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2 Jun 2010 : Column 18W—continued
Yemen: Human Rights
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Yemen. [32]
Alistair Burt: The Government have a number of concerns about human rights in Yemen. These include aspects of the judicial system, arbitrary detention, capital punishment and freedom of expression including the diminishing freedom of expression of the Yemeni media.
We are also concerned about ensuring the protection of civilians in situations of armed conflict.
The annual Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Report for 2009 highlighted our ongoing concern about early marriage in Yemen and the failure of the Yemeni Parliament to ratify and implement legislation declaring a minimum marriage age for girls.
The UN Periodic Review of Yemen (May 2009) highlighted the areas of judicial reform, corporal and capital punishment, women's rights, and torture and mistreatment of detainees.
As internal conflict has increased in Yemen in recent years, these issues have become more urgent.
The Government feel strongly that human rights are universal and all governments must adhere to their international obligations.
Our ambassador in Yemen and Government officials in London regularly raise human rights issues with the Yemeni Government. We also raise human rights through multilateral forums such as the EU and UN. In addition, all of our capacity building programmes in country build human rights awareness and development into the work.
Energy and Climate Change
Departmental Electronic Equipment
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) plasma and (b) LCD televisions there are in Ministerial offices in his Department. [387]
Gregory Barker: There are no plasma televisions in ministerial offices. There are two LCD televisions in each Minister's office.
Departmental Manpower
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many full-time equivalent staff at each Civil Service grade are employed in the private office of each Minister in his Department. [125]
Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate change employs 19.5 full-time equivalent staff in the private offices of the Secretary of State, Ministers of State and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, at the following grades:
| Number | |
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his estimate is of the cost to the public purse of proposed reductions in numbers of non-frontline staff in his Department and its agencies. [488]
Gregory Barker: The Department has made no estimate of any such costs.
Departmental Official Cars
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Government (a) cars and (b) drivers are allocated to Ministers in his Department. [293]
Gregory Barker: The current interim arrangements for the Department of Energy and Climate Change are (a) four cars and (b) four drivers allocated to departmental Ministers. This is supplemented by the use of pool cars as needed.
The new Ministerial Code, published on 21 May 2010, contains changes that affect ministerial entitlement to travel by Government car. It states that:
"the number of Ministers with allocated cars and drivers will be kept to a minimum, taking into account security and other relevant considerations. Other Ministers will be entitled to use cars from the Government Car Service Pool as needed".
The Department for Transport and its Government Car and Despatch Agency are working with Departments to effect the transition to the new arrangements.
The Ministerial Code, published on 21 May 2010, is available on the Cabinet Office website.
Industrial Diseases: Compensation
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many claims for (a) vibration white finger and (b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have been settled in (i) Bassetlaw, (ii) Leigh, (iii) Doncaster North, (iv) South Shields and (v) Morley and Outwood constituency; and how many such claims in each such constituency were settled by each firm of solicitors. [52] [Official Report, 9 June 2010, Vol. 511, c. 1-6MC.]
Charles Hendry: The number of claims for vibration white finger (VWF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that have been settled in Bassetlaw, Leigh, Doncaster North, South Shields and Morley and Rothwell constituencies settled by each firm of solicitors is shown in the following tables as at 23 May 2010:
The Department is unable to provide data for Morley and Outwood as this is a new constituency and the Department does not have a breakdown of these figures.
| Headline figures as at 23 May 2010 | |
| Constituency | Number of settled claims-VWF |
| Constituency | Number of settled claims-COPD |
| V WF claims settled | |||
| Constituency | Claimant's representatives | Office | Number of settled claims |
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