HL Deb 23 June 2004 vol 662 cc127-8WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What complaints have been made to the United Kingdom National Contact Point (NCP) of breaches of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Companies, giving in each case the date of the original complaint, the originator, the date on which the NCP responded or the complaint was withdrawn and, where no response has yet been made, the date on which it is expected. [HL3222]

Lord Sainsbury of Turville

The National Contact Point (NCP) has received four complaints since the guidelines were revised in 2000, three of which are ongoing.

A complaint was made against Anglo American plc by Rights and Accountability in Development and others in February 2002. The NCP first responded in March 2002. The investment committee of the OECD issued a clarification on the applicability of the guidelines in this case in April 2004. The company's detailed response was passed to the complainant in December 2003 and the NCP is awaiting the complainant's response.

In April 2003 the NCP received a complaint from Friends of the Earth and others against the BTC Consortium (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan). The NCP first responded in May 2003. The company response was passed to the complainant in March 2004 and the NCP is awaiting the complainant's response.

A complaint was received in July 2003 from Citizens for a Better Environment against National Grid/Transco. The NCP first responded in July 2003 and the company's response was passed to the complainant in November 2003 and again, the NCP is awaiting the complainant's response.

Finally, a complaint was received from the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) in September 2003 against British American Tobacco. The NCP first responded in October 2003 and following a dialogue between the parties, the case was withdrawn in February 2004.

In addition to the above, the NCP is also dealing with matters referred by a UN expert panel on the illegal exploitation of natural resources and other forms of wealth in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thus far, the issues relating to the evidence presented against one company (DeBeers) have been concluded. The NCP statement is available at www.dti.gov.uk/ewt/debeers.doc.