§ Joan WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what assessment his Department has made of the benefits of re-location of staff to North Staffordshire; and if he will make a statement; [146865]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effect of proposals to relocate Government jobs on the Department's ability to meet (a) departmental policy objectives and (b) departmental public service agreements; [146881]
(3) what assessment his Department has made of the effect of possible relocation of staff in his Department to North Staffordshire on (a) job creation, (b) sustainable development, (c) the local economy and (d) tackling regional economic disparities; and if he will make a statement; [146894]
1163W(4) what plans he has to establish procedures for assessing the impact of possible re-location of staff in his Department to the regions; and if he will make a statement. [146925]
§ Mr. StrawI refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury gave on 12 January 2003,Official Report, column 516W.
§ Joan WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in his Department work in(a) the West Midlands and (b) North Staffordshire. [146910]
§ Mr. StrawThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office do not employ staff in the West Midlands or North Staffordshire. UKTI (jointly responsible to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and me) fund the delivery of services through a Regional UKTI Team and staff employed by the Business Link/Chamber network in the region.
In the West Midlands the total number of staff working on the UKTI agenda is 41 of which 19 are civil servants (employed by the Government Office on UKTIs behalf). The Staffordshire UKTI Team consists of eight (two civil servants) and of these five are based in North Staffordshire (one civil servant).