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Mr. Lakhman Vangha

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) when the papers in the case of Mr.Lakhman Vangha Modhvadiya (R/02/3534 and GV100/080442) were sent from Mumbai to the Home Office; [116934]

(2) when the appeal papers from the High Commission in Mumbai, on the case of Mr. Lakhman Vangha Modhvadiya arrived in the Appeals Processing Centre of the Home Office. [116935]

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Mr. Rammell: I am withholding the information requested under exemption 5 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

It is not our practice to disclose details of the individual entry clearance cases in a public forum. However, I will write to my hon. Friend about this.

North Korea

Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations between the UK and North Korea. [116955]

Mr. Rammell: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for South West Devon (Mr. Streeter) on 3 June, Official Report, columns 12W and 13W.

Parliamentary Questions

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what procedures his Department employs to ensure the swift reply to parliamentary questions. [117073]

Mr. Straw: I attach great importance to ensuring that Parliamentary Questions (PQs) are answered accurately, helpfully, and within recommended deadlines.

The Parliamentary Relations and Devolution Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a team of staff dedicated to processing PQs and monitoring both quality and timeliness of replies. From November 2002 to March 2003 the FCO has answered 81 per cent. of Named Day PQs on time, 94 per cent. of ordinary PQs within seven working days and 87 per cent. within five working days. The Department sets annual objectives to improve this record.

The Department also runs an active programme of outreach and training events to raise FCO officials' awareness of their obligations towards Parliament and todisseminate best practice in Parliamentary work.

Partnership Agreements

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to conclude a partnership agreement with the trade unions representing the staff in his Department. [117457]

Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently has no specific plans to conclude a formal "partnership agreement". Instead, the relationship the Department has with its Trade Union Side (TUS) operates in a spirit of partnership in which the TUS is given the opportunity to comment at an early stage in the development of all policies affecting the Department's staff.

Pay Audit

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made on completing a pay audit in his Department and its non-departmental public bodies to measure any disadvantage in terms of remuneration for (a) women, (b) ethnic minorities and (c) people with disabilities; and if he will publish the results of such an audit. [117438]

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Mr. Straw: An equal pay audit, examining remuneration between men and women in the FCO, was completed earlier this year by an external consultant. Once we have concluded discussion with Cabinet Office on the action plan, we will place a copy of the action plan in the Library of the House. We intend to undertake similar audits to examine pay of minority ethnic staff and staff with disabilities.

The British Council has also completed an equal pay audit which covered gender, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.

Race Relations

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in his Department and non-departmental public bodies on implementing the requirements of the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000; and if he will publish the results of the monitoring required by the Act. [117622]

Mr. Straw: The FCO published its Race Equality Scheme, setting out how it would meet the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, in June 2002. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House. The FCO is shortly to issue its report on progress during the first year of the Scheme. This will include the results of the monitoring required by the Act. We will ensure that a copy is sent to my hon. Friend.

Regulatory Bodies

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the (a) number of staff employed by, and (b) budget of each regulatory body for which his Department is responsible in each year since 1997. [117787]

Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not have responsibility for any regulatory bodies.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures his Department has taken to guarantee political representation and civil rights for Turks and Caicos citizens and passport holders. [117087]

Mr. MacShane: The Turks and Caicos Islands constitution provides for a Legislature which includes 13 elected members and contains provisions for the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures his Department has taken to ensure that the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands fulfils its obligations under international treaties on the rights of the child. [117088]

Mr. MacShane: The FCO have contracted the children's charity National Children's Homes to prepare, with the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Government legislation compatible with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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The TCI has a local Committee specifically on Rights of the Child. Following a recommendation by a local independent Constitutional Review Committee, the TCI Government established a Human Rights Committee last November to enhance monitoring and maintenance of its obligations.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures his Department has taken to ensure that those born in the Turks and Caicos Islands get full access to lifesaving anti-retroviral drugs. [117089]

Mr. MacShane: Health is the responsibility of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Government, who are actively addressing the issue both on their own and in collaboration with regional organisations and individual states in the region. An HIV triple drug therapy programme is offered free to pregnant women.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the refugee and asylum screening process is for Haitian boat people arriving in the Turks and Caicos. [117090]

Mr. MacShane: Immigration is the responsibility of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Government. The TCI authorities believe that those arriving by sea are economic migrants. Those detained are screened for identification purposes and usually repatriated as soon as possible. There have been no known asylum cases from Haiti. TCI bears the substantial costs of detention and repatriation by air.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures his Department has taken to guarantee that the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands provides education for all school aged children born in the Islands. [117091]

Mr. MacShane: Education is the responsibility of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Government. They have a policy of free compulsory education for all up to the age of 16. Provision of education is available to all children legally resident in TCI.

Diplomatic Residence (San Francisco)

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the value of the Consul General's house in San Francisco; and what economic calculations he used to make his assessment. [115971]

Mr. Rammell: Replacement of the present over-scale Residence of the Consul General in San Francisco will make a net contribution to FCO finances and reduce the annual resource charge we pay to the Treasury for the property by half. The decision was based on the usual value for money criteria discounted back to net present value and informed by the reports of our local property agents on prospects for the San Francisco market. It was never our intention that the new Residence should provide for entertainment on the same scale as the old. Comparisons based on the presumed extra cost incurred by moving to a smaller Residence are therefore unnecessary. I am satisfied that this is a good deal for the taxpayer.

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Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether ministerial authority was given for the deposit placed on a replacement residence for the Consul General in San Francisco. [116098]

Mr. Rammell: [holding answer 3 June 2003]: FCO procedures do not call for specific Ministerial authority before purchasing individual properties. The more important cases, under normal delegations, would be submitted to the Permanent Under Secretary (PUS). The PUS may then decide to refer this matter to Ministers. In this case we were operating within a strategy which has been approved by the previous PUS, having discussed the matter with Ministers in 2001. and which had been endorsed by the present PUS, having visited the property in 2002.

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