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17 Mar 2010 : Column 900W—continued
The increase in fees for 2008-09 is due to historic long running cases which only culminated in that financial year.
The costs incurred on the disposal of grain stores are not included in table above because they are accounted for separately. These costs are shown in the following table:
| Financial year | Total spent on legal fees (£) |
The figures include costs of external advice, litigation services and costs.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
1 Carlton Gardens
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Pendle of 3 February 2010, Official Report, column 373W, on Carlton Gardens, what plans he has to extend the lease of 1 Carlton Gardens; and how much has been paid in council tax to date on the residential element of the ministerial residence at 1 Carlton Gardens since that residence became unoccupied. [319802]
Chris Bryant: We remain in negotiations with the Crown Estate over lease renewal. £4,295.56 has been paid in council tax from October 2007 to March 2010.
Burma: Forced Labour
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received recent reports on trends in the level of forced labour in Burma; and if he will make a statement. [322608]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
We continue to be gravely concerned that forced labour, including forced porterage and underage military recruitment remain widespread practices, in marked and continued non-compliance with the Convention on Forced Labour. We note the co-operation, albeit limited, of the Burmese authorities with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) under the ILO's Supplementary Understanding with the Government of Burma, which includes a complaints mechanism for victims of forced labour. We received a report from the ILO last November on progress in the implementation of the Supplementary Understanding and expect a further progress report in
advance of the ILO Governing Body session on Burma next week. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in London and Rangoon are in regular contact with the ILO liaison officer in Rangoon, and met him most recently on 15 March. The EU presidency will make a statement on behalf of member states at the ILO Governing Body next week.
Burma: Gems
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had recent discussions at EU level on the export of gems originating in Burma from Asia to Europe. [322479]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: There have been no recent discussions on this issue among EU member states. Sanctions were agreed after the crackdown on peaceful protests in late 2008, and the EU imposed a ban on the import of gems from Burma, as well as prohibiting the provision of financial or technical assistance to entities engaged in the mining and processing of precious and semi-precious stones. These measures target the economic interests of the military regime and their cronies. Discussions will begin shortly in Brussels on the annual renewal of all EU measures against Burma, due at the end of April.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of sanctions designed to prevent the export of gems originating in Burma to the EU. [322480]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Sanctions prohibiting the export of gems from Burma to the EU were introduced after the crackdown on peaceful protests in late 2007, on the basis that the sector played a particular role in sustaining the military and their grip on power. No formal assessment of the effectiveness of the export ban has been made by the Government, but we continue to believe that targeted sanctions are an important means of maintaining pressure for political reform and respect for human rights in Burma.
Departmental Lost Property
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what property has been recorded as (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in the last 12 months; and what estimate has been made of the cost of the replacement of that property. [322076]
Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 16 March 2009, Official Report, column 844W, by my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron); namely, the information required is held separately in various Foreign and Commonwealth Office departments, all of which hold records relating to various losses and thefts of both personal property and official furnishings, including IT equipment losses.
As this information is not held centrally, providing an accurate answer would incur disproportionate cost.
Departmental Meetings
Martin Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any of his officials were present at meetings attended by Lord Ashcroft and the right hon. Member for Richmond (a) between 28 March and 3 April 2007 in Belize, Brazil, the Falkland Islands, Iceland, Panama, and the Turks and Caicos, (b) on 18 and 19 June 2007 in Syria, (c) between 15 and 17 February 2008 in the United Arab Emirates, (d) between 13 and 15 May 2008 in Egypt, (e) between 20 and 23 October 2008 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Georgia, (f) between 2 and 4 November 2008 in Israel, (g) between 15 and 17 March 2009 in Cuba, (h) on 21 October 2009 in the USA, (i) on 26 and 27 October 2009 in Qatar and (j) between 30 November and 2 December 2009 in China and Hong Kong. [322508]
Chris Bryant: The information requested is not held centrally and is available only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Surveys
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the benchmark results of the Civil Service People Survey for his Department and its agencies. [322564]
Chris Bryant: The 2009 People Survey results are now available in the Library.
These results are also available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at:
EU Countries: Overseas Workers
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what estimate he has made of the number of British citizens working in other EU member states in each of the last 12 months; [320922]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of UK citizens working under contract in other EU member states in each of the last five years. [320924]
Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold data on the number of British nationals working in other EU member states. The latest figures available for British nationals resident overseas were collected in March 2007. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on 23 February 2010 to the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey) which shows the estimated number of British nationals resident in each EU member state during 2006-07.
Greece: Death
Mr. Amess:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has received a copy of the (a) coroner's, (b) police and (c) toxicology report relating to the death of Stephen Oliver; what recent discussions (i) he, (ii) officials in his Department and (iii) officials in the British Consulate
in Corfu have had with the government of Greece on the case of Stephen Oliver; and if he will make a statement. [320244]
Chris Bryant: We have not received a copy of the coroner's, police or toxicology reports relating to Stephen Oliver's death. In Greece, autopsy reports are not automatically made available to the family of the deceased. If a report has not been released by the Greek coroner's office only a specifically authorised person can make an application for it. As the Greek authorities consider us to be third party in this case, we are unable to request it. The family have been advised to consider appointing the services of a local Greek lawyer who could request it on their behalf. This case has not been raised with the Greek Government by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, nor have we been asked to do so.
Intelligence Services
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the (a) current and (b) former policy guidelines issued by his Department to officers of those intelligence services which fall within his responsibilities on interviewing prisoners abroad and on co-operating with interviews conducted by other countries; and if he will make a statement. [321503]
David Miliband: [holding answer 11 March 2010]: I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's response of 15 March 2010, Official Report, column 579W.
Morocco: Christianity
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the treatment of persons with connections to the Christian community in Morocco; and whether any UK citizens have been (a) deported and (b) threatened with deportation from Morocco in the last six months. [322045]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Our ambassador in Rabat was informed on the evening of 8 March that 12 British citizens were about to be, or had been, expelled from Morocco.
Ten of these British citizens were accused of trying to convert Moroccan children living at the Village of Hope, a Christian run home for abandoned children, to Christianity. Two other individuals were also expelled, separately to those from the Village of Hope.
In the last six months five other UK citizens have been deported from Morocco. These cases were linked to immigration matters not proselytising. We are not aware of any UK citizens that have been threatened with deportation.
Nigeria: Politics and Government
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Nigeria on violence in the vicinity of Jos; [322102]
(2) what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Christian community from Jos. [322103]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We condemn the appalling recent violence in the vicinity of the city of Jos, and call for the Government of Nigeria to ensure those responsible for crimes are prosecuted, and to address the underlying issues behind the violence.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not recently discussed violence in Jos with the Government of Nigeria, nor representatives of the Christian community there. I raised our concerns with Chief Ojo Maduekwe, the Nigerian Foreign Minister on 15 March. Our High Commissioner in Abuja and senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have discussed the issue at Ministerial level, including with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on 8 March as well as with representatives of the Christian community, including Catholic Archbishop Kaigama of Jos and Archbishop Onaiyekan of Abuja. Our High Commission also remains in touch with Anglican Archbishop Kwashi of Jos.
Overseas Residence: Death
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens have died whilst working in Corfu in each of the last three years. [319758]
Chris Bryant: We do not keep records for the specific number of British citizens who have died while working, but the number of deaths requiring consular action in Corfu were:
| Number | |
The total number of deaths reported to the vice-consulate was:
2008-09: 15.
Sudan: Elections
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding his Department is providing to seek to ensure free and fair elections in Sudan. [322713]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Our assistance towards elections in Sudan remains in line with that set out to my hon. Friend by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr. Thomas) on 27 January 2010, Official Report, column 895W.
We have continued to urge all parties to ensure that credible elections take place in an atmosphere of political freedom. My noble Friend, the Minister for Africa, Glenys Kinnock, met with EU Chief Observer, Veroniqe De Keyser this week to discuss plans for the EU Election Observation Mission in Sudan.
UN Commission on the Status of Women
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcomes were of the 54th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women; and if he will make a statement. [322591]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women met at the UN from 1-12 March. The UK, along with other member states and representatives of non-governmental organisations and UN bodies, participated actively in the meeting, including at ministerial level.
The Commission reviewed progress in implementing the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the internationally agreed agenda for women's empowerment and gender equality, and identified the remaining obstacles and challenges to the full realisation of all human rights by women. The Commission adopted a political declaration in which member states pledged to work harder to ensure the full implementation of the Beijing Declaration. In addition, the Commission also adopted a number of resolutions on issues including HIV/AIDS; female genital mutilation; women's economic empowerment; and maternal mortality and morbidity. It also agreed a text supporting the establishment of a new UN body devoted to gender equality and women's rights through the consolidation of four existing UN offices which work on gender issues.
The UK remains committed to working with all other UN member states including through the Commission on the Status of Women to achieve gender equality and equal rights for women.
Children, Schools and Families
Building Schools for the Future Programme: Lancashire
Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families for what reasons his Department requested Lancashire county council to remove Whitworth Community High School from its Building Schools for the Future bid. [315557]
Mr. Coaker: Lancashire county council's 'Readiness to Deliver', submitted in September 2009, did not sufficiently address how its proposals for BSF would manage the issue of surplus capacity in some of its schools. Whitworth Community High School in particular has a projected high level of surplus capacity.
The authority was invited to revise its 'Readiness to Deliver'. Rather than delay entry into the programme, the authority chose to resubmit a revised scope of schools which did not include Whitworth Community High School, with the intention of addressing the pupil place planning issues in a later phase.
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