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2 Jun 2009 : Column 374W—continued
The value of each private security contract for 2008-09 is as follows:
| Company | Purpose | Period | Value (£) |
| (1) Iraq and Afghanistan combined | |||
The information above covers contracts put in place by the FCO in London with private security companies, and reflects the contract values concerned and not the actual spend.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what allowances in addition to basic salary are paid to civilian employees of his Department working in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq. [275457]
Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) pays the following financial allowances to those of its staff who are UK civil servants serving in Iraq or Afghanistan in addition to basic salary:
Cost of Living Addition (COLA)—compensation for the extra costs of maintaining a UK standard of living at post.
Diplomatic Service Compensation Allowance (DSCA)—compensation for the extra cost of living in a difficult, isolated, dangerous or unhealthy location, for the disruption cause by a global mobility obligation and for representational expenses.
Afghanistan: Politics and Government
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress made in securing Afghanistan’s democratic future in the last six months. [276629]
Bill Rammell: With UK and international support, significant developments have been made in strengthening Afghan democracy since 2001. Our funding has been used to help strengthen institutions, finance the electoral process and build Afghan civil society and political participation. Notable achievements since 2001 include nationwide democratic presidential and parliamentary elections and the ratification of a new constitution.
We have already given £16.5 million to support the Afghan Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to prepare for the presidential and provincial council elections that will be held on 20 August 2009. Parliamentary and district council elections are due in 2010. International funding and support for the 2009-10 elections is being co-ordinated by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) as part of its Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow (ELECT) project.
UK financial support is complemented by ongoing political engagement by British Ministers and embassy officials—encouraging change; raising concerns with the Afghan Government; lobbying internationally for support; and working through the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s International Security Assistance Force to support thorough Afghan-led security for the elections.
Voter registration, which started in October 2008, has now been completed by the IEC across Afghanistan. We are pleased the process went according to plan, with over 4 million new names being added to the existing voter registry. The fact that the insurgents failed to disrupt the process is a credit to all involved, particularly the Afghan National Security Forces.
Candidate registration for Afghanistan’s 2009 presidential elections closed on 8 May 2009. 44 candidates registered in total, including two women. The next stage involves the Afghan Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) investigating any challenges to these candidates. The ECC will receive complaints between 16 and 21 May 2009, and after making their investigations, they will notify the IEC if any candidates have been disqualified.
For a more detailed overview of the evolution of the current Afghan political system, and examples of what the UK is doing to improve governance across the country, please see the following link to the recent Foreign and Commonwealth Office memorandum of evidence; submitted to the Foreign Affairs Committee as part of their global security inquiry into Afghanistan:
For more information on the IEC, including legal and technical details regarding the electoral process and lists of candidates, see:
More information on the UNDP’s ELECT project can be found at:
Arms Control: Nuclear Weapons
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the proposals of the US delegation to the preparatory committee for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in New York on 5 May 2009 in respect of a fissile material cut-off treaty. [276307]
Bill Rammell: We welcome the proposals made by the US delegation at this year’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee in support of a fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT).
The UK believes that an FMCT is essential for multilateral nuclear disarmament, and is one of the six steps that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary identified as necessary in order to achieve the conditions needed to help achieve a world free of nuclear weapons at the launch of the ‘Lifting the nuclear shadow’ policy information paper on 4 February 2009.
It is our hope that the Conference on Disarmament will soon adopt a Programme of Work which will include the start of negotiations on an FMCT.
Caribbean: Prisons
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the adequacy of prison provision in UK Overseas Territories in the Caribbean. [276806]
Gillian Merron: Each of the five Caribbean overseas territories (OTs) and Bermuda has at least one prison, with Bermuda and Cayman also having completely separate prisons for females. The majority of the prisons were built in the last 10-15 years (in most cases with Government assistance) to replace outdated facilities not fit for purpose. A senior manager, seconded from HM Prison Service, is based in the region to advise and support local officials on prison management and wider criminal justice issues. In addition, each prison has an independent and voluntary monitoring body working within it in order to monitor and report on conditions, and to raise any issues of concern.
The OT prison services are moving towards a focus on rehabilitation, with the recruitment of specialists to support that approach. With smaller prison and local populations, the early indicators are that these efforts are having more success than larger prison systems elsewhere are able to achieve.
Departmental Official Cars
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the flag vehicles his Department has procured for official use (a) in the UK and (b) at diplomatic posts overseas were not made in Britain. [277349]
Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently operates no flag vehicles for official use in the UK and 172 overseas. It is not possible to ascertain how many of these vehicles were not made in Britain without incurring disproportionate cost as records detailing the country of manufacture are not held centrally.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies paid in end-of-year performance bonuses to (i) all staff and (ii) senior Civil Service staff in 2008-09; and how many such payments were made. [275255]
Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), FCO Services (Trading Fund), and Wilton Park (Executive agency) made non-consolidated performance-related variable payments totalling £7,214,259 to 4,722 staff in 2008 to reward performance in 2007-08.
Within this total we paid £2,435,100 in non-consolidated performance-related payments to 288 staff in the senior management structure/senior civil service. Almost 30 per cent. of FCO staff in the senior management structure received no performance related variable pay in 2008.
All three organisations use the same payroll and pay moderation process. To separate the payments made by each Department/agency would incur disproportionate cost.
Economic Situation
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) operating arrangements and (b) objectives have been established for the early warning system his Department has initiated to monitor economies at risk of suffering political and social unrest; and which countries are under observation. [275326]
Gillian Merron: Ongoing assessment of political, social and economic conditions in countries around the world is central to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) pursuit of its departmental strategic objectives. The diplomatic reporting from the FCO’s global network is a key part of this assessment. In response to the global economic crisis, the FCO has enhanced its reporting and analysis of the impact of economic turbulence upon worldwide political and social conditions, and on emerging risks. The FCO looks at all countries as part of this process.
Egypt: Prisoners
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the arrest by the Egyptian authorities of 49 people allegedly linked to a cell assigned by Hezbollah for the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks in Egypt. [277496]
Bill Rammell: In April 2009, the Egyptian authorities announced that they had arrested a group of people with alleged links to a Hezbollah cell. The cell is reported to have been made up of 49 people of various nationalities, including Egyptians, Lebanese and Palestinians. The Egyptian authorities have confirmed that none of the suspects are British nationals.
The Egyptian authorities allege that the cell was established by Hezbollah with the aim of attacking targets inside Egypt, including Israeli tourists and ships passing through the Suez Canal.
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he has and (b) his officials have had with the Egyptian government on the recent arrest of 49 people allegedly linked to a cell assigned by Hezbollah. [277497]
Bill Rammell: I discussed the Hezbollah case with the Egyptian ambassador in London on 22 April 2009. I also raised it during my visit to Cairo on 20-21 May 2009 with the Egyptian Minister for Parliamentary and Legal Affairs, Dr. Moufied Shehab.
Officials at our embassy in Cairo remain in regular contact with the Egyptian government.
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the detention by Egyptian authorities of a Hezbollah operative allegedly attempting to provide logistical and military assistance to Gaza-based militants. [277506]
Bill Rammell: In April 2009, the Egyptian authorities announced that they had arrested a group of people with alleged links to a Hezbollah cell. The cell is reported to have been made up of 49 people of various nationalities, including Egyptians, Lebanese and Palestinians. The Egyptian authorities have confirmed that none of the suspects are British nationals.
The Egyptian authorities allege that the cell was established by Hezbollah with the aim of attacking targets inside Egypt, including Israeli tourists and ships passing through the Suez Canal. According to media reports, the suspects themselves and the Hezbollah leadership claim that the objective of the Egypt cell was to provide support and assistance to militants in Gaza.
EU-Israel Association Committee
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the European Commissioner for External Relations on the agenda for the EU-Israel Association Council meeting on 15 June 2009. [277694]
Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met with European Commissioner for External Relations on 9 March 2009. A number of issues were discussed, including the Middle East Peace Process. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have also been in regular contact with European Commissioner’s Cabinet regarding the agenda for the EU-Israel Association Council meeting on 15 June 2009.
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what specific areas of co-operation the European Commission has proposed for discussion at the EU-Israel Association Council meeting on 15 June 2009. [277695]
Bill Rammell: The European Commission has not yet proposed an agenda for the EU-Israel Association Council meeting on 15 June 2009.
Gurkhas: Immigration
Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received representations from the government of Nepal on proposals to grant residency rights to Gurkha soldiers who have served in the armed forces. [277431]
Bill Rammell: Our embassy in Kathmandu has maintained a constructive dialogue with the Nepalese Government about developments on the settlement policy for Gurkhas. The Nepalese Government have not expressed any concerns to the Government.
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