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Early Retirement
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many employees in his Department took early retirement, and at what total cost, in the last financial year. [172194]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: 46 employees of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office took early retirement during the 2003–04 financial year at an initial cash cost of £1,385,153. Ongoing payments to employees who retired before 2003–04 amounted to a further £2,026,971.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office accounts for 2003–04 have not yet been finalised and may therefore be subject to revision. The published accounts will be expressed in resource rather than cash terms.
Saddam Hussein
Mr. Robathan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what effects the (a) possibility of Saddam Hussein receiving a capital sentence and
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(b) implications of the European Convention on Human Rights have had on the provision of information by the UK Government to the investigations into Saddam Hussein's alleged crimes. [162066]
Mr. Rammell: On 10 December 2003, the Iraqi Governing Council approved the Statute creating the Iraqi Special Tribunal to try major crimes committed under the former Ba'athist regime. The Transitional Administrative Law signed on 8 March 2004 confirms the establishment of the Tribunal. The Tribunal itself must now be set up and the judges selected.
The UK Government has made it clear that it opposes the use of the death penalty. We were instrumental in securing the suspension of the death penalty in Iraq under Coalition Provisional Authority Order No 7. It will be up to the new Iraqi Government to determine whether this punishment will be reinstated following the transfer of authority. After the transfer of power to the new Iraqi Government, we will continue to lobby against the death penalty.
The UK will consider any request to provide information to the Tribunal consistent with our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and our opposition to the death penalty. Iraq is in any event an evidence rich environment, with considerable documentary proof of the atrocities committed by the former regime. The important question is how to ensure that Saddam and other members of his regime suspected of major crimes are tried under an Iraqi process that meets international standards.
Taiwan
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the forthcoming Peace Referendum in Taiwan. [160083]
Mr. Rammell: The referenda failed to get the necessary number of votes to make them valid.
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 any action that raises cross-straits tensions.
United Nations
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the (a) timetable for the preparation of draft reports, (b) consultation period, (c) deadlines for submission to reporting bodies and (d) provisional dates and locations of public hearings to consider the UK periodic reports for each UN international obligation are; and which (i) Department and (ii) officials have primary responsibility in each case. [171373]
Mr. Rammell:
Setting out the situation with regard to all the UK periodic reports for every obligation within the UN framework would incur disproportionate costs. However, it might be helpful to set out the process with regard to one specific area, human rights, as an example of the UK's reporting obligations.
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With regard to the six core UN international human rights treaties which require States Parties to submit reports, the timetables for reporting and consideration of reports vary from treaty to treaty and can depend on the workload of, and recommendations expressed by, the relevant treaty monitoring body. Lead responsibility for the UK's reports also varies within Government, but in each case the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for coordinating material relating to the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
For the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, reporting is required every five years. The UK's last report was submitted in 1999 and examined in October 2001. The relevant treaty monitoring body has asked that the UK submits its next report by 1 November 2006. The Department for Constitutional Affairs is responsible for coordinating the UK's report, directed by officials from within its Human Rights Division.
For the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, reporting is also required every five years. The UK's last report was submitted in 2001 and examined in May 2002. The relevant treaty monitoring body has asked that the UK submits its next report by 30 June 2007. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for coordinating the UK's report, directed by officials from within its Human Rights Policy Department.
For the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel. Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, reporting is required every four years. The UK's latest report was submitted on 4 December 2003. A date has not yet been scheduled for the examination in Geneva. The timing of the next report will depend on the recommendations of the relevant treaty monitoring body. The Department for Constitutional Affairs is responsible for coordinating the UK's report, directed by officials from within its Human Rights Division.
For the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, reporting is required every two years. The UK's last report was submitted in October 2002 and examined on 6–7 August 2003. The relevant treaty monitoring body has asked that the UK submits its next two reports combined by
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6 April 2006. The Home Office is responsible for coordinating the UK's report, directed by officials from within its Race Equality Unit.
For the Convention on the Rights of the Child, reporting is required every five years. The UK's last reports were submitted in 1999 and examined in September 2002 for the UK and 2000 for the Overseas Territories and the Isle of Man. The relevant treaty monitoring body has asked that the UK submits its next two reports combined by 15 July 2007. The Department for Education and Skills is responsible for coordinating the UK's report, directed by officials from within its Children, Young People and Families Directorate.
For the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, reporting is required every four years. The UK's last report was submitted in July 2003. The relevant treaty monitoring body has scheduled an examination of the report for July 2005 in New York and the date of the next report will depend on its recommendations. The Department for Trade and Industry is responsible for coordinating the UK's report, directed by officials from within its Women and Equality Unit.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Planning
Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the occasions when costs have been awarded against (a) a local council and (b) councillors following an appeal against their refusal to grant planning permission when their decision was to uphold their local plan. [173083]
Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not record such details.
Empty Homes (London)
Simon Hughes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many empty residential dwellings there were in each Greater London borough, in each year since 1997. [173296]
Keith Hill: The available information on empty residential dwellings in Greater London boroughs is presented in the table. This data has been provided from a combination of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Housing Investment Programme return and Housing Corporation's Regulatory Statistical Return.
Note:
Missing data is denoted by a "-". London total includes imputation for these missing values.
Sources:
ODPM's annual Housing Investment Programme (HIP) returns and the Housing Corporation's annual HAR 10 and Regulatory and Statistical Return (RSR).
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