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29 Jun 2009 : Column 16W—continued
Northern Ireland Youth Justice Agency: Manpower
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people work for the Youth Justice Agency. [282307]
Paul Goggins: As of 31 March 2009, the Youth Justice Agency had 368 permanent staff in post.
Police Service of Northern Ireland: Recruitment
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is taking to increase the number of Catholic recruits to the PSNI. [282280]
Paul Goggins: That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Police Service of Northern Ireland: Reserves
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many part-time reservists have been retained by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [282741]
Paul Goggins: That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
International Development
Developing Countries: Homophobia
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps his Department has taken to combat homophobia in developing countries. [282285]
Chris Bryant: I have been asked to reply.
The UK believes that every state has an obligation to protect the rights of all its citizens, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) people, without discrimination of any kind. We regularly raise this with governments of countries where the rights of LGBT people are violated. In countries where same sex relationships are illegal, we continue to press for decriminalisation.
In 2008 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office launched a “toolkit” designed to provide guidance to our posts to help them in lobbying host governments to protect LGBT rights. We work extensively through the EU and other actors to promote LGBT rights including through wider equality and non-discrimination initiatives. At the end of 2008, the UK was heavily involved in lobbying for support for the joint UN Statement on the Rights of LGBT people at the UN General Assembly. This was supported by a number of developing countries.
Leader of the House
Legislation
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Leader of the House when she expects the Government’s Draft Legislative Programme for 2009-10 to be published; and if she will make a statement. [282650]
Barbara Keeley: The Government’s Draft Legislative Programme was published today as part of ‘Building Britain’s Future.’
Written Questions
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Leader of the House what steps she intends to take to improve the system of written parliamentary questions in the House. [282679]
Barbara Keeley: My right hon. Friend and I keep the issue of written parliamentary questions under constant review and we await with interest the report of the right hon. Gentleman’s committee.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
British Overseas Territories
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2009, Official Report, column 166W, on British Overseas Territories: young offenders, how many of the personal records held on the Overseas Territories Regional Crime Intelligence System relate to cross-border drug offences. [282286]
Chris Bryant: There are 28,175 records relating to all drug offences on the Overseas Territories Regional Criminal Intelligence System. However, the system is not designed to differentiate between offences for drug use and those relating specifically to the movement of drugs across borders.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what acreage of land in the (a) Cayman Islands and (b) British Virgin Islands was designated as (i) environmentally protected and (ii) a site of scientific interest in the last five years. [282311]
Chris Bryant:
The information requested is held by the Governments of the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands. Due to capacity constraints in both
Territories, neither has been able to provide the information in the time available. We will revert with the information as soon as we receive it.
Cayman Islands
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Royal Navy ships are deployed in the Caribbean to combat illegal immigration in the Cayman Islands. [282309]
Chris Bryant: Royal Navy vessels are deployed to the Caribbean primarily to support the security of the Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda during the hurricane season.
The Cayman Islands Government are responsible for matters related to illegal immigration.
Cayman Islands: Tourism
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British tourists visited the Cayman Islands in each of the last 10 years. [282312]
Chris Bryant: The Economics and Statistics Office in the Cayman Islands collates visitor arrivals figures by country of origin. These are available at:
Commonwealth: Meetings
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the (a) Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and (b) Commonwealth Foreign Ministers' meeting in 2011 are scheduled to take place. [282592]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Commonwealth Secretariat ordinarily arranges Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM) for November. In a CHOGM year Commonwealth Foreign Ministers usually meet twice. The first meeting is usually held in the margins of UN General Assembly meetings in September. They then typically meet again immediately prior to CHOGM itself. We have no confirmation of dates, but have no reason to believe this arrangement will be any different in 2011.
Departmental Air Travel
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 1 June 2009, Official Report, column 233W, on departmental air travel, whether duty staff travelling on journeys by air of over three hours duration may (a) claim for business class travel as part of the cost of a first class ticket and (b) travel in economy class but claim for a business class ticket. [281710]
Chris Bryant: Staff travelling on duty journeys (official trips) are required to use approved routes, which are usually the most direct and economical. Staff on duty journeys are not permitted to fly in first class and are not permitted to downgrade to a lower class of travel and save or use the balance. Any fare saved by downgrading accrues to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Departmental Energy
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which official is responsible for the energy efficiency of his Department's estate. [280554]
Chris Bryant: Sir Peter Ricketts, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State, has overall responsibility for the energy efficiency of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Departmental Reports
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what unclassified reports his Department's policy planning staff have produced in the last 12 months. [282661]
David Miliband: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Strategy Unit (formerly Policy Planning Staff) has produced reports on a range of subjects in this period in order to stimulate policy debate within the FCO. Only one of these has not had a formal classification: on the role of non-traditional actors in foreign policy.
General Affairs and External Relations Council: Meetings
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council in 2010 and 2011 are scheduled to take place. [282588]
Chris Bryant: Spain has announced provisional dates for the General Affairs and External Relations Council for January to June 2010, when it will hold the presidency of the Council of the EU. These dates are as follows:
25-26 January 2010
22-23 February 2010
22-23 March 2010
26-27 April 2010
10-11 May 2010
14-15 June 2010
No dates are yet available for July 2010 onwards.
Gibraltar
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 June 2009, Official Report, column 73W, on Gibraltar, whether he plans to meet (a) his Spanish counterpart and (b) representatives of EU institutions to discuss the matter further. [282277]
Chris Bryant: As stated in my previous answer, the UK has made written and oral representations to Spain and to the EU Commission at ministerial and official level. The UK will continue to seek opportunities to raise this matter with the Commission and Spain until such time as the issue is resolved.
Global Security
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to respond to the Fourth Report of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Session 2008-09, on Global Security: Non-proliferation, HC 222. [282445]
Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will carefully consider the conclusions and recommendations of the report of the Foreign Affairs Committee and reply within two months of its publication
Iran: British Nationality
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British nationals are living in Iran. [282296]
Chris Bryant: We do not hold an exact figure for the number of British nationals living in Iran. Our overseas registration system, LOCATE, currently has 306 British nationals registered as living in Iran. Of this figure 281 are resident and 25 are visitors (business/family/education/tourist). However, as there is no obligation to register through LOCATE, the actual figure may be considerably higher.
We continue to encourage all British nationals abroad to register using the LOCATE system.
Madeleine McCann
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government has made any representations to the Portuguese authorities on pursuing its investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in the last six months. [282490]
Chris Bryant: Our embassy in Lisbon has continued to raise the case with the Portuguese authorities. The head of the Portuguese Criminal Investigation Police has made clear to the embassy that he is ready to consider any credible new leads that come to light.
North America: Embassies
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultations his Department held prior to its decision to transfer the passport issue service from the British high commission in Ottawa to the North American Passport Production Centre; and if he will make a statement. [282593]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The decision to transfer passport services from the British high commission in Ottawa to the British embassy in Washington was taken by an internal Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Consular Programme Board in September 2008. This followed consultation with the high commissioner in Ottawa and the ambassador in Washington, other senior managers in both posts, the consular regional director for North America and the geographical directorate in the UK. The FCO director general for change and delivery and the permanent under secretary were both invited to comment on the board’s recommendation and subsequently endorsed the decision.
Treaty of Lisbon
Mr. Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what legal advice he (a) sought and (b) received on the implications for the validity of existing ratifications of the text of the Lisbon Treaty of the changes made to that treaty by the arrangements entered into by the European Council on 18 and 19 June; and if he will make a statement. [282594]
Chris Bryant [holding answer 26 June 2009]: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear in his statement to Parliament on 23 June 2009, Official Report, column 662 that:
“When the Council met in December, we agreed that we would seek to provide the legal assurances that Ireland needed to move forward on the Lisbon treaty—that is, on taxation, defence, the right to life, education and the family. But we were equally clear in doing so that there could be no change or amendment to the treaty, only clarification of what it will and will not do. That is exactly the purpose of the guarantees that the Council has agreed for Ireland.”
Mr. Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Prime Minister's Statement of 23 June 2009, Official Report, columns 661-77, on the European Council, if he will withdraw the UK's instrument of ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. [282595]
Chris Bryant [holding answer 26 June 2009]: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear in his statement to Parliament on 23 June 2009, Official Report, column 662, the guarantees for Ireland agreed at the June European Council make
“no change or amendment to the treaty, only clarification of what it will and will not do.”
Parliament has decided on the Lisbon treaty. The treaty was debated in detail in Parliament over 25 days; both Houses voted strongly in favour at every stage. The EU (Amendment) Bill which implements the Lisbon treaty in UK law received Royal Assent on 19 June 2008, and the Government ratified the treaty on 16 July 2008.
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