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12 May 2003 : Column 74W—continued
Arms Embargoes
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is in dealing with unfulfilled contracts with countries which subsequently are subject to arms embargoes; and if he will make a statement. [112295]
Mr. Straw: The Government places considerable importance on UK companies being able to honour their contractual obligations. However, arms embargoes are normally only imposed when a situation has deteriorated to such an extent that a continued trade in arms would be inconsistent with maintaining or restoring international peace and security.
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The UK requires that a licence is obtained for each export or supply of equipment on the Military List from the UK or by a UK registered company or national overseas. Every such licence is subject to being varied or revoked, and appropriate action will be therefore taken whenever a new embargo is introduced.
Arms Exports
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what ministerial meetings have taken place with representatives of other countries at which the (a) export and (b) promotion of British military equipment was discussed in (i) 2002 and (ii) 2003 to date, in each case what was the country concerned and the substance of discussions; and if he will make a statement. [112292]
Mr. Straw: Ministers from a number of Government Departments regularly have meetings with representatives of other countries, during which they, as a main topic or as a secondary matter, promote British exports, including defence equipment.
The Government keep a central record neither of these meetings, nor of the substance of the discussions.
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries were invited by his Department to attend meetings promoting arms exports in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003 to date; and if he will make a statement. [112294]
Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff throughout the world, regularly have meetings with representatives of other countries, during which the promotion of British exports, including defence equipment is discussed.
The Government keep a central record neither of these meetings, nor of the substance of the discussions.
Civil Service (People with Disabilities)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in the Department. [110528]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: At 1 April, 1.7 per cent. of staff in the FCO senior management structure identified themselves as having a disability.
We have a target of 3 per cent. of senior staff for 2005 and are taking measures to achieve this. We have recently formed a Disability Advisory Group. The group is actively looking at ways to encourage the progression of disabled staff through our career structure, including supporting them on overseas postings. Disability is one of the areas covered by our Ministerial Steering Group on Diversity, which is driving forward the FCO's diversity agenda. We also regularly fund a bursary under the Cabinet Office's Leadership Development programme for Disabled Civil Servants, which is worth £10,000, and supports a disabled member of staff with the potential to progress to senior levels.
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Drug Trafficking
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Spanish counterpart on combating South American international crime, particularly within the EU; and if he will make a statement. [111564]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are in regular touch with Spain and other EU partners to co-ordinate efforts on combating international crime from South America, and in particular on the threat from Class A drugs. UK officials play an active role in developing implementation strategies for the EU's Action Plan on drugs. We are also active in the Technical Committee of the EU-Latin American-Caribbean Drugs Co-ordination and Co-operation Mechanism, which is engaged in strengthening inter-regional ties.
HM Customs and Excise work closely on joint investigations and operations with their Spanish counterparts, and regularly share intelligence through NCIS.
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment has been made of the success of the international war on drugs; and if he will make a statement. [111565]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: In April, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs concluded that since the Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Drugs in 1998 there had been mixed success in combating illegal narcotics. Many countries have put in place or strengthened measures to reduce demand for illicit drugs and to provide treatment for those affected. Improvements have also been made in national and international co-operation on supply reduction and law enforcement. But serious problems remain. The UK will continue to devote effort and resources to tackling the drugs problem at home and internationally, particularly in Afghanistan, where the creation of alternative economic activities is vital to the success of the fight against the international drug problem and to the stability of the region.
Entry Clearance
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total cost was of providing the UK visas entry clearance service worldwide in the financial year (a) 2000–01 and (b) 2001–02. [111083]
Mr. Rammell: The cost of providing the entry clearance service world-wide in 2000–01 and 2001–02 was £84,144,386 and £81,385,364 respectively.
As a result of changes in the way in which costs are attributed to the entry clearance operation by the FCO, a net loss of £3.3 million was incurred for 2000–01 when costs were netted off against income. Following on from this £3.3 million loss in 2000–01, there was a further loss of £0.4 million in 2001–02 taking the cumulative loss to £3.7 million.
The operation appears to be on course to break even in 2002–03 with forecast income of £91.5 million and costs of £87.1 million.
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The cumulative position is forecast to deliver a marginal surplus of around £0.7 million. Figures for 2002–03 are provisional and subject to change.
Gaza Strip
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Israeli Government to have the wall removed that separates the people of Mawassi from the rest of the Gaza Strip. [111259]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Yes. We have instructed our embassy in Tel Aviv to make representations to the Israeli Government on the wall surrounding Mawassi.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Israeli Government to ensure that humanitarian aid agencies have access to the people of Mawassi in the Gaza Strip; and if he will make a statement. [111260]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Yes. We have instructed our embassy in Tel Aviv to make representations to the Israeli Government to ensure humanitarian aid agencies can gain access to Mawassi.
Global Conflict Prevention Pool
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what projects were funded from the Global Conflict Prevention Pool in 2002–03; and if he will make a statement. [112290]
Mr. Straw: The Global Conflict Prevention Pool funds a wide range of projects and activities that contribute to the Government's conflict prevention Public Service Agreement (PSA) target of reducing the number of individuals whose lives are affected by violent conflict and reducing the potential sources of future conflict, where the UK can make a difference.
Examples of areas covered by projects are:
- improving access to justice and reform of judicial systems;
support to reform of the security sector to improve human security and reduce tension, through promoting professionalism and democratic accountability;
reducing the availability of small arms and light weapons in potential conflict zones;
support to disarmament and demobilisation of former combatants, together with their re-training and resettlement back into civil society;
support to national and international efforts, and work with civil society to reduce inter-ethnic and other sources of social tension.
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In Financial Year 2002–3, the geographical strategies were:
- Afghanistan, The Balkans, Belize/Guatemala, Central and Eastern Europe, Indonesia/East Timor, India/Pakistan/Kashmir, Middle East/North Africa, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Russia/FSU.
- EU Civilian Crisis Management, OSCE/Council of Europe, Security Sector Reform, Small Arms and Light Weapons, and UN capacity building for peacekeeping and conflict prevention.
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