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28 Oct 2009 : Column 375W—continued
Armed Forces: Young People
Mrs. Humble:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements he has made for civilian inspectorates to scrutinise elements of the Service Justice System in order to meet his commitment to implement recommendation 26 of the Blake Review; what the timetable for such inspections is; what recommendations have been made arising from those
inspections that have been completed; and if he will place a copy of the summary of findings and recommendations of inspections in the Library. [295196]
Mr. Kevan Jones: In line with the Government's response to the Blake Review recommendations 24 and 26, arrangements have been made with each of the relevant inspectorates to ensure that all elements of the Service Justice System are inspected regularly. Information about completed and scheduled inspections are provided below:
Service Police-Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary conducted its first full inspection of Royal Military Police Special Investigations Branch in June 2006; a second inspection is planned for 2011. It inspected the RAF Special Investigations Branch this year for the first time, and the first inspection of the RN Special Investigations Branch is scheduled for 2010. Inspections of the wider single service police forces are currently being considered;
Military Court Service-Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Court Administration is currently conducting its first inspection, and is scheduled to report in April 2010. The inspection will also include legal aid and probation services;
Service Prosecuting Authority-Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate published its report of its inspection of the Army Prosecuting Authority in June 2007. The new tri-Service Service Prosecuting Authority having only been created in 2009, its first inspection is not expected before late 2010 at the earliest;
Military Corrective Training Centre, Colchester-Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons first conducted a full inspection in 2004. It reported on its latest inspection in January 2009, and is scheduled to carry out its next inspection in 2012.
The precise dates of inspections are dependent on inspectorates' programmes and priorities. Full inspections are scheduled to take place approximately every two years, approximately every three years for Military Corrective Training Centre, with unannounced or follow up inspections taking place in between if considered necessary.
Each inspectorate publishes its findings on its website found at the following links:
HMICA: http://www.hmica.gov.uk/
HMCPSI: http://www.hmcpsi.gov.uk/
Chinook helicopters
Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the HC3 Chinook helicopters to enter operational service with the Royal Air Force; and how many such aircraft are involved. [295211]
Mr. Quentin Davies: The first of eight reverted Mk3 Chinooks will be made available to the Joint Helicopter Command before the end of this year, with the remaining seven being delivered by the end of 2010.
Czech Republic: Motor Vehicles
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many vehicles his Department has purchased from Tatra Trucks in the Czech Republic in the last five years. [295882]
Mr. Quentin Davies: MOD has not purchased any vehicles from Tatra Trucks in Czech Republic in the last five years.
Members: Correspondence
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to reply to the letters of 27 July 2009 and 31 August 2009 from the hon. Member for Moray on Court of Appeal costs incurred by his Department. [295389]
Mr. Kevan Jones: I will be writing shortly in response to the hon. Member's letters.
Trident
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the initial gate decision on Trident replacement has been delayed until after the forthcoming Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference; and if he will make a statement. [295105]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Defence Board will consider the work required during the Concept Phase work later this year. There has been no decision to delay Initial Gate because of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May 2010.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
African Union
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made representations to the government of Uganda on its invitation to Omar Bashir of Sudan to attend the African Union meeting in Kampala; and if he will make a statement. [295479]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Our high commissioner discussed the issue with senior officials at the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who indicated that President Bashir would not be attending the AU summit on refugees in Kampala. He has not done so.
We have made clear our expectation that all countries cooperate with International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations on events in Darfur, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1593 of 2005. States party to the ICC, such as Uganda, have particular legal obligations.
Colombia: Foreign Relations
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2009, Official Report, column 625W, on Colombia: foreign relations, on how many occasions the British Ambassador in Bogota has met the Colombian Foreign Minister to discuss (a) bilateral relations and (b) broader global issues in the last 12 months. [296010]
Chris Bryant [holding answer 27 October 2009]: Our ambassador in Bogota meets the Colombian Foreign Minister on a regular basis in the course of his duties.
Conflict Prevention
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) which countries the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Conflict Resolution Mechanisms has visited in an official capacity since February 2009; and what the costs of such visits were; [295391]
(2) which non-governmental organisations the Prime Minister's Special Representative for Conflict Resolution Mechanisms has met since February 2009; and what issues were raised in each meeting; [295392]
(3) on which dates since February 2009 the Prime Minister's Special Representative for Conflict Resolution Mechanisms has visited (a) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and (b) 10 Downing Street; and what the purpose of each visit was; [295393]
(4) what representations of each type the Prime Minister's Special Representative for Conflict Resolution Mechanisms has received as part of his dialogue with (a) the United Nations, (b) the EU, (c) the African Union and (d) others; and on which dates each such representation was received; [295394]
(5) when the Prime Minister's Special Representative for Conflict Resolution Mechanisms last reported to the Prime Minister; and what issues were discussed. [295395]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The right hon. Jack McConnell MSP, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's Special Representative for Conflict Resolution Mechanisms, was appointed in October 2008 and reports to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, Defence and International Development. He has made a valuable contribution to advancing the UK's peacebuilding objectives. He has in particular engaged with the UN Secretariat and key stakeholders around the world to press for an ambitious UN Secretary-General report on peacebuilding in the immediate aftermath of conflict.
Mr. McConnell's expenses are funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Department for International Development (DfID) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Travel and approximate costs of visits since February 2009 are as follows:
In Bosnia (February 2009) he met representatives of the EC Delegation and the International Commission for Missing Persons-£1,500.
In Ethiopia (February 2009) Mr. McConnell met with representatives of the African Union; Africa Commission; UN Economic Commission for Africa, Institute for Security Studies; Centre for Policy Research and Dialogue; Ethiopian Institute for Peace and Development-£3,000.
In Uganda (March 2009) he met representatives of various UN agencies-£2,100.
In the USA (April 2009) he met representatives of the International Monetary Fund; World Bank and the UN-£5,900.
In Egypt (May 2009) he met representatives of the UN; Africa Society and International Crisis Group-£4,000.
In Japan (May 2009) he met representatives of the Japan International Co-operation Agency; Peace Winds; Nature Japan; The Japan Foundation; the Association for Aid and Relief; the Japan Centre for Conflict Prevention; the Graduate Institute for Policy Studies-£4,600.
In the USA (June 2009) he visited the Stanley Foundation Retreat-£1,700.
In Brazil (July 2009) he met representatives of Mendes University; Viva Rio; GAPCon; Brazilian Youth Council; University of Brasilia-£8,650.
Mr. McConnell travelled to West Africa in August 2009. In Liberia he met representatives of the UN Development Programme; Committee on Peace and Reconciliation. In Sierra Leone he met representatives of the Gola Forest Programme and G&G Manager Exploration. In Ghana he visited the Kofi Annan Centre for Peacekeeping and met representatives of the Legon Centre for International Affairs-whole visit £5,000.
In Chile (September 2009) he attended a meeting of the UN Peacebuilding Commission-£3,540.
Mr. McConnell travelled to Belgium (October 2009) and met with a range of EU interlocutors from the Presidency, Commission and Council Secretariat on EU/UN relations, civilian capability development, and EU civilian/military cooperation-£1,130.
Mr. McConnell visited East Africa (Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo) (October 2009). In Burundi he met representatives of International Alert, Kamenge Youth Project, EU members and the UN Integrated Office (BINUB). In Rwanda he visited the Motobo Camp, met with members of the UN and representatives of the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative, Search for Common Ground and the Mines Advisory Group. In the DRC he met representatives of the UN, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, International Committee of the Red Cross and Oxfam. This visit has only just been completed and the final cost is not yet available.
Whilst in London Mr. McConnell has met with representatives from the World Child Cancer Foundation and Pumpaid.
Some of Mr. McConnell's time is spent in London to meet or receive briefings from senior FCO, DfID and MOD officials and to see London-based experts on conflict.
Mr. McConnell has recently met the Prime Minister, and visited the Foreign and Commonwealth office on 1 February 2009, 15 February 2009, 3 March 2009, 5 March 2009, 9 March 2009, 23 March 2009, 9 April 2009, 19 April 2009, 11 May 2009, 9 June 2009, 28 June 2009, 7 July 2009, 18 August 2009, 10 September 2009, 12 October 2009, and 26 October 2009.
Counter-Terrorism: International Cooperation
Mr. Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much of the $750 million pledged by the UK to the Global Threat Reduction Strategy under the Global Partnership has been spent; and what the budget allocation is for each year up to 2012, broken down by project. [295334]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 26 October 2009]: As detailed in the published Sixth Annual Report of the Global Threat Reduction Programme (GTRP) (2008), of the $750 million pledged by the UK in 2002 to the Global Partnership fund, £270 million had been spent by the end of 2008. Figures for 2009 will be published in the 2009 annual report. At the last comprehensive spending review, the GTRP budget was set at £36.5 million per annum for the three years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.
In a speech earlier this year, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister stated that funding would remain at this level for 'the foreseeable future'. A breakdown of expenditure to the end of 2008 in the key project areas, also detailed in the Sixth Annual Report, is set out in the following table. An update of spending by project will be provided in the 2009 annual report. The GTRP Ministerial Oversight Board meeting in November is scheduled to approve budget allocations for future years.
The full report is available to download at:
Departmental Motor Vehicles
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on hire vehicles in each of the last five financial years. [291610]
Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and FCO Services, a trading fund of the FCO, spend on hire vehicles in each of the last three financial years is as detailed in the table. We do not have figures for earlier years.
| Financial year | Spend (£) |
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