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PRIME MINISTER
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Mr. Stuart Bell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in South Africa. [98662]
The Prime Minister: I attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which took place in South Africa from 12-15 November.
The meeting welcomed Nigeria back into the Commonwealth and Nauru as a full member.
The meeting took significant decisions on the future of the Commonwealth, the promotion of democracy and human rights, Pakistan and debt, trade and development.
Commonwealth Heads agreed my proposal that we establish a high-level group, under the Chairmanship of President Mbeki, to review the role of the Commonwealth in the 21st Century. In addition to South Africa, the UK, Australia, Fiji, India, Malta, Singapore, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe will be on the group. It will report to the next Heads of Government Meeting in Australia in 2001.
Commonwealth Heads re-affirmed the fundamental political values enshrined in the Harare Commonwealth Declaration. We sent a strong message to General Musharraf in Pakistan calling for a speedy restoration of democracy and the immediate release of Nawaz Sharif and the others detained with him. We agreed that Pakistan should remain suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth.
Heads discussed the special theme of "People-Centred Development: the Challenge of Globalisation". We agreed the Fancourt Declaration, which provides a broad agenda to which all Commonwealth countries agreed to work. Heads agreed that globalisation should bring benefits to all, provided it is a genuine force for liberalisation and is accompanied by structural reform and improved competitiveness. We agreed that the new round of WTO
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trade negotiations should have a development focus, should cover agriculture, services and industrial products and should be balanced.
Heads expressed concern about the impact of HIV/AIDS, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. I announced over £22 million of UK assistance for HIV/AIDS related projects, including:
Heads elected Don McKinnon to succeed Chief Emeka Anyaoku as Commonwealth Secretary General. We paid warm tribute to Chief Anyaoku's service over the last 10 years.
I held formal bilateral meetings with President Clerides of Cyprus, President Obasanjo of Nigeria and Prime Minister Vajpayee of India, had a meeting with Caribbean Commonwealth Heads and had the opportunity for informal discussions with many of the other Heads present.
I have arranged for copies of the Durban Communique and the Fancourt Commonwealth Declaration on Globalisation and People-Centred Development to be placed in the Library of the House.
Ms Coffey:
To ask the Solicitor-General what progress has been made with the introduction of information technology in the Crown Prosecution Service; and if he will make a statement. [98440]
The Solicitor-General:
As a first step in the CPS's IT Modernisation Programme, CPS prosecutors and caseworkers will be given modern IT tools and the ability to communicate electronically with other criminal justice agencies. The project will be completed in under two years.
The recent award of £12 million from the Treasury's Capital Modernisation Fund--correcting my answer to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney) on 21 October 1999, Official Report, column 567--is a major step forward for the CPS. These funds together with a substantial commitment of the CPS's existing resources, will help transform and modernise working practices to deliver better performance. The CPS can start catching-up with IT developments in the criminal justice system and build on its successes in Durham and elsewhere. On 16 September 1999, I visited the CPS office in Stockport, which is a
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pilot site for an integrated IT system linking the CPS with the police and courts. CPS staff in Stockport, including prosecutors, have embraced enthusiastically the introduction of IT. All staff now use the system to produce correspondence, prepare for trials, and perhaps, more significantly, have established electronic links with the Magistrates Court as well as the Stockport Division of the Greater Manchester Police.
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the Government will publish the quinquennial review of the Public Trust Office. [99046]
Jane Kennedy:
The Lord Chancellor has today published the Quinquennial Review of the Public Trust Office, an Executive Agency of the Lord Chancellor's Department established in 1994.
The Review found strong support for the Government offering protection for the financial affairs of people who are mentally incapable of managing them for themselves.
The Review recommends that the delivery of the Public Trust Office's key services should be carried out by organisations operating in the voluntary and public sectors, and private sector suppliers. The Lord Chancellor would remain ultimately responsible for the services provided. The Public Trust Office would focus on monitoring the provision of such services and ensuring that the needs of vulnerable people were met. The Review recommends that the Public Trust Office's refinanced and refocused operations should be performed by other parts of the Lord Chancellor's Department: the Court Service and the Official Solicitor's Office. The current Public Trust Office would then be phased out as a separate executive agency.
The Lord Chancellor has welcomed the Review's clear diagnosis of the challenges faced by the Public Trust Office. He agrees that radical change is required and he, together with colleagues, will wish to explore the Review's recommendations in a programme of change for the Public Trust Office. In doing so, he will want to be satisfied that reform does not entail placing a greater financial burden on some of the poorest and most vulnerable members of society. The Lord Chancellor will announce, in February 2000, how he will take forward reform.
The Government's overriding objective will be to ensure that the interests of the Public Trust Office's clients are fully protected. To this end the recently established Consultative Forum representing the users of Public Trust Office services will be closely involved in considering how practical improvements to client services can be effected in working up the proposals for change that the Lord Chancellor considers necessary.
Copies of the Review have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
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Ms Rosie Winterton:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people have been employed in the Civil Service under the New Deal for the young and unemployed. [98439]
Marjorie Mowlam:
Based on information provided by Civil Service departments (including their Agencies) participating as employers in the New Deal, the position as at 1 October 1999 is as follows:
£14 million for development of a low-cost vaccine;
£7.5 million for the implementation of an HIV/AIDS strategy in Southern Africa; and
£1.2 million to train more than 700 VSO volunteers to raise awareness of HIV/AIDs in Southern Africa.
The Second Commonwealth Business Forum was held in Johannesburg immediately before the Heads meeting. It highlighted the importance of links between Government and the private sector throughout the Commonwealth.
| Department (including | New Deal starts since programmes began | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| their Agencies) | Age 18-24 | Age 25+ | Total |
| Agriculture, Fisheries and Food | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| Cabinet Office | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| Culture, Media and Sport | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Defence | 27 | 21 | 48 |
| Education and Employment | 425 | 22 | 447 |
| Environment, Transport and the Regions | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| Foreign and Commonwealth Office | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Government Communications Headquarters | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Health | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| Home Office | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| International Development | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lord Chancellor's | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| National Assembly for Wales | 13 | 3 | 16 |
| Northern Ireland Office | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| Scottish Executive | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| Social Security | 56 | 0 | 56 |
| Trade and Industry | 33 | 6 | 39 |
| HM Treasury | 28 | 9 | 37 |
| Other | |||
| Charity Commission | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Export Credits Guarantee Department | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Government Offices for the Regions | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Intervention Board | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Lord Advocate's | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Totals | 675 | 86 | 761 |
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AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Food Chain Group
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he has received from the Food Chain Group; and if he will make a statement. [98610]
Mr. Nick Brown: The Food Chain Group comprised senior figures from the National Farmers Union, Food and Drink Federation, British Retail Consortium, IGD (formerly the Institute of Grocery Distribution) and MAFF, under the chairmanship of a senior MAFF official. The Group was invited to review the opportunities for working together and increasing understanding amongst the players in the food chain, and between the industry and consumers.
The Group has reported to me on the challengers and opportunities facing the food chain. The report stresses the vital importance of a viable and competitive food chain and identifies the need for action by industry and government to underpin consumer confidence in the quality and value of our food. The key messages include calls to: enhance the dialogue between partners in the food chain; improve communications with consumers; strengthen consumer confidence; and understand and act upon consumer concerns. The need for joined-up help from the Government to improve the industry's competitiveness is also identified.