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4 Jun 2008 : Column 1001W—continued
Religious Freedom: Islam
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of UK citizens receiving police protection in England and Wales as a result of converting from the Islamic faith. [208794]
Mr. Coaker: Managing risk of harm in individual cases is an operational matter for the police.
Touting: Tickets
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2008, Official Report, column 479W, on touting: tickets, if she will place a copy of the report from the UK football policing unit in the Library. [208342]
Mr. Coaker: This was an operational police report produced for internal use only and it would not be appropriate for it to be placed in the Library. However the key information other than sensitive operation detail was included in a letter to the hon. Member from the Director of the UK Football Policing Unit. I am placing a copy of this letter in the Library.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer question 202188, tabled by the hon. Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey on 23 April 2008, on parking tickets issued by community support officers. [207661]
Mr. Coaker: I replied to the hon. Member on 21 May 2008, Official Report, column 385W.
Leader of the House
Departmental Computers
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Leader of the House whether she has issued guidance to staff in her Office to switch off personal computers when not in use; and if she will make a statement. [208179]
Helen Goodman: Yes. All staff, contractors and security guards are instructed to switch off PCs and monitors when not in use. This is part of a wider and continuing sustainable development programme, which also includes night time energy audits of buildings.
Food
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Leader of the House how much food waste her Office generated in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [208144]
Helen Goodman: It is the policy of the Office to the Leader of the House of Commons not to waste food.
Olympics
Olympic Games 2012: Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what contracts have been awarded to businesses based in the London borough of Bexley through the Olympic Delivery Authority. [204916]
Tessa Jowell: To date, the Olympic Delivery Authority has awarded four contracts to businesses registered in the London borough of Bexley; these have been for elevators and moving stairways, local trucking, electric lamps and travel agencies services.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Australia and Canada: Royal Visits
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what costs the Government met for each official visit made by (a) Her Majesty the Queen and (b) other members of the Royal Family to (i) Australia and (ii) Canada in each of the last five years. [207706]
Meg Munn: Costs for official visits by Her Majesty the Queen and other members of the royal family to Australia and Canada are met by the respective Governments of those countries.
Chevening
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the Chevening Trust Deed. [205407]
Meg Munn: The administration of the Chevening Estate is not governed by a deed of trust, but by the Chevening Estate Acts of 1959 and 1987.
Chevening Scholarships Programme
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the selection criteria used for Chevening Scholarships tenable in 2008-09; and how these criteria differ from those which were applied in the allocation of Commonwealth Scholarships. [207207]
Mr. Jim Murphy: A copy of the selection criteria for Chevening scholarships will be placed in the Library of the House. The essential difference is that the key criterion for eligibility for Chevening scholarships is the greatest potential to be a future leader with the capacity to benefit the UK, whereas the criteria for Commonwealth scholarships include a mixture of academic merit, leadership potential and the quality of the study plan.
Commonwealth Scholarships
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on the changes in funding for Commonwealth scholarships announced on 23 March 2008. [207500]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 29 April 2008, Official Report, column 366W, and to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton, North (Ms Keeble) on 8 May 2008, Official Report, column 1103W.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people from each country received funding under the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan in each of the last five years. [207611]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) on 9 May 2008, Official Report, columns 1246-47W.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people in his Department were aged (a) 20 to 30, (b) 31 to 40, (c) 41 to 50, (d) 51 to 60 and (e) over 60 years, in the last period for which figures are available. [207926]
David Miliband: The following table lists the number of UK civil servants employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and FCO services at 1 April 2008 in each of the age groups specified:
| Age band (years) | Number of staff |
Iran: Nuclear Power
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the refreshed E3+3 proposals of 6th June 2006 on Iran's nuclear programme to be formally presented to the government of Iran; and if he will make a statement. [207809]
David Miliband: We are still waiting for the Iranians to respond to Javier Solana with a date for him to meet Foreign Minister Mottaki in Tehran in order to present our refreshed offer to the Government of Iran. We have made clear that we want this meeting to take place as soon as possible.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of Iranian compliance with efforts by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to verify Iran's nuclear programme; and if he will make a statement. [207928]
David Miliband: The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Dr. ElBaradei, issued a report on Iran's nuclear activities on 26 May. The report says that Iran has failed to suspend enrichment-related activities, has made no progress on the transparency measures the UN Security Council and the IAEA have called for and has failed to answer the IAEA's questions relating to studies with a possible military dimension. It notes that the alleged studies are a matter of “serious concern” and that “clarification of these is critical to an assessment of the nature of Iran's past and present nuclear programme”. We have called on Iran to cooperate fully with the IAEA, fulfil its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions and to implement the additional protocol.
Iraq: Diplomatic Service
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost of the UK diplomatic presence in Iraq was in each year from 1998 to 2007. [207692]
Dr. Howells: The cost of the UK diplomatic presence in Iraq each year from 1998 to 2007 was as follows:
Japan: Cereals
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made representations to the (a) Government of Japan and (b) US Administration on releasing the stores of US grain held in Japan. [207452]
Meg Munn: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister wrote on 8 April to Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda, as Chair of the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations (G8), to highlight the impact of rising food prices and asked that this issue be put on the agenda of the G8 summit. Prime Minister Fukuda has agreed to do so and has written to the UN Secretary-General and to the President of the World Bank on the issue.
Our officials have and will continue to work with the Japanese and US Governments on the issues raised in my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s letter, including on Japanese plans relating to its strategic rice reserve.
Overseas Students: Scholarships
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence he obtained from his recent review of his Department’s funded scholarships enabling valid comparisons to be made of the respective past records of Chevening and his Department’s funded Commonwealth scholarships in producing future leaders in the countries where they both operate; and if he will publish this evidence. [207243]
Mr. Jim Murphy: There are eminent alumni both of the Chevening scholarship scheme and of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) funded Commonwealth scholarships in the countries in which both schemes operate, but the FCO has not made comparisons between them.
Pakistan: Terrorism
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2008, Official Report, column 1815W, on Pakistan: terrorism, (1) what the Government’s policy is on dealing with allegations of mistreatment made by British nationals in Pakistani custody; and if he will make a statement; [207357]
(2) whether any of the six detainees are still in Pakistani detention; [207358]
(3) in how many of the six cases the detainees were visited by other British officials; [207359]
(4) whether allegations of mistreatment other than those made to UK officials were taken into account in providing the Answer; [207360]
(5) for what reasons consular access was not sought in each of the six cases. [207361]
Dr. Howells: The Government take allegations of mistreatment very seriously. Where allegations of mistreatment are made by British nationals in Pakistani custody or following release from Pakistani custody and when we are asked to do so by the individual affected, we can raise those allegations with the appropriate authorities.
Of the six detainees referred to in the earlier answer, one remains in Pakistani custody.
British officials sought and were granted access to the two mono-British nationals. Priority was given to the welfare of the detainees.
The answer provided to the earlier question, 16 May 2008, Official Report, column 1815W, does not take into account allegations of mistreatment other than those made to UK officials.
Consular access was not sought in all of the six cases, as four of the individuals were dual Pakistani/British nationals in the country of their other nationality. The Pakistani authorities are under no obligation to inform us of the detention of a dual Pakistani/British national or to provide consular access. We are exceptionally seeking access to one dual national in accordance with our published policy on the death penalty, but this is yet to be given.
Uganda: Peace Negotiations
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) he, (b) officials from his Department and (c) UK representatives in Uganda have had discussions with elected political representatives of the Northern Uganda districts during the Juba peace talks process; and if he will make a statement. [207482]
Meg Munn: Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and other Government Ministries, both in London and in Uganda, have had frequent meetings with elected representatives, both national and local, from the Northern Uganda districts over the period of the Juba peace talks. These meetings were aimed at helping to develop a clear picture of the opinions and thoughts of those who have been affected by the conflict in the region.
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