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2 Mar 2006 : Column 948W—continued

Rwanda

Ed Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the population in Rwanda are living below the poverty line. [54803]

Ian Pearson: According to the Rwandan Government's 2000–01 Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV 1), 60.3 per cent. of the population was living below the poverty line. The percentage in rural areas was much higher at 65.7 per cent. than in the urban areas at 15.8 per cent.

There is no more recent comprehensive data available, but the Government are assisting the Rwandan Government in conducting EICV 2. The findings will be made public in early 2007.

Somalia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held with the African Unity Organisation concerning the governance of Somalia; and if he will make a statement. [54170]

Ian Pearson: Officials in Addis Ababa and Nairobi have frequent discussions with their African Union
 
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contacts about Somalia, most recently on 31 January 2006. The Transitional Federal Government has been based in Jowhar since its return to Somalia in June 2005. Progress on establishing governance has been delayed by disagreements over the Government's seat and the formation of a National Security and Stabilisation Plan, including the nature of any peace support operation to provide for the Government's security. We welcome the first meeting of the Transitional Federal Parliament inside Somalia, which took place in Baidoa on 26 February as a significant step forward on the road back to governance.

Uganda

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts at the UN regarding measures to address the conflict in northern Uganda; [52169]

(2) what assessment he has made of the case for targeted sanctions against the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda; [52170]

(3) what steps are being taken by his Department to reduce the flow of arms to the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. [52171]

Ian Pearson: Assisting in ending the conflict in Northern Uganda is a priority for the Government. The UK was instrumental in securing adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1653 on the Great lakes on 27 January 2006, which strongly condemned Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) actions, and asked the UN Secretary General to make recommendations on how the UN Security Council, UN Missions and agencies can best support Governments in the region to put an end to the activities of illegal armed groups. As part of that process, Jan Egeland, the UN's Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, plans to visit Uganda in March.

The UK is committed to restricting the arms available to all illegal armed groups, and is therefore a strong supporter of the arms embargoes in force in the region. We support the international criminal court's efforts to bring indicted LRA leaders to justice. But we are unconvinced at this time that targeted sanctions against the LRA in Uganda would be effective. However, we look forward to receipt of the Secretary General's report, and in the light of the report will consider further with partners all possible options for addressing the conflict.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the violence associated with the recent elections in Uganda. [53876]

Ian Pearson: The fatal shootings in Kampala on 15 February were a cause for concern in the lead up to the 23 February presidential and parliamentary elections. We understand that an individual has been charged in regard to this incident, and will expect the Ugandan legal system to deal with this matter in a prompt, fair and transparent manner.

However, voting in the presidential and parliamentary elections passed generally peacefully and with a significant voter turnout. These elections were an
 
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important achievement in Uganda's return to multi-party democracy, and we congratulate the people of Uganda for demonstrating a clear commitment to this process.

Vandalism

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the acts of vandalism which have been perpetrated (a) inside and (b) on the outside of his Department's buildings in the last 12 months. [49505]

Ian Pearson: There have been no recorded acts of vandalism perpetrated either (a) inside or (b) outside the Department's buildings within the last 12 months.

Zimbabwe

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to bring human rights abuses in Zimbabwe to the attention of the international community; and if he will make a statement on the situation in Zimbabwe, with particular reference to recent reports that the Mugabe regime has begun to confiscate the passports of dissidents. [44962]

Ian Pearson: The UK plays a significant role in ensuring that the international community is aware of, and tackles, the situation in Zimbabwe. Together with our European partners, we have imposed a travel ban and assets freeze on those responsible for human rights abuses. We have successfully ensured that Zimbabwe has been brought to the attention of the UN Security Council, where it was discussed three times in 2005. It remains on the Council agenda.

We condemn efforts by the Government of Zimbabwe to suppress opposition by denying regime critics their right to travel. We encourage African partners to join with the international community in rejecting these human rights abuses by the Government of Zimbabwe.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Assets Recovery Agency

Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress the Assets Recovery Agency is making in recovering assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002; and if he will make a statement. [53113]

Paul Goggins: The Assets Recovery Agency is making an effective contribution towards recovering criminal proceeds. Since its inception in 2003, the Agency has adopted 150 civil recovery cases and 22 tax cases for investigation; and disrupted over 100 criminal enterprises with £69 million worth of assets subject to freezing orders. The Agency has completed around 30 cases with a recovery value of approximately £10 million and has realised receipts of around £4 million.

The Agency has also assisted law enforcement agencies in obtaining 13 confiscation orders with a total value of £6.4 million.
 
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The Centre of Excellence in the Assets Recovery Agency has delivered training in the Proceeds of Crime Act to over 2,600 financial investigators in law enforcement agencies. The Agency has also successfully raised awareness of the new powers in the Act by hosting a series of conferences and presentations; and by the issue of a monthly newsletter which publicises successes in recovering the proceeds of crime.

Biometric Information

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the countries which (a) require and (b) will soon require UK citizens to have biometric facial, iris and fingerprint scan data on passports. [54929]

Andy Burnham: The proposed use of multiple biometrics has been accepted in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Blueprint for machine readable travel documents which has been accepted by the 188 ICAO contracting states and includes the face as the primary mandatory biometric and iris or fingerprints as secondary and optional biometrics. The UK has no specific information as to when other countries will move to using multiple biometrics, however, the deadline within the EU for issuing passports that include a digital facial image is 28 August 2006. The deadline for fingerprints will be three years after final adoption of the technical standards, which is still awaited.

The United States of America has confirmed that countries wishing to remain within their Visa waiver' scheme must start issuing biometric passports to their nationals from October 2006. The UK is not aware of any other country that is planning to impose a similar requirement.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the annual income from the proposed charge for a biometric passport and identity card in each of the first three years of the scheme. [53757]

Andy Burnham: The annual income from the proposed fee regime which will apply to the biometric passport and identity card package in each of the first three years of the identity card scheme will depend on the volume of passports and identity cards issued in each year and the level of fees charged.

It is expected that the number of new or renewed passports issued to adults will be 4,157,000 in 2008–09, 3,862,000 in 2009–10 and 3,984,000 in 2010–11.

The regulatory impact assessment published alongside the identity cards bill on the 25 May 2005, states that the current best estimate for the unit cost of a combined biometric passport and ID card package valid for 10 years is £93. However, the actual fee regime for the biometric passport and identity card package will not be laid before Parliament until the procurement process for the identity cards scheme has been completed.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 28 July 2005, Official Report, column 1448W, on biometric information, whether the UK Passport Service has
 
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commenced the introduction of biometric passports; and what the cost is of producing biometric passports (a) to comply only with US requirements and (b) with a facial recognition biometric obtained in the most cost-effective manner. [50928]

Andy Burnham: The UK Passport Service intends to begin a phased implementation of biometric passports in March, subject to successful system testing. This phased implementation is expected to be complete in August when all passport production will be biometric.

The UK has chosen the facial recognition biometric, in line with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidance to achieve both enhanced security and compliance with US visa waiver requirements in the most cost effective manner. The 2006 fee review the Passport Service will undertake with HM Treasury will determine the full cost, and hence the fee for biometric passports going forward.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what basis he assesses the cost of a biometric passport as accounting for 70 per cent. of the cost of the passport and identity card. [50948]

Andy Burnham: The forecast costs of the combination passport and identity card package was published in the regulatory impact assessment document published in 2004. The 70 per cent. assessment is based on forecast average passport costs at the time of introduction of this combined passport and identity card package.

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many biometric passports have been issued to date; and how many he expects will be issued by October 2006. [51874]

Andy Burnham: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), through the embassy in Washington, began issuing the first British biometric passports to British nationals in the United States with effect from the week of six February 2006. By 10 February some 200 biometric passports had been issued. SPSL (the UKPS printer and producer of passports) is currently building up biometric passport stock to supply the FCO for its overseas passport issuance programme and for UKPS regional passport office issuance during 2006.

By October 2006 we estimate that some 3.6 million biometric passports will have been issued. This figure will be subject to actual demand figures and the safe and steady conversion of all production facilities to biometric production.

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