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7 Nov 2005 : Column 174W—continued
Iraq-Niger (Alleged Uranium Deal)
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to paragraphs 91 and 92 of the Intelligence and Security Committee Report, Cm 5972, Session 2002–03, whether the Government has been informed as to when the US Federal Bureau of Intelligence investigation ordered by Senator Rockefeller in March 2003 into the source of the forged documents on an Iraq-Niger uranium deal is due to report. [23855]
Dr. Howells: The investigation requested by Senator Rockefeller is continuing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has still not given an indication of when the investigation will be completed.
IT Projects
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many IT projects have been developed for his Department since 2001; and whether he has agreed to make public Gateway reviews for these projects (a) in full and (b) in part. [23517]
Mr. Straw: There have been 19 major Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) IT projects subject to Office of Government commerce gateway criteria and review since 2001. The FCO has not so far published Gateway reviews of projects.
Libya
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to visit Libya; and what his long-term goals are for Anglo-Libyan relations. [23899]
Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no current plans to visit Libya.
The UK's work with the US which led to Libya's decision to dismantle its weapons programmes has, we believe, established a relationship of trust. As the Foreign Secretary said in January 2004, for our part, we have recognised our responsibility to enable Libya to come fully into the mainstream of the international community. That is what we will work to achieve, including through increased cooperation between the UK and Libya. We remain aware of Libya's past record, but believe it is right to build on the improvement in relations.
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Middle East
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Palestinian authority on the situation in the Middle East; and if he will make a statement. [23715]
Dr. Howells: We have had regular discussions with the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership on the situation in the Middle East. During my visit to the region in September, I raised with PA representatives the need for the PA to build on the opportunity offered by disengagement, to stop violence, and to show real progress on security reform.
We continue to call on the PA to take further action on security. The PA must act decisively against terrorists who launch rocket attacks and suicide bombings at Israeli targets.
We also believe Israel must meet its own obligations under the Roadmap, including freezing settlements and dismantling outposts. Both parties must move forward in parallel if we are to see real progress.
Spain
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Spanish government about the implementation of Ley Reguladora de Actividades Urbanisticas with respect to the way it applies to British citizens in that country; and if he will make a statement. [24779]
Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised the implementation of the Ley Reguladora de Actividades Urbanisticas (LRAU) with the Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, in October 2004. Our Ambassador in Madrid and our Consul in Alicante, have continued to lobby the Central and Regional Governments. They have also made representations both bilaterally and in conjunction with other countries. The Valencia Autonomous Community's (VAC) own Ombudsman has criticised law 6/94. In response to lobbying, the Valencia regional government drew up a new law to replace the LRAU, the Ley Urbanistica Valenciana (LUV). While the proposed new law addresses some of the concerns expressed by interested parties, it does not give the sort of tenure guarantees and property rights that are enjoyed in other parts of Spain and other European countries: nor does it fully address many of the Ombudsman's criticisms.
We will continue to give as much publicity as we can to the risks of buying property in this part of Spain. We will use every opportunity, including high level visits, to remind the central and autonomous regional governments of our concerns.
UK Embassies (Security)
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the cost of contract security staff in UK embassies in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [22585]
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Mr. Straw: We take the security of our staff, both overseas and in the UK, extremely seriously. The level of threat faced by our staff serving in certain parts of the world is high. We need to ensure that our staff working in these high threat areas are protected to enable them to carry out their duties effectively.
For the period before 1 April 1999, the information is no longer available.
For the period from 1 April 1999 to March 2004, the information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. In the financial year 2004–05, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London spent £34.1 million on overseas security contracts. For this financial year, we estimate that we will spend £50.1 million. In addition, many of our overseas missions have guarding contracts with local security companies. These figures are not held centrally and the aggregate value of the contracts could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Architects Registration Board
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will reconstitute the Architects Registration Board so that jurisdiction extends only to practising architects who have chosen not to be a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. [19957]
Yvette Cooper: The Government have no plans to provide two separate registration systems.
Building Regulations
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many building regulations have been put in place over the last five years. [22941]
Yvette Cooper: The Building Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/2531) consolidated all previous building regulations. They have been amended by the following regulations:
The Building (Amendment) Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/3335), which amended the requirements for Parts H (Drainage and Waste Disposal), J (Combustion Appliances and Fuel Storage Systems) and L (Conservation of Fuel and Power) of the Regulations.
The Building (Amendment) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/0440), which introduced competent person self-certification schemes for the installation of heat-producing appliances and replacement glazing.
The Building (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/2871), which amended the requirements for Part E (Resistance to the passage of sound) of the Regulations.
The Building (Amendment) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2692), which amended the requirements for Part M (Access) of the Regulations.
The Building (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/1465), which amended Part C (Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture) and further amended Part E (resistance to the passage of sound) to allow the use of robust details to satisfy the requirements.
The Building (Amendment) (No.3) Regulations 2004 (SI2004/3210), which introduced Part P (Electrical safety) and authorised further competent person self-certification schemes.
Carbon Emissions
Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the average carbon emissions associated with (a) the construction of a new average-sized dwelling and (b) the demolition of an existing average-sized dwelling. [25030]
Yvette Cooper: BRE figures suggest that that the embodied energy (which covers the extraction of construction materials, processing, transport and manufacture) associated with the construction of a traditional build house of three bedrooms, 90 sq metres, built under current building regulations, and to the national building specification for England and Wales is 35 tonnes CO 2 equivalent. We are not aware of any such estimates relating to demolition of existing houses.
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