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Column 1
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 17 July 1989
NORTHERN IRELAND
Fermanagh (Ministerial Visits)
Mr. Maginnis : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he last visited either Newtownbutler or Rosslea Royal Ulster Constabulary stations in south-east Fermanagh ; and what was the cost of the security operation thus entailed.
Mr. Tom King : I have not visited Newtownbutler, but I visited Rosslea RUC station in December 1985. In the last 12 months I have visited three RUC stations in the same area and the nearby army headquarters at Lisnaskea. Information on the costs is not held in the form requested.
Criminal Injury Compensation Order
Mr. McCusker : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how often the discretion given by article 8(4) of the Northern Ireland Criminal Injury Compensation Order has been exercised in favour of a person denied compensation as a result of article 6(3) of the order.
Mr. Ian Stewart : Three times.
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Teachers
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many incentive posts for teachers are currently available ; what is the financial remuneration for each grade ; what were the comparable figures three years ago ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Butcher : The value and estimated number of incentive allowances in ordinary schools in October 1987 (the first year) and September 1988 are set out in the table :
October 1987 September 1988
|Value (£) |Number |<1>Value (£)|Number
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A |501 |25,000 |858 |43,000
B |1,002 |69,000 |1,284 |59,600
C |2,001 |- |2,568 |9,300
D |3,000 |28,500 |3,426 |27,000
E |4,200 |6,500 |4,710 |9,000
|---- |----
Total |129,000 |174,600
<1> From 1 April 1989.
There will be an further 27,500 As, 2,500 Bs, 1,500 Cs and 500 Ds from this September as a result of the recommendations of the interim advisory committee and plans already in the pipeline.
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Language Schools
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has received representations from local authorities seeking the statutory control of language schools.
Mr. Jackson : My right hon. Friend has received no such representations.
Learning Difficulties
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will consider giving moderate learning difficulty and severe learning difficulty schools discretion over putting (a) French or (b) any other foreign language in their curriculum ; (2) if he will detail those elements of the national curriculum that are applicable to the moderate learning difficulty and severe learning difficulty special schools ;
(3) if moderate learning difficulty and severe learning difficulty schools can work to their own curriculum so as to dispense with the national curriculum ;
(4) if moderate learning difficulty and severe learning difficulty schools can modify the whole of the national curriculum.
Mr. Butcher : All maintained schools, including all maintained special schools, must meet the national curriculum requirements in full, including the requirement to teach a modern foreign language to all registered pupils in the third key stage (age 12 to14). We do not intend to except any category of school from this requirement. Children of all abilities, including children with moderate or severe learning difficulties, can benefit from the breadth and balance of the national curriculum. Within each national curriculum subject area, attainment targets and programmes of study are being developed to meet the needs of children of different abilities and maturities. For pupils with statements of special educational needs (SEN) under the 1981 Act, provision may be made, on an individual basis, to modify or disapply as necessary any or all of the elements of the national curriculum. The national curriculum does not come into force for pupils with statements of SEN until 1 August 1990.
Student Unions
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will make a statement on the progress of his Department's review of student union membership ;
(2) when he expects the results of his Department's review of student unions will be announced ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : We hope shortly to publish the factual analysis of the Department's survey of student unions.
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent representations he has received concerning his Department's review of student unions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : I refer to my replies to the hon. Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith) on 12 April 1989 at column 526, to my hon. Friend and to my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Chelsea (Mr. Fishburn), both on 6 June 1989 at column 15. We have since received a further
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19 letters concerned mainly with the National Union of Students, of which 15 were critical of present arrangements for membership and funding.Single Market
Mr. Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans his Department is making to mark the arrival of the open market of 1 January 1993 with educational exchanges or other events.
Mr. Jackson : The Department is co-operating within the European Community in the development and implementation of appropriate programmes. In addition we have successful and expanding bilateral educational exchange and other programmes with our European partners.
Community Charge
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his latest estimate of (a) young people of 19 years of age or more attending schools, (b) young people of 19 years of age or more attending sixth form colleges and (c) young people of 19 years of age or more attending colleges specified in the Personal Community Charge (Students) Regulations 1989 where they are studying for GCE A-levels or other courses which are taught in schools or sixth form colleges ; and if he will make a statement of the effect of liability for poll tax and entitlement to the student 80 per cent. non-means-tested relief on the educational choices of young people.
Mr. Jackson : In January 1988 the number of pupils aged 19 and over attending maintained and non-maintained schools (excluding sixth form colleges) in England was 2,078 ; attending sixth form colleges was 692. The number of full-time students aged 19 enrolled on GCE or GCSE courses lasting 18 weeks or more on 1 November 1987 (the latest date for which figures are available) was approximately 4,000. School pupils aged over 18 will be liable for the full community charge, but the great majority of them will be eligible for an 80 per cent. rebate on the basis of their low incomes and resources. Full-time students will be liable to pay only 20 per cent. of the community charge. For most 19-year-olds in full-time education there will therefore be no difference in the amount paid in community charge, whether the education is undertaken in schools, sixth form colleges or colleges of further and higher education.
Student Loans
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he proposes to introduce a top-up student loan scheme for current undergraduate student nurses in 1990-91.
Mr. Jackson : Future arrangements for the support of undergraduates studying nursing are under consideration in the context of Project 2000.
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
George Belitsky
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Russian authorities about their continued failure to grant an exit visa to George Belitsky of Moscow.
Mr. Waldegrave : We have underlined our concern about George Belitsky to the Soviet authorities on numerous occasions over the past year --most recently during the Paris human rights conference in June. The Russians continue to refuse to grant a visa on security grounds which we find wholly unconvincing. We shall continue to press the case.
Mark Berenfeld
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Russian authorities about their continued failure to grant exit visas to Mark Berenfeld and his family who first applied for a visa in 1977.
Mr. Waldegrave : We made representations to the Soviet authorities about the Berenfeld family shortly before Mr. Gorbachev's visit in April, and were told that the family would be given permission to leave. We shall raise the case again with the Soviet authorities if visas are not issued shortly.
Ester and Simon Tsirelson
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Russian authorities about their continued failure to grant exit visas to Ester and Simon Tsirelson of Leningrad who first applied for an exit visa in 1979.
Mr. Waldegrave : We have pressed the Soviet authorities about the Tsirelson case on numerous occasions during the past year--most recently at the Paris CSCE human rights conference in June. They now claim that the case is under re-consideration. We shall continue to make representations until the family is allowed to leave.
Entry Clearance
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give the current waiting times both actual and estimated, and the numbers awaiting interview abroad for the following queues : (a) persons with a claim to the right of abode, dependent relatives over 70 years, special compassionate cases, (b) all spouses and all children under 18, (c) fiance es applying for the first time and (d) re -applicants for the following posts : (i) New Delhi, (ii) Bombay, (iii) Dhaka, (iv) Islamabad, (v) Karachi, (vi) Nairobi and (vii) Dar Es-Salaam.
Mr. Eggar : As at 31 May 1989 waiting times (in months) to first interview at posts in the Indian sub-continent were as follows :
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Waiting times in
months
Post |Queue |Actual |Estimated
--------------------------------------------------
New Delhi |1 |0 |0
|2 |4 |4
|3 |5 |6
|4 |8 |9
Bombay |1 |2 |2
|2 |6 |6
|3 |9 |9
|4 |10 |10
Dhaka |1 |3 |3
|2 |6 |6
|3 |6 |6
|4 |22 |22
Islamabad |1 |3 |3
|2 |10 |10
|3 |16 |16
|4 |22 |22
Karachi |1 |1 |1
|2 |2 |2
|3 |2 |2
|4 |6 |6
Settlement queues are organised as follows :
Q1 Persons with a claim to the right of abode, dependent relatives over 70 years, special compassionate cases.
Q2 All spouses, and all children under 18 years.
Q3 Fiance (e)s and others applying for the first time for settlement.
Q4 Re-applicants.
Posts in Nairobi and Dar Es-Salaam do not operate a queue system along the lines of Indian subcontinent posts. Current waiting times to first interview for all types of settlement applications are :
|Weeks
--------------------------
Dar Es-Salaam |5
Nairobi |4
Raoul Wallenberg
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ask the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to make a new statement about the alleged death of Mr. Raoul Wallenberg ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : The leader of the Soviet delegation at the recent human rights conference in Paris acknowledged that Raoul Wallenberg had been a "noble person" and had been murdered "by dark forces". We do not, of course, consider this a satisfactory explanation and will continue to press for the full story. But it may at least be a step nearer to the truth.
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received concerning the case of Mr. Raoul Wallenberg ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : We receive a number of representations which reflect concern in this country that the fate of Raoul Wallenberg remains unknown. In an era of glasnost the Soviet Union does itself a disservice by failing to resolve widespread concern about this heroic figure.
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Single Market
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department is making to mark the arrival of the open market of 1 January 1993 with exchanges, exhibitions, or other events.
Mrs. Chalker : The next United Kingdom presidency of the EC falls in the second half of 1992, coinciding with the end of the period leading up to completion of the single market. We are considering how best to mark the occasion.
Bulgaria
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has concerning the extent of the enforced exodus of ethnic Turks from Bulgaria.
Mr. Waldegrave : We understand that over 130,000 members of Bulgaria's Turkish minority have fled to Turkey since mid-May. It seems that the first wave, perhaps numbering several thousand, were deported but that the vast majority of later arrivals left Bulgaria voluntarily, albeit as a result of long-term harassment.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Bulgarian authorities concerning human rights abuses perpetrated against ethnic Turks.
Mr. Waldegrave : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs protested to the Bulgarian ambassador on 1 June about his Government's policy towards the Turkish minority. We have also taken the matter up in Sofia, and our delegation to the Paris conference on the "human dimension" of the CSCE raised it on numerous occasions.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received concerning human rights abuses perpetrated against ethnic Turks by the Bulgarian authorities.
Mr. Waldegrave : We receive frequent representations about human rights violations affecting Bulgaria's Turkish minority. We have long had a policy of taking all appropriate opportunities of expressing our concern to the Bulgarian authorities, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora.
Immigration
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give for the different parts of the Indian subcontinent the latest information he has on the length of time from application for entry clearance to first interview for those now being interviewed, and the expected time for those applying now for (a) fiance s, (b) husbands, (c) wives and (d) dependent children.
Mr. Eggar : As at 31 May 1989 waiting times (in months) for first interview at posts in the Indian subcontinent were as follows :
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Wives anOther, hFiance(e)s
with rigand dependant child
(Q2)
|(a)|(e)|(a)|(e)|(a)|(e)
--------------------------------------
Bombay |2 |2 |6 |6 |9 |9
Delhi |0 |0 |4 |4 |5 |6
Dhaka |3 |3 |6 |6 |6 |6
Islamabad |3 |3 |10 |10 |16 |16
Karachi |1 |1 |2 |2 |2 |2
(a) Actual time those interviewed in
May 1989 waited.
(e) Estimated time to interview for
applications lodged in May.
There are no queues in Calcutta and Madras.
Human Rights
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights in the last five years in Bangladesh.
Mr. Eggar : We have made a number of representations about human rights to the Bangladesh authorities over the past five years but the precise information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights in the last five years in the Bahamas ;
(2) how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights in the last five years in Botswana ; (3) how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights in the last five years in Guam.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has made complaining about the denial of human rights in the last five years in Bulgaria.
Mr. Eggar : We have made a number of representations about human rights in Bulgaria to their authorities over the last five years, but the precise information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
PLO (Gift)
Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will instruct Her Majesty's ambassador in Riyadh to protest to the Saudi Arabian authorities about their gift of six million US dollars to the Palestine Liberation Organisation on 4 July to finance violence on the West Bank ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : No. The decisions of the Casablanca summit show that Saudi Arabia supports the PLO's efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement in the middle east.
Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, during the Minister of State's recent meeting with Bassam Abu Sharif, the Minister raised the statement in call No. 42 issued by the Palestine Liberation Organisation on 3 July, that 16 July
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should be designated as petrol bomb day, with the stepping up of petrol bomb attacks against West Bank settlers or the Israeli defence forces ; and whether he will make a statement.Mr. Waldegrave : No. The PLO is well aware of our view, which I repeated to Bassam Abu Sharif, that the intifada should be pursued with the utmost restraint.
Italy (Consular Assistance)
Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Enfield, North (Mr. Eggar), has transferred to the Department of Social Security the recent letter to him from the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton regarding consular assistance in Italy for N. A., a constituent of the hon. Member, who was dismissed from his employment by Halliburton Manufacturing and Services Ltd. while still in hospital ; and whether he will now discuss the case with the Italian ambassador, following his Excellency's letter to the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton dated 8 June, a copy of which has been sent to him.
Mr. Eggar : The letter referred to covered social security payments in Italy, a matter which is properly for the Department of Social Security. That Department is currently in correspondence with the Italian authorities. It would therefore be inappropriate for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to discuss the case with the Italian ambassador.
Forward Programmes (EC)
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Her Majesty's Government receives copies of the European Communities Commission's annual forward programme, three month forward programme and draft documents of forthcoming legislation ; and if he will ensure that these are provided as soon as possible to the relevant parliamentary Committees.
Mrs. Chalker : Copies of the Commission's annual work programme for 1989 were placed in the Library of the House earlier this year. We understand that the Commission would be prepared for its three-month forward programmes, which are supplied to the European Parliament for planning purposes, to be passed to national Parliaments. All Commission proposals for draft legislation submitted to the Council of Ministers are deposited in the House, normally within 48 hours of receipt in London.
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Chemical Weapons
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy towards the development within Third world countries of chemical industries with a capacity to make chemical weapons ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : We are in no way opposed to the development of chemical industries for peaceful purposes. We are, however, concerned that chemical industries, wherever they are located, should not contribute to the production of chemical weapons. Pending the achievement of a comprehensive ban on chemical weapons which would include verification that chemical weapon agents were not being produced in industry, we and a number of other chemical producing countries have imposed controls on the export of those chemicals which are key precursors for chemical weapons. We have urged other producing countries to follow suit.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Lome IV
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the overall state of Lome IV negotiations.
Mr. Chris Patten : The Lome IV negotiations are making satisfactory progress and should be concluded by the end of the year. The next ACP-EC ministerial negotiating meeting is in Luxembourg on 10-12 October. I am participating in another round of discussions with my Community colleagues on 17 July.
ACP Countries
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the top five imports in both the European Economic Community in general and Great Britain from the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
Mr. Chris Patten : The top five European Community imports from ACP states in 1987 were oil (4.26 billion ecu), coffee (1.61 billion ecu), cocoa (1.35 billion ecu), copper (0.55 billion ecu) and wood (0.55 billion ecu). ( Source : European Commission "Principle EC imports from ACP states 1983-87" ; 1987 exchange rate £1=1.41 ecu). Comparable figures for individual member states are not published by the Commission and the information requested for United Kingdom imports is not readily available from United Kingdom statistics.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on studies comparing the shock and gradualist approach of disbursing aid to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
Mr. Chris Patten : I have no information about such studies.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current quota on the European market under the terms of the sugar protocol to the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
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Mr. Chris Patten : Under the sugar protocol to the Lome convention, the European Community undertakes for an indefinite period to purchase and import each year at guaranteed prices 1.3 million tonnes (white sugar equivalent) of cane sugar from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. This total is divided into national quotas among the ACP signatories.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current rate of exports from the African, Caribbean and Pacific to (a) the European Economic Community and (b) Great Britain.
Mr. Chris Patten : In 1987 total ACP exports to the European Community were 16.37 billion ecu ( Source : European Commission "Principle EC imports from ACP states 1983-87") ; and to the United Kingdom 2.37 billion ecu ( Source : Eurostat Monthly External Trade Statistics) (1987 exchange rate : £1 = 1.41 ecu).
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the declaration made on 5 June in Brussels to ban all traffic of toxic waste to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries has been upheld.
Mr. Chris Patten : At the ACP-EC ministerial negotiating meeting on 3-5 June, the European Community indicated that it was willing in principle to agree to an ACP request that the Community should ban the export of toxic waste to the ACP. Negotiations are continuing on the means of implementing such a ban.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the request from Mr. Seydina Oumar Sy, the Senegalese trade minister, on behalf of his African, Caribbean and Pacific colleagues, for the European Community to put extra money into the Lome arrangement for structural adjustment has been met.
Mr. Chris Patten : European Community member states have not yet discussed the level of resources to be provided under the next Lome convention.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which rules have been eased in regard to African, Caribbean and Pacific industrial products entering the European Community duty free, as promised by Mr. Manuel Martin, the European Community development Commissioner.
Mr. Chris Patten : In the current renegotiation of the Lome convention the Commission has proposed a number of improvements to the rules of origin. We support these concessions. The Council is considering its position on the Commission proposals. This will then be put to the ACP in the next round of the negotiations. The objective is agreement by the end of December.
European Investment Bank
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current rate of additional Lome aid provided by the European Investment bank.
Mr. Chris Patten : Under the third Lome convention the European Investment bank agreed to make loans from its
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own resources of up to 1,100 million ecu (about £750 million). Commitments up to 30 June 1989 totalled some 490 million ecu (about £330 million).Sysmin
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current state of the Sysmin facility.
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