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10 Mar 2010 : Column 316W—continued
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Counter-terrorism: International Co-operation
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his (a) European, (b) NATO and (c) US counterparts on further measures to (i) tackle the funding of terrorist organisations and (ii) apprehend members of terrorist organisations. [321460]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We have frequent discussions with international partners and organisations on tackling the funding of terrorist organisations and increasing our collective ability to take action against their members. We are committed to meeting our UN obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 1904 on combating the funding of international terrorism, and to a comprehensive approach using a range of tools to disrupt and prosecute terrorist activity, including through asset freezes and travel bans.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 26 March 2009, Official Report, columns 598W, on departmental public expenditure, what estimate he has made of the effects of exchange rate movements on the level of funding required to meet the cost of the Government's commitments in relation to (a) international subscriptions and (b) peacekeeping activities in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11. [319675]
David Miliband: The information requested is as follows:
We amend our forecasts for the costs of the UK's international subscriptions throughout the year, both to take account of exchange rate movements and as we negotiate the budgets for each organisation for the year ahead (a number of international organisations, including the United Nations (UN) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), agree budgets for calendar years rather than the UK financial year). As payments are made in the local currency of each organisation at different times of the year, and as the effect of exchange rate movements is only one of the factors in our forecasts for these payments, it is not possible to calculate the effect of exchange rate movements alone on the changes to the forecast since my response of 26 March 2009, Official Report, column 598W, without incurring disproportionate cost. Our overall aim is to negotiate and limit any proposed increases to zero real growth in local currency terms for each organisation.
I have provided below our latest forecasts for the overall costs of international subscriptions. These forecasts remain subject to change in the light of continuing exchange rate movements.
The current forecast cost of the UK's international subscriptions in 2009-10 is £175 million, an update on the forecast cost of £193 million quoted in my response of 26 March 2009.
As I explained in my response of 26 March 2009, for international subscriptions the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has a cost-sharing agreement with HM
Treasury (HMT) where HMT will cover 60 per cent. of the additional funds required over £102 million. Therefore the forecast cost to the FCO of the UK's international subscriptions in 2009-10 is £131 million.
The change in this forecast since my 26 March 2009 response is due to successful FCO negotiations to limit the growth of the UK's contributions, including to the UN, combined with exchange rate movements over that period. (My response of 26 March 2009 quoted forecasts made before final UK contributions were agreed with NATO and the UN for calendar year 2010.) The cost sharing agreement with HMT means that 40 per cent. of the saving benefits the FCO's budget.
The forecast cost for international subscriptions in 2010-11 is £178 million. Based on the agreement with HMT, the FCO's share of this forecast cost is £132 million. This forecast is likely to change as a result of exchange rate movements and the renegotiation of subscriptions as they come up for renewal.
The assessed peacekeeping costs in 2009-10 are forecast to be £375 million, an update on the forecast cost of £456 million quoted in my 26 March 2009 response. The change in this forecast is due to savings achieved by the FCO through negotiations in international forums, in particular at the UN in June 2009, as well as exchange rate movements since March 2009. We currently estimate that these exchange rate movements will account for around £9 million of the savings on the previous forecast, subject to final payments which are yet to be made.
Under current arrangements, the first £374 million of assessed peacekeeping costs are met by HMT. Costs above that and, since April 2009, non-assessed peacekeeping costs as well, are borne by the FCO, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development from the conflict pools and/or from within departmental expenditure limits.
As my response of 26 March 2009 noted in relation to 2009-10 costs, UN peacekeeping assessed costs for 2010-11 will not be agreed by the UN General Assembly until June 2010. We are finalising peacekeeping budget arrangements for 2010-11 and will announce these in due course.
Illegal Immigrants
Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff his Department and its agencies have appointed who were later discovered to be illegal immigrants since 2005. [320444]
Chris Bryant: My Department has no record of having employed an illegal immigrant in the last five years.
All Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff have to be British citizens and all individuals employed by the FCO (whether staff or not) are required to satisfy requirements on identity, nationality and immigration status prior to the offer of employment.
Maldives: Religious Freedom
Mr. Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his latest assessment is of the level of religious freedom in the Maldives. [321193]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Under the terms of its constitution Maldives is an Islamic country, requiring all Maldivian citizens to be Muslims. Under Maldivian law non-Muslims are forbidden from practising their religion publically. President Mohamed Nasheed has made public his commitment to ensuring that Maldives fulfils its international obligations on human rights. Since he was elected in October 2008, there has been welcome progress in areas such as media freedom and freedom of expression. But there are still some areas where progress can be made, particularly in regards to religious freedom. We continue to encourage his Government to make further progress on this as soon as possible.
Olympics
Olympic Games 2012: Human Trafficking
Mr. Steen: To ask the Minister for the Olympics pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Wellingborough of 26 January 2010, Official Report, column 713W, when she plans to provide an update on the lessons learned from her visit to the Vancouver 2010 winter Olympics to the All Party Parliamentary Group of Trafficking of Women and Children. [321386]
Tessa Jowell [holding answer 9 March 2010]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 March 2010, Official Report, column 657.
While in Vancouver, I had a number of meetings with a range of Government, police and non-governmental representatives on the risk of an increase in human trafficking associated with the Olympic games. As previously agreed I will write to the parties concerned, including the All Party Parliamentary Group on Trafficking of Women and Children, in due course.
Scotland
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip- Northwood (Mr. Hurd) of 5 January 2010, Official Report, column 103W, on departmental marketing, how much his Department has spent on advertising, marketing, public relations and publicity in relation to the (a) Real Help Now and (b) Building Britain's Future themed campaign to date. [320464]
Ann McKechin:
The Scotland Office helped with the production of a Real Help Now document for Scotland. This was published to coincide with the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow for the first time last April. Ministers have also supported a number of meetings and events in Scotland to help promote the Real Help that is available
and the initiatives included in Building Britain's Future. The Scotland Office has incurred no advertising, marketing, public relations or publicity costs in relation to this.
Northern Ireland
Gary Whattley
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent progress has been made by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in its investigation into the death of Gary Whattley in Belfast on 4 November 2005. [321062]
Paul Goggins: That is an operational matter for the chief constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Independent International Commission on Decommissioning: Expenditure
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning has spent under each main category of expenditure in each year since its inception. [321190]
Paul Goggins: Sponsorship of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) is shared by both the British and Irish Governments, with costs shared on an equal basis. The figures in the following table show the British proportion of such costs.
Due to the nature of the recording of expenditure, available records on IICD specifically are held only from 2002-03. To determine cost beyond that period would incur disproportionate cost.
| £ | |||
| Salary costs | Other costs | Total | |
| (1) Figures correct as of 5 March 2010. | |||
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Biofuels: Boilers
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the Government's proposals for maximum (a) particulate and (b) nitrogen oxide emissions from biomass boilers on progress towards meeting air quality standards targets in those areas where such targets have not already been met. [321486]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The European Commission has accepted that with the exception of London, the UK is on track to achieve limit values for coarse particulate matter, PM10, by 2011 at the latest. In relation to London, the Government are working with the Mayor to provide the necessary assurances to the Commission as soon as possible. Action to ensure that the PM10 limit values are maintained, and progress is made towards fine particle PM25 targets, includes ongoing work to assess the impact of biomass boilers.
For nitrogen dioxide, NO2, a package of measures is currently being developed to address exceedences, taking account of changes in the energy sector as we move towards a low carbon economy. Assessment of the impact of these measures on NO2 concentrations is currently on-going. Road transport sources are the main contributor to exceedences of ambient air quality limit values for this pollutant.
Fair Trade Initiative
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contribution his Department has made to Fairtrade Fortnight. [320952]
Jim Fitzpatrick: DEFRA did not make any specific contribution to Fairtrade Fortnight but supports the ongoing work of Department for International Development (DFID) which is leading for the Government in this area, and the contribution that this makes to international sustainable development. DFID officials took part in a number of events and awareness-raising efforts throughout Fairtrade Fortnight, and DFID has committed £12 million to expanding Fairtrade globally.
Illegal Immigrants
Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff his Department and its agencies have appointed who were later discovered to be illegal immigrants since 2005. [320443]
Dan Norris: People employed to work in Government Departments and their agencies, either directly or through a contractor, are required to satisfy requirements on identity, nationality and immigration status prior to the offer of employment.
My Department has no record of having employed an illegal immigrant in the last five years.
Oils: Waste Disposal
Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of waste oils which is regenerated into lubricant oil; [320712]
(2) what recent assessment his Department has made of capacity for waste oil regeneration. [320736]
Dan Norris: Approximately 350,000 tonnes of waste oils require treatment in the UK annually.
In 2008, the latest year for which data are available, 50,000 tonnes of waste oil was regenerated into lubricant oils. 6,500 tonnes was exported to the EU for oil refining or other uses of waste oil.
Of the original 350,000 tonnes of waste oil, it is estimated that up to approximately 250,000 tonnes could be potentially suitable for regeneration. Currently there is one waste regeneration plant operating with a capacity for processing 50,000 tonnes per annum. In addition it is estimated that 20,000 tonnes of waste oil per annum are subject to laundering (cleaning).
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