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1 Dec 2009 : Column 633W—continued
Parliamentary Assemblies: Finance
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the running costs of the (a) North Atlantic Assembly, (b) Assembly of Western European Union and (c) Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe were in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what the Government's contribution was to the costs of each such assembly in that year. [302838]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 30 November 2009]: The 2009 budget for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Parliamentary Assembly, formerly known as the North Atlantic Assembly, was €3,722,650. The UK contribution was €518,584.
In 2009, the Western European Union Parliamentary Assembly cost its 10 member states €6,359,336. Of this total, the UK contribution was €1,367,161.
The overall budget for 2009-10 for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly is €2,856,128. The UK contribution is €267,035.
Shell
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what dates representatives of his Department have met Royal Dutch Shell executives in each year since 2002. [301579]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers and staff at all levels are in regular contact with representatives of Royal Dutch Shell in the UK and overseas.
In light of such regular and global contacts, the cost of providing the information requested would incur disproportionate cost.
South Africa: Chess
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the answer of 8 July 2009, Official Report, column 862W, on the taking chess to the townships project, what recent representations he has received from Mr. Ted Nottingham on the taking chess to the townships initiative; and if he will meet representatives of the organisers of the project to discuss the project's future. [302565]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has received a number of representations from Mr. Nottingham, including via his MP, about his taking chess to the townships, initiative. Most recently, my noble Friend the Minister for Africa and the UN, Baroness Kinnock, wrote on 19 November 2009 to reiterate that while the Foreign and Commonwealth Office wished Mr. Nottingham well with his initiative, it could not provide any support for it.
Sudan: Armed Conflict
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of rearmament of rebel groups in the Darfur region; and if he will make a statement. [302981]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Panel of Experts on Sudan established under UN Security Council Resolution 1591 has detailed multiple cases of the transfer of military equipment into Darfur in violation of the UN embargo. We are also aware of recent press reports of rearmament by rebel groups.
The UK has consistently reiterated to all parties the need to respect the UN arms embargo on Darfur and the EU embargo covering all of Sudan, including in contacts with representatives of the armed movements, the Government of Sudan and neighbouring countries.
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of (a) the Sudanese government and (b) the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur on the Sudanese Government's policies towards UN peacekeeping patrols in the Darfur region in 2009. [302982]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We regularly press the Government of Sudan, the UN African Union hybrid mission to Darfur (UNAMID) and other parties in Darfur to act to improve security there, including by respecting the Status of Forces Agreement with the UN. My hon. Friend the Minister of State for International Development (Mr. Thomas) raised our concerns over security during his visit to Sudan on 14-15 October 2009. We underlined the issues again in the UN Security Council discussions of Darfur on 30 November 2009, and in talks that day in Geneva with the UN, the Government of Sudan and other partners on the humanitarian situation in Darfur.
Uganda: Homosexuality
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the Ugandan Government on their proposed legislation to (a) increase penalties for homosexuality and (b) introduce the death sentence for HIV positive homosexuals. [300314]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 25 November 2009]: The legislation is a Private Member's Bill, which was introduced on 14 October 2009 and is currently at committee stage in Uganda's Parliament. It has not so far been adopted formally by the Ugandan Government.
We have grave concerns about the Bill, which we have made clear in representations to Ugandan Ministers including by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to President Museveni and my noble Friend, the Minister for Africa and the UN, Baroness Kinnock to Foreign Minister Kutesa at the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Our concerns include the negative impact the Bill would have on the rights of homosexual and heterosexual Ugandans through the criminalisation of any action that could be construed as support for homosexuality, the introduction of the death penalty for some acts criminalised by the Bill, and the potential impact of the Bill on the fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda.
The UK is also in close touch with and is supporting Ugandan civil society organisations campaigning against the Bill.
Western Sahara: Politics and Government
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which country the UK has recognised as the administering power de facto in that part of the territory of Western Sahara that is not occupied by Morocco. [301866]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The UK does not regard any country as administering de facto that part of the territory of Western Sahara not under Moroccan control.
While Morocco has administered most of the territory of Western Sahara since 1976, the UK regards the status of the whole of Western Sahara as undetermined pending UN led efforts to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution to the conflict, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. The UK Government fully support the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy Christopher Ross in this regard.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Bankruptcy: East of England
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many bankruptcies of individuals in each age group there have been in (a) Mid-Bedfordshire constituency and (b) the East of England in (i) 2008 and (ii) 2009 to date. [302914]
Ian Lucas: The available information for bankruptcies in Mid-Bedfordshire and the East of England, in 2008 by age group, can be seen in Table 1 as follows. Information for 2009 is not currently available, as regional insolvency statistics are only compiled on an annual basis.
| Table 1: Bankruptcies in 2008 | |||||||
| Age g roup( 1) | |||||||
| Region( 2) | Under 25 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | Unknown |
| (1 )Where the bankrupt has provided a valid date of birth (93.4 per cent. in 2008). (2 )Where the bankrupt has provided a valid postcode (96.9 per cent. in 2008). | |||||||
Departmental Official Hospitality
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what expenditure his Department incurred on entertainment at 1 Victoria Street, London SW1 in 2008-09. [301394]
Mr. McFadden: The Department spent £1,078,530 on entertainment in 2008-09. Information on how much of that sum was spent at 1 Victoria Street could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the (a) average and (b) highest non-consolidated performance-related payment was in cash terms for a senior civil servant in his Department in each of the last five years. [300825]
Mr. McFadden: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was formed in June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). No performance-related payments have yet been awarded to the Senior Civil Service in BIS.
BERR and DIUS were themselves created in June 2007 in a Machinery of Government change.
Non-consolidated non-pensionable performance awards are paid to staff in the senior civil service (SCS) to reward delivery of business objectives and personal contributions to wider organisational goals. Performance awards are part of the pay system across the whole senior civil service, and are used to reward high performance sustained throughout the year, based on judgments of how well an individual has performed relative to their
peers. The performance-related pay scheme is designed to help drive high performance and support better public service delivery.
The size of the non-consolidated performance pay pot to be divided between members of the SCS each year is based on recommendations by the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.
The information available for BERR and DIUS senior civil servants who were in the SCS pay system is shown in the following table.(1)
(1) These figures exclude senior civil servants who are employed on fixed-term contracts with individual remuneration arrangements.
| £ | |||
| Department | Average SCS award | Largest SCS award | |
In accordance with Cabinet Office guidance 25 per cent. of the SCS in both BERR and DIUS received no bonus.
Departmental Temporary Employment
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the estimated cost to the public sector is of the implementation of the EU Agency Workers Directive. [303196]
Mr. McFadden: The impact assessment accompanying the consultation on draft regulations published by the Department on 15 October
set out the estimated costs and benefits of the directive. Under a 12-week qualifying period for equal treatment, as agreed under the TUC/CBI agreement of 20 May 2008, the cost to public sector hirers was estimated to be between £227 and £337 million a year.
Departmental Travel
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on what date the Secretary of State last travelled by (a) bus and (b) taxi in the course of his official duties. [302732]
Mr. McFadden: My noble Friend the Secretary of State is supplied with a Government car with which to undertake his official duties.
Land Mines: Exports
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many anti-personnel mines were exported from the UK in each of the last 10 years. [302347]
Ian Lucas:
BIS's Export Control Organisation only holds information on export licences, not on actual exports. One licence was issued in 2003 for the export to USA of 20 anti-personnel mines. The stated end-use of the mines was for the development of techniques for the detection of anti-personnel mines. Such exports are
permitted under both the Landmines Act 1998 and the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction.
Lord Rothschild
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on what date the Secretary of State notified the Permanent Secretary of hospitality received from Lord Rothschild in August 2009; and what advice the Secretary of State received from the Permanent Secretary on the matter. [303588]
Mr. McFadden: My noble Friend the Secretary of State notified the Permanent Secretary before the summer break of his plans to accept accommodation from Lord Rothschild and declared the hospitality in the Register of Lords' Interests afterwards.
Research: Standards
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what definition of (a) economic and (b) social impact is used for the purposes of assessment under the Research Excellence Framework. [301918]
Mr. Lammy: HEFCE are currently consulting on proposals for the Research Excellence Framework on behalf of the four UK funding bodies. Their proposals are for three components: output quality, impact, and environment. Their consultation proposes that:
"there should be a wide definition of impacts, including economic, social, public policy, cultural and quality of life."
The consultation closes on 16 December. The consultation paper is available on the HEFCE website:
HEFCE are also running pilot exercises to test out the impact assessment approach.
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