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20 Nov 2008 : Column 742W—continued
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many studies his Department has (a) initiated and (b) completed on the lessons learned for his Department from the war in Afghanistan; and if he will place copies of each completed study in the Library. [232933]
Bill Rammell:
We continuously review our strategy in Afghanistan to identify and learn lessons for the future. My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs, International Development, and Defence are actively involved. In addition to the work undertaken in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Stabilisation Unit, a cross-Government department, provides specialist, targeted assistance to countries emerging from violent conflict, and the FCO works closely with them to draw on the experience of those in theatre.
British Indian Ocean Territory: Prisons
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Prisons Ordinance 1981 of the British Indian Ocean Territory was intended to authorise. [228650]
David Miliband: The British Indian Ocean Territory Ordinance No. 9 of 1981, more generally known as the “Prisons Ordinance, 1981”, was an Ordinance to make provision for prisons in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). It enables the BIOT Commissioner to declare prisons where necessary to do so. The Ordinance was signed by the then BIOT Commissioner on 27 November 1981.
China: Carbon Emissions
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to hold discussions with the Governments of China and India on ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and use more renewable energy resources; and what plans he has to involve the incoming US administration in such discussions. [235812]
Gillian Merron: Climate change is not just an environmental problem but something that threatens international peace and security, prosperity and development.
The UK is seeking to agree, at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009, a comprehensive, global and long-term framework for addressing climate change. This deal must put us on the right pathway for stabilising emissions in the atmosphere at a level that avoids dangerous climate change consistent with global emission pathways in line with the 2° C target.
It is important that all countries are included in a global deal, and China and India, as well as the United States and the EU, will be critical to achieving it. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has twice visited China this year and held substantive discussions on China’s low carbon future. The UK Government have also hosted a number of inward visits from Chinese dignitaries with whom we have had extensive dialogues on climate change.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has also been working with our Chinese (and European) partners to ensure climate change is a priority for the 1 December EU-China summit. We hope that one outcome from this summit might be further discussions on possible low carbon development zones (LCDZ) which could be a very practical step in reducing China’s greenhouse gas emissions.
We are equally committed to continuing our discussions with India about climate change. The British high commission in New Delhi recently hosted the UK-India
Structured Dialogue on Climate Change and the global move to low carbon is a consistent theme in our conversations with partners in India.
We welcome the positive statements President-Elect Obama has made on climate change and energy, and we are looking forward to engaging with his administration when they are formally in place.
Climate Change
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress his Department has made on Departmental Strategic Objective 8 to promote a low carbon, high growth global economy since it was set; and if he will make a statement. [225370]
Gillian Merron: Departmental Strategic Objective (DSO) 7—promoting a low carbon, high growth, global economy has five outcomes:
A visible and accelerated shift in investment initiated in the major economies towards low carbon.
Political conditions created for an equitable post-2012 agreement at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNTCCC) conference of parties to the Kyoto protocol in Copenhagen in December 2009 of sufficient ambition to avoid dangerous climate change.
Risks to UK and EU energy security managed through more diverse and reliable external sources of supply and more efficient global markets.
Increased international commitment to an open, stable and equitable low carbon global economy delivering higher standards of living.
Increased international commitment to achieve the millennium development goals.
We are adjusting our strategy to meet the risks of greater protectionism caused by the current economic climate and to preserve the benefits of open markets for trade and investment. We are continuing to make the case for EU leadership on the transition to the low carbon economy outlined by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's speech to the London School of Economics on 7 May.
We have increased resources in some of our overseas posts in order to deliver the Government's international objectives on tackling climate change in the run up to the international climate change meeting in Copenhagen at the end of 2009. Examples of progress are:
We are supporting efforts to increase low-carbon co-operation between the EU and China in advance of the EU-China summit on 1 December;
Leaders in a number of priority countries have expressed a raised level of ambition on climate change, including Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico and South Africa;
Appointment of the UK Climate Security Envoy for Vulnerable Countries in October;
Maintaining political momentum for EU 2020 Package;
June European Council Conclusions called for a financing mechanism for carbon capture and storage and European Parliament approved the use of New Entrant Reserve for funding the 12 EU carbon capture and storage demonstration plants;
The G8 Summit at Toyako reaffirmed Heiligendamm commitments on the goal of achieving at least 50 per cent. reduction of global emissions by 2050;
Political agreement at the June Energy Council for the Third Energy Package.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution the UK (a) provides and (b) plans to provide to the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and if he will make a statement. [233067]
David Miliband: The UK contributes 7.8 per cent. of the cost of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) through its assessed payments to the UN’s peacekeeping budget, and also contributes through the provision of UK military staff. In the 2007-08 financial year the UK contributed £39,728,447 to MONUC through assessed costs, and provided six military personnel at a cost of £1,077,271. We expect the UK assessed contribution to MONUC in 2008-09 to be approximately £45 million. The UK currently has five military personnel in the mission, including three based in Goma and a senior military advisor to MONUC’s force commander. If the UN Security Council mandates an increase in resources for MONUC then our assessed financial contribution to MONUC will increase.
MONUC’s current mandate expires in December 2008, and subject to UN Security Council decisions regarding its renewal, its budget for 2009-10 will be approved by UN member states at the UN’s fifth Committee in June 2009. We will keep our voluntary contribution to the mission under review.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is UK policy that the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should be reinforced; and what changes are being proposed. [233077]
David Miliband: We fully support the efforts of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (MONUC) to reinforce its presence in and around Goma by moving troops and resources from other areas of the DRC.
The UK is committed to working with international partners and the UN to ensure MONUC’s resources are utilised as efficiently as possible and targeted where they are most needed.
The UN Secretary-General has written to UN Security Council member states requesting further resources for MONUC and will present further recommendations on the restructuring of MONUC to the Security Council in his report due to be issued on 19 November. The extra resources are likely to be further troops and enablers, such as air support. We will support a properly evidenced request for extra resources and will work closely with Security Council partners to agree on the resources required by MONUC.
Departmental ICT
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what IT projects (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies is undertaking; and what the most recent estimate of (i) the cost and (ii) the completion date of each is. [229163]
Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and FCO Services, an executive agency of the FCO, undertakes a wide range of IT-enabled projects. Some are managed centrally, while others are initiated and managed by the holders of devolved budgets both in the UK or at posts overseas. Details of the larger projects, requiring formal approval by the FCO's Investment Committee, are shown in the following table. In some of these, FCO Services was a supplier for the project.
Departmental Marketing
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of Government-commissioned advertising in the last 12 months relating to matters falling within the remit of his Department. [226523]
Gillian Merron: Obtaining full information to answer this question would involve contacting a wide range of departments within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London, and a large number of our posts overseas. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pensions
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what proportion of civil servants in his Department and its agencies are members of the (a) Classic, (b) Classic Plus, (c) Nuvos and (d) Premium civil service pension schemes. [229532]
Gillian Merron: The following table shows the distribution of UK civil servants employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and FCO services between the various civil service pension schemes.
| Scheme | Number of members | Percentage of staff |
Departmental Public Participation
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many citizens' juries his Department has held since 1 July 2007; what the cost was of each; what issues were discussed at each event; and how many (a) Ministers and (b) members of the public attended each event. [227479]
Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not held any citizens' juries in this period.
Departmental Security
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff in (i) his Department and (ii) agencies sponsored by his Department in each year since 2001. [228919]
Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 October 2008, Official Report, column 1071W.
Departmental Telephone Services
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what agencies or units for which his Department is responsible require the public to make telephone calls to them on numbers which charge more than the national call rate; and how much income each such agency has derived from such charges in each of the last three years. [225709]
Gillian Merron: No telephone numbers, in use by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) or its agencies, require the public to make telephone calls which charge more than the national rate.
A contractor, on behalf of the FCO's consular directorate, maintains one local rate number (0845) in use for the public to obtain travel advice. This service supplies all travel advice offered by the FCO and is primarily aimed at people calling from the UK, but is contactable from certain countries outside of the UK. No income is derived from this number.
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