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3 Mar 2004 : Column 994W—continued
Corporate Taxation
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on the co-ordination of corporate taxation within the European Union. [157117]
Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
The Government's view is that fair tax competition is the way forward for Europe, not tax harmonisation. The Government will not support any action at European level that would threaten jobs and investment or damage the competitive position of British business.
Departmental Officials
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which former officials of the Department have asked for permission to join (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst and Young and (d) KPMG. [156902]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Since 1998, we are unaware of any former officials of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who have asked for permission to join Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Deloitte & Touche, Ernst and Young or KPMG.
To locate individual requests from officials earlier than 1998 would incur disproportionate costs.
Guantanamo Bay
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the United
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Kingdom recognises the legal right of the United States to build and operate a prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. [157156]
Mr. Mullin: The extent to which arrangements between the US and Cuba permit the US to build and operate facilities in Guantanamo Bay is primarily a matter for the two Governments concerned.
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information has been provided to him by (a) the United States Department of Defense and (b) other US authorities in respect of information obtained from the four detainees holding British citizenship being kept in detention at Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay. [157157]
Mr. Mullin: There are nine British nationals currently detained at Guantanamo Bay.
In accordance with exemption 1 of Part 2 the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, we do not disclose information received in confidence from a foreign government.
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the locations where British (a) citizens and (b) residents were detained before being taken to the American prison camp at Guantanamo Bay; on what dates (i) British diplomats and (ii) members of the security and intelligence services visited each detainee; and whether any British (A) citizen and (B) resident being held at Guantanamo Bay has been permitted a visit from a legal representative. [157188]
Mr. Mullin: In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, we are not in a position to give details of where the British nationals at Guantanamo Bay were detained prior to their transfer there. Exemption 15 of Part 2 the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies. British diplomats visited the British detainees in January 2002, February 2002, May 2002, November 2002, April 2003 and September 2003. Officials have questioned the British detainees about matters relevant to national security. The Government have a duty to protect the UK's national security. As far as we are aware, no British nationals or British residents have been permitted a visit from any legal representative.
Hong Kong
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK passport holders live in Hong Kong. [157567]
Mr. Mullin: There are approximately £3.6 million British passport holders living in Hong Kong.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a visit by a Minister in his Department to Hong Kong will next take place; and what talks have taken place with China on a ministerial visit to Hong Kong. [157985]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Foreign engagements for my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers are kept under constant review. It is not practice to announce such visits until they are firm. Because of the unpredictable nature of world events, final decisions on
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overseas visits are often not possible until very shortly before the day of travel and occasionally not until they are under way.
The most recent visit to Hong Kong by a Foreign Office Minister was by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mr. Rammell) in December 2003.
Due to the high degree of autonomy afforded to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) under the "One Country, Two Systems" principle, we discuss the timing of ministerial visits to Hong Kong with the SAR Government.
Iran
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent elections in Iran. [157649]
Mr. Rammell: Over the last 10 years Iran has made progress towards greater political freedom. But the flawed parliamentary elections held on 20 February were a clear setback.
On 23 February, EU Foreign Ministers expressed their deep regret and disappointment that large numbers of candidates, including many sitting deputies, had been prevented from standing, thus making a genuine democratic choice by the Iranian people impossible. For elections in any country to be regarded as free and fair, electors must have a chance to vote for candidates with a range of views.
Iraq
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from (i) his Department and (ii) other Departments have had contact with Mr. Nadhmi Auchi since the conflict in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [142019]
Mr. Rammell: Pursuant to his answer on 5 January 2004, Official Report, column 84W.
Since replying, it has been brought to my attention that my noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean wrote to Mr. Nadhmi Auchi on 7 July 2003 in response to his letter to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 15 May 2003 about the Anglo Arab Organisation. United Kingdom Trade and Investment (UKTI) officials also met with Mr. Auchi in June 2003, in connection with his role in the Anglo-Arab Organisation and in July sent him a list of their events in the region. Mr. Auchi also sent three invitations to the Prime Minister and his officials, all of whch were declined
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the earliest possible date for the holding of elections in Iraq; and what steps he is taking to expedite such an election. [157652]
Mr. Rammell: The Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Lakhdar Brahimi, visited Iraq in February to look into the processes and timing of elections. His report, issued on 23 February, made clear that elections were not feasible before the end of 2004 at
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the earliest. We accept this assessment and stand ready to support the UN and the Iraqis in preparing for elections based on the UN's suggested timetable. We have worked hard with the Iraqis to agree a Transitional Administrative Law, an essential step towards early elections.
Middle East
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the Israeli separation fence on health service provision in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. [157637]
Mr. Rammell: Israel's building of a barrier on occupied territory restricts the free movement of people and essential supplies—including the provision of health services—between the Occupied Territories and Israel and other countries, as well as within the Occupied Territories. We are concerned by reports that a number of Palestinians have been deprived of urgent medical attention as a result of delays at checkpoints. We continue to express our serious concerns over the route and impact of the fence to the Israeli Government. Most recently, my noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean raised the matter with the Israeli Defence Minister, Shaul Mofaz, in London on 12 February.
Radio Free Asia
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the value of Radio Free Asia in (a) communicating news and (b) stimulating political debate. [157536]
Secondments
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what secondments (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst & Young and (d) KPMG have made to his Department since 2001; for what (i) periods and (ii) tasks the secondments were made; whether secondments of staff from his Department have been made to those firms; and for what (A) periods and (B) tasks. [156925]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: According to our records, the following secondments have been made into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office:
(i) One person from 1 April 2000 to 1 April 2001
(ii) Based in Management Consultancy Services in the FCO.
(i) One person from 1 June 2000—1 June 2001
(ii) Based in the IT Strategy Unit (ITSU), FCO.
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Our records show that no officers have been seconded to these companies since 2001.
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