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26 Feb 2007 : Column 1123W—continued
Somaliland
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how often (a) she and (b) her officials are in contact with the Somaliland authorities. [120799]
Margaret Beckett: I have not met any representatives of the Somaliland authorities. However, my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, has met Mr. Dahir Rayale, the “President” of the Somaliland authorities on several occasions, most recently in August 2006. Officials, including our ambassador in Addis Ababa, are also in regular contact with representatives of the Somaliland authorities.
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when (a) she and (b) her officials last met her counterpart in Somaliland. [120800]
Margaret Beckett: I have not met any representatives of the Somaliland authorities. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, last met Mr. Abdillahi Duale, the “Foreign Minister” of the Somaliland authorities, on 26 January in the margins of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa. Our ambassador in Addis Ababa and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Africa Director also met with Mr. Abdillahi Duale in Addis Ababa on 9 February.
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the discussions on Somaliland at the recent African Union summit in Addis Ababa. [120801]
Margaret Beckett: The UK attended the recent African Union summit as an observer and did not have any formal status or participate in the discussions. We understand that the question of Somaliland was raised at Foreign Minister level but that there was little detailed discussion.
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which (a) Minister and (b) official represented the UK at the recent African Union summit in Addis Ababa which discussed Somaliland; in what discussions on Somalia the Minister or official took part; and what the outcome was of these discussions. [120802]
Margaret Beckett: My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, and our ambassador in Addis Ababa, who is our Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU), attended the recent AU summit in Addis Ababa as observers. Lord Triesman had meetings in the margins of the summit with President Yusuf of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and Prime Minister Meles of Ethiopia, during which Somalia was discussed. They agreed there was currently a window of opportunity for Somalia which should be maximised through pursuing an inclusive political dialogue, the early deployment of the AU Mission to Somalia and increased assistance for reconstruction. Lord Triesman also met Mr. Abdillahi Duale, “Foreign Minister” of the Somaliland authorities, to discuss the situation in Somalia and areas of co-operation with the UK.
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the state of democracy in Somaliland; and if she will make a statement. [120803]
Margaret Beckett: We welcome the progress that has been made in Somaliland towards stability and democracy. The elections last year were another positive step forward in the democratisation process. We continue to support the development of democratic institutions in Somaliland.
Sudan
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what international discussions are taking place with the rebel forces in Darfur; and what support the UK is providing to assist the discussions. [122342]
Mr. McCartney: The UN and African Union (AU) are leading the political process for Darfur. Their respective envoys, Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim, visited Sudan, including Darfur, from 11 to 17 February to prepare the ground for talks between the parties. They secured the commitment of the Government of Sudan and various factions of the rebel movements to engage in a political process.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development and my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, remain in contact with the AU and UN on urgently taking forward the political process. Officials from our embassy in Khartoum met the UN and AU envoys on 16 February. The UK is also funding an expert to support the AU on the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation. We will continue to work closely with the AU and UN.
Sudan: Human Rights
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has made to the Government of Sudan on the right of the UN to choose who should be on its human rights delegation to that country. [122341]
Mr. McCartney: It is unacceptable that the Government of Sudan have not given visas to the Human Rights Council’s Mission to Sudan, particularly given President Bashir’s assurance to the UN Secretary-General that it would be allowed in. We are protesting to the Government of Sudan about the issue and have urged the European Union to do the same.
Communities and Local Government
Burnley Building Bridges Project
Kitty Ussher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when officials from her Department plan to visit the Burnley Building Bridges project. [122680]
Mr. Woolas: My officials met with a delegation from the Building Bridges project on 24 January 2007 and were impressed with the positive steps the project has taken to engage all sections of the local community in developing strong relations and sustainable dialogue. Officials are liaising with the project co-ordinator to identify a date in April for this visit.
Council Housing
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the cost of writing off the housing debt of local authorities (a) still maintaining their housing stock on historic terms and (b) which have carried out large scale voluntary transfers. [119828]
Yvette Cooper: The opening Capital Financing Requirement of local authorities within their housing revenue accounts at the start of 2006-07 was £14.5 billion. This equates to the level of debt that would need to be paid if local authorities were to have all their housing debt cleared.
Since 1997 approximately £2.3 billion has been paid by central Government to clear any remaining debt in local authority housing revenue accounts after local authorities had used transfer receipts from registered social landlords from large scale voluntary transfers of housing to pay off housing debt.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of (a) the number of council houses in local authority control at the end of the 2006-07 financial year and (b) the value of the stock; and what estimate she has made of the cost in (i) gap funding and (ii) debt write offs of transferring such stock to the private sector. [119831]
Yvette Cooper: The Department for Communities and Local Government estimate that there will be 2,084,045 dwellings in local authority control by the end of the financial year 2006-07. Valuations of the total stock are not held centrally. However the value of that stock was estimated to be £91.4 billion in 1999.
We have not made any estimate of either gap funding or overhanging debt payment cost in the event of a tenant supported transfer of those dwellings to registered social landlords.
The housing debt associated with these dwellings is £14.5 billion.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the reduction of £4.3 billion in the total debt on council housing mentioned in her answer to parliamentary question no. 49736 includes (a) repayments from Right to Buy receipts and (b) capital receipts from housing transfers. [119210]
Yvette Cooper: The reduction of debt in respect of local authorities' housing stock referred to in my hon. Friend’s question, which occurred from 2000-01 to 2005-06, does include repayments from Right to Buy receipts and receipts from transfers to registered social landlords.
The reduction is also caused by receipts arising from other disposals including vacant housing land and voluntary revenue payments. We do not disaggregate the sources by which debt is reduced, and therefore cannot apportion them to any particular disposal type.
Departments: Furniture
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many items of furniture were (a) lost and (b) stolen from her Department in each year since 1997; and what the value was of those items in each year. [120704]
Angela E. Smith: Communities and Local Government was created on 5 May 2006. The following information goes back to May 2002, and includes data for CLG's predecessor Department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (which was formed on 29 May 2002) and its agencies. The data requested on losses and thefts prior to this date are not held centrally and therefore cannot be provided.
No items of furniture belonging to CLG or the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its agencies have been reported as lost or stolen since 29 May 2002.
This answer does not include the Government offices who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.
Departments: Official Cars
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many vehicles belonging to her Department were (a) lost and (b) stolen in each year since 1997; and what the (i) make and model and (ii) value was of each vehicle. [121360]
Angela E. Smith: Communities and Local Government (CLG) was created on 5 May 2006. The following information goes back to May 2002, and includes data for CLG’s predecessor Department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (which was formed on 29 May 2002) and its agencies. The data requested on losses and thefts prior to this date are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
No vehicles belonging to CLG or the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its agencies have been reported as stolen since 29 May 2002.
Following the emergency nationwide firefighting cover by the armed forces the following vehicles were written off (lost) following operational damage:
2003-04—22no. Bedford RLHZ Self Propelled Pumps (Green Goddesses) were considered beyond economic repair and scrapped. Each vehicle was valued at £2,250 as of July 2003.
2004-05—5no. Bedford RLHZ Self Propelled Pumps (Green Goddesses) were considered beyond economic repair and scrapped. Each vehicle was valued at £1,800 as of July 2004.
The scrap value for each of these vehicles varied between £150 and £250.
This answer does not include the Government offices who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.
Government Office for London
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) purpose, (b) role and (c) aims are of the Government office for London. [121049]
Angela E. Smith: As with the other Government offices in each of the nine English regions, the Government office for London (GOL) delivers policies and programmes for 10 central Government Departments, joining them up to ensure better outcomes for local people. GOL leads the negotiation of local area agreements between central Government and local authorities in London, and also houses the multi-agency London resilience team. GOL advises Ministers and Departments on London policy and reflects the views of London organisations to Whitehall, and ensures that London organisations are able to deal with one organisation rather than 10 separate Whitehall Departments.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) press releases, (b) letters in response to hon. Members, (c) letters in response to members of the public and (d) policy papers were produced by the Government office for London in each of the last 10 years, broken down by month. [121051]
Angela E. Smith: This information is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff were employed by the Government office for London in each of the last 10 years, broken down by month; and what the staffing budget was in each year. [121052]
Angela E. Smith: The Government office for London staffing figures from 1997-2007 are as follows:
| As at April: | Number |
| 2006 | |
| Number | |
| Annual pay costs (£ million) | |
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