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3 Dec 2007 : Column 1048W—continued
Mr. Philip Hammond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies confidential data have been downloaded on to compact discs (i) without and (ii) with encryption in the last 12 month period for which figures are available; how many of those discs have been posted without using recorded or registered delivery; what procedures his Department has in place for the (A) transport, (B) exchange and (C) delivery of confidential or sensitive data; what records are kept of information held by his Department being sent outside the Department; what changes have been made to his Department’s rules and procedures on data protection in the last two years; on how many occasions his Department’s procedures and
rules on data protection have been breached in the last five years; what those breaches were; what procedures his Department has in place on downloading confidential data on to computer discs before its transfer; what technical protections there are in his Department’s computer systems to prevent access to information held on those systems which is not in accordance with departmental procedures; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each of his Department’s rules and procedures on the protection of confidential data on individuals, businesses and other organisations. [168254]
Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments’ procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many employees of each grade in his Department (a) have access to confidential or sensitive data and (b) are authorised to download such data to disk; how many of his Department’s employees have undergone data protection training in the last 12 months; what the average length of time is that each employee of (i) his Department and (ii) his Department’s agencies has spent on data protection training; how many investigations of employees of his Department for improperly accessing confidential information have taken place in the last 12 months; how many such investigations resulted in cases of disciplinary action; and what the circumstances of each of those cases were. [168274]
Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments’ procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what procedures are in place in his Department to ensure that personal information relating to members of the public is (a) stored and (b) transported securely. [168476]
Meg Munn: I refer my right hon. Friend to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Mr. Vara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions the Information Commissioner was contacted by his
Department to report breaches of data protection security in each of the last five years. [168814]
Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many breaches of data protection security there were in his Department or his Department's Agencies in each of the last five years; and if he will provide details of each breach. [168840]
Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Departmental ICT
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many attempted hacking or suspected cyber attacks or other malicious computer security breaches were committed against his Department's computer systems in each of the last three years for which information is available; and if he will make a statement. [167984]
Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department's information technology and data management systems are BS7799 compliant. [168748]
Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.
Departmental Land
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what land surplus to his Department’s requirements it is (a) selling, (b) leasing and (c) intending to (i) sell and (ii) lease; and what the size and name of each relevant site is. [168856]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is in the process of selling 0.9 acres of land in Tallinn, Estonia. We keep the estate under constant review and are preparing to sell 1.7 acres of land in Yaounde, Cameroon and 1.8 acres of land in Skopje, Macedonia. We are not currently offering any land to lease, and have no plans to do so.
Diplomatic Services: Children
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent on (a) travel, (b) school fees and (c) other costs in respect of the education in the UK of children of his Department's staff in overseas posts in each of the last five years, broken down by school; what the criteria are for eligibility for this facility; how many (i) children and (ii) members of staff it applied to in each such year; and if he will make a statement. [168451]
Meg Munn: It is a condition of their employment that members of the diplomatic service must be prepared to serve anywhere in the world at any time during their career, sometimes at very short notice. Those with children also have a legal obligation as parents to ensure that their children receive a full-time education from the age of five years. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) helps staff meet these potentially conflicting obligations by providing financial support for their children's education in the UK (or overseas, where free state schooling in English is not available locally).
With staff and families having to move at regular intervals, sometimes at times which may disrupt schooling for their children, and education facilities at posts overseas varying, continuity of education can prove problematic particularly during the important exam years. The FCO addresses this problem by providing a continuity of education allowance to enable children to board at schools in the UK, while their parents remain subject to the world-wide mobility obligation.
The amounts we have spent each year on financial support for the costs of private education in the UK and travel for visits by children to their parents during school holidays are set out in the following table. We have also listed the number of staff in receipt of the allowance (where known) and the number of children who have benefited.
Children covered by the allowance currently attend 180 different schools in the UK. We are not able to break the figures down by individual school without incurring disproportionate cost.
| ( 1) Continuity of education allowance (£ million) | Travel by children at boarding schools (£) | Number of children covered | Number of staff | |
| (1)This figure includes tax and national insurance contributions | ||||
Entry Clearances: Foreign Workers
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to review the efficacy of the outsourcing of visa applications to commercial organisations on a regular basis over the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [168767]
Dr. Howells: The contract to outsource the visa application process to Commercial Partners, which was signed on 27 February 2007, is regularly reviewed at various levels of detail.
Our Commercial Partners—Computer Sciences Corporation and VFS Global are reviewed on a monthly basis against a core set of service levels which monitor performance against key service delivery criteria. There is an annual review of Commercial Partner performance and a governance structure which monitors performance. Issues and risks are escalated at a local, country, regional and central level to a number of formal review mechanisms. There are also formal review bodies attended by senior representatives from the Commercial Partner organisations and UKvisas. The Project Executive Committee meets on a monthly basis and focuses on monitoring key performance indicators. The Partnership Board meets on a quarterly basis and is responsible for taking key strategic decisions and managing the business relationship.
EU Reform: Treaties
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has (a) made and (b) received on the normal period of office of the President of the European Council envisaged in the draft EU Reform Treaty; and if he will make a statement. [166987]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The Government support a full-time President of the European Council to replace the current system where the President of the European Council changes every six months. The President of the European Council will take office for a term of two and a half years, renewable once. He or she will be chosen by heads of state and government and will be accountable to them. Having a full-time chair of the European Council will bring greater coherence and consistency to the EU’s action, and will give member states greater capacity to give direction and momentum to the EU's agenda.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has (a) made and (b) received on the proposed responsibilities, duties and powers of the President of the European Council envisaged in the draft EU Reform Treaty; and if he will make a statement. [166988]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The Government support a full-time President of the European Council to replace the current system where the President of the European Council changes every six months. Having a full-time chair of the European Council will bring greater coherence and consistency to the EU's actions; and will give member states greater capacity to give direction and momentum to the EU's agenda.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has (a) made and (b) received on the procedure for nomination of the President of the European Council envisaged in the draft EU Reform Treaty; and if he will make a statement. [166989]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The Government support a full-time President of the European Council, who will replace the current President of the European Council, who changes every six months. He or she will be chosen by Heads of State and Government by qualified majority, and will be accountable to them. Having a full-time chair of the European Council will bring greater coherence and consistency to the EU's actions; and will give member states greater capacity to give direction and momentum to the EU's agenda.
Group of Eight: HIV Infection
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold discussions with his counterpart in Japan to ensure that HIV/AIDS is included on the Japanese agenda for the forthcoming G8 Summit. [166845]
Meg Munn: The agenda for the G8 is the prerogative of the presidency and Japan has already indicated that development, including health, will be one of their priorities for next year's summit. In a recent telephone call, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and the Japanese Foreign Minister discussed the G8 agenda. The UK will continue to work closely with Japan on the G8 agenda in the run up to the Toyako summit in 2008.
Haider Samad
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations he has received on the case of Haider Samad; and if he will make a statement. [164480]
(2) what discussions officials in his Department have had with officials in the Ministry of Defence on the case of Haider Samad. [164481]
Meg Munn: The hon. Member has received a briefing on this issue from a Foreign and Commonwealth Office official.
Iran: Nuclear Weapons
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the (a) United Nations and (b) United States in support of a diplomatic resolution of tensions with Iran over its nuclear programme. [169584]
Meg Munn:
The Government have played a leading role in securing three United Nations Security Council Resolutions which make clear that the international community is seeking a negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discusses this issue regularly with the US
Secretary of State, and the US is also part of the E3+3 group of countries that meets regularly to co-ordinate our approach. We, the US and the other members of the E3+3 are fully committed to a diplomatic resolution to this matter.
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent diplomatic steps the Government have taken to resolve the question of Iran's nuclear programme. [169585]
Dr. Howells: The UK continues to play a leading role in the international effort to address strong concerns about the Iranian nuclear programme. When my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met the Foreign Ministers of the other E3+3 countries (France, Germany, US, Russia, China) and Javier Solana in New York on 28 September they agreed that they would seek a vote on a UN Security Council sanctions resolution, unless both Javier Solana and Mohammad El Baradei reported "positive outcomes" from their contacts with the Iranians in November. Dr. El Baradei's report on 15 November noted that the International Atomic Energy Agency's visibility of Iran's nuclear programme was 'diminishing'—this cannot be considered a positive report. Javier Solana also reported negatively—he said that his meeting with Saeed Jalili was 'disappointing'. E3+3 Political Directors met in Paris on 1 December. They agreed to work up a new UN Security Council sanctions resolution. Beyond the UN process, my right hon. Friend also discussed the matter with EU Foreign Ministers at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Luxembourg on 15 October and they agreed to examine further measures the EU could take. Consideration of this issue continues.
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