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24 Nov 2008 : Column 1038W—continued
Democratic Republic of Congo: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government supports proposals for an increase in the number of UN troops deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [232240]
Gillian Merron: We fully support the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) efforts to reinforce its presence in and around Goma by moving troops and resources from other areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The head of the UN's Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO) briefed the UN Security Council on MONUC's current position on 11 November 2008. The UN Secretary General will provide the UN Security Council in his next report with a full analysis and recommendations on resources required by MONUC to inform UN Security Council discussion. We expect this report by 19 November 2008 and would support a properly evidenced request for additional capacity.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the French proposal for a European deployment of up to 1,500 troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to put an end to the violence there; and if he will make a statement. [233070]
David Miliband: My French colleague and I both agree that the best option is to ensure that the 17,000 troops in the UN mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo are correctly deployed and effectively mandated to provide some immediate security in the east of the country.
The EU's principal concern in the longer term is to provide support to efforts seeking a political solution, as the only effective way of ensuring an end to violence.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what shortcomings have been identified in the current troop levels and resources of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with particular regard to airlift capacity. [233072]
David Miliband: The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Alan Doss, identified a number of areas where the UN mission may require additional assistance on 3 October, including additional troops and air mobility. This request was reiterated by the Secretary-General in a letter to UN Security Council members on 31 October and again in a briefing by the UN Head of Peacekeeping Operations, Alain Le Roy, on 11 November. In response to Alan Doss's briefing, the Security Council requested that the UN Secretary-General come back in his next report with a full analysis and recommendations on resources required by the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC). We expect this report by 19 November. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced, we support the UN Secretary-General's request to the UN Security Council for extra resources.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is UK policy that changes are needed to the mandate of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and what changes are under discussion. [233076]
David Miliband: We believe that the mandate of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) correctly focuses on the key challenges facing the country. The Mission is mandated to protect civilians, including humanitarian personnel; to assist in humanitarian access and return of internally displaced persons; to assist in the protection of human rights; to support operations to disarm enemy combatants; and to support and facilitate the disarmament, demobilisation and repatriation of Congolese and foreign combatants. The UN Security Council regularly reviews the mandate of MONUC, most recently at a meeting on 11 November. This will be discussed again in further consultations before the current mandate expires on 31 December 2008. The UK will play an active part in these discussions and will consider carefully any proposed changes.
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government plan to take at the United Nations to strengthen the UN peacekeeping force's mandate in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [235203]
Gillian Merron:
We believe that the mandate of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(MONUC) focuses on the key challenges facing the country. The mission is mandated, inter alia; to protect civilians, including humanitarian personnel; to assist in humanitarian access and return of internally displaced persons; to assist in the protection of human rights; to support operations to disarm enemy combatants; to support and facilitate the disarmament, demobilisation and repatriation of Congolese and foreign combatants. The UN Security Council regularly reviews the mandate of MONUC and will do so again before the current mandate expires on 31 December 2008. The UK will play an active part in these discussions and will give due consideration to any proposed changes.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Politics and Government
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the involvement of (a) the Rwandan government and (b) Rwandan troops in the current crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [233069]
David Miliband: There have been reports of Rwandan forces in North Kivu. During the recent fighting, UN observers reported that shots had been fired across the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, in both directions.
We continue to monitor events in Eastern DRC closely, and encourage the governments of the two states to co-operate to resolve threats to regional security.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Violence
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of incidents of rape and violence against women in Democratic Republic of Congo in recent weeks; and if he will make a statement. [237314]
Gillian Merron: The UK remains very concerned by the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the recent unconfirmed reports of armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) soldiers raping and killing civilians. Unfortunately there are not yet any comprehensive statistics for such incidents in 2008. With the ongoing conflict in Eastern DRC, sexual violence is used to humiliate and intimidate women and sometimes men of all ages, tearing up families and whole communities. With UK support, the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the DRC (MONUC) mandate was amended in December 2007 to include a requirement to protect civilians against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The UN has appointed a Senior Adviser on Sexual Violence, who is working with international partners and the DRC government to develop a plan of action and coordinate initiatives to deal with the problem. The UK also took the lead in drafting UN Security Council Resolution 1820 which recognises SGBV as a peace and security issue.
Departmental Advertising
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which of his Department's initiatives have been advertised to the public in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost of each such campaign was. [192224]
Caroline Flint: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) largest expenditure on initiatives involving paid advertising to the public in the UK have been on a major travel advice campaign, and advertising for the recruitment of staff.
The FCO spent the following on the ‘Know Before You Go’ campaign, aimed at promoting safe and trouble-free travel to British public before they visit overseas countries:
| £ | |
The following was spent on external recruitment advertising for the FCO and FCO Services (trading fund of the FCO):
| £ | |
Figures stretching back 10 years are not readily available as they pre-date the introduction of our computerised accounting system, PRISM. Information on smaller initiatives that used paid advertising as a communication channel is not held centrally. The Department could obtain this information from its UK Departments and 250 overseas posts only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Aviation
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many individual domestic air flights were undertaken within Great Britain by representatives of (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in the most recent year for which figures are available; and at what cost. [215555]
Gillian Merron: In the period January to October 2008, a total of 459 individual domestic air flights were taken by representatives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its agencies at a cost of £45,174.
Departmental Cars
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost of provision of Government cars to special advisers in his Department has been in the last 12 months. [233193]
Gillian Merron: None. Government cars are not provided to special advisers.
Departmental Conditions of Employment
Dr. Fox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2008, Official Report, column 211W, on departmental conditions of employment, whether the start of the 10 to 14 day decompression break begins
(a) in theatre while waiting for transportation out of theatre or (b) upon arriving at the final destination of the decompression break. [234292]
Gillian Merron: Decompression breaks start upon arriving at the final destination of the decompression break.
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many external consultants are undertaking work for his Department. [233190]
Gillian Merron: Responsibility for procuring external consultants has been devolved to individual directorates, departments and overseas posts within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), with the provision of central advice and guidance. Details from each directorate, department and post could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
However, annual expenditure on external consultants or consultancies as a whole is published in the FCO's annual departmental reports, copies of which are available at:
Departmental Domestic Visits
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what visits he made to (a) Harrogate International Centre, (b) International Conference Centre, Birmingham, (c) Manchester Central, (d) Scottish Exhibitional and Conference Centre, Glasgow, (e) Edinburgh International Conference Centre, (f) Bournemouth International Conference Centre, (g) the Brighton Centre, Brighton, (h) the Riviera Centre, Torquay, (i) Queen Elizabeth Centre, London, (j) Excel Conference Centre, Docklands, London, and (k) Business Design Centre, Islington, London, in the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007; and what events he attended at each. [197166]
Gillian Merron: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs visited the Bournemouth International Conference Centre in September 2007 to attend the Labour Party Conference.
There are no records held for the time period in question when my right hon. Friend was Minister of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government. Information for my right hon. Friend's time as Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will be published separately as soon as possible.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many press and communications officers are employed by (a) his Department, (b) its non-departmental public bodies and (c) its agencies. [230043]
David Miliband: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) currently employs 16 full-time press officers (15 plus one job-share) based in London.
A figure for the number of staff with a communications role at our overseas posts is not held centrally and would be available only at a disproportionate cost.
Wilton Park, an executive agency of the FCO, does not employ any press officers.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost of maintaining his Department’s website was in 2007-08; and what that cost is expected to be in 2008-09. [233194]
Caroline Flint: The cost of maintaining our 232 departmental websites on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)’s previous web platform in 2007-08 was approximately £870,000. The cost of maintaining the 240 departmental websites on the FCO’s new web platform in 2008-09 is expected to be £1,386,000. These figures cover hosting and support costs, but are not directly comparable because of the extensive changes in the way the web platform is managed in 2008-09, compared to 2007-08. The costs do not include staff time spent updating the website. It is not possible to calculate the individual cost of the ‘parent’ website:
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) page hits and (b) visits his Department’s website had in 2007-08. [233195]
Caroline Flint: In 2007-08, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s web platform had 146,327,875 page views and 30,519,364 visits. These figures include page views and hits to all of our 232 departmental websites. The figures do not include views or visits to our previously independent post sites which were not part of our FCO web platform in 2007-08, but are on our platform in 2008-09.
Departmental Liability
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what dates in each of the last five years his Department informed the House of the creation of contingent liabilities relating to his Department or its non-departmental public bodies. [232719]
Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no record of any incidences, in the past five years, where the Department has been required to inform the House of contingent liabilities. There are ongoing indemnities, in respect of British Council artwork, and these are included in the Department's main estimates and revised in the annual resource accounts.
In addition the Department has reported, in its resource accounts, contingent liabilities arising out of its normal course of business, and information is included in the notes to the resource accounts for those years, available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website address:
Departmental Lost Property
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) equipment and (b) data was lost by his Department in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [231443]
Gillian Merron: The information required is held separately by our Financial Compliance Unit, Resource Accounting Department, Information and Technology Directorate and Security and Estates Directorate, all of whom hold records relating to various losses and thefts of both personal property and official furnishings, including IT equipment losses. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Personal data losses are reported to the Information Commissioner. These were reported in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office 's(FCO) Departmental Report 2007-08. To date in 2008-09, the FCO has not reported any further losses.
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