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Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: I regret the delay in replying substantively to the noble Lord's Question. My department is reviewing the position of the documents (which are voluminous) and consulting other interested departments. I will write to the noble Lord as soon as possible and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Lord Harris of Greenwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton): The Government take very seriously this responsibility to ensure that noble Lords who table parliamentary Questions (PQs) receive considered and accurate Answers within the agreed time limit of 14 days, and they endeavour to meet that target where possible.
However, some PQs, particularly those that raise complex issues that require input from two or more government departments, or that require the collation of information from a number of sources, can take longer. Of the three Questions you refer to, two, HL277 and HL255, fell into this category. An administrative mix-up delayed the answering of the other, HL398.
I am pleased to say that full Answers have now been provided to all three.
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: At 1 April 1999 481,000 permanent staff were employed in the UK Civil Service (460,000 on a full-time equivalent basis). The latest figure available for the whole of the UK public sector is for 1998 and shows that 5,002,000 people were employed (4,110,000 on a full-time equivalent basis). Of these, 484,000 were permanent civil servants (463,000 on a full-time equivalent basis).
Information on the cost to the UK of preparing and implementing EU legislation is not held centrally.
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The cost of the Strategic Communications Unit has risen for various reasons, including the improvements to the No 10 website. The number and role of special advisers in the unit remains unchanged.
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The responsibility for ensuring that civil servants--including special advisers--comply with the terms and conditions of their employment rests with their employing department.
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: No. The ministerial code is a code of conduct and guidance on procedures for Ministers. Decisions on the timing and content of announcements of government policy are taken by Ministers, not special advisers.
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 8 February (WA 77) that "The total cost to date for staff at 10 Downing Street is £3.9 million", to what period the phrase "to date" refers.[HL999]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The cost of £3.9 million, of which £1.2 million is the cost of special advisers, covers the period 1 April to 31 December 1999.
Lord Lamont of Lerwick asked Her Majesty's Government.
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: I refer the noble Lord to pages 184-185, in the section entitled "Disagreements with the PM on tax", of his own book In Office:
"At a morning press conference . . . I was sitting next to John Major and whispered to him . . . that we should not make any commitment because the tax burden was difficult to control. Nonetheless Major insisted on saying that in the course of the next Parliament the tax burden would be reduced. That would have required a drastic reduction in the size and role of the state. I was somewhat uneasy about this promise, particularly given John Major's views on public spending.
At another press conference John was asked about the 20 pence tax band in the Budget, and he promised that the Government would expand the band of income to which this applied year by year. This commitment to cut taxes every year was certainly something that no party in power could responsibly promise. He and I had in fact discussed this very point, and I had emphasised that no government could possibly commit to cutting taxes every year. I was even more surprised that someone who had been opposed
to the principle of tax cuts was now prepared to promise them every year."
Lord Sewel asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: I am very pleased to be able to announce that the right honourable Sir David Hirst has agreed to chair a Spoliation Advisory Panel to consider and advise on claims from anyone who lost possession of a cultural object during the Nazi era where such an object is now in the possession of a UK national collection or in the possession of another UK museum or gallery established for the public benefit.
The draft terms of reference for the Panel are set out below and I am now inviting interested organisations and individuals to let me have their views before these are finalised. SPOLIATION ADVISORY PANEL DRAFT CONSTITUTION AND TERMS OF REFERENCE Members of the Panel
1. The members of the Spoliation Advisory Panel ("the Panel") will be appointed by the Secretary of State on such terms and conditions as he thinks fit. The Secretary of State shall appoint one member as Chairman of the Panel. Resources for the Panel
2. The Secretary of State will make available such resources as he considers necessary to enable the Panel to carry out its functions, including administrative support provided by a Secretriat ("the Secretariat"). Functions of the Panel
3. The task of the Panel is to consider claims from anyone (or from any one or more of their heirs), who lost possession of a cultural object ("the object") during the Nazi era, where such object is now in the possession of a UK national collection or in the possession of another UK museum or gallery established for the public benefit ("the institution"). The Panel shall advise the claimant and the institution on what would be appropriate action to take in response to such a claim. The Panel shall also be available to advise about any claim for an item in a private collection at the joint request of the claimant and the owner.
4. In an appropriate case the Panel may also advise the Secretary of State.
6. For this purpose the Panel shall:
7. If the Panel upholds the claim in principle, it may recommend either:
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