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Equal Pay

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made with the pay review in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible, with particular reference to the gender pay gap; and if he will make a statement. [106745]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: As part of The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's commitment to the Equal Opportunities Commission Task Force "Just Pay" report, our pay review is under way and we plan to submit our action plan to the Cabinet Office by the end of April 2003. Our non-departmental government bodies were not included in our review as the members of the boards are paid expenses only.

Elizabeth Wilmhurst

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the resignation of Elizabeth Wilmhurst as one of his legal advisers. [108316]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: It is not our practice to comment on such cases, which are a matter for the individual concerned.

George Atkinson (Dubai)

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assurance he has sought from the Dubai authorities that George Atkinson will be released from detention upon completion of the additional six months sentence imposed on him by the Dubai Ruler's Court due to end on 31 August. [107663]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Our consul general in Dubai raised Mr. Atkinson's case when he called on the Dubai Ruler's Court on 19 January. The Court reiterated

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Dubai's previously stated position that Mr. Atkinson can expect to be released at midday on 1 September 2003.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many member states spoke (a) in favour and (b) against the United Kingdom-United States-Australian invasion of Iraq in the United Nations security council general debate on 26 March to 27 March; and what assessment has been made of the speeches opposing United Kingdom military action against Iraq. [107582]

Mr. Rammell: The verbatim record of the interventions made at the Security Council Open Debate on 26–27 March is available on the UN website (www.un.org). Many of the interventions express views which are difficult to characterise either as in favour of, or opposed to, the military action being taken to enforce Security Council resolutions.

The coalition action has active support from over 40 countries.

Moldova

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to (a) the European Commission and (b) European partners on improving economic conditions in Moldova; and if he will make a statement. [108121]

Mr. MacShane: The UK is at the forefront of discussions within the EU on building a closer relationship with Moldova, including on improving economic conditions. The UK, via the Wider Europe initiative launched by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last year, has been considering a package of incentives for Moldova including work towards greater economic interdependence. The Department for International Development (DFID) is helping to improve economic conditions in Moldova primarily through the Poverty Reduction Strategy Process (PRSP) and directly through support to the Medium Term Expenditure Framework in partnership with the Ministry of Finance. Under the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement with the EU, Moldovan exports receive Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment. Also as a developing country, Moldova benefits from the EC's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). Further market oriented reforms must take place in Moldova for economic conditions to improve.

Nigeria

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring the UK is undertaking of the Nigerian elections, with particular reference to communal violence. [107889]

Mr. Rammell: The UK is part of the EU election observer team which has already arrived in Nigeria. With 96 observers in total it is the largest international team to be monitoring the elections. The UK has partially funded the Commonwealth observer mission,

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over a third of whom are African. The British High Commission in Abuja will provide 35 separate observers.

All the observer teams are aware of the need for peaceful, free and fair elections. HMG have allocated £3 million for supporting the elections. This includes help for the Nigerian Electoral Commission, training of journalists and work on a police code for the elections. In addition, DfID, in collaboration with other donors, has funded the Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (IDASA), an experienced NGO, to monitor communal electoral violence throughout Nigeria and to produce a weekly summary of incidents.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many cases of inter-communal violence the Department has investigated in Nigeria in the last six months. [107890]

Mr. Rammell: The High Commission in Nigeria reports on cases of inter-communal violence when they occur, basing its information on first hand reports from local contacts and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the region. It is for the Federal Government of Nigeria and the local Nigerian authorities, not HMG, to investigate the incidents. We are, however, active in seeking to prevent these clashes, for example through support for the work of Coventry Cathedral's Centre for reconciliation.

Rwanda, Congo and Great Lakes

Mr. Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the situation in Rwanda, the Congo and the Great Lakes region. [107713]

Mr. Rammell: Our aim is lasting peace and stability in the Great Lakes region. Recent developments have been encouraging, although we remain concerned about the humanitarian situation, continued outbreaks of fighting and human rights abuses, particularly in eastern Congo.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo we warmly welcome the recent agreement on the establishment of a transitional government with a view to democratic elections in two years time. We hope that the Congolese people can take this opportunity to end almost five years of civil war. We were shocked to learn of the appalling civilian massacre by militia in and around the town of Drodro in DRC's Ituri Province on 3 April. The UK strongly condemns such acts.

In Rwanda, preparations are in hand for a full national referendum on the Constitution, to be held on 26 May. We look forward to free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections later this year.

In Burundi we welcome President Buyoya's commitment to hand over power on 1 May. This will be a further important step in the implementation of the Arusha peace process.

Staff Numbers

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff are employed by his Department. [106290]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office employs 9,060 staff, as of 1 January 2003. This figure includes 3,189 locally engaged staff.

Staff Union Duties

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies receive paid leave to undertake union duties; how many days they are allocated; and what has been the cost to public funds in 2002. [106774]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: All Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff are entitled to undertake union duties. The FCO allocates the equivalent of a total of seven full days for this. The cost to public funds in 2002 was £154,811. About 50 members of staff are members of union or branch committees.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures his Department has taken to ensure the education of the children of Haitians who have received citizenship from the Turks and Caicos. [107283]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Turks and Caicos Islands Government has a policy of free compulsory education for all children aged 5 to 16 who legally reside in the Territory. As the criteria for school registration requires information on immigration status, some children were unable to register before the current school year. The Governor has asked for a re- examination of cases where children may have been precluded from attending school.

Working Hours

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what policy on (a) core hours and (b) flexible working hours is operated by his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible. [107653]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: It is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's policy to support flexible working both in the United Kingdom and where possible at our posts overseas. Jobs are open to flexible working unless the nature of the work prevents this.

We have a number of flexible working patterns in use at present including staggered hours, flexi-time, compressed hours, home working, school working hours, term time working and time off in lieu. Within the flexi-time scheme the core hours are 10.00 to 12.00 and 14.30 to 16.00 in London and 09.30 to 12.00 and 14.00 to 16.00 at Hanslope Park. We currently have 142 part time staff—an increase of 35 per cent. since last year.

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