Written Answers to Questions
Monday 1 March 2010
Wales
Departmental Energy
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the estimated (a) amount and (b) cost was of energy used in his Department in each year since 1997; what proportion of the energy used was generated from renewable sources in each of those years; and if he will make a statement. [317234]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office holds records on energy usage since 2006-07; on the cost of electricity from 2002-03; and on the cost of other fuels since 2005-06. The available information is given in the following tables. Figures before these periods are not held centrally and can be compiled only at disproportionate cost.
| Energy used | ||
| Electricity (kwh) | Other fuels (kw) | |
| Estimated cost | ||
| Electricity (£) | Other fuels (£) | |
In 2003-04 and 2004-05, 10 per cent. of the Department's electricity was derived from renewable sources. Since 2005-06 this has risen to 100 per cent.
Disabled
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what proportion of staff in his Department are disabled; and what the average salary in his Department is of (a) full-time disabled staff, (b) full-time non-disabled staff, (c) part-time disabled staff and (d) part-time non-disabled staff. [317899]
Mr. David: The Wales Office is a small Department and in the interests of maintaining confidentiality we are unable to disclose the figures requested.
Scotland
Departmental Internet
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many designs for its website his Department has commissioned since 2005. [318643]
Ann McKechin: Since 2005 there have been no redesigns of the Scotland Office website.
Departmental Theft
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many thefts from his Department have been recorded in the last two years. [318997]
Ann McKechin: No thefts have been reported or recorded in the last two years.
House of Commons Commission
Departmental Energy
Dan Rogerson: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what steps the House of Commons Commission plans to take to enable the House to participate in the Earth Hour event on 27 March 2010. [319087]
Nick Harvey: The Commission has decided that the House will participate in campaigns only in exceptional circumstances and there are therefore no plans for the House to participate in the Earth Hour event on 27 March 2010. The event is understood to be taking place at 8.30 pm on a Saturday evening, so the potential for significant reductions in the House's emissions during the event will be very limited. An action plan and targets for reducing the House's carbon dioxide( )emissions are currently being drawn up.
Members: E-mail
Mr. Maude: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission with reference to the answer of 2 March 2009, Official Report, column 1211W, and pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2010, Official Report, column 434W, on Members: email, whether Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption is now compatible with Parliament's current version of VPN (remote access) software; what methods of email encryption are compatible with the PICT IT system; whether (a) S/MIME and (b) Steganos can be used on hon. Members' computers; and whether hon. Members and their staff can choose to install PGP encryption software on their computers without PICT exercising its right to remove it. [318316]
Nick Harvey: The House of Commons Commission does not release information relating to software configuration. For more information regarding Members' rights to install software on parliamentary computers I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to him on 2 March 2009, Official Report, column 1211W.
Members and their staff may install their own software on their parliamentary computers. Members are responsible for the licensing and maintenance of any software that they install and, as the conditions of supply provide, PICT reserves the right to remove any software that is found to interfere with the proper operation of the hardware concerned, or the parliamentary network.
Members: Expenses
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what plans the House of Commons Commission has for the office space presently occupied by staff of the Department of Resources dealing with allowances of hon. Members following the transfer of such functions to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. [319206]
Nick Harvey: The staff who will transfer to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority currently occupy space on the third floor of 7 Millbank. The whole of the third floor will be freed up later in the year when other staff in the Department of Resources move to accommodation in Tothill Street. This will begin a series of moves which will involve moving Department of Information Services staff from 1 Derby Gate into 7 Millbank, and will culminate in the conversion of 1 Derby Gate into accommodation for use by Members and their staff.
Leader of the House
Departmental Internet
Mr. Heald: To ask the Leader of the House how many designs for its website her Office has commissioned since 2005. [318646]
Barbara Keeley: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 25 January 2010, Official Report, column 534W, to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps). In addition to that reply, no designs for the Leader of the House of Commons website have been commissioned since 2007.
Northern Ireland
Departmental Internet
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many designs for its website his Department has commissioned since 2005. [318645]
Paul Goggins: During this period, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) website was redesigned in 2007.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Drugs
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to end the illegal drugs trade in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [319543]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: UK support is focused on building Afghan counter-narcotics law enforcement capacity, strengthening Afghan institutions, and providing alternative livelihoods for farmers. We are seeing progress. The number of narco barons being arrested and convicted, often by Afghan institutions mentored by UK experts, is increasing, This year, in Helmand, Governor Mangal has overseen the distribution of wheat seed to over 40,000 households in the 'Food Zone' and is overseeing the distribution of seed for summer crops to 27,000 households.
There have been dramatic falls in opium cultivation in Afghanistan in recent years-19 per cent. in 2008 and a further 22 per cent. in 2009. Although we cannot be complacent, we believe farmers are at least in part responding to improvements in governance and security.
The UK remains committed to the fight against the Afghan drugs trade, as a key component of our Afghan counter-insurgency and state-building effort. The drugs trade creates and funds the corruption which undermines the legitimacy of the Afghan state and provides a critical source of revenue for the Taliban.
Africa: Politics and Government
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent assessment is of the political situation in the Great Lakes region of Africa. [319454]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Levels of conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have dropped since late 2008, and improved relations between the DRC and Rwandan Governments have contributed to a stabilisation of the regional situation. However, violence, human rights abuses and displacement remain prevalent in eastern DRC in particular. The Government continue to work closely with the Governments in the region, as well as the UN and partners in the international community, to address these challenges.
British Nationality: Convictions
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions his Department has made representations to a foreign government on behalf of a UK citizen convicted of crimes involving (a) drugs, (b) sexual offences, (c) violence and (d) computers in each of the last three years. [318590]
Chris Bryant: We will consider making representations to the local authorities, with the permission of the individual concerned, in any case where a British national detainee has not been treated in line with internationally-accepted standards. This may include cases where the trial does not follow internationally-recognised standards, or where there is a justified complaint about mistreatment or discrimination. We will make representations irrespective of the nature of the charges: our aim is to treat everyone in detention the same, no matter what they are being held for. However, we do not keep records in a way which can be readily searched to extract an overall figure for representations made on behalf of British nationals convicted of crimes overseas.
Colombia: Political Prisoners
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2010, Official Report, column 416W, on Colombia: political prisoners, if he will make representations to the Government of Colombia on the fate of human rights defender Carmelo Agamez Berrio. [319463]
Chris Bryant: I have asked our embassy in Bogota to raise Carmelo Agamez Berrio's case with the Colombian Vice President's Office.
Commonwealth: Diplomatic Service
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) Canadians, (b) Australians, (c) New Zealanders and (d) Indians used UK consular facilities in absence of representation of their country in (a) each of the last three years and (b) 2010 to date. [319583]
Chris Bryant: From April 2008 we do not have figures available for third country nationals assisted by our missions overseas. Prior to this, our overseas posts were asked to provide, as part of an annual survey, the number of assistance cases handled, including how many cases involved unrepresented commonwealth nationals. These figures were not broken down by nationality. The figures for financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08 are as follows:
| Number | |
Departmental Energy
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department plans to take to participate in the Earth Hour event on 27 March 2010. [319093]
Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has arranged to switch off the lights in its UK offices, and has encouraged its overseas network to follow suit, subject to local operational concerns.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many designs for its website his Department has commissioned since 2005. [318651]
Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has commissioned two designs for its departmental website since 2005. The design was changed in March 2008 and again in October 2009.
Departmental Plants
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies has spent on pot plants in 2009-10 to date. [319211]
Chris Bryant: Since April 2009 there has been no identifiable spend on the purchase of pot plants within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
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