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25 July 2006 : Column 1273W—continued
British and European Financial Transactions
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her (a) EU and (b) US counterparts on reports of the disclosure of British and European financial transactions to the US intelligence services; and if she will make a statement. [86701]
Margaret Beckett [holding answer 20 July 2006]: It has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on intelligence sources and methods. However, the Government support US efforts to target, disrupt and cut off sources of funding for terrorism.
British Council
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has received on the next financial grant to the British Council; and if she will make a statement. [88061]
Mr. Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not received any representations about the next financial grant to the British Council. The future funding for the British Council will be taken forward within the context of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost was of (a) commissioning and (b) implementing the new British Council logo. [88063]
Mr. Hoon: The redesign of the British Council logo was part of a wider programme of rebranding the British Council. This included redesign of the British Council manual and guidelines, the imagebank, the intranet and extranet sites and the development of a bespoke font, unique to the British Council, which could be used in the UK and by offices overseas. The overall rebranding cost £120,000. Implementation costs were minimal as it took place in a phased manner as part of the standard programme of replacement of material and equipment and refurbishment of Council premises.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what employment policy is operated by the British Council. [88064]
Mr. Hoon: The British Council's employment policies comply with all relevant legislation in the UK, or local legislation as applicable for staff employed outside the UK.
Burma
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 18 July 2005, Official Report, column 1369W, on Burma; if she will confirm that processing of Burmese (i) uranium and (ii) antimony takes place in (A) China, (B) North Korea, (C) Russia and (D) elsewhere. [88132]
Dr. Howells: While we are aware that processing of uranium and antimony takes place in China, North Korea and Russia as well as a number of other countries, we have no information regarding the export to or subsequent processing in any country of uranium or antimony from Burma.
Chernobyl
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the total cost of the clean up to date at Chernobyl; and what the UK contribution has been to this work. [87725]
Mr. Hoon: The Government have no estimate of the total amount spent on the clean up following the Chernobyl accident.
The UK has played an important role supporting safety, health, decommissioning and development work that has taken place as a result of the Chernobyl accident. The UK’s contribution to national and international programmes arising from the accident has been in excess of £100 million.
Correspondence
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she will respond to the letter dated 10 May sent to her by the hon. Member for Thurrock in relation to compensation. [75959]
Margaret Beckett [holding answer 8 June 2006]: I apologise for the delay in replying to my hon. Friend’s parliamentary questions and my hon. Friend’s letter of 10 May. I took additional advice on this matter and a reply has now been sent to my hon. Friend.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when her Department will reply to the letter of 17 May from the hon. Member for Aylesbury on behalf of Mr P-K.E.E. of Aylesbury (reference 30131) which her ministerial correspondence unit sent to UK Visas on 28 June. [86004]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 17 July 2006]: UKvisas replied to the hon. Member on 25 May. A copy of this reply was faxed to the hon. Member’s office on 13 July.
Council of Europe
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the UK’s contribution is to the funding of the Council of Europe; what percentage of the whole this figure represents; and what percentage is contributed by (a) France, (b) Germany, (c) Italy, (d) Spain and (e) Russia. [86720]
Mr. Hoon: The UK’s 2006 total contribution to the Council of Europe is €30,069,636.23. This is made up of €27,947,261.58 in assessed contributions and additional contributions to partial agreements totalling €2,122,374.95. The breakdown of the UK’s total contribution and the percentage of the whole are shown in the following table:
| UK Euro contribution | Percentage of whole | |
The percentage contributed by the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Spain in 2006 are shown in the following table:
Delwar Hossain Sayeedi
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what factors were taken into account when granting Delwar Hossain Sayeedi permission to come to the United Kingdom. [86877]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 20 July 2006]: I cannot comment on individual cases. However, all applicants must meet the entry clearance criteria/ immigration controls, as set out on the UKvisas website at www.ukvisas.gov.uk.
Departmental Staff (Education)
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the recruits to her Department were educated in (a) state schools, (b) private schools, (c) Oxford or Cambridge University and (d) other universities in each of the last 30 years. [80045]
Mr. Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)'s current management information system does not hold educational details on all our staff and it would incur a disproportionate cost to collect the data requested.
FCO recruitment processes are run on the principle of fair and open competition, as laid down in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Code, available at: www.civilservicecommissioners.gov.uk. They are based solely on merit and decisions are made irrespective of educational background.
The FCO is committed to recruiting from as wide a spectrum of the population as possible, and has for many years had an active educational diversity and outreach policy, including currently:
careers fairs, such as the National Graduate Recruitment Exhibition which was held in Birmingham in June;
career Open Days, of which the next takes place on the 25 July;
work experience scheme;
in 2006 we have offered placements to approximately 45 persons from a range of backgrounds, including GCSE students, A-level students, undergraduate students and those in full-time employment.
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