House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 9 Apr 2003 (pt 15)

9 Apr 2003 : Column 299W—continued

Macedonia

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British personnel are participating in the EUFOR as part of Operation Concordia in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. [108072]

Mr. Ingram: Three British personnel are participating in EUFOR's Operation Concordia in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The United Kingdom is also represented by the Director of Operations, EU Command Element in AFSouth, Naples, who is a double-hatted NATO officer.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which countries' personnel are participating in the EUFOR as part of Operation Concordia in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; and how many personnel are involved. [108073]

Mr. Ingram: The total complement for Operation Concordia in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is some 467 personnel. Countries contributing personnel are Austria; Belgium; Bulgaria; Czech Republic; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Italy; Iceland; Latvia; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Reservists

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the facilities for contacting families and friends in the UK for reservists are the same as for regular armed forces serving in the Gulf. [107975]

Dr. Moonie: Yes. There is absolutely no distinction between members of the regular and reserve forces. Both have access to exactly the same welfare package which includes facilities for contacting friends and families such as welfare telephones, BFPO mail service and e-blueys (an email version of the bluey aerogram), access to the internet and family travel concessions.

Type 23 Frigates

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether all Type 23 frigates are to be enhanced with CEC capability; and if he will make a statement. [107117]

9 Apr 2003 : Column 300W

Mr. Ingram: Discussions on the number of Type 23 frigates to undergo full ship fitment of United Kingdom Co-operative Engagement Capability (CEC) will be taken at Main Gate investment decision in 2005. Analysis suggests that fitment to seven Type 23s will provide the most cost-effective way to introduce the UK CEC capability at the earliest opportunity. This will provide a sufficient force to develop the usage and tactics of the system and also to provide a robust network to interact with CEC in the Type 45 Destroyer.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to her written statement of 1 April 2003, Official Report, column 51WS, on Afghanistan, and with reference to the Afghanistan Development Forum in March, what steps her Department are taking to encourage the fulfilment of pledges made in Tokyo and reiterated in Oslo in December 2002. [107841]

Clare Short: The majority of donors are performing well against the pledges they made in Tokyo in January 2002. My Department enjoys good relations with many of the donors and we take the opportunity to encourage them to fulfil their pledges whenever we are in contact, both at an official and ministerial level.

Doha Trade Negotiations

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of Doha trade negotiations with respect to the 31 March deadline; and if she will make a statement. [107545]

Clare Short: The Government are disappointed that the 31 March deadline to establish modalities for a new Agreement on Agriculture was not achieved. Agricultural trade reform is critical for developing countries and central to the wider Doha Development Agenda. WTO members must now redouble their efforts to reach consensus by the fifth meeting of the WTO Ministerial Conference in September this year and the UK will continue to play an active part in seeking to bring this about. Regarding the 31 March deadline for WTO members to make initial market access offers under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), we welcome the tabling so far of offers by 13 WTO members, including some developing countries, and encourage other members to follow suit. As to the EU's initial offer, the Government have been working hard within the EU to agree an offer that will be meaningful for both developed and developing countries. Although the offer has not yet been finalised, it is well advanced and we expect it to be presented to the WTO very shortly.

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to put new momentum into the Doha trade round; and if she will make a statement. [107550]

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Clare Short: We are very concerned at the lack of progress in the current round of WTO negotiations. As I explained in a speech to Chatham House on 25 March 2003, failure in Cancun would be a major set back for both the world economy and poor countries. A full copy of the speech is available on my Department's website (http://www.dfid.gov.uk).

In order to inject political momentum into the round I am undertaking, together and in co-ordination with my ministerial colleagues, a series of activities both in public and in private to advocate the benefits of the round, push the negotiations forward, and ensure a successful outcome in Cancun.

The Government will continue to work to ensure that the promises for a 'development round' made in Doha become a reality.

European Working Groups

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on progress with achieving transparency in respect of the European working groups for which her Department is responsible. [105736]

Clare Short: The Government have long been committed to greater openness in the EU Institutions. This was a key theme of the UK Presidencies in 1992 and 1998. Making it easier to gain access to non-sensitive documents is crucial to this. The Government welcomed Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. As a result, more documents are released to the public, while genuinely sensitive documents are given the protection they need.

Much of the council's work takes place in preparatory bodies, including working groups. Agendas and timings for the working groups can be found on http://europa.eu.int/cal/en/index.htm.

Accountability and transparency of Council business to Parliament are ensured by the scrutiny process, to which the Government are also firmly committed.

We strongly supported the measures agreed at the Seville European Council to make the council more open when in legislating mode. We remain committed to increasing transparency. The Future of Europe Convention is also looking at ways to make the EU more open.

Exhibitions

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list events at which her Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which her Department is responsible have exhibited in each of the last three years, stating for each (a) the purpose of exhibiting, (b) the cost of exhibiting and (c) the number of staff attending for the exhibition. [107629]

Clare Short: It would not be possible to list all the events in which the Department has participated over the past three years without disproportionate effort. DFID's exhibitions and events schedule supports

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DFID's Development Awareness role. The principal events in which the Department has participated in each of the past two years are:

Education sector: BETT, the Education Show, and appropriate educational trade union conferences;

Business and trade unions sector: CBI and British Chambers of Commerce annual conferences, TUC annual conference;

Media sector: Sheffield International Documentary Festival.

The Department also exhibits on an occasional basis at recruitment fairs, and at meetings on development-related themes.

Staffing at these events is a maximum team of three.

The total annual operating costs for DFID's events activity for each of the past three years is shown in the table. The figures include associated promotional tasks such as support for ministerial regional visits and internal staff-focused activities.

Financial Year £

2000–01 198,058

2001–02 91,532

2002–03 203,552

Financial Year	£
2000–01	198,058
2001–02	91,532
2002–03	203,552

Figures for 2002–03 are subject to final auditing to take account of any end of year adjustments.

Guatemala

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funds her Department has allocated to Guatemala in each year since 1997. [108046]

Clare Short: Since 1997 my Department has spent the following funds on Guatemala:

£ million

Financial Year ⁽²⁰⁾DFID programmes ⁽²¹⁾DFID share of EC programme

1997–98 0.404 2.4

1998–99 0.479 3.6

1999–2000 0.371 4.1

2000–01 0.319 2.5

2001–02 0.420 ⁽²²⁾—

2002–03 ⁽²²⁾— ⁽²²⁾—

Financial Year	⁽²⁰⁾DFID programmes	⁽²¹⁾DFID share of EC programme
1997–98	0.404	2.4
1998–99	0.479	3.6
1999–2000	0.371	4.1
2000–01	0.319	2.5
2001–02	0.420	⁽²²⁾—
2002–03	⁽²²⁾—	⁽²²⁾—

⁽²⁰⁾ DFID programme figures by financial year

⁽²¹⁾ DFID share of EC programme by calendar year

⁽²²⁾ Figures not yet available

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