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Ambassadors
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty’s Government:
Whether those who are appointed as United Kingdom ambassadors have visited England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to familiarise themselves with the local cultures and economic and political climates before taking up their posts.[HL7055]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): Heads of mission have specific briefing programmes before they take up their appointments that cover in detail all aspects of their responsibilities to represent all parts of the United Kingdom.
British Council: Overseas Students
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty’s Government:
Whether the British Council is giving priority to bringing students and scholars to the United Kingdom from Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon and to supporting exchanges with those countries. [HL7145]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): A central part of the British Council’s remit is to encourage overseas students to come to the UK. It does this through activities such as the promotion of UK education. Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon are priority areas for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Council. The British Council also supports exchanges, particularly among young people. It does this through initiatives such as Connecting Futures, which aims to increase understanding between young people in the UK and countries with significant Muslim populations.
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Government Departments: Special Advisers
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty’s Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 10 July (WA 89), how many assistants currently support special advisers to Ministers in the Department for Work and Pensions; and what is the nature of their services. [HL7015]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Two civil servants assist the special advisers in DWP. These staff are employed to provide support of a non-political nature in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.
Israel and Palestine: Gaza
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty’s Government:
Whether they will make representations to the Government of Israel to open the Rafah crossing point sufficiently to allow inhabitants of Gaza, now stranded in Egypt, to return home. [HL7034]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The Rafah crossing point opened on 18 July to allow people to pass from Egypt into Gaza. It is important that both parties implement the 15 November 2005 agreement on movement and access. We will continue to make representations about this.
Turks and Caicos Islands
Lord Jones asked Her Majesty’s Government:
What discussions have taken place about granting more self-government to the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands. [HL6963]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): As part of the constitutional review process for the overseas territories, the Government have had in-depth discussions with representatives of the Turks and Caicos Islands. In October 2005, agreement was reached with the Turks and Caicos Islands Government on the main principles of a new and modernised constitution. A public consultation process on the text of the draft constitution based on these principles showed broad support for the document in the territory. The Turks and Caicos Islands Legislative Council passed a resolution endorsing the draft on 28 June. On 19 July, Her Majesty the Queen made an Order in Council adopting the new constitution. The new constitution
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Israel and Palestine: Compensation
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty’s Government:
Whether they will include in their diplomatic efforts to secure a cessation of Middle East military actions on all sides the case for the parties to the conflict paying compensation for loss of life and injuries to civilians, as well as war damage for buildings. [HL7080]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): At the G8 summit in St Petersburg on 16 July, G8 leaders outlined the conditions leading to a cessation of violence in the region that will be sustainable and lay the foundation for a more permanent solution. This requires:
the return of the Israeli soldiers in Gaza and Lebanon unharmed;
an end to the shelling of Israeli territory;
an end to Israeli military operations and the early withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza;
and the release of the arrested Palestinian Ministers and parliamentarians.
The framework for resolving these disputes is already established by international consensus. We have no plans to seek to include the payment of compensation as a further condition.
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Israel and Palestine: Gaza
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty’s Government:
Why they were unable to support the proposal of the Government of France at the G8 summit in St Petersburg that Israel should agree to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon at the same time as Hamas and Hezbollah stop their actions.[HL7040]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): As my right honourable friend the Prime Minister said during his press conference with the UN Secretary-General on 17 July in St Petersburg:
“It is obviously a very critical situation and the most immediate priority is to create the conditions in which a cessation of violence can happen. But this is a very, very serious situation indeed and it is going to be vital that we use every single effort that we possibly can to make sure over the next few days that we put in place those conditions that can actually allow us to have that cessation of violence”.
Lottery Grants
Lord Fearn asked Her Majesty’s Government:
Which coastal resorts in England and Wales have received heritage lottery grants in each of the years 2003-05. [HL6634]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded the following grants to English coastal resorts (as defined by the British Resorts Association) and Welsh coastal resorts in each of the years 2003-05.
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