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Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold discussions with his US counterpart on the future prospects for a no-fly zone over Sudan; and if he will make a statement. [242557]

Gillian Merron: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has regular discussions with his US counterpart on Sudan. We are working closely with the US to resolve the conflict in Darfur including through support to both the political process and the peacekeeping mission, and pressing all parties to end the conflict and commit to a full ceasefire.

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 African Union-UN 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.

Wines

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many bottles of (a) blue chip list wines, (b) fine wines, (c) reception or drinking wines and (d) spirits and liqueurs were held in the Government wine cellar managed by his Department in each of the last five years; what the estimated value of each type of drink and of the Government wine cellar in total was in each year; how much was spent on (i) blue chip list wines, (ii) fine
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wines, (iii) reception or drinking wines and (iv) spirits and liqueurs for the Government wine cellar in each of those years; what the expenditure on the Government wine cellar was in each of those years; what proportion of the cellar stock is currently English wine; and what the policy is in respect of the procurement of English wines for the cellar. [241055]

Gillian Merron: Government Hospitality in Protocol Directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for the management of the Government Wine Cellar.

Government Hospitality defines the cellar stock as either "fine" or "beverage" wines. Over the last five years the cellar stock has amounted to between 36, 500 and 40, 000 bottles. From this total, approximately 2 000 bottles are "reception" or "beverage" wines, and approximately 35, 000 are "fine" wines. The stock of spirits and liqueurs is approximately 200 bottles. The overall value of the cellar stock is approximately £790,000.

Government Hospitality has recorded the following expenditure on new stock for the cellar over the past five financial years:

£

2003-04

93,503

2004-05

60,059

2005-06

95,264

2006-07

108,715

2007-08

137,460


English and Welsh wine forms approximately 5 per cent. of the total cellar stock. Government Hospitality has had a policy of purchasing English and Welsh wines for over 20 years. Wines are selected for their quality and longevity, and their suitability for use with a range of British produce.

Northern Ireland

AccessNI

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the nature is of the implementation issues experienced by AccessNI upon taking over background checks from the Police Service of Northern Ireland on 1 April 2008. [244809]

Paul Goggins: Initially, AccessNI did not have sufficient staff to cope with the applications received. These problems have now been resolved and AccessNI is meeting all its service standards.

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what work was undertaken by AccessNI in conjunction with other bodies in the UK to establish best practice prior to taking over the background checks form the Police Service of Northern Ireland. [244810]

Paul Goggins: AccessNI was established through a joint programme that comprised representatives from the Northern Ireland Office, the Department of Education, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.


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The programme team consulted with the Criminal Records Bureau and Disclosure Scotland.

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what work has been undertaken to rectify the implementation issues experienced by AccessNI upon taking over background checks from the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of such work. [244811]

Paul Goggins: Additional staff have been appointed and the working hours extended. As a result of these actions I can confirm that AccessNI is now meeting its service standards.

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) resources and (b) personnel have been made available to Access NI in its first year of operation; and what assessment he has made of AccessNI's ability to perform the functions it assumed from the Police Service of Northern Ireland regarding background checks. [245142]

Paul Goggins: AccessNI was established on 1 April 2008 and has been in operation for less than nine months. All necessary resources to enable AccessNI to achieve its service targets have been made available. This has included additional staffing, including both permanent and temporary, the creation of overtime at weekends and evenings and the provision of additional accommodation.

Initially AccessNI had a total of 22 staff but due to the heavier than expected workload this number increased to its current total of 57 (or 63 if Identity and Passport Service Staff are included). This number includes both permanent and temporary staff.

It is important to note that while criminal history searches for certain posts had previously been carried out by the PSNI, the checks carried out now are more stringent than in the past.

I am pleased to report that AccessNI is now meeting all of its service standards.

Departmental Consultants

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 12 November 2008, Official Report, column 1209W, on departmental consultants, which organisations were used as external consultants in (a) the last 12 months and (b) the last five years. [243397]

Mr. Woodward: The information on which organisations were used as external consultants in (a) the last 12 months and (b) the last three years is detailed in the following lists.

(a) Organisations used as external consultants for the period April 2007 to March 2008:


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(b) Organisations used as external consultants is not available for the last five years and to obtain this information would incur disproportionate costs. The following list provides information on organisations used as external consultants for the periods April 2006 to March 2007 and April 2005 to March 2006:

For the period April 2006 to March 2007 :

For the period April 2005 to March 2006 :

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