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Correspondence

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to answer the hon. Member for Buckingham's letter of 18 November. [34422]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: I replied to the hon. Member's letter on 7 December.
 
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Departmental Staff (Chronic Back Pain)

Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives are being taken in his Department to help civil servants with chronic back pain. [34978]

Ian Pearson: All Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff have access to a full occupational health service provided by Capita Health Solutions through the FCOHealthcare Contract with International SOS. This includes work station assessments and advice on adjustments to working arrangements related to health problems. Training in manual handling is provided where appropriate.

Detention Centres (US Flights)

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information (a) he and (b) his officials have received about flights operated by United States agencies stopping in the UK en route to detention centres in (i) European Union states, (ii) other European states, (iii) non-European countries other than the United States and (iv)Guantanamo Bay. [35273]

Dr. Howells: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement issued by the US Secretary of State on 5 December, available at http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/57602.htm, in response to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's letter to her of 29 November requesting clarification of reports of flights allegedly related to the transfer of terrorist suspects.

Eurozone (Poland)

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ask the new Polish Government not to proceed with entry into the eurozone. [35435]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: No. It is for each new member state to pursue its own strategy for adoption of the euro appropriate to its circumstances, and in line with its obligations under the treaty establishing the European Community.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funds have been allocated to promoting tourism in the Falklands. [33897]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: The promotion of Tourism in the Falkland Islands is the responsibility of the Government of the Falkland Islands. We have been informed that the Falkland Islands tourist board's budget for tourism development is £220,000.

Guantanamo Bay

Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the United States administration over the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. [34959]

 
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Dr. Howells: We discuss Guantanamo Bay with the United States (US) Government on a regular basis. TheUS Government is well aware of our continuing concerns over the conditions of detainees there.

International Arrest Warrants

Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 29 November 2005, Official Report, column 298W, on international arrest warrants, from which other UK Government Departments officials were present at the two meetings with officials of the Israeli Government; and whether suggestions were made at these meetings to amend (a) UK law and (b) guidance relating to international arrest warrants. [35279]

Dr. Howells: Officials from the Home Office attended both of these meetings and an official from the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers attended one of them. The meeting discussed the legal background to the Almog case and its implications. As my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office, Andy Burnham wrote in his response to my hon. Friend on 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 596W, details of these meetings are confidential.

Israel

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 160W, on Israel, what he apologised for. [35270]

Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary apologised as a matter of courtesy to Israeli Foreign Minster Shalom in the event that the issuing of an arrest warrant for retired Israeli General Doron Almog had upset or embarrassed the Israelis. As I said in my answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 160W, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary also stressed that the Government had had no role in this matter and that it had been a private prosecution.

Mediterranean Countries

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of EU funding to encourage Mediterranean partners to make progress on democracy and good governance. [34939]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: In common with our partners in the EU Mediterranean Partnership, we recognise that much remains to be done to meet the aspirations set out in the 1995 Barcelona Declaration. However, EC funding is increasingly linked to progress, for example, on action plans, and leaders agreed at the 2005 Barcelona Summit to enhance their efforts in areas such as support for political pluralism and meeting international standards in the conduct of elections. One of the main achievements of the recent Summit was the announcement of a Governance Facility through which the EU will help support those countries ready to take bold steps on governance.
 
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Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress towards the goal of establishing an EU/Mediterranean free trade area by 2010. [34940]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: Progress towards Euro-Mediterranean free trade has been one of the main achievements of Euro-Mediterranean relations since the Euro-Mediterranean process was launched in 1995. Association Agreements covering free trade have been negotiated with all Southern Mediterranean partners. The liberalisation of trade in goods in the Mediterranean region is now a reality and most industrial goods originating in Southern Mediterranean countries enjoy duty free access to the EU. Conversely, Mediterranean countries are progressively dismantling tariffs on imports of EU industrial goods over a period of 12 years. The adoption in 2003 of a protocol on rules of origin has allowed economic operators to cumulate processing made in different countries of the region in order to obtain preferential treatment for their products more easily. Progress has also been made towards the conclusion of South-South agreements (eg the Agadir free trade agreement between Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco in 2004).

At the recent Euro-Mediterranean Summit, Partners reiterated their commitment to the creation of a Free Trade Area by 2010 and agreed a set of measures to achieve this goal. This included the imminent launch of regional negotiations on services and investment and on agricultural products.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what resources the Government have committed to economic, political and social reform in southern Mediterranean countries. [34941]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has an £8.5 million programme fund to help implement constructive engagement with the Islamic world and peaceful political and economic reform in Arab countries including southern Mediterranean countries. Through our membership of the EU, we also contribute towards the EU Mediterranean Partnership which since 1995 has provided the southern Mediterranean countries with financial support—around €1 billion a year in grants and another €2 billion a year in loans.

Montserrat

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government take to encourage British tourists to travel to Montserrat. [33680]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: Responsibility for the development of tourism in Montserrat falls within the remit of the locally elected Montserratian Government. However, the UK Government are funding initiatives to help promote Montserrat as a tourist destination.

The Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting a three-year Tourism Development Project in Montserrat, to develop and market tourism products, and to reintroduce Montserrat to the regional and international tourism markets. It includes activities targeted specifically at British tourists, such as ensuring Montserrat is represented at major travel events in the UK.
 
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DFID has also supported a 12-month publicity project for Montserrat, which included a recent photographic exhibition at the Mall Gallery in London with images of Montserrat 10 years on from the volcanic eruptions.

These initiatives, in addition to the resumption of fixed wing air services earlier this year which allow travellers to book through air tickets from the UK to Montserrat, encourage British tourists to travel to the island.

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