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12 Oct 2009 : Column 36W—continued
China: Falun Gong
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of China on the arrest and treatment of (a) Falun Gong practitioners held in re-education through labour camps and (b) other Falun Gong practitioners. [289239]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We last raised our concerns about Falun Gong practitioners at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue on 12-13 January 2009. We asked how many re-education through labour (RTL) detainees there were and what proportion were Falun Gong. The Chinese responded saying that reforms of the system of RTL were taking place. We will continue to raise this at every appropriate opportunity.
China: Human Rights
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the detention of Mr Liu Xiaobo by the Chinese authorities; what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on the case; and if he will make a statement. [289286]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
The EU Presidency issued a Declaration on 26 June 2009 expressing the EU's deep concern about the detention of Liu Xiaobo. The EU called for the end of the prosecution of Liu Xiaobo and his
immediate release, referring to the Chinese Constitution's guarantee on the right of freedom of expression and in accordance with provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which China signed in 1998 (but has yet to ratify).
We raised the case of Liu Xiaobo at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue on 12-13 January 2009. The Chinese Delegation responded by saying his case was being dealt with by the Chinese courts. We also worked closely with our European partners to ensure this case was raised at the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue held on 14 May 2009 in Prague.
We will continue to raise this issue at every appropriate opportunity.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the location and detention of General Laurent Nkunda. [292119]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Congolese and Rwandan authorities have stated that they are still in discussions on how to deal with Laurent Nkunda. We understand that Nkunda remains under house arrest in Rwanda.
Departmental Advertising
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on newspaper advertising carried in each newspaper in the most recent year for which figures are available. [289507]
Chris Bryant: Human Resources Directorate in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have spent the following amounts on recruitment advertising during 2008-09.
| Newspaper | Spend (£) |
Consular Directorate in the FCO have spent the following amounts on advertising during 2008-09 as part of its ongoing Travel Safety campaign for British Nationals.
| Newspaper | Spend (£) |
It is possible that other parts of the FCO have incurred expenditure on newspaper advertising. However, this information is not held centrally, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Departmental Internet
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the annual cost of (a) maintaining and (b) updating the Twitter accounts (i) foreignoffice, (ii) britishabroad and (iii) fcocareers; and how many staff of his Department are responsible for updating each account. [292049]
Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) maintains a presence on Twitter as part of our wider digital communications strategy. Twitter is a free tool that allows us to communicate the work of the FCO to a global audience who might not normally visit our websites, and at minimal cost.
There is no financial cost to setting up or hosting FCO Twitter accounts. FCO Twitter accounts are updated by FCO staff as part of their existing communications responsibilities. We estimate that @foreignoffice and @britishabroad each takes approximately 15-30 minutes a day to update with an additional 15-30 minutes to assess the uptake of our messages and monitor relevant traffic on other channels. The account @fcocareers takes minimal resource to update since most of its content is automatically generated.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 1753-54W, on departmental marketing, what expenditure his Department incurred in departmental branding activity in 2008-09. [290216]
Chris Bryant: During the 2008-09 financial year, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) had no staff specifically employed on branding activity, although some parts of the FCO (for example Consular Directorate) undertake in-house branding activity on a continuing basis as part of their promotional campaigns.
In addition, the Communication Directorate established a three-person team to review, consolidate and simplify all aspects of the FCO's corporate identity. This team engaged the services of a branding consultant, through the Central Office of Information under normal Government procurement rules, at a cost of £80,000 in the financial year. This work has resulted in new FCO corporate identity guidelines, which will enable the FCO in the UK and in posts around the world to save money by deploying standardised designs and systems.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 11 March 2008, Official Report, columns 326-27W, on departmental official hospitality, how much his Department spent on entertaining in 2008-09. [290151]
Chris Bryant: In 2008-09 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spent £7,951,558 on a wide range of activities from entertaining individuals, to dinner receptions for Ministers and high level visitors, and other events to establish and cultivate contacts. All are undertaken in pursuit of FCO objectives, both in the UK and in our posts overseas.
This figure is made up of £7,544,672 in direct entertainment expenditure, which includes the costs of food, drink and sundries when official contacts are entertained either at an officer's home, mission residences or at an external venue, and £406,886 of Government hospitality expenditure, which is official hospitality at ministerial level across Whitehall.
All entertainment expenditure, including that on hospitality, is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and HM Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Minister in his Department has been assigned responsibility for overseeing the delivery of value for money in his Department; whether his Department has established a public sector reform team to implement service reforms; and if he will make a statement. [289740]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State (Chris Bryant) has been assigned responsibility for overseeing the delivery of value for money in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The FCO is committed to improving services and making efficiencies and is working closely with colleagues in the centre of Government on this important agenda.
Departmental Recruitment
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what data his Department holds on the level of diversity in its recruitment of employees in each of the last three years. [290506]
Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office holds the following data on the level of diversity in its recruitment of employees, into both the senior management structure and the delegated grades, in the last three financial years:
| FY 2007-08 | FY 2008-09 | FY 2009-101 | |
| Percentage | |||
| (1) Data for financial year (FY) 2009-10 cover campaigns completed as of end of August 2009. | |||
Further diversity statistics of UK-based staff can be found in the following publication:
Departmental Recycling
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of his Department's waste was recycled in the latest period for which figures are available. [289673]
Chris Bryant: During the latest period, 2008-09, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office recycled 59 per cent. of its waste on its UK estate. This compares to a figure of 48 per cent. for 2007-08.
Departmental Training
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many external training courses were attended by staff of his Department in the last 12 months; and what the cost was of each course. [289692]
Chris Bryant: Human resources directorate sponsors three significant courses, which sit outside of the main Foreign and Commonwealth Office training framework. These are:
Programme timings May 2008-May 2009
Approximately 130 persons enrolled
£3,000 cost per person
£390,000 approx total cost
56 persons enrolled
A part of the Government Pathfinder Scheme which is fully funded by the Learning and Skills Council.
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development-HR related qualifications/yearly subscriptions:
Number not centrally recorded.
Other departments in London and posts overseas are likely to sponsor other external courses. However records are not held centrally so we cannot provide this information without incurring disproportionate cost.
Departmental Travel
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on (a) car hire, (b) train travel, (c) air travel, (d) hotels and (e) restaurant meals for (i) Ministers and (ii) staff in his Department in each of the last five years. [289994]
Chris Bryant: This information is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code respectively, and all spending on official entertainment is made in accordance with the principles set out in Managing Public Money.
I also refer the hon. Member to the Cabinet Office annual list of overseas travel over £500 undertaken by Ministers. The 2008-09 list was published on 16 July 2009 and can be viewed at:
Fiji: Methodists
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on allegations of persecution of members of the Methodist Church in Fiji; and if he will make a statement. [292162]
Chris Bryant: I remain extremely concerned over the human rights situation in Fiji, particularly since the abrogation of the constitution in April this year. Through our high commission in Suva, among other sources, we continue to watch events closely. These include the cancellation of the Methodist Church annual meeting in July and the arrest and detention of church leaders.
We have made our concerns at these and other developments clear to the military regime in Fiji, and have drawn them to the attention of international partners, including the EU. Fiji was suspended from the Commonwealth on 1 September following meetings of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, of which the UK is a member. The UK most recently raised its concerns on human rights in Fiji in a statement to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in September.
Gibraltar: Territorial Waters
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reasons the Government provided to the European Court of Justice in support of its application for leave to join Gibraltar in its action against Spain in respect of territorial waters; and if he will make a statement. [291556]
Chris Bryant: On 7 August 2009 the Government requested permission from the Court of First Instance to intervene in support of the Government of Gibraltar (GoG) against the European Commission seeking annulment of Commission Decision 2009/95/EC in so far as it includes a Site of Community Interest (SCI) proposed by Spain which overlaps with British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW) (case T-176/09). It should be noted that at this stage, in requesting permission from the court to intervene, we have not submitted our substantive written intervention. We are currently awaiting a response from the court to our request.
The UK is the only state competent to include a site within BGTW on a list of SCIs submitted to the Commission. We have placed on record that the UK does not recognise the validity of the Spanish listing.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the Government did not apply to join Gibraltar's action in the European Court of Justice regarding Spain's claim to Gibraltar's territorial waters until after the deadline for such applications; and if he will make a statement. [291637]
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