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IT Contracts

Mr. Flight: To ask the Prime Minister how many outsourced IT contracts have been signed by his Department in each year since 1997; how much each of these contracts is worth; with whom they are signed; how many have been renegotiated; how many are still in place; and if he will make a statement. [126202]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office gave him on 6 October 2003, Official Report, column 998–99W.

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CABINET OFFICE

Executive Agencies

Mr. Steen: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many executive agencies have been established since 1997. [131542]

Mr. Alexander: Thirty-nine executive agencies have been established since 1997.

Further information on existing agencies and former agencies can be found on the website http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/agencies-publicbodies under 'Executive Agencies and Non Ministerial Departments'.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

India-United Kingdom

15. Mr. Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on bilateral diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and India. [132012]

Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the bilateral India-United Kingdom relationship. [132002]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Our relations with the Indian Government are now closer than they have been for a long time across a broad range of policy areas. UK development assistance will increase over the next two years (to £300 million). And there has been a marked increase in bilateral trade (£5 billion in 2001).

Libya

16. Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations with Libya. [132013]

17. Dr. Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on future UK-Libya relations. [132014]

Mr. Rammell: The United Kingdom has had full diplomatic relations with Libya since July 1999 and we continue to engage with the Libyans on areas of mutual interest and concern.

Burma

18. Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further measures he will take against the military Government in Burma to seek to compel them to release the NLD leadership and to take steps towards democracy. [132015]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are working closely with our EU and Asian partners and in the UN to bring pressure to bear on the regime for political change in Burma. We are considering carefully with our EU partners what further targeted measures could be taken if the Burmese regime does not fully release the NLD leadership and take genuine steps towards democracy.

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Iraq

19. Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress in the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. [132016]

Mr. MacShane: David Kay, the senior CIA officer in the Iraq Survey Group presented an interim report on the activities of the group to a number of Congressional committees on 2 October. According to his report the ISG has produced further conclusive and incontrovertible evidence that the Saddam regime was indeed in breach of UNSCR 1441.

The ISG has discovered "dozens of WMD-related programme activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations during the inspections that began in late 2002".

23. Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress with reconstruction in Iraq. [132020]

Mr. Rammell: Good progress is being made with meeting immediate reconstruction needs in Iraq. Electricity generation has returned to pre-war levels, and oil production has recovered to 2 million barrels per day. The key economic institutions are being rebuilt, including the Central bank of Iraq which now has independence over key decisions. A budget has been agreed for 2003, Iraqi Ministries are planning their budgets for 2004, new bank notes are being distributed to replace the discredited Saddam Dinar, and a legal framework for commercial activity is being created. Iraq's longer-term reconstruction needs, arising from decades of misrule under Saddam, will be addressed at the international donors' conference in Madrid on 23–24 October.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to his Department over possible Turkish military deployment in Iraq; who raised these concerns; and if he will make a statement. [131442]

Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and FCO and MOD officials have discussed a possible Turkish military deployment to Iraq with representatives of the Turkish Government and with the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC).

We welcome the generous offer of Turkish troops, and the vote in the Turkish Parliament to approve this in principle. The practicalities of the potential deployment are a matter for the US and the Turkish Governments, taking into full consideration local sensitivities, including those raised by the IGC.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had concerning the possibility of Turkish military deployment in Iraq; where these discussions took place; who initiated these discussions; and if he will make a statement. [131443]

Mr. Rammell: The UK has a regular dialogue with the Turkish Government on matters relating to Iraq, including a possible military deployment. On 25 September, Turkish Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gul

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gave my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary an update on the situation. The Chief of Defence Staff and my right hon. Friend the Minister for the armed forces also discussed this issue, among others, during their recent visits to Turkey.

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many women have been appointed to the preparatory committee working on the drafting of the new Iraqi constitution. [132149]

Mr. Rammell: We were disappointed that no women were appointed to the preparatory constitutional committee. In our discussions with the Governing Council and other Iraqi institutions we continue to stress the importance of women's issues being fully addressed in constitutional discussions to ensure that women are able to play a full role in public life. We are in regular contact with Songul Omar and Dr. Raja Habib Khurzai on the Governing Council and Nesreen Mustafa Sidiq Berwari, the Minister for Public Works.

My noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean met one of the women on the Governing Council, and the one woman Minister, during her recent visit to Baghdad.

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many senior advisers from western countries have been appointed to work with Iraqi Ministers; and how many are women. [132151]

Mr. Rammell: At present there are 21 senior advisers from western countries that provide help to all 25 Iraqi Ministries. Three are women who work with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Displaced Persons, Trade, and Human Rights.

European Constitution

20. Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) EU member states and (b) applicant states plan to hold a referendum on the proposed European constitution; and if he will make a statement. [132017]

Mr. MacShane: A new EU treaty would need to be ratified according to the individual political and constitutional traditions of each of the member states. Current and future member states would be in exactly the same position: all 25 would have to ratify before a new treaty could come into effect. Four member states have formally declared that they will hold a referendum on the outcome of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC): Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg and Spain. Most countries have yet to make a decision. In the UK, EU treaties are only ratified after scrutiny and approval by Parliament, as has been the case with all previous treaties modifying the founding treaties of the EU.

Israel

21. Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Israeli Government concerning military action outside their borders. [132018]

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Mr. Rammell: The Prime Minister's foreign policy adviser expressed the Government's concern to the Government of Israel about military actions, including in Syria, during his recent visit to the region. We recognise Israel's justified anger at suicide bombings, the latest one killing 19 in Haifa on 4 October. We urge all sides to exercise restraint. It is imperative that they recognise the implications for regional stability of the continuing use of force, and that only a political solution can deliver a comprehensive, lasting peace in the Middle East.

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