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13 Feb 2003 : Column 936W—continued

Burma

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which people elected at the last elections in Burma are under house arrest there. [97119]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Our latest information is that there are no MPs-elect from the 1990 election in Burma currently under house arrest.

However many MPs-elect continue to be subject to close surveillance, checks, general infringement of civil liberties and harassment from the police and security services.

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Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which people elected at the last national elections in Burma are political prisoners in Burma; and what information he has collated regarding the location of each prisoner. [97120]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Information about Burmese political prisoners is hard to obtain and often incomplete. My latest information is that there are 18 MPs-elect currently detained on political grounds in Burma. The prison sentences quoted are often only arbitrary figures. It is common for prisoners to be kept detained long after their notional sentences have expired. Many political prisoners are also detained even when suffering serious ill-health.

Of the MPs listed, U Doe Htaung and U Khin Maung Swe have each served more than their seven year term but have still not been released. And U Kyaw San, Dr. Than Nyein, Daw May Win Myint, U Ohn Maung, U Sein Hla Oo, and U Toe Po all have serious health problems.

The MPs' details are as follows:

Name	Prison term	Prison
U Min Soe Lin (Dr.)	7 years	Unknown
U Min Kyi Win	7 years	Unknown
U Yawsi	Unknown	Myitkyina
U Khun Myint Tun	7 years	Kalay
U Kyaw Khin	Unknown	Unknown
U Ohn Maung	Unknown	Insein
U Soe Myint	42 years	Insein
U Zaw Myint Maung	25 years	Myitkyina
U Ohn Kyaing	17 years	Taungoo
U Kyaw San	Unknown	Insein
U Mying Naing	25 years	Thayet
U Doe Htaung	7 years	Mandalay
U Toe Po	7 years	Thayawady
U Nine Nine	21 years	Insein
U Than Nyein (Dr.)	7 years	Insein
Daw May Win Myint (Dr.)	7 years	Insein
U Sein Hla Oo	20 years	Myitkyina
U Khin Maung Swe	7 years	Myingyan

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has collated about the number of British tourists who visited Burma in each of the past two financial years. [97252]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: It is our policy not to encourage tourism to Burma. We have drawn to the attention of travel organisations the views of the Burmese democratic opposition that tourism is inappropriate at present due to the political and human rights situation there. As part of this policy, Burmese tourism officials are included in the European Union visa ban and asset freeze.

HMG does not have figures for the final destination of those who travel from the UK. Official Burmese figures, which are often unreliable, indicate that 8,424 UK visitors passed through Rangoon in 2001 and 8,620 in 2002. However these figures include all categories of visitors, including UK passport holders of Burmese origin who are visiting family members.

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Capita

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 9 January, Official Report, column 351W, on Capita, if he will give the (a) start and finish date, (b) value, (c) evaluation mechanism for successful delivery and (d) penalty charges for failure to deliver for each contract; whether penalty charges have been incurred; what the service level agreements were; what the contract numbers were; and if he will make a statement. [97339]

Mr. Rammell: Our two contracts with Capita relate to staff recruitment services. One is for the recruitment of administrative assistants (contract PC-R l/00)and the other for the recruitment of specialist staff (contract PC-R 2/00). The value of the contracts over their lifetime is estimated at £917,000 and £1.06 million respectively, £861,000 of which is taken up by expenditure on advertising.

Both contracts commenced on 1 November 2000 and will end on 31 October 2003. They comprise a number of separate recruitment campaigns and we routinely assess performance after each one has been completed. No arrangements for penalty charges are included in the contracts, but we have the option to terminate them if the company were to default on its commitments. Performance levels to date have been satisfactory.

Chechnya

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Russian Government on the future referendum to take place in Chechnya. [97538]

Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not, as yet, raised this issue with the Russian government. However, we do intend to discuss the matter at official level during the next round of our human rights dialogue with Russia, scheduled for early March.

Commonwealth Institute

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who the (a) directors and (b) trustees of the Commonwealth Institute are. [96882]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Since January 2000 the affairs of the Commonwealth Institute have been conducted by a charitable company limited by guarantee: Charity Registration Number 1078736; Company Registration Number 3736792 (England and Wales).

The Trustees of the Charity, who are also the Directors of the Company, are Miss Judith Hanratty,


Right Hon. Lord Fellowes,


HE The High Commissioner for Barbados Mr. Peter Simmons,


HE The High Commissioner for Malta Dr. George Bonello Du Puis,


HE The High Commissioner for New Zealand, Right Hon. Paul East QC (appointed 7 December 2000, resigned 14 February 2002),


HE The High Commissioner for New Zealand Hon. Cedric Russell Marshall,

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HE The High Commissioner for Nigeria Dr. Christopher Kolade,


HE The High Commissioner for the United Republic of Tanzania Mr Hassan Omargumbo Kibelloh,


HE Right Hon. Don McKinnon, Commonwealth Secretary General,


Mr Algy Cluff,


Mrs. Helen Robinson OBE.

Computer Fraud

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many cases of computer (a) hacking, (b) fraud and (c) theft his Department recorded in 2001–02; and on how many occasions computer systems have been illegally accessed by computer hackers (i) within and (ii) outside his Department. [97559]

Mr. Rammell: The number of cases of (a) computer hacking detected was three in 2001 and one in 2002. All of these were perpetrated by persons outside the Department.

No cases of (b) fraud have been detected in 2001 or 2002.

The number of cases of (c) computer theft detected was three in 2001 and none in 2002. The perpetrators are unknown.

Kimberley Process

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to recommend the introduction of certification schemes similar to the Kimberley Process for (a) timber and (b) coltan. [92054]

Mr. Rammell: There are no firm plans to introduce arrangements similar to the Kimberley Process to regulate the trade in timber or coltan. It is not yet clear that something akin to the Kimberley Process, which was developed for a very specific purpose and has only been implemented since 1 January, could be effective in preventing the exploitation of other natural resources.

Energy Supplies (Security)

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) which countries he has identified as posing a threat to the security of energy supplies; [92175]

(2) what current international security risks he has identified as posing a threat to energy supplies. [92178]

Mr. Rammell: There are uncertainties in the world oil market, including concerns about supplies from Iraq. However, currently the only loss of supplies is from Venezuela, and OPEC has already announced that it will increase output to help alleviate the shortfall. OPEC has also reaffirmed its commitment to general market stability. In addition, the International Energy Agency stands ready to take action if the need arises—for example, on the occurrence of a significant supply disruption—including co-ordinating a release of oil stocks by its members.

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EU Budget Information Company

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 13 January 2003, Official Report, column 381W, on EU Budget Information Company, how many officials participate in the management committee on the expenditure of EU information budget funds in candidate countries; how often they meet; and if he will place the agenda and minutes of their meetings in 2002–03 in the Library. [96173]

Clare Short : I have been asked to reply.

The Phare Management Committee is responsible for oversight of EC pre-accession aid programmes. The Information and Communication Programme is one of these and the 2003 financing proposal was agreed at the recent Management Committee meeting on 7 February 2003. One official was present. The Commission will administer this programme, both in Brussels and through its in-country delegations. I will arrange for the agenda of that meeting, and the minutes once they have been ratified, to be placed in the Library. We do not expect the Phare Management Committee to have any further involvement in this programme in the current year.

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