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10 Nov 2008 : Column 885W—continued
Saudi Arabia: Education
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold discussions with the government of Saudi Arabia on means of ensuring that Saudi aid for peaceful educational programmes to Palestine is spent on such purposes. [229249]
Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary holds regular discussions with his Saudi counterparts on aid for the Palestinian Authority, including for educational programmes. The Saudi Arabian Government are one of the largest donors to the Palestinian Authority. We have no evidence to suggest that aid from the Saudi Arabian Government is being diverted to other purposes, and will continue to seek the most appropriate educational programmes to support financially. The British Council maintain offices in Jerusalem, Gaza City, Hebron, Khan Yunis, Nablus and Ramallah, and work closely with the UN Relief and Works Agency on projects throughout the Palestinian Territories. Both the British Council and Department For International Development work closely with the Palestinian Ministry of Education.
Shimon Peres
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has given advice on the award of an honour to Shimon Peres, President of the State of Israel; and if he will make a statement. [231550]
Bill Rammell: We do not comment on advice given on the award of honours or honorary awards.
Shura Council
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Saudi Arabia's Shura Council will next be invited to visit the United Kingdom. [231648]
Bill Rammell: A delegation from the Majlis ash Shura is welcome to visit the UK at any time. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office would be happy to offer assistance in accordance with the extent to which the visit helps our departmental strategic priorities. If the hon. Member is interested in organising such a visit he should liaise with the British embassy in Riyadh in good time.
Somalia: Politics and Government
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2007, Official Report, column 502W, on Somalia, what technical and advisory assistance has been provided to the government in Somalia by the UK since that date; and what assessment has been made of the impact of that assistance. [233080]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
The Department for International Development (DFID) provides no support directly to the Government of Somalia. DFID has been working through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other
donors to assist the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs), and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to implement the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC). This assistance has enabled the introduction of basic budgetary processes and public financial management (PFM) systems in Somalia and the development of a work plan for the drafting of Somalia’s new constitution.
The partnership with the UNDP also includes capacity building and technical assistance support to the Somaliland Government in the North West region of Somalia focused on public financial management and civil service reform.
UN Resolutions
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which resolutions the United Kingdom has (a) initiated, (b) co-sponsored and (c) voted for at the current session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York; and what the reasons are for the position taken by the Government in each case. [230242]
Gillian Merron: As at 30 October, the current, and 63rd, session of the UN General Assembly had passed six resolutions so far. Details of these resolutions can be found at
The UK did not initiate any of these resolutions. Four of the resolutions were passed by consensus without UK co-sponsorship and no vote was necessary. These four were:
Permanent memorial to and remembrance of the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade;
Scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations: requests under Article 19 of the Charter;
Outcome document of the midterm review of the Almaty Programme of Action: Addressing the Special Needs of Landlocked Developing Countries within a New Global Framework for Transit Transport Cooperation for Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries;
Political declaration on Africa's development needs.
On the fifth resolution, in relation to seeking an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence, the United Kingdom abstained from the vote, along with 73 other member states. The UK strongly supports the International Court of Justice, but questioned the utility of this request, believing it to be potentially destabilising for Kosovo, Serbia and the wider region.
The sixth resolution was on the Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The UK co-sponsored the resolution, and it passed without a vote.
Duchy of Lancaster
Charities: Lobbying
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance the Charity Commission has produced on registered charities sponsoring political parties to lobby for public policy changes relating to their charitable remits. [231333]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Commission to reply.
Letter from Andrew Hind, dated 28 October 2008:
As the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, I have been asked to respond to your written Parliamentary Question tabled for answer today.
The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. The commission produces guidance for charities regarding campaigning and political activity, which explains the legal position on this issue. The guidance is called Speaking Out and is available via our website at www.charitycommission.gov.uk. I have also enclosed a printed copy for ease of reference and arranged for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.
The guidance confirms that campaigning and political activity can be legitimate and valuable activities for charities to undertake. Charities may try to influence the policy of a political party in various ways. However, the guidance explains that “a charity must not give its support to any one political party”. The guidance further clarifies that “A charity cannot give financial support, or support in kind, to a political party”. A charity cannot therefore sponsor a political party by way of donations.
I hope this is helpful. If you have specific concerns about this issue, please do let me have the details so that the Commission can look into them.
Departmental Conditions of Employment
Mrs. May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what percentage of employees working in (a) the Prime Minister's and (b) the Leader of the House's office are (i) on a flexible working contract, (ii) on a job-share employment contract and (iii) work from home for more than four hours a week; [233859]
(2) what percentage of employees in (a) the Prime Minister's Office and (b) the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons (i) are on a flexible working contract, (ii) are on a job-share employment contract and (iii) work from home for more than four hours a week. [234409]
Mr. Watson: The Prime Minister's and the Leader of the House's office form part of the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office is committed to and actively supports flexible working. The Cabinet Office's flexible working policy promotes a positive work life balance, values diversity and meets the needs of a 24/7 operationally active Department through offering different working patterns.
Information on what percentage of employees working (i) on flexible working contracts, (ii) on a job-share employment contract and (iii) from home for more than four hours a week is not held centrally. Units in Cabinet Office hold this information separately. This information would be available only at a disproportionate cost.
Employment
Mr. Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the oral answer from the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell of 20 October 2008, Official Report, column 4, on labour statistics, how many (a) British born and (b) migrant workers were in employment (i) in October 2006 and (ii) on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [234060]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Mike Hughes, dated November 2008:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking pursuant to the Oral Answer to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell of 20th October 2008, Official Report, column 4, on labour statistics, how many (a) British born and (b) emigrant workers were in employment (i) in October 2006 and (ii) on the latest date for which figures are available, and if a statement will be made. I am replying in her absence. (234060).
Your question has been answered on the same basis as the Oral answer you refer to, reported in the Official Report, column 4, on 20 October 2008.
The attached table gives the number of people of working age in employment in the United Kingdom by country of birth (UK born and Non-UK born), for October-December 2006, and April-June 2008 (the latest estimate available). Note that official employment estimates are published on a three month rolling basis; estimates for individual months are not available. The October-December 2006 estimate has therefore been provided. Estimates for April-June 2006 have also been included in the table to allow comparison of employment levels between the latest period available, and two years earlier.
Please note that the figures quoted in the Official Report (365,000 and 865,000) refer to the decrease in UK born employment, and increase in non-UK born employment respectively, over the last three years. However, due to a printing error in Hansard, the answer to Parliamentary Question 226214 ( Official Report, 13 October 2008, columns 953W to 956W) incorrectly showed the estimated change in UK born employment from 2007 to 2008 as -24,000 rather than +24,000. As a consequence the estimated decrease in UK born employment over the last three years is 317,000 not 365,000.
The estimates in the table are derived from Labour Force Survey (LFS) microdata which are weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007.
They are not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release which are weighted using more up-to-date population estimates. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the attached table.
| Employment levels for working age( 1) population, by country of birth United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted | ||
| Thousand | ||
| UK born | Non-UK born | |
| (1) Men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the levels of the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates as described below: Guide to Quality The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV - for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220 Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical Robustness * 0 < CV< 5 Estimates are considered precise ** 5 < CV < 10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 < CV < 20 Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≥ 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc). Source: Labour Force Survey. | ||
Foreign Workers
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has made of the proportion of foreign nationals aged over 16 years in the UK workforce in each year since 1987; what breakdown the ONS has made of the employment of foreign nationals by sector; and what estimate the ONS made of the proportion of foreign nationals in the workforce by sector in the last quarter for which figures are available. [234273]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated November 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has made of the proportion of foreign nationals aged over 16 years in the UK workforce in each year since 1987; what breakdown the ONS has made of the employment of foreign nationals by sector; and what estimate the ONS has made of the proportion of foreign nationals in the workforce by sector in the last quarter for which figures are available (234273).
The attached table provides estimates on the proportion of people aged 16 and over in employment who are non-UK nationals from April-June 1995 to April-June 2008. Comparable data prior to 1995 are not available. These estimates have also been broken down by Standard Industrial Classification (1992) sector to provide the proportion of non-UK nationals employed within each industry sector.
The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
The figures in the table are derived from the LFS microdata which are weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007. They are not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release which are weighted using more up-to-date population estimates.
| Proportion of people aged 16 and over in employment who are non-UK nationals, by broad industry sector, three months ending June, 1995 to 2008 United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted | |||||
| Percentage | |||||
| Standard Industrial Classification (1992) | |||||
| Total( 1) | A-B: Agriculture and fishing | C-E: Energy and water | D: Manufacturing | F: Construction | |
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