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Zimbabwe
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many locally employed staff are employed by her Department in Zimbabwe at pay levels below the British national minimum wage. [105687]
Mr. Foulkes: I refer the hon. Member to the reply from the Secretary of State on 14 February 2000, Official Report, column 430W.
Funding
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list, by country, the
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percentage of her Department's funding that goes (a) directly to foreign Governments, (b) to NGOs and charities and (c) directly to the private sector. [110565]
Mr. Foulkes:
Detailed information on a country basis is not available and could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost.
| Channel | Percentage of 1998-99 bilateral expenditure |
|---|---|
| Governments | 37 |
| Private sector | 47 |
| NGOs | 16 |
Further detailed information on a country basis, divided into Project or sector aid, Programme aid, Technical Co-operation, Aid and Trade Provision, Grants, Humanitarian Assistance, and Debt Relief, is available in the publication "Statistics on International Development", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
Chernobyl
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what has been the amount of (a) UK bilateral aid to Ukraine for use in the clean-up following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident, (b) aid relating to Chernobyl from the UK Government channelled through international organisations and (c) UK aid specifically targeted to the victims of the Chernobyl accident, expended in (i) Ukraine and (ii) Belarus. [110581]
Mr. Foulkes: The UK Government have pledged a contribution of £10.5 million towards the Chernobyl Shelter Fund. In addition, some £62.5 million has been pledged by the European Community, of which around 16 per cent. is the UK share. Since 1997, we have provided some £300,000 for measures specifically targeted at the victims of the Chernobyl accident in Belarus. There has been no support specifically targeted at the victims of the accident in Ukraine.
Paper and Timber Products
Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she has taken to ensure that paper and timber products purchased by her Department come from a sustainable source. [110196]
Mr. Foulkes:
The Government, through the Green Ministers Committee of which I am a member, have issued a model framework which Departments have used as the basis for preparing their own environmental strategies. Among its key aims are the conservation of resources and minimisation of waste by reducing our reliance on virgin materials and ensuring that any products derived from wildlife--such as paper and timber--are from sustainable sources and comply with EU and international trading agreements such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
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Our policy statement declares:
Mr. Reed:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will ensure that paper and timber products purchased by her Department are independently certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as coming from a sustainable source. [110197]
Mr. Foulkes:
The Department for International Development is currently involved with providing support, through the Natural Resources Institute and bilateral aid funded projects, for the FSC as part of its efforts to set up the certification program.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is accepted by buyers as demonstrating that timber and timber products have come from sustainably managed sources.
That said, it is not however viewed as being practicable to require that all paper and timber products purchased by this Department are independently certified by the FSC because this might discriminate against any equally valid schemes and therefore be contrary to public procurement rules.
Specifying the FSC label alone might also result in us failing to meet all our requirements, as currently only a tiny percentage of timber products are certified by the FSC.
My Department's policy statement for greening its operations states:
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's advertising budget for (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01. [110263]
Mr. Hain
[holding answer 16 February 2000]: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not have any budgets dedicated solely to advertising. However, as part of the recruitment process, advertising is included in the overall costs.
For the financial year to date the FCO has spent £438,282 on recruitment advertising. This covers recruitment to all grades in the generalist and specialist cadres. Owing to the demand led nature of recruitment it is not possible to predict advertising costs for 2000-01.
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Mr. Ivan Lewis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the export of demining equipment to the HALO Trust in Kosovo. [111120]
Mr. Vaz:
We have granted a licence for the export to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) of a rocket wrench, de-arming kit and power charges for use by the HALO Trust, an organisation engaged in humanitarian demining activities in Kosovo on behalf of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). These goods are on the UK's Military List.
UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1160 imposed an arms embargo on the FRY. The only exception to this embargo is that in UNSCR 1244, which provides that prohibitions imposed by UNSCR 1160 shall not apply to the sale or supply of arms and related material for use by the international civil and security presence in Kosovo. We have notified the UN Sanctions Committee of this export and they have raised no objection. The export of the equipment required for demining purposes is not prohibited by the EU arms embargo.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken by United Kingdom representatives at the United Nations to help ensure the speedy implementation of the proposed referendum on the future of the Western Sahara. [110478]
Mr. Hain:
UK representatives in New York give their full support to efforts to implement the UN-sponsored referendum in the Western Sahara. UK representatives are also active members of the Friends of the Western Sahara grouping at the UN. The Permanent Representative to the UK Mission, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, recently met the Secretary-General of the Polisario Front and assured him that the UK would continue to support all efforts to find a just and durable peace in the Western Sahara acceptable to the Saharawi people.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring of human rights is undertaken by his Department in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [110477]
Mr. Hain:
Our High Commission in Islamabad monitors human rights in Afghanistan and is in regular contact with NGOs and UN agencies on this subject.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the Government have to re-open the British Embassy in Kabul. [110568]
Mr. Hain:
We have no plans at present to re-open the British Embassy in Kabul.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) when his Department last (a) received representations from and (b) made representations to the Afghan Embassy in London; [110570]
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Mr. Hain:
We are in regular contact with the Charge d'Affaires at the Afghanistan Embassy in London who was appointed by the Rabbani Government. He last met officials from the FCO on 16 February. We are also in contact with the other Afghan factions, including the Taliban
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the location of heroin production within Afghanistan. [110571]
Mr. Battle:
The FCO funds a series of studies of the drugs problem in Afghanistan by the United Nations International Drugs Programme (UNDCP). Heroin production in Afghanistan is concentrated mainly in the Helmand, Nangahar and Badakhshan provinces. Approximately 90 per cent. of the areas in which opium poppy is cultivated is under Taliban control. According to estimates of the UNDCP, 1999 saw a 117 per cent. increase in the Afghan poppy harvest, to a total of 4,800 tonnes of opium, making Afghanistan the world's largest producer of illegal opiates.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department last had contact with a representative of the Taliban Government of Afghanistan. [110566]
Mr. Hain:
We are in regular contact with the main Afghan factions, including the Taliban. The last contact between a representative of the Taliban and a British official was on 16 February 2000.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs where representatives of his Department have met representatives of the Taliban Government of Afghanistan. [110567]
Mr. Hain:
Our meetings with the Taliban take place mainly in Islamabad. However, members of our Embassy in Copenhagen met a visiting Taliban delegation on 12 February 2000.
"We will seek to conserve energy and natural resources and reduce our production of waste, emissions to air and discharges to land and water".
The Department for International Development monitors its performance on the above and other aspects of its operations with respect to green housekeeping and reports on progress made. As part of our continuing efforts to constantly improve our performance, an environmental management system is currently being implemented.
"We will encourage our suppliers to minimise the impacts of their operations, products and services on the environment through a procurement policy based on the standards in the Government's Green Claims Code".
(2) when his Department last received representations from the former Afghan Government of President Rabbani. [110569]
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