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21 Jul 2005 : Column 2102W—continued
English Wine
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2005, Official Report, column 664W, on the Government wine cellar, what proportion of the cellar stock is English wine; and what the policy is in respect of the procurement of English wines. [13191]
Mr. Straw: English and Welsh wines currently make up a little over 5 per cent. of the total stock of the Government Wine Cellar.
The Government Hospitality Advisory Committee for the Purchase of Wine offers advice to Government Hospitality on the management of the government cellar. For many years the Committee and Government Hospitality have regularly augmented the cellar with a selection of the best wines produced in the United Kingdom, in order to show-case British wine-making expertise.
European Constitution
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list meetings at which Ministers from his Department plan to speak on matters relating to the EU Constitution during the next three months. [1174]
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Mr. Douglas Alexander: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers have spoken about the EU Constitutional Treaty and about the Treaty in the context of the debate about the future of Europe on a number of occasions since this question was tabled. This includes parliamentary debates in the UK, bilateral meetings with European counterparts and, since 1 July, appearances at parliamentary committees in the European Parliament to represent the presidency. There are no current plans for FCO Ministers to discuss the EU Constitutional Treaty or the Treaty in the context of the debate about the future of Europe between now and the end of August. This response covers the three month period which the question referred to when tabled.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list European Union proposals (a) on which action has been taken in advance of the ratification of the EU constitution and (b) which are dependent in part or whole upon ratification of the constitution. [8982]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: No formal or informal legislative proposals or other initiatives have been proposed by the European Union which rely on the Constitutional treaty as their legal basis.
Grievance Procedures
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much public money has been spent in each of the last five years in settlement of grievance procedures brought against senior staff of his Department by subordinate staff; how much was paid in each case; and whether the payment was in full and final settlement in each case. [14400]
Handcuffs (Exports)
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether end-user checks have taken place of the export of oversized handcuffs from the UK to (a) the United States of America and (b) Hong Kong. [13556]
Ian Pearson: Checks of end users and their documentation form part of the consideration of all export licence applications and help establish whether an export is consistent with the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.
Israel
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will press for Israeli compliance with, and ratification of, the (a)Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and (b) Chemical Weapons Convention. [13004]
Dr. Howells:
The British Government have on a number of occasions called on Israel to accede to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state and also to the Chemical Weapons Convention, and will continue to do so. We take appropriate opportunities to discuss all aspects of non-proliferation with representatives of the Israeli Government.
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Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of whether Israel possesses a deployable nuclear arsenal; and what recent discussions he has had with the Israeli government on (a) acceding to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state and (b) concluding a fullscope safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. [13657]
Ian Pearson: We are aware of the widespread assumption that Israel possesses nuclear weapons, but note that the Israeli Government had refused to confirm it. The British Government have, on a number of occasions, called on Israel to accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state, and to conclude a full scope safeguards agreement and Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency. We take appropriate opportunities to discuss all aspects of non-proliferation with representatives of the Israeli Government.
London Bombings
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the government of Pakistan following the London bombings. [13927]
Ian Pearson: The Government have an excellent relationship with the Government of Pakistan and there is close and continuing co-operation between us in regard to the London bombings and the campaign against terrorism.
The Government of Pakistan is a key ally in the efforts we are taking to combat extremism, radicalisation and terrorism, both in the UK and overseas.
Middle East
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had in the last six weeks with representatives of the (a) US administration, (b) Russian Government and (c) EU in relation to progress on the Middle East road map; and if he will make a statement. [14030]
Ian Pearson: In the last six weeks my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has discussed the Middle East peace process (MEPP) with his US, Russian and EU counterparts, including at the G8 foreign Ministers meeting in London on 23 June.
We believe it remains crucial that the quartet (US, UN, EU and Russia) plays a central role on the MEPP. The UK will participate in quartet meetings as EU presidency.
Non-settlement Visas
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for non-settlement visas were (a) received and (b) refused in (i) Bangladesh, (ii) Algeria, (iii)Morocco, (iv) Tunisia and (v) Ghana in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those were granted at Tier One. [12473]
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Dr. Howells: The information on applications for visitors visas for the countries and categories requested, is as follows:
| Bangladesh | Algeria | Morocco | Tunisia | Ghana | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | 95 | 100 | 97 | 98 | 95 |
| 2000-01 | 97 | (43)0 | 97 | 99 | 93 |
| 2001-02 | 95 | 100 | 93 | 96 | 99 |
| 2002-03 | 97 | 100 | 99 | 97 | 98 |
| 2003-04 | 91 | 100 | 90 | 98 | 91 |
(43)While UKvisas makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of statistics, they are not liable for technical errors or omissions contained in published figures. In addition, some posts do not forward certain statistics and occasional or permanent closures can also affect figures.
Statistics for the proportion of non-settlement visas granted at Tier One, applications where decisions are made without the need for an interview, are not available. The figures provided represent the percentage of non-settlement visa applications, which include visit visas, that were dealt with at Tier One within 24 hours
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