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10 Jan 2006 : Column 465W—continued
Kyrgyzstan
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the prospect for democratic change in Kyrgyzstan. [39696]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: As presidency of the EU, the UK noted that the presidential elections in July 2005 marked tangible progress by the Kyrgyz Republic towards meeting Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe commitments, as well as other international standards for democratic elections. The UK, both through the EU and bilaterally, is now encouraging the Kyrgyz Government to take forward the recommendations of the International Election Observation Mission and to pursue further democratic reform, including constitutional reform.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to foster democracy in Kyrgyzstan. [39697]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has funded a variety of projects to promote democracy and good governance in Kyrgyzstan. Up to £150,000 is available for smaller scale project work in these areas in Kyrgyzstan for 2005–06.
Projects completed in the current financial year have included electoral support initiatives, prison reform and media/freedom of expression projects. On-going projects cover voter education, advancing parliamentary accountability and dialogue between citizens and parliamentarians, and promoting the abolition of the death penalty. The FCO also funded 10 per cent. of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights election monitoring missions for both the Kyrgyz parliamentary and presidential elections in 2005. Additionally, the Department for International Development's programme work in Kyrgyzstan includes an allocation of £4.9 million over a five-year period aimed at the modernisation of public administration and promotion of transparent management of revenues by Government, both of which support democracy building.
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Queen's Diamond Jubilee
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans are being discussed to celebrate throughout the Commonwealth the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen's Accession in 2012. [40535]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Planning for the Diamond Jubilee in 2012 of Her Majesty The Queen's Accession has not yet started. However, I have no doubt that the suggestion of celebrations throughout the Commonwealth will be factored into the planning process.
UK Embassies/Consulates
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many consulates have (a) closed and (b) opened in the last 10 years. [39688]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has closed 11 and has opened six consulates in the last 10 years. The following table provides further details. Like any well-run organisation, the FCO continues to realign its resources flexibly in line with UK interests.
(2) Consulates staffed by locally engaged staff only.
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) cultural and (b) military attaches are based at each UK embassy. [39689]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Cultural work overseas is the lead responsibility of the British Council. The British Council has 291 UK-based staff working overseas. Whether or not such staff hold the formal title of Cultural Attache depends on various factors, including local diplomatic practice. The UK Defence Attache network consists of 123 posts. To obtain the information in the format requested would incur disproportionate costs as it is not held centrally.
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) non-UK citizens, (b) UK citizens, (c) non-EU citizens and (d) non-Commonwealth citizens are working at British embassies and consulates. [39690]
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Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office employs 12,973 staff overseas, of which 2,910 are UK-based and 10,063 are locally employed. UK-based staff are British citizens. Local Staff nationality records are not maintained centrally but are held at individual posts. This information could therefore only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) embassies and (b) consulates there are outside capital cities. [39691]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The British embassy in Kazakhstan is in Almaty. We are planning to move to the new capital Astana in the course of 2006. There are 65 United Kingdom consulates outside capital cities.
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) embassies and (b) consulates are shared with another country. [39932]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) on 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 646W.
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Spellar: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much the Commission spent on bottled water in 2004–05. [40332]
Nick Harvey: The cost of providing bottled water for Westminster Hall, Committee and other meeting rooms in 2004–05 was £11,400.
Energy Wastage
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what steps the Commission is taking to limit energy wastage on the Parliamentary Estate; and if he will make a statement. [40464]
Nick Harvey: A range of measures are being taken to improve energy efficiency on the Parliamentary Estate. A new Energy and Water Saving Policy which contains targets for energy consumption, water consumption and carbon emissions was adopted in late 2005 by both Houses. These targets mirror those set by most Government Departments as proposed in the 'Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate', published by DEFRA.
Consultants have been recently appointed to advise on the renewal of the current basement heating and cooling systems and the Carbon Trust has been working with the Parliamentary Estate since 2004 to advise on methods to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. Recently consultants have advised on heating controls, kitchen energy use and heating, ventilation and air conditioning plant and have identified scope for energy consumption reduction in some areas.
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To raise staff awareness of the importance of energy efficiency the Parliamentary Estates Directorate is embarking on an awareness campaign. The December 2005 issue of 'inHouse', the staff magazine for the House of Commons and the House of Lords, contained an article on the Parliamentary Estate's Energy Savers Group. Guest speakers are to be invited to make presentations on environmental issues to staff every few months. The first presentation was made by Professor David Bellamy on 21 November 2005, entitled Sustainability and governance" and was very well received. A second speaker, Dave Hampton has been asked to make a presentation during February 2006 on reducing carbon emissions.
Mobile Phones
Sarah Teather: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many mobile telephones are (a) rented and (b) owned by the House authorities; and what the total cost was in 2004–05. [40407]
Nick Harvey: At 1 January 2006 the Parliamentary ICT service provided 275 mobile phones for use by staff of the House of Commons and the Parliamentary ICT service itself. All these telephones are owned by the House authorities. No mobile telephones are rented.
The cost of the service in 2004–05 was around £54,600.
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