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Ministerial Accommodation
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what publicly owned accommodation is made available to him in his official role; how many nights he has been in residence at each of these properties in the last 12 months; and what the total cost is of maintaining each of these properties. [55103]
Dr. John Reid: Accommodation in Hillsborough Castle is made available to me as a residence while in Northern Ireland. The Castle is also Her Majesty the Queen's residence in the province, is used as a conference centre, hosts charity fund raising events and is open to the public.
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Between April 2001 and March 2002 I stayed there for 144 nights and between March 2002 and May 2002 I have stayed for 29 nights.
The total running costs for Hillsborough Castle for the last financial year were £1.1 million.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Diversity Agenda
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives he has undertaken since 7 June concerning the Diversity Agenda at his Department. [64823]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The FCO continues to work on the implementation of its diversity strategy, "Investing for Tomorrow", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The strategy was refreshed earlier this year and incorporates duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, also discussed diversity issues when he met Trade Union representatives on 24 June.
Zimbabwean Police
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the end use monitoring undertaken by his Department of the use of the Land Rover Defender vehicles provided to the Zimbabwean Police as part of a DfID funded project. [65036]
Mr. MacShane: This Department has taken a close interest in the use made by the Zimbabwe Republic Police of Land Rovers partly funded by HMG. Prior to the general elections in early 2000, we registered our strong concern with the Zimbabwean Home Minister that they were being used for political ends. The lack of a satisfactory response led to the decision taken by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for International Development, to suspend further deliveries in May 2000.
Gujarat
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent disturbances in the Gujarat region of India. [65405]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We share my hon. Friends' concerns over the recent communal violence and deaths in Gujarat. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has been in regular contact with the Governnment of India on the situation in Gujarat, including during his most recent visit to India on 29 May, when he raised this with Mr. Advani, the then Indian Minister for Home Affairs. He raised the case of the four British nationals who were attacked by a mob on 28 February and urged that those responsible be brought to justice. The Government of India have themselves strongly condemned the violence in Gujarat, and have given assurances, which we welcome, that they will take action to bring to justice perpetrators of all the killings and violence. My right hon. Friend has also met the
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families of the four British nationals who were attacked during the violence, and raised their cases with the Government of India during his 29 May visit.
Poland
Mr. David: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about German land claims in that part of Poland ceded by Germany in 1945. [65591]
Peter Hain: The administrative borders between Poland and Germany were drawn up as part of the Potsdam Agreement in 1945 pending a final delimitation of borders at a peace settlement. No peace settlement was ever concluded. The borders between Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany were confirmed by the 1990 Treaty of Final Settlement with Respect to Germany signed by the Allied powers and the then two German states. They were confirmed in bilateral treaties agreed by Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany in November 1990 and June 1991.
Carpathian Initiative
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the Government are providing to the Carpathian Initiative; and if he will make a statement. [65709]
Peter Hain: The Department for International Development has contributed £180,000 to a project in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania to promote sustainable economic regeneration through public/private partnerships. The implementing agencies for this project are the Romanian Environmental Partnership Foundation and the Polish Environmental Partnership Foundation, both of which have links with the Carpathian Initiative. However, HMG provides no direct funding support to the Carpathian Initiative.
MI6
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at what level, and under what circumstances, it can be decided within MI6 that information held may not be seen by Ministers. [65153]
Mr. Straw [holding answer 2 July. 2002]: The Secret Intelligence Service carries out its functions under the Intelligence Services Act 1994 under my authority. The Act provides for the Chief of SIS to be appointed by the Secretary of State and imposes a duty on the Chief to ensure that there are arrangements, which I approve, for securing that no information is obtained by SIS except so far as is necessary for the proper discharge of its functions. I can foresee no circumstances in which information could be withheld from Ministers given these statutory responsibilities.
Communications (Interception)
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy that, where a foreign security agency is asked by a UK body authorised to carry out interception of communications on its behalf relating to a UK citizen,
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there shall be a requirement for permission to be sought as if the interception were to be carried out by the UK body itself. [65157]
Mr. Straw [holding answer 2 July 2002]: In so far as the agencies for which I have responsibility undertake interception activities, this is consistent with the requirements of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and the Intelligence Services Act 1994. It is not government policy to comment on any intelligence arrangements that might exist between the UK and other countries.
Government Communications Headquarters
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under what circumstances GCHQ facilities are used to (a) monitor and (b) intercept communications involving United Kingdom nationals where the communication originates or terminates outside the United Kingdom. [65651]
Mr. Straw: It is a long-standing practice of this Government and previous Administrations not to comment on the activities of the intelligence services. The interception of communications is governed by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and overseen by the Interception of Communications Commissioner. GCHQ, like any other Government agency empowered to apply for a warrant under the Act, may intercept "external communications" (as defined by the Act) if the conditions required for the issuing of a warrant set out in Sections 5, 8 and 15 and 16 are met.
Kenya
Mr. Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has collated about the Government of Kenya's proposals to change the law allowing an extension of the term of the Kenyan Parliament. [66050]
Mr. MacShane: On 18 June some KANU MPs called for extension of the current Parliament to allow time for the constitutional review to be completed and for the new constitution to be passed into law before the next general election. An extension would require Parliament to pass a constitutional amendment. To date Parliament has not debated the issue.
Mr. Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Kenya about the need for free and fair parliamentary elections there. [66049]
Mr. MacShane: The need for free and fair elections features regularly in our contacts with the Kenyan Government and officials.
Visa Applications
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visa applications from Arab countries have been rejected in each month since September 1999. [65233]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Figures for the number of applications refused between September 1999 and May 2002 in Arab countries are listed in the table.
(12) From April 2002
Note:
We are awaiting figures for May 2002
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