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Ministerial Visits

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list visits made by each Minister in the Department between December 2003 and April 2004, broken down by (a) date, (b) constituency visited and (c) cost. [171571]

Mr. Straw: For details on overseas visits by Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers please refer to my answer to the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 4 May 2004, Official Report, columns 1440–43W.

No central record of costs for UK travel by FCO Ministers is kept. During the period December 2003 to April 2004, FCO Ministers made the following visits within the UK:
The right hon. Jack Straw MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

	Destination	Purpose of trip
16 January 2004	Cheltenham	Visit to GCHQ
29 April 2004	Leeds	To speak at the Leeds University       Centenary Dinner.

 
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Denis MacShane, Minister of State

	Destination	Purpose of trip
4 December 2003	London and Tunbridge Wells	To promote awareness of EU enlargement
7 January 2004	Edinburgh	Appear before the Scottish Parliament European Affairs Committee
8 January 2004	Perth, Glasgow and Dundee	To promote awareness of EU enlargement
2 March 2004	Oxford	To promote awareness of EU enlargement

Mike O'Brien, Minister of State

	Destination	Purpose of trip
15 January 2004	Stratford-on-Avon	Address the British Chambers of Commerce Annual International Trade Conference
5 February 2004	Bosworth	Meetings with members of Muslim communities
9 March 2004	Glasgow	Foreign and Commonwealth Office Partnerships and Network Development Unit Seminar
11 March 2004	Cambridge	Address the International High Technology Transfer Event
24 April 2004	Blaby	British-American Business Council Spring Conference Dinner

Chris Mullin MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

	Destination	Purpose of trip
11 February 2004	Reading	Visa Road Show
10 March 2004	Bradford	Visa Road Show
25 March 2004	Cheltenham	Attendance with HM Queen at the opening of the new GCHQ Building

Bill Rammell MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

	Destination	Purpose of trip
21 March 2004	Warwick	Policy Forum
3 April 2004	Reading	UNA Conference at Reading University

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, Minister of State:

No UK visits were made between December 2003 and April 2004.

Myanmar

Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU Common Position on Myanmar/Burma. [171115]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The EU is willing to support national reconciliation in Burma, leading to the restoration of democracy and respect for human rights in Burma.

The EU shares the view of a number of international partners that the best interests of the people of Burma continue to be served, in current circumstances, by a balanced approach of carefully targeted measures against those responsible for the obstruction of reform and progress, together with humanitarian support to ensure that the ordinary people of Burma do not suffer as a result of the damaging policies of their Government.
 
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In these circumstances, the EU has decided to maintain the existing measures, as set out in the Common Position for 12 months. The EU stands ready to react proportionately to future developments in Burma, positive or negative, and will keep the situation under review.

Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will press the UN for a full implementation of the resolutions that the General Assembly has passed on Myanmar/Burma. [171116]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We welcome the recent adoption of a resolution by the UN Commission on Human Rights criticising Burma's human rights record. The British Government encourages all the appropriate bodies of the UN to help bring about national reconciliation, respect for human rights and democracy in Burma. We fully support the efforts of the UN Secretary General's Special Representative to Burma, Tan Sri Razali Ismail, and the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, Sergio Pinheiro, and call on Burma's military regime to co-operate fully with them.

Paper Recycling

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of copying paper used by the Department in 2002–03 was from recycled sources; and how much post consumer waste this paper contained. [171812]

Mr. Rammell: 93 per cent. of copying paper supplied throughout the Department in 2002–03 contained at least 80 per cent. post consumer waste. This was reported in the Sustainable Development in Government 2nd Annual report 2003.

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of paper for printed publications used by the Department in 2002–03 was from recycled sources; and how much post consumer waste this paper contained. [171813]

Mr. Rammell: Our Publications and Print Services departments used a number of different papers in this period and the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost as detailed records were not kept. Current guidelines in our Publications and Print Services departments stipulate 75 per cent. post consumer waste content for publications paper.

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department expects to implement in full the quick win targets set by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure that (a) all copying paper bought by the Department is 100 per cent. recycled with a minimum of 75 per cent. post consumer waste content and (b) all paper for printed publications bought by the Department is 60 per cent. recycled, of which a minimum is 75 per cent. post consumer waste. [171815]

Mr. Rammell: We aim to meet the copying paper target by the autumn of this year.

From the beginning of May this year we have been meeting the publications paper target.
 
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Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the Department's main suppliers of (a) copier paper, (b) stationery, (c) envelopes and (d) paper for reports; and what the (i) name of each paper used and the (ii) recycled and post consumer recycled content is in each case. [171816]

Mr. Rammell: Copier paper is supplied by the Sappi Heritage Paper Company. We do not have details of the names of each kind of paper used but it contains 80 per cent. recycled content of which 100 per cent. is post consumer waste

Stationery is supplied by Banner. We purchase numerous stationery items and our records do not allow for analysis of recycled content across the board. Banner has a strong environmental record, having been awarded the British Office Supplies and Services Federation Environmental Certificate every year since 1996. Many of the stationery items available to Foreign and Commonwealth Office customers have a high recycled content.

Envelopes are supplied by Banner. All the envelopes are 80 to 100 per cent. recycled content with 60 to 85 per cent. post consumer waste.

Premier Paper is our main supplier of paper for reports. We buy a variety of papers from them. Our Publications and Print Services teams' guidelines stipulate a minimum recycled content of 75 per cent. post consumer waste for publications paper.

Sudan

Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the human rights situation in Sudan and what steps his Department is taking to encourage progress towards peace. [171117]

Mr. Mullin: We are seriously concerned about the human rights situation in Darfur, western Sudan. Civilian protection there remains a major concern, with reports of systematic attacks on civilians, including rape, pillage and destruction of livelihoods. The promotion of human rights throughout Sudan, through advocacy with the Government and support for NGOs, remains one of our priorities. We welcome the recent signing of a humanitarian ceasefire agreement. We are working with the parties and other members of the international community to try to get the ceasefire monitoring mechanism on the ground as soon as possible.

Good progress has been made at the Sudanese peace talks in Kenya. Both sides have said that the peace process is irreversible and they are hopeful on reaching a final agreement very soon.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what peace proposals are being taken forward to bring an early end to conflict in Darfur, Sudan. [171388]

Mr. Mullin: The 8 April Ceasefire Agreement provides for a Commission to monitor the ceasefire, and for a role for the international community. We are in close contact with the parties and other members of the international community to try to help set up such a monitoring mechanism as quickly as possible. Officials attended an
 
11 May 2004 : Column 206W
 
African Union (AU) meeting about this in Addis Ababa on 19–20 April, and since then we have discussed the matter with the US and in the EU. An AU reconnaissance mission to Chad and Darfur began on 7 May. The mission includes representatives from the EU, the US and the UN, as well as the AU.

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