| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
11 Feb 2009 : Column 1997W—continued
Cyprus: Community Relations
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 365W, on Cyprus: community relations, when he last made representations to Turkey over meeting the award of the European Court of Human Rights in the Arestes case; and if he will make a statement. [252877]
Caroline Flint: The issue was last discussed at senior official level at the start of January 2009 and at ministerial level during my visit to Turkey in December 2008.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2009, Official Report, columns 378-80W, on UN Cyprus Committee on Missing Persons, when he expects to make a final decision as to whether to make further donations to the UN Cyprus Committee on Missing Persons; and if he will make a statement. [252878]
Caroline Flint: The UK has donated £109,000 to the Committee of Missing Persons (CMP) over the past four years. In addition the UK leases the land on which the CMP laboratory is situated for a nominal £1 rent per year. The Government have no plans for further donations at present.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 363W, on Cyprus: community relations; if he will make an estimate of the number of (a) Turkish nationals (excluding the armed forces) and (b) Turkish militia living in northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [252879]
Caroline Flint: We have no means of independently estimating the number in either case.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 362W, on Cyprus: community relations, if he will make an estimate of the (a) number and (b) ages of the enclaved Greek Cypriots living in Karpai; and if he will make a statement. [252880]
Caroline Flint: There are no Government estimates of the number and average age of anyone living in the Karpas peninsula. We have no means of independently estimating the number in either case.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 361-2W, on Cyprus: community relations, if he will make representations to the Turkish Army in North Cyprus to permit Maronites to visit Agia Marina; and if he will make a statement. [252881]
Caroline Flint:
The Government are aware of the difficulties faced by the Maronite community in Cyprus in accessing their villages of origin, including the villages of Agia Marina. Ultimately, these issues occur as a result of the political situation on the island, and will
only be fully resolved by a comprehensive settlement to reunite the island. We will continue to engage with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities and all other parties as necessary, including Turkey, to support progress towards a settlement.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 362W, on Cyprus: community relations, when he last discussed the issue of the enclaved Greek Cypriots in the Karpas in the Committee of Ministers in the Council of Europe; what representations he made; and if he will make a statement. [252884]
Caroline Flint: My right hon. Friend has not discussed the problems faced by Greek Cypriots living in the Karpas in the Committee of Ministers. However Ministers’ deputies regularly discuss issues arising out of the 2001 Cyprus v. Turkey judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in their quarterly meetings supervising execution of ECHR judgments. These include property rights of the enclaved. The last such discussion was 2-4 December 2008.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 369W, on Cyprus: press, how much the High Commission has spent on advertising in newspapers owned by Asil Nadir in northern Cyprus in each of the last three years. [252915]
Caroline Flint: For the period April 2007 to March 2008 the high commission spent GBP £1,315 advertising in Kibris and Cyprus Today which are both owned by Asil Nadir. The sum spent since April 2008 is GBP £1,075.20. The high commission advertises in these newspapers as they are the biggest selling papers in their market. A recent estimate showed Kibris accounting for 49 per cent. of newspaper sales in the north.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in securing additional (a) personnel, (b) resources and (c) airlift capability for the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1843 on 20 November 2008; and if he will make a statement. [253952]
David Miliband: The UN has accepted an official proposal from Bangladesh to provide one infantry battalion, one engineer company and one formed police unit, as well as a proposal from Belgium to provide a C-130 aircraft to the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). In addition, five UN member states have agreed to send the required intelligence experts to MONUC.
Further to this, a number of states have expressed interest in providing the second authorised infantry battalion, two special forces companies, and a second formed police unit. The UN is assessing these expressions of interest.
We will continue to lobby current and potential troop contributing countries until additional personnel are found.
Departmental Correspondence
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's average response time to a letter received from (a) an hon. Member and (b) a member of the public was in each of the last three years. [251439]
Gillian Merron: Guidance for Government Departments handling correspondence from hon. Members is laid down by the Cabinet Office, which has set a target of 20 working days to reply to routine correspondence.
Records do not indicate the average time taken to answer hon. Members’ letters. I can confirm that of the 11,970 letters received from hon. Members in 2006, records indicate that 89 per cent. were answered within the 20 working days target; of the 9,790 letters received from hon. Members in 2007, records indicate that 92 per cent. were answered within the 20 working days target; and of the 10,334 letters received from hon. Members in 2008, records indicate that 87 per cent. were answered within the 20 working days target.
Cabinet Office does not issue guidance for Government Departments answering letters from members of the public. Records of letters received from members of the public until late 2007 are not available and we are therefore unable to provide figures for either 2006 or 2007. However, of the 73,048 letters received from members of the public (including e-mails and campaign postcards), our records indicate that 62,671 were answered within 20 working days.
Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in his Department were disciplined for (a) bullying and (b) harassment of colleagues in each of the last three years. [254087]
Gillian Merron: The information is as follows:
In 2006, one member of staff was disciplined for bullying. None were disciplined for harassment.
In 2007, one member of staff was disciplined for bullying, one was disciplined for harassment.
In 2008, three members of staff were disciplined for combined bullying and harassment.
These records cover reported disciplinaries of UK-based staff. There are no central records held for locally-engaged staff. This information would be held locally at post and could only be retrieved with disproportionate cost.
Departmental Freedom of Information
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department (a) agreed to and (b) refused (i) in 2006, (ii) in 2007 and (iii) between January and July 2008; [255499]
(2) what the average time was for his Department to respond to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in the last 12 months. [255500]
Gillian Merron: The available statistical information regarding FOI requests received by Departments can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at
Departmental Impact Assessments
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many equalities impact assessments his Department has undertaken in the last 12 month period for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of such assessments. [255073]
Gillian Merron: During 2008 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office undertook nine main equality impact assessments. An estimate of the cost of undertaking these assessments could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 9 July 2008, Official Report, column 1656W, on departmental personnel, how many staff in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies are (i) without posts and (ii) within the corporate pool; how many staff without posts were classified as such upon returning from maternity leave; and how many of the staff without posts were classified as such for at least (A) six and (B) 12 months. [250044]
Gillian Merron: On 22 December 2008 there were 226 members of staff in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) corporate pool. Of these, 166 were deployed in temporary jobs and 60 were either on training courses or were shortly to go on maternity leave, retire or take up a job. Four members of staff who had recently returned from maternity leave were either deployed in temporary jobs or on training courses. There were no members of staff able to work who were not deployed.
There were 53 members of staff who had been in the corporate pool for more than six months and 25 who had been in the pool for twelve months.
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisors
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what expert advisers have been commissioned by his Department and its agencies since 1997; on what topic each was commissioned; and whether the adviser so appointed made a declaration of political activity in each case. [246956]
Gillian Merron: The detailed information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) sponsors a number of advisory non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) which provide independent expert advice on a number of issues. Statistics concerning NDPBs that are sponsored by the FCO are on the FCO website:
Appointments to NDPBs are governed by the principles set out in the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice. Summary information is published in ‘Public Bodies’ which can be accessed online at:
or copies are available in the Libraries of the House.
In addition, the Government publish on an annual basis the names and numbers of special advisers in each pay band.
Detainees: Guantanamo Bay
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether one of the detainees rendered through Diego Garcia is still being held in the Guantanamo Bay detention centre. [253243]
Bill Rammell: Both of the individuals rendered through Diego Garcia in 2002 have been returned to their countries of nationality.
Diplomatic Service
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many serving Ambassadors and High Commissioners were born in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) England. [253616]
Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not collect or hold in its central records details of the place of birth or region of origin of its staff. Their details would be available only at disproportionate cost.
Ethiopia: Eritrea
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the Answer of 20 October 2008, Official Report, columns 96-7W, on Ethiopia: Eritrea, on how many occasions in the last 12 months (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have raised the issue of the binding verdict of the International Ethiopian Eritrean Boundary Commission with the Ethiopian authorities. [253333]
Gillian Merron: UK Ministers have consistently said to the Ethiopian authorities that both parties should: avoid any return to war; demarcate the border; and normalise their relations. Ethiopia and Eritrea should agree a way forward to allow demarcation to proceed and for a normalisation process to begin, as set out in the Algiers Agreements of June and December 2000, to which both Ethiopia and Eritrea are signatories.
In the last 12 months, we have raised this issue on four occasions at ministerial level.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials also continually reiterate these messages with their Ethiopian counterparts in Addis Ababa, London and New York.
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects Ethiopia to dismantle its settlements in Dembe Menga, western Eritrea in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1430 of August 2002. [253334]
Gillian Merron: We would expect representations regarding settlements believed to be on land awarded to the other party under the Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Commission decision to form part of any demarcation process and normalisation of relations.
We will continue to communicate the UK’s policy to both parties including through the United Nations.
Iraq: Elections
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the electoral process for the forthcoming provincial elections in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [253197]
Bill Rammell: The provincial elections on 31 January 2009 mark another milestone in Iraq’s development as a democracy. Groups who boycotted the last provincial elections and who have turned against violence will participate this time around, and for the first time the Iraqi authorities have been completely responsible for planning and running a democratic election.
The electorate are able to vote for individual candidates, rather than just political groupings, and as an acknowledgment of the important role both minorities and women play in Iraq, the election law provides quotas for both.
The Independent High Electoral Commission, with the assistance of the UN, has been putting in place since the beginning of 2008 the mechanisms to ensure the elections are free and fair. These include voter information and education campaigns, the training of over 49,000 polling station staff, the accreditation of nearly 260,000 election observers and a robust complaints procedure which will allow the investigation of complaints before the final results are certified. In addition, through local non-governmental organisations and civil society, more than 2,000 electoral education activities each month have taken place in recent months.
Further information on the electoral process can be found at:
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |