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17 Jul 2003 : Column 586W—continued
IT Expenditure
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Foreign Office spent on IT (a) licences, (b) maintenance, (c) software and (d) hardware in the last financial year. [125777]
Mr. Rammell: During the 2002–03 financial year, the FCO spent the following on IT:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| (a) Licences | 1,427,625 |
| (b) Maintenance | 12,037,671 |
| (c) Software | 6,538,386 |
| (d) Hardware | 24,561,014 |
| Total | 44,564,696 |
Middle East
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Israeli Government and (b) the Palestinian Authority regarding the involvement of religious leaders in the Middle East peace process. [124670]
Mr. Rammell: We encourage the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to engage with religious leaders on the Middle East peace process. We recognise the important role religious leaders can play in promoting peace in the region, and we have provided administrative, financial and moral support for continuing inter-faith dialogue stemming from the Alexandria Declaration. The Alexandria Declaration pledges religious leaders to work together to promote a peaceful settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Montserrat
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many police officers there are per head of population in Montserrat. [126067]
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Mr. Rammell: There is one police officer for every 67 people. This is a little higher than the normal police/population ratio given the special need to police the volcano exclusion and daytime entry zones; and because the Montserratian police force carry out other non-core police duties such as port entry control.
Nuclear Weapons (Monitoring)
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what international system of monitoring in which the United Kingdom participates relates to material which may be used for nuclear weapons; and if he will make a statement. [126581]
Nigel Griffiths: I have been asked to reply.
The UK is a member of and participates fully in the activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is, inter alia, responsible for the international nuclear safeguards regime pursuant to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Civil nuclear material in the UK is subject to both the safeguards requirements of the Euratom Treaty and to the terms of the UK's safeguards agreement with Euratom and the IAEA.
St. Helena
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a Minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office last visited St. Helena; and who the Minister was. [126171]
Mr. Rammell: St. Helena has never had a visit by a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister.
United Nations Security Council
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the implications for the representation of British interests at the UN of the appointment of a single EU representative to the United Nations Security Council. [126000]
Mr. MacShane: The European Union is not a member state of the United Nations and therefore not eligible for election to the UN Security Council.
Visa Applications
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will make available to Clare Anyango and her sponsor Michael Meadows, the explanatory statement of the reasons for the rejection of her application to the High Commission in Nairobi for a visa to study in the United Kingdom made on 17 June 2002. [125939]
Mr. Mullin [holding answer 16 July 2003]: I have written to the hon. Member regarding this matter.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visa cases the Minister responsible for entry clearance has overturned since 2001. [125779]
17 Jul 2003 : Column 588W
Mr. Mullin: Since January 2001 the Minister responsible for entry clearance has overturned 26 refusal decisions.
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many family visit visa applications were (a) allowed and (b) refused during the last 12 months at High Commission offices in (i) Bangladesh, (ii) India, (iii) Pakistan and (iv) Sri Lanka. [126174]
Mr. Mullin: The information is as follows:
The table shows the number of family visitor visas issued and refused at our visa issuing posts in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003. The figures for April, May and June 2003 are still being collated. The figures given are the most up-to-date statistics available.
Visa Facilities (Pakistan)
Mr. Mudie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when full visa facilities will be reintroduced in the Pakistan offices. [125284]
Mr. Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is monitoring developments in Islamabad closely and is personally committed to restoring a full entry clearance operation as soon as practicable.
He has authorised a number of steps that should increase the number of applications that Islamabad, which is handling applications for the whole of Pakistan, can accept.
an increase in the categories that can apply to include those that have travelled to the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and to fiancés applying to settle in the UK from October;
UK visas taking the primary responsibility for correspondence regarding visa cases in Islamabad with immediate effect.
The Foreign Secretary will be writing to parliamentary colleagues to inform them of our plans imminently. He and I will, of course, continue to keep the situation under close review.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Asbestos
Dr. Cable: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to her answer of 16 June 2003, Official Report, column 117W, on control of asbestos, if she will list the buildings which have been identified as containing asbestos. [122926]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 4 July 2003]: The Crown Prosecution Service is unable to provide a list of buildings identified as having an asbestos presence. Although asbestos registers are located at each property, a central register of asbestos information is not in place. The Crown Prosecution Service is addressing this issue in compliance with Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002.
The Treasury Solicitor's Department's premises, Queen Anne's Chambers, London SW1, and the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers' premises in Buckingham Gate, both contain small amounts of properly identified and managed asbestos.
The buildings occupied by the Serious Fraud Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate do not contain asbestos.
Director of Public Prosecutions
Keith Vaz: To ask the Solicitor-General when a successor to Sir David Calvert-Smith as Director of Public Prosecutions will be announced. [125785]
The Solicitor-General: The process of appointment is currently under way and the Attorney-General expects to be in a position to announce an appointment within a matter of weeks.
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