| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Maude : The ambassador to the United Nations of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea is Thiounn Prasith. Between 1975 and 1979 he was employed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Democratic Kampuchea.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sources of information Her Majesty's Government use to assess the political, social and economic situation in Cambodia.
Mr. Maude : We draw on all sources available to us. These include the reporting of Her Majesty's embassies in Bangkok and elsewhere, the views of non-governmental organisations working inside Cambodia, consultation with our friends and partners and reports in the media.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when there was last a visit by representatives of Her Majesty's Government to Cambodia.
Mr. Maude : No representative of ours has visited Cambodia since the Vietnamese invasion in 1979.
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which is the dominant faction in the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea.
Mr. Maude : The Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) comprises three factions : Prince Norodom Sihanouk's group (FUNCINPEC), the Kampuchea People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF), and the Khmer Rouge. It is our policy to support the non-Communist resistance (FUNCINPEC and KPNLF) and we are determined that they should not fall under the domination of the Khmer Rouge.
Column 11
Mr. Adley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what positive evidence he has that Pol Pot is still actively involved in the direction of the Khmer Rouge.
Mr. Maude : It is difficult to assess shifts of influence within the Khmer Rouge. We understand that Pol Pot resigned from his one remaining official position, that of Head of the Academy of National Defence, with effect from 3 June 1989. But he is still believed to wield influence behind the scenes.
Refuseniks
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations have been made to the Russian authorities about the case of Marat Goldberg of Leningrad ; (2) what representations have been made to the Russian authorities about the case of Mila Novik of Moscow and her two children.
Mr. Waldegrave : We have not previously raised these particular cases with the Soviet authorities but we will be happy to do so if my hon. Friend will provide the details.
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Russian authorities about the case of Sasha and Irene Sterkin of Moscow and their two sons.
Mr. Waldegrave : We take every opportunity to press the Soviet authorities on individual refusenik cases such as that of Sasha and Irene Sterkin. My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised this case when he met Mr. Shevardnadze in New York on 29 September. We shall maintain our pressure until Sasha and Irene Sterkin are given permission to emigrate from the Soviet Union.
Mr John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Russian authorities about the case of Mark Barenshtein and his wife and two daughters of Moscow.
Mr. Waldegrave : We take every opportunity to press the Soviet authorities on individual refusenik cases such as that of Mark Barenshtein and his family. The last occasion that we raised this case was on 29 September when my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs met Mr. Shevardnadze in New York. We shall maintain our pressure until this case is resolved satisfactorily.
Civil Service Dispersal
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any plans to relocate his Department's offices to the north-west of England ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : There are no plans to relocate the offices of either the diplomatic wing or the aid wing of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the north-west of England. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Roxborough and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) on 6 November regarding the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's relocation programme.
Column 12
Mr. Karnail Singh Khaira
Mr. Ground : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Indian Government concerning the arrest on 18 October in Jullundur, India, of Mr. Karnail Singh Khaira and his subsequent detention ; and what response he has received from the Indian Government.
Mr Maude : The British high commission in New Delhi is pressing the Indian authorities for early consular access to Mr. Khaira, and awaits their response. Mr. Khaira's lawyer entered a writ of habeas corpus on 9 November 1989.
Sri Lanka
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has concerning the training of another group of Indian peacekeeping forces to be based in north Sri Lanka.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the number of the Indian peacekeeping forces based in Sri Lanka at the present time ; and when they are due to be withdrawn.
Mr. Maude : In an agreement announced on 18 September, the Indian and Sri Lankan Governments noted that all efforts would be made to complete withdrawal of the Indian peacekeeping force by 31 December 1989. The process is under way. Our best estimate of the size of the Indian force, based on official announcements, is between 35,000 and 38,000.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Indian Government regarding the basing of Indian peacekeeping forces in Sri Lanka ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : None. We supported the Indo-Sri Lankan accord of 1987, and we welcome the agreement between the two countries announced on 18 September, which provided a framework for implementation of measures to achieve a peaceful settlement in the north and east and the phased withdrawal of the Indian peacekeeping force.
Gibraltar
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 8 November, if he will identify where the observations in relation to Gibraltar's lack of elected representation in the European Parliament made by the then Home Secretary may be found.
Mr. Maude : The observations are contained in the Supplement to the Votes and Proceedings No. 175 of 20 June 1984 at column 1455.
Children's Rights
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government have yet signed and ratified the
Column 13
United Nations convention on the rights of the child ; and whether he will specify any reservations that have been entered by Her Majesty's Government on various articles of the convention.Mr. Maude : The United Nations draft convention on the rights of the child is likely to be adoped by the United Nations later this month and we intend to ratify as soon as possible thereafter. We may need to enter reservations on various articles but the scope of these has yet to be determined. One area where we may need to enter a reservation would be in relation to our immigration and nationality laws.
British Embassies
Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice and assistance was offered by his Department to British firms tendering for the construction of the new British embassy in Tokyo.
Mr. Maude : No new British embassy is proposed for Tokyo. The tender list for the construction of eight houses and a small apartment block in the British embassy compound has not yet been drawn up. My noble Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office has suggested to the Export Group for the Constructional Industries that British firms that are keen to establish a constructional foothold in Japan should forward tender pre-qualification details to the FCO for consideration. At least half the tender list will be reserved for United Kingdom contractors and the tender documents will state that particular attention would be paid to the tenders submitted by British or British/Japanese joint venture companies.
Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's policy towards assisting British firms tendering for contracts to build British embassies in protected foreign markets.
Mr. Maude : Our policy is to achieve the best value for money for the overseas diplomatic estate's capital construction programme. Tender lists are therefore open both to British and to local firms that express interest in a given project and can meet
pre-qualification requirements.
German Reunification
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government on the issue of German reunification ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : It has been the belief of successive British Governments that real and permanent stability in Europe will not be achieved so long as the German nation is divided against its will. As a first step, the people of East Germany should have the right to hold free elections and to self- determination.
Afghanistan
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens are known to be resident in Afghanistan at the latest available date ; and what arrangements have been made for their interests to be looked after.
Column 14
Mr. Maude : In February of this year, we were aware of five British nationals in Afghanistan.
As my hon. Friend, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs said in his reply to the hon. Member's question on 13 March 1989, we informed British nationals before the temporary withdrawal of embassy staff in February 1989 that consular assistance would no longer be available in Afghanistan. British nationals who travel to or remain in the country do so in the knowledge that this is so.
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total number of British diplomatic staff at present posted in Afghanistan ; and when he expects the British Ambassador there to be appointed and take up post.
Mr. Maude : There are no British diplomats in Afghanistan. Her Majesty's ambassador was withdrawn in 1980 following the Soviet invasion. There are no current plans to appoint a new ambassador.
Diplomatic Representation
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those countries where Britain has no diplomatic representation, giving in each case the reason why no such representation is considered necessary.
Mr. Maude : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the then Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 5 May to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn). Since then agreement has been reached with Argentina to re-establish consular relations.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Durham Prison
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will be acting on the recommendations made by Her Majesty's inspector of prisons with regard to Durham prison.
Mr. Mellor : A statement by my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) setting out the action which was being taken, was published on 19 October 1989 as his response to the report of Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons on Durham prison and a copy was placed in the Library.
Suicides
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suicides there have been in (a) all United Kingdom prisons and (b) Swansea prison in each of the last 10 years ; how many were prisoners on remand ; and how many were prisoners under the age of 21 years.
Mr. Mellor : The table gives the figures for inmates held in prison establishments in England and Wales in each year since 1980.
Column 15
Year |Total suicides<1> |Suicides by remand |Suicides by inmates under
|inmates<1> |the age of 21<1>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |21 |12 |2
1981 |16 |7 |1
1982 |17 |8 |4
1983 |21 |9 |2
1984 |23 |12 |2
1985 |23 |14 |1
1986 |17 |12 |3
1987 |42 |27 |7
1988 |30 |19 |7
1989 |<2>21 |<2>9 |<2>2
<1>The table gives the number of deaths for which suicide verdicts were returned at the inquest.
<2>Inquests have yet to be held on 14 other inmates who have died in 1989 and whose deaths are thought to have been suicides. Of
these 11 were on remand and six were under the age of 21.
Suicide verdicts have been returned on two inmates who died at Swansea prison during the same period, one in 1984 and one in 1988. Both were remand inmates. The inmate who died in 1984 was under the age of 21. An inquest has yet to be held on an 18 year-old remand inmate who died at Swansea prison on 4 November 1989.
Deaths of inmates in custody in Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Board
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases originating in Scotland are pending before the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board ; and how many such cases have been dealt with by the board in every year since its inception.
Mr. John Patten : The board had 95,395 cases outstanding on 31 October 1989. No breakdown of this total is kept between English, Scottish and Welsh cases, but over recent years the proportion of Scottish applications has been around 16 per cent. of the total. The number of Scottish cases resolved since the board was set up is given in the table :
Period |Number of cases resolved
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 August 1964 to
31 March 1966 |190
Year ended
31 March
1967 |536
1968 |869
1969 |1,522
1970 |1,493
1971 |1,153
1972 |1,828
1973 |1,862
1974 |2,129
1975 |2,304
1976 |2,482
1977 |2,705
1978 |2,898
1979 |2,999
1980 |3,355
1981 |3,864
1982 |3,441
1983 |4,303
1984 |4,753
1985 |4,024
1986 |3,783
1987 |4,407
1988 |4,391
1989 |5,482
|-------
Total |66,773
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the names and qualifications of the present members of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, and the total length of time they have served as members of the board.
Mr. John Patten : Under the terms of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme members must be legally qualified. Present members, who are listed in the table, with their dates of appointment, are either Queen's Counsel with experience in civil litigation or past presidents of the Law Society.
Name |Date of appointment to
|the Board
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. James Law QC<1> |29 September 1970
Mr. Charles Whitby QC |20 October 1975
Mr. Barry Chedlow QC |13 January 1976
Mr. David Calcutt QC |5 September 1977
Miss Beryl Cooper QC |12 September 1978
Miss Shirley Ritchie QC |23 June 1980
Sir John Palmer JP |6 March 1981
Mr. Stuart Shields QC |13 March 1981
Sir Denis Marshall |15 September 1982
Mr. Hugh Carlisle QC |22 December 1982
Mr. Colin Fawcett QC |12 April 1983
Mr. Michael Park CBE<1> |8 July 1983
Mr. Martin Thomas OBE QC |9 April 1985
Mr. John Crowley QC |3 July 1985
Sir Arthur Hoole |30 July 1985
Mr. Michael Bruce QC<1> |1 January 1986
Mr. Donald Robertson QC<1> |1 April 1986
Mr. Michael Lewer QC |30 September 1986
Mr. Peter Weitzman QC |8 November 1986
Mr. Conrad Seagroatt QC |15 November 1986
Mr. John Archer QC |2 January 1987
Mr. Owen Thomas QC |18 March 1987
Mr. Leighton Williams QC |26 March 1987
Mr. Graeme Hamilton QC |15 April 1987
Mr. William Gage QC |22 December 1987
Mr. Barry Green QC |24 December 1987
Mrs. Janet Smith QC |29 December 1987
Mr. Thomas Dawson QC<1> |31 January 1988
Sir Derek Bradbeer OBE |18 April 1988
Mr. Crawford Lindsay QC |19 April 1988
Lord Carlisle of Bucklow PC QC<2> |1 December 1988
Mrs. Barbara Mills QC |30 October 1988
Mr. Robert Smith QC |7 November 1988
Lord Macaulay of Bragar QC<1> |12 January 1989
Miss Diana Cotton QC |26 January 1989
Mr. Donald Mackay QC<1> |6 February 1989
Mr. Evan Stone QC |13 July 1989
Mr. Daniel Brennan QC |21 September 1989
Mr. Timothy Preston QC |25 September 1989
Mr. John Cherry QC |21 October 1989
<1> Scottish Member.
<2> Chairman from 1 March 1989.
Drugs
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many registered drug addicts are currently on remand or under sentence in prison establishments in England and Wales.
Column 17
Mr. Mellor : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Tom Cox) on 10 November at columns 803-04.
Prison Population
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the ethnic composition of the remand and sentenced prison population for the latest date
Column 18
available at (a) Brixton, (b) Wormwood Scrubs, (c) Wandsworth, (d) Pentonville, (e) Holloway, (f) Manchester (g) Birmingham and (h) Leeds ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Mellor [holding answer 3 November 1989] : The latest available information is given in the table.
Column 17
Population<1> of specified Prision Service establishments in England and Wales on 30 June 1989: by establishment, type of prisoner and ethnic
origin
Number
Ethnic origin
Establishment and type of |White |West Indian, Guyanese, |Indian, Pakistani, |Chinese, Arab, Mixed |Other, not recorded |Total number of persons
prisoner |African |Bangladeshi |origin |(including refusals) |in establishments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brixton
Untried |440 |226 |22 |19 |30 |737
Convicted unsentenced |105 |36 |3 |3 |1 |148
Sentenced |123 |33 |6 |3 |5 |170
Non-criminal |- |2 |- |- |- |2
All prisoners |668 |297 |31 |25 |36 |1,057
Wormwood Scrubs<2>
Untried |388 |228 |17 |15 |7 |655
Convicted unsentenced |- |- |- |- |- |-
Sentenced |320 |46 |9 |7 |9 |391
Non-criminal |- |- |- |- |- |-
All prisoners |708 |274 |26 |22 |16 |1,046
Wandsworth
Untried |- |- |- |- |- |-
Convicted unsentenced |29 |26 |3 |1 |3 |62
Sentenced |1,029 |338 |54 |33 |34 |1,488
Non-criminal |- |- |- |- |- |-
All prisoners |1,058 |364 |57 |34 |37 |1,550
Pentonville
Untried |101 |51 |2 |7 |7 |168
Convicted unsentenced |28 |10 |2 |1 |1 |42
Sentenced |480 |151 |21 |17 |4 |673
Non-criminal |11 |5 |- |10 |1 |27
All prisoners |620 |217 |25 |35 |13 |910
Holloway
Untried |116 |62 |2 |8 |34 |222
Convicted unsentenced |32 |8 |1 |2 |11 |54
Sentenced |109 |61 |1 |5 |19 |195
Non-criminal |- |1 |- |- |- |1
All prisoners |257 |132 |4 |15 |64 |472
Manchester<3>
Untried |423 |36 |15 |27 |18 |519
Convicted unsentenced |168 |5 |1 |6 |8 |188
Sentenced |803 |32 |16 |19 |9 |879
Non-criminal |- |- |- |- |- |-
All prisoners |1,394 |73 |32 |52 |35 |1,586
Birmingham
Untried |260 |74 |22 |7 |12 |375
Convicted unsentenced |54 |8 |7 |2 |3 |74
Sentenced |376 |71 |26 |15 |8 |496
Non-criminal |1 |- |3 |1 |- |5
All prisoners |691 |153 |58 |25 |23 |950
Leeds
Untried |490 |33 |29 |13 |11 |576
Convicted unsentenced |73 |5 |2 |2 |2 |84
Sentenced |565 |22 |18 |11 |6 |622
Non-criminal |5 |3 |- |1 |- |9
All prisoners |1,133 |63 |49 |27 |19 |1,291
<1> Provisional. The figures are those recorded centrally and are approximate.
<2> Local and closed training prison.
<3> Remand centre and local prison.
Column 19
Prisoners (Ethnic Minorities)
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of male and female remand and sentenced prisoners in England and Wales are known to be derived from an ethnic minority for the latest date available ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 3 November 1989] : The readily available information is given in the table. The
Column 20
information is published annually in "Prison statistics, England and Wales", table 1.11 of the 1988 issue, Cm. 825, copies of which are available in the Library.Column 19
Population<1> of prison service establishments in England and Wales on 30 June 1989: by type of prisoner, sex and ethnic origin
Number
Ethnic origin
Type of prisoner and sex |White |West Indian, Guyanese, |Indian, Pakistani, |Chinese, Arab, Mixed |Other, not recorded |Total of persons in
|African |Bangladeshi |origin |(including refusals) |establishments
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Males
Untried |6,053 |1,077 |209 |175 |429 |7,943
Convicted unsentenced |1,516 |177 |32 |34 |86 |1,845
Sentenced |30,748 |3,637 |1,055 |676 |618 |36,734
Non-criminal |79 |41 |27 |38 |69 |254
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
All prisoners |38,396 |4,932 |1,323 |923 |1,202 |46,776
Females
Untried |245 |67 |3 |13 |50 |378
Convicted unsentenced |71 |9 |1 |3 |14 |98
Sentenced |892 |267 |22 |34 |64 |1,279
Non-criminal |- |1 |- |- |- |1
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
All prisoners |1,208 |344 |26 |50 |128 |1,756
<1>Provisional. The figures are those recorded centrally and are approximate.
Prisoners (Postage Stamps)
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers prison governors have to forbid the loan of a postage stamp by one prisoner to another.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 10 November 1989] : Powers exist under Standing Order 4 and prison rule 47. One of their purposes is to prevent items, such as postage stamps, from being used as a form of currency within prisons.
PRIME MINISTER
East Timor
Dr. Thomas (Meirionydd Nant Conwy) : To ask the Prime Minister whether she will list the United Kingdom's voting record on the question of the Indonesian occupation of East Timor during the general assemblies of the United Nations held since 1979).
The Prime Minister : The United Kingdom abstained on all United Nation General Assembly resolutions on East Timor between 1979 and 1982-- resolutions 34/49 (1979) ; 35/27 (1980) ; 36/50 (1981) and 37/30 (1982). There have been no United Nations resolutions since.
Cambodia
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Prime Minister how many letters and telephone inquiries her office has received from the public on Cambodia since 31 October.
The Prime Minister : I have received approximately 1,500 letters on Cambodian-related matters.
Column 20
Mr John Broome
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Prime Minister what contact she has had with Mr. John Broome CBE since she launched The Battersea in June 1988 ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : My normal practice is and will continue to be neither to confirm nor deny whether meetings with private individuals have taken place, even in those cases where no such meeting has occurred.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Tapajos Forest, Brazil
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will reconsider his decision to approve a study of the Tapajos area of tropical forest in Brazil in the light of the fact that it has already been the subject of study.
Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) on 9 November at column 719.
Aid
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current cost of British overseas aid ; and how much of the total is allocated to the dependent territories and how much to each of the dependent territories.
Mrs. Chalker : In the current financial year the aid programme stands at £1,500 million. Last financial year we spent £44,095,000 on aid for the dependent territories broken down as follows :
Column 21
|£000s
-----------------------------------------
Anguilla |1,778
British Virgin Islands |2,033
Montserrat |2,158
Turks and Caicos Islands |5,046
Falkland Islands |3,622
Gibralter<1> |8,733
St. Helena<2> |20,725
|-------
Total |44,095
<1>Includes assistance towards a
pensions settlement.
<2>Includes payments for a new ship-the
island's only physical link with the
rest of the world.
This financial year we expect to spend a broadly similar total.
Montserrat
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what special financial assistance has been given to Montserrat in consequece of the recent widespread hurricane damage in the dependency ; if he will provide a breakdown of the extra expenditure incurred, indicating the purposes for which it was allocated in each case ; and how much of the total expenditure has been or will be the responsibility of Ministers in the dependency.
Sir Peter Emery : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance has been given to the island of Montserrat to overcome the damage caused by hurricane Hugo on 17 September.
Mrs. Chalker : Immediately following hurricane Hugo Britain made an initial £1 million available for emergency assistance, such as tents, blankets, roofing, medicaments and so on, and also the services of the British armed forces for immediate repairs and the airfreighting of supplies. Most of this assistance was directed to Montserrat. Subsequently, a further £3.2 million for reconstruction aid has been committed. This is being used to finance teams of engineers, linesmen and electricians-- some 50 people--from British electricity boards who are repairing the power distribution system and for the supply of equipment and materials for the restoring of essential
infrastructure. The funds will be used primarily in Montserrat, which suffered by far the worse damage, but also in Antigua.
Officials from the British development division in Barbados and from the United Kingdom have recently completed a review of Montserrat's longer-term reconstruction needs and strategy. We will be discussing these with the Government of Montserrat, and with the multilateral agencies and other donors.
The reconstruction work is the responsibility of the Montserrat Government and the public service companies concerned. The British Government will be contributing, and the ODA will monitor the use of aid funds in the usual way.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Recycled Paper
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Lord President of the Council what quantity of paper, excluding newspapers, in metric tonnes, has been used in the House of Commons within the last 12 months on (a) Members' stationery,
Column 22
(b) the Vote Bundle, (c) the Official Report and (d) production of Bills and other legislative documents ; if, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Leicester East (Mr. Vaz), Official Report, 4 April, column 68, he is now in a position to indicate what percentage of the paper is recycled, specifying percentages for each of the four sections ; what percentage of each section identified is subsequently recycled ; and if he will make a statement.Sir Geoffrey Howe : The information requested is (a) 26 tonnes ; (b) 168 tonnes ; (c) 158 tonnes and (d) 43 tonnes. Recycled paper is not used for these categories because much of the material is of archival significance, and recycled paper of suitable archival quality is not currently obtainable. Buff envelopes, ruled writing paper, file covers, note books, index books, lavatory paper and waste paper sacks all contain at least 50 per cent. recycled material. All non-confidential waste paper from the House of Commons is collected by a contractor for recycling.
Questions
Sir Richard Body : To ask the Lord President of the Council what was the total number of (a) oral and written parliamentary questions put down (i) in the last Session, (ii) five and (iii) 10 years previously ; and if he will provide similar figures excluding oral questions to the Prime Minister.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : The information available for Sessions 1977-78, 1982-83 and 1987-88 is as follows :
Questions tabled |(a) Oral |(b) Written -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1977-78 |9,036 |28,739 1982-83<2> |6,125 |17,095 1987-88<2> |24,940 |47,726 <1> Statistics for oral questions excluding those tabled for reply by the Prime Minister are not readily available in the form requested. <2> 1982-83 was a "short" Session and 1987-88 was "long" Session.
Kenyan Tea and Coffee
Mr. Cox : To ask the Lord President of the Council if Kenyan tea or coffee is served in restaurants and cafeterias in the House ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : Tea and coffee purchased by the Refreshment Department are blended products originating from more than one country.
CHURCH COMMISSIONERS
Ordination of Women
87. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners, what finance and facilities the Church Commissioners are making available (a) to supporters of the ordination of women and (b) opponents of the same ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alison : None. This is a matter for the General Synod.
| Next Section
| Home Page |