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3 Feb 2004 : Column 843W—continued
NATO
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the military preparations for joining NATO of (a) Bulgaria, (b) Estonia, (c) Latvia, (d) Lithuania, (e) Romania, (f) Slovakia and (g) Slovenia; and if he will make a statement. [151673]
Mr. Straw: In making the decision to invite the seven countries to join the alliance, NATO evaluated their progress against the areas for reform set out under NATO's Membership Action Plan (MAP).
All of the invitees have been in an intensive dialogue with NATO to establish what reforms were necessary in the political and economic, defence and intelligence, resource, security and legal fields. Agreed reform objectives set out in Annual National Plans (ANP) have been reviewed annually with NATO International Staff and Allies.
The UK has provided considerable bilateral assistance to all of the countries and will continue to provide support once they have joined the alliance. This assistance will help to ensure that the invitee countries to NATO can continue their reform programmes and make an effective contribution to the alliance's military and political structures.
Nigeria
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Nigeria about (a) increases in Muslim fundamentalism in that country and (b) the potential for terrorism; and if he will make a statement. [151948]
Mr. Mullin: We hold regular discussions with the Nigerian authorities at Federal and State level and with others in Nigeria, including religious leaders and NGOs on these issues. We keep developments under careful review.
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Overseas Bribery and Corruption
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many reports of bribery and corruption overseas were received from diplomatic posts between November 1997 and February 2002. [151385]
Mr. MacShane: To provide the information requested would involve a manual search of files which would incur disproportionate costs.
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many allegations of overseas bribery involving UK companies his Department has received from the US Administration since February 1999; on what dates; and what action his Department took on each allegation. [151390]
Mr. MacShane: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for City of York (Hugh Bayley) on 10 December 2003, Official Report, column 512W. We cannot comment on individual reports received in order not to prejudice criminal investigations.
Payments
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the payments in each financial year since 1999–2000 to (a) Uzbekistan, (b) Turkmenistan, (c) Kazakhstan, (d) Kyrgyzstan, (e) Pakistan, (f) Georgia and (g) Azerbaijan; what the purpose was of each payment; and if he will make a statement. [151671]
Mr. Straw: Thousands of payments have been made by Foreign and Commonwealth Office Posts and Departments to suppliers in these countries from the financial year 1999–2000 to date. To list all of these payments could be done only at a disproportionate cost.
Public Bodies
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who the members of the (a) British Council, (b) Commonwealth Institute and (c) Westminster Foundation for Democracy were on 1 January; what their term of office is in each case; and what their remuneration is. [151869]
Mr. Mullin: Both the British Council and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy are non-departmental public bodies for which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has responsibilities. The Commonwealth Institute is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. As an independent body, we do not have access to the terms of office of its Board members.
(28) This payment will be discontinued after 31 July 2004. The new Chair, yet to be appointed will not be remunerated.
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| Appointed | Retires(29) | Remuneration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Aaronson | 19 October 2001 | October 2004 | Reimbursed expenses |
| James Arbuthnot MP | 23 January 2004 | January 2007 | Reimbursed expenses |
| Georgina Ashworth | 22 May 1998 | August 2004 | Reimbursed expenses |
| James Bewsher | 19 November 2003 | November 2006 | Reimbursed expenses |
| Frances D'Souza | 8 July 2000 | July 2006 | Reimbursed expenses |
| Michael Gapes MP, Chair | 20 August 2002 | August 2005 | Reimbursed expenses |
| Nik Gowing | 25 June 1996 | May 2005 | Reimbursed expenses |
| Mary Kaldor | 7 July 1997 | June 2006 | Reimbursed expenses |
| Elfyn Llwyd MP | 24 August 2001 | August 2004 | Reimbursed expenses |
| Michael Moore MP | 31 January 2002 | January 2005 | Reimbursed expenses |
| Patrick Smith | 19 October 2001 | October 2004 | Reimbursed expenses |
| Richard Spring MP | 14 June 2000 | June 06 | Reimbursed expenses |
| Gisela Stuart MP | 5 December 2001 | December 2004 | Reimbursed expenses |
| Michael Trend MP | 30 June 1999 | August 2005 | Reimbursed expenses |
(29) WFD Governors are permitted to serve a maximum of 3 x 3 year terms. Date shown is end of current term.
List of members of the Board of Trustees as of 1 January 2004
- Ms Judith Hanratty, Chair
- The Lord Fellowes, Vice Chair
- The right hon. Donald McKinnon, Commonwealth Secretary-General
- Mr. Algy Cluff
- Mrs. Helen Robinson
- The High Commissioners to the United Kingdom of Nigeria, Malta, Tanzania and New Zealand
Sri Lanka
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the outcomes of the six-month pilot scheme under which visa applicants in Sri Lanka were required to provide fingerprints; and if he will publish the findings of the research. [151413]
Mr. Mullin: My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Citizenship, Immigration and Counter-Terrorism at the Home Office (Beverly Hughes) will be writing to Members of the Seventh Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation about the six-month trial in Colombo and will be placing a copy of that letter in the Library of the House.
Sudan
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the security situation around Juba, Sudan; and what discussions he has had with the Sudanese Government about the situation. [152397]
Mr. Mullin: We have no particular concerns about the security situation around Juba. Juba has not come up in our recent discussions with the Sudanese Government of the security situation in Sudan.
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Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the advice he is offering to British companies which are either involved or intend to become involved in the oil industry in the Sudan. [152398]
Mr. Mullin: The British embassy in Khartoum receives inquiries from British companies in many sectors, including oil, who are interested in becoming involved in business in Sudan. In response to their requests the embassy has provided briefing on the commercial, political and security situation. In addition to briefings it has on occasion provided security advice to companies interested in operating outside Khartoum.
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