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24 Jan 2008 : Column 2193W—continued
| 2007-08 market | FTE UK-based | Planned LE |
| 2008-09 market | FTE UK-based | Planned LE |
UK Trade and Investment: Arms Trade
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what effect the transfer of responsibility for defence trade promotion from the Defence Export Services Organisation to UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) will have on the number of (a) UK and (b) overseas staff employed by UKTI; and if he will make a statement. [180807]
Mr. Thomas: UKTI is not an employer in its own right. For the majority of its civil service manpower requirements it draws on staff employed by one or other of its two parent Departments—BERR and the FCO.
The transfer of responsibility for defence export support from the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) to UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) will result in
approximately 240 full-time equivalent (FTE) posts being transferred to BERR/FCO. Of these, approximately 200 are in the UK and 40 overseas. The precise figures will be determined following detailed analysis of DESO’s structure and staffing currently being undertaken as work on the transfer proceeds.
Of the UK posts, approximately 50 are filled by military staff who will transfer on loan to UKTI/BERR. The remaining approximately 150 UK-based civilian posts will be filled by staff on a combination of permanent and loan transfer terms from MOD to UKTI/BERR. The transfer will increase UKTI’s UK presence from just under 900 to just under 1,100 FTEs (a figure that includes both UKTI’s headquarters operation and its teams in the nine English regions).
Of the overseas civilian posts which will transfer to UKTI/FCO, approximately 20 are filled by UK based staff and 20 by locally engaged staff. The transfer will increase UKTI’s overseas presence from approximately 1,250 to just under 1,300 FTEs.
UK Trade and Investment: Manpower
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many of UK Trade and Investment’s overseas staff are provided by (a) his Department and (b) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; and if he will make a statement. [180811]
Mr. Thomas: UKTI is not an employer in its own right. For the majority of its civil service manpower requirements it draws on staff employed by one or other of its two parent Departments—BERR and the FCO.
The current full-time equivalent (FTE) number of staff working overseas for UK Trade and Investment is approximately 1,250. Of these, 200 FTE positions are filled by UK civil servants, with the remaining 1,050 FTE positions filled by staff recruited locally by the relevant overseas post. Approximately 85 of the UK civil servants positions are filled by BERR members of staff, on loan to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The remainder (115) of these are filled by FCO employees.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which countries have seen an (a) increase and (b) decrease in UK Trade and Investment staff in the context of the July 2006 five year strategy on prosperity in a changing world; and if he will make a statement. [180812]
Mr. Thomas: In the context of the UKTI’s five-year strategy, “Prosperity in a Changing World”, the following countries have seen changes to staff deployment:
Brazil
China
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Malaysia
Mexico
Qatar
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Africa
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Vietnam
Australia
Canada
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Japan
Kuwait
Latvia
Lithuania
Malta
Nigeria
Poland
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Trinidad and Tobago
Uganda
US
Uruguay
An increase in staff resources in Dubai will take place later this year.
Weatherseal Holdings: Complaints
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what consideration he has given to applying the provisions of Part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002 in response to the volume of consumer complaints generated by Weatherseal Holdings plc and its subsidiaries. [181176]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 23 January 2008] : The Secretary of State does not have powers to apply the provisions of Part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002. Part 8 is enforced by Trading Standards, the Office of Fair Trading and in Northern Ireland the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. If an enforcer such as Trading Standards receives sufficient complaints or intelligence about a trader they may consider action under the Act.
Weatherseal Holdings: Standards
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment his Department has made of Weatherseal Holdings plc’s and its subsidiaries' compliance with the consumer credit legislation. [181177]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 23 January 2008]: None. This would be a matter for the Office of Fair Trading.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
British Council: Film
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the decision of the British Council to close its dedicated film office; what cost savings he expects to be made accordingly; and what evaluation was carried out into the impact of this decision on the effectiveness of the British Council to communicate its key messages abroad. [180126]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The British Council has a dedicated film department as part of its wider arts group. The British Council arts group is currently undergoing internal restructuring and will be undertaking a public consultation on a new arts strategy. Finalised decisions have not yet been taken on the future of this department. Expertise in film will be retained at its current level and may be increased thereby demonstrating the British Council’s commitment to its film activity.
The British Council anticipates no change to their global arts budget as a result of this restructuring. As film expertise will remain a substantial part of any new structure, no formal evaluation was undertaken.
Christmas
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much Ministers in his Department spent on (a) Christmas cards and (b) the postage of Christmas cards in 2007. [180513]
Meg Munn [holding answer of 23 January 2008]: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers sent a total of 474 cards in 2007. The cost of the cards came to £493.50, with postage of £76.34. The majority of these cards were delivered using the internal mail system.
Climate Change
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many departmental (a) Ministers, (b) civil servants and (c) consultants, contractors or secondees working full-time or part-time for his Department attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali. [179195]
Meg Munn [holding answer 16 January 2008]: 10 Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials attended some or all of the 13(th) Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali, Indonesia. Seven of these staff are normally based in Jakarta, including our ambassador to Indonesia, Charles Humfrey, and three are normally based in London, including my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change, John Ashton.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict
Lyn Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the plans of the Government of the
Democratic Republic of Congo to expel the Lord’s Resistance Army from the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo; what assessment he has made of such plans; and if he will make a statement. [179484]
Meg Munn: The Governments of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi signed an agreement to co-operate on the threat of ‘negative forces’ in September 2007. I welcome this as a sign that illegal armed groups will not be allowed to operate in the region. The Lord’s Resistance Army is engaged in a process of peace talks with the Government of Uganda, which we support. I have received no reports to suggest that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo will intervene, while negotiations between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army continue.
Departmental Databases
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what audits his Department and its agencies have carried out in relation to personal data and IT equipment in each of the last 10 years. [176480]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) main IT system, Firecrest, is accredited to handle classified information in accordance with Government security policies. As such it is subject to constant monitoring, but it would not be in the public interest to disclose in detail the methods used.
Personal data have been included within our usual information audits of individual Departments, which measure performance against FCO information management policies. Until now, personal data have not been subject to separate central audit. We are, however, reviewing our procedures as part of the Government's data handling review, see paragraph 29 of the Interim Progress Report available at:
Departmental Public Finance
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will break down his Department's planned near cash funding by strategic objective, for financial years 2008-09 to 2010-11. [179193]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is a complex organisation whose structures in the UK and overseas reflect a mix of geographical and functional responsibilities. Staff costs account for approximately 55 per cent. of departmental discretionary near-cash expenditure. I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 15 January 2008, Official Report, column 1140W: the vast majority of Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff work on more than one strategic objective. It is therefore not possible to provide a full answer on the basis requested. Nevertheless the following table setting out planned expenditure on strategic programme activities for the next three years illustrates the priority being accorded to work in the four areas highlighted in the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on 23 January 2008, Official Report, columns 52-53 WS.
| £ million (near-cash) | |||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | |
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