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5 Dec 2005 : Column 1027W—continued

Greek Cypriot Community

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Ministerfor Europe last received a request for a meeting with the Greek Cypriot community in the United Kingdom; what his reply was; and if he will make a statement. [34442]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Greek Cypriot community invited me to attend a dinner on 8 November and requested a meeting. My reply expressed my regret that I was unable to attend the dinner and meet with them at that time. I am, of course, willing to consider future requests for meetings.

Iraq

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to paragraph 92 of the Intelligence and Security Committee Report Cm 5972, whether the Secret Intelligence Service has reported to the Government on its investigations into the authenticity of its documentary evidence into the claim that Iraq sought to procure uranium from Africa. [33620]

Ian Pearson: It is not the Government's policy to comment on intelligence matters. The Intelligence and Security Committee reviewed the assessments made of available intelligence in the report to which my hon. Friend refers. Following this, and exceptionally, all relevant intelligence material relating to Iraq's alleged attempts to procure Uranium from Niger was made available to Lord Butler when conducting his 2004 Review.

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many military
 
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missions over Iraq have been flown by US aircraft based on Diego Garcia since March 2003; and what types of missions have been flown. [32332]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 28 November 2005]: Ihave been asked to reply.

Information relating to military missions over Iraq from US aircraft based on Diego Garcia during the combat phase of Operation telic in March and April 2003 is not held centrally by the Ministry of Defence or any other Government Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, we can confirm that no US aircraft based at Diego Garcia has been involved in operations over Iraq since the end of April 2003.

Israel

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to (a) his Israeli counterpart and (b) the United Nations about the human rights implications of the Israeli air force policy of flying over the occupied Gaza strip breaking the sound barrier to create supersonic booms; and if he will make a statement. [33621]

Dr. Howells: Our embassy in Tel Aviv has raised our concerns about the indiscriminate damage caused by low flying aircraft in Gaza with the Israeli Government and directly with the Israeli air force. Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorism but must act within international law and minimise the impact of its actions on innocent civilians. Our concerns about Israeli military activity are reflected in our voting record at the United Nations.
 
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Maladministration

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many payments for maladministration have been made by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies, (c) its non-departmental public bodies and (d) other bodies for which his Department has responsibility in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [32241]

Ian Pearson: It is the policy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, its agencies, non-departmental public bodies and, where appropriate, its sponsored organisations to make financial redress in accordance with the guidance set out in chapter 18.7 and annexes 18.1 and 18.2 of Government Accounting". The guidance can be accessed at:

http://www.government-accounting.gov.uk/current/content/ga_18_7.htm

The information the hon. Member requested is set out in the following table:

Foreign and Commonwealth Office	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05
Department	7	14	10	6	4
Agencies	0	0	0	0	0
NDPBs	0	0	0	0	0
Bodies sponsored by Department	0	0	0	0	0

Mauritania

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit Mauritania; and whether he has had recent discussions with officials from this country. [33369]

Dr. Howells: Following the coup d'etat in Mauritania on 3 August, the UK, along with our EU partners, has sought to engage constructively with the Mauritanian authorities, in order to encourage a return to democracy as soon as possible. Since the coup, UK officials have had bilateral contact with representatives of Mauritania. On 30 November, my right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary, took part in EU consultations with Mauritania under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement, to set a timetable for a return to democracy.

There are no plans for a Government Minister to visit Mauritania.

Ministerial Meetings

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the President of (a) Paraguay and (b) Mongolia; and what was discussed. [33366]

Ian Pearson: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had the opportunity to meet with President Duarte Frutos of Paraguay.

The Foreign Secretary has not met President Enkhbayar since he became President of Mongolia. Their last meeting was in October 2003, when he visited the United Kingdom as Prime Minister. They discussed relations between the two countries and shared concerns on international issues such as Iraq and terrorism.
 
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Ministerial Visits

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who made the decision for him to return early from Moscow in November. [33528]

Mr. Straw: I made the decision in consultation with the Chief Whip.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many joint visits he has made with the Prime Minister to foreign countries in 2005. [33362]

Mr. Straw: I have not made any joint bilateral visits with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to foreign countries in 2005. The Prime Minister and I attend European Councils together and we both attended the NATO and EU/US Summits in Brussels in February. More recently the Prime Minister and I were in Barcelona for the EuroMed Conference.

Pakistan

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made by the Government to the Government of Pakistan about the safety of religious minorities living in Pakistan; and if he will make a statement. [33947]

Dr. Howells: Officials have renewed their representations to the Government of Pakistan following recent incidents of violence against minorities.

On 16 November 2005, EU Heads of Mission met Pakistan's Minister for Religious Affairs Ijaz ul Haq and called for greater protection of the rights of minorities.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, accompanied by members of the British high commission, raised the treatment of minorities in meetings with President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, during his visit from 19–29 November.

Romania

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to visit Romania to assess its progress towards meeting the criteria for EU entry. [33361]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary does not currently have plans to visit Romania. The UK is providing assistance and advice to help the Romanian Government implement the necessary EU reforms. The European Commission is closely monitoring Romania's preparations and will produce a progress report in April/May 2006.

Treaty of Rome

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on events planned (a) in the UK and (b) at EU level to commemorate 50 years of the Treaty of Rome; and what budget has been allocated to each such events. [33735]

 
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Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not yet given consideration to what events it plans to hold in 2007. Further details of European Commission and European Parliament plans can be obtained from the UK Representations of the European Union's Institutions, contact details of which can be found at www.cec.org.uk, www.europarl.org.uk and www.europe.eu.int.

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