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Afghanistan

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made in improving Afghanistan's drug law enforcement capacity. [138430]

Mr. Rammell: As lead nation for counter narcotics activity in Afghanistan, the UK supports the Afghan National Drug Control Strategy which was adopted by President Karzai in May 2003. The strategy proposes activities in four key areas: improved drugs law enforcement; alternative livelihoods for poppy farmers; capacity building for Afghan drugs institutions; and public awareness campaigns/treatment programmes to help reduce demand. The UK is committing £70 million over the next three years and additional British Embassy drugs personnel to drive forward implementation of the strategy.

In the area of improved drugs law enforcement, the UK is working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on a basic law enforcement training programme to develop the investigation, detection, interdiction and intelligence capabilities of Afghanistan's principal drug enforcement agency, the Counter Narcotics Police. The UK has trained over 100 officers of the Counter Narcotics Police to date, including two female officers, and has involved trainers from Pakistan, Turkey and Iran in the counter-narcotics training package.

The UK plans to build upon this training by seconding international experts to mentor officers in Kabul and the regions. Progress in reforming Afghanistan's drug enforcement capacity, as in other areas of the drugs strategy, is dependent upon wider improvements in security and governance.

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the percentage of the UK's heroin supply coming from Afghanistan. [138431]

Mr. Rammell: On the basis of forensic analysis of heroin seizures, it is estimated that at least 95 per cent. of the heroin used in the UK is produced from opium grown in Afghanistan.

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the size of the poppy harvest was in Afghanistan in each year since 2000. [138476]

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Mr. Rammell: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) conducts an annual survey into the level of opium cultivation and production in Afghanistan. Their figures since 2000 are as follows:

	Hectares	Tonnes
2000	82,000	3,300
2001	8,000	185
2002	74,000	3,400
2003	80,000	3,600

The low level of cultivation and low production figure in 2001 reflect the Taliban ban on opium cultivation; the ban did not however address the underlying causes of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan and was enforced with mix of threat and bribery.

Azerbaijan

Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on bilateral relations with Azerbaijan. [139127]

Mr. Rammell: The UK has a good bilateral relationship with Azerbaijan. The most recent ministerial visit was by my right hon. Friend the then Minister for Energy in May this year, to attend the Caspian Oil and Gas Show in Baku. Ilham Aliev, now President, visited the UK in June when he called on the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire (Mike O'Brien), and the then Secretary of State for International Development my noble Friend Baroness Amos.

In January 2003, we extended the mandate of Sir Brian Fall the UK Special Representative to cover the whole of the South Caucasus underlining the commitment of the Government to play an active part in the efforts of the international community to help resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

UK investment in Azerbaijan totals $US 2 billion. The vast majority of this is BP's investment in the oil and gas sector, which has contributed much to the development of the oil and gas industry in Azerbaijan. BP is the largest foreign investor, operating four offshore oil and gas exploration and development contracts. BP is leading the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (ETC) pipeline project. The BTC pipeline will provide an export route for oil (and subsequently gas) from Azerbaijan's Caspian oil fields to Europe.

Burma

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on British American Tobacco's decision to stop its cigarette making operation in Burma. [138824]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I welcome that BAT, the largest remaining UK investor in Burma, has responded to the Government's request that they leave the country. BAT's decision reinforces our long held policy of not encouraging trade, investment or tourism in Burma. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister stated in June, trade and investment with Burma is not appropriate while the military regime continues to suppress the basic

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rights of its people. This will remain our policy until we see concrete evidence of genuine political will by the regime to work towards national reconciliation, democracy, and respect for human rights in Burma.

Colombia

Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure compliance by the Colombian Government with recommendations by the UN on human rights. [138944]

Mr. Rammell: The issue of the implementation of UN recommendations was discussed at the London Meeting on International Support for Colombia which the UK hosted on 10 July this year. The Colombian Government pledged to implement these recommendations promptly and take effective action against impunity and collusion especially with the paramilitary groups. In my meeting with the Colombian Foreign Minister in New York in September, I underlined the importance we attached to this commitment. A working group of representatives of the governments who attended the London Meeting has been set up in Bogota to monitor and evaluate progress on implementation.

Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his officials have held with the Colombian Government on rates of voter abstention in (a) the Colombian referendum and (b) the municipal and departmental elections of 25 and 26 October. [138946]

Mr. Rammell: We hold regular discussions with the Colombian authorities and others on a wide range of topics, including the outcomes of the recent referendum and the municipal and departmental elections.

Correspondence

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) when he will reply to the letter to him dated 7 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. R. F. Nayeem; [138455]

(2) when he will reply to the letter to him dated 6 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. F. Begum; [138457]

(3) when he will reply to the letter to him dated 2 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Tufail Choudhary. [138458]

Mr. Mullin: I can confirm that as a result of an administrative error, no replies were sent to my right hon. Friend's letters of 2, 6, 7 October to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary about Mr. Tufail Choudhary, Mrs. F. Begum and Mrs. Ruzi Farzana Nayeem.

It would appear that a package containing a number of my right hon. Friend's letters was lost while in transit between my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's office and UKvisas, the department responsible for entry clearance matters arising overseas. The letters that were lost have now been identified and copies have been sent to UKvisas. I can assure my right hon. Friend that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will write to him in the next few days on this case.

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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 the levels of (a) United Kingdom and (b) UN troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [137618]

Mr. Straw [holding answer 18 November 2003]: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 12 November 2003, Official Report, column 314W.

Departmental Costs

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost was to his Department for (a) ministerial cars and drivers, (b) taxis, (c) train travel, (d) the use of helicopters, (e) airline tickets and (f) chartered aeroplanes in each year since 1997. [123075]

Mr. Rammell: Under the terms of the Framework Document, the responsibility for the provision of ministerial cars and drivers is delegated to the Government Care Despatch Agency. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 13 November 2003, Official Report, column 397W.

Expenditure in the UK under the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) taxi contracts for each year since 1997 was as follows:

£

Year	Expenditure
1997–98	152, 442.64
1998–99	226,736.15
1999–2000	329,903.63
2000–01	380,830.36
2001–02	525,026.69
2002–03	499,164.22

These figures do not include details of any taxi journeys undertaken by staff outside the scope of the FCO's taxi contracts and for which reimbursement is made through the Department's travel claim system. Expenditure on taxis will also have been incurred by our Missions overseas. Neither of these costs are recorded separately, and it would involve disproportionate cost to identify them.

The FCO purchases tickets for rail and air travel through a contract with American Express. Figures for this expenditure are immediately available for the 2001–02 and 2002–03 financial years only, and are as follows:

£

Year	Rail	Air
2001–02	752,364	15,730,892
2002–03	699,569	15,269,677

I will write to the hon. Member with the figures for 1997–98 to 2000–01 as soon as they are provided by American Express. However, this data do not include

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the cost of rail or air journeys booked direct by members of staff and reimbursed through the Department's travel claim system. Direct expenditure on air travel will also have been incurred by our Missions overseas. These costs are not recorded separately, and again it would involve disproportionate cost to identify them.

Details of the types of aircraft used by FCO travellers, (i.e. helicopters), are not recorded. Neither does the Department or its contractor centrally maintain information on whether FCO personnel travel by scheduled or chartered flights.

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