You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Publications and Records > Hansard > Commons Debates > Commons Debates by date > Commons Debates - previous sessions > Bound Volume Hansard - Written Answers
Previous Section Index Home Page

19 Jan 2004 : Column 967W—continued

Management Consultants

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost to his Department of using management consultants has been in each of the last five years. [148023]

Mr. Rammell: Expenditure on external consultants in general is reported annually in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Departmental Report, available in the Library of the House and on the FCO's website: www.fco.gov.uk. Expenditure specifically on management consultants is not categorised separately and could be established only at disproportionate cost.

19 Jan 2004 : Column 968W

Expenditure on external consultants for the last five years has been:

£ million
1997–9815.8
1998–9914.5
1999–200014
2000–0117.9
2001–0220.1

Expenditure for 2002–03 is not yet available, but will be included in the next Departmental Report due to be published in spring 2004.

The vast majority of our expenditure on external consultants is associated with our major Information Communications Technology (ICT) and Estate Construction programmes. Consultants also advise on legal, financial and personnel issues and provide support in areas where we have skills shortages. Increasing expenditure over recent years is largely associated with the growth of our ICT programme which is being used to support change in the organisation.

Procurement Outsourcing

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his Department's procurement policy with regard to offshore IT and call centre outsourcing; whether his Department is outsourcing IT and call centre jobs to offshore companies; to which countries his Department has outsourced these jobs; how much his Department has spent on this outsourcing in each of the last two years; and how much has been budgeted for this purpose for the next two years. [147585]

Mr. Rammell : Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) purchasing policy follows the Government's Public Purchasing Consolidated Guidelines which require the procurement of goods and services to be based on value for money and that they should be acquired by competition unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary.

In the UK the FCO has not agreed any contracts for the provision of IT or call centre services operated outside this country, nor are there any plans to do so.

Saudi Arabia

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department has received from Saudi Arabian officials concerning plans to attack British Airways flights (a) over Saudi Arabia and (b) with light aircraft registered in that country; and if he will make a statement. [148433]

Mr. Straw: We liaise closely with the Saudi Government on security issues, including those relating to aviation security. Information received in confidence from the Saudi Government is exempt from disclosure under Exemption l(c) of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. We do not disclose the details of exchanges on security issues, as it is the longstanding practice of successive Governments not to comment on intelligence and security matters.

19 Jan 2004 : Column 969W

The security and intelligence agencies are outside the scope of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Paragraph 6, Part 1).

Sudan

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence has been collated by his Department on whether the Eritrean authorities are arming Sudanese rebels in the Darfur region; and if he will make a statement. [147774]

Mr. Mullin: We are aware of accusations made by the Government of Sudan of Eritrean involvement in the conflict in Darfur, and are in contact with both governments on this matter.

We hope that peace in Sudan will help bring stability and prosperity to the entire Greater Horn region, and are encouraging both sides to work to improve relations.

Sunset Clauses

Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made on the need for sunset clauses on legislative proposals brought forward by the European Commission. [147918]

Mr. MacShane: The Government believe that review clauses and sunsetting should be included in European legislation where appropriate. The Cabinet Office Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment asks those officials negotiating a Directive to consider getting a commitment to review in the text of the Directive itself, if it is not feasible or appropriate to have sunsetting. The Cabinet Office Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment is available on the Cabinet Office website: www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/regulation/scrutiny/ria-guidance.

Taiwan

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of relations between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China. [147526]

Mr. Rammell: The United Kingdom monitors cross-Straits relations closely.

We attach great importance to the avoidance of conflict. We take every appropriate opportunity to convey to the Chinese Government and, through informal channels, to the Taiwanese Authorities our strong opposition to the use of force or to any action that raises cross-straits tensions.

United Nations

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the occasions since 1975 when the vote cast by the United Kingdom has been diametrically opposed to that of the United States in the UN Security Council; and what percentage of votes this represents. [147399]

Mr. Rammell: The UK has made a positive vote in the Security Council when the US has voted negatively on the following 28 occasions since 1975:


19 Jan 2004 : Column 970W

There have been no occasions since 1975 when the US has voted positively on a resolution which the UK has voted against. The 28 votes listed above represent around 2.3 per cent. of the 1,238 votes on substantive resolutions which have either been adopted or vetoed since 1975. In the same period, there were 23 occasions in which the UK voted positively and the US abstained, and 21 occasions when the UK abstained and the US voted against. There have been no occasions since 1975 when the UK abstained and the US voted positively, or the UK voted against and the US abstained. Exact figures for the total number of votes (including those, for example, on procedural issues) which have taken place in the Security Council are not readily available.

USA (Visas)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the US Administration about the introduction of visa charges for British citizens who visit the United States of America. [148154]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: There have been no recent changes to charges for US visas for British citizens. However, we are in close consultation with the US on the introduction of biometric travel documents, and how this will affect entry in to the United States for British passport holders after 26 October 2004.

19 Jan 2004 : Column 971W

Western Sudan

Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what measures the Government are taking to re-establish and support the Chadian-led peace negotiations following the breakdown of peace talks on Darfur, Western Sudan; [148015]

Mr. Mullin: We remain extremely concerned at the humanitarian situation in Darfur. We are in contact with all parties, including the Government of Sudan at senior level, to press for the re-establishment of a ceasefire, preferably with international monitoring, which would permit humanitarian access to those in need and lead to talks about how the problems of Darfur can best be addressed.

Next Section Index Home Page