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Local Authority Employees

Philip Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the cost of the Single Status Scheme for Council employees to (a) Bradford Council, (b) councils in Yorkshire and (c) all councils in England; and what financial support the Government are providing to local authorities for implementing the scheme. [55186]

Mr. Woolas: The Government have made no assessment of these costs. Local government agreed, with the unions, to carry out Single Status Reviews as part of the last round of pay negotiations. It is for local authorities as individual employers to resolve the issue of equal pay in an affordable manner.

Local Government Restructuring

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the meetings that departmental (a) Ministers and (b) officials have had with local authority (i) officials and (ii) representatives on local government restructuring in the last 12 months. [53095]

Mr. Woolas [holding answer 27 February 2006]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 2 March 2006.

Mr. Syms: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the meetings that the Minster of Housing and Planning has had in the last 12 months with local authority (a) officials and (b) representatives on local government restructuring. [53344]

Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) by my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham, East and Saddleworth (Mr. Woolas) on 2 March 2006.

Sheppey General Hospital Site

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions have taken place between English Partnerships and the local residents concerning the re-development of the old Sheppey general hospital site. [55407]

Yvette Cooper: A development brief for the old Sheppey general hospital site was adopted by the local authority, Swale borough council, as Supplementary Planning Guidance on 17 March 2004. This brief was adopted following a six week period of public consultation and subsequent consideration of over 20 representations received.

English Partnerships marketed the site in October 2005 using the adopted development brief, to which the forthcoming development will adhere.

Social Housing

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people are on the waiting list for rented social housing in Chorley. [53373]

 
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Yvette Cooper: Local authority figures supplied to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister show the total number of households on the housing register in Chorley was 1,770 at 1 April 2005.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Ascension Island

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of the legislation to provide a right of abode and a right to own property on Ascension Island; and how much was spent by Her Majesty's Government in providing legal advice in preparation of the legislation. [47441]

Mr. Douglas Alexander [pursuant to the reply, 6 February 2006, Official Report, c. 765–766W]: My noble Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, wrote to Ascension Island Councillors on 19 January, explaining that there would be no further development of right of abode or the right to own property on Ascension Island. As such there are no current plans to introduce legislation to develop a right of abode and the right to own property on Ascension Island.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)'s Constitutional Advisor on the Overseas Territories, Michael Bradley QC, provides advice to the Government on a range of issues relating to the Overseas Territories, including Ascension Island. He has also undertaken work for the Ascension Island Government. For the period 2001–2005, the estimated cost to the Government of his advice directly attributable to the right of abode and right to own property was £2,500. This is necessarily an estimate given that these issues may have been touched on in the context of broader advice on options for Ascension Island.

In 2004, the FCO's Good Government Fund also approved funding for an Ascension Island government project to strengthen the legal system on the Island. The objective of the project was to provide the government of Ascension Island with a legal advisor to, inter alia, update the laws of Ascension, undertake legal drafting and create better Government documents, which could include on right of abode. Initial personnel costs attached to this project were £60,000. Following a supplementary bid the FCO has provided a total of £106,000 to the Ascension Island government for this project.

Burma

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice his Department offers to British tourists visiting Burma. [55658]

Ian Pearson: The full travel advice for Burma is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's website at: http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket%2FXcelerate%2FShow Page&c =Page&cid=10070293905904&a=KCountryAdvice& aid=1013618387126.
 
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Travel advice is also available by calling 0845 850 2829.

Cyprus

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which occasions (a) Ministers and (b) officials have visited Cyprus in each of the last nine years. [55812]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: The following Ministers of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have visited Cyprus over the last nine years: my right hon. Friend Joyce Quin in 1999, my hon. Friend Keith Vaz in 2001, my right hon. Friend Peter Hain in 2002, my right hon. Friend Denis MacShane in 2004, and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in 2006. Government Ministers from other Government Departments have also visited the island. There have been a great many visits by officials during this period.

Diego Garcia

Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many foreign troops there are in Diego Garcia. [55661]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: There are a total of 1,209 foreign troops currently based on Diego Garcia:

	Number
United States Navy	446
United States Air Force	763

Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the latest advice from the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission; and what progress has been made towards reaching a settlement in the region. [55338]

Ian Pearson: We note the awards made by the Eritrea Ethiopia Claims Commission in its December 2005 report and call on both sides to continue to co-operate with the Commission.

We support fully the current US initiative aimed at reaching a lasting settlement to the dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and call on both parties to cooperate with the US in its efforts, including attending any further meetings of the Ethiopia Eritrea

Boundary Commission.

Guantanamo Bay

Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government regard illegal enemy combatants as a legitimate category of detainee under international law. [56317]

Ian Pearson: The duties of states towards those who are in their power as a result of an international armed conflict are set out in international humanitarian law, including in particular the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Additional Protocol I of 1977. Article 43 of Additional Protocol I sets out a definition of combatant,
 
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and Article 75 of Additional Protocol I sets out fundamental guarantees to be accorded to those in the power of a party to a conflict.

Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the infliction of simulated drowning falls within the definition of torture or cruel and inhumane treatment used by the Government for the purposes of international law. [56319]

Ian Pearson: Whether the conduct described constitutes torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment for the purposes of the UN Convention Against Torture would depend on all the circumstances of the case.

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