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6 Nov 2002 : Column 323W—continued
HMS Caroline
Mr. MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will have discussions with the
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Ministry of Defence to bring about the future use of HMS Caroline as part of the wider tourist attractions of the Belfast Harbour and River Lagan. [78362]
Mr. Pearson: HMS Caroline is currently a training ship of the Ulster Division of the Royal Navy Reserve (RNR) docked in Titanic Quarter, Belfast. I understand that the RNR has plans to build a new on-shore base in Belfast once the finance becomes available and as a result, HMS Caroline will be surplus to requirements. However, until the shore base plans are implemented, HMS Caroline will remain a training ship.
I will ask the Northern Ireland Tourist Board to explore with relevant partners, including the Ministry of Defence, possibilities for the future use of HMS Caroline.
Grammar Schools
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 24th October 2002, Official Report, column 476W, on selective schools, what his estimate is of the level of public support for the retention of grammar schools in Northern Ireland. [79313]
Jane Kennedy: Grammar schools are popular with parents and, like many other schools, are oversubscribed each year with applications for places.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH
European Union
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when (a) his Department and (b) Ministers were informed of plans to introduce an EU top level domain; and if he will make a statement on the accuracy of his Department's initial press briefings on this subject. [78126]
Mr. MacShane: The information requested is not available at this time. However, I shall write to the hon. Member with a full answer as soon as possible.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the European Union offices outside of the EU, indicating the number of permanent staff; what the annual running cost is, of each office; what the diplomatic status of staff is; and if he will make a statement on the relationship between his Department and them. [78116]
Mr. Macshane: There are 144 European Delegations in Third party countries, employing a total of 843 permanent staff:
Note:
Where no permanent staff are listed, delegations are managed in entirety by locally engaged staff.
The total allocation under Title A6 of the budget (Staff and Administrative Expenditure of European Community Delegations) for 2002 is Euro273.3 million.
Whether or not delegation officials enjoy diplomatic status depends on the individual arrangements agreed between the European Commission and the relevant host country or organisation.
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Diplomatic List
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ensure that individuals on secondment from the private sector in embassies are marked as such in the Diplomatic List, listing the firm from which they originated and the dates of their secondment. [78156]
Mr. Rammell: The Diplomatic Service List normally includes only established members of the Diplomatic Service. Although secondees from the private sector and other Government Departments may be entitled to diplomatic privileges when abroad, they are not established members of the Diplomatic Service. The relatively short duration of secondments from the private sector means that, if included, entries for secondees could well be out of date by the time the list was published.
Arms Sales (Iraq)
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to his Serbian counterpart regarding deliveries of Yugoslav arms to Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [79553]
Mr. MacShane: We are very concerned about recent reports of arms sales from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to Iraq. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I raised this with the Yugoslav Foreign Minister, Dr. Goran Svilanovic, when he visited the UK on 30–31 October. We urged the Yugoslav Government to investigate the matter fully and bring criminal prosecutions against those responsible. We will continue to press for a thorough investigation.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the NATO operation in the Bosnia entity of Republika Srpska related to the sale of military equipment to Iraq. [79550]
Mr. Macshane: NATO Stabilisation Force troops carried out a two-day search of the Bosnian Serb government owned Air Force Institute, Orao, on 11–13 October. The search uncovered evidence that Orao had been providing spare engine parts for Iraqi MiG fighter jets, as well as technical assistance in repairing the engines.
Lord Ashdown, the High Representative in Bosnia, made a statement on 27 October demanding an immediate end to such assistance to Iraq and a full enquiry. He called for all those responsible to be brought to account, and for new controls to prevent any recurrence.
A number of officials have since been dismissed. On 30 October, the State government announced a total ban on all arms imports and exports. We strongly support Lord Ashdown's proposals, and will continue to make clear to Bosnian leaders the need to address this as a matter of urgency.
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