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21 Oct 2008 : Column 215W—continued
Rendition
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made in the identification of possible incidents of rendition flights via UK airports since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [225923]
Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary informed Parliament in a written ministerial statement on 3 July that the US Government have confirmed that, with the exception of two cases of rendition through Diego Garcia in 2002 about which he informed Parliament in an oral statement on 21 February, there have been no other instances in which US intelligence flights landed in the United Kingdom, our Overseas Territories, or the Crown Dependencies, with a detainee on board since 11 September 2001. US Secretary of State Rice has also underlined the firm US understanding that there will be no rendition through the UK, our Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies or airspace without first receiving our express permission.
Sudan: Armed Conflict
Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the implementation of a no-fly zone over Sudan on the prospects for peace and security in the region; and if he will make a statement. [226945]
Gillian Merron: We are not currently proposing a no-fly zone for Darfur. We assess that a no-fly zone would restrict essential humanitarian operations and be a major logistical challenge due to the size of Darfur and the lack of available air assets. The United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is mandated to monitor military activity, including flights prohibited by UN Security Council Resolution 1591. We continue to press all parties for the rapid and full deployment of UNAMID.
Taxis
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was claimed in expenses for taxi travel by officials from (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2005-06, (iii) 2004-05, (iv) 2003-04 and (v) 2002-03; and if he will make a statement. [227053]
Gillian Merron: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff claimed £34,938 in expenses for UK taxi travel during the financial year 2006-07. Staff of FCO Services, which was then an Executive agency and is now a Trading Fund, claimed £8,638 in the same period.
We do not hold central records of taxi claims for earlier years. To provide this information would incur a disproportionate cost.
USA: Bank Services
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2008, Official Report, column 130W, on the USA: bank services, what progress has been made on establishing guiding principles for intervention in extraterritoriality cases since July 2008. [225943]
Bill Rammell: While discussions on guiding principles are still ongoing, we continue to oppose the excessive use of extra-territorial legislation. There has been continued regular contact with UK companies about the applications of US extraterritoriality, and we continue to raise the issue with US interlocutors of the excessive extraterritorial reach of US jurisdiction as appropriate.
Western Sahara: Human Rights
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that the issue of human rights abuses in Western Sahara is raised during the ongoing negotiations to grant Morocco advanced status with the European Union. [225112]
Bill Rammell:
The UK welcomes closer co-operation between the EU and Morocco, including the proposal for an Advanced Status Agreement currently under
discussion between EU member states, the Commission and Morocco. The issue of Western Sahara, while not discussed within the context of the advanced status, remains part of the political dialogue between the EU and Morocco. We expect that both Western Sahara and human rights will be discussed as part of the political dialogue at the next EU-Morocco Association Council on 13 October.
The UK continues to believe that progress towards a negotiated solution to the dispute in Western Sahara providing for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, is best achieved under the auspices of the UN. To this end and in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1813 of 30 April, the UK fully supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his staff, and the negotiation process currently under way. We hope a further round of talks will take place later this year.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to answer questions (a) (i) 223176, (ii) 223177, (iii) 223178, (iv) 223179 and (v) 223180 tabled on 3 September and (b) (A) 224249 and (B) 224248 tabled on 10 September by the hon. Member for Portsmouth South. [226371]
Gillian Merron: Written parliamentary questions 223176, 223177, 223178, 223179, 223180, 224249 and 224248 were delayed due to administrative error.
PQ 233177 was answered on 15 October 2008, Official Report, column 1262W, PQ223180 was answered on
8 October 2008, Official Report, column 634W and PQ 224249 was answered on 13 October 2008, Official Report, column 969W.
Answers for the remaining parliamentary questions will be issued very shortly.
Justice
Arrest Warrants
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many outstanding warrants have been issued for category (a) A, (b) B and (c) C offences to individuals whom the police cannot trace in each police authority in each of the last three years. [228969]
Maria Eagle: All failure to appear (FTA) warrants count as outstanding from the moment they are received from the courts until the time they are either executed or withdrawn. The following table sets out the number of outstanding FTA warrants as at 31 March for each of the last three financial years. This information is published on CJSonline.
Areas have only been required to provide a breakdown of this figure by category A, B and C since the 2007-08 financial year, therefore this information is available for 31 March 2008 only. These data have previously only been made available to practitioners and have not been validated in the same way as the data published on CJSonline.
It is not possible to tell from centrally collected data how long each of these warrants has been outstanding. However police forces keep outstanding FTA warrants under regular review to ensure that all possible steps are taken to execute these warrants as quickly as possible.
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