| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
30 Jan 2006 : Column 124W—continued
UN Convention Against Corruption
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the UK's planned timetable is for ratification of the UN Convention Against Corruption. [46376]
Ian Pearson: The Government will ratify the United Nations Convention Against Corruption imminently. The instrument of ratification has been sent to New York to be deposited with the UN Secretary General, in accordance with article 67 of the Convention.
United States
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his reply of 20 June 2005, Official Report, column 746W, on US inquiries, whether he has received a reply from the relevant United States Government officials. [45378]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 24 January 2006]: I refer to the reply I gave the hon. Member today (UIN 28367).
Visitor Visas
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what definition his Department uses of a family member in relation to visitor visas. [46876]
Dr. Howells: A family visitor is defined, under the Immigration Appeals (Family Visitor) Regulations 2000, as a person who applies for entry clearance to come to the United Kingdom in order to visit his/her:
husband, wife, civil partner, father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or first cousin;
a person with whom he/she has lived as a member of an unmarried couple for at least two of the three years before the day on which his/her application for entry clearance was made.
Yugoslavia
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the risks posed to United Kingdom security interests by (a) terrorist cells and (b) the former Yugoslav army material in the former Yugoslavia. [46654]
Mr. Douglas Alexander:
Our risk assessments—including those in the former Yugoslavia—are informed by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC). JTAC analyses all intelligence relating to international terrorism, and produces threat assessments for Government Departments and agencies. It is Government policy not to comment on specific risk assessments and threat levels for security reasons: such information could be extremely useful to terrorists.
30 Jan 2006 : Column 125W
The risks posed by former Yugoslav army material is predominantly from undiscovered caches, and as such is difficult to quantify. UK troops are trained to respond appropriately to abandoned material: when ordnance is found, appropriate measures are taken to destroy it safely. UK troops also participate in Operation Harvest carried out by the EU Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, EUFOR, to discover and collect illegal ordnance. In a typical three month period, EUFOR collect some 500 small arms, 200,000 rounds of ammunition, 2,500 hand grenades and over 250kg of explosives. The UK is also currently contributing over £500,000 to destroy surplus stockpiles of small arms, light weaponry and ammunition in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This project includes an initial target of 250,000 small arms and an additional overall aim of 10,000 tonnes of ammunition.
Zimbabwe
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to requesting the Security Council to refer cases arising from the situation in Zimbabwe to the International Criminal Court. [45845]
Ian Pearson: The grave situation in Zimbabwe is a direct consequence of the policies pursued by the Mugabe regime. We have been active in securing international scrutiny for Zimbabwe's actions, including by the UN Security Council. The report of the United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy, Anna Tibaijuka, on the recent clearance of housing in Zimbabwe noted that these human rights violations could come under the remit of the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, we judge that there is most unlikely to be agreement in the UN Security Council to refer Zimbabwe to the ICC at present and that failure to secure agreement would constitute a reverse.
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) the effectiveness of EU sanctions on Zimbabwe and (b) the effects of EU sanctions on (i) President Mugabe's Government and (ii) ordinary Zimbabwean citizens in the last two years. [46323]
Ian Pearson: EU sanctions against leading figures in the Zimbabwe Government continue to place real and significant pressure on the regime. They have the support of the Zimbabwean political opposition and non-governmental organisations, and they send a firm message that the EU is concerned at human rights abuses, but as we have made clear on many previous occasions, the measures we have in place are targeted specifically against the regime. We do not believe it is right to pursue sanctions which would hurt innocent Zimbabweans already suffering from the misrule by the Mugabe regime.
NORTHERN IRELAND
0870 Telephone Numbers
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Northern Ireland Departments used 0870 prefixed telephone numbers for use by the public during 2005. [43629]
30 Jan 2006 : Column 126W
Angela E. Smith: The Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency (DVTA) currently uses an 0870 prefixed telephone number for booking driving theory tests by text phone. In addition, an 0870 prefixed number was briefly used by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development during 2005 when the Stage One Appeals element of Single Farm Payments was being administered from Regus House in Clarendon Dock.
Broadband Access
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of homes in Northern Ireland had broadband access by December 2005. [46651]
Angela E. Smith: 100 per cent. of homes in Northern Ireland had access to broadband by December 2005 should they wish to take advantage of it. This is available at speeds of at least 512 kilobits per second. The most recent Government survey in October 2005 indicates that 29 per cent. of households have a broadband connection using either ADSL, cable, radio or satellite technology.
Child Abuse
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2005, Official Report, column 2093W, on child abuse, which further meetings have taken place involving the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and senior representatives of the Roman Catholic Church; what information was provided in relation to each diocese fully within Northern Ireland; what information was provided in relation to each diocese that straddles the border with the Republic of Ireland; when he expects to make recommendations; and whether he plans to initiate an independent public inquiry. [46465]
Mr. Woodward: Since 14 December 2005, officials from the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) and representatives of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNT) met with senior representatives of the Roman Catholic Church on 20 December 2005. DHSSPS and PSNI are scheduled to meet jointly with senior representatives of the Roman Catholic Church again on 6 February 2006. Since 14 December 2005, DHSSPS also met separately with PSNI on 17 January 2006 and PSNI met separately with legal representatives of the Roman Catholic Church on 17 January 2006.
The Roman Catholic Church has undertaken to supply relevant information relating to allegations of child abuse against clergy to PSNI.
On completion of current consultations, all possible options will be considered including the need for an independent public inquiry and recommendations will be made.
Christmas Cards
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the cost to his Department of sending Christmas cards in 2005. [45922]
30 Jan 2006 : Column 127W
Mr. Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), excluding its agencies and NDPBs, bought 5,900 cards for Christmas 2005 at a total cost of £6,120. The number actually used is not recorded but should not vary greatly from the number bought. Costs for postage are also not recorded as the cards are distributed by a mixture of Royal Mail and internal courier services.
All expenditure on Christmas cards is made in accordance with normal departmental financial procedures and principles based on those set out in Government Accounting.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |