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9 Feb 2005 : Column 1547W—continued
Unallocated Spending
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07, and (c) 2007–08; and if she will make a statement. [213259]
Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 2 February 2005, Official Report, column 910W.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department provides to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [214401]
Mr. Mullin: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office works in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in partnership with the Department for International Development (DFID) and Ministry of Defence.
Our Ambassador in Kinshasa is a key member of the support committee for the Transitional Government (CIAT), which offers advice, mediation and facilitation to the Transitional Government.
The UK's financial assistance to the DRC (mainly through DFID) is expected to total £34 million in 2004–05. Additionally, the UK contributes 7.4 per cent. of the UN Peacekeeping Force (MONUC)'s budget and made a further contribution of £1 million in 2004. The UK currently has five military officers serving in MONUC.
Departmental Costs
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many departmental (a) canteens and (b) bars there are; and how much has been spent on the (i) running, (ii) staffing and (iii) supply costs of each in each year since 1997. [213622]
Mr. MacShane: There are three departmental canteens and two bars on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Home Estate. The cost of providing catering to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 160,258.31 |
| 1997–98 | 210,696 |
| 1998–99 | 132,604.30 |
| 1999–2000 | 99,275.00 |
| 2000–01 | 200,434 |
| 2001–02 | 173,958.39 |
| 2002–03 | 119,581 |
| 2003–04 | 184,201.59 |
| 2004–05 | 175,791 |
A breakdown by (i) running, (ii) staffing, (iii) supply costs of each in each year could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
9 Feb 2005 : Column 1548W
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been spent on the production of in-house magazines in the Department in each year since 1997. [213639]
Mr. Straw: The production costs for centrally funded in-house magazines with a circulation of over 1,000 from 1997 to the last full financial year are as follows:
| Financial year | £ |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 19,870 |
| 1998–99 | 20,150 |
| 1999–2000 | 21,066 |
| 2000–01 | 22,609 |
| 2001–02 | 86,330 |
| 2002–03 | 97,968 |
| 2003–04 | 131,734 |
Figures for spending on smaller circulation in-house publications since 1997 are not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has two principal all staff in-house magazines: News&Views" and Connect". They each have a circulation of 16,000. There are also magazines produced for Consular and FCO Services staff which have a circulation of over 1,000 and where budgets are held centrally. These figures are included in the totals. There are other in-house magazines at Posts and in Directorates, but these figures could not be produced without incurring disproportionate cost as budgets are not held centrally.
The rise in spending between 2000 and 2001 is due to News&Views" magazine ceasing to be produced solely in-house and being contracted out to a professional corporate communications agency, and to the introduction of a quarterly policy-focused publication for managers: Connect". Figures for 2003–04 include the contracting out of the editorial function on News&Views". This has now been brought back in-house and the two magazines are being combined so costs for 2004–05 will fall.
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been spent on (a) provision of parking spaces for civil servants and (b) parking tickets and penalties incurred by civil servants in the Department in each year since 1997. [213803]
Mr. MacShane: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has, since January 2001 spent £4,000 per annum on the provision of car parking spaces at Albert Embankment for staff at our UKvisas Department. Other parking spaces provided are either free of charge or do not incur separately identified charges.
Details of parking tickets and penalties incurred by official vehicles are only available for the last three years, and are as follows:
| Parking tickets | Total cost (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 18 | 800 |
| 2003 | 39 | 2,145 |
| 2004 | 38 | 1,950 |
9 Feb 2005 : Column 1549W
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been spent on congestion (a) charges and (b) penalty charge notices by the Department since the commencement of the congestion charging scheme. [213839]
Mr. MacShane: From 23 March 2003 to 22 January 2005 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Services fleet of vehicles has spent £34,868.33 on congestion charges and £4,530.00 on penalties. The total spend over this period for charges plus penalties is £39,398.33.
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Department spent on (a) stationery and (b) office supplies in each year since 1997. [213847]
Mr. MacShane: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office spent £1,345,639.51 on stationery in financial year 2004–05. This was made up as follows:
| Cost | |
|---|---|
| Desktop stationery | 573,794.80 |
| Computer consumables | 338,146.38 |
| Magnetic media | 251,171.00 |
| Paper | 182,526.36 |
The information requested for stationery in the six years prior to 2004–05 and for office supplies (other than stationery) for each year since 1997 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Diplomatic Immunity
Donald Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions since 1 May 1997 the Government has waived the immunity of British diplomats or members of their families; what the circumstances of the waiver were in each case; how many requests from foreign Governments for waivers were turned down in the same period; and what the circumstances of each refusal were. [213364]
Mr. Alexander: We regularly waive the immunity of British diplomats to enable them to give evidence in civil or criminal matters. Details are not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.
We have no record of any requests from foreign Governments for the waiver of diplomatic immunity from criminal jurisdiction of British diplomats or their families during the period in question.
EU Committees
Angus Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch Presidency of the EU the Association Committees with the countries of central and eastern Europe met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement; [214301]
9 Feb 2005 : Column 1550W
(2) how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch Presidency of the EU the Joint Committee (EC-Romania) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement; [214302]
(3) how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch Presidency of the EU the Joint Committee (EEC-Bulgaria) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [214303]
Mr. MacShane: EU Association Committee meetings take place once a year for each candidate country until it joins the EU. Representatives from member states are invited to attend as observers.
The following EU Association Committee meetings took place under the Italian, Irish and Dutch Presidencies:
July 2003—Slovenia (in Llubljana), attended by a representative from United Kingdom Permanent Representation to the EU (UKRep).
July 2003—Slovakia (in Bratislava), attended by a representative from the British Embassy, Bratislava.
September 2003—Poland (in Warsaw), attended by a representative from UKRep.
November 2003—Romania (in Bucharest), attended by representatives from UKRep and the British Embassy, Bucharest.
June 2004—Bulgaria (in Sofia), attended by representatives from UKRep and the British Embassy, Sofia.
November 2004—Romania (in Brussels), attended by representatives from DEFRA and DTI.
The Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) for Bulgaria met in October 2004 in Russe (Bulgaria). The JCC for Romania met in November 2004 in Brussels. Individual member states were not formally represented.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch Presidency of the EU the Joint Committee (EEC-Andorra) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [214735]
Mr. MacShane: The EC-Andorra Joint Committee meets on an ad hoc basis. During the Italian Presidency of 2003, one meeting was held on 8 October at the Andorran Representation in Brussels and no UK Government expert was present. None were held in 2004.
Angus Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch Presidency of the EU the EC-Armenia Co-operation
9 Feb 2005 : Column 1551W
Committee met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [214736]
Mr. MacShane: There was one meeting of the EU-Armenia Co-operation Committee during this period—on 4 June 2004 in Brussels. As Co-operation Committees are chaired by the Commission, with support from the Presidency, there was no UK representative at this meeting. However, the UK participated fully in formulating the EU's position for the meeting.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch Presidency of the EU the EC-Kazakhstan Co-operation Committee met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [214737]
Mr. MacShane: There was one meeting of the EU-Kazakhstan Co-operation Committee during this period—on 23 March 2004 in Astana. As Co-operation Committees are chaired by the Commission, with support from the Presidency, there was no UK representative at this meeting. However, the UK participated fully in formulating the EU's position for the meeting.
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