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20 May 2009 : Column 1423W—continued
Departmental Training
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on staff training in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available. [273704]
Gillian Merron: During the 12 month period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spent approximately £9.4 million centrally on learning and development including language training, core skills and specialist human resources training.
The FCO also devolves training funds to overseas posts, geographical and thematic directorates. Information on these funds is not held centrally and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Gambia: Politics and Government
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions consular staff in the Gambia have visited David and Fiona Fulton in detention; and what consular services have been provided to David and Fiona Fulton. [275333]
Gillian Merron: I cannot comment on Mrs. Fiona Fulton as she has not given permission for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss her case with third parties. Consular staff have visited Mr. Fulton 13 times. We are monitoring this case closely and will continue to make regular visits. Our primary concern when British nationals are detained overseas is for their welfare. We have provided Mr. Fulton with support and information and liaised with the Gambian authorities as appropriate, and continue to keep his family updated on progress.
Government Hospitality Fund
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2009, Official Report, column 511W, on the Government Hospitality Fund, how much the Government Hospitality unit of his Department's Protocol Directorate has spent on (a) linen, (b) china, (c) silver and (d) glassware in each of the last five years. [271727]
Gillian Merron: Government Hospitality (GH) recorded the following expenditure on items of linen, china, silver and glassware between 2004 and 2008:
| £ | |||||
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
Most of the equipment held by GH is several decades old, and was purchased at the time of Her Majesty the Queen's accession to the throne. GH purchases replacement stock, for example purchase of china in 2004 to replace 50-year-old dinner plates, produced by Wedgewood as a special commission. GH also buys new stock items when required for one-off occasions, for example the G8 summit in 2005 at Gleneagles.
Israel: Nuclear Weapons
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether matters in respect of Israel’s nuclear weapons capability and regional non-proliferation opportunities were discussed at his meeting with his Israeli counterpart on 13 May 2009 in London. [276305]
Caroline Flint: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary did not discuss these matters with Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman during their meeting on 13 May 2009.
Middle East: Armed Conflict
Mrs. Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an assessment of the likely effect on the Middle East peace process of the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Corporal Shalit. [276494]
Caroline Flint: We judge that Corporal Shalit's release would prove to be a positive step for the Middle East Peace Process.
The UK continues to call for the immediate, unconditional and safe release of Gilad Shalit. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary reiterated this most recently in his statement to the UN Security Council on 11 May 2009. We have also shown our support to Corporal Shalit's family by meeting his parents on several occasions.
Official Hospitality
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent on entertainment by each British (a) Embassy, (b) High Commission and (c) Consulate in 2008. [273702]
Gillian Merron: The direct entertainment expenditure figure available for the financial year 2008 (April 2007 to March 2008) is £6,470,379.11.
Our accounting reports do not allow us to separate the spend on entertainment into the categories requested and it would involve disproportionate cost to interrogate them further.
This figure includes all items, for example catering and set up costs that are directly attributable to functions, events and receptions held at posts throughout the world and in the UK.
Somalia: Piracy
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on disrupting information networks used by Somali pirates. [276002]
Gillian Merron: Working Group 1 of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, which includes some EU member states, met for the second time on 7 and 8 May 2009 at the International Maritime Organisation. The Working Group, which is chaired by the UK, was attended by Interpol. In his conclusions, the Chair welcomed the engagement of Interpol with the work of the Contact Group and Interpol’s willingness to engage with the military operations on information and intelligence sharing. Work in this area will continue.
Sri Lanka: Human Rights
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports that members of the armed forces in Sri Lanka have been involved in serious human rights abuses in recent weeks; and if he will make a statement. [275313]
Bill Rammell: We are very concerned at the reports of human rights abuses linked to both sides of the conflict in Sri Lanka. It is very difficult to confirm these worrying reports, given the lack of access for independent monitors and the media. We take every opportunity to raise our concerns with the Sri Lankan Government and we have consistently called for full access by independent monitors. We have also called for an early investigation as to whether crimes have been committed against civilians.
USA: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference
Mr. Dai Davies:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the written material (a) produced for and (b) obtained by his Department at the Preparatory Committee
meeting for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York; and which Ministers and officials attended that Conference. [276105]
Caroline Flint: This year’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) achieved a great deal, including agreeing an agenda for the 2010 Review Conference by consensus for the first time in 15 years. It was attended by a broad UK delegation headed by John Duncan, Ambassador for Arms Control and Disarmament. The delegation included officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Ministry of Defence, Department of Energy and Climate Change and our mission to the Conference on Disarmament, as well as an academic adviser.
Written documents agreed at the PrepCom are already in the public domain see:
and the FCO does not intend to publish any internal documents which were written or obtained by our delegation. However, as promised in the Prime Minister’s 17 March 2009 speech, we will publish a “Road to 2010” plan this year.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to answer question 260887, tabled on 2 March 2009, on UK visas for sporting events. [271071]
Mr. Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 May 2009, Official Report, columns 43-44W.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to answer question 261736, tabled on 4 March 2009, on UK visas for sporting events. [271072]
Mr. Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 May 2009, Official Report, columns 542-43W.
Health
Abortion
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what records he holds on the medical conditions which created the need for abortions to be performed in emergency to save the life of the mother in those cases which have arisen in each year since 1986; and how many times each such condition has been the relevant factor. [275609]
Dawn Primarolo:
In the 17 years between 1986 and 2002, there were 59 abortions performed under section 1(4) of the Abortion Act 1967, as amended, in an emergency to save the life of the pregnant woman. Numbers for each year between 2003 and 2007 were less than 10 (between nought and nine) and are suppressed, for confidentiality reasons, in line with the Office for National Statistics' guidance on the disclosure of abortion statistics
(2005). No further details about the specific medical conditions can be given as total figures are less than 10 (between nought and nine) in all cases.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which Directorate in his Department has responsibility for the (a) formulation and (b) implementation of policy on (i) abortion, (ii) sexual and reproductive health and (iii) euthanasia and assisted dying; how many officials in his Department at each pay band are employed in this Directorate; what other posts in his Department each such official has held; and if he will make a statement. [275610]
Dawn Primarolo: The Directorate with responsibility for the formulation and implementation of policy on abortion, sexual and reproductive health and euthanasia and assisted dying is the Health Improvement and Protection Directorate. It is one of the biggest in the Department and covers a wide range of policy areas including: Health and Wellbeing, Pandemic Flu, International and Public Health, Immunisation, Emergency Preparedness, Health Promotion, Analytical Services and Health, Science and Bioethics.
The whole time equivalent total of staff and their grade is:
| Whole time equivalent | |
Information about the career histories of individuals working in the Health Improvement and Protection Division, or elsewhere in the Department, is not held centrally and it is not our practice for such information to be retained locally by a directorate. To establish this would incur disproportionate cost.
Aerotoxic Syndrome
Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department is conducting research into the condition referred to as aerotoxic syndrome. [274680]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government’s interest in issues to do with aerotoxicity rests primarily with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport. The Department has not commissioned research on the topic.
Cancer: Alcoholic Drinks
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009, Official Report, column 102W, on cancer: alcoholic drinks, what statistical evidence his Department holds of a relationship between alcohol consumption and female breast cancer; [274634]
(2) what statistics his Department holds on links between alcohol use and different forms of cancer in (a) men and (b) women. [274677]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not maintain a library of the numerous academic publications on the health harms, including cancer, associated with alcohol consumption, however it is important to note that as part of the policy making process the Department seeks expert advice from relevant health experts.
In addition to the scientific papers referenced in the answer of 5 May 2009, Official Report, column 102W, on cancer and alcoholic drinks, the Department holds copies of the following:
Committee on Carcinogenicity (COC) analysis into the consumption of alcohol and breast cancer. This analysis was published by the COC in their 2004 annual report;
“Alcohol, tobacco and breast cancer—collaborative reanalysis of individual data from 53 epidemiological studies, including 58,515 women with breast cancer and 95,067 women without the disease”, by Hamajima N, et al and published in the British Journal of Cancer 87 (11): 1234-1245;
“Meta-analysis of Studies of Alcohol and Breast Cancer with Consideration of the Methodological Issues”, by Key J, et al and published in Cancer Causes Control 17: 759-770; and
“Alcohol-attributable fractions for England: Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions”, Jones L et al., North West Public Health Observatory (2008). This reviews the relationships between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms and estimates the proportion of deaths and hospital admissions that are caused by alcohol, including cancer.
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