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10 July 2007 : Column 1457W—continued
Chechnya: Human Rights
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on Chechnya’s observance of human rights. [148302]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Annual Report on Human Rights, which was last published in October 2006, sets out the Government’s assessment of the situation in Chechnya. We remain deeply concerned by the situation in the republic, which is fragile and vulnerable to human rights violations. We, and EU partners, continue to monitor developments closely. Copies of the 2006 FCO Annual Report on Human Rights are available in the Library of the House.
Departments: Private Finance Initiative
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total cost is of all private finance initiative projects for which his Department has responsibility completed since 1997; and what the projected cost is of such projects commissioned or under way. [148019]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has completed no Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) since 1997. Two PFI projects are under way with a total estimated cost of £381.7 million. The details are:
Global Crossing—Provision of a worldwide telecommunications network for a term of ten years from 10 May 2000. The total estimated cost of this contract is £247.5 million. The present unitary payment charged to the operating cost statement is £24 million per annum; and
Arteos—In respect of the building, operation and maintenance of our Embassy in Berlin for a term of 30 years from 23 June 1998 with an option to extend for a
further 30 years. The total estimated costs of the contract over its lifetime to June 2028 is £134.2 million. The current unitary payment is £4.4 million per annum.
Further details on these signed deals are available on HM Treasury’s website, available at:
This list covers unitary charge payments up to 2033-34. Unitary charge payments are projections covering more than the repayment of the capital value of a project. They will frequently include inflation, service provision and major refurbishment. They are also conditional on the performance of the private sector contractor.
The FCO has commissioned no other PFI projects.
Dietary Supplements: EU Law
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations he has received on the EU food supplements directive; [147240]
(2) what assessment he has made of the potential impact of imposing maximum permitted levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements. [147241]
Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
A number of representations have been received on the interpretation and implementation of the food supplements directive, highlighting concerns regarding the possibility that the European Commission (EC) intend to propose restrictive daily dose levels for vitamin and mineral supplements and the potential consequent loss of consumer choice.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has recently carried out an informal consultation on an initial regulatory impact assessment (RIA) that sets out the current position in the United Kingdom with respect to food supplements and seeks information from stakeholders to measure the potential impact in advance of future EC proposals for setting daily dosage levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements. The information will be used to inform the draft RIA, which will then be subject to a formal consultation process. Since we do not yet know what the Commission will propose, the FSA sought information on a wide range of possible options.
The impact assessment will be updated to take account of future Commission papers and a full public consultation will be carried out when the Commission publish proposals. The UK negotiating position on maximum levels will take into account all stakeholder comments.
EU Reform: Treaties
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the holding of a referendum on the proposed EU Constitutional Treaty. [148177]
Mr. Jim Murphy:
The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, on which the Government
proposed a referendum, is now defunct. The mandate for a Reform Treaty agreed by the European Council states clearly:
“The constitutional concept, which consisted in repealing all existing Treaties and replacing them by a single text called “Constitution”, is abandoned”.
As my right hon. Friend the then Prime Minister (Mr. Tony Blair) set out in his statement to Parliament on 25 June, the Reform Treaty will differ fundamentally from the Constitutional Treaty in both form and substance.
The subject of a referendum on the proposed Reform Treaty has been discussed on many occasions, including in Parliamentary debates, questions and evidence sessions. The UK’s only ever national referendum was on European Economic Community membership in 1975. The Reform Treaty will be an amending Treaty in the tradition of Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice—none of which were subject to a referendum in this country.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the differences are between the original planned EU Constitution in 2005 and the new proposed EU Constitutional Treaty 2007. [148178]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, on which the Government proposed a referendum, is now defunct. The mandate for a Reform Treaty agreed by the European Council states clearly:
“The constitutional concept, which consisted in repealing all existing Treaties and replacing them by a single text called “Constitution”, is abandoned”.
As my right hon. Friend the then Prime Minister (Mr. Tony Blair) set out in his statement to Parliament on 25 June, the Reform Treaty will differ fundamentally from the Constitutional Treaty in both form and substance. Among other things, we have ensured that there is nothing in the mandate for the Reform Treaty which will require us to change our existing labour and social legislation. Our common law system and our police and judicial processes will be protected. Our independent foreign and defence policy will be maintained. Our tax and social security system will be protected.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to answer the letter to his predecessor dated 4 June from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Omer Farooq. [148369]
Dr. Howells: I apologise for the delay in replying to my right hon. Friend. A reply was sent on 9 July.
Robert Mugabe: Summit Conferences
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to (a) the Portuguese Government and (b) the EU on President Mugabe’s attendance at the Lisbon Summit in December 2006. [148006]
Meg Munn: The UK is strongly committed to the EU Africa relationship. We want to see a successful summit that agrees substantive co-operation in areas that really matter for Africa, for Europe and for the UK. We are working with the Portuguese, and other EU colleagues, towards this and have underlined to them our view that President Mugabe’s attendance would detract from this important agenda. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary stressed this most recently with his Dutch colleague on 5 July and will do so in discussions with other EU Foreign Ministers, including the Portuguese, in coming weeks. This was also raised during my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s discussions with the Portuguese Prime Minister on 9 July.
Succession: EU Action
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are at EU level to provide a unified approach to laws on succession and wills, with particular reference to proposals emanating from the Commission's Green Paper thereon; and if he will make a statement. [148242]
Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
In 2004 the Council of the European Union invited the European Commission to prepare a Green Paper on the conflict of laws in matters of succession and related issues. The Green Paper was published in 2005 and suggested there was a need for the harmonisation of private international law rules in the field of succession.
The UK response to the Green Paper made clear that although the Government support, in principle, the development of proposals to help people with inheritance matters that have a cross-border element, it has serious concerns about the proposals that might emerge from the Commission's Green Paper. The UK detailed response is available on the EU website:
The Commission is now considering the responses to the Green Paper and is expected to publish a draft proposal for a regulation in late 2007 or early 2008.
Sudan: Human Rights
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage implementation of the United Nations Human Rights Council recommendations published following the Group of Experts report on Darfur; and if he will make a statement. [148294]
Meg Munn: We strongly support the UN Human Rights Council’s (HRC) work on improving human rights in Darfur.
The HRC high-level assessment mission, which examined the situation in Darfur in February, recommended a review of the implementation of existing human rights recommendations from different parts of the UN system. We actively supported the German EU Presidency in pushing for the establishment of the Darfur Implementation
Mechanism in March. This group of UN Special Rapporteurs is pressing the Government of Sudan for better and faster implementation of human rights recommendations in Sudan. We expect an interim report in September, with a full report to follow in November/December.
We are pressing the Government of Sudan to comply fully with the report’s recommendations.
Turkey: Iraq
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of recent Turkish army movements along that country’s border with Iraq. [148303]
Mr. Jim Murphy: We are aware of counter-terrorist operations by the Turkish security forces close to Turkey’s border with northern Iraq. This is in response to a series of recent attacks by the Kurdish separatist group, the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (PKK) against military and civilian targets in Turkey which have caused a significant number of fatalities.
We utterly condemn the attacks carried out by the PKK, as we do all acts of terrorism. We encourage Turkey to engage with the Iraqi Government, and the Kurdish regional government, to address the PKK presence in northern Iraq and we welcome the ongoing trilateral co-operation between Turkey, Iraq and the US.
Zimbabwe: Foreign Relations
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will assess the merits of UK military action against Zimbabwe. [148309]
Meg Munn: We believe that change by peaceful means is still the best approach to resolving the current crisis. Zimbabwe desperately needs policy reform to reverse its current decline. We are supporting the efforts of all those working for democratic change in Zimbabwe.
Justice
Coroners
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many and what proportion of deaths reported to coroners resulted in an order for a post-mortem examination in each year since 1997, broken down by coroner's region; and if he will make a statement; [148245]
(2) how many and what proportion of deaths reported to coroners were the subject of an inquest in (a) each coroner's region and (b) England and Wales in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement; [148256]
Bridget Prentice: Because of the comprehensive nature of these data, the information requested has been placed in the Library of the House.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of deaths were reported to a coroner in each year since 1997, broken down by coroner's region; and if he will make a statement. [148247]
Bridget Prentice: Information on the number of registered deaths is only available for coroners' districts where these coincide exactly with one or more local or unitary authorities. Coroners' district boundaries are not always consistent with those of local authorities, and therefore it is not possible to provide this information for all such districts. However, information on the number of registered deaths of residents and the number of deaths reported to coroners in England and Wales for all years from 1997 to 2006, aggregated to approximately county level, is in the process of being collated by my officials and I will write to the hon. Member shortly with this information.
Coroners: Expenditure
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on coroners' services in (a) England and Wales and (b) each coroner's region in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [148595]
Bridget Prentice: Funding for the coroner service in England and Wales is provided by local authorities and police authorities, in those areas where the police employ coroners officers and administrative staff. Data are not collected on the total spend on the coroner service by coroner jurisdiction.
In 2003 Tom Luce's ‘Fundamental Review of Death Certification and Investigation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland’ (Cm 5831) estimated the total spend on the coroner system in England and Wales to be £71.4 million. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) does publish data on local authority spend by coroner jurisdiction but we cannot guarantee the accuracy of that information.
Coroners: Manpower
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many coroner's regions were allocated part-time coroners in each year since 1997; how many were without a fully qualified coroner for part of the period between 1997 and 2007; and if he will make a statement; [148246]
(2) how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time coroners there were in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [148596]
Bridget Prentice: The ratio of part-time to full-time coroners for the years between 1997 and 2004 is currently being gathered and I will write to the hon. Lady shortly. The Coroners' Society annual report lists 89 part-time coroners and 28 full-time coroners in 2005 and 86 part-time coroners and 32 full-time coroners in 2006. There are currently 79 part-time coroners and 32 full-time coroners. An individual has to be qualified either as a lawyer or doctor for five years to serve as a coroner, deputy coroner or assistant deputy coroner.
Courts: Birmingham
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many defendants who have appeared before (a) a Crown court and (b) the magistrates' courts in Birmingham since 1 May 2007 have been remanded overnight in court cells in London; how many were (i) adult males, (ii) adult females, (iii) males between 18 and 21 years and (iv) females between 18 and 21 years; where those defendants were remanded; when they were remanded; on how many occasions defendants were remanded; and whether those so remanded had access to drug, physical and mental health staff, showers and a change of clothing before reappearing in court each following day. [148297]
Mr. Hanson: No defendants have been remanded from Birmingham Crown or magistrates courts to court cells in London. However, on 11 June 2007, five sentenced adult male prisoners and one sentenced young adult male prisoner were sent from Birmingham Crown court and Birmingham magistrates court to be held in cells at West London magistrates court.
In accordance with the agreed protocol, no female or juvenile prisoners have been held overnight in court cells.
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