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8 Jul 2003 : Column 742W—continued
EU (Official Languages)
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for Turkish Cypriot EU citizens applying for jobs with the EU Commission, in the event of Turkish not being an official language of the EU; and if he will make a statement. [R] [123164]
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Mr. MacShane: The Republic of Cyprus has specified to the EU that its official language is Greek. Any Cypriot citizen applying for jobs within the Commission would have to work with the official languages of the Union.
In the event of a comprehensive settlement on the basis of the UN plan and consequent EU membership by a reunited Cyprus, it is likely that Turkish would become an official language of the EU. In that way, the current anomalous situation would be resolved.
We are urging both sides to resume negotiations and commit to securing a settlement on the basis of the UN plan.
GCHQ
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 26 June 2003, Official Report, column 936W, on GCHQ, whether any computers are missing. [123616]
Mr. Straw: The audit of GCHQ's 2001–02 account revealed that certain items (including computers) held on the asset register could not be located. Such cases have been investigated and all items satisfactorily accounted for.
In some cases, the items had been (correctly) disposed of; the remainder were in use but not in their original location. In these cases, the Fixed Asset Register had simply not been updated to reflect the true position. Other investigations have shown that a few items, mainly of portable computing equipment (not on the Fixed Asset Register) made available to staff for authorised work away from the office cannot be located and may have been lost or stolen. GCHQ's security division has, however, carried out appropriate investigations and concluded that no classified material has been compromised as a result.
The process of reconciling GCHQ's physical holdings of equipment with the Register continues, with regular communication with the National Audit Office on progress and plans for future work.
Guantanamo Bay
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what welfare concerns his Department has raised with the US authorities concerning the British detainees at Guantanamo Bay. [122612]
Mr. Straw: We are very conscious of the importance of safeguarding the welfare of the British detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. Officials have visited them on five occasions. In addition to checking on the overall living conditions, we have raised individual health concerns of the detainees with the United States authorities. We have also raised the issues of delays in mail and the amount of exercise the detainees are allowed.
Indonesia
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to co-ordinate the government resourced projects aimed
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at supporting the reform process in Indonesia with the timber projects being undertaken by governments in (a) the EU and (b) outside the EU. [124166]
Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
The Government's support to forest sector reform in Indonesia is primarily through the Multi-stakeholder Forestry Programme. This started in July 2000. It helps build capacity within civil society and government to promote reforms. Associated with this programme is a Memorandum of Understanding signed in April 2002 between the Governments of Indonesia and the UK to address the serious problem of illegal logging and associated trade.
Some other donor-supported programmes in Indonesia have similar aims. China, Norway and Japan have recently signed co-operation agreements with Indonesia that are similar to the Indonesia-UK Memorandum of Understanding. An agreement between Indonesia and the EU is in preparation.
We recognise that actions under these agreements need to be co-ordinated. A Donor Forest Forum provides policy guidance. It reports to the broader Consultative Group on Indonesia.
At an operational level we work with other donors to identify gaps, overlaps and opportunities for collaboration. Those involved, in addition to the UK, include local managers of programmes supported by the Asian Development Bank, Canada, the European Union, Germany, the International Tropical Timber Organisation, the Netherlands, Norway, the United States and the World Bank. One example of joint action is UK co-operation with a US-funded programme to design a system for tracking legally harvested logs. We foresee further opportunities as the plans supported by other donors are implemented.
International Atomic Energy Agency
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place a copy of the UK's speech to the IAEA Board of Governors meeting of June 2003 in the Library. [123492]
Nigel Griffiths: I am placing in the Libraries of the House, a copy of the statement made by the UK Governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the IAEA Board of Governor's meeting, on 18 June 2003 in response to the IAEA Director General's report to the Board on the implementation of the NPT safeguards agreement in Iran. A copy of this statement is also available at http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/IAEA.pdf.
Chechen Fighters
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence the Government have collated that Chechen fighters were involved in action against (a) US and (b) British forces in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan. [122750]
Mr. Rammell [holding answer 4 July 2003]: According to US military sources, US forces engaged a number of irregular fighters from the Middle East,
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North Africa and Chechnya near Baghdad in April 2003. These sources were quoted in several media reports at the time.
A small number of Chechen fighters reportedly took part in fighting near Bagram, north of Kabul, and Mazar-e-Sharif. We cannot, however, confirm this.
UK Arms Exports
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are in place to monitor the end-use of UK arms exports; and what proposals he has to improve these. [121140]
Mr. MacShane: The Government are committed to carrying out end-use monitoring where it will genuinely add value to our efforts to minimise the risk of misuse and diversion. FCO posts have standing instructions to report any misuse of UK-origin defence equipment.
The Government keep its procedures in this area under review, and look at the systems employed by other countries. If practicable ways are identified in which they might be improved, these will be reflected in our future actions.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Animal Welfare
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how animal welfare informs her policy on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. [122661]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Animal welfare issues have long been included among the EU's WTO negotiating priorities. At Doha, the EU was successful in ensuring that the issue of farm animal welfare could be taken into account as part of the current Agreement on Agriculture negotiations.
Reaching agreement on changes to WTO rules explicitly to allow countries to limit imports of goods based only on the way in which a product was made (for instance whether the production method took account of animal welfare standards) remains extremely difficult. Many WTO members, developing countries in particular, are highly suspicious of the EU's motives and fear that animal welfare production standards will be used as an excuse for covert protectionism. The EU continues to raise this issue in all relevant WTO for in order to try and build trust and understanding for the EU's position. We see discussions on farm animal welfare in the current Doha trade round as a helpful step to building trust and understanding for the EU's position on broader animal welfare standards.
Business Start-ups
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the business start-up rates were in (a) Merseyside, (b) the North West and (c) the UK in 2001–02; and how many survived for a year. [124205]
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Nigel Griffiths: Business start-ups are measured officially by VAT registrations. The latest year for which VAT registration data is available is 2001.
| Number | Rate per 10,000 adults | |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 175,455 | 37 |
| North West | 17,565 | 32 |
| Merseyside Metropolitan County(12) | 3,370 | 30 |
(12) Excludes Halton UA
Source:
Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1980–2001, Small Business Service.
One-year VAT survival data is available for 2000 but not yet for 2001.
They show a greater-than-average survival rate for businesses in Greater Merseyside.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 91.4 |
| North West | 90.6 |
| Greater Merseyside(14) | 92.4 |
(13) Includes Halton UA
Source:
Small Business Service
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