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3 Apr 2008 : Column 1224W—continued
Poland: Treaty of Lisbon
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Polish Government on ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon; and if he will make a statement. [198729]
Mr. Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has regular contact with his EU counterparts on a variety of issues, including the Lisbon Treaty. It is up to all 27 member states to ratify the Lisbon Treaty in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.
Both Houses of Parliament in Poland have approved the Lisbon Treaty. The final stage of ratification is the President's signature.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has awarded any contracts to PricewaterhouseCoopers since 2000. [181509]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has awarded the following contracts to PricewaterhouseCoopers since 2004-05:
provision of accounting services to FCO Resource Accounts Department; and
provision of auditing services to FCO Internal Audit Department.
I also refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Jim Cousins) on 26 March 2008, Official Report, columns 150-152W.
We only have access to this information dating back to 2004-05, following the introduction of Prism, our financial and management information system.
Sudan: Peace Negotiations
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcome was of the recent meeting in Geneva between Abdul Wahid al-Nur of the Sudanese Liberation Movement and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. [197250]
Meg Munn: On 18 March in Geneva, the African Union (AU) and UN envoys for the Darfur political process and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council agreed with Abdul Wahid al-Nur, president of the Sudan Liberation Movement, on the need to strengthen security in Darfur, notably through the deployment of the UN and AU mission and on the importance of normalising regional relations to build a sustainable political solution to the Darfur crisis.
The participants made clear to Abdul Wahid al-Nur that he needed to commit fully to the AU/UN-led process including agreeing to a cessation of hostilities and talks through the AU-UN with the Government of Sudan.
Terrorism
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the European Parliament on taking steps to combat and prevent terrorism. [196359]
Dr. Howells: We work closely with the Council and the Commission of the EU, including through working groups and the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council, to ensure that the EU plays a full and active role in countering the threat of international terrorism. We currently have no plans to make representations to the European Parliament regarding the combating and prevention of terrorism.
Tibet: Human Rights
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of China on the right of cultural expression in Tibet. [195571]
Meg Munn: We have expressed our concern to Chinese authorities both in Beijing and London about recent events in Tibet and the surrounding region. We have urged them to respect freedom of expression and religion in Tibet; to avoid the use of excessive force in dealing with riots; and to respect fully the human rights of those detained. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister spoke to Chinese Premier Wen on 19 March 2008 urging the Chinese government to address the underlying issues by re-engaging in dialogue without preconditions with the Dalai Lama and his representatives. We discussed the rights of ethnic minorities with Chinese officials at the most recent round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, held on 28 January 2008 in Beijing.
Treaty of Lisbon
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress in ratifying the Lisbon treaty in other EU member states; and if he will make a statement. [196370]
Mr. Jim Murphy: All 27 member states must ratify the Lisbon treaty according to their respective constitutional requirements. As of 31 March, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia, Romania, France and Bulgaria have ratified the treaty through Parliament.
UN World Conference Against Racism
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his officials have had with counterparts in (a) the United States and (b) the United Nations on the decision of the United States Congress on Durban 2. [197332]
Meg Munn:
We are aware of the Resolution of the House of Representatives on 23 January 2008. Foreign
and Commonwealth Office officials have been in discussions with their US counterparts and colleagues from the UN on the Durban Review Conference, keeping them informed of our current position.
International Development
Burma: Famine
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with (a) the World Food Programme and (b) other UN bodies on a potential famine in Chin state, western Burma. [198368]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr. Mitchell) on 25 March 2008, Official Report, column 34W.
CDC
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his answer of 20 March 2008, Official Report, column 1273, on CDC, what the 79 CDC subsidiary companies are; in which countries they are registered; and with what regulatory authorities with which their accounts of each are filed. [197972]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Contrary .to the answer I gave on 20 March 2008, Official Report column 1272W we have now been advised by CDC that the list of subsidiary companies at 31 December 2007 now totals 78. CDC Haina (UK) Ltd has been dormant for some time and was dissolved in February 2007. This information has been registered at Companies House. CDC has confirmed that there is no requirement for the company to hold the information on the regulatory authorities with which their accounts are filed. However, they do require subsidiary companies themselves to comply with their respective local country requirements on regulatory norms for filing and submission of accounting information.
The list of CDC's subsidiary companies is as follows:
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