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26 Oct 2009 : Column 66W—continued
Cyprus: Politics and Government
David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of Turkish troops based in the Turkish-occupied territory of the Republic of Cyprus. [295625]
Chris Bryant: The Government have made no estimate of the number of Turkish or Turkish Cypriot armed forces in the north of Cyprus.
David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government has had with the Government of (a) the Republic of Cyprus, (b) Greece and (c) Turkey on the continuing role of the Guarantor Powers in the context of Cyprus's membership of the EU. [295626]
Chris Bryant: The Government regularly discusses with Cyprus, Greece and Turkey, the issue of security in the context of current negotiations to reunite the island.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to promote full implementation by the Governments of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo of their commitments to non-military policies to disarm, demobilise and repatriate members of the FDLR, as agreed in the 2007 Nairobi Communiqué; and if he will make a statement. [294737]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 21 October 2009]: A combination of military and non-military pressure on the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), and political co-operation between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, remains the most likely way of tackling the FDLR.
Both countries recently announced their ambassadors, and Congolese President Kabila and Rwandan President Kagame held their first ever bilateral summit in August. We continue to encourage DRC and Rwanda to work on other key areas, such as border security, trade and the return of refugees.
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that, in the course of Operation Kimia 2, MONUC is not directly or indirectly supporting FARDC members who have been accused of war crimes; and if he will make a statement. [294738]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 21 October 2009]: The UK has stressed on various occasions to the UN that the UN Mission in the Democratic of Congo (DRC) (MONUC) should not provide such support, including to operations which involve Bosco Ntadanga, an International Criminal Court indictee. MONUC has assured the international community that it takes every effort to avoid doing so.
The UK continues to push for implementation of this policy. DRC President Kabila recently announced a policy of "Zero Tolerance" for abuses, including those committed by the security forces. We continue to urge the DRC Government to fully implement this policy.
Departmental Procurement
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of procurement contracts (a) his Department and (b) its agencies awarded to small businesses in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08, (iii) 2008-09 and (iv) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [293245]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information on sizes of companies is not currently recorded on our management information system, Prism, although in accordance with the recommendations of the Glover report we are currently changing our processes to capture this information.
We are unable at this time to generate a report containing information on Foreign and Commonwealth Office contracts with small businesses which means the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Publicity
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how much his Department has spent on its (a) Know Before You Go campaign, (b) "Another Side to Paradise" campaign, (c) "Don't miss out campaign" and (d) other campaigns aimed at Britons travelling abroad co-ordinated by his Department in each year since 2001; [295399]
(2) whether any (a) internal or (b) external studies have been commissioned into the effectiveness of (i) his Department's Know Before You Go campaign and (ii) any subsidiary campaigns since 2001. [295400]
Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 14 September 2009, Official Report, column 2172W.
The cost of the "Another Side to Paradise" campaign was £15,000 and the cost of the "Don't miss out campaign" was approximately £12,000. The cost of all other campaigns that are aimed at Britons travelling abroad could be obtained from the Department and its 250 overseas posts only at disproportionate cost.
Diplomatic Service: Databases
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2009, Official Report, column 334W, on the LOCATE system, how many people have registered their details online in each year since the service's inception. [295640]
Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's overseas online registration and crisis database, LOCATE, does not break down registrations on a yearly basis. However, it does record the total number of active registrations at any one time; that is to say the number of registered British nationals who are currently travelling, living or working overseas. As of 22 October 2009, this number stands at 56,661 people.
Falkland Islands: Oil
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the Government have to license areas for oil exploration around the Falkland Islands. [293616]
Chris Bryant [holding answer 19 October 2009]: Exploration for oil and gas continues around the Falkland Islands and the Government continue to support this. In April 2008, the Government approved the Falkland Islands Government's request to resume open door licensing for offshore oil exploration and production in five blocks. Since then a number of companies have farmed-in with existing licence holders in preparation for drilling exploration wells. Exploratory drilling in the area to the north of the Islands could begin as early as February 2010.
Libya: Embassies
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Libyan diplomatic mission in the UK owes in outstanding (a) parking fines, (b) congestion charges and (c) business rates. [294792]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: In June 2009, when the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's annual written ministerial statements on alleged abuses of diplomatic privileges and immunities were published, the Libyan embassy owed £2,760 in outstanding parking fines and £1,080 in congestion charge fees. They had no outstanding arrears for national non-domestic rates.
Overseas Territories Environment Programme
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding the South Atlantic British Overseas Territories have received from the Overseas Territories Environment Programme for environmental management since 2005. [293448]
Chris Bryant: Since 2005 the Overseas Territories Environment Programme has funded projects totalling £2,056,100 in the South Atlantic British Overseas Territories.
Pakistan: Nuclear Weapons
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his latest estimate is of levels of expenditure by Pakistan on its nuclear weapons programme. [294840]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Pakistan's defence spending for the financial year 2008-09 is reported as being 305 billion rupees and is anticipated to reach 343 billion rupees for the next financial year. We do not have information on how much is devoted to the nuclear weapons programme, although any such programme will require significant levels of resources.
We continue to engage with the government of Pakistan on a variety of defence matters, and regularly discuss counter proliferation issues with them.
Papal Nuncio
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Papal Nuncio of Britain. [293811]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no discussions recently with the Papal Nuncio of the UK. Our ambassador to the Holy See has spoken to the Papal Nuncio twice in recent weeks.
Papal Visit
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had on proposals for a Papal visit to the United Kingdom. [293812]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: In February 2009, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister invited the Pope to visit the UK. To date, there has been no official announcement by either state of a Papal visit.
Turks and Caicos Islands
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the written ministerial statement of 12 October 2009, Official Report, column 9WS, on the Turks and Caicos Islands, how many staff of his Department have worked in the Governor's office since 2005; what the roles were of such staff; and if he will make a statement. [294592]
Chris Bryant: The staffing of the Governor's Office consists of a Governor, a head of the Governor's Office (HoGO), a staff officer and a personal assistant. In November 2008 the staff was strengthened with the addition of a senior adviser to the Governor.
Since 2005, three officers have filled the post of Governor, three the post of HoGO, two the post of staff officer and two the post of personal assistant. Since its creation in 2008 the senior adviser position has been filled by three staff. During periods of leave and illness, positions in Governor's Office have been covered by a number of staff on temporary duty.
Mr. Keith Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to
the written ministerial statement of 12 October 2009, Official Report, column 9WS, on the Turks and Caicos Islands, how often his Department plans to update the House on progress made to restore good governance, sustainable development and sound financial management to the Islands. [294593]
Chris Bryant: I will keep the House up to date through further statements when there are significant developments in the Islands.
Turks and Caicos Islands: Meetings
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times Ministers in his Department have had meetings with the Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands since July 2008; and if he will make a statement. [294544]
Chris Bryant: My hon. Friend, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Healey (Meg Munn) met the Governor prior to his departure for the Turks and Caicos Islands in July 2008 and my hon. Friend, the then Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron), met him at the Overseas Territories Consultative Council in October 2008. I have not yet had the opportunity to meet him, but have spoken to him on the telephone.
Turks and Caicos Islands: Politics and Government
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long he expects the interim Government in the Turks and Caicos Islands to be in place. [294940]
Chris Bryant: On 14 August 2009 the Governor brought into force an Order in Council suspending ministerial Government and the House of Assembly in Turks and Caicos Island for a period of two years. It remains our intention that elections should be held by July 2011.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures his Department has put in place to ensure sustainable development in the Turks and Caicos Islands following the publication of Sir Robin Auld's final report on alleged corruption. [294943]
Chris Bryant: Crown land is the Turks and Caicos Island (TCI)'s biggest and most vulnerable asset. The Government have funded the appointment of a crown land adviser who is reviewing existing Crown land policy taking into account the TCI long-term sustainable development plan.
Visits Abroad: USA
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visits he has made to the United States on official business in the last 12 months. [293313]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has made five visits to the US since October 2008 on official business.
Visits Abroad: Vatican
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what visits officials from his Department have made to the Holy See in the last 12 months. [293810]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The following officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have visited the Holy See in an official capacity in the last 12 months:
Matthew Rycroft, Director EU (May 2009),
John Duncan, HMA UKDIS Geneva (UK Permanent Representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament) (April 2009),
Robin Gwynn, Climate Envoy for Vulnerable Countries (February 2009),
John Ashton, UK Special Representative for Climate Change (December 2008).
Treasury
Bradford and Bingley
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what compensation has been provided to shareholders of (a) Bradford and Bingley and (b) Northern Rock (i) on average per shareholder and (ii) in total; and if he will make a statement. [295893]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To date, no compensation has been paid to former shareholders of Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley. The amount of compensation payable is to be determined by independent valuers in accordance with the Northern Rock plc Compensation Scheme Order 2008 and Bradford & Bingley plc Compensation Scheme Order 2009.
The Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley independent valuers (Andrew Caldwell, Valuations Partner at BDO Stoy Hayward, and Peter Clokey of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, respectively) are both currently conducting the valuation exercises and will conclude their tasks as soon as practicable. Both valuers are independent and responsible for their own process and timing. Further information can be found on the independent valuers' websites at:
Child Trust Fund
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether research has been undertaken to establish the reasons for the different child trust fund take-up rates between different regions in the UK; and what steps are being taken to increase the take-up level where it is lowest. [295471]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: HMRC has been increasing its radio advertising in areas of low take-up and sends a reminder letter to all parents who don't open an account after eight months. If parents do not open an account within one year, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will open an account for the child, ensuring that no child misses out on the benefits of a child trust fund account.
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