§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they propose to set an external financing limit for the BBC monitoring service in 1997–98. [HL361]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe external financing limit for 1997–98 for the BBC monitoring service will be set at f1,183,000. The creation of the EFL reflects the change in the funding arrangements of the BBC World Service Monitoring Service from grant in aid to subscription based funding, as announced by my honourable Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Derek Fatchett, on 5 November 1997. (Vol: 300,Hansard, Commons, col. 201).
Interdepartmental Working Groups Lord Lucas asked Her Majesty's Government:What inter-departmental working groups have been set up which include representatives from the Department of International Development; and what their membership and remits are. [HL3731
§ Lord WhittyA ministerial inter-departmental working group on development, chaired by the Secretary of State for International Development, has been set up to promote the coherent approach to development set out in the Government's White Paper. Department for International Development (DFID), Foreign and Commonwealth Office, H M Treasury, Department of Trade and Industry, Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, the Department of Health, Department for Education and Employment,98WA Cabinet Office and the Export Credit Guarantee Department are members. DFID is also represented at meetings of the EU Presidency task force, chaired by the Foreign Secretary and attended by interested departments as appropriate.
In addition, DFID is represented at official level in inter-departmental working groups, on a wide range of issues including trade and development, energy and climate change, world health, countries with economies in transition, science and technology, the Lome Convention and UNESCO. Membership of these groups varies according to the subject matter.