| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
7 May 2003 : Column 737W—continued
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Burma
Mr. Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Royal Thai Government to request that (a) Thailand will officially host talks between the Burmese military and the ethnic nationalities, (b) the Thai mediation between the SPDC and the ethnic groups is open and transparent, (c) the future of Burma's national reconciliation will be at the heart of the mediation process and (d) ethnic leaders are allowed to meet officially on Thai soil to discuss their future. [110607]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are in regular contact with the Thai Government concerning the full range of Burma related issues. However we have not made any formal request to the Thai authorities concerning possible Thai mediation on questions concerning Burmese ethnic minority groups and the military regime. Unfortunately, there is no evidence to suggest that the Burmese military regime is yet prepared to enter into substantive discussions/negotiations with Burmese political parties. The primary channel for encouraging national reconciliation in Burma is the United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy to Burma, Tan Sri Razali Ismail. We continue to give Tan Sri Razali Ismail our full support and co-operation.
Mr. Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government (a) have taken and (b) will take to (i) facilitate the New Panglong Initiatives undertaken by representatives of the eight Burma States, (ii) encourage ethnic representations in the national reconciliation process and (iii) engage with and meet ethnic representatives officially. [110608]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Active participation and agreement by Burma's ethnic minority groups will be an essential ingredient in any successful process of national reconciliation in Burma. We welcome and encourage initiatives that help prepare the ethnic minority groups for constructive and successful participation in substantive dialogue on these issues. The UK, EU partners and others are pressing for substantive political dialogue to begin in Burma.
We maintain regular contact with representatives of Burmese ethnic minority groups through our Embassy in Rangoon. FCO officials in London held a meeting on
7 May 2003 : Column 738W
24 April with a delegation of religious leaders from Burma, including representatives from ethnic minority groups.
Focus Programme
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there will be a review within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to learn the lessons of overspend on the Focus programme. [111214]
Mr. Straw: An initial review is already underway to learn the lessons from this programme. We are also looking more widely at lessons learned from other programmes, with a view to drawing these together into a paper which will provide guidance to those managing future programmes. I would be happy to send the right hon. Member a copy of this once it is complete. The final paper will also be published on our unclassified intranet.
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why it was judged that the Focus programme was not best placed to provide best value for money or provision of services needed after 11 September 2001. [111226]
Mr. Straw: The right hon. Gentlemen misunderstands the point made in my ministerial statement of 28 April 2003, Official Report, column 2WS. The events of 11 September 2001 raised the importance of back up and disaster recovery in programmes such as Focus. It was one of the factors leading to increased costs.
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to ensure that the cost of the replacement for the Focus programme will fall within his Department's financial budgets. [111227]
Mr. Straw: We are unable to afford a programme which would meet the original goals of the Focus programme. However, the FCO has prioritised its ICT budgets for this financial year to ensure we have the money required to deliver a new FCO intranet.
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate has been made of the cost of providing a replacement for the Focus programme. [111228]
Mr. Straw: We cannot afford to fill the gap left by the cancellation of the Focus programme in the current spending round. We will instead squeeze further efficiencies out of existing systems, and introduce a new intranet. The exact cost of the new intranet will depend on the outcome of a scoping exercise which is currently underway. It will certainly be below £1 million.
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost was of the cancellation of the contract with Fujitsu for the provision of the Focus programme. [111229]
Mr. Straw: The net cost of cancelling the contract with Fujitsu was £7 million. This takes into account the amount paid to Fujitsu, internal FCO costs, and the value of assets obtained.
7 May 2003 : Column 739W
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money allocated to the Focus programme was irretrievable; whether penalties were imposed by Fujitsu as a result of the cancellation of the contract; and why it took as long as it did to cancel the programme once it became clear that it was no longer required. [111230]
Mr. Straw: At the point of cancellation the FCO had spent £9.5 million on the Focus programme, including internal costs, supplier costs, hardware and software. Of this we will retain assets of £2.5 million.
We were able to reach a mutually acceptable settlement with Fujitsu.
The issue was not that the programme was no longer required but rather that it was no longer affordable. Once the decision to cancel had been taken, we moved quickly to negotiate an agreement with Fujitsu to close the programme.
Iraq
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the statement the United Kingdom Ambassador to the United Nations made to the Security Council when UNSC Resolution 1441 was debated on 8 November 2002; and if he will summarise Ambassador Greenstock's comments on the non-automaticity of the resolution. [108056]
Mr. Rammell: A copy of Ambassador Greenstock's statement on the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1441 has been placed in the Library of the House. He said on that occasion,
- "There is no 'automaticity' in this resolution. If there is a further Iraqi breach of its disarmament obligations, the matter will return to the Council for discussion as required in paragraph 12 [of Resolution 1441]. We would expect the Security Council then to meet its responsibilities."
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have not been able to trace any approach by UK shareholders regarding claims in respect of the 1974 nationalisation of the Iraqi oil industry.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether steps have been taken in Iraq to recruit specialists in the
7 May 2003 : Column 740W
international justice sector; and what plans have been made for transitional justice processes. [110978]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Our main priority at present is to secure stability in Iraq and to ensure that humanitarian needs are met. Reconstructing the judiciary and helping rebuild the criminal justice system will play an important role in achieving our goal of creating a secure and stable Iraq.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there have been delays in issuing licences to humanitarian agencies in Iraq. [110980]
Nigel Griffiths: I have been asked to reply.
The Government assess all export licence applications as quickly as possible. In most cases applications for Iraq have to be referred to the United Nations for consideration.
The Government are urgently considering additional measures to facilitate the export of humanitarian goods to Iraq.
Israel
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations his Department has made to the Israeli government concerning respect for international law. [111133]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have reminded the Israeli Government on many occasions of their obligation to respect international law, in particular in their administration of the Occupied Territories. Where we consider the Government of Israel has breached specific provisions, we make our concerns clear. In the last two months we have lobbied on the need to comply with the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention in relation to:
- continued settlement activity;
excessive use of force by the Israel Defence Forces and civilian casualties;
unjustified closures which damage the humanitarian situation;
Palestinians in administrative detention;
destruction of Palestinian land and property;
the impact of the "security" fence.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |