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10 Feb 2003 : Column 568W—continued
Eurobank
Mr. Hawkins : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what costs have been incurred by his Department's budget from the collapse of the Eurobank case; and if he will make a statement. [94408]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer of 30 January 2003]: None, apart from the travel and subsistence costs of the FCO's Deputy Legal Adviser, currently in the Cayman Islands, which will fall to the Department. He visited after the court had announced a decision.
Falklands Visit
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the visit by HM Ambassador to Argentina to Port Stanley was announced; whom he met; what discussions were held on what topics; and what reasons underlay the terms of the press conference with local journalists. [96296]
Mr. Straw: Our Ambassador to Argentina, Sir Robin Christopher, visited the Falkland Islands on his way back to Buenos Aires following leave in the UK. His main purpose was to brief Island Councillors and the Governor on Argentina and to discuss planning for the construction of the proposed memorial to the Argentine fallen at the Darwin cemetery, as envisaged in the Joint Agreement of July 1999.
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Iraq
Dr. Jenny Tonge To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what his estimate is of the cost in US dollars of administrating Iraq in the event of regime change following war in Iraq; [96162]
- (2) what estimate his Department has made of the cost in US dollars of administering Iraq in each of the first 10 years following any possible regime change. [96165]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: No decision has been made to take military action against Iraq. Since we cannot know in advance the circumstances of a post-Saddam Iraq, we are not in a position to estimate accurately Iraq's possible requirements, whether financial or material.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will list those contracts for supply of medical equipment and products to Iraq which have been vetoed by (a) member states of the UN Security Council and (b) the UN Security Council since imposition of sanctions; [96103]
- (2) if he will list the nature and value of contracts for the supply of medical equipment and products to Iraq which have been permitted to take place from UK companies since the imposition of sanctions. [96104]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: This question could be answered comprehensively only by researching United Nations records for the last 12 years, which could be done only at disproportionate cost.
As part of our policy to do all we can to improve the humanitarian situation of the Iraqi people, the UK has rejected contracts for exports to Iraq only where there is serious concern about their potential use in Iraq's military or weapons of mass destruction programmes. The Iraqi regime meanwhile continues to hamper the humanitarian programme, cutting its medical sector funding in 2002 by 75 per cent. and diverting to military use trucks supplied under the programme for delivering humanitarian goods inside Iraq.
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a revised version of the UK Dossier on Iraq of September 2002. [96950]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: There are no plans at present for the publication of a revision of the September dossier.
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UN inspectors were present in Iraq in each year between 1991 and 1998; and which (a) weapons of mass destruction, (b) their precursors and (c) missile delivery systems were destroyed in each of those years. [96750]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The numbers of inspectors on the ground in Iraq constantly varied during the period in question. As a general rule, there was an average of 80 inspectors in country at any given time.
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Details of UNSCOM's activities in Iraq are available on the UN internet site at www.un.org/depts/unmovic.
Language Courses
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what language courses are offered by his Department to staff being posted overseas; and what the cost of these programmes has been in each year since 1997. [96303]
Mr. Straw: The amount of language training offered to staff posted overseas depends on the nature of the job to which they are posted. For those posted to a job which requires them to be able to speak a language to a certain level, they will receive the training necessary to reach the appropriate level. This can vary from a few months for basic training in the more straightforward European languages such as French or Spanish to up to two years for the hard languages like Arabic, Chinese or Japanese. For staff whose job overseas does not require them to be able to speak the local language, 100 hours language training is available to enable them to cope with the basic needs of everyday living. This 100 hours is also offered to spouses and partners.
The cost of this language training for each of the years since 1997 is as follows:
| Year | £ |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 1,967,196 |
| 1998–99 | 2,262,308 |
| 1999–2000 | 2,255,815 |
| 2000–01 | 2,322,356 |
| 2001–02 | 2,347,896 |
| 2002–03 | 2,519,883 |
Osama bin Laden
Gregory Barker : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from intelligence sources concerning progress made towards the apprehension of Osama bin Laden; and what evidence he has collated that Osama bin Laden is alive. [95317]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have received a number of reports concerning Osama bin Laden. It is the practice of successive Governments not to comment on intelligence matters. The Security and Intelligence Agencies are outside the scope of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Paragraph 6, Part I).
Palestine (British Citizens)
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department will take measures to increase the safety of British citizens in Palestine; and if he will make a statement on the safety of international humanitarian workers in the Middle East. [95854]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer my hon. Friend to our current Travel Advice for Israel and the Occupied Territories which includes a section on safety/humanitarian experts (www.fco.gov.uk).
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Staff Vacancies
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what staffing vacancies there are in (a) the sections of his Department dealing with Eastern Europe and the applicant states and (b) in the respective British embassies. [96299]
Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no current vacancies in the sections of the Department which deals with Eastern Europe and the applicant states. There are three vacancies in the respective embassies, namely:
- Bucharest, Second Secretary Political—officer preparing to go out.
Moscow, Entry Clearance Officer—officer preparing to go out.
Tirana, Deputy Head of Mission—officer preparing to go out.
Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has one current staffing vacancy in the section of the Department which deals with the European Union. There are three in our Embassies in the European Union. The vacancies are:
- Brussels, Embassy Registry Officer—to be selected shortly.
European Union Department (External), Twinning Officer—seeking candidate.
The Hague, Second Secretary Political—officer preparing to go out.
Madrid, HM Ambassador—officer preparing to go out.
Telephone Helplines
Mr. Lazarowicz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many telephone helplines are sponsored by his Department; and which of these helplines are charged at (a) national rate, (b) premium rate and (c) local rate. [95717]
Mr. Rammell: The FCO will operate one national rate helpline once the Interactive Voice Recognition system for Consular Travel Advice is operational.
Temporary Promotions
Mr. Ancram : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what proportion of civil servants based in (a) embassies and (b) the sections of his Department dealing with the European Union are on temporary promotion. [96301]
Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has six civil servants in our Embassies and 12 in the sections of my Department who deal with the European Union who are on temporary promotion. These represent 2 per cent. and 12 per cent. of the totals respectively.
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what proportion of civil servants based in (a) embassies and (b) the sections of his Department dealing with Eastern Europe and the applicant states are on temporary promotion. [96302]
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Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has eight civil servants in our embassies and seven in the sections of my Departments dealing with Eastern Europe and applicant states who are on temporary promotion. These represent 3 per cent. and 10 per cent. of the totals respectively.
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