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Thailand

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Prime Minister of Thailand concerning the release on bail of Somchai Wisetsingha, who has admitted shooting Vanessa Arscott of Ashburton, Devon; and if he will make a statement. [198171]

Mr. Mullin: Our ambassador in Thailand raised our concern at the release on bail of Somchai Wisetsingh with the Thai Foreign Minister on 11 November.

Vanessa Arscott and Adam Lloyd were victims of a senseless murder and our sympathy remains with their families and friends. We hope the judicial process will proceed swiftly and that justice will be served. We remain in contact with the Thais on this case.

UK Detainees (United States)

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how frequently on average members of the United Kingdom diplomatic staff visited British citizens detained by the United States Administration in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [197360]

Mr. Mullin: We do not keep statistics for the average frequency of visits carried out by our diplomatic staff to British nationals detained by the US authorities. Our
 
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prison visiting policy for the US obliges staff to make contact with detained British nationals in the US within 48-hours of notification of an arrest. Detainees are also visited—by both diplomatic and locally engaged staff—usually after sentencing and thereafter if a particular need arises.

British officials have also made nine welfare visits to the British nationals detained by the US authorities at Guantanamo Bay since January 2002.

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many United Kingdom citizens are detained by the United States authorities (a) in the United States and (b) in another country; and if he will make a statement. [197361]

Mr. Mullin: The number of British nationals detained by the United States authorities in the US as at 30 June 2004 (the latest date for which figures are available) was 717.

There are also four British nationals detained by the US administration at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Venezuela

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of human rights in Venezuela since the recall referendum in August. [197474]

Mr. Rammell: We constantly monitor the human rights situation in Venezuela and have continued to do so following the presidential referendum in August. Our ambassador in Caracas has regular meetings with his EU counterparts and human rights frequently form a significant part of the discussions. In common with EU partners, we are following carefully the potential human rights implications of the Venezuelan Government's proposals to adopt new legislation on the media, and to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court. We work with the Venezuelan authorities, NGOs and other donors on human rights issues. More information on our in-country activities can be found on the British embassy Caracas web-site, http://www.britain.org.ve/. These pages contain summaries of recent human rights projects supported by the embassy.

Voting Rights

Dame Marion Roe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Commonwealth countries grant rights to British citizens to vote in elections in their country equivalent to the rights available to Commonwealth citizens in the UK. [196398]

Mr. Mullin [holding answer 11 November 2004]: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no information on the voting rights of British nationals in other Commonwealth countries. The voting rights of overseas nationals in Commonwealth countries are a matter for the country concerned.
 
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War on Terrorism

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on discussions with G8 members on a strategy to fight terrorism. [196775]

Mr. MacShane [holding answer 10 November 2004]: Work on counter-terrorism will form an important element of the UK's forthcoming G8 presidency. This will include implementing commitments the G8 has made at past summits, notably the Secure and Facilitated Travel Initiative agreed at Sea Island in June 2004.

Zimbabwe

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the political situation in Zimbabwe. [197963]

Mr. Mullin: The political situation in Zimbabwe continues to deteriorate in the run up to the March 2005 parliamentary elections. Opposition, independent media and civil society are subject to political intimidation and violence and are targeted by repressive legislation. We will together with our international partners continue to press the Government of Zimbabwe to end these violations and restore democracy and the rule of law.
 
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Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plan he has to (a) strengthen and (b) extend sanctions in respect of named individuals associated with President Mugabe. [197964]

Mr. Mullin: We and our EU partners increased from 79 to 95 the number of Zimbabweans subject to targeted EU measures in February 2004. We continue to keep these measures and those subject to them under constant review.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he and (b) other Ministers have had over the last three months with African leaders in respect of the situation in Zimbabwe. [197965]

Mr. Mullin: We regularly make our concerns about Zimbabwe clear to African leaders. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Zimbabwe with President Mbeki of South Africa at the UN General Assembly in September and during his visit to South Africa in August. The Foreign Secretary discussed Zimbabwe with the Mauritian Foreign Minister, Cutteree, on 9 October. I discussed Zimbabwe with the Zambian Finance Minister, Magande, and with President Mutharika of Malawi on 20 September.
 
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CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Consultants

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many consultancy firms or companies have been retained by the Department or its predecessors since June 2001; what the projects are for which each has been retained; and what the total is of the fees paid or incurred in each case. [193414]

Mr. Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Mr. Maples), 11 November 2004, Official Report, column 852W.

Criminal Offences (Convictions)

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many convictions for criminal offences were determined by (a) magistrates and (b) other courts in York in each year since 1997. [192409]

Paul Goggins: I have been asked to reply.

The information collected centrally via the Home Office Court Proceedings database on the number of offenders convicted of criminal offences by magistrates and other courts in York is contained in the table.
The number of offenders convicted of criminal offences by courts in York 1997–2002 1

	Magistrates court	Crown court
1997	3,771	480
1998	3,957	466
1999	4,454	459
2000	3,195	510
2001	2,919	497
2002	2,425	509

⁽³⁶⁾ These data are on the principal offence basis.

Statistics for 2003 will be available in November.

Departmental Offices

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the cost of (a) decoration and (b) refurbishment of the London offices of the Department was in each of the last four years. [196141]

Mr. Lammy: In the last four years, my Department has spent the following amounts on (a) decoration and (b) refurbishment of our London offices.
 
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£

	(a) Decoration	(b) Refurbishment
2000–01	79,610	234,640
2001–02	102,334	601,616
2002–03	165,870	488,880
2003–04	274,482	1,205,358

The response above covers the London offices of the DCA HQ, Court Service, PGO and DCA associated offices. It does not cover specialist Court buildings nor the House of Lords, which will be covered by the response from the Parliamentary Works Committee. The offices referred to are:

Selborne House, Southside (part), 81 Chancery Lane, Conquest House, Millbank Tower (part), 30 Millbank (5th Floor), Steel House, Clive House, Archway Tower, Roger Street, Red Lion Street, Grays Inn Road, Farringdon Road, Maltravers Street and New Cavendish House.

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