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4 Jun 2007 : Column 232Wcontinued
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will place in the Library copies of the reports submitted by the (a) United Kingdom and (b) EU to the Security Council Committee established pursuant to the Resolution 1736 (2006) on the action required under Clause 18 (a) of UNSCR 1737 with a view to implementing that resolution effectively. [136494]
Margaret Beckett: The UK and EU reports on implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1737 (2006) have been circulated as UN documents to members of the UN Sanctions Committee. The Committees proceedings are closed and it is customary to respect the confidentiality of circulated documents. It would not therefore be appropriate to make the reports publicly available. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) informs Parliament annually of the domestic and EU legislative measures in force to implement sanctions. The next report is due in the autumn but a table showing these legislative measures is available on the FCO website at:
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the current status is of the 2006 UN investigation into United Nations peacekeeping troops selling weapons to Congolese militia groups. [140186]
Mr. McCartney: The UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) has said that the allegations that peacekeepers based in the Ituri district were engaging in gold and weapons trafficking was brought to its attention in 2006. Following this, the UNs Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS-Nairobi) initiated a full inquiry, independently from MONUC, in accordance with its mandate to investigate instances of serious misconduct.
The UN Secretary-Generals spokesperson stated on 23 May that the investigation is almost complete and that the final report is going through a quality control procedure. Upon completion of its investigation, OIOS will pass its report and recommendations to the UN Department of Peace Keeping Operations, for appropriate action with the troop contributing countries of the concerned contingent personnel.
The allegations are of concern, and it is entirely proper that they should be investigated in line with UN procedures. Officials in our Mission in New York are pressing the UN to complete their investigations as soon as possible.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people with epilepsy are employed by her Department; and if she will make a statement. [139100]
Mr. Hoon: We do not require staff who suffer from epilepsy to report their illness to us. We therefore have no record of the number of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff with epilepsy. Staff who do inform either their managers or our trained welfare officers that they suffer from epilepsy are given advice and assistance in confidence. We also maintain a network of staff in each FCO building who are trained to give first aid in an emergency.
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will publish the new language teaching business model. [138899]
Mr. Hoon: The invitation to tender for the provision of language training for Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff will set out explicitly the specifications for delivering language training and will be available through the FCO website:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=l173560622480.
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in her Department she expects to be trained in a foreign language in each of the first three years of the new language teaching business model; in how many languages training will be available in each year; and what proportion of training will be carried out overseas in each year. [138905]
Mr. Hoon: At present the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has around 900 overseas jobs requiring specific levels of language skills, although this number will fluctuate to reflect business need.
The 22 languages identified as having the highest strategic importance are: French, Spanish (Latin American and European), German, Portuguese (Brazilian and European), Russian, Turkish, Italian, Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Farsi, Pashtu, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Indonesian, Burmese, Thai and Vietnamese.
The proportion of language training carried out overseas varies between languages, but it is proposed that in-country training will increase from current levels for those requiring a high proficiency level.
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which non-premium rate telephone numbers are available to members of the public who wish to contact the British embassy in the United States. [139142]
Mr. McCartney: Our embassy in Washington has two non-premium rate telephone numbers that are advertised to the general public. The embassys main number is 202 588 6500, and the number of the embassys consular section is 202 588 7800. Both numbers are prefaced with recorded messages to help direct callers to the information that they need, including the website www.britainusa.com. The messages also point callers to the premium lines that have been established to deal with passport, visa and UK information inquiries. Callers with urgent consular inquiries, and those who wish to ask about UK nationality or registration, are asked to wait on the line and speak to a trained call-handler.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 May 2007, Official Report, columns 389-90W, on entry clearance: overseas students, what the reasons were for the increase in the fees for student visas; and if she will make a statement. [139513]
Dr. Howells: UKvisas recovers its costs from visa fee income and receives no taxpayer subsidy for its operations. Costs have risen, the reasons including the implementation of extra checks abroad, the increased use of visas supported by biometric capture and improvements to customer service. These increased costs have been reflected in the increase in visa fees from 1 April 2007, including student visas. Fee increases have been underpinned by public consultation on the principles for charging and by extensive customer research. The student visa fee increase has been held down as far as possible.
Mr. Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government plan to open a mission in Equatorial Guinea; and what recent assessment she has made of relations between the UK Government and the Government of Equatorial Guinea. [139018]
Mr. McCartney: There are currently no plans to open a UK mission in Equatorial Guinea.
The UK has normal diplomatic relations with Equatorial Guinea. We are officially represented by the high commissioner in Nigeria who is the non-resident ambassador to Equatorial Guinea.
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many appeals against refusal to grant entry clearance at the British embassy, Addis Ababa have been upheld in the last 12 months; and of these how many visas have not yet been issued by the embassy following such appeals. [138867]
Dr. Howells: The total number of appeals that were upheld in the financial year 2006-07 was 523. In 65 of these cases visas have not yet been issued by our embassy in Addis Ababa.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she expects to receive reports from those diplomats in the Ethiopian Embassy who were involved in the recent kidnapping. [138806]
Mr. McCartney: I was delighted with the news that the five officials from our Embassy in Addis Ababa and family members were released on 13 March. I was also pleased that the Ethiopians kidnapped at the same time were released on 22 April.
Upon their release, the five Embassy officials and family members made an internal report, but declared that they did not want to go public with their experiences. We will respect this. The Ethiopian authorities have not provided us with any further reports on the kidnapping and the release of their citizens.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the funding of the European Satellite Centre in Madrid came from the United Kingdom in 2006. [139590]
Mr. Hoon: In 2006, the United Kingdoms contribution to the European Satellite Centre amounted to 17.3 per cent. of the centres total budget of €10.557 million.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans she has to meet European foreign ministers to discuss the Galileo Global Positioning Satellite system. [139060]
Mr. Hoon: The Department for Transport leads the Government's involvement in the Galileo programme. My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Transport, is due to discuss Galileo with his counterparts at the next EU Transport Council in June.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of the new air terminal in Gibraltar on its economy. [139071]
Mr. Hoon: While questions on the economy of Gibraltar are matters for the Government of Gibraltar, we hope that enhanced use of Gibraltar airport will benefit the social and economic development of both Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar, and will lead to improved employment and commercial opportunities for both areas.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her Spainish counterparts on Gibraltar in the past 12 months. [139073]
Mr. Hoon: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and myself have met Spanish counterparts on a number of occasions over the last 12 months. Most recently, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary hosted a visit of the Spanish Foreign Minister to the UK in March. Ministers also routinely meet EU colleagues at General Affairs and External Relations Council meetings.
Discussions, including at official level, cover a range of issues, including Gibraltar. Discussions focussed on Gibraltar ahead of the Trilateral Ministerial in Cordoba in September 2006 at which agreement was met on a series of practical benefits for all people living in the region.
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent on each Global Opportunities Fund project in financial year 2006-07. [139947]
Mr. Hoon: Spend on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Global Opportunities Fund programmes in financial year 2006-07 was as follows:
Amount (£ million) | |
In addition, the Global Opportunities Fund contributed £16.3 million to the Afghan counter-narcotics programme.
Until the FCO accounts close in July, these figures are subject to further end-of-year adjustments.
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had on future funding for the Global Opportunities Fund; and what the timetable is for allocation of funding for the next five years. [140247]
Mr. Hoon:
Future funding for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Global Opportunities
Fund (GOF) will be considered as part of the FCO's Resource Allocation Round for 2008-09 to 2010-11 once the outcome of the comprehensive spending review is known. The GOF is an increasingly important tool for the delivery of the Government's strategic priorities, enabling us to fund projects that can help to transform a given debate or issue in priority countries.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with her US counterparts on the deployment of limited missile capabilities in Europe; what proposals are under discussion; and if she will make a statement. [136519]
Margaret Beckett: I have not discussed the extension of the US missile defence system to Europe with the US Secretary of State.
The US has proposed the siting of 10 interceptors in Poland and a surveillance radar in the Czech Republic. Details of these deployments are subject to bilateral negotiations between these countries and the US. However, the US has made clear that the siting of US assets in Europe could contribute to any future NATO system and the US regularly discusses its plans for missile defence with NATO.
The UK is discussing a number of ways in which we might participate further in the US missile defence system. We already contribute to the US missile defence system through the provision of the radar at RAF Fylingdales. Officials regularly discuss and review UK participation in the US system as it develops but discussions are at an early stage and there are no formal proposals.
The issue of when and how to develop a collective alliance territorial missile defence system has also been under discussion in NATO. At the NATO summit last year at Riga it was agreed that there should be further study into territorial missile defence for NATO.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans she has to enable the Chagos Islanders to return to the British Indian Ocean Territories; and if she will make a statement. [140451]
Mr. Hoon: Ministers will consider the 23 May judgment of the Court of Appeal carefully and have in this regard asked officials for further advice. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary reserves the right to petition the House of Lords to grant permission to appeal, as she is entitled to do within one month. The Governments policy in relation to the British Indian Ocean Territory therefore remains the subject of possible ongoing legal proceedings and it would be inappropriate to comment further.
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