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27 Apr 2006 : Column 1252W—continued
World Cup
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British football hooligans are banned in each police authority from travelling to the World Cup. [65301]
Paul Goggins: As at 20 April 2006 there are 3,286 Football Banning Orders in place. Details of the police authority area in which the subjects reside is provided in the following table. Each of the individuals concerned will be required to report to a designated police station and surrender their passports 10 days prior to the opening match and on every England match day during the tournament.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
British Nationals Abroad
Sir John Stanley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his statement of 21 March 2006, Official Report, column 157, on British nationals abroad, whether the future announcement to which he referred in his statement was that made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 22 March 2006, Official Report, column 298,
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announcing a new charitable fund to support British citizens injured in or affected by terrorist acts at home or abroad. [66759]
Dr. Howells: No. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary had in mind the future announcement which the Department of Culture, Media and Sport will make once the Government have fully considered the matter.
Colombia
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) the likely effects of the decision by the United States Administration to offer rewards for the capture of Colombian drug dealers and (b) the effectiveness of this policy in (i) tackling the drug trade and (ii) reducing the impact of the drug trade on Colombian politics and society. [65666]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Government are committed to tackling the trade in illicit drugs in Latin America. As such we work alongside the US and other partners to counter the activities of those involved in the drugs trade. The decision to adopt a policy of offering rewards is a matter for the US Administration and is just one of many measures taken by them to prevent the flow of drugs from Colombia.
EU Commission (Plan D Programme)
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution the Government (a) have made and (b) are planning to make to the European Commission's Plan D programme. [66129]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Government welcomes the principles behind the European Commission's Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate but insists that its implementation must be in co-operation with Member States and respect national circumstances. The Government welcomes ideas such as visits from Commissioners as part of the Plan D programme. Officials are in frequent touch with the Commission's Representation in London to co-ordinate events and activities and, in particular, work closely with them to make its Europe Direct project a success.
The Government do not plan to make a direct financial contribution to the Commission's Plan D. The Commission will finance Plan D using funding from the budget line for the future of Europe debate.
EU Website
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government plans to launch the website described in the UK's contribution to the EU's interim report on the national debates during the reflection period on the future of Europe; and how much the website will cost (a) to build and (b) to maintain. [66125]
Mr. Douglas Alexander:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) launched the new Britain in the EU section of the FCO website on 13 April 2006. The new site, which can be found at www.europe.gov.uk, will be both a valuable resource on UK EU policy and the debate on the future direction of the EU. A Future of Europe section will set out a range of
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opinions on the EU and invite people to contribute to the debate. The site has been developed with a budget of £43,974 in the 2004–05 financial year, and a budget allocation of £80,000 in the 2005–06 financial year. The 2006–07 budget for maintaining the site has not yet been finalised.
Europe Direct
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many calls have been made to Europe Direct in the UK to date; and how much has been spent on (a) setting up and (b) running the service. [66126]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Europe Direct information line is based in Brussels and run by the European Commission. According to information published by the Commission, the service handled 112,000 queries from all members of the public in 2005. The total number of queries from the UK was 12,004; this figure represents 7,270 calls, 3,897 e-mails and 837 web-assistance queries. The basic annual cost of the service across the whole of the EU is €2.3 million. Further information on the Commission's Europe Direct service can be found at:
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why the launch of the Europe Direct service was delayed for a year. [66127]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: In March 2005, the Government asked the European Commission to postpone the opening of Europe Direct Centres in this country, pending further work on their purpose and scope. In July 2005, having considered the project further, the Government confirmed to the Commission that the centres could go ahead with immediate effect. Based in Brussels, the EU-wide Europe Direct information line was launched in 2000.
Syria (Resolution 1559)
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his (a) US and (b) EU counterparts on Syrian compliance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 (2004); and if he will make a statement. [66329]
Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has discussed Syrian compliance with his US and EU counterparts on a regular basis since the UN Security Council adopted UN Security Council Resolution 1559 on 19 October 2004. He last discussed Syria and Lebanon with EU colleagues at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 20 March and with his US counterpart on 3 April.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of Syrian compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 (2004); and if he will make a statement. [66330]
Dr. Howells:
The UN Security Council agreed a presidential statement on 23 January, which noted that several provisions of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1559 had yet to be implemented, in particular the disbanding and disarming of militias and free and fair
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Lebanese presidential elections. The full text of the statement can be found on the UN website at: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/218/09/PDF/N0621809,pdf?OpenElement.
This Government continue to support the full implementation of UNSCR 1559.
While the UN has confirmed that Syria has withdrawn its troops from Lebanon, Syria has yet to establish diplomatic relations with Lebanon or to demarcate its border with Lebanon. Syria also has a role to play in stopping arms transfers to Lebanese-based militias, including Hizballah.
The UK stands ready to assist the Lebanese government to implement the outstanding provisions of UNSCR 1559.
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