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21 Dec 2004 : Column 1623W—continued
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004. [203468]
Mr. Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the then Minister of State for the Cabinet Office (Ruth Kelly) on 8 December 2004, Official Report, column 578W.
No complaints were made by civil servants from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about the conduct of special advisers between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004.
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether departmental special advisers have made appearances before parliamentary select committees in their official capacity since May 1997. [204308]
Mr. Straw: Mr. Andrew Hood, special adviser to my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary (Robin Cook), appeared before the Select Committee on standards and privileges in 1999.
Since then no other Foreign and Commonwealth Office special adviser has appeared before a Select Committee.
Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the case of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche was raised during the November 2004 UK China Human Rights Dialogue round. [204624]
Mr. MacShane: Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche was included on our list of individual cases of concern handed over at the UK China Human Rights Dialogue round which took place on 22 November in Beijing.
In addition we encouraged and supported the most recent EU demarche on the case which took place on 25 November 2004.
Test Ban Treaty
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many countries have signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. [205632]
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Mr. MacShane: To date, 174 states have signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and, of these, 120 have also ratified.
Ukraine
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to hear the appeal submitted to the British embassy in Kiev on 6 September relating to the refusal to allow Mrs. Inna Isaacs to join her husband; and if he will make a statement. [203548]
Mr. Mullin: I regret that I cannot provide this information as it is not our practice to disclose details of individual entry clearance cases in a public forum. I am therefore withholding the information requested under Exemption 5 of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. However, I wrote to the hon. Gentleman on 9 December.
Uzbekistan
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average per capita income of employees on state farms is in Uzbekistan. [205267]
Mr. Rammell: We do not have the relevant figures. However, we estimate that cotton pickers have been paid between 30–50 sum (approximately $0.03–$0.05) per kilo of cotton this season.
West Papua
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) European Union counterparts, (b) the United Nations and (c) the Indonesian government regarding the (i) human rights situation in West Papua and (ii) special autonomy law concerning the province of West Papua; and if he will make a statement. [204765]
Mr. Alexander: We have regularly discussed the situation in Papua with our European counterparts. A group of European Union Troika Ministers met with the President and the Foreign Minister of Indonesia on 28 October 2004 in Jakarta and raised the issue of Human Rights and Special Autonomy regarding Papua. The Indonesian Foreign Minister stressed at this meeting that respect of human rights was a pillar of the Indonesian Government's plans and told them that the government has endorsed a second plan of action on human rights covering the next five years. President Yudhoyono said that Special Autonomy would be the solution for Papua.
Our representatives at the UN are consulting the UN Secretary General's Office about any planned reviews of the Act of Free Choice for Papua.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary sent his Special Advisor, Michael Williams, to Indonesia as his personal envoy in December 2004. He met the President, the Foreign Minister and other senior members of the Indonesian Government. The situation in Papua was
21 Dec 2004 : Column 1625W
discussed during these meetings. The President of Indonesia reiterated that conflict resolution in Papua is one of the Indonesian Government's priorities and that he would implement the Special Autonomy Law for Papua. The British Government welcomes this statement.
Working Time Regulations
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials working in ministerial private offices in the Department have worked more than a 48-hour week at any time in the last 12 months for which figures are available; how many of those had signed a waiver under working time regulations; and what percentage these figures represented of the total in each case. [204168]
Mr. Straw [holding answer 13 December 2004]: 30 (61 per cent. of the total number) officials working in ministerial private offices have worked on occasion more than a 48 hour week during the last 12 months. Five of those have signed a formal waiver under the Working Time Regulations, representing 16 per cent. of the staff who have worked those hours.
WALES
Bangor University
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will invite the Higher Education Funding Council for England to investigate the reasons why the Batchelor of Education degree course at Bangor university was terminated before the end of the course; and what advice his Department will offer to Miss Christine Antrichan, a constituent, to enable her to complete her degree. [206253]
Mr. Touhig [holding answer 20 December 2004]: The University of Wales, Bangor runs a three year B Ed (Hons) in Primary Education, leading to qualified teacher status.
The university has no plans to terminate the B Ed degree programme, but any queries about the subjects offered within the degree should be directed to the academic registrar of the university.
Christmas Cards
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many hours of staff time were taken up in preparation of Christmas cards in 2004; [205162]
(2) how many Departmental staff have responsibility for preparing Christmas cards. [205163]
Mr. Hain: The amount of time taken up on preparation is not available, however, the work is carried out alongside normal duties.
Two member of Wales Office staff have an overall responsibility for preparing ministerial and official Christmas cards and may call upon routine administrative support in undertaking this.
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David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of official departmental Christmas cards included a contribution to charity in their cost; and which charities benefited from such a contribution. [205164]
Mr. Hain: 24 per cent. of Christmas cards sent by the Wales Office included a charitable contribution, and the Civil Service Benevolent Fund was the beneficiary.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what the cost of postage was for official departmental Christmas cards in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004; [205165]
(2) what the cost was of purchasing official departmental Christmas cards in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004. [205166]
Mr. Hain: We do not hold this information separately and it would involve disproportionate cost to obtain it.
All expenditure incurred in the purchase and postage of official Christmas cards is made in accordance with the departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many official Christmas cards were sent out by his Department in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004. [205167]
Mr. Hain: The information requested is as follows:
Ministerial Christmas card lists are synchronised between offices to avoid duplication of recipients in so far as it is possible.
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