| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
25 Jan 2008 : Column 2306W—continued
Rural Areas: Energy
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps his Department is taking to provide energy efficiency measures suitable for rural consumers in hard to heat homes that do not respond to traditional energy efficiency measures; [180867]
(2) what (a) measures his Department is taking and (b) advice and support is available to encourage rural consumers in hard to heat homes to become more energy efficient. [180897]
Mr. Woolas: Details of grants and offers for energy efficiency measures are available, by postcode, on the website of the Energy Saving Trust, which is funded by DEFRA to promote and support energy efficiency in the household sector. The trust’s Innovation Programme has included four projects relating to the use of energy efficiency measures in hard to treat homes.
Rural Areas: Housing
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when details of the Rural Housing Challenge Fund will be announced. [181347]
Jonathan Shaw:
As part of its preparations for the comprehensive spending review (CSR) during the summer of 2007, DEFRA asked the Housing Corporation to provide advice on the feasibility of a potential funding
programme to improve the delivery of affordable rural housing at local level. That advice will be carefully considered in decisions about departmental spending priorities over the CSR period. No decisions about the fund have yet been made. We are currently finalising the Department’s overall funding package and an announcement will be made shortly.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Arms Trade: Treaties
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken by the Government to secure agreement to an international legally-binding arms trade treaty. [181727]
Dr. Howells: The UK is a strong supporter of the UN process towards securing a legally binding Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made this clear in his recent speech at the Delhi Chamber of Commerce.
In 2006, the UK co-sponsored the original UN Resolution that called for work towards an ATT and which 153 countries voted to adopt. Since then the UK has worked closely with the defence industry and with non-governmental organisations, and has lobbied internationally to attract support for an ATT. Nearly 100 countries, including the UK, have submitted their views on an ATT for publication on the UN website:
The UK maintains a dialogue with its international partners to work towards a legally binding global ATT, and will participate in the UN organised Group of Government Experts’ meetings, which start in February to take this process forward.
British Council: Film
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will prevent the closure of the British Council’s dedicated film office until a public consultation has taken place. [180949]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 24 January 2008, Official Report, column 2196W.
Chad: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what shortages of equipment and manpower have been identified for the European Union force for Chad; and if he will make a statement. [180803]
David Miliband: We understand that the minimum requirements for deployment of this force have now been met. The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council is therefore expected to confirm the launch of the force on 28 January, and deployment will be initiated in February. We expect that the force should reach full operating capacity by May.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in securing the deployment of the European Union force for Chad; and if he will make a statement. [180804]
David Miliband: The requirements for deployment of the EU force to Chad and the Central African Republic were discussed at a force generation conference on 11 January 2008. The operation commander for the mission, Lieutenant General Nash, confirmed that he now has enough forces and assets available to recommend launching the mission.
The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council on 28 January is therefore expected to confirm the launch of the force, and deployment will be initiated in February. We expect that the force should reach full operating capacity by May.
Departmental Accountancy
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what items of his Department’s (a) revenue and (b) expenditure are uprated using (i) the consumer price index, (ii) the retail price index and (iii) other measures of inflation. [180037]
Meg Munn: We do not link any changes in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's revenue or expenditure directly to the consumer price index or the retail price index.
We adjust the cost of living allowances, which we pay to staff serving overseas, every six months. We base changes in these allowances (up or down) on indices and data collected by Employment Conditions Abroad.
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on consultants in each financial year since 2000, broken down by consultancy. [180818]
Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hemsworth (Jon Trickett) on 6 December 2007, Official Report, column 1427W. I also refer the hon. Member to the reply the Minister for Europe gave to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 9 October 2007, Official Report, columns 542-43W.
Departmental Freedom of Information
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of Freedom of Information requests received by his Department have given rise to responses that have been published by his Department. [180222]
Meg Munn:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has published 5 per cent. (165) of responses to 3,125 Freedom of Information Act requests received
between January 2005, when the Act came into force, and the end of September 2007. The FCO has adopted a selective disclosure log whereby only the most interesting and high profile pieces of information are published.
Developing Countries: International Assistance
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in his Department are working to promote the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. [181732]
Meg Munn: The UK’s National Contact Point for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines is currently managed by officials from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform dedicates one full time official to work on the National Contact Point and is in the process of recruiting a second, while the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development each currently contribute 20 per cent. of one official’s time.
Embassies: Manpower
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many posts at each embassy have been (a) created and (b) abolished in each year since 1997. [180806]
David Miliband: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) currently has 261 posts overseas. 43 are staffed exclusively by locally-recruited staff. 218 are staffed by UK-based civil servants and locally-recruited staff. The latest FCO departmental report (2006-07) sets out the total number of FCO UK-based staff worldwide as 6,364. The 1997-98 FCO departmental report stated that there were then 5,971 UK-based staff.
We keep the number of FCO staff at each post under constant review in the light of changing world circumstances, operational requirements and financial constraints. We are not able to compile data for changes in staffing at each post for each of the last 10 years as this would incur disproportionate cost.
European Commission: Manpower
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of staff in each Directorate-General of the European Commission is of British nationality (a) overall and (b) at senior grades. [181029]
Mr. Jim Murphy: We do not hold this information centrally. However, information on the proportion of staff holding British nationality in each directorate-general is available at:
Horn of Africa: Terrorism
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment has been made of the potential threat to the UK from terrorist activity in the Horn of Africa; and if he will make a statement. [180739]
Meg Munn: Al-Qaida and its local affiliates have a long history of terrorist activity in East Africa, from the Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam bombings of 1998 through to more recent activity in Somalia. Al-Qaida has exploited the absence of an effective Government in Somalia to use the country as a base for both terrorist training and planning. This is mainly focused on the region, but some has been directed against the UK. The UK is home to a small number of extremists of East African origin, as the failed 21 July 2005 attacks in London demonstrated.
The Government’s policy are to promote peace, stability and good governance in the horn of Africa. We are working, with our international partners, through the UN, EU and other international fora, to support programmes in the region that will assist development in these areas. We also support programmes to reduce the instability and lack of governance in Somalia. These mechanisms will help counter the terrorist threat to the UK from the horn of Africa.
International Contact Group for Somalia
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the next meeting of the International Contact Group for Somalia will take place. [180726]
Meg Munn: The next meeting of the International Contact Group for Somalia is due to be hosted by the African Union in Addis Ababa. A date for the meeting has not yet been set.
Kenya: Christianity
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the safety of Christians in Kenya; and what steps he is taking to promote their safety. [180629]
Meg Munn: We have had no reports of religious conflict or of targeting of Christians during the post-election violence. The Government are appalled by and condemn the incidents of violence that have broken out across Kenya, including horrific killings in several Kenyan cities and towns. We call for calm and for any grievances to be dealt with through the appropriate legal channels.
Kenya: Politics and Government
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to encourage other African countries not to intervene in the internal affairs of Kenya. [180777]
Meg Munn: The Government are deeply concerned about the post-election crisis in Kenya. We are supportive of the African Union initiative to facilitate talks between the political parties and the mission, led by Kofi Annan, to assist them in doing so. We have been in touch with regional, and other African, leaders to underline our support for this African led process aimed at restoring peace, stability and prosperity to Kenya.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken at (a) bilateral, (b) Commonwealth, (c) EU and (d) United Nations levels to assist in restoring peace and stability in Kenya. [180778]
Meg Munn: The Government are working tirelessly with all our international partners to support the African Union’s leadership in trying to find a way forward. We believe Kofi Annan’s mission is the best way to assist the parties to agree a solution, which will restore peace and stability to Kenya.
The Commonwealth Secretariat has undertaken a visit to Kenya since the elections to find out what more can be done to help. The EU presidency statement of 11 January set out the EU’s key concerns. The EU is a key element to the broad international support for the African Union’s lead and for Kofi Annan’s mission. The UN is focused on the humanitarian situation in Kenya and is working to ensure a swift and effective response to the humanitarian needs.
Kenya: Uganda
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports of Ugandan soldiers entering Kenya during the current political unrest; and if he will make a statement. [180805]
David Miliband: We have no evidence to support reports of Ugandan soldiers entering Kenya during the current unrest. The Kenyan and Ugandan authorities have assured us that this has not happened.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 18 December 2007, on Iraqi interpreters. [182184]
Dr. Howells: I replied to the hon. Member on 21 January.
Middle East: Diplomatic Service
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK diplomats are serving in each post in (a) the Middle East and (b) South Asia. [179170]
David Miliband:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) employs staff at its posts under a variety of terms and conditions, for example as casual staff and contractors. In addition, staff from other Government Departments, such as the Department for
International Development, also work at our posts. The number of UK diplomats employed by the FCO at our posts in the Middle East and South Asia are listed in the following table.
| Number | |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |