| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
11 Jan 2005 : Column 411W—continued
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.
11 Jan 2005 : Column 413W
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.
Special Advisers
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many special advisers there are in the Department, broken down by civil service pay grade. [206503]
Mr. Straw: Two. Both in pay band 3.
I also refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office gave to him on 21 December 2004, Official Report, column 1640W.
Torture
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to regard as not valid information which he believes to have been obtained by torture. [205277]
Mr. Straw: The UK vehemently opposes torture as a matter of fundamental principle. The UK intelligence and security agencies carefully evaluate the intelligence they receive against a range of factors; any concerns about the source of the intelligence or the means by which it may have been obtained would be taken into account. Where we are helping other countries to develop their own counter-terrorism capability, we ensure that our training or other assistance promotes human rights compliance.
UK Trade and Investment
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) administration and (b) administration capital resources were consumed by his Department in meeting UK Trade and Investment's objectives of (i) enhancing competitiveness of companies in the UK through overseas trade and investment and (ii) ensuring a continuing high level of quality foreign direct investment in 2004–05; and what provision has been made for 2005–06. [206916]
Mr. Alexander:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's administration and administration capital provisions to meet UK Trade and Investment's objectives for the current financial year (2004–05) amount to £144 million. UK Trade and Investment's Resource Accounts for 2003–04 (the last year available)
11 Jan 2005 : Column 414W
record that the combined amounts of FCO administration and administration capital consumed in meeting UK Trade and Investment's objectives were:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| To enhance competitiveness of companies in the UK through overseas trade and investment | 131.7 |
| To ensure a continuing high level of quality foreign direct investment | 12.1 |
| Total | 143.8 |
The out-turn figures for 2004–05 are expected to be similar. The provision for 2005–06 will be basically similar, and will reflect the conditions attached to UK Trade and Investment's SR 2004 settlement to increase the proportion of expenditure in relation to the second of these objectives.
West Papua
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the human rights situation in West Papua. [205891]
Mr. Alexander: We have raised the question of human rights in Papua with the Indonesian Government, most recently during the visit by Dr. Michael Williams, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's Special Adviser to Indonesia in December 2004. We believe the new Government is actively seeking to resolve the conflict. We are aware of reports of human rights abuses in Papua. We will continue to monitor the situation.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Bankruptcies
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many bankruptcies have been registered in each year in the UK since 1990. [207755]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The number of bankruptcies registered each year in the UK, and by country, is given in the following table:
Sarah Teather:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the number of individuals affected by the transitional provisions of
11 Jan 2005 : Column 415W
the Enterprise Act 2002 that permit a three year grace period from 1 April 2004 in which creditors can pursue the assets of bankrupts. [207758]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The three-year period referred to relates only to interests in a bankrupt's home, not to all assets.
The number of bankrupts or former bankrupts whose cases remained with the Official Receiver as trustee as at 1 April 2004 and involved an interest in bankrupt's home was approximately 6,500. However, at that time there would also have been cases of this type in which insolvency practitioners had been appointed as trustee. Several such appointments would have dated back some considerable time and it is not possible to estimate how many such cases there might have been.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many individuals with assets on the realisation register of the Official Receiver were pursued for their assets in each year since 1990. [207753]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There is no overall realisation register as such kept by the Official Receiver, as details are recorded against each individual case.
However, there is a register of "protracted realisations", i.e. assets owned by insolvents which cannot be realised immediately or within a short period after the making of a bankruptcy or winding-up order. The vast majority of assets which are put on to this register are interests in bankrupts' home and pension policies.
Prior to 1999 protracted realisations registers were kept by individual Official Receivers. In 1999 those registers were amalgamated into one register, which was then maintained by a newly set-up unit, the Protracted Realisations Unit. At that stage there were 33,139 entries on the amalgamated register.
While it is not possible to be precise, the vast majority of register entries at that time would have been made from 1990 onwards. Since 1999 a further 14,820 entries have been made on the register held by the Protracted Realisations Unit.
It is not possible from the records held to break the entries down into individual years of entry.
Very few realisations were made in the years between 1990 and 1999 of assets on the protracted realisations registers held by Official Receivers. The purpose of setting up the Protracted Realisations Unit was to allow the Insolvency Service to take a proactive approach towards dealing with those assets. In many instances this has involved the appointment of an insolvency practitioner as trustee to carry out the realisation. Since 1999 the number of cases passed to insolvency practitioners for realisation or dealt with by the Protracted Realisations Unit itself is 30,812.
It is not possible to give realisation details for individual years from 1990 or to say in each year how many individuals were involved.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many individuals had assets placed on the realisation register of the Official Receiver in each year since 1990. [207754]
11 Jan 2005 : Column 416W
Mr. Sutcliffe: There is no overall realisation register as such kept by the Official Receiver, as details are recorded against each individual case.
However, there is a register of "protracted realisations", i.e. assets owned by insolvents which cannot be realised immediately or within a short period after the making of a bankruptcy or winding-up order. The vast majority of assets which are put on to this register are interests in bankrupts' home and pension policies.
Prior to 1999 protracted realisations registers were kept by individual Official Receivers. In 1999 those registers were amalgamated into one register, which was then maintained by a newly set-up unit, the Protracted Realisations Unit. At that stage there were 33,139 entries on the amalgamated register.
While it is not possible to be precise, the vast majority of register entries at that time would have been made from 1990 onwards. Since 1999 a further 14,820 entries have been made on the register held by the Protracted Realisations Unit.
It is not possible from the records held to break the entries down into individual years of entry.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the total number of entries on the realisation register of the Official Receiver have been realised in each year since 1990. [207756]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There is no overall realisation register as such kept by the Official Receiver, as details are recorded against each individual case.
However, there is a register of "protracted realisations", ie assets owned by insolvents which cannot be realised immediately or within a short period after the making of a bankruptcy or winding-up order. The vast majority of assets which are put on to this register are interests in bankrupts' home and pension policies.
Prior to 1999 protracted realisations registers were kept by individual Official Receivers. In 1999 those registers were amalgamated into one register, which was then maintained by a newly set-up unit, the Protracted Realisations Unit. At that stage there were 33,139 entries on the amalgamated register.
While it is not possible to be precise, the vast majority of register entries at that time would have been made from 1990 onwards. Since 1999 a further 14,820 entries have been made on the register held by the Protracted Realisations Unit.
It is not possible from the records held to break the entries down into individual years of entry.
Very few realisations were made in the years between 1990 and 1999 of assets on the protracted realisations registers held by Official Receivers. The purpose of setting up the Protracted Realisations Unit was to allow the Insolvency Service to take a proactive approach towards dealing with those assets. In many instances this has involved the appointment of an insolvency practitioner as trustee to carry out the realisation. Since 1999 the number of cases passed to insolvency practitioners for realisation or dealt with by the Protracted Realisations Unit itself is 30,812.
11 Jan 2005 : Column 417W
It is not possible to give realisation details for individual years from 1990.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what income the Official Receiver has received in each year since 1990 from the realisation of assets on the realisation register. [207757]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There is no overall realisation register as such kept by the Official Receiver, as details are recorded against each individual case.
However, there is a register of "protracted realisations", ie assets owned by insolvents which cannot be realised immediately or within a short period after the making of a bankruptcy or winding-up order. The vast majority of assets which are put on to this register are interests in bankrupts' home and pension policies.
Prior to 1999 protracted realisations registers were kept by individual Official Receivers. In 1999 those registers were amalgamated into one register, which was then maintained by a newly set-up unit, the Protracted Realisations Unit. At that stage there were 33,139 entries on the amalgamated register.
While it is not possible to be precise, the vast majority of register entries at that time would have been made from 1990 onwards. Since 1999 a further 14,820 entries have been made on the register held by the Protracted Realisations Unit.
It is not possible from the records held to break the entries down into individual years of entry.
Very few realisations were made in the years between 1990 and 1999 of assets on the protracted realisations registers held by Official Receivers. The purpose of setting up the Protracted Realisations Unit was to allow the Insolvency Service to take a proactive approach towards dealing with those assets. In many instances this has involved the appointment of an insolvency practitioner as trustee to carry out the realisation. Since 1999 the number of cases passed to insolvency practitioners for realisation or dealt with by the Protracted Realisations Unit itself is 30,812.
It is not possible to give realisation details for individual years from 1990 or to give the amounts of actual realisations, especially as many of these will have been made by insolvency practitioners rather than by the Official Receiver.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |