Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 1 April 2009
House of Commons Commission
Apprentices
Mr. Evennett: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many apprentices the House of Commons Commission employs. [267904]
Nick Harvey: The House at present has three full-time apprentices in the Craft Team within the Facilities Department. Currently, one apprentice (hot-water fitter) is working on NVQ level 3 and the two others (Carpenter/joiners) are working on NVQ level 2, having joined the House through the Young Apprenticeship Scheme, sponsored by Mr. Speaker. The scheme has been running for the past five years and offers students from Southwark an opportunity to spend one day per week for one school year in a work area of their choice. The scheme is being further developed so that the students who come to the House—around 10 per year—will spend two years here rather than one and will complete the first level of a modern apprenticeship, commencing in July this year.
Wales
Departmental Computers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many laptop computers have been provided to (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005; and at what cost. [268259]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Wales Office is provided with its IT equipment by the Ministry of Justice and details of procurement costs are not held by my Department. The figures for the current year are given in the table, figures for previous years are not held in the format requested and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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Departmental Energy
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent progress his Department has made towards the target of increasing its energy efficiency per square metre of its Estate by 15 per cent. by 2010, relative to 1999-2000 levels; and if he will make a statement. [266871]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Wales Office was only created in 1999. It only has two offices, in London and Cardiff respectively. The Department constantly seeks to increase the energy efficiency of its building. Available figures show that in 2007-08, the Wales Office reduced its energy consumption by 32 per cent. compared to the previous year.
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much (a) electricity, (b) gas and (c) other fuel was used by his Department in each of the last 10 years. [267326]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Wales Office has spent the following amounts on electricity and other fuels:
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Records for electricity are not available prior to 2002-03 and other fuels before 2005-06.
Transport
Air Pollution: EU Law
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has requested a derogation from EU air quality legislation in relation to limits on the levels of pollution from (a) nitrogen dioxide, (b) ozone and (c) other nitrogen oxides. [266513]
Huw Irranca-Davies: I have been asked to reply.
Air quality limit values are now met across 99 per cent. of the UK, delivering significant health benefits to the population. The remaining areas of non-compliance are extremely small.
Council Directive 2008/50/EC on Ambient Air Quality and Cleaner Air for Europe provides for member states to submit plans to the European Commission to postpone the compliance deadline for meeting the limit value for nitrogen dioxide from 2010 to 2015. The UK Government expect to submit such a plan to the Commission in 2010 following consultation later this year.
No derogation exists for ozone or other oxides of nitrogen.
Bus Services: Concessions
Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bus services covered by the concessionary bus fares scheme for the over 60s would not be available to pass holders under the Travel Concessions (Eligible Services) (Amendment) Order 2009; and what assessment he has made of the cost to local authorities of continuing the concessionary scheme on such services on a discretionary basis. [264540]
Paul Clark: The statutory instrument is intended to clarify the existing eligibility criteria, so it is not expected that a large number of services will be affected.
The Impact Assessment which accompanied the statutory instrument estimated the costs and benefits of the changes. Coach services were considered to be the most likely services to be affected. The total cost to all local authorities in England of paying for these trips which would no longer be eligible was estimated as £80,000 per year.
The amount of funding provided to local authorities by central government will not be affected by these changes to the eligibility criteria.
Heathrow Airport
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what (a) risk numbers, (b) risk descriptions, (c) measures in place to manage and (d) further actions of risks were contained under business plan objectives (i) 3.2.1, (ii) 3.2.3, (iii) 3.2 and (iv) 3.3.1 of the (A) December 2007, (B) February 2008 and (C) most recent version of the Project Heathrow project delivery and risk reports; [265875]
(2) what the risk numbers were of the risks contained under business plan objectives (a) 3.2.1, (b) 3.2.3, (c) 3.2 and (d) 3.3.1 in the (i) December 2007, (ii) February 2008 and (iii) most recent version of the Project Heathrow project delivery and risk reports; and what the (A) impact, (B) likelihood and (C) exposure of the (1) inherent and (2) residual risks was. [265876]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Heathrow risks were not reported for either December 2007 or February 2008. The most recent approved version of Heathrow risks is for February 2009. I will arrange for copies to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) measures in place and (b) risks were identified under number 3.1.2 B of the business project objective 3.2.1, Airport and airspace capacity and operations, in the Project Heathrow project delivery and risk report versions of (i) 23 January 2008 and (ii) March 2008, with a proximity designated as immediate; and if he will make a statement. [265909]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 23 March 2009]: Heathrow risks for January 2008 and March 2008 were recently released and will be published on the Department's website. I will arrange for copies to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Manchester-Southport Railway Line
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with Northern Rail on levels of service on the Manchester-Southport line; and if he will make a statement. [266712]
Paul Clark: Officials in the Department for Transport have regular meetings with Northern Rail. Service provision and performance is always an agenda item. The Secretary of State for Transport is content that despite poor performance recently and a period of planned engineering work, Northern Rail are doing everything possible to reduce levels of disruption to its passengers.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will include the level of disruption to Manchester-Southport rail services on the morning of Thursday 19 March on the agenda of his next franchise review meeting with Northern Rail. [266803]
Paul Clark: Officials in the Department for Transport met with Northern Rail on 25 March and performance was discussed; this included disruption on 19 March. The Secretary of State for Transport is content that the underlying issue was a points failure and that Northern Rail made every effort to restore services as quickly as possible.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Iran
Dr. Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the state of Iran's nuclear programme. [267610]
Bill Rammell: The International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA)'s latest report of 19 February 2009 shows that Iran continues to refuse to suspend its proliferation sensitive nuclear activities, and has not granted the IAEA the access it seeks, as required by five UN Security Council Resolutions.
We, and the international community, will remain extremely concerned by Iran's nuclear programme until it fulfils its international obligations and restores confidence in its intentions.
Afghanistan: Detainees
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions since April 2005 Ministers have been informed that UK security officials have raised concerns about allegations of mistreatment of detainees, as referred to in the Government's Response to paragraph 126 of the Intelligence and Security Committee's Report on the Handling of Detainees by UK Intelligence Personnel in Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay and Iraq, Cm 6511. [260258]
David Miliband: It is the long-standing policy of the Government not to comment on operational intelligence matters.
We take any alleged mistreatment of detainees extremely seriously. All UK intelligence officers and service personnel are given strict guidance about the standards that we apply during the detention and interviewing of detainees overseas, including on working with liaison partners. This guidance is kept under constant review by the Agencies, in keeping with the UK's obligations under the UN Convention against Torture, Article 11. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made a written ministerial statement to Parliament on 18 March 2009, Official Report, column 55WS, undertaking to publish this guidance, once it has been consolidated and reviewed by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), in order to put beyond doubt the terms under which our Agencies and service personnel operate. He also asked
the ISC to consider any new developments and relevant information since their reports into detention (2005) and rendition (2007).
Afghanistan: Elections
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects elections to take place in Afghanistan; and what steps the Government are taking to facilitate such elections. [260001]
Bill Rammell: The Afghan Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), established under Afghanistan's 2004 Constitution, is responsible for administering Afghanistan's elections. The IEC has announced that presidential and provincial council elections be held on 20 August 2009. Parliamentary and district council elections are due in 2010.
We are actively working in support of the Afghans, UN and the International Security Assistance Force to help ensure successful Afghan elections which are critical to Afghanistan's future. We have so far committed £16.6 million to supporting the elections. This funding is paid to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) run enhancing legal and electoral capacity for tomorrow (ELECT) project, which provides technical and capacity-building assistance in support of Afghanistan's electoral cycle.
More details on the ELECT project are available online at:
In Afghanistan, we are in regular dialogue with the UNDP, the IEC and other international donors on preparations for the elections. On the ground in Helmand, British military and civilians are working closely with the IEC and Afghan national security forces to support preparations. Afghan-led security has ensured that voter registration was conducted across Afghanistan without major incidents.
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what conditions he will require to be satisfied before British troops may be withdrawn from Afghanistan. [267877]
Bill Rammell: It is vital to UK national security interests that Afghanistan becomes a stable and secure state, able to suppress terrorism and violent extremism within its borders and to contribute to the same objective across the border in Pakistan.
The UK is fully committed to supporting the government of Afghanistan until it is able to establish the right security environment in which accountable and effective institutions can develop and where Afghan-led reconstruction and development can happen. Our approach is in line with the long-term and comprehensive framework for security, political, social and economic development for Afghanistan outlined by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House of Commons, on 12 December 2007, Official Report, columns 303-07.
Burma: 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 Burma. [266093]
Bill Rammell: Our embassy in Rangoon continues its regular contact with representatives of political and ethnic groups, local and international non-governmental organisations, political prisoner support networks, and UN agencies operating on the ground, and our ambassador maintains a robust dialogue with ministers and officials in the military government.
We also remain in close contact with the UN Secretary-General, his special adviser Ibrahim Gambari, and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma. We discuss Burma frequently with countries in the region including China, India and Burma’s fellow members of the Association of South East Asian Nations. Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development officials are in touch with a wide range of stakeholder groups outside of Burma, including in neighbouring Thailand and in the UK.
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