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Working Mothers

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what estimate she has made of the number of women working for the Government who have children; [196011]

(2) how many women working for the Government are single parents. [196012]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested is not collected centrally.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Ambassadors

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether ambassadors are expected to learn the official language of the country of their posting; and if he will make a statement. [196867]

Mr. Alexander: Yes, all Heads of Mission posted to a country where English is not an official language are expected to learn the official language. They are given language training to enable them to do so.

Armenia/Azerbaijan

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government have taken to encourage Armenia to withdraw from Azerbaijani territories in accordance with 1993 UN Security Council Resolutions 822, 853 and 874. [197089]

Mr. Rammell: The OSCE Minsk Group is the framework that leads on negotiation towards a settlement to the Nagorno Karabakh dispute. While the UK is not a member of the Minsk Group, we support its work and remain in close touch through the work of the UK Special Representative Sir Brian Fall. The UK will support any mechanism for the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh dispute which both parties can accept and which has a realistic chance of delivering a lasting political settlement.

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement regarding the changes in the demographic make-up of the Nagorno Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. [197090]

 
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Mr. Rammell: Since the fighting began in 1988 in Nagorno Karabakh, large numbers of Azerbaijanis and Armenians have been displaced throughout the region. There are strong humanitarian reasons for negotiating a settlement that improves the conditions of those displaced as a result of the conflict. We urge all parties to the dispute to seek a lasting political settlement through negotiation. We note that the Government of Azerbaijan has introduced for debate at United Nations General Assembly the subject of settlement in Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding seven districts outside Azeri control.

Bangladesh

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Bangladesh on (a) the burning of the Ahmadiyya Mosque in Brahmanbaria and (b) harassment of the Ahmadiyya community in that country; and if he will make a statement. [197180]

Mr. Alexander: On 5 November, EU Heads of Mission in Dhaka visited the main Ahmadiyya mosque in Dhaka to demonstrate EU concern over the attack at Brahmanbaria. Officials in London and at our High Commission in Dhaka regularly raise the treatment of religious minorities, including the Ahmadiyyas, with the Bangladeshi authorities. We remain concerned about the Ahmadiyyas and continue to encourage the Bangladeshi authorities to ensure that they are suitably protected. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and make representations whenever appropriate.

Cayman Islands

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there will be an independent review of the handling of the state of emergency in the Cayman Islands; and if he will make a statement. [197310]

Mr. Rammell: In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ivan striking the Cayman Islands, a state of emergency was declared, in accordance with the Cayman Island's constitution, on 11 September 2004 and revoked on 27 September. We see no need for an independent review as this was a prudent measure. There were reports of opportunistic looting following the Hurricane. The Government provided funding for police officers from neighbouring Overseas Territories to provide short-term support for the local police force. We also assisted with immediate needs for medical supplies, technical expertise and helping restore essential services. We continue to be engaged in the post- hurricane recovery effort.

Commonwealth

Dame Marion Roe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many countries, excluding the UK, belong to the Commonwealth; if he will list them; and what the population is of each country. [197134]

 
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Mr. Rammell: In addition to the United Kingdom, 52 sovereign nations are members of the Commonwealth. Full details, including population, are updated annually and published in "The Commonwealth Yearbook". A copy of the publication is held in the Library of the House.

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood will receive a substantive reply to her letter of 23 August on behalf of a constituent Mrs. Shamila Shaheen Sia concerning her husband, Mr. Raja Rashad Majeed Khan (reference: GV100/98911/NMJ). [197344]

Mr. Mullin: UKvisas replied to my right hon. Friend on 10 November.

Departmental Contracts

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the 30 largest contracts awarded by his Department from (a) May 2001 to April 2002, (b) May 2002 to April 2003, (c) May 2003 to April 2004 and (d) May 2004 to the latest date for which information is available, indicating in each case (i) the values of the contracts and (ii) the companies with which the contracts were placed. [196920]

Mr. Rammell: Because of the large quantity of information required to answer the question, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made it available in the Library of the House in spreadsheet format.

Some of the contracts awarded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office involve security matters. I am therefore withholding this information under Exemption l(a) of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, which covers information whose disclosure would harm national security.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) which non-accounting and non-information technology external organisations which previously held contracts with his Department (a) won new contracts at the culmination of the existing contracts and (b) won new contracts after a period of inactivity with his Department in each of the past four years; [196921]

(2) which non-accounting and non-information technology external organisations have won new contracts with (a) his Department and (b) executive agencies for which he is responsible in each of the past three years. [196922]

Mr. Rammell: This detailed information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ivory Coast

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what
 
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representations he has made to the Government of France concerning the military situation in Ivory Coast; and if he will make a statement. [197669]

Mr. Mullin: On 7 November my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary expressed his condolences to the French Foreign Minister for the deaths of nine French peacekeepers killed in an airstrike on 6 November. He confirmed our support for French actions to defend civilians in Abidjan, and thanked them for their support of the UN operation. He expressed our gratitude for French help in protecting British nationals in Abidjan.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials had with the Government of Ivory Coast concerning its security situation prior to the recent emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. [197670]

Mr. Mullin: Since the signing of the Linas Marcoussis Agreement in January 2003 we have maintained an intense dialogue with the Ivorian Government, and indeed major Ivorian parties, to urge all Ivorian signatories to fulfil their responsibilities and deliver sustainable peace.

Last weekend we expressed our deep concern to the Cote d'lvoire Government at the security situation, calling for an end to the violence, and emphasising that the Government of Cote d'lvoire is responsible for the safety of all British Nationals.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have been held with the Organisation of African Union concerning the situation in the Ivory Coast; and if he will make a statement. [197671]

Mr. Mullin: We discussed the situation in Cote d'lvoire with President Obasanjo of Nigeria, the current Chair of the African Union (AU) on 7 November.

On 6 November, the AU and the Economic Community of West African States met to discuss the Ivorian political crisis. The AU has condemned the Ivorian airstrikes, and is working to develop a political solution to the crisis. We welcome this.

We strongly condemn the breach of the cease-fire and have called on the Government of Cote d'lvoire to end all military action and to guarantee the safety of foreign nationals.

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