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3 Dec 2009 : Column 879W—continued
China: Politics and Government
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the US administration on their policy on the resumption of dialogue between the Chinese Government and representatives of the Dalai Lama. [304050]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed with the US Administration their policy on the resumption of dialogue between the Chinese Government and representatives of the Dalai Lama. US President Barack Obama discussed the matter with President Hu of China during his recent visit to that country, informing him of the support of the US for an early resumption of dialogue between the Chinese Government and representatives of the Dalai Lama.
We have discussed the issue at official level here and share the view with the US Administration that the interests of both Chinese and Tibetans are best served by a resumption of dialogue. We have encouraged the Chinese in that direction, including during my visit to China and Tibet in September where I made clear in my discussions our view that long-term stability can only be achieved through respect for human rights and greater autonomy, which in turn can be reached through substantive dialogue.
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many external consultants work for his Department. [303236]
Chris Bryant:
Responsibility for procuring external consultants is devolved to individual internal directorates, departments and overseas posts within the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office (FCO) against the provision of central advice and guidance. Each directorate, department and post would need to be contacted to obtain the details requested and collating such information would require additional resource which would exceed the current threshold for disproportionate cost.
In addition, consultancy contracts may be let for a fixed price. Under such circumstances, the FCO would be less interested in the number of consultants used on a particular project by a consultancy company as it would be up to the company to decide on the resources required to deliver against the statement of requirements/terms of reference, remaining within the contracted price.
KBR
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has entered into any contracts with Kellogg, Brown and Root or its subsidiaries since January 2009. [303334]
Chris Bryant: Since January 2009, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has entered into one contract with Kellogg, Brown and Root for the provision of 'Life Support' in Iraq. This includes catering, laundry, site management, cleaning services, site and accommodation waste removal and vector control. The contract has an estimated value of £3 million per annum.
Kenya: Civil Servants
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Kenya on the non-payment of pensions to retired Kenyan civil servants with British citizenship who are resident in that country. [303876]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Government are very concerned by the Freezing Order issued by the High Court on 23 October 2009 on accounts belonging to the Government of Kenya held by Crown Agents Bank. The freezing of these accounts affects the payment of pensions to former Kenyan civil servants. We are raising the issue with the Government of Kenya who are fully aware of their responsibilities in the matter.
Venezuela: Nuclear Weapons
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold discussions with his Venezuelan counterpart on the nuclear weapons capability of that country. [303709]
Chris Bryant: Venezuela has no nuclear weapon capability. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no plans to speak to his Venezuelan counterpart on this matter.
Western Sahara: Natural Resources
Jeremy Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 14 July 2009, Official Report, column 336W, on Western Sahara: natural resources, what
account he has taken in the formulation of his policy of the statement by the former legal counsel to the United Nations on (a) the legality of exploitation of natural resources in Western Sahara and (b) the interests and wishes of the people of Western Sahara. [304058]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: When considering their policy on the extraction of resources in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, the Government took into account the opinion set out by the UN Legal Counsel, then Hans Correll, in his letter to the President of the Security Council of 29 January 2002.
On this basis, the UK's position remains that Morocco, as the de facto administering power of Western Sahara, is obliged under international law to ensure that economic activities under administration-including the extraction and exportation of natural resources-do not adversely affect the interests of the people in Western Sahara.
Justice
Capita
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether any contracts between Capita Group plc and his Department and its predecessors have been cancelled before completion since 1997; and whether Capita Group plc has been liable for any penalties arising from failings in the administration of contracts since 1997; [303089]
(2) on how many occasions Capita Group plc tendered for contracts let by his Department and its predecessors in each of the last five years; how many such tenders were successful; how much his Department and its predecessors paid to Capita Group plc for the execution of contracts in each such year; how many contracts which terminate after 2010 Capita Group plc hold with his Department; and what the monetary value is of all outstanding contracts between his Department and Capita Group plc. [303162]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice was formed on 9 May 2007. This merger included the former Department of Constitutional Affairs and the National Offender Management Service, which was formerly part of the Home Office. Expenditure related to external consultants is not held centrally. To obtain this information would require approaching a large number of local business units across England and Wales and this could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
Centrally available data shows that 16 contracts were awarded to Capita Resourcing Ltd. (part of Capita Group plc) for the provision of professional services from the period 1 May 2008 to present. Of these, three terminate after 31 December 2010.
Data about cancellation before completion, liability for penalty payments, the number of times a company tenders for business and its subsequent success rate and the monetary value of all outstanding contracts are not held centrally, for the reasons explained above, and could be gathered only at disproportionate cost. The Ministry of Justice is implementing a new procurement system that will enable more data to be captured and maintained. Implementation is due to complete at the beginning of 2010 with information being available in the second quarter of 2010.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to his Department was of provision of office facilities to (a) special advisers and (b) press officers in the 2008-09 financial year. [302968]
Mr. Wills: It is not possible to disaggregate the cost of office facilities provided to special advisers and press officers from the total cost of providing office facilities to the Ministry of Justice as a whole.
Prisoners Transfers
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what account is taken of the views of the family of the victim in deciding to transfer a person convicted of murder to an open prison. [302255]
Maria Eagle: The family of the victim are able to submit a victim impact statement to oral hearings of the independent Parole Board when it is considering the suitability for transfer to an open prison-or the release-of a person serving a sentence of life imprisonment or an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection. This would include the hearing for an offender sentenced to an indeterminate sentence, having been convicted of murder. The purpose of these statements is to convey the family's views about the impact of the crime and the likely impact on the family of the prisoner's potential transfer to open prison or release into the community.
In addition, victims have a statutory right to make representations about the licence conditions or supervision requirements to which an offender should be subject to on release from prison, including temporary releases on licence from prison.
Transfer of any prisoner to open conditions will only take place if continued detention in closed conditions is no longer necessary for the protection of the public. Open conditions allow prisoners to find work, re-establish family ties and reintegrate into the community. All these are essential components for successful resettlement and an important factor in protecting the public.
Taxation: Domicile
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward amendments to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill to make people who are non-domiciled for taxation purposes ineligible for election to the House of Commons. [303803]
Mr. Wills: The Government support the principle that Members of Parliament should pay taxes in the United Kingdom. We have no current plans, however, to table such amendments to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill.
Terry Jupp
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons the inquest into the death of Mr. Terry Jupp has been further postponed; on what date he expects the inquest to begin; and if he will make a statement. [302629]
Mr. Straw: Operational matters, such as the reasons for the adjournment and the listing of inquests, are solely for coroners, who are independent judicial office holders. I understand, however, that the coroner for Southend and South East Essex, Dr. Peter Dean, hopes to resume the inquest into Mr. Jupp's death in May 2010.
Young Offenders: Location
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of young people in young offender institutions aged (a) between 10 and 12, (b) between 13 and 15, (c) 16 or 17 and (d) between 18 and 20 years old were held over 20 miles away from their previous homes in each year since 1997. [302315]
Maria Eagle: The following table shows the number and percentage of 15 to 20-year-old male and female offenders in young offender institutions (YOIs) who were detained over 20 miles from their home area, in each of the last five years. Data prior to 2005 are not available in the format requested.
All prisoners are asked for details of their home address on first reception to prison and on discharge from prison. Approximately 60 per cent. of prisoners (both male and female) are shown to have given a recognised address.
If no address is given, various proxies are used to determine distance from home, including next-of-kin address and committal court address.
Those aged 10 to 14 are not held in YOIs.
| Date | Number of 15-year-olds held over 20 miles from home | Proportion of 15-year-olds held over 20 miles from home (Percentage) | Number of 16 and 17-year-olds held over 20 miles from home | Proportion of 16 and 17-year-olds held over 20 miles from home (Percentage) | Number of 18,19 and 20-year-olds held over 20 miles from home | Proportion of 18, 19 and 20-year-olds held over 20 miles from home (Percentage) |
Home Department
Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Young People
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children aged between 10 and 15 years breached anti-social behaviour orders in (a) 2006 and (b) 2007; and how many breaches occurred in each year. [302578]
Mr. Alan Campbell: During 2006, 289 persons aged between 10 and 15 years breached their antisocial behaviour order on a total of 1,020 occasions. The equivalent figures for 2007 are 250 persons and 942 occasions respectively.
Asylum
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children seeking asylum and aged (a) 17, (b) 12 to 16, (c) five to 11 and (d) under five years old have been removed from the UK through (i) voluntary and (ii) forced departure in each year since 1997. [302883]
Alan Johnson: The following table shows the number of removals and voluntary departures of children asylum cases under 18 years of age, including dependants, from the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2008, by age group and type of departure.
Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
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