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11 Dec 2008 : Column 289W—continued
Middle East: Armed Conflict
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on terrorist attacks in Israel since October 2008; what discussions he has had with the government of Israel on the matter; and if he will make a statement. [241166]
Bill Rammell:
In October and November 2008, 168 rockets and 157 mortars were fired on Israel from Gaza (figures from the Israeli Foreign Ministry ). As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has made clear, including during his visit to the region, such attacks on Israel
must stop and it is in both Hamas and Israel's interests to reinforce the ceasefire which began in June. It is also imperative that Israeli operations and restrictions do not cause suffering to the civilian population of Gaza.
Rashid Rauf
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports that Mr. Rashid Rauf was killed in the US air strike of 21 November 2008 in North Waziristan, Pakistan. [241016]
Bill Rammell: We do not have confirmation of the death of Rashid Rauf. Following a request from his family, we have requested official confirmation from the Government of Pakistan.
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made representations to (a) the Government of Pakistan and (b) the Government of the USA on the reported death of Mr. Rashid Rauf on 21 November 2008. [241017]
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the US Administration on the reported killing of Rashid Rauf in Pakistan. [242028]
Bill Rammell: We do not have confirmation of the death of Rashid Rauf. Following a request from his family, we have requested official confirmation from the Government of Pakistan.
No specific representation has been made to the US Administration.
Russia: BBC External Services
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff at BBC Monitoring Caversham (a) there are in total and (b) monitor Russian-language broadcasts. [240659]
Caroline Flint: At BBC Monitoring Caversham there are 301 staff in total and 14 staff monitoring Russian language broadcasts.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the audience for the BBC Russian internet service is based in (a) Russia, (b) other former Soviet Union countries, (c) the UK and (d) other countries. [240662]
Caroline Flint: The geographic distribution of users of the website of the BBC Russian Service varies from month to month.
Of those BBCRussian.com users in November 2008 whose locations were known, the breakdown is as follows:
(b) Other Former Soviet Union countries 17 per cent.
(d) Other countries 27 per cent.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) the US Administration and (b) other European countries on offering joint Russian language radio services for international audiences. [240663]
Caroline Flint: Neither the Foreign and Commonwealth Office nor the BBC World Service have had such discussions with other broadcasters in recent years. The BBC previously sought partnerships with Russian operators for FFM broadcasting but these presently are not possible. The BBC World Service has concentrated its efforts on improving BBC Russia through the recent changes implemented.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the location is of the transmitters for the BBC Russian Service. [240664]
Caroline Flint: BBC World Service's transmitters for the Russian Service are located in the UK and Europe.
Russia: Foreign Relations
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent assessment of the state of UK-Russia relations is. [240783]
Caroline Flint: Russia is important to achieving UK objectives in many areas, including regional security, energy and climate change. The UK has serious concerns over Russian policy and actions in Georgia, and is supporting multilateral efforts to broker solutions.
Significant differences remain unresolved in bilateral relations, including over the Litvinenko case and the British Council’s work in Russia, on which we continue to pursue satisfactory outcomes.
The Government engage with Russia in pursuit of UK interests, including through high level dialogue. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister met President Medvedev in the margins of the G20 summit in Washington to discuss the international financial crisis. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met Foreign Minister Lavrov most recently on 4 December in the margins of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe ministerial in Helsinki.
Although the strong trade and investment relationship between Russia and the UK has been hit by the financial crisis, both the Lord Mayor of London and my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Lord Mandelson, have led business delegations to Russia this autumn to promote the interests of British business and encourage co-operation between governments on trade and investment.
The Government have supported both the From Russia exhibition in London and the Turner exhibition in Moscow.
Syria: Terrorism
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to make representations to the Syrian government in respect of honours they have bestowed on convicted Islamist terrorist Sumar Kuntar; and if he will make a statement. [242525]
Bill Rammell: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
World War II: Military Intelligence
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will release into the public domain the 1,949 files his Department holds relating to Englandspiel, with specific reference to files detailing the responses given to the Dutch governments, redacting names as necessary. [242634]
Bill Rammell: The vast majority of files relating to Englandspiel are already in the public domain at The National Archives. There are a small number of papers that are currently retained on national security grounds. These papers are re-reviewed on a regular basis.
Justice
Archives: Publicity
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking in conjunction with the National Archives to improve (a) standards in and (b) awareness of the archive sector, including local and private archives. [240273]
Mr. Wills: The National Archives has a key role within Government to support all parts of the archives sector in the United Kingdom by providing both strategic and practical advice on all aspects of records and archives management.
It is taking forward a range of activities to help raise standards including:
Facilitating an annual self-assessment exercise for local authority funded archives to help raise the standards of the services they provide to the public;
Issuing a range of written guidance, available on The National Archives' website (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) on all matters relating to the creation, management, care, and use of records and archives and all strategic issues arising from this;
Offering bespoke strategic and operational advice to archive service on many aspects of archives administration and information management;
Administering £335,000 worth of grants to help archives tackle their backlogs in cataloguing records.
The National Archives is also taking steps to raise awareness of the archives sector. It is working closely, for example, with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council to fund the Archives Awareness Campaign, run by The National Council on Archives, which aims to improve awareness of archives among the general public and to improve engagement with younger people and black and ethnic minority communities.
To ensure its long-term sustainability, they are also working together to enable the sector to raise its capability, channel its resources more effectively and share best practice.
Corporate Management Board
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much each member of his Department’s Corporate Management Board has claimed in expenses since his Department was established; what the purpose was of each such claim; and how much has been paid by his Department in response to such claims. [240298]
Mr. Straw: All employees of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) are subject to its policy on travel and subsistence and are expected to comply with the requirements of that policy. The MOJ does not keep details of individual claims made by current or past members of the corporate management board (CMB). It would be disproportionately expensive to ascertain this information.
Non-executive members of CMB are not employees of the MOJ. In addition to a daily fee, the Department will pay all reasonable expenses properly and necessarily incurred in respect of their appointment to CMB, in accordance with those expenses and limits paid by the Department to civil servants.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the role is of each member of his Department’s Corporate Management Board; and what tasks and responsibilities have been allocated to each member. [240299]
Mr. Straw: The role of the members of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) corporate management board (CMB) and their functional descriptions are published on the MOJ website at
The information can also be found in the MOJ annual report which is also available on the MOJ website at
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on what dates each member of his Department’s Corporate Management Board has undertaken work on his Department’s behalf since the Department was established; and which of these duties have been performed at places other than on the Government or Parliamentary estates. [240421]
Mr. Straw: The executive members of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) corporate management board (CMB) are full-time employees of the MOJ.
The non-executive members of CMB are not employees of the Department. The non-executive members of CMB are contracted individually for a period of time. They are appointed to provide external advice and expertise, to attend meetings and to perform associated activities.
It would incur a disproportionate cost to ascertain which of the board member duties have been performed at places other than on the Government or parliamentary estates.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what terms and conditions have been attached to the appointment of each member of his Department’s Corporate Management Board. [240422]
Mr. Straw: All executive members of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) corporate management board (CMB) are employed by the Ministry and are subject the Ministry’s terms and conditions of employment. There are no separate terms or conditions associated with their appointment as board members.
The non-executive members of CMB are not employees of the Ministry of Justice. There is no contract of employment. They are appointed to attend meetings of the CMB and associated commitments, and to provide external advice and expertise.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what (a) remuneration and (b) bonuses and other benefits each member of his Department's Corporate Management Board has received since the establishment of the Department; and what estimate he has made of further such remuneration and benefit to be received in the financial year 2008-09. [240423]
Mr. Straw: All executive members of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) Corporate Management Board (CMB) are members of the senior civil service whose pay is governed by a centrally determined pay system for which Cabinet Office is responsible. The Ministry of Justice, along with all other Departments, applies the pay system to its senior civil service members in accordance with guidance provided by Cabinet Office following the recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body. Future remuneration will depend on the recommendations of this independent review body.
The gross salary and bonuses received during the financial year 2007-08 for each member of the MoJ Corporate Management Board can be found in the Ministry's audited accounts. In accordance with the Financial Reporting Manual issued by HM Treasury, the Ministry of Justice discloses the salary details of each board member, including any allowance, in bands of £5,000. Presentation in this form is required in order to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998. These accounts were laid before Parliament in July.
The current non-executive members of CMB were appointed in April 2008. The fee paid to non-executive board members will be disclosed in the annual departmental accounts, in accordance with the Financial Reporting Manual issued by HM Treasury.
The current daily fee for each non-executive member of CMB is £500 per day. The fee is reviewed annually in line with the Retail Price Index.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what training and guidance has been provided for each member of his Department's Corporate Management Board on (a) mediation and (b) the Government's alternative dispute resolution pledge; and (i) when and (ii) by whom such training and guidance was provided. [240424]
Mr. Straw: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has a number of trained workplace mediators who deal with issues involving disputes between two or more employees. Training and guidance on alternative dispute resolution is not provided to members of the Corporate Management Board, though training can be provided for members of staff if requested.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what procedures govern the appointment of a lead negotiator by his Department's Corporate Management Board in cases of mediation; and whether such negotiators are given authority to settle matters referred for mediation in circumstances where the appropriate remedy is determined to be (a) the provision of apologies reflecting upon the reputation of the Department, (b) financial and (c) another remedy. [240425]
Mr. Straw: Cases are considered on an individual basis.
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