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Appointments

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the people appointed to ad hoc posts within his Department bearing the titles of advocate, tsar, adviser, champion and comparable titles since May 1997; what their job title is or was; what their role is or was; whether they were or are being paid; what the total cost of each such person was in each financial year, including expenses

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and benefits; what the expected cost of each such person is in 2003–04; to whom they are accountable; and if he will make a statement. [112464]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has two paid special advisers. All current paid special representatives are as listed. We are unable to provide historic records without incurring disproportionate costs. For the cost of the special advisers I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 28 April 2003, Official Report, column 133W. I am withholding further remuneration details under exemption 12 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Name	Area	Comments	Dates
Sir Brian Fall	South Caucasus		Current
Lord Hannay	Cyprus	Recently retired and not being replaced	1996–2003
Alan Goulty	Sudan	Accountable to the Foreign Secretary and the InternationalDevelopment Secretary	Current
John Sawers	Iraq	About to be replaced by Jeremy Greenstock	Current
Michael Ryder	International drugs issues	Role about to come to an end	Current
Tom Phillips	Afghanistan	UK Special Representative	Current
Ian Whitting	Great Lakes		Current
Sir Jeffrey James	Nepal	Appointed by the Foreign Secretary and accountable to the PrimeMinister	Current

Lord Levy is my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on the Middle East. He is unpaid; the FCO provides accommodation and, on occasions, logistic support.

Arctic Convoys (Medals)

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 19 November 2002, Official Report, column 35W, whether the Russian Government have asked for the Defence of the Soviet Arctic Region Medal to be officially recognised since 19 November 2002. [126566]

Mr. Rammell: The Russian Government have not requested permission for the Defence of the Arctic Region medal (DSARM) to be officially recognised by the Government since 19 November 2002.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is aware that British veterans of the Second World War Arctic Convoys feel strongly about this issue and are keen to accept the Russian medal. We are sympathetic and keen to give a positive response should the Russian Government formally seek the Government's authority to award the DSARM to British citizens.

Arms Exports

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to ensure that military equipment manufactured in the UK is not used by oppressive regimes or politically unstable countries. [126232]

Mr. Rammell: The United Kingdom has one of the strictest and most transparent arms export licensing systems of any country. All export licence applications are rigorously assessed on a case-by-case basis against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria, taking account of the circumstances prevailing at the time and other announced Government policies. Our criteria clearly set out our commitment to take account of the risk that exports might be diverted within the buyer country, re-exported under undesirable conditions, used for internal repression or external aggression, or to abuse human rights.

This Government continues to strengthen strategic export controls. The Export Control Act's secondary legislation is to be laid in October. It will introduce tough new controls on trafficking and brokering, the intangible transfer of military technology, and technical assistance. It is a significant step forward. It will ensure the UK cannot be used as a base for irresponsible trade in arms to undesirable destinations.

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to ensure that military equipment manufactured in the UK is not being used in Aceh. [126229]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I visited Indonesia on 3–4 June 2003, and raised the issue of British-supplied military equipment with President Megawati and senior members of the Indonesian government. I reminded them of the assurances that British built military equipment should not be used offensively or to violate

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human rights, and warned of the possible consequences for defence sales and defence relationships if there was a breach of the assurances.

Our Embassy in Jakarta regularly raises the assurances with the Indonesian Government, including senior military contacts. Our Embassy receives information from as wide a range of sources as possible, as well as from the Government, to monitor the use of British-built equipment. These include international agencies, NGOs, other observers and the media.

We have had no confirmed reports that British-built military equipment has been violating the assurances, but are monitoring the situation. We will follow up all credible allegations on the misuse of British-military equipment.

BAE Systems (Contracts)

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the BAE Systems contracts the Foreign Office are helping with. [126457]

Mr. Rammell: Our posts overseas are providing support to a number of companies, including BAE Systems, in line with their normal duties. This includes assistance with sales and marketing campaigns. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not, however, involved in any BAE Systems contracts at this time.

British Consulate (San Francisco)

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the grades were of the civil servants, and what the total cost was of, the visits of two groups of civil servants to San Francisco to inspect the British Consulate, broken down by (a) travel, (b) subsistence and (c) other costs; how many other properties they inspected; and what length of time was taken for the two visits. [121456]

Mr. Rammell: The first visit took place in March 2002 and the second in March 2003.

The first comprised three D Band (Home Civil Service Principal equivalent) officers from different sections of our estate departments in Croydon. Two visited for five working days, and one for two, to inspect properties the Post had short-listed as potentially suitable as a new Residence. The cost of the three return flights was £11,986. Subsistence totalled £2,031. There would also have been some minor local expenditure on transport within San Francisco and photocopying.

The second visit also comprised three people: one from the Senior Management Structure (SMS) of the FCO, one D Band officer and one external adviser. The combined cost of air fares was £11,612. The SMS officer and the Estate Adviser spent five days in San Francisco but the D Band officer remained for a further six days (including the weekend) for a detailed technical investigation of the property selected. Subsistence totalled £4,026. Sundry expenditure including telephone calls totalled approximately £55. Local transport was arranged and paid for by the Consulate-General and the total cost is not readily available.

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Burma

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ask (a) Standard Chartered Bank and (b) Cordiant Communications to withdraw from Burma. [125924]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The two biggest investors in Burma, BAT and Premier Oil, have been asked to withdraw their investment in Burma. I have made clear that our policy is not to encourage UK companies who trade or invest in Burma while the regime continues to suppress the basic human rights of its people. All British companies that inquire about the prospects either for trade with or investment in Burma are informed of this policy.

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the value of imports of clothing from Burma was in the past two financial years. [125925]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: According to figures from HM Customs and Excise, the value of apparel and clothing accessories imported in to the UK from Burma in 2002 was approximately £50 million. In 2001 the value of such imports was approximately £52 million.

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place a proposal for an EU-wide ban on new investment in Burma on the agenda at the EU Foreign Ministers meeting on 21 July. [125929]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have long been at the forefront of EU action to maintain and increase targeted pressure on the Burmese regime. We are currently pursuing with EU colleagues what additional economic and diplomatic action is required to ensure that national reconciliation, respect for human rights and democracy becomes a reality in Burma. Burma is not currently on the agenda for the EU Foreign Ministers meeting on 21 July. However, Burma will be a key focus during discussions at the ASEM Foreign Ministers Meeting on 23–24 July.

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