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25 Jun 2007 : Column 188W—continued
Departments: Energy
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many energy saving lightbulbs were purchased by her Department for use on the departmental estate in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006. [144927]
Mr. Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) purchased the following number of energy saving lightbulbs in the years requested for our estate in the UK.
| Number | |
The FCO has a policy of, where possible, replacing inefficient lightbulbs on failure with energy efficient ones, and as part of general energy saving programmes. We frequently review available options to maximise the energy efficiency of our lighting.
Departments: Northern Ireland
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will place in the Library a copy of the concordat governing the relationship between her Department and the Northern Ireland administration. [145940]
Mr. McCartney: The Concordat on International Relations (D3) between the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive Committee is contained in the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government, Scottish Ministers, the Cabinet of the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Executive Committee. The Memorandum and associated Concordats, (Cm 5240), was presented to Parliament and a copy placed in the Library of the House in December 2001.
The principles set out in the Memorandum of Understanding and Supplementary Agreements between the Government, Scottish Ministers, the Cabinet of the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Executive, published in 2001 continue to underpin our working relationship with the Northern Ireland Executive.
Departments: Official Cars
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many cars her Department owns. [145571]
Mr. Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Services UK based fleet operates 14 cars.
We are unable to provide details covering all overseas fleet cars without incurring disproportionate cost as officials would need to contact all of our overseas missions to collate this information.
Departments: Older Workers
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of staff in her Department were over 60 years of age in each of the last three years. [145681]
Mr. Hoon: At 1 April for 2005, 2006 and 2007 the percentages of staff over 60 employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) were as follows:
| Percentage | |
The FCO abolished the compulsory retirement age for all staff below the level of the senior management structure (senior civil service equivalent) in 2006.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people aged (a) over 55 years of age and (b) over 60 years of age have been recruited by her Department in each of the last three years; and what percentage in each case this is of the number of new recruits in each year. [145705]
Mr. Hoon: The details of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff in these age groups recruited since 2004 are set out in the following table.
| Financial year | Staff aged 55 to 60 | Percentage of staff recruited | Staff aged 60 plus | Percentage of staff recruited |
The FCO no longer imposes a mandatory retirement age on staff below the senior management structure (senior civil service equivalent) level.
Departments: Public Participation
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many public consultations her Department undertook in the last 12 months; and what the cost was of each consultation. [145276]
Mr. Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not carried out any public consultations in the last 12 months.
Departments: Surveys
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff surveys her Department undertook in the last 12 months; and at what total cost. [145259]
Mr. Hoon: In the last 12 months the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has conducted the following staff engagement surveys:
Two separate “wave” surveys (designed to follow up our all-staff engagement survey undertaken in January/February 2006) were conducted in September 2006 and January 2007. Each wave survey targeted 25 per cent. of our staff. The total cost of both wave surveys was £12,409.38.
UKvisas carried out a staff engagement survey of UKvisas local staff in early 2007 at a cost of £3,719.81.
As part of its Investors in People accreditation the FCO carries out e-surveys. In tranche 1 (October/November 2006) the FCO conducted e-surveys covering 14 FCO departments and overseas posts. The cost was £2,453.
Within the last 12 months, FCO Services separately conducted an opinion survey of all its staff. Costs for the survey totalled £18,512, with supplementary reporting currently being undertaken at an estimated cost of £4,600.
Diplomatic Service
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the 10 largest missions abroad are; and how many (a) UK-based and (b) locally-engaged personnel are employed in each such mission. [145007]
Mr. Hoon: The 10 Foreign and Commonwealth Office missions overseas with the highest numbers of UK civil servants among their staff are:
| Post | Number of UK-based staff | Number of locally engaged staff |
|
UK Permanent Representation to the European Union (Brussels) | ||
The staffing of our posts overseas is subject to constant review, and regular change, to ensure that it continues to reflect our business priorities.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which UK diplomatic representation has been (a) downgraded and (b) ended since 1997. [145341]
Mr. Hoon: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 1 November 2006, Official Report, columns 467-68W. There have been no changes in our diplomatic representation since then.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continuously reviews the deployment of its resources and aligns them flexibly in line with UK interests to benefit the British taxpayer.
Diplomatic Service: Crime
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many notifiable offences were committed by foreign diplomats based in London in 2006, broken down by (a) offence and (b) country of diplomatic status; and if she will make a statement. [144558]
Mr. Hoon:
We were notified by the police of 126 alleged criminal offences committed in 2006 by the approximately 24,000 individuals entitled to diplomatic immunity in the UK. 15 of these alleged offences were serious offences that would, in certain circumstances, have carried a penalty of 12 months or more imprisonment. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary provided details of these alleged serious offences in her written ministerial statement of 20 June 2007, Official Report, columns 94-96WS. The following
table lists the other alleged offences not included in my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary’s statement:
| Number | |
|
Conspiracy to pervert the course of justice/obstructing the police | |
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