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26 Jan 2009 : Column 129W—continued
Iran: EU External Relations
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts in advance of the forthcoming Council of Ministers meeting on the delisting of the People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran from the EU terror list following the judgement of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities on 4 December 2008. [249291]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 22 January 2009]: We have discussed the CFI judgment and the current review of the EU list of terrorist organisations with EU partners.
We have made clear that we believe the Council should respect the judgment of the Court of First Instance annulling the listing of the PMOI when conducting its review
We expect a decision on a new list by the end of January.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs following the recent decision of the Court of First Instance, if he will make it his policy to vote against the continued inclusion of the People's Mujahedeen of Iran on the EU blacklist. [243666]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 17 December 2008]: We have made clear our view that EU member states must respect the Court of First Instance's judgment annulling the listing of the People's Mujahedeen of Iran in the current review of the EU list of terrorist organisations. The review continues and a decision on the new list will be taken before the end of the month.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the decision by Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from Somalia on (a) the security situation in Somalia and (b) the continued operations of African Union forces in Somalia. [243875]
David Miliband: The Djibouti Agreement envisaged the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia as part of a process leading to a more broadly accepted government within the country. Ethiopian troops have now left Mogadishu and are beginning their withdrawal from Baidoa, the current seat of the Somali parliament.
Somali security forces supportive of the Djibouti process have taken over security posts vacated by Ethiopian troops. Together with African Union troops (AMISOM), they have ensured that the security situation has not deteriorated following Ethiopian withdrawal. Somali leaders in Mogadishu have called for a cessation of fighting and many displaced people have returned to the city.
The African Union has agreed to continue AMISOM's deployment in Somalia until 19 March 2009, and has requested additional financial and logistical support to continue its mission beyond this date. UN Security Council Resolution 1863 of 16 January 2009 addresses ways to provide this support.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in deploying a police component to the African Union force in Somalia; and if he will make a statement. [243877]
David Miliband:
No African Union member state has so far contributed a police component to the African Union Mission in Somalia. The African Union force in Somalia currently consists of approximately 3,500 troops
from Uganda and Burundi. This number may be reinforced by additional troops from African countries, up to the mandated number of 8,000 troops.
Sudan: Peace Negotiations
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had discussions with the Inter-Government Authority on Development on co-ordinating international efforts to support the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and wider peace in Sudan and the region. [249546]
Gillian Merron: The Inter Government Authority on Development (IGAD) is represented on the Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC), which monitors implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), through the two seats held by member states of the IGAD Sub-Committee on Sudan. The UK also has a seat on the AEC and has regular contact and discussion with the IGAD member states’ representatives.
Tibet
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress his Department has made against its policy objectives regarding Tibet since 1 January 2008; what specific outcomes have resulted from steps taken by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [243955]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 15 December 200 8 ]: Working to improve human rights in Tibet has been a consistent Government policy priority during the course of 2008. We raised Tibet at our UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in January, where a broad discussion took place on minority rights and the role of the police, and also visited Tibet as part of that dialogue. There have also been several ministerial interventions on this issue, including statements by my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary, my noble Friend Lord Malloch-Brown and myself.
We have consistently pressed the Chinese Government to engage in open and substantive dialogue with the representatives of the Dalai Lama. We believe that the clear expression of support for dialogue from the international community, including the UK, was helpful in encouraging the dialogue to continue. Equally, we are disappointed that the process has so far failed to achieve results, and appears to have reached an impasse. I issued a statement on 24 November calling on both sides to resume discussions without delay, focused initially on identifying points of agreement within the proposals already put forward by the Tibetan side.
We have also continued to express our concern, to the Chinese and publicly, over those who remain in detention, the increased constraints on religious activity, and the restrictions on access to Tibetan areas for foreigners. We have also continued to raise individual cases in conjunction with our EU partners.
We will continue to work in support of human rights in Tibet, in accordance with the written ministerial statement that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary issued on 29 October 2008, Official Report, columns 30-31WS.
Ukraine: Politics and Government
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of governance structures in place in Ukraine; and if he will make a statement. [245146]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 18 December 2008]: An assessment of the effectiveness of Ukraine's governance structures can be found in the European Commission's review of Ukraine's progress against its European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan:
Ukraine has made some encouraging recent progress on democratisation, with three consecutive elections recognised as largely free and fair. But Ukraine must address a number of key issues if it is to consolidate these recent democratic gains, strengthen its democratic institutions and achieve greater domestic political stability. Key areas of concern are high levels of corruption, weak rule of law and ambiguities in the constitution. We are working closely with Ukraine on all of these issues, in particular through the European Union, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe.
Zimbabwe: Politics and Government
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps the Government has taken to monitor the political situation in Zimbabwe. [244986]
Gillian Merron [holding answer 12 January 2009]: We are following the situation in Zimbabwe very closely, including through our embassy in Harare, as well as our other missions in the region, which continue to monitor the situation. Ministers maintain a keen interest in developments and are regularly briefed on the political and humanitarian situation. We are continuing to work with states in the region and the wider international community to encourage a durable solution.
Treasury
Child Benefit
Mr. Rooney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how long on average it took the Child Benefit Centre to process a (a) change of circumstances notification, (b) new application for benefit and (c) new application where the reason for the claim was other than a new birth in each of the last 12 months. [249025]
Mr. Timms: For information requested in (a), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) aimed to process 95 per cent. of changes in circumstance within 10 working days in 2007-08. Performance results for January 2008 to March 2008 are as follows:
98.0 per cent. in January 2008
98.5 per cent. in February 2008
95.2 per cent. in March 2008
Performance information for 2008-09 will be available in due course. For information requested in (b) and (c), HM Revenue and Customs aimed to decide 69 per cent. of child benefit claims within five working days and 95 per cent. within 36 working days in 2007-08. Performance results for January 2008 to March 2008 are as follows:
71.9 per cent. within five working days and 93.9 per cent. within 36 working days in January 2008.
62.6 per cent. within five working days and 93.4 per cent. within 36 working days in February 2008.
60.4 per cent. within five working days and 90.7 per cent. within 36 working days in March 2008.
For the period from April 2008, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) on 22 October 2008, Official Report , column 356W. Separate information is not available in the format requested.
Consolidated Fund: Fines
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 16 June 2008, Official Report, column 689W, on the Consolidated Fund: fines, which part of Government holds the information on the revenue received from fines. [250558]
Yvette Cooper: The Consolidated Fund does not separately identify revenue surrendered to the Exchequer relating to fines. Public bodies involved in the collection of fines will hold the information on their revenue and will publish accounts of their activities.
Departmental Databases
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 6 October 2008 to my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East, (James Duddridge) Official Report, column 371W, on departmental databases, which aspects of financial exclusion MOSAIC and ACORN data were used to inform. [250425]
Angela Eagle: The Treasury used ACORN data to map the areas of financial exclusion reported in the Government’s first financial inclusion strategy. MOSAIC data was used to map the demand for third sector affordable credit and to map and identify areas of high financial exclusion.
Economic and Monetary Union
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received in support of not taking the UK into the euro zone without a referendum. [248859]
Ian Pearson: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.
EU Grants and Loans
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what applications for approval of state aid made to the European Commission by his Department are awaiting determination; and on what date each such application was made. [250658]
Ian Pearson: There are currently five state aid applications made by HM Treasury, which are awaiting approval from the European Commission. They are as follows:
1. Venture Capital Trusts, notified on 15 May 2007.
2. Enterprise Investment Scheme, notified on 15 May 2007.
3. Corporate Venturing Scheme, notified on 15 May 2007.
4. Enterprise Management Incentives, notified on 31 June 2008.
5. Northern Rock—restructuring aid package, notified on 17 March 2008.
Fraud
Chris Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Government organisations and departments are responsible for investigating fraud; what the procedures are for (a) co-ordination of their activities and (b) taking decisions on which agency takes the lead in investigating particular cases; if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the system; and if he will make a statement. [250592]
Yvette Cooper: Each individual Government body is responsible for investigating fraud against that organisation.
The National Fraud Strategic Authority (NFSA), launched on 1 October 2008, was set up to help organisations (both public and private) to co-ordinate their activities and work better together to build a more hostile environment for fraudsters. HM Treasury provides leadership by: outlining the responsibilities of Government sector organisations in ‘Managing Public Money’ and publishing data about internal fraud against Departments and executive agencies in the Government Annual Fraud Report.
Fraud is usually discovered through the normal operation of control procedures in individual Government agencies or as a result of individuals reporting their suspicions of fraud (e.g. to hotlines operated by those agencies.) Individual agencies investigate the cases that they discover or are made aware of.
This arrangement allocates responsibility to those most immediately placed to deal with it. All Government organisations use their internal audit functions to alert them to fraud and to advise about the effectiveness of their internal control processes. Those bodies where fraud risk is highest (e.g. DWP, HMRC, MOD, NHS) employ dedicated experienced fraud experts.
Following the recommendations of the Fraud Review, the National Fraud Reporting Centre (NFRC) and National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) will track all fraud against UK organisations including government bodies. The City of London police force plans for this new resource to start towards the end of 2010.
Government Procurement Card
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) minimum and (b) maximum value of transactions is that can be made using the Government Procurement Card. [250478]
Angela Eagle: The maximum single transaction value that can be made using the Government Procurement Card is equivalent to $500,000.
There is no minimum transaction value.
Such high value transactions would be subjected to an extremely high level approval process from the card issuing bank, before payments were made to suppliers.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 11 December 2008, Official Report, column 261W, on the Government Procurement Card, which are the card-issuing banks. [250479]
Angela Eagle: The Government Procurement Card service is headed up by Visa Europe together with six card issuing banks. These banks are:
Barclaycard Commercial
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)
NatWest Bank
Ulster Bank
The Cooperative Bank
Lloyds TSB
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 11 December 2008, Official Report, column 261W, on the Government Procurement Card, what bodies other than the card issuing banks hold data on card transactions. [250480]
Angela Eagle: The card issuing banks are the main bodies that store data for transactions made through the Government Procurement Card (GPC) service.
Some customer organisations will hold their own GPC transactional data, this being provided by the card issuing banks. Additionally some customer organisations may hand off GPC transactional data to third party service providers, to help streamline the purchase to pay process.
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