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26 Jan 2010 : Column 828W—continued
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the British missions in Afghanistan and Pakistan on improving postal services to British citizens working in Afghanistan. [309736]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 11 January 2010]: As stated in our travel advice, conditions in Afghanistan mean we are only able to provide a very limited consular service. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not offer a poste restante service, and although we recommend that British citizens abroad register with our Locate service which we would also use as a key tool in any major crisis, we are aware that many people choose not to and so do not hold records of all citizens in Afghanistan. It is the responsibility of the individual or their employer to ensure that sufficient arrangements are in place for their mail and other support services in Afghanistan.
For civilians working for Her Majesty's Government, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in common with other UK Government Departments, utilises the British Forces Post Office to get mail to Afghanistan. This is a longstanding arrangement, separate to that for servicemen in Afghanistan, which is also used to supply our other posts across the globe.
Afghanistan: Women
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to UN Security Council Resolution 1325, what steps the Government is taking to ensure women from civil society participate fully in the forthcoming Afghanistan Conference. [313045]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Two representatives of Afghan Civil Society, one of them a woman, have been invited to attend and address the London Conference. They will present the conclusions of the Civil Society Event to be held on 26 January 2010, which will be attended by other members of Afghan civil society, including approximately six women and eight men from Afghanistan.
Ahmed Mahmoud Haddi
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will direct HM Ambassador in Rabat to investigate the abduction of Ahmed Mahmoud Haddi on 28 October 2009. [312520]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Officials from our embassy in Rabat have been making inquiries about the alleged abduction of Ahmed Mahmoud Haddi after receiving reports from concerned members of the public.
There are reports that he has been arrested, charged with criminal offences and is on remand in Oukasha prison in Casablanca. Officials in the UK and Rabat have been in touch with concerned non-governmental organizations about this case and will continue to maintain these lines of communication.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Travel Information
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to his Department's amended travel advice for Bosnia-Herzegovina issued on 12 January 2010, what assessment he has made of (a) the threat from terrorism in Bosnia-Herzegovina and (b) the respects in which Bosnia-Herzegovina differs from other countries in the region; and if he will make a statement. [311590]
David Miliband: The 12 January 2010 amendments to the Travel Advice for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) related to the removal of Swine flu advice. There have been no recent incidents of terrorism in BiH and the advice on terrorism has remained unchanged. Countries are assessed on an individual basis and the level is determined by several sources including the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, security and intelligence agencies, local knowledge and reporting from our embassies. Travel advice is continually monitored.
The current terrorist threat level for Bosnia and Herzegovina is "underlying", meaning there is a low level of known terrorist activity. The threat level for BiH is the same as for those countries which border it.
China: Human Rights
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason the latest round of the UK-China human rights dialogue did not take place. [312710]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The last round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue took place on 12 January 2009. The next round had been due to take place in early January 2010. The Chinese postponed the dialogue, claiming technical reasons. We have said to them that we do not understand the reason for postponement and have urged them to agree dates for the next round of the dialogue as soon as possible.
China: International Broadcasting
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Chinese government on its policy towards the Sound of Hope radio network. [312987]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
Restrictions on freedom of expression in China are a real concern. We have funded practical work with grassroots organisations and journalists to encourage greater freedom. We have serious concerns about the mistreatment of Falun Gong adherents and regularly raise this issue with the Chinese Government.
We last raised our concerns about Falun Gong practitioners at the UK/China Human Rights Dialogue on 12-13 January 2009. We will raise this issue again at the next round of our Human Rights Dialogue.
Cyprus: Community Relations
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the contribution of the Stelios Award for business co-operation to the Government's policy objectives in respect of bi-communal relations in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [313035]
Chris Bryant: The Government welcome the Stelios awards for business co-operation as a very positive example of how bi-communal events can bring Greek and Turkish Cypriots together. Our high commission in Nicosia actively supported the initiative, hosting a networking event at the high commissioner's residence in July 2009 for members of the Cypriot business community looking to compete in the award. High commission staff were also active in promoting the awards, providing media support and advice for the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation's own public relations team and making sure the event got as much publicity as possible.
Cyprus: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the reasons for the renewal of the UNFICYP mandate and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1898; and if he will make a statement. [313037]
Chris Bryant: The UK voted in favour of UN Security Council Resolution 1898, which extended the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) mandate until 15 June 2010. The UK supported this resolution to enable UNFICYP to continue its mission of maintaining stability in the buffer zone and supporting the UN Secretary General's Good Offices Mission. The resolution can be found at:
Cyprus: Politics and Government
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made in Turkey's EU accession process; and what his latest assessment is of the effects of such accession on Cyprus. [R] [312838]
Chris Bryant:
The European Commission's Turkey 2009 Progress Report, released in October 2009, recognised genuine Turkish progress, for instance in addressing the Kurdish issue and improving energy security, but noted that renewed efforts on further reform were needed. Turkey recently opened Chapter 27-Environment at the Accession Conference in December last year. The Government believe that Turkish accession to the EU would have positive benefits for a re-unified Cyprus and enhance regional security and stability. The Government welcome Turkish Minister Egemen Bagis's public
commitment to a Cyprus settlement based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, composed of two constituent states.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the outcome of the case of Apostolides v. Orams on progress towards a settlement in Cyprus. [313036]
Chris Bryant: The Government recognise the importance of this verdict, which is a legal rather than a political decision. Ultimately the sensitive issue of property can only be entirely solved by a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem. We continue to support fully the two leaders in their attempts to achieve this.
Cyprus: Property
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will review the advice on his Department's website concerning the purchase of property in northern Cyprus in light of the Court of Appeal judgment in Apostolides v. Orams; and if he will make a statement. [312930]
Darfur
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the proposal by the African Union Eminent Persons group for the establishment of hybrid courts to try persons charged with war crimes in Darfur. [310666]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We have welcomed the report by the African Union Panel on Darfur (AUPD) led by former President Mbeki which included a recommendation for the establishment of hybrid courts to try those accused of atrocities in Darfur.
There are some points within the report with which we do not agree, and others, including the proposal for hybrid courts, on which further details are needed. However, our overall assessment is that the report is thorough, detailed and balanced, with a frank analysis of causes and consequences of the conflict.
We will continue to support the work of the Mbeki-led High-level Implementation Panel, which was established to take forward the report's recommendations, and encourage effective co-ordination with existing organisations working for peace in Sudan. We will work with the AU and other international organisations on those areas within the AUPD report which still need further consideration.
Departmental Drinking Water
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on bottled drinking water in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [313187]
Chris Bryant: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Internet
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which websites his Department's staff are prevented from accessing from departmental networked computers. [311468]
Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton, South (Margaret Moran) on 5 February 2009, Official Report, column 142W.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) complies with the policies set out in the Government's Security Policy Framework (SPF), particularly Mandatory Requirement (MR) 39. MR 39 requires Departments to comply with the requirements of any Codes of Connection, including technical and procedural policies to manage the risks posed by all forms of malicious software.
The number of websites covered by this policy is large and is kept under constant review. It is therefore not practical to provide an exhaustive list of all websites blocked. However, access to the following categories of website are banned in order to comply with the SPF, the FCO's Acceptable Use Policy and to control bandwidth demands on the FCO's corporate infrastructure:
those that contain viruses, trojans or other malicious software;
sites that by-pass anti-virus defences;
pornography and hate sites;
gaming, gambling and social networking sites;
bandwidth intensive sites which place excessive demands on the FCO's corporate infrastructure.
The FCO will consider requests to access sites that fall under banned categories if there is a strong business need for them and they do not pose a risk to the corporate network.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2009, Official Report, column 1029W, on departmental manpower, what change there has been in the number of locally-engaged staff at the UK post in (a) Washington, (b) Istanbul, (c) Abuja, (d) Accra, (e) Amman, (f) Ankara, (g) Beijing, (h) Brussels, (i) Lagos, (j) Moscow and (k) Madrid since the withdrawal of the overseas price mechanism. [311483]
David Miliband: As I made clear in my previous answer, historic information on local staff numbers is not held centrally. We are compiling the information and I will write to the right hon. Member.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many layers of management reporting from the most senior to the most junior there are in his Department and each of its agencies; how many officials are employed in each such layer; and how much was spent on salaries and associated employment costs of staff at each such layer in the latest year for which information is available. [312827]
Chris Bryant: The number of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff in each management level is shown in Table 20 of Civil Service Statistics, published by the Office of National Statistics in January 2010.
The total salary cost, including social security and pension costs, for FY2008-09 is shown on Page 125 of Volume Two of the FCO Departmental Report and Resource Accounts, 1 April 2008-31 March 2009 (HC 460-II, 30 June 2009).
Copies of both reports are placed in the Library of the House.
We do not currently produce reports showing pay cost by management level and these could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations (a) he and (b) his Department has received from the US administration in the last 12 months on the (i) present and (ii) future budgets for his Department's programmes. [313474]
David Miliband: My officials and I have regular and wide ranging consultations with the US, as well as other countries and international organisations. It is not our policy to provide details of such discussions.
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what discussions he has and with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effect of the abolition of the overseas price mechanism on the budgets of his Department in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [313475]
(2) what discussions his Department has had with Treasury (a) Ministers and (b) officials in the 2009-10 financial year to discuss proposed in-year reductions to his Department's budgets for (i) counter-terrorism programmes in Pakistan, (ii) counter-radicalisation programmes in Pakistan and (iii) counter-narcotics programmes in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [313477]David Miliband: I refer to the reply given to the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) today.
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what budgetary estimates were made for his Department's expenditure on (a) counter-terrorism programmes in Pakistan, (b) counter-radicalisation programmes in Pakistan and (c) counter-narcotics programmes in Afghanistan in April 2009; and what his most recent estimate is of the outturn of each. [313476]
David Miliband: Within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's overall counter-terrorism spending, Pakistan is the top priority, reflecting the scale of the threat to our security from that country, and is the largest single recipient of funding. We are not cutting spending on counter-terrorism, or on counter-terrorism in Pakistan. Those budgets have increased in real terms year on year. In 2009-10 the Counter Terrorism and RadicalisationProgramme's Pakistan spend is £8.2 million compared with £6.3 million in 2008-09. This represented an increase of 30 per cent. on the previous year's figure.
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which programmes operated by his Department have had their estimated budget for 2009-10 as planned in April 2009 reduced in-year; what the (a) original budget and (b) present estimated outturn is in each case; and if he will make a statement. [313478]
David Miliband: All Foreign and Commonwealth Office budgets are reviewed regularly during the course of the financial year in the light of changing priorities, availability of resources and effectiveness of delivery. Outturns will be dependent on a variety of factors, including exchange rate movements. Audited accounts will be published in the normal way.
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