§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the frequency of abduction of Iraqi(a) women and (b) children. [130312]
§ Mr. RammellGiven the current nature of policing in Iraq no comprehensive crime recording exists. Crime recording and analysis will of course need to be part of the reformed Iraqi Police Service.
§ Paul FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK is making financial contributions to other coalition nations' forces in Iraq. [129750]
§ Mr. Rammell[holding answer 16 September 2003]: We are providing some logistical help to Coalition partners operating under UK command in Multinational Division South East (MND SE). We continue to assess the help that we could provide on a case by case basis.
§ Paul FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many military personnel from each of the coalition countries are deployed in Iraq; and what he estimates the totals will be in six months' time. [129882]
§ Mr. Rammell[holding answer 16 September 2003]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 15 September 2003, Official Report, column 587W. We keep force levels under constant review as the situation develops. We are not at this stage able to estimate what numbers will be in six months time.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the Government have for posting civil servants to Iraq. [131141]
§ Mr. RammellWe have seconded over 100 UK civil servants to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq since the end of the conflict. They have made an outstanding contribution to the CPA's work in providing services across Iraq, and we expect to maintain at least this level of commitment over the next few months.
§ Mr. GardinerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what preparations have been made to hand over border controls in Iraq from coalition forces to Iraqi civilians. [131143]
§ Mr. Rammell>We are working to give the Iraqis a greater role in security. We are assisting the development of the border police and the new Iraqi army which will have a role in border security. On 15 September there were 2,122 trained border police working alongside coalition forces and a further 3,269 training. The Shalamcheh Point of Entry is now manned by Iraqis.