The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1990-1997

1994Prime Minister (1990-1997)

PMQT Written Answers – 13 December 1994

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Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 13th December 1994.

PRIME MINISTER:

 

Inward Investment, Chester

Mr Brandreth: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to visit the City of Chester to discuss inward investment.

The Prime Minister: I have no immediate plans to do so. However, I am aware of the success that Chester has enjoyed in recent years in attracting inward investment to the city.

 

Ministers

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Prime Minister (1) how many Ministers there were in the Home Office in 1978; how many there are now; and to what extent the current responsibilities and work of the Department are different from those in 1978;

(2) how many Ministers there are in the Department of Trade and Industry; how many there were in the Department of Trade and Industry in 1978; and to what extent the current responsibilities and work of the Department are different from those at that date;

(3) how many Ministers there are in the Department of the Environment; how many were in the corresponding Department in 1978; and to what extent the work and responsibilities of that Department have changed since that date.

The Prime Minister: This is a matter of public record. The current details of ministerial responsibilities are contained in the Cabinet Office’s “List of Ministerial Responsibilities”, which is available in the Library of the House.

 

Honours System

Dr. Wright: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 2 December 1994, Official Report, column 923, if he will identify (a) the 15 people who have had an honour cancelled since 1979 and (b) the nature of the disrepute in each of these cases.

The Prime Minister: No. The names have been published in the London Gazette.

 

Engagements

Sir Peter Tapsell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 13 December.

Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 13 December.

The Prime Minister: This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.

 

Nagorno-Karabakh

Mr. Madden: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe with particular reference to Nagorno-Karabakh; what further action Her Majesty’s Government propose taking within the UN Security Council in relation to peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh; and whether Her Majesty’s Government have been invited to participate in any way in relation to peacekeeping in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made last week, Official Report, 7 December 1994, columns 220-22. In relation to Nagorno-Karabakh, we welcome the outcome of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Budapest summit as a positive step towards a peaceful resolution of that tragic conflict.

We will fully support the co-ordinated efforts of the CSCE Minsk group and the Russian Federation to work with the parties to the dispute in achieving a political agreement which will make it possible to establish a multinational peacekeeping operation. We will be ready to support appropriate action in the United Nations Security Council when that agreement has been reached.

We have undertaken to provide a small number of signals personnel for a possible CSCE monitoring mission in Nagorno-Karabakh. Any further contribution would have to be considered in the light of our other commitments, and of the conditions under which a peacekeeping operation was to be established.

 

Ecclesiastical Appointments

Dr. Wright: To ask the Prime Minister what is the total number of ecclesiastical appointments for which he is responsible; and if he will list them.

The Prime Minister: I have already advised the hon. Member of the main categories of appointments, including church appointments, for which I am responsible. But the total number, including those appointments on which I advise Her Majesty the Queen, cannot be accurately calculated since I have discretion in some cases as to how many appointments I make; and in the case of church appointments, some vacancies fall casually and unpredictably to the Crown by virtue of the royal prerogative.

 

Special Advisers

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Prime Minister which of the special advisers serving in his office during the last five years were subject to positive security vetting.

The Prime Minister: All special advisers are currently required to have positive vetting.