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9 Mar 2005 : Column 1884W—continued
Election Observers
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role the United Kingdom plays in providing international election observers. [219914]
Mr. Rammell: The UK's main contributions to election observation missions are made through the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), where we regularly provide 10 per cent. of the total number of observers; the European Union, where we are consistently the largest contributor; and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Also, hon. Members of UK parliamentary bodies regularly serve as election observers. In addition to the UK Parliament, observers are drawn from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the European Parliament.
The Government are also heavily involved in the development of election observation policy and methodology, either through the organisations above, or in discussions with other regional organisations such as the Organisation of American States and the Southern Africa Development Community.
Entry Visas
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many entry visas have been granted by the British embassy in Albania to (a) male and (b) female who were Albanian nationals in each of the last three years, broken down by category of visa; and what the average length of stay in the United Kingdom granted by the British entry certificate office in Albania (i) was in each year and (ii) has been over the last three years. [219758]
Mr. Mullin: The number of successful entry clearance applications from Albanian nationals broken down by sex and category of visa, over the last three calendar years, is as follows:
| Visa duration | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Month | 154 | 252 | 620 | 1,026 |
| 1 Year | 207 | 566 | 163 | 936 |
| 2 Years | 20 | 96 | 607 | 723 |
| 3 Months | 351 | 223 | 79 | 653 |
| 4 Years | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 Years | 7 | 6 | 9 | 22 |
| 6 Months | 1,436 | 2,172 | 4,201 | 7,809 |
| Other | 225 | 336 | 381 | 942 |
Note:
The modal group, in each case, shows that the average length of stay in the UK in each year and over the three years is six months.
These statistics are taken from the Central Reference System of UKvisas, the department responsible for entry clearance matters arising overseas, and are subject to change. UKvisas makes every effort to ensure that statistics from our Central Reference System are accurate.
Eritrea
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will propose
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(a) sanctions and (b) alternative measures to be brought against the Eritrean authorities to prevent the action being taken against Christians in the country. [219722]
Mr. Mullin: We do not believe that sanctions are the right way forward. The international community would not support them, and our only direct assistance to Eritrea is humanitarian, which is not subject to conditionality. Reducing humanitarian assistance as a means of addressing religious persecution would only harm the people of Eritrea. We will continue to raise the issue of religious freedom with the Government of Eritrea, both bilaterally and in concert with our EU partners.
Estonia
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make a statement on the establishment of Scotland House in Estonia; [220299]
(2) whether he has discussed the establishment of Scotland House in Estonia with the Scottish Executive; [220300]
(3) what assessment he has made of the impact on Scottish-Estonian relations of the opening of Scotland House in Estonia; [220301]
(4) what assessment he has made of the services provided to Scottish businesses by Scotland House in Estonia; [220302]
(5) what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefit to Scotland and the UK of improved trade links arising from the opening of Scotland House in Estonia. [220304]
Mr. Mullin: We welcome the fact that a group of UK businesspeople have set up a business consultancy in Estonia to help develop commercial links with Scottish companies. Our embassy in Tallinn stands ready to offer them the full range of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) services.
Neither the embassy in Tallinn nor the wider Foreign and Commonwealth Office were asked for assistance on the establishment of Scotland House and no assessment of the services provided has been carried out. However, both we and the Scottish Executive were aware of the establishment of the consultancy.
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will provide financial and logistical support to business consortia looking to establish Scottish trade offices, similar to Scotland House in Estonia, in other European capitals. [220305]
Mr. MacShane: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has a varying range of services available to all UK companies at UK missions in European capitals. Scottish Development International (SDI), a joint venture between the Scottish Executive and its economic development agency Scottish Enterprise, also provides additional support to Scottish companies wishing to develop their international business.
Mr. Salmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many requests for assistance were received by the British embassy in Estonia from Scottish businesses looking to invest in or
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trade with Estonia in the last year for which information is available; how many requests for information relating to investment in or trading with Scotland have been received by the UK embassy in Tallinn from Estonian businesses; and how many staff in the UK embassy in Tallinn are engaged solely or mainly in the development of trading links between (a) Scotland and Estonia and (b) the UK and Estonia. [220306]
Mr. Mullin: In the year to 3 March 2005, the UK embassy in Tallinn received 85 queries from Scottish businesses looking to invest in or trade with Estonia. In the same time period, no queries have been received from Estonian companies specifically interested in trading with or investing in Scotland. The UK embassy in Tallinn has four members of staff engaged solely or mainly in the development of trading links between the UK, including Scotland and Estonia.
Freedom of Information Requests
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the (a) documents and (b) other information released to date by his Department following Freedom of Information Act requests; and what categories of information requested his Department has refused to release. [220639]
Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not hold centrally a list of all information released or categories of information refused. All disclosures of wider public interest are published on the FCO website (www.fco.gov.uk). The FCO's central monitoring system records requests and statistics for disclosures, partial disclosures or refusals. Full details of disclosures and refusals are kept in individual case files opened for each request.
All FCO information is potentially disclosable under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and will be released if it is in the public interest to do so.
India
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports have been received from the British high commission in India regarding the effects in Jammu and Kashmir of the recent severe weather. [219763]
Mr. Alexander: The British high commission in New Delhi has been monitoring the situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the recent heavy snowfalls. On 28 February, the Government of India reported that 278 people had died as a result of the severe weather. Our high commissioner has written to the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir to express our condolences at this loss of life.
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