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22 May 2003 : Column 952W—continued
Israel
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he is having with the Israeli Government regarding the decision not to allow (a) foreign diplomats and (b) visiting politicians to meet Israeli officials if they also intend to meet Yasser Arafat. [115287]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Israeli officials have informed us of this decision. It will not help the cause of peace. We will continue to talk to President Arafat when we judge that this will be useful.
KPMG
Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many contracts his Department has awarded to KPMG since 1997. [113684]
Mr. Rammell: Since 1997 contracts have been awarded to KPMG or Atos KPMG Consulting, (which was created in August 2002 from the merger of Atos Origin and KPMG's UKand Dutch management consultancy operations), for the following projects:
- Development and Implementation of the FCO's Information and Communications Technology Strategy;
- Development of PRISM, the FCO's new financial and human resource system;
- Support for Knowledge Programme;
- Support for Future FIRECREST, the FCO's new global IT infrastructure system;
- Business Transformation Programme;
- Forecasting income from Consular Fees;
- Review of Financial Regulations in Overseas Territories.
Laos
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on (a) the treatment of Christians and (b) the recent release of Christian prisoners in Laos. [113752]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are aware of reports of the detention and mistreatment of Christians in Laos and our Embassy in Bangkok (which is accredited to Laos) monitors the situation. We raise concerns about human rights in Laos, including the treatment of Christians, when the opportunity arises. In London in January the Asia Pacific Director at the Foreign and Commonwealth
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Office discussed these issues with Sayakane Sisouvong, the ASEAN Director General at the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It remains a concern to us that the Lao government detains people, albeit comparatively few in number, on charges which run counter to internationally accepted standards of human rights. But we welcome any release of Christian prisoners in Laos as an indication that the human rights situation in Laos is improving.
North Korea
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the deliberations at the UN Security Council meeting on 9 April 2003 pertaining to North Korea. [109381]
Mr. Rammell: During preliminary discussion of North Korea's nuclear programmes on 9 April 2003, the UN Security Council expressed its concern and agreed to follow developments. Council members are considering the issue in more detail at expert level. We believe that this is a matter concerning international peace and security, and therefore, a legitimate issue for the Security Council to discuss.
Middle East (Peace Activists)
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has held with the Israeli Government regarding the safety of peace activists in the Occupied Territories. [113733]
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 and other cases. 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 has also raised our concerns locally with the Israeli authorities. The Israeli Government took note of our concerns and promised to co-operate.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government has made to the Israeli authorities on the decision to ask peace activists to sign a waiver before entering Gaza. [113696]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend, the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Dhanda) today (UIN 113734).
Public Service Agreements
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Department has taken to publicise its Public Service Agreement targets; and at what cost to public funds. [114454]
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Mr. Rammell: The text of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Public Service Agreement for the 2002 Spending Review period has been placed on the FCO website (www.fco.gov.uk) and included in the FCO's annual Departmental Report for 2003 and its Business Plan for 2003–2006. These actions have been taken in the course of normal business and no additional expenditure has been incurred.
Road Accidents (France)
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK citizens have been killed in road accidents in France in each of the last five years. [114070]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The French authorities have notified us that the following numbers of British citizens have been killed in road accidents in France since 1998:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 44 |
| 1999 | 25 |
| 2000 | 17 |
| 2001 | 27 |
| 2002 | 47 |
Shaiboub William Arsal
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further plans he has to raise the case of Shaiboub William Arsal with the Egyptian authorities in advance of his appeal later this year. [113751]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: None. We are monitoring the appeal process, which we hope will be conducted in accordance with Egypt's international human rights obligations, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Egypt is a party.
Sustainable Development
Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which United Kingdom commitments arising from the World Summit on Sustainable Development (a) have been incorporated into the Department's existing delivery plan for Service Delivery Agreements and (b) will be incorporated in its delivery plan for Service Delivery Agreements in advance of the 2004 Spending Review. [113938]
Mr. Rammell: Commitments from the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) Plan of Implementation, such as action on illegal logging and sustainable tourism, have been incorporated into the delivery of the FCO's Public Service Agreement (PSA) for the period 2003–06. In particular FCO PSA target 7 seeks to "Make globalisation work for sustainable development in the UK and internationally (and particularly in Africa) by promoting democracy and the rule of law, good economic and environmental governance, and security of long term energy supply, measured by specific underlying targets." FCO programme funds, including the new Global Opportunities Fund, will be used to support work in pursuit of this target.
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Guidance on Public Service Agreements and delivery plans for the period covered by the 2004 Spending Review (2005–08) will issue later this year. Decisions on incorporating WSSD Plan of Implementation commitments into those will be taken in light of that guidance.
UN Voluntary Trust Fund (Slavery)
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the UK Government are giving to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery. [113702]
Mr. Rammell: Earlier this year, the Department for International Development gave £10,000 to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery which was allocated to project grants.
Visas
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for visas to enter the UK in each of the last five years were made (a) in total and (b) at (i) Accra, (ii) Banjul, (iii) Harare, (iv) Karachi, (v) Kiev, (vi) Lagos, (vii) Madrid, (viii) Manila, (ix) Peking, (x) Quang Zhou, (xi) Rome and (xii) Shanghai. [113715]
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Mr. Rammell: All entry clearance issuing posts submit an annual statistical return. This information is collated in the Entry Clearance Annual Statistics booklet, copies of which are available in the Library of the House. This information is available for the years 1997 to 2002. We are currently collecting data for the year 2002–03 and this will be placed in the Library of the House when complete.
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (a) how many staff are employed, (b) how many staff are employed in the visa section and (c) how many staff in each visa section are non-British nationals in Her Majesty's embassies, high commissions and posts in (A) Zimbabwe, (B) Somalia, (C) Afghanistan, (D) Iran, (E) Turkey, (F) Congo, (G) Sri Lanka, (H) Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, (I) Pakistan, (J) India, (K) Albania, (L) Algeria, (M) Angola, (N) Bolivia, (O) Brazil, (P) Bulgaria, (Q) China, (R) Colombia, (S) Croatia, (T) Egypt, (U) Ghana, (V) Nigeria, (W) Jamaica, (X) Kenya, (Y) Morocco, (Z) Romania, (AA) Sweden and (BB) Czech Republic. [115226]
Mr. Rammell: The information requested is set out in the following table, however, we hold no records centrally on local staff nationality and this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. We have therefore provided the total number of local staff in each visa section. The figures reflect staff year full time equivalents i.e. two officers working part time at 50 per cent. equals one full time officer.
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