iran to
“uphold fully the right to adopt and practise a religion of choice, to end the persecution of the Baha'i community, and to release the detained individuals”.
We will continue to raise this issue with the Iranian authorities and have recommended that the EU presidency should do so again in its next meeting with the Iranian authorities in Tehran.
We regularly raise our concerns about human rights, including the treatment of Baha'is in Iran, in our bilateral contacts with the Iranian authorities and through the EU. We raise human rights with the Government of Iran through the EU in order to emphasise that our concerns are shared across a range of countries
Malawi: Diplomatic Service
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the requirements of article 2(1)(a) of the Diplomatic Service Order in Council 1991 (a) have been or (b) will be made the subject of an exception under Schedule 2 of the Order in the case of the appointment of the right hon. Jack McConnell MSP as the next High Commissioner to Malawi. [212440]
Meg Munn: Mr. McConnell’s appointment will be made under the terms of Article 2(2) and Schedule 2(2) of the Diplomatic Service Order in Council 1991, which expressly allow exceptions to the normal method of appointment.
Papua: Politics and Government
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters relating to West Papua he plans to discuss with the President of Indonesia during his forthcoming visit to Jakarta; and if he will make a statement. [212390]
Meg Munn: Unfortunately, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had to postpone his proposed visit to Indonesia.
Republic of Ireland: Treaty of Lisbon
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) the Irish Government and (b) other EU member state governments on whether the Irish Republic may be given special dispensation not to sign the Lisbon treaty. [212259]
Mr. Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made a statement to the House on 16 June on the result of the referendum in Ireland on the Lisbon treaty. The statement followed discussions with his counterparts at the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council in Luxembourg on the same day.
There will be a meeting of the European Council from 19 to 20 June.
Treasury
Council Tax: Valuation
Robert Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 12 May 2008, Official Report, column 1425W, on council tax: valuation; what data sources are used to value newly built homes for council tax purposes. [211655]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the then Minister for Local Government the hon. Member for Oldham, East and Saddleworth (Mr. Woolas) to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 28 March 2007, Official Report, columns 1596-97W.
Robert Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research (a) his Department and (b) the Valuation Office Agency have commissioned on council tax revaluation in the last 12 months from (i) within his Department and its agencies and (ii) external bodies. [211923]
Jane Kennedy: No such research has been commissioned.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid in end-of-year performance bonuses to (a) all staff and (b) staff at senior civil service level in (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies in the 2007-08 financial year; and how many payments were made. [207474]
Angela Eagle: The information requested is set out in the following table.
| Department | Total bonuses (£000) | Of which senior civil service (£000) | Number of payments |
Financial Services and Markets Act 1999: Human Rights
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the Law Officers' advice on the compatibility of the Financial Services and Markets Act 1999 with the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998. [211943]
Kitty Ussher: There is a long-standing convention, followed by successive Governments, that the Government do not disclose whether the Law Officers have been consulted nor does it disclose the content of Law Officers' advice.
Gateway Review
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Government projects received (a) a red and (b) an amber/red rating in Gateway reviews in each of the last five years. [211787]
Angela Eagle: The Gateway status, for this period, consisted of red, amber and green—“amber/red” was not a Gateway rating. From January 2003 to the end of December 2007 the following number of projects received red or amber reports from Gateway reviews carried out by the OGC:
| Number of projects with red reviews | Number of projects with amber reviews | |
Home Information Packs
Robert Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether home information packs have been commissioned by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies to market a residential property. [211930]
Angela Eagle: The Treasury, the Debt Management Office and the Office of Government Commerce have no departmental residential properties.
Housing: Valuation
Robert Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 7 May 2008, Official Report, column 913W, on housing: valuation, what process was used to calculate the geographical dimensions of each locality. [211667]
Jane Kennedy: Geographical dimensions of localities were and are not calculated. I refer the Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 19 June 2006, Official Report, columns 1600-01W.
Mortgages: Repossession Orders
Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many home repossessions there were in each London borough in each year since 1997. [210274]
Kitty Ussher: The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) publishes the total numbers of properties taken into possession, available at:
National Insurance Contributions
Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what circumstances Class 1 national insurance contributions that have not been paid are treated as having been paid for the purposes of calculating entitlement to additional state pension. [212311]
Jane Kennedy: Social Security legislation prescribes that unpaid primary Class 1 national insurance contributions (NICs) are treated as paid, for the purpose of entitlement to contributory benefits only (including additional state pension), where it is established that
the primary Class 1 NICs should have been paid by a secondary contributor (usually the employer); and
the failure to pay was not with the consent of the employee or due to any negligence on the part of the employee.
National Land and Property Gazetteer
Robert Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many dwellings in England have a National Land and Property Gazetteer-derived Unique Property Reference Number according to the Valuation Office Agency records. [211921]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Minister for Local Government to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar, on 15 May 2008, Official Report, column 1686W.
Public Sector: Pay
Mr. Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's policy on public sector pay increases in the 2008 round is; what the maximum permissible increase is; and if he will make a statement. [210361]
Yvette Cooper: The Government's policy is that public sector pay settlements should reflect the individual labour market position of work forces, be consistent with achievement of the Government's CPI inflation target of 2 per cent., be affordable and represent value for money for taxpayers.
Tax Collection: Standards
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what training staff of HM Revenue and Customs are given in applying the Taxpayer's Charter; [212428]
(2) when the Taxpayer's Charter was last reviewed. [212429]
Jane Kennedy: In the past, both Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise arranged separate training for their staff. The Chancellor announced in the last Budget that HMRC will work with interested parties to develop a new taxpayers' charter. This new charter will articulate to staff what is expected of them, helping to reinforce new customer focused working practices. HMRC are currently identifying the training needs necessary to achieve essential culture change.
The final consultation document on the scope of the charter was published today and is available on the HMRC website at:
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channels PortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_ ConsultationDocuments&propertyType=document&columns= 1&id=HMCE_PROD1_028675
Taxation: Official Residences
Robert Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 6 May 2008, Official Report, column 796W, on official residences: income tax, what the policy of HM Revenue and Customs is on the income tax liability on the benefit in kind of providing a free ministerial residence to a person who is not a Minister of the Crown; and whether guidance has been issued on this matter. [211669]
Jane Kennedy: The tax rules which apply when someone is provided with accommodation because of his or her office or employment are the same for persons occupying free ministerial residences as for other accommodation. HM Revenue and Customs has not issued any guidance on the tax liability of the use of official ministerial residences.
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