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Temporary Staff

Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many agency temporary staff have been working for the Department in each of the last five years, excluding those working for agencies for which no data is kept centrally. [196062]

Hilary Benn: DFID currently has no central record of agency workers, and therefore this information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Civil Servants

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average length of continuous service for civil servants within the Department is. [194398]

Mr. Alexander: In 2003 (the latest date for which figures are available) civil servants then employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had been in continuous employment for an average of just over 13 years.

Consultants

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much expenditure his Department has incurred in each year since 2002 on employing external consultants to deal with the press and public relations of his Department; and if he will make a statement. [195461]

Mr. Rammell: As set out in my reply to the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) on 20 July 2004, Official Report, column 171W, in FY 2002–03—the most recent year for which audited figures are available—the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) central expenditure on public relations external consultancy totalled £291,971. Of this, £268,862 was paid to a single agency for work on the consular awareness-raising campaign "Know Before You Go".

The FCO's overseas posts and its non-departmental public bodies occasionally employ public relations external consultants, but details are not recorded centrally. Information about the costs incurred by these activities could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

The FCO is unaware of any central expenditure on press-related external consultancy.

Departmental Disciplinary Procedures

Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total cost in each of the last three financial years was of his Department's internal disciplinary procedures; and how much was spent on (a) external lawyers and (b) commissioning independent experts and adjudications. [195794]

Mr. Alexander: We do not have precise figures readily available for the costs incurred as a result of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) internal disciplinary procedures over the last three years. The information
 
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requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In the majority of cases legal advice is provided by FCO legal advisers. We would commission specialist external advice only if there were a need to consult on a detailed question of employment law.

Departmental Staff

Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many agency temporary staff have been working for the Department in each of the last five years, excluding those working for agencies for which no data are kept centrally. [196063]

Mr. Alexander: We do not have a central record of the numbers of staff employed under contract from agencies; to obtain these figures would incur disproportionate costs. We do, however, have the costs, which are:

	£
2000–01	1,255,817
2001–02	1,933,841
2002–03	1,850,779
2003–04	1,630,613

Entry Clearance

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many entry clearance refusals he has overturned in 2004. [194446]

Mr. Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not overturned any refusals in 2004 but I, as the Minister responsible for entry clearance matters overseas, have overturned 13 refusals in 2004 to date.

EU Savings Directive

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the EU Savings Directive on the (a) British Virgin Islands, (b) Cayman Islands and (c) other dependent territories. [195828]

Mr. Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) on 25 October 2004, Official Report, column 1057W.

Gabon

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for the establishment of a British (a) consulate and (b) embassy in Gabon; and if he will make a statement. [195439]

Mr. Mullin: We have no plans to open either a consulate or an embassy in Gabon. The British high commissioner to Cameroon, who is resident in Yaoundé, is accredited as ambassador to Gabon. We have also appointed a British honorary consul who is resident in Libreville.
 
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Gibraltar

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Gibraltar; and which issues were discussed. [195587]

Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar on 20 October. They were also in contact on 27 October to discuss the content of the joint statement made by the Foreign Secretary and his Spanish counterpart, Senor Moratinos. The Chief Minister confirmed that he was entirely content with the joint statement.

Iraq

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his US counterparts concerning measures to protect (a) Christian communities and (b) Christian churches from terrorist attacks in Iraq. [195064]

Mr. Rammell: We are in regular contact with our US counterparts at all levels on security issues in Iraq. UK and US officials in Iraq regularly meet with members of the Christian communities. And we have raised their concerns with the Iraqi authorities. Our missions in Iraq are monitoring the situation closely.

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role the Government plan for the UN in ensuring independent monitoring of the forthcoming elections in Iraq. [195180]

Mr. Rammell [holding answer 1 November 2004]: The UN is supporting elections in Iraq as mandated in UNSCR 1546 through providing advice and training to the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI), the lead body responsible for preparing elections. Among its many tasks, the IECI with the help of the UN is training independent Iraqi election monitors.

Sudan

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of access for humanitarian and human rights organisations to all parts of Sudan. [194460]

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.

The issue of access is key to the precarious humanitarian situation in Darfur and the rest of Sudan. Humanitarian access has been improving. In the initial stages of the crisis the humanitarian community faced many obstacles in responding to the situation. Significant pressure was placed on the Government of Sudan by the UK and others to help ensure the entry and movement of humanitarian staff, commodities, and equipment into Darfur. As a result, the Government of Sudan have made positive steps in enhancing access and DFID is monitoring the situation. This progress is reflected in the rise in the number humanitarian staff operating in Darfur. This has increased from 2,043 staff of which 322 were international on 1 July 2004 to a figure of 6,154 staff on 1 October, of which 779 were international.
 
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Access by the UN to people involved has gradually improved. In the UN's most recent Humanitarian Needs Profile (1 October), it reported that it had reached 88 per cent. of the 2 million people affected by the conflict. The level of access differs from 98 per cent. of the affected population in West Darfur to 89 per cent. in North Darfur, and 73 per cent. in South Darfur.

Humanitarian access in Darfur mainly depends on two factors: the degree of insecurity on the ground and road and weather conditions. Although the UN has agreed operating procedures with the Sudan Liberation Movement, access to Sudan Liberation Army-held areas remains problematic due to recent restrictions imposed by the rebel groups as well as several security incidents. Across the rest of the country, the picture is mixed, It is still difficult for some agencies to access areas such as Southern Blue Nile and parts of Kassla State (Hamesh Koreb). Elsewhere, access is better, although the security situation can change at short notice.

The British Government take the problems in Sudan extremely seriously. In the last two months, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, the Minister for Africa and myself, visited Sudan and urged the Government of Sudan to meet the commitments they gave to the UN regarding humanitarian access and security. The Foreign Secretary secured the Government of Sudan's agreement to access to Darfur for human rights agencies previously denied visas. In Khartoum, the ambassador has taken the lead in establishing regular meetings with the Government of Sudan, NGO's and donors to discuss among other things, the question of access in Sudan, highlighting specific instances of ongoing bureaucratic difficulties.

The UN and the UK Government along with others, continue to press both the Government of Sudan and the rebels to allowed unfettered access throughout Darfur. We are also pressing all parties to sign and deliver on the Abuja humanitarian protocol.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Sudan about the need to ensure that all parties to the peace process grant the International Committee of the Red Cross the assistance it needs to carry out its protection mandate. [194486]

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.

The UK is actively trying to ensure access for all humanitarian agencies, including the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC). DFID works with colleagues from the UN, and other Development Ministers, to press both the Government of Sudan and the rebels to allowed unfettered access throughout Darfur. DFID is pressing all parties to sign and deliver on the Abuja humanitarian protocol.

In the last two months, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, the Minister for Africa and myself have all visited Sudan to urge the Government of Sudan to meet the commitments it gave to the UN regarding humanitarian access and security.

DFID regularly raises the importance of protection of civilians in our discussions with the Government of Sudan.
 
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Through direct aid, the UK continues to support the humanitarian community and is now the second biggest bilateral donor in Sudan, allocating since March this year £55.5 million for Darfur and £35 million for Sudan as a whole. Of this, DFID has committed £4.5million to the ICRC for the whole of Sudan.

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