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Cyprus

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to Turkey concerning numbers and types of equipment of the Turkish Army in northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [8274]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: None. In assessing the military situation on the island, we continue to be guided by the assessment of the UN Secretary-General on the United Nations Operations in Cyprus. In his latest report of June 2005, the Secretary-General noted that there were no indications of an increase in defence spending on either side, nor of acquisitions of new major equipment. The Secretary-General further noted that the rotation of Turkish troops and their equipment did not imply a reinforcement and thus the number of Turkish troops and their equipment remained unchanged.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will review his Department's advice to UK nationals considering purchasing property in occupied Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [8275]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) keeps its travel advice under regular review. The travel advice for Cyprus, including the section on property, was most recently amended on 16 June, and is available on the FCO website: www.fco.gov.uk.

We strongly encourage potential purchasers of property in Cyprus to take independent, qualified legal advice. The travel advice also explains that there are a number of potential practical, financial and legal implications, particularly for those considering buying
 
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property in the north—these relate to the non-recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", the possibility of a future political settlement in Cyprus, and claims to ownership from people displaced in 1974. The advice also warns that there is a risk that purchasers would face legal proceedings in the courts of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as attempts to enforce judgments from the courts of the Republic of Cyprus elsewhere in the EU, including the UK.

Departmental Expenditure

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreignand Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of man hours required to fill in the Collinson Grant questionnaires on process activity in his Department was; and if he will make a statement. [9047]

Mr. Straw: The amount of time spent completing the Collinson Grant respondent spreadsheet was not recorded so it is not possible to give a firm figure. The Collinson Grant project team estimated the time required to complete the spreadsheet would be approximately three hours based on the experience of a short pilot. There were 539 respondents.

Diversity Advisory Groups

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the role is of his Department's diversity advisory groups; what activities the groups undertake; what the cost was of each group in the last year for which figures are available; what publications each has produced; and if he will make a statement. [9083]

Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has three diversity advisory groups administered by Human Resources Directorate: the Disability Action Group, the Ethnic Diversity Advisory Group and the Gender Advisory Group. The role of these groups is to advise Human Resources Directorate and the FCO Board on disability, ethnic and gender issues respectively. Each of these groups meets quarterly and is chaired by a member of the FCO Board. There are no costs for running these groups.

The Disability Action Group aims to raise awareness in the FCO of disability issues, to suggest ways of increasing numbers of disabled staff and of meeting their needs, to provide support for disabled staff, to share best practice, to develop the FCO's action plan on disability and, through the Board Disability Champion, to contribute to the FCO Ministerial Group on diversity.

The Ethnic Diversity Advisory Group aims to enable the FCO to benefit fully from the ethnic diversity of its staff, suggest and monitor activities to increase the number of staff from minority ethnic groups, review and develop the FCO's action plan on race and through the Board Champion on race to contribute to the FCO Ministerial Group on diversity.

The Gender Advisory Group aims to suggest ways to improve representation of women, review and develop the FCO's action plan on gender and through the Board Champion on gender to contribute to the FCO Ministerial Group on diversity. The FCO Gender Advisory
 
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Group produced a booklet, Inclusive Government: mainstreaming gender into foreign policy", in June 2004.

The FCO Lesbian and Gay Group (FLAGG) and the Ethnic Minority Action Group (EMAG) are run by staff, rather than HR. EMAG is a network of staff with an interest in minority ethnic issues, who wish to make an impact on issues relating to equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion. The group meets monthly. FLAGG is a staff support group for all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered staff

English Wine

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at which (a) receptions and (b) parties in overseas missions to celebrate the Queen's birthday in 2005 English wine was served (i) exclusively and (ii) on the request of guests; and if he will make a statement. [8869]

Mr. Straw: This information is not held centrally within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and research to obtain the relevant data would incur disproportionate cost.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much and what percentage of his Department's budget for (a) the UK and (b) missions overseas was spent on (i) English wine, (ii) French wine, (iii) wine from the new world and (iv) wine from elsewhere, in each of the last four years; how many cases of each type of wine were consumed in each case; and if he will make a statement. [8873]

Mr. Straw: This information is not held centrally within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and research to obtain the relevant data would incur disproportionate cost. However, English wine is often served and appears to be much appreciated by those drinking it.

EU Diplomatic Staff

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many diplomatic staff are employed by the EU. [5210]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: According to European Commission sources, the majority of their overseas delegations have been full diplomatic missions since the late 1980s. There are approximately 1,000 Commission officials and 900 contracted experts working in the Commission delegations overseas and approximately 25 Council Secretariat officials working in the Council Secretariat offices in Geneva and New York.

G8 Summit

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much public money he estimates will be spent on hospitality at the G8 Summit at Gleneagles on 6 July. [8783]

Ian Pearson: The G8 Summit at the Gleneagles Hotel is a working event. The estimated cost of all catering for the 4,000 people, which includes delegates and media, attending the three days of the Summit is around £350,000.
 
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Iran

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information the Government have received on the (a) circumstances of the arrest and (b) detention location of trade union and human rights activist Ebdal Karimi on 21 June in Isfahan, Iran; what representations he has made to the Iranian Government on this matter; and if he will make a statement. [9096]

Dr. Howells: We have seen reports on the arrest and detention of Ebdal Karimi from an Iranian opposition group, whose information is often not reliable. We are seeking to verify the information, but have not yet been able to do so.

Iraq

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the (a) size, (b) capability and (c) tactics of insurgent forces in Iraq. [9021]

Mr. Straw: The nature of the insurgency is complex and disparate with many localised groups collaborating on a short term basis. The numbers of those participating in the insurgency remain unclear but while the greater part of the insurgency stems from Iraqi groups and individuals, evidence does not suggest a popular insurgency across the country. In recent months we have seen an increase in car bombs and improvised explosive devices used by the insurgents. These high profile attacks deliberately aim to cause higher numbers of casualties.

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