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29 Oct 2009 : Column 506W—continued
Middle East: Armed Conflict
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he (a) has taken in the last six months and (b) plans to take in the next 12 months to assist the Egyptian Government to stop the smuggling of offensive weapons into Gaza; and if he will make a statement. [296575]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Since the Gaza conflict, officials from nine countries (Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, the UK, and the US) have met several times to discuss how to support action against arms smuggling. Officials met most recently in Ottawa on 10-11 June 2009. However, the tools the international community has at its disposal are limited and the challenges of interdiction high.
We continue to discuss all aspects of the situation in Gaza-including arms smuggling and action to combat it-with international partners.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the number of rocket attacks from Gaza aimed at southern Israel; and if he will make a statement. [296626]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs there have been 122 rockets fired from Gaza since Operation Cast Lead. The UK condemns all such attacks and continues to call on those responsible to renounce violence.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the allegations of war crimes made in respect of each party to the recent conflict in Gaza; and if he will make a statement. [296640]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: There are allegations of serious concern which cannot be ignored. Rocket attacks by Palestinian militants targeted at innocent civilians in southern Israel constitute a breach of international humanitarian law. There are also serious allegations about Israeli conduct and we urge the Israeli Government to carry out full, credible and impartial investigations.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the likelihood of military action against Iran by (a) Israel and (b) other states in the event of Iran making further progress towards the development of (i) long range missiles and (ii) nuclear weapons; and if he will make a statement. [296652]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We regularly review and monitor a range of threats to security in the middle east. We are aware of speculation about military action against Iran. This underlines the urgency of finding a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear programme and we are working intensely with international partners to achieve this.
Middle East: Peace Negotiations
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which members of his Department attended the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council to (a) discuss and (b) vote on the report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict; and if he will make a statement. [296572]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The UK was represented by our Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Mr. Peter Gooderham.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of progress in bringing Fatah and Hamas together to create a unified Palestinian negotiating position; and if he will make a statement. [296617]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, on 16 October 2009. We understand, despite Fatah agreeing to Egypt's proposals, Hamas has not. The Foreign Minister stated that the original deadline and further repeated deadlines for reaching agreement among the Palestinian factions will not be met.
The UK continues to favour any reconciliation which supports peace negotiations and enhances efforts to improve governance, security and the economy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the UK did not vote in the UN Human Rights Council on the motion relating to the report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict; and if he will make a statement. [296619]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We have made absolutely clear that the Goldstone report raised very serious issues that we wanted to see addressed. We also made clear that the resolution did not adequately address Hamas' actions and Israel's right to protect its citizens.
We did not vote because we were in the middle of detailed discussions about three key issues: the establishment of an independent inquiry, access for humanitarian aid to Gaza and how to restart the peace process. We were pursuing these at the highest level, between my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, President Sarkozy of France and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel. The vote was called in the middle of those discussions and we did not wish to compromise the detailed work on those fundamental issues.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of (a) Iran and (b) Syria on their support for Hezbollah and Hamas; and if he will make a statement. [296627]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We have made clear on a number of occasions to Iran, and will continue to do so, that we have serious concerns about their ongoing support for Hezbollah and Hamas. Such support is unacceptable and only serves to undermine regional security.
With Syria, we raise regularly at ministerial and senior official meetings that support for Hezbollah and Hamas is inconsistent with regional stability and peace. I raised this during my visit in August 2009. The issue is also raised frequently by our British ambassador to Syria in the course of his meetings with Syrian Ministers and officials, most recently on 27 October 2009.
Middle East: Water
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on proposals to share water supplies from the River Jordan; and if he will make a statement. [296629]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We have not received any recent reports on proposals to share water supplies in Jordan.
Monitor Group: Meetings
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Ministers or officials in his Department have had (a) meetings, (b) communications and (c) other contacts with the Monitor Group in the last five years. [295113]
Chris Bryant: This information is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Occupied Territories: Housing
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Israel on the building of settlements in the West Bank; and if he will make a statement. [296639]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Settlements are illegal and an obstacle to peace. We raise the issue frequently with Israeli Ministers. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has pressed the Israeli Prime Minister on this several times, most recently in his joint letter of 16 October 2009 with French President Sarkozy. I also raised settlements with my counterpart on 27 October 2009.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of progress in negotiations on the matter of Israeli settlement-building in the West Bank; and if he will make a statement. [296641]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We are extremely concerned by ongoing settlement activity both in the west bank and east Jerusalem, including the Israeli Government's approval in September of new tenders for settlement projects.
We wholeheartedly support the US effort to restart peace talks. Settlements are illegal and an obstacle to peace. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has pressed the Israeli Prime Minister on this several times, most recently in his joint letter of 16 October 2009 with French President Sarkozy. However, it will be for the US to announce what they have agreed with the parties.
Russia: Foreign Relations
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to meet his Russian counterpart to discuss UK-Russian relations and global issues. [296497]
Chris Bryant: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is travelling to Moscow on 1 November 2009. As part of his visit, he will meet Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for talks on 2 November 2009.
Sri Lanka: Human Rights
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government plan to take in response to the EU report on Sri Lanka's human rights record. [295476]
Mr. Thomas: I have been asked to reply.
As stated in the joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Department for International Development statement of 20 October, the European Commission's report on Sri Lanka's implementation of international human rights conventions raises serious concerns, which we share. We are continuing at every opportunity to strongly urge the Government of Sri Lanka to take immediate action to address the issues outlined in this report.
The report is a precursor to the Commission's recommendation to EU member states on whether Sri Lanka should continue to benefit from the GSP+ trade preference scheme. We expect to receive this recommendation by the end of the year and, once such a recommendation is presented, we will assess it on its merits. We are clear that in order to retain its GSP+ preferences Sri Lanka must respect its international human rights obligations under GSP+.
Temple Mount
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on recent incidents of disorder on the Temple Mount, Jerusalem. [296628]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
We are extremely concerned by recent disturbances on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. Our Consulate General in Jerusalem is monitoring the situation on the ground extremely closely. We call on all
parties to show restraint, and refrain from provocative actions in order to prevent the situation escalating. The EU presidency made this clear to both Israeli and Palestinian authorities on 26 October 2009.
Turkey: Israel
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for UK policy of the state of relations between Turkey and Israel; and if he will make a statement. [296616]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Relations between Israel and Turkey are primarily a matter for those two countries. We work closely with both on a wide range of issues and will continue to do so. In particular, achieving a comprehensive peace in the Middle East remains one of UK's top priorities and both Israel and Turkey have key roles to play in achieving this.
Yvonne Fletcher
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Metropolitan Police officers are working on the investigation into the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher. [294130]
Mr. Hanson: I have been asked to reply.
The investigation into the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher has always remained open and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) remains committed to identifying those people responsible for murdering WPC Fletcher by deploying the resources necessary to pursue the investigation. Detectives from the MPS inquiry team have visited Libya several times and met officials from the Libyan investigation team. The MPS remains ready to deploy officers to return to Libya in the future so that they can progress the inquiry further.
House of Commons Commission
Copyright
Jo Swinson: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the House of Commons Commission will (a) place in the Library and (b) publish on the parliamentary website a copy of the Review of the Management of Parliamentary Copyright dated July 2009. [296496]
Nick Harvey: This internal paper has been prepared for the Printing and Publishing Management Group of officials (PPMG) which advises on parliamentary copyright. It has not yet been considered by that group and so will not be published for the time being. However, I will ensure that the hon. Member is kept up to date with developments.
Lighting
Mr. Hayes: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what estimate the Department of Facilities has made of the cost of compliance with legislation on incandescent light bulbs; and how many such light bulbs are installed in (a) the Chamber, (b) the Press Gallery, (c) areas open to the public and (d) elsewhere on the part of the Parliamentary Estate for which the House of Commons Commission has responsibility. [296123]
Nick Harvey: Incandescent lighting on the parliamentary estate has been gradually replaced with lower energy lighting over the last five years, mostly during routine lamp changes. Therefore, the only cost of compliance has been the cost of the bulbs themselves which is offset by their increased life and will begin to produce savings within 500 hours of use. Due to the size and complexity of the estate, detailed records of light bulbs are not kept, but virtually no incandescent lighting remains within areas (a) the Chamber and (b) the Press Gallery. In (c), areas open to the public, the vast majority of incandescent light bulbs have been replaced over the last 12 months with halogen lamps which consume some 30 per cent. less power. On (d), the remainder of the Commons part of the estate, the only incandescent light fittings that the House has been unable to replace are those using small bayonet caps as these are not currently available. LED lighting is also currently being evaluated in several locations and low energy induction lighting is used widely such as in the Chamber and courtyards.
Members' Staff
Mike Penning: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the cost to the public purse was of the production of the House of Commons Commission's Report on Employment of Members' staff by the House, HC 1059 of session 2008-09. [296837]
Nick Harvey: The cost to the public purse was £1,615.10 excluding staff time.
Portcullis House: Energy
Gregory Barker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when the energy performance certificate for Portcullis House was last updated; what the most recent measurement of the energy performance of Portcullis House was; and if he will make a statement. [296212]
Nick Harvey: The current display energy certificate for Portcullis House dates from October 2008. In line with the regulations, the energy rating of the building is currently undergoing annual reassessment and the replacement certificate is expected to be available for display in November 2009.
Early indications show that the energy rating for Portcullis House has improved; from a rating of 203 in 2008 to 192 in 2009.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Independent Monitoring Board
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the operational cost of the Independent Monitoring Board for Prisons in Northern Ireland has been in each year since its inception. [295796]
Paul Goggins: This information is not available prior to financial year 2009-10. The total cost from 1 April 2009 for the year to date is £87,551.45.
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