---

1 Jul 2004 : Column 430W—continued

Afghanistan

Mr Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what access the International Committee of the Red Cross has to prisoners detained in Afghanistan; and how many International Committee of the Red Cross reports on them have been filed to date; [181557]
 
1 Jul 2004 : Column 431W
 

(2) whether concerns have been raised by the International Committee of the Red Cross with regard to prisoners detained in Afghanistan. [181559]

Mr. Straw: The UK does not have any prison or detention facilities in Afghanistan and, since ICRC policy is only to raise concerns directly with the parties concerned, we have not been contacted by the ICRC.

The ICRC monitors prison conditions in detention facilities across Afghanistan, including those run by the Central Government, Regional Governors and US Forces. The UK Government does not have access to ICRC reports on those facilities, in line with ICRC policy on confidentiality.

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many prisons and detention camps in Afghanistan are under United Kingdom authority. [181561]

Mr. Straw: There are no prisons or detention camps in Afghanistan under UK authority.

Croatia

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects Croatia to join the European Union; and if he will make a statement. [181243]

Mr. MacShane: The June European Council agreed to grant Croatia candidate status, and set a start date for negotiations of early 2005. The UK welcomes this and will continue to support Croatia's EU aspirations. The date of Croatia's eventual accession is in Zagreb's hands, and depends on the pace of reform, the legislative harmonisation process, and continued co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the Foreign Minister of Croatia. [181244]

Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last met the Croatian Foreign Minister on 11 February, during a visit by Dr Zuzul to the UK. I have also met Dr Zuzul in London, Zagreb and Brussels on a number of occasions since then, most recently on 22 June.
 
1 Jul 2004 : Column 432W
 

Departmental Property

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the expenditure by his Department on refurbishment of property in each year since 1997. [181564]

Mr. Straw: The Department has spent the following sums on refurbishment since 1997:

	£million
1997–1998	3.2
1998–1999	4.7
1999–2000	22.5
2000–2001	31.2
2001–2002	10.1
2002–2003	8.9
2003–2004	6.2

The significantly higher costs in 1999–2000 and 2000–01 cover the second and third years of the project to refurbish the Old Admiralty Building (OAB). All other costs relate to refurbishments at overseas Posts.

Iraq

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under which legal jurisdiction (a) civilian contractors and (b) his staff working in Iraq will fall from 1 July. [181562]

Mr. Straw: Foreign civilian contractors working in Iraq fall under Iraqi jurisdiction after 28 June, unless they fall within CPA Order 17. This chiefly covers foreign contractors who are supplying goods or services to Diplomatic Missions, the Multinational Force, and for humanitarian aid, reconstruction or development projects. Such contractors will be immune from Iraqi legal process with respect to acts performed by them pursuant to the terms of a contract. Contractors must, however, respect Iraqi laws.

All UK based staff working at the British embassy, Baghdad and the embassy offices in Basra and Kirkuk, will be entitled to the usual diplomatic privileges and immunities.

Polisario Front

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has held with the Polisario Front about proposals to seek prisoner release. [181377]

Mr. Rammell [holding answer 30 June 2004]: The Government have not held discussions with members of any Palestinian groups about prisoner releases.

---

---