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Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 10 April 2003 concerning a constituent. [113409]

Mr. Rammell: I am sorry that my hon. Friend had not received a substantive reply to his letter of 10 April 2003. UK visas sent an interim reply on 12 May 2003 whilst awaiting further information from our overseas post. A substantive reply was sent by fax on 13 May 2003.

Departmental Pay

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 14 April 2003, Official Report, columns 369–70W, on departmental pay, if he will place a copy of his action plan in the Library. [112323]

Mr. Straw: Once the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has concluded its discussion with the Cabinet Office on the Equal Pay Audit action plan, we will place a copy in the Library.

Departmental Report

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost was of the publication of the 2001 Departmental Report. [112818]

Mr. Straw: Production of the 2001 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Departmental Report cost £24,314. This covered design, photography,

15 May 2003 : Column 402W

proofreading and indexing expenses, as well as the cost of copies supplied to the FCO by The Stationery Office Limited (TSO). Other costs of printing and publication are met by TSO, and do not fall to government. The figure does not include staff time which could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Staff

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of regional variations in staff turnover in his Department. [112749]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: All Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff in the United Kingdom are based in the South East of England so there is no requirement for assessment of regional variations.

ICMB 2003 Programme

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library the set of criteria established for the Information and Communication 2003 Multi-beneficiary Programme, as referred to in the minute of the 97th Meeting of the Phare Management Committee (7 February 2003); which organisations received funding under this process; and if he will make a statement. [111075]

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.

The Phare 2003 Information and Communication Programme has not begun spending as yet. It is not due to begin until the end of the current funding, which will expire between August and December 2003. As stated in the minutes of the 97th meeting of the Phare Management Committee the allocation for each country will be given to the respective EC Delegations in two segments. The first of these is to cover running costs and ensure continuity of the programme. The second will be allocated to each country on the basis of the following criteria; the referenda in each country, the state of public opinion in the country concerned (the main parameter used will be the Eurobarometer survey), the quality of the work programmes submitted by the EC Delegations and the administrative capacity of the delegation.

The relevant EC Delegation administers the sums allocated to each country. Some of the work carried out by the delegation, such as the publication of brochures, may have been subcontracted to local organisations and/or businesses. No data is centrally available on this.

Iraq

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his US counterparts concerning safeguards to monitor the performance of the Bechtel Group in their new contract to re-establish water and electricity services in Iraq. [112170]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The US has awarded contracts for companies such as the Bechtel Group in line with US policy and practice. Performance against the contract is a matter for the US.

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Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the scale of looting in schools in southern Iraq. [112601]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: UK forces are in contact with the Basra local education authority. The majority of schools in the UK area of operations have reopened. The military have helped refurbish four schools and provided materials to over 100 others.

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) the contents and (b) the value of the contents of (i) Iraqi Government documents and (ii) Ba'ath party documents discovered by Coalition forces in Iraq, with particular reference to links between the regime of Saddam Hussein and (A) al-Qaeda and (B) other terrorist organisations; and if he will make a statement. [113284]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: It is the practice of successive governments not to comment on intelligence matters. The Security and Intelligence agencies are not within the scope of the code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to obtain (a) intelligence and (b) military and other Iraqi Government and Ba'ath party documents in (i) abandoned offices, (ii) palaces and (iii) private property for examination by Coalition partners; and if he will make a statement. [113285]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Americans in Baghdad and the British in Basra are seeking to obtain available information and documents. It is the practice of successive governments not to comment on intelligence matters and I will not comment further.

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements there are for the Coalition partners to make available to each other on a reciprocal basis copies of military and Ba'ath party documents; and according to what timetable. [113408]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We routinely share such information with Coalition partners.

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his statement of 12th May 2003 on Iraq, how and when invitations will be issued for the national conference; and what steps are being taken to ensure an equal participation of Iraqi women in the conference. [113491]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: At the Central Iraq Meeting of 28 April 2003, it was agreed to arrange a national conference to establish an Iraqi Interim Authority (IIA). A number of leading Iraqis are being consulted on creating a broad spectrum of Iraqi opinion at the conference. There is a Steering Committee which may issue the invitations to the national conference as soon as is practicable. The UK Special Representative for Iraq, John Sawers, is working with the US and the Iraqi representatives to facilitate this process and has raised with all parties the issue of women's participation.

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Kashmir

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received concerning the killings at (a) Nadimarg, Kashmir on 23 March 2003 and (b) Chatisisingpurol in March 2000; and what representations he has made to the Governments of (i) India and (ii) Pakistan. [112972]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 14 May 2003, Official Report, column 294W.

North Korea

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made from information published by the Government of North Korea of whether the DPRK possesses nuclear weapons; and if he will place in the Library copies of primary source material. [112595]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: It is difficult to make an accurate assessment based on information from the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Much of their published information is ambiguous and, in some cases, contradictory. Our assessment of DPRK's nuclear weapons programme is drawn from the findings of the International Atomic Energy Agency in the early 1990s and from intelligence reporting.

Peace Activists

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Israeli authorities on the subject of their treatment of peace activists. [113669]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Officials at our embassy in Tel Aviv and our Consulate-General in Jerusalem have taken up individual cases with the Israeli authorities and will do all they properly can to help British nationals in difficulty in the region.

On 11 April, I spoke to the Israeli ambassador to raise our concerns about the case of Thomas Hurndall, a British peace activist shot in Gaza on 11 April. On 8 May, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to Silvan Shalom, the Israeli Foreign Minister, about the shooting of Thomas Hurndall (and also of James Miller, a British cameraman). We both called for a full and transparent investigation into the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) shooting to be carried out by the Israeli Military Police. Our ambassador in Tel Aviv also raised our concerns locally with the Israeli authorities. The Israeli Government took note of our concerns and promised to cooperate.

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