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15 Jan 2008 : Column 1137W—continued
RAF Welford, Berkshire.
In addition, Edison House and Providence Court in London are privately owned buildings that MOD leases on behalf of the USVF. The USVF also has family quarters housing allocated to them, in several locations in the UK.
UK nationals work in a variety of roles at all the principal USVF bases. At RAF Menwith Hill and the Joint Maritime Facility at RAF St. Mawgan there is a joint UK-US mission, where UK nationals are also employed in an operational role.
RAF Lyneham
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) existing military capabilities and functions will be retained and (b) new military capabilities and functions will be undertaken at the RAF Lyneham site once the Hercules fleets have been redeployed to RAF Brize Norton; what capabilities and functions undertaken at RAF Lyneham will be relocated; and to where they will be relocated. [178003]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: It is not planned to retain any of the current military capabilities or functions at RAF Lyneham after the RAF withdraw from the Station in 2012. The capabilities and functions currently based at RAF Lyneham will be relocated to RAF Brize Norton.
Programme Belvedere is studying the long-term requirement for military helicopter bases in the UK, and RAF Lyneham is one of a number of sites currently under consideration. This work is still ongoing and no decisions have yet been taken. Once the Programme has reached its conclusions, these will be put forward for consultation and announced in the usual way.
Taliban: Peace Negotiations
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether meetings between the Taliban and the British army would have to receive Ministerial approval from his Department before going ahead. [177508]
Des Browne [holding answer 10 January 2008]: UK operations in Afghanistan are undertaken in accordance with ministerially endorsed policy.
United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has discussed the conclusions of his Department's review of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office with the Office of Fair Trading. [176701]
Derek Twigg:
As owner of the UK Hydrographic Office, I commissioned a review of structural and
ownership options in February 2007. I have not specifically discussed the conclusions of the study with the Office of Fair Trading, but in light of the OFT's market study on the Commercial Use of Public Information the study team held discussions with the OFT, exploring the handling of public sector data collated and used by the UKHO.
Unmanned Air Vehicles
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the UK is purchasing the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle system from the US; what effect this purchase will have on the acquisition and introduction into service of the Watchkeeper UAV system; and if he will make a statement. [177281]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Three MQ-9 UAVs, known as Reaper, have been purchased under urgent operational requirement arrangements to provide an all-weather, persistent Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance capability over a wide geographical area. Reaper provides a separate and complementary capability to that which Watchkeeper will provide, and will not affect the acquisition or introduction into service of Watchkeeper.
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether the Watchkeeper Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is designed to allow full alignment and transparency with manned aircraft for all flight rules, including ability to assess in-flight conditions; [177282]
(2) whether the Watchkeeper Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle will comply with visual flight rules and instrument flight rules as they affect manned aircraft flying as operational air traffic; [177283]
(3) whether the Watchkeeper Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle pilot-in-command will have the ability to assess in-flight conditions for visual flight rules flight. [177284]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: For a number of technical and regulatory reasons, Watchkeeper, as with other Unmanned Air Vehicles cannot comply with either Visual Flight Rules or Instrument Flight Rules. In the context of UAVs, the Aircraft Commander’s responsibility for collision avoidance is discharged by operating the UAV within defined airspace, from which other aircraft are excluded.
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Watchkeeper Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle will be pre-programmed with an appropriate contingency plan in circumstances where the pilot-in-command is no longer in control of the TUAV. [177285]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Yes, in the event that communication with the air vehicle is lost it will join a pre-programmed and cleared route. The Watchkeeper software system has a flight plan validation tool that will ensure that the air vehicle will remain within its assigned airspace, and within glide range of designated emergency recovery points.
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Watchkeeper Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle pilot-in-command will be provided with an independent means of communication with air traffic control. [177286]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Watchkeeper system will be equipped with two radios, powered from different supplies, dedicated to air traffic control.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold discussions with the Government of Afghanistan on the release from prison of the Taliban leader Mullah Sorkh Naqaibullah. [178116]
Dr. Howells: We are deeply concerned at the alleged circumstances of the release of Mullah Sorkh Naqaibullah. This is a matter for the Afghan Government and we understand the Afghan National Directorate of Security is investigating the case. We intend to follow the situation closely.
Christmas
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on purchasing Christmas cards in 2007. [179264]
Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 8 January 2008, Official Report, column 445W.
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on postage for Christmas cards in 2007. [179265]
Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 8 January 2008, Official Report, column 445W.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the planned number of departmental staff is for financial years 2008-09 to 2010-11, broken down by strategic priority. [179177]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently employs some 6,000 UK civil servants (“UK-based staff”) at home and abroad. The FCO's new strategic workforce plan predicts that over the next five years there will be a net reduction of some 400 staff against this figure.
As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary told the House on 8 January, Official Report, column 150, the FCO will be focusing its future policy work on countering terrorism and weapons proliferation; promoting a low carbon high growth local economy; preventing and resolving conflict; and developing effective international institutions. It is not possible to
give a breakdown of staff numbers working on each of these priorities over the next few years, since the vast majority of FCO staff work on more than one.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average number of departmental staff was for financial years 2001-02 to 2006-07, broken down by post. [179204]
Meg Munn: The average number of UK civil servants employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at home and overseas for the financial years 2001-02 to 2006-07 is 6,148.
We are not able to break this figure down by individual post. This would incur disproportionate cost.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the planned number of departmental staff is for financial years 2008-09 to 2010-11, broken down by post. [179205]
Meg Munn: The number of Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff at post is under constant review in the light of changing world circumstances, operational requirements and financial constraints. It is therefore not possible to give an accurate estimate of the number of staff at each post over the next three years. In the latest FCO departmental report for financial year 2006-07, the number of staff worldwide employed by the FCO is given as 6,364.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average number of departmental staff was for financial years 2001-02 to 2006-07, broken down by strategic priority. [179206]
Meg Munn: The vast majority of Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff work on more than one strategic priority. The SPs were introduced in 2003 and updated twice in 2006. It is not therefore possible to give an accurate breakdown of the numbers of staff who worked on each of the SPs.
Disclosure of Information
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Ministers in his Department were told that senior officials in his Department believed that the leaking of documents by Mr. Derek Pasquill had helped to provoke a constructive debate. [179251]
Meg Munn: It has never been the view of senior officials that the leaking of documents by Mr. Pasquill helped provoke a constructive debate.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department made of the harm caused to international relations by Mr. Derek Pasquill's disclosures before the decision was taken to prosecute him. [179252]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office provided a witness statement to the police setting out our considered assessment of the damage caused, by the disclosures, to international relations under Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act 1989.
The statement was given by a senior FCO official on behalf of the Department, but FCO Ministers were briefed on its contents.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Ministers in his Department made to (a) the Crown Prosecution Service and (b) law officers in respect of the decision to prosecute Mr. Derek Pasquill under the Official Secrets Act 1989. [179253]
Meg Munn: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers made no representation to the Crown Prosecution Service or law officers in respect of their decision to prosecute.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the classification was of the documents disclosed by Mr. Derek Pasquill which fell within the meaning of the Official Secrets Act 1989. [179254]
Meg Munn: The documents disclosed by Mr. Pasquill contained official information ranging in sensitivity and classification, including seven documents classified as confidential and three documents classified as restricted.
India: Christianity
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold discussions with the Government of India on (a) violence and (b) destruction of Christian churches in the state of Orissa. [178532]
Dr. Howells: While such incidents remain an internal matter for the Indian authorities, we continue to monitor the situation and seek out opportunities to raise human rights issues, including the need for the right to freedom of religion to be upheld.
Iraq: Christianity
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Iraqi counterpart on the Christian minority in Iraq. [179113]
Dr. Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Belfast, North (Mr. Dodds) on 27 November 2007, Official Report, column 346W. Although my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with his counterpart on the Christian minority in Iraq, we recognise that Christians in Iraq, like all other communities, have been badly affected by the high levels of violence in the country.
We continue to press the Iraqi Government to take action to protect people regardless of faith or political persuasion and to take tough measures against those perpetuating the violence. I raised our concerns about
the position of Iraqi Christians in October 2007 with the Iraqi Minister of Human Rights during her visit to the UK.
Palestinians: Travel Restrictions
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on movement restrictions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the form of (a) checkpoints, (b) roadblocks, (c) closures, (d) road gates, (e) trenches and (f) earth mounds (i) operated and (ii) removed by Israel since the start of November 2007. [178536]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The latest authoritative information that we have is from the Movement and Access Report produced by the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, covering the period 14-17 November 2007, published on 11 January 2008. The report records that 563 obstacles were present in the West Bank, compared with 561 in the previous report. This represents an increase of 185 obstacles, or 49.7 percent. over the baseline figure for August 2005.
The ability of Palestinians to move within the West Bank has deteriorated due to the continued or increased use of checkpoints, curfews, roadblocks, a permit system and the barrier. Permit and other restrictions have isolated residents of the West Bank from East Jerusalem and from each other.
Terrorism: Finance
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to his Sunday Times article of 6 January 2008, whether the extra £80 million he intends to spend on counter-radicalism is in addition to the £37 million announced in the comprehensive spending review. [179203]
Meg Munn: The £37 million announced in the comprehensive spending review is part of the £80 million that will be spent on counter radicalisation over the next three years.
Trade Unions: EC Grants and Loans
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what trade union programmes are currently funded under EU budget line (a) 04 03 03 01 and (b) 04 03 03 03 that pertain to training in (i) arbitration, (ii) industrial action, (iii) employment rights and (iv) work as a shop steward. [178236]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold specific information on spending under these budget headings. Information on grants awarded under the social dialogue budget lines are freely available on the Commission's website
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