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18 Sept 2003 : Column 990W—continued

Conflict Prevention Pools

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) when he expects the independent evaluation of the Global Conflict Prevention Pool to be complete; [130523]

Mr. Rammell: The joint external evaluation of the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool and the Global Conflict Prevention Pool began in June 2003. The results will inform the Spending Review 2004 process and so the aim is for the evaluation to be completed by early 2004.

Consultancies

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many consultancies were commissioned by his Department in the last two years for which figures are available; and what the cost of those contracts was. [130894]

Mr. Rammell: The total number of consultancies could be established only at disproportionate cost. Annual expenditure on external consultants is published in the Department's Annual Reports (copies of which are in the Library of the House). It amounted to

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£17.9 million in 2000–01 and £20.1 million in 2001–02. The vast majority of this expenditure was associated with our major Information Communication Technology and Estate construction programmes.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on smuggling arms to rebel forces within the Congo from (a) Rwanda, (b) Angola and (c) Uganda. [130658]

Mr. Straw [holding answer 17 September 2003]: We condemn the supply of arms to militia groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and continue to call for an end to all such support. UN Security Council Resolution 1493 (2003) introduced an arms embargo on eastern DRC and on armed groups not party to the main power-sharing agreement (signed in Pretoria in December 2002). The UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) are mandated by the same resolution to report regularly to the Security Council on information concerning arms supplies.

EU Accession States (Work Permits)

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether residents of countries which join the European Union will have immediate permission to work in the United Kingdom with effect from the date of those countries joining the Union; and if he will make a statement. [129773]

Mr. MacShane: The EU (Accessions) Bill provides a power to grant nationals of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia the same rights to work in the UK from 1 May 2004 as are enjoyed by nationals of the states in the European Economic Area. The Accession Treaty automatically grants nationals of Cyprus and Malta these rights.

I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's written statement of 16 December 2002, Official Report, columns 537–51WS, on EU enlargement and free movement of workers, and to the EU (Accessions) Bill and its Explanatory Notes—both available on the FCO website under 'enlarging the EU'—http://www.fco.gov.uk.

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Israel

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government regarding the security barrier. [130378]

Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary both made clear our concerns over the route and likely impact of the "security fence" to Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, when he visited London on 14 July. Foreign Office officials have also made representations through the Israeli embassy.

The fence should not be built within occupied territory. We deplore this seizure of Palestinian land, isolation of Palestinian villages and the creation of a further physical obstacle to the two-State solution.

Parliamentary Questions

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Questions directed to him remain unanswered. [130758]

Mr. Straw: My Department has 49 Parliamentary Questions unanswered as of 17 September, only one of which is more than 7 working days old, which will be answered shortly.

Serbia and Montenegro

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring is occurring of attacks on religious minorities in (a) Serbia and (b) Montenegro. [130572]

Mr. MacShane: The implementation of the Charter on Human and Minority Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in Serbia and Montenegro, including the protection and promotion of national minorities (whether religious, ethnic or otherwise), is closely monitored by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR). Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) also monitor observance of human rights in Serbia and Montenegro and include Amnesty International, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (HCHRS) and Human Rights Watch.

Serbia and Montenegro is also subject to a number of the Council of Europe's human rights monitoring mechanisms, including those provided for under the Framework Convention on National Minorities which was ratified by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro) on 11 May 2001.