Sessional Returns Session 1998-99 - Contents


10. SELECT COMMITTEES

17. Foreign Affairs

The Committee was nominated on 16 July 1997.
It had 12 Members and held 53 meetings. This included 5 meetings held concurrently with the Defence, International Development and Trade and Industry Committees (abbreviated to 'CM' in the attendance table below).


Members
Meetings
attended

Anderson, Mr Donald (Chairman)
(including 2 CM) 42
Abbott, Ms Diane
(including 3 CM) 30
Bottomley, Mrs Virginia (discharged 25.1.99)
6
Chidgey, Mr David (added 1.11.99)
(including 1 CM) 3
Emery, Sir Peter
(including 3 CM) 34
Godman, Mr Norman A
(including 4 CM) 31
Heath, Mr David (discharged 1.11.99)
(including 1 CM) 37
Illsley, Mr Eric
38
Mackinlay, Mr Andrew
34
Madel, Sir David (added 5.7.99)
7
Ross, Mr Ernie (discharged 22.3.99)
17
Rowlands, Mr Ted
(including 5 CM) 47
Stanley, Sir John
(including 3 CM) 46
Starkey, Dr Phyllis (added 22.3.99)
22
Wilshire, Mr David
25
Woodward, Mr Shaun (added 25.1.99; discharged 5.7.99)
12

Overall attendance:
67.7 %
Number of Members added:
4
Number of Members discharged:
4
Turnover of membership during the Session:
33 %


Staff

Committee Clerk: Mr Paul Silk, Deputy Principal Clerk (Senior Structure Band 2).
Second Clerk: Mr Martyn Atkins, Assistant Clerk (Band A3) (6.7.99); Ms Tabitha Brufal, Assistant Clerk (Band A3 ) (from 1.10.99).
Committee Assistant: Mrs Carol Oxborough, Senior Executive Officer (Band B1); assisted by Miss Ana Ferreira, Senior Office Clerk (Band D1).
Committee Specialist: Mr Daniel Thornton (Band B1) from 15.2.99
Secretary: Mrs Sheryl Bertasius, Secretary (Band C).

Specialist Advisers during the Session
Dr Edwin Bacon, Mr Paul Bergne, Dr Richard Caplan, Mr Howard Gilbert, Dr Kirsty Hughes, Dr Bill Tompson, Ms Miranda Vickers, Mrs Heather Weeks (Chatham House Liaison).

Witnesses
Oral evidence was given during the Session by the following categories of witnesses:
    Number of appearances by:
    Cabinet Ministers 7
        (includes a joint meeting with Defence, International Development and Trade and Industry Committees at which the Foreign Secretary gave evidence)
        Other Ministers 6
    Number of appearances by officials from, or representatives of:
    Foreign & Commonwealth Office 21
    non-departmental public bodies 11
        comprising:
    BBC World Service 6
    British Council 5
    Appearances by other witnesses 37
        (includes a joint meeting with Defence, International Development and Trade and Industry Committees at which 4 witnesses gave evidence)

Overseas Visits

DateDestination MembersStaff Purpose
Cost
27-28.1.99Bonn
9
2
Work in preparation for German Presidency of EU
£6,405.00
8-10.3.99Bonn
1*
1
Meeting of Foreign Affairs Committee Chairmen of Parliaments of EU Member States, EU Applicant States and of the European Parliament
£1,464.00
16-18.3.99Gibraltar
8
2
Inquiry into Gibraltar
£9,985.00
16-19.4.99Ohrid, Macedonia
1*
Parliamentary meeting on the Royaumont Process organised by the FAC of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia
£1,593.00
7-15.5.9910-15.5.9914-19.6.99 3 part visit:Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan;Georgia and Armenia;Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan
323
111
Inquiry into South Caucasus and Central Asia
£38,370.00(estimated outturn)
24-26.6.99Oslo
1*
  
Conference on Ethical Values in International Relations
£678.00
19-21.7.99Helsinki
1*
1
Meeting of FAC Chairmen of Parliaments of EU Member States, EU Applicant States and of the European Parliament
£403.00(estimated outturn)
21-24.7.99Helsinki and Tallinn
9
2
Work on EU matters, including preparation for Finnish Presidency
£14,825.00(estimated outturn)
17-22.10.99Moscow, Ekaterinburg, St Petersburg
8
3**
Inquiry into relations with Russia
£32,272.00(estimated outturn)

* Travel in a representative capacity
** Includes one specialist adviser

Visits to European Institutions in Brussels and Strasbourg
None.

UK Visits

Date
Destination
Members
Staff
Purpose
Cost
25.2.99Chinese Embassy
4
2
Briefing
£55.16
4.3.99German Embassy
6
2
Briefing in connection with German Presidency of EU
£56.48


Reports and Minutes of Evidence  

Title
HC No.
(1998-99)
Date of
publication
No. ofpages
Sale price
Government
reply
First Report: Foreign Policy and Human Rights
100-I
21.12.98
122
£14.70
Cm 4299, 23.3.99
Minutes of Evidence: Foreign Policy and Human Rights
100-II
21.12.98
235
£22.00
Not applicable
Appendices: Foreign Policy and Human Rights
100-III
21.12.98
121
£15.90
Not applicable
Second Report: Sierra Leone
116-I
9.2.99
90
£12.50
Cm 4325 13.3.99
Minutes of Evidence and Appendices: Sierra Leone
116-II
9.2.99
326
£23.70
Not applicable
Third Report: European Union Enlargement
86
11.3.99
112
£13.30
Cm 4348, 13.5.99
Fourth Report: Gibraltar
366
22.6.99
168
£18.00
Cm 4470, 28.11.99
Fifth Report: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Resources
271
1.7.99
136
£16.00
Cm 4462, 11.11.99
Sixth Report: South Caucasus and Central Asia
349-I
27.7.99
91
£12.50
Cm 4458, 21.10.99
Minutes of Evidence and Appendices: South Caucasus and Central Asia
349-II
27.7.99
234
£20.50
Not applicable
Seventh Report: Kosovo: Interim Report
188
29.7.99
94
£14.80
Not required
First Special Report: Premature Disclosure of Committee's Report on Sierra Leone
293
3.3.99(published in typescript 2.3.99)
8
£2.25
Not required
Second Special Report: Premature Disclosure of First and Third Reports of Session 1998-99
365
31.3.99
11
£3.40
Not required
Third Special Report: Committee's Inquiry into the 1997 and 1998 Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls (Joint inquiry with the Defence, International Development and Trade and Industry Committees)
540
30.6.99
104
£13.60
Not applicable
Minutes of Evidence: Vienna European Council
42-i
7.1.99
23
£6.20
Not applicable
Minutes of Evidence: Berlin Special European Council
296-i
19.3.99
15
£4.75
Not applicable
Minutes of Evidence: Cologne European Council
462-i
9.6.99
14
£4.00
Not applicable

Government replies to Reports for Session 1996-97
None.

Minutes of Proceedings
The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee for Session 1997-98 were published on 12.2.99 as HC1165, Session 1997-98. The Minutes of Proceedings for Session 1998-99 will be published as HC903, Session 1998-99.

Divisions

DateSubject
10.12.98Eleven, on consideration of Chairman's draft Report on Foreign Policy and Human Rights
2.2.99 [Morning Sitting] Ten, on consideration of Chairman's draft Report on Sierra Leone
2.2.99 [Afternoon Sitting] Thirty-four, on consideration of Chairman's draft Report on Sierra Leone.

Debates
The following Reports were referred to on the Order Paper as being relevant to a debate in the House:

Third Report, 1998-99, on European Union Enlargement, on a Government Motion for the Adjournment of the House, 25.5.99

The following Minutes of Evidence were referred to on the Order Paper as being relevant to debates in the House:

Minutes of Evidence, 1 December 1998, HC 42-i, on the Vienna European Council, 3.12.98
Minutes of Evidence, 14 April 1999, HC 188-ii, on Kosovo, 19.4.99
Minutes of Evidence, 28 April 1999, HC 188-iii, on Kosovo, 18.5.99

Evidence
Oral evidence was taken at 20 of the Committee's 53 meetings. On one of these occasions evidence was taken partly or wholly in private.

Inquiry
No. of oral evidence sessions
No. of memoranda received
No. of memoranda received from
No. of memoranda published
No. of memoranda made available in the Record Office for public use and placed in the Library
        Govt. Departments executive agencies public bodies†     
Foreign Policy and Human Rights*
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
Sierra Leone*
1
8
0
0
0
20
13
European Union Enlargement
1
19
3
0
0
17
0
Gibraltar
2
37
5
0
1
36
1
FCO Resources
2
21
7
0
8
19
1
South Caucasus and Central Asia
3
69
5
0
3
55
1
Kosovo Interim Report
6
6
4
0
0
6
0
Strategic Export Controls**
2
30
15
0
0
13
0
Miscellaneous
3
23
4
0
5
3
0
Total
20
215
44
0
17
169
16

**The Committee did not complete this inquiry in Session 1998-99; these figures are therefore incomplete.
‡  The Committee took oral evidence and received memoranda for this inquiry in Session 1997-98; these figures are therefore incomplete.


 
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Prepared 21 December 1999