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5 Apr 2005 : Column 1316W—continued
Cyprus
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many properties builton occupied and misappropriated Greek Cypriot owned land in the northern part of the island of Cyprus have been purchased by citizens of the United Kingdom. [224357]
Mr. MacShane:
The Government does not have access to that information. It is a matter for private individuals, acting upon appropriately qualified legal advice.
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However, I welcome this opportunity to give further publicity to the relevant advice on our website (www.fco.gov.uk), to the effect that:
Before purchasing property anywhere in Cyprus you are strongly advised to seek independent qualified legal advice.
Property issues are closely linked to the political situation. The non-recognition of the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' and the possibility of a future political settlement in Cyprus could have significant practical or financial implications for those considering buying property in the north. There is also a risk that purchasers would face legal proceedings in the courts of the Republic of Cyprus. Separately, there are specific rules for foreigners purchasing property in the north and you should ensure you are fully aware of these."
Departmental Structures
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2005, Official Report, column 215W, on departmental structures, how many staff there are in the Presidency Unit within the Europe Directorate; and what the unit's (a) programme budget and (b) staffing budget is in 2005–06. [224316]
Mr. MacShane: The Presidency Team in the European Directorate currently consists of 12 members of staff. A thirteenth is being recruited to reach our full complement to meet projected staffing requirements for the duration of the Presidency. Staffing for the unit is being covered through re-prioritisation but is costed at £438,692 for financial year 2005–06.
Although budget allocations are yet to be finalised, the budget for programme spend is currently projected to be £6,732,000 in 2005–06.
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2005, Official Report, column 216W, on departmental structures, what the (a) remit, (b) programme budget and (c) staffing budget for 2005–06 are of (i) the EU Economic Reform and Analysis Unit, (ii) the Agenda 2007 Unit, (iii) the International Trade Team and (iv) the EU Forward Planning Unit. [224317]
Mr. MacShane: The Economic Reform and Agenda 2007 Units are principally charged with winning support among our EU partners for UK views on, respectively, European economic reform and the EU's future financing negotiations (Agenda 2007). These two units and the Forward Planning Unit are also responsible, between them, for the UK's bilateral relations with Ireland and with the five new EU member states from central Europe. The Forward Planning Unit is, in addition, responsible for relations with the EU institutions. The International Trade Team's principal task is winning support among EU and World Trade Organisation partners for the UK's international trade policy objectives. All four units work closely with other Government Departments.
Staffing levels in the different units vary as staff arrive and depart and they are moved to priority work. But the
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current staffing budgets for the units, based on average grade costs, are:
| Staffing budgets | |
|---|---|
| EU Economic Reform and Analysis Unit | 191,000 |
| Agenda 2007 Unit | 195,000 |
| International Trade Team | 186,000 |
| EU Forward Planning Unit | 159,000 |
None of the units currently has a free-standing programme budget.
EU Presidency
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 592W, on the EU presidency, what public-facing activities the Government plan to undertake in relation to the UK presidency of the EU. [224635]
Mr. MacShane: The Government are committed to informing and involving the public on the Government's policies and issues relating to the UK presidency of the EU.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office plan to be involved in a range of public communication activities during the presidency including the presidency website, regional advertising, leaflets, public discussions and media relations. These activities are currently in the planning stages but all UK presidency events will be listed on the official website.
Other Government Departments are responsible for organising their own communication activities relating to their policies during the presidency.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 592W, on the EU presidency, if he will make a statement on the types of public information that the Government intend to provide in relation to the UK presidency of the EU. [224636]
Mr. MacShane: The Government are committed to providing public information during our presidency. We plan to provide information relating to the presidency and its priorities through the official website (including documents, statements and speeches), as well as more proactive communication such as advertising, leaflets and media relations.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 592W, on the EU presidency, which team within his Department's Europe Directorate will be responsible for the budget for provision of public information on the UK presidency of the EU. [224637]
Mr. MacShane:
A dedicated resource unit within the presidency team of the EU Directorate at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has been set up with responsibility for managing the FCO's presidency budget.
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Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 592W, on the EU presidency, if he will break down the costs of the UK presidency of the EU by activity. [224638]
Mr. MacShane: I refer my hon. Friend to my reply of 21 March in which I said that final figures are not yet available for 2005–06. However, using provisional allocations where necessary, spending over the 18-month planning period and the 6-month operational period of the presidency currently breaks down as follows:
There may be some variation in final spending patterns.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 592W, on the EU presidency, what the budget was for public-facing activities for the previous UK presidency of the EU. [224639]
Mr. MacShane: Expenditure for public-facing activities for the previous UK presidency of the EU in 1998 is recorded as being £521,359.35.
European Constitution
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what factors informed his choice for the question in the referendum on the EU Constitution. [214335]
Mr. MacShane: The question was drafted bearing in mind the Electoral Commission's published guidelines, which are designed to ensure that a question is intelligible. The Electoral Commission's published views on the noble Lord, Lord Blackwell's Private Member's Bill of July 2004 were also taken into account. The wording of the question was agreed collectively at ministerial level.
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect, when compared with existing rules, of the new qualified majority voting rules contained within the EU Constitutional Treaty on the ability of the UK Government to prevent EU legislation being passed. [224270]
Mr. MacShane:
The Government do not believe the new voting arrangements in the EU Constitutional Treaty represent a significant change in the UK or other member states' powers. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Commentary on the Treaty (Cm 6459) provides a detailed analysis in the changes in voting rules which would be introduced by the EU Constitutional Treaty if it were to come into force. In
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addition, the treaty would give national parliaments a direct say in the EU's law-making procedures for the first time.
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the changes to the qualified majority voting rules of the EU within the Constitutional Treaty in terms of Coleman's measure of the power to block legislation. [224272]
Mr. MacShane: None. The implications of the new voting rules were fully and properly assessed with regard to UK interests, including the UK interest in the effective operation of the EU.
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is his policy that failure by (a) the UK, (b) France and (c) the Netherlands to ratify the Constitution for Europe should lead to a presumption that that State (i)would and (ii) should withdraw from the European Union. [224273]
Mr. MacShane: No. That will depend on each member state.
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Central Office of Information regarding public information on the Constitution for Europe. [224313]
Mr. MacShane: In line with normal government practice, the Central Office of Information has been commissioned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to work with them on their on-going communications work on the EU and the proposed EU Constitutional Treaty.
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2005, Official Report, column 219W, on the European Constitution, what the (a) civil service grades and (b) job description are of the 14 members of the EU Constitution team within his Department's Europe Directorate. [224314]
Mr. MacShane: Further to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Mr. Hopkins) on 3 March 2005, Official Report, column 220W, following normal recruitment procedures there are now 15 staff in the EU Constitution Team. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office grades are:
The team consists of a Team Leader, a Policy and Communications Manager, a Bill Manager, an officer responsible for communications strategy, three officers responsible for communications, publications and policy, an officer responsible for the EU Bill, an officer responsible for Parliament, an officer responsible for regional visits and media and an officer responsible for polling. There are four support officers at the Band A grade.
Mr. Davidson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2005, Official Report, column 219W, on the European Constitution, how he intends to
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estimate public demand for distribution of the text of the EU Constitutional Treaty; and what assessment he has made of the cost of such a distribution. [224315]
Mr. MacShane: The text of the EU Constitutional Treaty and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Commentary on the Treaty are available free at www.europe.gov.uk. The full text and commentary have also been made available to all central libraries in the UK, and are available to members of the public on request from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. No assessment has yet been made of demand for further distribution and related costs.
Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts regarding the progress being made in EU national Parliaments towards ratification of the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe. [224402]
Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I continue to have informal discussions with his EU counterparts on the progress being made in EU national Parliaments towards ratification of the EU constitutional treaty.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what forthcoming publications relating to the EU constitution are planned by his Department. [224634]
Mr. MacShane: Decisions have not yet been made on forthcoming publications on the EU constitutional treaty. Current publications relating to the treaty include the Guide to the EU and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Commentary on the Treaty and are available at www.europe.gov.uk.
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