Kiribati: Deputy High Commission (Hansard, 8 February 2005)

§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)
My Lords, the closure of the deputy high commission in Kiribati reflects the need better to align our resources with our priorities. The high commission in Fiji, which will cover Kiribati, will be able to bid for funds for Kiribati from the same Foreign and Commonwealth Office programmes as last year, including Chevening scholarships and sponsored visits. DfID has allocated £20,000 to Kiribati in 2005–06, and EU programmes for 2003–09 of [...]287.6 million for the region will also continue to be available.

§ Baroness Gardner of Parkes
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. I am sure that she appreciates 658 the diversity of the area, where the three closest islands—Tonga, which is Polynesian; Vanuatu, which is Melanesian; and Kiribati, which is Micronesian—all have quite different cultures and all will now come under Suva, which is in Fiji.
Is the noble Baroness aware that people are very concerned about the continuing small amounts of money? They are not talking about large amounts. Will the bidding process ensure that even small amounts are available? Does the noble Baroness appreciate how much the people of Kiribati have valued the small sums that have been available to them to help projects for the disabled, computer teaching or any small project particular to their society's needs? Can the noble Baroness reassure them that there is no cause to be concerned that they will be overlooked, or is there any way of earmarking something particularly for Kiribati?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
Yes, my Lords, I believe that there is and that we can give them reassurance. I assure the noble Baroness that the decision on those closures was not taken lightly; it has been thought through. Kiribati will continue to receive the [...]11 million attributed to it from the ninth European Development Fund, of which the United Kingdom supplies nearly 13 per cent.
Last year saw community projects on protection of children's rights, for example, books and teaching aids and a radio equipment upgrade. There was also a BBC project. There is no reason why similar projects should not happen again next year. It is not about trying to cut those projects; it is about the savings that accrue from shutting the deputy high commission, not the money in the way that the noble Baroness suggested.

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, does the Minister not agree that because of the distances involved—there are some 3,000 miles between Christmas Island, to the north of the island group of Kiribati, and Tarawa, the capital—it will be almost impossible to cover the whole area adequately without a locally placed individual? Does she not also agree that the current deputy high commissioner and his wife, who are based in Tarawa, have been doing a first-class job and will be sorely missed?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I am sure that the individuals will be sorely missed. As I said to the noble Baroness, Lady Gadrner of Parkes, a moment ago, the decision has been taken after a great deal of thought. Our high commissioner in Suva, in Fiji, is already accredited to Kiribati. When the deputy high commissioner departs, we plan to reinforce the staff at Suva to ensure that we maintain the United Kingdom's links with the Government of Kiribati. The high commissioner and his staff will make regular visits to Tarawa and will continue engaging at the same level with the government of Kiribati.

§ Lord Wright of Richmond
My Lords, will the noble Baroness confirm that the deputy high commission in Kiribati, like most missions, as I understand it, has had available a heads of mission fund, for which it is not 659 necessary to bid to the Foreign Office, as it is money available for small projects at the discretion of the high commissioner or deputy high commissioner? Will the high commission in Suva still be able to draw on similar funds on behalf of Kiribati?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, that is a rather different question. It involves DfID funding for small projects. A number of our embassies are finding that that money has been realigned. That is going on throughout the Foreign Office, and that question is not strictly related to what is going on in Kiribati. It is an issue for our high commissioners and our embassies in general.

§ Lord Wallace of Saltaire
My Lords, we all recognise that it is difficult for the British Government to continue to fund missions in all 190 other member states of the United Nations. Have the Government taken a position on proposals for a European Union action service that could maintain collective missions in some of the smaller countries in which there is, in combination, sufficient European interest, even if there is not sufficient individual interest to justify a resident mission from any one EU member state?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I know that the noble Lord is fond of reminding your Lordships that that is an important issue. It is important in several areas, but I do not believe that it is under active consideration at the moment with regard to the countries in the south Pacific.
I regret to say that I mentioned the BBC a moment ago in relation to a project in Kiribati. I am afraid that I misread part of my brief: there is no specific BBC project there. I misread something about the books fund.

§ Lord Blaker
My Lords, I declare an interest, in that I was responsible for organising the independence of Kiribati in 1979. Trying to cover Kiribati and the other islands from Fiji is no substitute for having a British deputy high commissioner in place. My noble friend mentioned the immense distances between the different parts of the islands. That is true of some of the other islands as well.
Can the noble Baroness reassure me about the economy of Kiribati? Has the proposal pushed in 1979 to license fishing fleets from other countries in the Pacific been successful?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I am afraid that I cannot answer the specific point on the fishing fleet. However, I shall write to the noble Lord about it.
We have been talking about Kiribati—a collection of islands-as though that collection of islands were closely packed. The fact is that it is not. I understand the points that noble Lords make about the distances, but I say to the noble Lord and to the noble Baronesses, Lady Hooper and Lady Gardner of Parkes, that the distances that will be covered from Fiji are not hugely different from the current position in terms of the planes that might be used to cover those journeys.
660 It is a difficult question, but ultimately we must decide the strategic priorities for expenditure in the Foreign Office. There are hard questions to answer, and we are facing up to them.