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9 Nov 2009 : Column 157W—continued
Colombia: Trade Unions
Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the number of convictions secured in cases where trade unionists in Colombia have disappeared. [297704]
Chris Bryant: Many vulnerable groups, including trade unionists, face constant violence and intimidation in Colombia. Every murder, threat or forced disappearance of a trade unionist or human rights defender is one too many. We call on the Colombian Government to do everything they can to ensure that those in Colombia who fight to defend human rights are able to do their work safely and without fear, and that the perpetrators of crimes against them are pursued and held accountable for their actions.
The level of impunity in Colombia is of real concern which is why the UK has committed £250,000 to projects to help tackle this particular problem.
Departmental Publicity
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with which countries his Department has liaised about the Know Before You Go campaign. [298413]
Chris Bryant: The Know Before You Go (KBYG) campaign is aimed at providing travel guidance to British nationals before they travel to their destinations. As such the KBYG campaign itself is targeted at UK audiences and does not directly involve other country participation within the UK. However, to ensure the KBYG messages are relevant, and to help in producing bespoke media campaigns to reach our key target audiences, we often require feedback from our overseas posts which may involve liaison with the host country. The Department could obtain this information from its UK Departments and 250 overseas posts only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money his Department has spent on the Know Before You Go campaign in each year since its inception in 2001. [298414]
Chris Bryant: Spending on the Know Before You Go campaign since 2001 is as follows:
| £ | |
The know Before You Go campaign is self-funded by a percentage of the revenue generated from passport sales. The Know Before You campaign (KBYG) is evaluated on a six monthly basis to ensure that targets are being met and that we are getting value for money. In 2008-09, the Know Before You Go campaign achieved a return on investment of 20:1 (against a target of 6:1). Through media campaigns in 2008-09, 64 per cent. of all UK adults were reached an average of 2.3 times a month.
Departmental Telephone Services
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 October 2009 to the hon. Member for Winchester, Official Report, column 381W, on departmental telephone services, how many call handlers are employed to operate his Department's travel advice telephone information line. [298625]
Chris Bryant: The call centre, operated by Teleperformance, utilises a rotational shift pattern. At any one time, at least six call handlers are available to answer calls relating to Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice. The shift pattern is under constant review, and is amended according to demand. In periods of high pressure, on-call staff are available to reinforce those already available
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, if he will place in the Library a copy of the audit of the system undertaken in March 2009. [298415]
Chris Bryant: No. The audit was simply a process to collate feedback on Locate from our network of overseas posts and was for internal purposes only. It is not presented in a formal audit format.
Hezbollah
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the extent to which Hezbollah has rearmed in south Lebanon; and if he will make a statement. [296610]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Hezbollah have themselves claimed that they have rearmed in South Lebanon. However, there have not been any independently corroborated reports.
This remains a serious concern. We expect a further report from the United Nations on recent security incidents in southern Lebanon during their regular report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 on 10 November. We continue to call upon all parties to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701 fully.
Honduras: Human Rights
Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department takes to monitor the human rights situation in Honduras. [296813]
Chris Bryant: We are concerned about reports of human rights violations in the Honduras since the political crisis began in June-in particular the growing restrictions imposed on the Honduran population since President Zelaya's return to Tegucigalpa on 21 September 2009
We continue to monitor the situation through discussions with those EU Partners who have embassies in Tegucigalpa and with UK-based non-governmental organisations operating in Honduras. UK officials from our embassy in Guatemala City have visited Tegucigalpa periodically since the crisis began, most recently between 21 September and 2 October 2009. A Mission representing the Organisation of American States Inter-American Commission on Human Rights visited Honduras last month. We await the report of their visit.
We hope that the signing, by representatives of President Zelaya and the de facto government, of an accord on 30 October will lead to the establishment of a power sharing government, and a return to full democratic, constitutional order and respect for human rights in the country.
Israel: Foreign Relations
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to develop UK relations with Israel during the last 12 months; what such steps he plans to take in the next six months; and if he will make a statement. [298347]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Israel is a close ally of the UK and we have regular productive exchanges at all levels, going far beyond relations between governments. Our political relations allow us to address openly issues both of common concern and where we disagree. Most recently, on 27 October, I met the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. We will continue to foster this relationship and use it to further the interests of both countries and the wider region.
Kosovo: Elections
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) funding and (b) personnel the Government have provided to support the monitoring of the municipal elections in Kosovo; and if he will make a statement. [297623]
Chris Bryant:
The UK will contribute two short-term observers to the European Network of Election Monitoring Officials (ENEMO) Observation Mission. Our British
embassy in Pristina will also conduct its own monitoring on election day, consisting of an estimated 20 members of staff (UK-based and locally engaged staff, including volunteers from other British embassies in the region). We are currently in discussions with the International Civilian Office in Kosovo to ensure that we co-ordinate our activity with that planned by other organisations and embassies.
Middle East: Armed Conflict
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of allegations of vandalism by Palestinians of (a) synagogues and (b) other structures in settlements in Gaza evacuated by the government of Israel in 2005; whether he has made representations to the governments of Arab countries on this matter since 2005; and if he will make a statement. [R] [298349]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We have not recently received specific reports of such allegations of vandalism by Palestinians in Gaza.
Pakistan: Religious Freedom
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring his Department has undertaken of (a) compliance with international human rights standards and (b) instances of religious persecution in Pakistan. [297216]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We are encouraging human rights reform through our regular dialogue with the Government of Pakistan, both bilaterally and through the European Union. It is a vital part of our commitment to support the Government of Pakistan in building a prosperous and stable society based on parliamentary democracy and the rule of law.
Along with our EU colleagues, we regularly raise our concerns with the Government of Pakistan over the situation of human rights and religious minorities. The most recent EU demarche called upon the government of Pakistan to promote religious tolerance, to protect freedom of expression and to reform discriminatory legislation such as the blasphemy laws.
Syria
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether he has made an assessment of the conditions in which Kamal al-Labwani is being detained in Syria; and if he will make a statement; [296471]
(2) whether he has received reports on the disappearance of human rights lawyer Haythem al-Maleh in Syria on 17 October 2009; and if he will make a statement; [296472]
(3) what recent assessment he has made of Syria's record on human rights, with particular reference to (a) civil and (b) political rights; and if he will make a statement; [296473]
(4) what recent reports he has received on (a) numbers of people detained by the Syrian government and (b) compliance by the Syrian government with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in respect of such people; [296474]
(5) what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the EU-Syria Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement in relation to Syria's human rights record; and if he will make a statement; [296475]
(6) by what mechanisms the EU-Syria Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement may be suspended in circumstances in which human rights violations are identified. [296476]
David Miliband: Syria's human rights record is a cause for concern. In the past year we have seen a worrying deterioration. Critics of the Government, including those who call for peaceful democratic reform, and some individuals who have posted dissenting comments on internet blogs, have been imprisoned. Disappearances, travel bans and arbitrary detention are increasingly common. There are reports of torture during interrogation and deaths in police custody. We do not know how many people are in detention but we continue to press Syria to abide by its international obligations on human rights.
I share the hon. Member's concern about the continued imprisonment of Dr. Labwani. He is currently held in Adra prison in Damascus in the same conditions as other prisoners, which are poor and involve sharing a cell. Dr. al-Labwani also suffers from serious medical condition which, given his medical expertise, he is reportedly treating himself having managed to obtain the necessary medication.
I am also concerned at the recent arrest of lawyer Haythem al-Maleh and, as we made clear in a Foreign and Commonwealth Office press statement on 19 October 2009, we call on the Syrian Government to release him.
I have raised my concerns with the Syrian Foreign Minister. Our embassy in Damascus, working with other EU missions, continues to press the Syrians to improve conditions in general as well as raising the cases of Dr. al-Labwani, Mr. al-Maleh and others of concern.
When the EU-Syria Association Agreement is in force, we will ensure that we use the dialogue established to press for action. Respect for human rights is an essential element of the agreement. The agreement provides that where a party considers that the other party is in breach of it obligations under the agreement it may take appropriate measures which could include suspension or termination of the Association Agreement.
Turks and Caicos Islands
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for how many advisers to the Turks and Caicos Islands his Department provides funding; what the cost to the public purse is of the annual salaries of such advisers; and if he will make a statement. [298641]
Chris Bryant:
The number of UK funded advisers in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) is not constant. At present, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is funding four advisers to provide advice in TCI solely for that Territory. One is on loan from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The others visit TCI for short periods, and are not therefore paid an annual salary. The FCO also funds advisers to provide advice
to the UK's Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda, who visit TCI regularly but are based elsewhere in the region or in the UK.
USA: Terrorism
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department has received from the US administration in respect of the coroner's reports on the British citizens killed in the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States; and whether he has received any representations from the families of British victims of the attacks in respect of the circumstances that caused their death. [298360]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The US coroner/authorities were unable to perform autopsies as in the majority of the cases very little or none of the victim's remains were recovered. Where identifiable remains were recovered, the cause of death was recorded on the death certificate as blunt trauma. If no remains were found, the cause of death was recorded as physical injuries (body not found). If remains were found at a later date, the cause of death would be amended to blunt trauma.
We have not received any representations from the families of British victims about the circumstances that caused their death.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Apprentices
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprentices did not obtain work-based placements during the academic year 2008-09. [295999]
Kevin Brennan: Work experience is an important aspect of all apprenticeships. The Government do not collect data at a national level about apprentices who have not been successful in gaining a work placement.
Broadband
Tim Farron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of (a) rural and (b) non-rural households that do not have access to broadband. [293203]
Mr. Timms: The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Business: South West
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses in each location in the South West have received assistance from the South West Regional Development Agency's small business loan fund; and how much on average each such business received. [297858]
Ms Rosie Winterton: South West RDA facilitated the formation of the South West Loans Fund which is funded jointly by South West RDA and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) monies. In the first six months of operation, nine businesses have received assistance (three in Cornwall; two in Devon; two in Somerset; one in Wiltshire and one in Bristol). The average level of grant provided is £107,089. A further five offers of finance are in place with an average value of £84,000.
The fund provides loans to growth or growth potential businesses in the South West which have viable business proposals but who are unable to secure all the finance they need from traditional commercial finance sources.
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