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11 Jan 2005 : Column 410W—continued
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Department spent on lawyers in each year since 1997; how many (a) actions, (b) settlements and (c) court cases there were in each year and what the costs of each settlement were. [206450]
Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office incurred the following costs instructing Treasury Solicitors and counsel through Treasury Solicitors in each year since 1997:
The figures are further broken down for employment tribunal cases as set out in the following table. A further breakdown of the total figure could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Tribunal | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equal Pay | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
| Sex Discrimination | 1 | — | 3 | — | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Race Discrimination | 1 | 3 | 4 | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| Disability Discrimination | — | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | — |
| Unfair Dismissal | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | — |
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Figures for the costs of other legal services could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
This answer is limited to cases handled by Treasury Solicitors, this being the only readily available information. There are no centrally maintained records for payments for other legal services obtained by various parts of the Office. Information on the costs of these services could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Records on individual Employment Tribunal cases are available since 1998 but cost information on individual cases has only been held since 2000.
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost of travel within the UK for the Department was in each year since 1997; and how much of this was spent on (a) hire cars, (b) helicopter hire, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence. [206468]
Mr. Alexander: The total cost of travel within the UK for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the years requested is as follows:
| FY | £ |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 869,842.26 |
| 1998–99 | 815,173.24 |
| 1999–2000 | 966,637.06 |
| 2000–01 | 1,048,670.89 |
| 2001–02 | 1,055,879.66 |
| 2002–03 | 1,238,242.38 |
| 2003–04 | 1,428,115.92 |
Information kept is not broken down into the specific categories requested and this could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many overseas trips, and at what total cost, have been made by his Department in each year since 1997; and what the costs of (a) flights, (b) internal travel, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence were of each trip. [206653]
Mr. Alexander: The total cost of overseas travel for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the years requested is as follows:
| FY | £ |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 8,958,084.29 |
| 1998–99 | 10,279,393.92 |
| 1999–2000 | 9,484,426.58 |
| 2000–01 | 9,866,667.15 |
| 2001–02 | 11,446,108.54 |
| 2002–03 | 10,061,979.87 |
| 2003–04 | 10,354,531.27 |
Information held is not broken down into the specific categories requested and this could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Documents
Sue Doughty:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what his Department's policy is in relation to the storage and deletion of emails; and whether this policy has been reviewed in the past 12 months; [206760]
11 Jan 2005 : Column 412W
(2) what his Department's policy is in relation to the storage of documents and the use of shredders; and whether this policy has been reviewed in the past 12 months. [206761]
Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) continues to implement well established policies and procedures for the review and disposal of files and documents in accordance with its administrative needs, the requirements of the Public Records Act and its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act.
E-mails and documents that form part of the official record are kept for as long as business needs require and are stored corporately in accordance with FCO records management procedures.
There has been no change to this policy in the past 12 months, apart from a reduction in the period of retention for consular case files, which was cut in 2004 from six to three years after last action, to ensure FCO compliance with Principle 7 of the Data Protection Act.
Eritrea
Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made representations to the Eritrean Government concerning the imprisonment of 400 people for their Christian faith. [207192]
Mr. Mullin: We raise the issue of religious freedom with the Eritrean Government regularly. I raised the matter with President Isaias in Asmara during my visit there last January and our ambassador raised it most recently on 13 December. We will continue to make clear our concern.
Hostages (Afghanistan)
Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what involvement the Government had in the recent release of three UN workers in Afghanistan. [201974]
Mr. Rammell: The Afghan authorities and United Nations officials led the effort to gain the hostages' safe release. We worked closely with them throughout. HMG do not negotiate with terrorists/kidnappers but we are willing to talk on humanitarian grounds and listen to what they have to say (as indicated by my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary during the kidnap of Kenneth Bigley in September).
Mangla Dam
Mr. Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the President of Pakistan on the possible adverse effects on local people of the extension of the Mangla Dam. [205741]
Mr. Alexander: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no immediate plans to raise the issue of the Mangla Dam with the President of Pakistan.
This project is a matter for the Pakistani authorities. However, we understand the concerns involved and welcome the commitment of the Pakistani government to help all those who are likely to be adversely affected by the project.
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Pakistan
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the President of Pakistan on honour killings. [205633]
Mr. Rammell [holding answer 21 December 2004]: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not recently raised the issue of honour killings in Pakistan with President Musharraf.
On 17 December the EU Presidency, on behalf of all EU partners, raised with the Government of Pakistan the issue of honour killings in the context of an EU demarche on human rights issues. We have welcomed President Musharraf's statements denouncing honour killings and the Bill passed by the Pakistan National Assembly in October 2004 which addressed certain aspects of honour killings.
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