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Secondments

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 11 February 2000, Official Report, columns 337-38W, concerning secondments, which of the secondees listed were appointed for a period of 12 months or less. [124822]

Mr. Battle: There were (a) 14 private sector staff who undertook secondments of 12 or less months to my Department between May 1997 and April 1998, (b) 11 between May 1998 and April 1999 and (c) 19 between May 1999 and February 2000.

Overseas Territories

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) which Overseas Territories legislatures have e-mail addresses; and which of these can be used to contact individual members of those legislatures; [124842]

(2) when his Department will make an up-to-date list of members of all Overseas Territories legislatures, together with their point of contact, available in the Library; and if he will make it his Department's practice for this to be updated regularly. [124841]

Mr. Battle: My Department is in the process of compiling a list of elected members of those Overseas Territories which have a legislature, together with contact details, including e-mail addresses where these exist. This will be placed in the House of Commons Library and will be updated after elections in the territories. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association is in regular contact with elected members both in the UK and in the territories and provides a forum for direct liaison between the two.

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress in implementing the proposals outlined in the recent White Paper on Overseas Territories; and if he will make a statement. [124843]

Mr. Battle: Good progress has been made in key areas covered by the White Paper. Preparations for an Overseas Territories Bill granting British citizenship have reached an advanced stage; structured political dialogue has been effected by the establishment of an annual Consultative Council between British and Overseas Territories Ministers; a process of constitutional modernisation has been initiated; a draft environmental charter has been distributed for consultation; capital and corporal punishment have been abolished in most territories, with agreement to do so in the others, and an independent review of the regulation of financial sectors in the Overseas Territories is being conducted by consultants.

7 Jun 2000 : Column: 293W

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the visits made to each Overseas Territory by Ministers in

7 Jun 2000 : Column: 294W

his Department since 1 May 1997; and if he will make a statement. [124840]

Mr. Battle: The information is in the table.

7 Jun 2000 : Column: 293W

Outward ministerial visits to the Overseas Territories since 1 May 1997

Country	Visitor	Position held	Date of visit	Purpose of visit
Montserrat	Baroness Symons	PUSS	17 to 18 June 1997	Official
Montserrat	Baroness Symons	PUSS	late June 1997	Official
Montserrat	Robin Cook	Secretary of State	14 February 1998	Official
Falkland Islands	Tony Lloyd	Minister of State	21 to 25 April 1998	Official
British Virgin Islands	Baroness Symons	PUSS(11)	8 to 10 September 1998	Official
Turks and Caicos Islands	Baroness Symons	PUSS	10-11 September 1998	Official
Cayman Islands	Baroness Symons	PUSS	18-20 January 1999	Official
Montserrat	Baroness Scotland	PUSS	15-16 September 1999	Official
Bermuda	Baroness Scotland	PUSS	8-11 March 2000	Official

(11) Formally designated a Minister responsible for the Overseas Territories in July 1998

7 Jun 2000 : Column: 293W

Gibraltar

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library the speeches and press releases and documents pertaining to the United Kingdom's bilateral and EU relations with Spain which have related to Gibraltar, since the recent agreement was reached with Spain on Gibraltar. [124835]

Mr. Vaz: A copy of the documents relating to the arrangements covering a number of issues within the European Union concerning Gibraltar which were agreed with Spain following extensive consultation with the Government of Gibraltar were placed in the Library of the House on 19 April 2000, and details were given to the House by the Foreign Secretary on the same day, Official Report, columns 499-500W. The Foreign Secretary's statement announcing the arrangements on 19 April will also be placed in the Library.

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what information he has collected relating to the average time of waiting at the Spain-Gibraltar border for motor vehicles entering or leaving Gibraltar since the recent agreement reached with Spain on Gibraltar; [124834]

(2) if he will list, for each day since the recent agreement with Spain about Gibraltar, the (a) longest and (b) average waiting time for vehicles entering or leaving Gibraltar. [124833]

Dr. Marek: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if there has been a diminution of delays at the border between Gibraltar and Spain as a result of the recent Anglo-Spanish agreement. [124798]

Mr. Vaz: The border did not form part of the discussions between Her Majesty's Government and the Spanish Government, which concluded on 19 April, with the support of the Government of Gibraltar. The table shows maximum and average delay times for cars entering and leaving Gibraltar since 19 April, based on figures collated by the Royal Gibraltar Police.

7 Jun 2000 : Column: 294W

Minutes

	Delay exiting Gibraltar		Delay entering Gibraltar
Date	Maximum	Average	Maximum	Average
April
19	75	41	30	11
20	45	31	15	5
21	20	15	20	12
22 Saturday	45	35	60	35
23 Easter	60	40	30	5
24 Bank Holiday	60	41	20	15
25	60	41	45	14
26	60	45	45	23
27	90	43	20	3
28	90	44	45	10
29 Saturday	75	47	60	24
30 Sunday	75	41	75	25
May
01 Bank Holiday	75	48	60	25
02	75	52	30	6
03	75	49	30	7
04	45	33	30	5
05	90	30	60	15
06 Saturday	90	65	30	7
07 Sunday	60	35	15	3
08	60	45	15	5
09	45	41	25	5
10	60	31	45	9
11	75	35	40	6
12	90	34	45	10
13 Saturday	45	32	40	9
14 Sunday	90	54	20	2
15	90	51	20	4
16	60	37	0	0
17	120	38	45	8
18	60	43	30	5
19	90	47	45	7
20 Saturday	75	61	20	1
21 Sunday	180	76	0	0
22	90	47	40	7
23	75	49	20	5
24	90	40	45	7
25	75	37	20	1
26	90	44	30	4
27 Saturday	60	36	15	2
28 Sunday	30	12	0	0
29 Bank Holiday	30	14	30	9
30	90	39	30	6
31	90	52	45	8
June
01	60	40	20	3
02	60	33	40	8
03 Saturday	60	40	20	5
04 Sunday	40	28	0	0
05	90	33	30	5

Note:

Average delays are measured for the period 0900 to 2100, when most traffic crosses the border.

7 Jun 2000 : Column: 295W

Dr. Marek: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role his Department will play in respect of matters covered by the recent Anglo-Spanish agreement. [124812]

Mr. Vaz: A United Kingdom Government/Gibraltar Liaison Unit for EU Affairs has been established in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with responsibility for conveying formal communications between Gibraltar authorities and their counterparts in other EU member states under the new arrangements concerning Gibraltar competent authorities. The Department will also play a role in facilitating as necessary the implementation of other aspects of the various new arrangements, including the development of practical cooperation between the Royal Gibraltar Police and the Spanish police forces under the new police cooperation arrangements.

Dr. Marek: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the visits made by himself or his ministers to Gibraltar within the last two years, stating the (a) purpose and (b) outcome of the visit. [124799]

Mr. Vaz: My right hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead, East and Washington, West (Ms Quin) visited Gibraltar on 22-23 July 1999 and I visited on 18-19 May 2000.

The main purpose of the visits was to enable Ministers responsible for Gibraltar to meet and hear the views of the people of Gibraltar and their elected representatives. This was achieved.

My hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, North (Mr. Henderson) also visited Gibraltar from 7-8 October 1997.

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