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Bali

Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what intelligence his Department received in advance of the terrorist attack in Bali of 12 October 2002; whether this was reflected in advice to travellers on the Department's website; and if he will make a statement. [124979]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the statement given by my right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary to the House on 21 October 2002, Official Report, columns 21–24.

EU Committees

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials in the Department serve on EU committees or working parties. [116089]

Mr. MacShane: Membership of EU Committees and Working Parties is not fixed. Depending on the subject matter under consideration, the most appropriate policy officials, including those on the staff of the UK Permanent Representatives, therefore attend the meetings of EU Committees and Working Parties. Given the wide-ranging and fluctuating nature of the subject matter, attendance can vary significantly from meeting to meeting. The precise details of attendance are therefore not available, and would incur disproportionate cost to compile.

Guantanamo Bay

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the US administration on the timescale for the construction of court rooms at Guantanamo Bay. [124228]

Mr. MacShane: None.

We continue, however, to press the US to resolve the position of the detainees.

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on proposals to construct an execution chamber at Guantanamo Bay. [124229]

Mr. MacShane: We are not aware of a US decision to construct such facilities.

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The US is aware of the UK's fundamental opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances.

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations have been made to the US administration on the future of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. [124230]

Mr. MacShane: I refer my hon. Friend to the Statement given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Chris Mullin) on 7 July 2003, Official Report, column 751.

We continue to press the US to resolve the position of the detainees in Guantanamo Bay.

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ask the US to set a date for bringing to trial the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. [124231]

Mr. MacShane: I refer my hon. Friend to the Statement given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Chris Mullin) on 7 July 2003, Official Report, column 751.

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on (a) the total number of UK citizens who are prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, (b) their country of origin, (c) how many have been returned to their country of origin and (d) what their ages are. [124233]

Mr. MacShane: The British Government are not party to this information as a matter of course.

I understand, however, that there are approximately 680 detainees of 42 nationalities in Guantanamo Bay of which 3 are under 16. 9 of the detainees are British. I also understand that 41 detainees have been released by the US Government.

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received from human rights organisations on the treatment of detainees who are UK citizens at Guantanamo Bay. [124234]

Mr. MacShane: There is regular contact between the FCO and human rights NGOs, including on the question of the detainees in Guantanamo Bay.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the question from the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South tabled on 18 June. [125640]

Mr. Rammell: My hon. Friend received an answer to his question on 10 July. I apologise for the delay.

Piracy

Mr. Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many recorded incidents there were of piracy and armed robbery on the seas around the British Isles during the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [125228]

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Mr. Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.

There has been no recorded incidents of piracy or armed robbery on the seas around the British Isles in the last five years. The United Kingdom Government have taken positive steps to identify and deal with the problem of piracy against ships at sea. This includes readily available guidance to UK seafarers and ship owners on how to avoid or deal with acts of piracy.

Qatar

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when since 1 January 1999 Ministers in his Department have held meetings with the Government of Qatar; which Ministers in his Department attended each of these meetings; and where each of these meetings was held. [123014]

Mr. Rammell: FCO Ministers frequently meet members of the Qatari Government. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last met the Foreign Minister of Qatar on 14 April in Doha.

Syria/Iran

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to (a) Syria and (b) Iran on the fate of missing Israeli service personnel; and if he will make a statement. [124591]

Mr. Rammell: We condemn hostage taking under any circumstances and have made a number of representations to governments in the Middle East about the missing Israeli servicemen. On each occasion we emphasise that hostage taking is wrong and that those holding hostages should free them at once. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last raised the matter with Iranian Foreign Minister Kharrazi on 6 February 2003 and my hon. Friend the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Mike O'Brien) raised it with Syrian Foreign Minister Shara'a during President Al-Assad's visit to the UK on 16 and 17 December 2002. We have also raised the issue with Hizbollah.

United States

Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the US Administration for the UK to benefit from the US Visa Waiver Scheme. [125625]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The United Kingdom is already one of 27 countries whose nationals benefit from the US Visa Waiver Programme when travelling to the US on a full British passport for a visit of less than 90 days. Officials are in discussions with their US counterparts to ensure that the maximum number of UK nationals will continue to benefit from the programme following the introduction of tighter US entry requirements over the next couple of years.

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Western Sahara

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the dissolution of the Sahara Section of the Forum for Truth and Justice as a result of a judgment by the Laayoune Court of First Instance; and how many members of the Sahara Section of the Forum for Truth and Justice are in prison. [123462]

Mr. Rammell: Officials are in contact with a number of different organisations in Morocco and in Western Sahara, including the Forum for Truth and Justice. We were aware that the court in Laayoune had recently formally dissolved the Forum's section in Western Sahara. However, the Forum's section in Western Sahara had been inoperative and effectively without a membership for over a year.

Some former members of the Forum continue to monitor the situation in Western Sahara and to undertake case work.

As the British Government would never have had access to the Forum's membership record and effectively the Western Sahara section of the Forum no longer exists we are therefore unable to comment on the number of former members of the Forum, their current locations or activities. We are aware of specific cases involving individuals previously associated with the dissolved section, for example, Ali Salem Tamek whose case officials have raised with the Moroccan authorities.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Pre-legislative Scrutiny

Mr. Allen: To ask the Chairman of the Information Committee when hon. Members will be able to view pre-legislative scrutiny proceedings on-line in their offices; and if he will make a statement. [125001]

Michael Fabricant: Following a successful pilot project, a webcasting service will be established on a permanent basis later this year and will be accessed through the www.parliamentlive.tv website. Links will be provided from the webcasts to details of witnesses and other background material. The service will provide coverage of both Chambers, sittings in Westminster Hall, and some Select and Standing Committees. Audio and video coverage will be available for any committees that are televised. Audio-only coverage will be provided for most other committees. Therefore, if a committee chooses to carry out pre-legislative scrutiny, or if a special committee is appointed for that purpose, it is likely that its proceedings will be webcast either in audio-only or both in audio and video.

Any material webcast will be available on demand from an archive that will hold about 14 days' worth of material. There are plans to make the webcasting service available to all users of the parliamentary network, but this is dependent on an upgrade to the network that is planned for this summer, which will provide greater transmission capacity.

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