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20 Apr 2009 : Column 492W—continued
Tuberculosis: Overseas Aid
Mr. Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department’s priorities are in respect of programmes for the global control of tuberculosis in the next 12 months. [268069]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development’s (DFID) main focus remains the delivery of the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-15, which aims to save 14 million lives. We do this with substantial support through country programmes, multilateral organisations, global partnerships, research, and through using our political voice in the G8 and other fora.
Key priorities for TB control at present include addressing the challenges of HIV-TB co-infection and the increasing problem of drug resistance. We will continue to focus on both HIV and TB, and on strengthening the underlying health systems in order to improve the way health services diagnose and treat illnesses, including TB and TB-HIV. We will also continue to support research into new TB treatments. DFID recently made a new £18 million funding package to the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development. This is part of the £220 million committed for product development research for diseases including HIV, TB and malaria.
Mr. Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that international development and control of the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis are discussed at the 2009 G8 conference in Italy. [268070]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Italy holds the presidency of the G8 this year and they have agreed that development and Africa will be a key element of the G8 Leaders Summit in Italy in July. As with previous summits, the UK Government will continue to work through all available channels in the lead up to the summit to ensure that tackling global health challenges remains a high priority for the leaders’ agenda. The UK is strongly committed to reducing death and suffering from drug-resistant tuberculosis, and will encourage other G8 partners to ensure that tuberculosis is addressed as part of the comprehensive package of G8 measures. This should enable developing countries to make faster progress towards the millennium development goal targets.
Washington
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which airline was used by the hon. Member for Dewsbury (Mr. Malik) for his visit to Washington from 25 to 26 October 2007, as listed in the Cabinet Office’s list of overseas travel by Ministers undertaken between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008; what class his ticket was; how much the flight cost; what accommodation he used; how much it cost; who accompanied him; what official engagements he undertook on his visit; and if he will make a statement. [269333]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Details of Ministers’ travel are published annually in the Cabinet Office publication “Overseas Travel by Ministers”. The most recent version is available in the Library of the House and online at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/cabinetoffice/propriety_and_ethics/assets/travel_2007_2008.pdf
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Arctic
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Canadian counterpart on Russian military deployments in the Arctic. [268751]
Caroline Flint: There have been no discussions between my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and the Canadian Foreign Minister on this matter.
Balkans: Conflict Prevention
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 25 March 2009, Official Report, columns 17-19WS, on conflict resources 2009-10, what level of funding will be provided for conflict prevention work in the Balkans; and if he will make a statement. [267725]
Caroline Flint: We plan to fund some £6.5 million of conflict prevention project work in the Western Balkans from the Wider Europe Conflict Prevention Fund in 2009-10. I have covered this further in my letter of 25 March 2009 to the chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 25 March 2009, Official Report, columns 17-19WS, on conflict resources 2009-10, what a reduced level of commitment to EU and OSCE operations in the Balkans and the Caucasus will entail; how much funding is required for this reduced level of commitment; how much funding was originally planned under the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review; and if he will make a statement. [267726]
Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement given by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on 25 March 2009, Official Report, column 18WS.
The UK will continue to support the work of EU and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe missions in the Balkans and south Caucasus. Details of the prioritisation of our commitments are set out in my letter to the Chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee of 25 March 2009, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
Binyam Mohamed
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department's Senior Legal Adviser was instructed during his recent visit to Washington to request the US administration to permit the release of the 42 documents on Binyam Mohamed currently classified as secret by the US intelligence services. [260384]
David Miliband: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Legal Adviser met with a range of interlocutors from across the US government on 9-10 February 2009 to discuss legal issues relating to a number of foreign policy matters including the case of Mr. Binyam Mohamed. At this stage we continued to press for Mr. Mohamed's release and return. The FCO legal adviser was informed of the US review on all state secret cases ordered by President Obama. He made it clear that the UK had no objection to the release of US documents in this case. We will not lobby the US on the matter. It is for them to decide on the publication of their documents.
British Council: Finance
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2009, Official Report, column 778W, on British Council: finance, how much expenditure (a) in which countries and (b) on what programmes he expects the British Council to incur under its Reconnect Programme in 2008-09. [268605]
Caroline Flint: The British Council's Reconnect programme for 2008-09 focussed on youth leadership programmes within countries in its priority regions of the middle east, near east and north Africa as well as parts of its central and south Asia and east Asia regions.
The individual programmes are: Global Changemakers, Active Citizens, Global Exchange, Leadership in Community Development, Women at Work and the Springboard Programme. The total spend for these programmes in 2008-09 is forecasted at just over £2 million which constitutes £1 million of the British Council's Reconnect funding supplemented by additional funding from the British Council's grant in aid funding.
British Overseas Territories: Nature Conservation
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many animal species previously known to inhabit each British Overseas Territory have been recorded as extinct since 2004. [269728]
Gillian Merron: As far as we are aware, no animal species previously known to inhabit each British Overseas Territory has been recorded as extinct since 2004.
British Virgin Islands: Nature Conservation
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure the preservation of biodiversity and coral reefs in the British Virgin Islands. [269780]
Gillian Merron: The management and protection of the environment has been devolved to the individual Overseas Territories. However, we recognise that there are capacity limitations in the Overseas Territories and that they need help to address conservation issues. The Government supports the Overseas Territories by providing funding through the Overseas Territories Environment Programme, a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development funded programme, and through the Darwin Initiative, a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, funded programme, to encourage the conservation and preservation of biodiversity in the British Virgin Islands.
Through the Overseas Territories Environment Fund, we are funding a project for the community of Jost Van Dyke, the fourth largest inhabited island in the British Virgin Islands, to help it develop an environmental profile and increase environmental awareness among residents, stakeholders, visitors and government agencies, providing a long-term programme of education, outreach and environmental monitoring.
We have also provided funding for a project, working with the British Virgin Islands National Parks Trust, which has created an identification guide to the major Caribbean reef species. This enables accurate monitoring and conservation of the reefs, and also enables information to be shared across the Caribbean Overseas Territories, whose reefs have many ecological similarities.
Canada: Politics and Government
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps the Government has taken to monitor the political situation in Canada. [266096]
Bill Rammell: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in London, and staff based at our high commission in Ottawa and at our consulates-general elsewhere in Canada, maintain frequent and regular contact with their Canadian counterparts on a wide range of domestic and international political issues. At ministerial level, recent contacts have included my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary’s meeting on 16 February 2009 with Peter Mackay, Canadian Minister of National Defence and chair of its Cabinet Foreign Affairs Committee, and my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s telephone call on 17 March 2009 to the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Central Africa: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the contribution of the EU military mission in Chad and the Central African Republic to regional stability. [268033]
Gillian Merron: During its one year mandate, the EU forces in Chad and the Central African Republic made a valuable contribution towards providing security in the region, in particular by deterring attacks on civilians by armed groups and in facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Children: Safety
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) funding and (b) other assistance his Department provided for the production of series (i) one, (ii) two and (iii) three of the Kids Taskforce Watch over Me production. [268041]
Caroline Flint: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provided £62,412 over the 2004-05 financial year towards the development of series 2 of the "Kids Task Force—Watch over Me" video production to cover the inclusion of issues relating to forced marriage and how they affect young people.
The FCO did not provide any other funding or assistance to the project.
Colombia: Drugs
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the counter-narcotics assistance provided by the Government to the Colombian security forces is not used for counter-insurgency purposes. [269737]
Gillian Merron: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 3 March 2009, Official Report, column 1410W.
Colombia: Military Aid
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 30 March 2009, Official Report, columns 40-2WS, on Colombia, what plans there are for future UK bilateral counter-narcotics assistance to the Colombian security forces. [268865]
Gillian Merron: We do not divulge the details of our counter-narcotics work in Colombia, including costs, because of the risk to the people concerned. The parliamentary ombudsman has upheld this approach.
Conflict Prevention
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 25 March 2009, Official Report, columns 17-19WS, on conflict resources 2009-10, what the breakdown is of the costs incurred under each peacekeeping mission to which the UK is committed; and if he will make a statement. [267721]
Bill Rammell: Based on our calculations, in 2008-09 we estimate that the UK’s share of assessed costs to individual missions paid for from within conflict resources will be as follows:
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