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22 Mar 2006 : Column 417W—continued
Ascension Island
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State forForeign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on licensing commercial flights between St. Helena and Ascension Island if the former were to build an airport. [56563]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 15 March 2006, Official Report, columns 2377–78W.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on granting licences for commercial ventures on Ascension Island. [56564]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 15 March 2006, Official Report, columns 2377–78W.
British Council
Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the British Council on plans to relocate jobs from Manchester to London. [60147]
Mr. Straw:
The British Council has 15 offices around the United Kingdom. It regularly reviews the deployment of staff across these offices. The British Council is currently reviewing the use of its estate across the country with a view to making cost savings where possible. The review will report in June 2006. In parallel, the British Council is undertaking a programme designed to improve the
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efficiency and effectiveness of its UK-based operational teams. Again it expects to make decisions in June on any necessary staff changes. At present no decision has been made to relocate posts from any one centre to another.
The British Council is operationally independent and any decision on the location and size of its offices is for the British Council's management to make. However, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office remains in close touch with the British Council on this as on other operational matters.
Canada (Seal Hunting)
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Canadian counterparts on commercial seal hunting in Canada. [60244]
Ian Pearson: My right. hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not yet discussed the Canadian seal hunt with his Canadian counterpart. However, during an introductory telephone call on 27 February 2006, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry raised the issue with the Canadian Minister of International Trade.
Cyprus
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made an estimate of the number of British tourists visiting (a) the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and (b) Cyprus. [59548]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: According to Republic of Cyprus estimates, there are 1.5 million visits by British citizens to Cyprus every year. We also understand that there are approximately 100,000 visits by British citizens to northern Cyprus every year.
Embassies/High Commissions (Security)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent on the security of embassies and high commissions in each year since 2000. [58983]
Mr. Straw: The overall spend by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on security and guarding services is as follows:
| Amount (£) | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 13,989,479.56 |
| 2001–02 | 16,714,417.76 |
| 2002–03 | 18,747,067.12 |
| 2003–04 | 34,394,158.70 |
| 2004–05 | 77,287,392.84 |
The FCO can only identify how much of this expenditure was spent on the security of embassies and high commissions at a disproportionate cost. Expenditure on security-related machinery and equipment is not included in these totals, as the expenditure is reported along with non-security related items. The large increase in spending post 2002–03 is
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primarily due to the cost of keeping the FCO's presence in Iraq but also as a consequence of further measures following the bombing in Istanbul in November 2003.
Emigrants
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of UK citizens who have moved permanently abroad in each of the last 10 years; and in which countries they live. [60649]
Dr. Howells: We do not hold records of the number of UK citizens who move abroad permanently. However, we can provide an estimate of the number of British nationals living abroad in the last 10 years as shown in the following table:
| Million | |
|---|---|
| 1996 | 13.3 |
| 1997 | 13.4 |
| 1998 | 13.3 |
| 1999 | 15.8 |
| 2000 | 15.5 |
| 2001–02 | 12.9 |
| 2002–03 | 12.8 |
| 2003–04 | 13.2 |
| 2004–05 | 13.1 |
These figures are taken from the consular annual returns from overseas posts. There is no requirement for UK citizens to register with British missions overseas and therefore these figures are provided by our overseas posts on the basis of the most reliable information they can obtain e.g. from host government official statistics. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office only holds a breakdown of the 2004–05 figure as follows:
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