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5 Mar 2010 : Column 1447W—continued
During the 21 July meeting both delegations reiterated their respective positions on sovereignty and resettlement as expressed at the first round of talks held in London on 14 January. The delegations agreed on the desirability of a co-ordinated submission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf for an extended continental shelf in the Chagos Archipelago/BIOT region. A joint technical team would be set up with officials from both sides to look into the possibilities of a co-ordinated response. The UK delegation proposed that consideration be given to the possible creation of a Marine Protected Area (MPA), which the Mauritians agreed in principle. The UK delegation agreed to examine the Mauritian proposal to set up a mechanism to look into the joint issuing of fishing licences for BIOT waters, and stated that such examination would also include consideration of the implications of the proposed MPA.
UK relations with Mauritius are broad and deep, with regular contacts at all levels. The UK is Mauritius' largest trade partner and second largest tourism market. The UK and Mauritius have many shared international priorities and, subject to regional voting constraints, the UK and Mauritian Governments frequently take the same positions in international fora. Within regional blocs, such as the African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC), Mauritius is often a voice supporting UK aims. The Government also supports, through the EU, structural adjustment of the Mauritian economy to cope with the loss of sugar preferences. The UK will continue to develop this relationship-later in the year, we will be marking the 200(th) Anniversary of UK involvement in Mauritius. More immediately, the Privy Council will hold their second sitting in Mauritius this April.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to reply to the letter of 3 February 2010 from the hon. Member for Walsall North on a constituent. [320742]
Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office transferred the hon. Member for Walsall North's letter of 3 February to the Department for International Development (DfID) for reply. I understand that DfID replied on 3 March.
Middle East: Armed Conflict
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a specific assessment of the extent of damage caused by Israeli armed forces to projects in Gaza which have been (a) constructed and (b) financed with UK assistance since the Oslo Peace Accords. [320972]
Mr. Michael Foster: The UK Government have no plans to make such an assessment. Given current circumstances in Gaza, it would not be possible to gather the necessary data.
Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation
Mr. Dai Davies:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2010, Official Report,
column 419, on nuclear weapons, what resources have been spent on solutions to (a) technical, (b) political and (c) institutional challenges to prevent (i) vertical and (ii) horizontal proliferation in each year since 1997; and what resources have been committed since to promoting abroad (A) the expansion of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and (B) nuclear disarmament since July 2009. [320535]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has undertaken extensive activity across these eight areas in collaboration with its global network of posts and other Government Departments, principally the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (previously the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) and the Agencies. The information requested is not immediately available and compilation could be attempted only at disproportionate cost.
Rwanda: Politics and Government
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on (a) attacks on Rwandan presidential candidate Victoire Umuhoza, (b) progress made toward the registration of opposition parties and (c) the extent of political freedom in Rwanda in the run-up to the 2010 presidential election; and if he will make a statement. [319692]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 1 March 2010]: Our high commission in Kigali is in regular contact with the full spectrum of political opinion in Rwanda, including Mme Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza. We are aware of reports stating that Mme Ingabire was involved in an altercation on 3 February when she attended a registration office in Kigali to obtain her identity card. The circumstances are disputed, but Mme Ingabire was not herself harmed, although her driver was attacked by unknown assailants.
We are aware of reports of opposition parties facing difficulties registering prior to the elections. In this
context, we meet regularly with political parties, including Government and opposition parties. We continue to engage with the Government of Rwanda, both with Ministers and with the National Election Commission, on the issues of registration and functioning of political parties, as well as the wider matter of extending political space in Rwanda, particularly with regard to the elections in August this year.
We continue to support political and media freedom in Rwanda and we engage regularly, both bilaterally and with our EU partners, to ensure that the Rwandan Government respects these issues.
Justice
Departmental Paper
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what (a) suppliers and (b) brands of (i) paper and (ii) paper products his Department uses; and what his Department's policy is on the procurement of those materials. [320037]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice currently use Banner Business Supplies Limited for all office paper and paper products that fall under the office stationery category. During 2008/09 Banner was the sole provider for all the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) paper based products and Office Depot were the main provider for all Wider Ministry of Justice paper based products.
The wider Ministry of Justice did not collate this information centrally before 2009. However, a new procurement system has been established that will enable more data to be captured and maintained. Implementation is due to complete shortly with information being available in the second quarter of 2010.
The following table shows the brands, size, weight, recycled content and volume purchased for paper only and refer solely to NOMS. The Information requested for paper products are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Brand of Paper | Product | Size | Weight | Recycled c ontent ( percentage ) | Volume purchased (reams) 2008-09 |
| (1) Farmed from sustainable sources. | |||||
Prison industries provide a printing solution for the MoJ which also provides constructive employment for inmates. The information requested for recycled content is not held centrally and could be provided only as disproportionate cost.
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