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9 July 2008 : Column 1654W—continued
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Financial Secretary’s statement of 14 May 2008, Official Report, column 1474, on vehicle excise duty, what assumptions his Department made of the breakdown of annual carbon dioxide savings between 2010 to 2020 in making the forecast of a 1.3 million tonnes carbon dioxide emission saving by 2020. [207309]Angela Eagle: The Government’s current calculation is that the contribution made by VED to delivering the proposed EU regulation on new car CO2 will amount to a cumulative total of around 1.3 million tonnes of CO2 by 2020. This is an estimate produced from modelling based on an econometric study by Economics for the Environment Consultancy (EFTEC), published in December 2007.
Sequestration of Assets: Iran
Mr. Hague: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount of funds in the UK is frozen in accordance with Council Decision 2008/475/EC of 23 June 2008 concerning restrictive measures against Iran. [217310]
Kitty Ussher: All funds belonging to, owned, held or controlled by Bank Melli Iran and its subsidiaries and branches, including Melli Bank plc., in the UK are frozen in accordance with Council Decision 2008/475/EC of 23 June 2008. We do not provide details of individual entities’ funds, whether they are natural or legal persons, as this would breach their confidentiality.
Sequestration of Assets: UN Resolutions
Mr. Hague: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount of funds in the UK is frozen in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution (a) 1737 (2006), (b) 1747 (2007) and (c) 1803 (2008). [217311]
Kitty Ussher: All funds belonging to, owned, held or controlled by Bank Sepah Iran and Bank Sepah International plc. in the UK are frozen in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007) and 1803 (2008). No other entities designated by these measures hold funds in the UK. We do not provide details of individual entities’ funds, whether they are natural or legal persons, as this would breach their confidentiality.
Since the introduction of these measures, HM Treasury has licensed payments out of the frozen funds in accordance with the exemptions provided in the UN Security Council resolutions.
Social Security Benefits: Elderly
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated annual cost to the Exchequer was of people over 65 years of age being (a) on benefits and (b) drawing pensions in the last period for which figures are available. [213603]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
Benefits paid by the Department for Work and Pensions in 2007-08 to people aged 65 and over were (a) £21.45 billion in benefits other than the state pension and (b) £51.16 billion for the state pension. Information on other costs to the Exchequer (administration costs) is not available.
Source:
Departmental Accounting and statistical data
Figures are rounded to the nearest £10 million and are consistent with figures for expenditure directed at people over working age in table 5 of the expenditure tables available at the following link:
The difference is that the aforementioned figures exclude expenditure directed at people aged 60 to 64.
The figures relate to those benefits for which DWP has policy responsibility and therefore only cover Great
Britain (except for Over 75 TV Licences, included in the total at (a), where the annual cost also covers Northern Ireland).
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
African Union: Zimbabwe
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the African Union to recommend the suspension of Zimbabwe from that body. [215331]
Meg Munn: We will continue to talk to both the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community at both official and ministerial level about how best to resolve the situation, but ultimately it is a decision for the AU as to whether they decide to suspend Zimbabwe from the Union.
Caribbean Community: Montserrat
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has agreed to the request of the Chief Minister of Montserrat for the island’s accession to the Caribbean community single market and economy. [215594]
Meg Munn: I wrote to the Chief Minister of Montserrat on 12 June 2008 responding to his Government’s request to join the Caribbean Community Single Market and Economy. Given the recognised internal capacity constraints in Montserrat, I explained that it would be more appropriate to focus on the key economic priorities identified in the new Montserrat Sustainable Development Plan, rather than prepare for the Caribbean Community Single Market and Economy. The Sustainable Development Plan is more likely to support Montserrat’s aim of economic self-sufficiency. I suggested to the Chief Minister that the Government of Montserrat defer the question of accession for two years or until such time as levels of economic activity and capacity are sufficiently enhanced to enable Montserrat to be able to take full advantage of the benefits of membership. I also offered to discuss these issues in more detail with Chief Minister Lewis when he visits London for the Overseas Territories Consultative Council in October.
China: Olympic Games
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Chinese Government on restrictions imposed on Tibetans during the parade of the Olympic torch in Lhasa. [215503]
Meg Munn: We are aware that the Olympic torch passed through Lhasa on 21 June. While the passage of the Olympic torch through any country is a matter for the authorities there, we have made clear to the Chinese authorities our view that people should be able to express their political and religious views peacefully.
We have discussed the issue of Tibet with the Chinese Government at the highest levels since the unrest there
in March, including when my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met the Chinese Foreign Minister on 12 June in Paris.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on (a) new capital investment in and (b) refurbishment of departmental property in (i) each UK overseas post and (ii) the UK since 2002. [216308]
David Miliband: Details of the total capital investment including major refurbishment on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) estate are listed in the annual Departmental Report.
The following table lists the figures published in previous Departmental Reports for investment in the estate for financial years 2002-03 to 2006-07. Figures for financial year 2007-08 will be published in the 2008-09 Departmental Report.
Budgets for minor refurbishment to our overseas estate are devolved to posts. As this information is not held centrally, the FCO would incur a disproportionate cost in providing figures for expenditure on capital investment and refurbishment by posts.
| £ million | ||
| Financial year | UK | Overseas |
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many permanent staff in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies are classed as (i) staff without posts and (ii) part of a people action team. [215572]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) operates a corporate pool, which comprises staff without a permanent position, staff on maternity leave and staff on long-term sick leave. All staff in the corporate pool, other than those on maternity leave and long-term sick leave, are available for temporary deployment in the UK. They can also be deployed overseas to assist, for example, with consular support following natural disasters or emergencies.
On 1 June 2008 there were 212 staff (4.1 per cent. of the UK civil servants in the FCO) in the corporate pool. All but 11 of these staff were temporarily deployed filling short-term vacancies or working on corporate projects.
The FCO does not use the term “people action team”.
Departmental Official Hospitality
David Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2007, Official Report, column 216W, on Departmental official hospitality, when he
expects the list of hospitality received by senior civil servants in his Department in 2007 to be published. [215254]
Meg Munn: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster gave to him on 7 May 2008, Official Report, column 885W.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by special advisers in his Department in each of the last 10 years. [215233]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office paid the amounts shown as follows to special advisers in reimbursable expenses in the calendar years 2005 to 2008. We do not hold in our central records details of expense claims submitted before 2005.
| Amounts paid to special advisors (£) | |
Departmental Planning Permission
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) planning applications and (b) licensing applications his Department has submitted in the last 24 months. [215536]
Meg Munn: In the UK, the following planning applications have been made in the last 24 months:
adaptations to the entrance to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) main building, King Charles Street;
façade works to both the main building and the Old Admiralty Building;
alterations to the third floor of the Old Admiralty Building; and
works to the first floor heating at Lancaster House.
In addition, a number of planning applications have been submitted by agents/contractors acting on our behalf, both in the UK and overseas. To report on each of these applications would require making enquiries with all of our agents/contractors and would incur a disproportionate cost.
In the UK, the FCO has made four licence applications in the last 24 months; one each year for the main building and our Hanslope Park site. License applications overseas are not held centrally and would incur a disproportionate cost to compile.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 23 June 2008, Official Report, column 75W, on departmental public expenditure, what net effect foreign exchange movements had on his Department's budget in each year from 2001-02 to 2007-08. [216294]
David Miliband: Adjustments to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) budget to take account of the net effect of foreign exchange rate movements and overseas inflation—overseas price mechanism (OPM)—are made in supplementary estimates and are set out in the following table:
| OPM adjustment (£ 000) | |||||||
| FCO | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
| Note: Negative figures in table indicate that the FCO returned money to the Reserve | |||||||
Because of the timing of the Spring Supplementary Estimates, they can only take account of changes known as at December in the year concerned. Exchange rate and inflation changes for the rest of that financial year are accounted for in the following year's estimate. For that reason the figures above correspond more closely to the impact of OPM in the calendar, rather than financial, year. The FCO calculates that the effect of exchange rate changes and inflation on the FCO budget since the last Spring Supplementary Estimate is £28.9 million of which £22 million is due to exchange rate effects.
Departmental Television
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to what premium Sky, digital terrestrial or cable television channels (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies subscribes; and at what yearly cost in the most recent period for which figures are available. [215649]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold this information centrally and to respond would incur a disproportionate cost.
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