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16 July 2008 : Column 424W—continued
EU: Foreign Aid
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the (a) budget and (b) entertainment budget of EU missions overseas is in 2008-09. [217979]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The total budget allocated to our Diplomatic Missions in EU member states is £91.01 million for 2008-09, of which £1.93 million has been allocated for entertainment. This is a reduction in real terms from a budget of £86.28 million in 2007-08 but includes an increase of £11.5 million to compensate for exchange rate and inflationary pressures.
Fish
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much fish was procured by his Department and at what cost in each of the last five years, broken down by species; and what amount and value of such fish met the Marine Stewardship Council standard in each such year, broken down by species. [217883]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not categorise expenditure to that degree of detail. The information is therefore not obtainable. M&J Seafood has recently become the sole fish supplier to the FCO’s catering contractor, Director’s Table. M&J Seafood is committed to responsible sourcing from well-managed and sustainable fisheries and actively promotes the use of under utilised species. M&J Seafood does not supply any species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list of endangered species and was the first company within the UK’s food industry to offer Marine Stewardship Council approved products such as New Zealand hoki, wild Alaskan salmon and Cornish line-caught mackerel.
Furthermore, M&J Seafood supplies the ‘Natural Choice’ Shetland salmon which is certified by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ farm assurance and food labelling scheme and fed with organic sustainable feed only.
Human Rights
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by what means his Department alerts embassies and high commissions overseas to the tabling of parliamentary Questions on human rights issues. [217501]
Meg Munn: Where a parliamentary question on human rights is country or region specific, the relevant Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) Office Desk, in consultation with our embassies and high commissions in the countries concerned, will provide a response. For parliamentary questions relating to human rights themes or the international human rights system more generally, the FCO’s Human Rights, Democracy and Governance Group will provide a response consulting with relevant posts as necessary.
Languages
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in his Department took second language training in each of the last five years; and what the five languages in which training was most frequently undertaken were. [218922]
Meg Munn [holding answer 15 July 2008]: During financial year 2004-05, 757 officers undertook language training. Information on which languages were studied is not available for this period.
During financial year 2005-06,754 officers undertook language training.
During financial year 2006-07, 567 officers undertook language training.
During financial year 2007-08, 441 officers undertook language training.
So far during financial year 2008-09, 135 officers are undertaking language training. The five languages most frequently studied so far this year, and in the previous three financial years, are French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Mandarin.
North Korea
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the advice given by the United Kingdom on the recent Group of 6 talks in Beijing on relations with North Korea. [217507]
Meg Munn: The UK is not a member of the Six party talks process and has not been asked to advise those countries that are. We do, however, strongly support the process as the best mechanism for achieving verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. We welcome recent progress and stand ready to assist the Six parties.
North Korea: Forced Labour
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to his North Korean counterpart on closing North Korea’s forced labour camps. [217722]
Meg Munn: The Government are deeply concerned about reported serious, widespread and systematic human rights abuses in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Our ambassador in Pyongyang raised concerns about labour camps, as well as wider human rights issues, with Kim Young Nam (President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly) on 2 July. We will continue to take every appropriate opportunity, bilaterally and through the EU and the UN, to press the DPRK to engage with the international community on human rights and to improve its record in this area.
Raoul Wallenberg
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any evidence on the fate of Raoul Wallenberg has been supplied to the Government by (a) the government of Sweden and (b) the government of Israel; and if he will make a statement. [217919]
Mr. Jim Murphy: According to the Government's records, the only document supplied by the Swedish government related to the fate of Swedish citizen Raoul Wallenberg is the report by the Bilateral Swedish-Russian Commission published in 2000. The document is available on the internet at the following address:
Our records indicate that there is a public record file FO188/727, entitled ‘Political relations between Sweden and the Soviet Union: Raoul Wallenberg, 1957', which is also available for inspection through the Public Records Office.
The Government have no record of receiving evidence from the Government of Israel relating to the death of Raoul Wallenberg.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will ask the Russian authorities to publish their records relating to Raoul Wallenberg; and if he will make a statement; [217918]
(2) if he will make representations to the government of Russia on the case of Raoul Wallenberg; and if he will make a statement; [217916]
(3) on what occasions the Prime Minister or his predecessors have raised the case of Mr. Raoul Wallenberg with the government of (a) Russia and (b) the former Soviet Union; and if he will make a statement. [217908]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The Government have no plans to request the Russian authorities to publish any records relating to Swedish citizen Mr. Raoul Wallenberg or to make any representations to the Russian government on this case. The case of Mr. Raoul Wallenberg is a matter for the Swedish government.
We have no records to suggest that discussions between the Government and the Soviet or Russian governments relating to Mr. Raoul Wallenberg took place before or after 1991.
South Korea: Prisoners
Mark Pritchard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with the government of South Korea the involvement
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in prisoner exchanges between South and North Korea. [217499]
Meg Munn: We are not aware of any prisoner exchanges between South and North Korea.
The few North Korean citizens who do enter South Korea directly are interviewed by the authorities to determine if they wish to defect or to return to North Korea. All North Korean citizens are entitled to South Korean citizenship and have no need to claim refugee status. Those who wish to return are normally repatriated under arrangements made between the North and South Korean Red Cross societies. There is, therefore, no involvement of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Tamils
Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the political situation of Tamils in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement. [218672]
Meg Munn [holding answer 14 July 2008]: The UK’s view is that there must be inclusive political negotiations for a just settlement that could satisfy the legitimate aspirations of all communities in Sri Lanka and promote democracy, stability and the observance of internationally accepted human rights principles.
The Government have grave concerns about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. Issues of concern include the targeting of civilians, the recruitment of child soldiers in violation of international law, reports of mistreatment and of the intimidation of the media and continuing abductions and disappearances. Tamils are disproportionately affected.
My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch-Brown, recently visited Sri Lanka to reiterate the UK’s concerns to the Sri Lankan Government and to urge them and representatives of all communities to improve the human rights situation for all of its citizens.
Zimbabwe: Females
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals the Government have put forward to seek to strengthen women’s rights in Zimbabwe and their involvement in the political process. [217511]
Meg Munn: The Government continue to support the rights of women in Zimbabwe as part of the political process. We are pressing for a free, fair and transparent democratic process in Zimbabwe which meets international standards as well as the standards of the South African Development Community (SADC).
Our embassy in Harare has provided support to women’s empowerment groups and the Department for International Development is also working closely with the UN, other donors and women’s groups to support women’s rights.
We will, with the EU and other international partners, support the African Union, SADC and the UN in encouraging a new government in Zimbabwe which permits full and equal humanitarian access and shows commitment to macroeconomic stabilisation, the rule of law, human rights and a democratic process which ensures the full involvement of women.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the Government has given to women’s groups operating in Zimbabwe. [217512]
Meg Munn: The Government provide humanitarian assistance to a broad range of groups in Zimbabwe which include women’s groups. Our assistance is saving the lives and livelihoods of Zimbabwe’s poorest and most vulnerable—in the context of a failed harvest, hyperinflation and economic hardship, internal displacement and the ravages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. We stand ready to make further contributions to Zimbabwe’s recovery once appropriate conditions are in place.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Carbon Emissions: Finance
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding from the public purse was provided to (a) the Carbon Trust, (b) Envirowise and (c) the Energy Saving Trust in the latest 12 month period for which figures are available. [217965]
Mr. Woolas: DEFRA provided funding to these organisations as follows:
(a) Total funding provided to the Carbon Trust in 2007-08 was £88 million to the nearest million. This figure is subject to audit.
(b) Total funding provided to Envirowise in England in 2007-08 was £22.19 including VAT.
(c) Total funding provided to the Energy Saving Trust in 2007-08 was £29 million in 2007-08 for the valuable work which they undertake to encourage and promote the sustainable and efficient use of energy.
Construction: Waste Disposal
Dr. Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to eliminate the illegal landfilling of construction waste, as part of its strategy to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the construction industry, with particular reference to plastic foam insulation. [218700]
Joan Ruddock: Construction waste was identified as a priority waste stream for action in DEFRA's waste strategy for England 2007. As part of this, in April 2008, we introduced site waste management plans on a mandatory basis in England for all construction projects worth over £300,000. One objective of these plans is to encourage the legal handling and disposal of construction waste.
On the specific issue of plastic foam insulation, DEFRA officials have had a number of meetings with industry representatives over the last six months to discuss key issues around the practicality of identification, segregation and destruction of ozone-depleting substances in such foams.
Domestic Wastes: Waste Disposal
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance (a) his Department and (b) the waste and resources action programme has given to waste collection authorities on the size of bins for residual household rubbish. [219016]
Joan Ruddock: The Government believe local authorities are best placed to make decisions on the waste management strategy for their communities. Local authorities are free to choose how they fulfil their waste collection duties including the frequency of the collections, the priority, degree of effort and resources required.
The authority can specify the number, size, construction and maintenance of receptacles, what can be placed in each, where and when they are to be placed for collection and can require the waste to be treated prior to placing it in a receptacle (usually washing or rinsing containers).
Alternate weekly collection systems use more than one receptacle, so the guidance published by the waste and resources action programme (WRAP) in July 2007 offers some consideration of specific issues associated with the containers for residual waste.
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many householders have been issued with fixed penalties for putting household waste out for collection at a time other than that specified by a local authority waste collection service in the latest period for which figures are available. [219080]
Joan Ruddock: My Department collates the number of fixed penalty notices for offences relating to ‘waste receptacles', but the information cannot be disaggregated in the way requested. Data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for offences in relation to waste receptacles (Section 47ZA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) are available on the DEFRA website.
Fertilisers: Seas and Oceans
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the merits of proposals to sell carbon offsets from the first generation of commercial scale ocean iron fertilisation experiments. [217667]
Mr. Woolas: The Government supports the precautionary approach towards ocean iron fertilisation decided upon recently at the ninth conference of the parties of the UN convention on biological diversity. In line with this decision, our position is that commercial ocean iron fertilisation should not take place until there is a sufficient scientific basis on which to justify such activities.
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential environmental effects of ocean fertilisation. [217671]
Mr. Woolas: The Government acknowledges the concerns over the risks posed by ocean fertilisation to biodiversity and supports the precautionary approach decided upon recently at the ninth conference of the parties of the UN convention on biological diversity. DEFRA currently has no plans to fund research into this technology. However, we do not want to rule out possible climate mitigation options at an early stage, and would wish to maintain the option of appropriate and strictly controlled scientific research where it could provide further information to help understand the impact of such technologies. We will continue to keep abreast of research underway in the global community.
According to the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPPC), iron fertilisation of the oceans may offer a potential strategy for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by stimulating the growth of phytoplankton and thereby sequestering the carbon dioxide in the form of particulate organic carbon. However, the IPCC also stated that ocean iron fertilisation remains largely speculative, and many of the environmental side effects have yet to be assessed.
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