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1 Apr 2008 : Column 832W—continued
Regional Planning and Development: Empty Property
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with regional development agencies on the potential effects of changes to empty property rates on regeneration in each region. [197865]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 March 2008, Official Report, column 1202W.
Roads: Accidents
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fire service call outs were for road traffic accidents where alcohol was a contributory factor in the last 12 months. [197419]
Mr. Dhanda: The information requested is not held centrally.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
China: Tibet
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his definition is of the special position of China in relation to Tibet to which he referred on the BBC World At One programme on 20 March 2007. [197460]
Meg Munn: Successive governments have regarded Tibet as autonomous, while recognising the special position of the Chinese there. This position was set out in detail to an inquiry by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in 2000 as follows:
“Successive British Governments have regarded Tibet as autonomous while recognising the special position
of the Chinese there. We have consistently informed the Chinese government of our view that greater autonomy should be granted to the Tibetans. We have also emphasised that the current political difficulties in Tibet can best be resolved through dialogue between the Chinese government and the Tibetan people, including the Dalai Lama. We seek to encourage the Chinese authorities to enter into a dialogue without preconditions and have noted that the Dalai Lama has stated publicly that he does not seek independence, but greater autonomy for Tibet. Central to our interest in Tibet is our deep concern at evidence of human rights abuses.”
Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) who is responsible for making appointments to the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals; [196241]
(2) when there was last a vacancy on the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals; who filled the vacancy; and what process was used to assess the suitability of candidates. [196242]
The Prime Minister: I have been asked to reply.
Members of the Committee serve on an ex officio basis and are therefore automatically succeeded on the Committee by the successor to the official post. Members of the Committee are as follows:
Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the Home Civil Service (Chair)
Her Majesty The Queen’s Private Secretary
Permanent Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office
Defence Services Secretary
Permanent Secretary, Home Office
Permanent Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence
Secretary of the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what measures are in place to ensure that a member of the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals is not involved in making a decision that could result in them being awarded an honour, decoration or medal; [196246]
(2) on how many occasions a member of the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals has received an honour, decoration or medal as a result of a decision of the committee. [196247]
The Prime Minister: I have been asked to reply.
The Committee has been in existence for some 70 years. Its main purpose is to advise The Sovereign on proposals for the introduction or acceptance of new honours, decorations and medals. It does not normally consider awards for individual people. If the eligibility of an individual member to a specific award were discussed, they would be expected to declare their interest and take no part in the discussion. It is not possible to say on how many occasions members of the Committee may have received an honour or a medal as a result of a policy recommendation by the Committee.
Commonwealth: Overseas Students
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements he will make to ensure financial support for future high quality doctoral students from Commonwealth countries wishing to join research teams in United Kingdom universities. [196633]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has committed £79,110,000 to scholarship funding (including to Commonwealth countries) over the next three years, in accordance with the FCO's global strategy and priorities. Other sources of funding for overseas doctoral students performing research in the UK are available through research councils and universities themselves.
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held with the Prime Minister on the implementation of the announcement at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in November 2007 of an increase of UK funding for Commonwealth scholarships over the coming three years. [196635]
Mr. Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had any such discussions. The increase in UK funding for Commonwealth scholarships over the next three years is being made through the Department for International Development.
EU Countries: Terrorism
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role the European Council has in assessing the terrorist threats facing the European Union. [195290]
Mr. McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
The EU Joint Situation Centre (SitCen), now known as the Single Intelligence Analysis Capacity (SIAC), provides a secure hub for receiving member states' intelligence assessments on a range of subjects including the threat from international terrorism. Strategic analysis of this material produced in the SIAC is used to inform EU decision-making.
Ferries: Scotland
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it will be necessary to enter into a further tendering of the ferry services to the Scottish island communities currently provided by Caledonian MacBrayne should the Treaty of Lisbon be ratified and the Protocol on Services of General Interest come into effect. [194776]
David Cairns: I have been asked to reply.
Article 2 of the protocol on services of general interest makes clear that the provisions of the treaty of Lisbon do not affect in any way the competence of member states to provide, commission and organise non-economic services of general interest. The Scottish Executive is responsible for determining, in light of this, whether a further tendering of Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services is necessary.
Group of Eight: AIDS
Mr. Caborn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether AIDS-related issues will feature on the agenda for the next G8 meeting; and what progress has been made towards securing the objectives of the treatment for all by the 2010 agreement. [196416]
Meg Munn: I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply given by the Under-Secretary of State for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Thomas) my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. Thomas) gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, South (Nigel Griffiths) on 19 March 2008, Official Report, columns 1183-84W.
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial support the UK Government have allocated to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in each year since its establishment. [191981]
David Miliband: The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is funded from the UN budget and the UK's main financial contribution is calculated as a proportion of the UK's assessed UN contributions. The UK's voluntary and UN assessed contributions to ICTY since its establishment are as follows:
| US$ | ||
Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what discussions his Department had with the United States about the decision to disband the Iraqi Army and the Ba'ath Party in May 2003; [198163]
(2) what discussions he had with the United States on the decision to disband the Iraqi Army and the Ba'ath Party in May 2003. [198162]
Dr. Howells: The detail of exchanges between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the US Administration in 2003 remains confidential. By the end of the initial hostilities the Iraqi army had effectively dissolved itself—there were no formed units, no equipment and all barracks had been comprehensively looted. At the same time throughout Iraq there was overwhelming popular pressure for de-Ba'athification to begin, reflecting the suffering and resentment among ordinary Iraqis as a consequence of three decades of repression by Saddam Hussein's regime.
Iraq: Weapons
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what status annotations made by individuals to the hard copy of the John Williams' draft of the 2002 Iraq dossier had within the drafting process. [188777]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 25 February 2008]: I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's written ministerial statement of 18 February 2008, Official Report, columns 1-2 WS. The document produced by John Williams was not used as the basis for the dossier the Government subsequently published.
Saudi Arabia: Overseas Residence
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance his Department gives to non-Muslim UK citizens working in Saudi Arabia who wish to practise their religion in a congregation; and if he will make a statement. [196297]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 25 March 2008]: Saudi Arabia has recently acknowledged the right of non-Muslims to practise their faith in private. But it still does not allow Christian or other non-Muslim religious services. Non-Muslims who contact our embassy in Riyadh are told that practising their faith in public is not permitted under Saudi law.
Simon Mann
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what steps he plans to take in the week beginning 31 March to monitor the (a) treatment and (b) risk of torture of Mr. Simon Mann in Black Beach Prison, Equatorial Guinea; and whether Mr. Mann is still being continuously shackled; [198166]
(2) what steps he plans to take in the week beginning 7 April to monitor the (a) treatment and (b) risk of torture of Mr. Simon Mann in Black Beach Prison, Equatorial Guinea; [198167]
(3) what steps he plans to take in the week beginning 14 April to monitor the (a) treatment and (b) risk of torture of Mr. Simon Mann in Black Beach Prison, Equatorial Guinea. [198168]
Meg Munn:
Our consul from the British deputy high commission in Lagos was refused consular access to Simon Mann during his last visit to Equatorial Guinea in March. We have expressed our concern to the Equatorial Guinea authorities and are urgently seeking
another consular visit. The authorities have offered assurances that Mr. Mann will be treated well whilst in detention. His welfare remains our primary concern.
Television
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2008, O fficial R eport, column 2792W, on television, if he will list each individual internal department in his Department. [195578]
Mr. Jim Murphy [holding answer 20 March 2008]: A list of internal departments within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on 26 March 2008 is given. The FCO is composed of directorates and other teams. Departments are listed by directorate. Where a directorate is not divided into departments, or where a team exists outside a directorate, these directorates and teams are listed separately. The organisational structure of the FCO changes and this list reflects the situation on the current date. Asterisks have been used to show where an FCO unit is jointly managed by the FCO and other Whitehall Departments.
Africa Directorate
Africa Department (Equatorial)
Africa Department (Southern)
Pan Africa Policy Unit
Sudan Unit
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