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Mr. Sainsbury : We have no plans to recognise North Korea.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries in east and west Europe maintain diplomatic relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Mr. Sainsbury : The following countries in East and West Europe have diplomatic relations with North Korea : Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, GDR, Hungary, Iceland, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, USSR, Sweden, Switzerland and Yugoslavia.
British Embassy, Thailand
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the current responsibilities and duties of the attache (defence) at the British embassy in Thailand.
Mr. Sainsbury : The attache (defence) is a member of the diplomatic service. He is engaged in general duties in support of the defence section in Bangkok.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the current responsibilities and duties of the defence and military attache at the British embassy in Thailand.
Mr. Sainsbury : The defence and military attache is a member of the defence section in the British embassy in Bangkok. He shares responsibility for liaising with the Thai defence authorities on a range of military topics of common interest.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the current responsibilities and duties of the naval and air attache at the British embassy in Thailand.
Mr. Sainsbury : The naval and air attache is a member of the defence section in the British embassy in Bangkok. He shares responsibility for liasing with the Thai defence authorities on a range of military topics of common interest.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans exist to transfer staff from the British embassy in Thailand.
Mr. Sainsbury : Staff from the British embassy in Thailand will be transferred at the end of their tours of duty.
Cambodia
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to prevent the Khmer Rouge from returning to Cambodia and seizing power through military action ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Sainsbury : We are working with our friends and partners to prevent the Khmer Rouge from seizing power in Cambodia by supporting and promoting a comprehensive settlement which enables the Cambodian people to elect a Government of their own choice.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why Her Majesty's Government have not opposed acceptance of the credentials of the coalition Government who currently occupy Democratic Kampuchea's United Nations seat.
Mr. Sainsbury : We accept the legal and technical recommendations of the United Nations credentials committee on the credentials of representatives of member states. When the General Assembly adopted this year's report of the credentials committee on 17 October, our representative made it clear that our position on the credentials of Democratic Kampuchea should not be taken to imply support for the Khmer Rouge ; and made clear our abhorrence of Pol Pot.
Dalai Lama
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to meet the Dalai Lama when he next pays a visit to the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maude : We have always recognised the Dalai Lama's role as a distinguished spiritual leader, and he is welcome to visit the United Kingdom at any time. Nevertheless, he is regarded by many of his followers as the leader of a government in exile, which is not recognised by any Government and with which successive British Governments have had no dealings. A meeting between a Government Minister and the Dalai Lama would thus be open to misinterpretation.
Tibet
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations Her Majesty's Government have made to China on the question of human rights in Tibet.
Mr. Maude : We have, on frequent occasions, made clear to the Chinese, in public and in private, our concern about human rights in Tibet. We shall continue to take appropriate opportunities to do so. But our most urgent concern since 3 and 4 June has been to bring home to the Chinese the need for greater respect for human rights in China as a whole.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government were informed of the recent visit of three hon. Members to Tibet ; and if the Government were involved in the planning of it.
Mr. Maude : We were informed of the visit by the three hon. Members some weeks in advance. The planning of the visit was the responsibility of the Chinese authorities. Her Majesty's embassy in Peking provided assistance with practical arrangements.
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ENVIRONMENT
Pollution (London)
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list, per year since 1979, the levels of pollution of London's air at ground level by (a) carbon dioxide, (b) sulphur dioxide and (c) methane.
Mr. Trippier : I will write to the hon. Member.
Environmental Health Officers
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the number of environmental health officers currently employed by local authorities and state what additional provision he is making to encourage more posts to be made available.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I will write to the hon. Member.
Disabled People (Poll Tax)
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the grounds on which disabled people are exempt from poll tax payments.
Mr. Chope : I will write to the hon. Member.
Bottle Glass (Palace of Westminster)
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to ensure that bottle glass from the Palace of Westminster is recycled.
Mr. Chope : The contractor employed by the Property Services Agency to dispose of all waste, including glass, from the Palace of Westminster, is required to provide bottle bank facilities. They are sited in State Officers' Court, alongside the collection point for other waste and any glass which is placed in these containers is sent for recycling by the contractor.
London Riverbus
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department will assist the London Docklands riverbus service by waiving licence fees for the piers used by the riverbus currently owned by his Department or its agencies.
Mr. Moynihan : LDDC owns the freehold of the pier at Greenland dock used by the riverbus, but management and security are provided by a lessee. The lessee reasonably expects a contribution by the riverbus service towards costs.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with the London Docklands development corporation on the future of the riverbus service.
Mr. Moynihan : The Department's officials have discussed the service with the LDDC.
Docklands (Transport Infrastructure)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of the money spent by his Department or its agencies on improvements in public
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transport infrastructure in the London Docklands in the last 10 years has been spent (a) in the areas south of the River Thames ; and (b) within the London borough of Southwark.Mr. Moynihan : I will write to the hon. Member.
Special Wastes
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many large chemical incinerators there are in Britain that can handle special wastes ;
(2) if he will provide an estimate of the total amount of special wastes dumped at Leigh environmental waste disposal site in Walsall ;
(3) what information he has as to the number of large chemical incinerators which can handle special wastes in (a) the European Community (excluding the United Kingdom) and (b) the rest of the world ;
(4) what information he has as to the amount of special wastes incinerated on board ships during 1988 (a) in the North sea and (b) in European waters ;
(5) what information he has as to the number of large chemical incinerators for toxic wastes worldwide having (a) a double door with an air-lock and (b) a single door ;
(6) what is the total amount of special wastes that have been subjected to the Leigh environmental sealosafe solidification process ; and what proportion of this is in a non-solid form ;
(7) what quantities of special wastes were imported into Britain for incineration for every year from 1979 to the present time ; (8) if he will give details of the amounts found by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution of PCBs and dioxin in the flue gases from the Rechem International incinerator plant at Ponteg, Pontypool ; and what information he has on comparable figures of large chemical incinerators in mainland Europe ;
(9) if he will summarise the results found by Her Majesty's inspectorate for pollution of tests for PCBs and dioxin in herbage and soil samples around the Rechem incinerator plant at Ponteg, Pontypool ;
(10) what amounts of chemical waste were incinerated at the Rechem plant in Pontypool in each year from 1985 to the present ; and what quantities of PCB contaminated waste were handled each year ; (11) what estimate he has on the cumulative total amount of PCBs manufactured over the last 30 years in (a) the Monsanto chemical works in Newport, Gwent, (b) Britain, (c) Western Europe and (d) worldwide ;
(12) what information he has of alternative methods to incineration now being considered for the destruction of polychlorinated bi-phenyls ;
(13) whether Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will consider the installation of continuous monitoring equipment to measure the amounts of PCBs and dioxin in the flue gases from the Rechem plant in Pontypool ;
(14) what quantities of flyash have been imported through Swansea Docks for every year from 1979 to the present time ; and what are the results of analyses carried out for dioxin in such flyash.
Mr. Trippier : I will write to the hon. Member.
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Bathroom and Sanitaryware (Imports)
Mr. Allan Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received recently concerning imports of bathroom and sanitaryware ; and what reply he gave.
Mr. Chope : I am aware of no such representations.
British Summertime
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the effects of the proposed alterations to British summertime on productivity in the construction industry.
Mr. Chope : None ; however, representations received from the construction industry are being considered by my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary.
Pathfinder
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what correspondence he has received with regard to the accuracy of the Pathfinder prospectus launched on 3 November.
Mr. Howard : I will write to the hon. Member.
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Water
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list the trustees for each water holding company's trust scheme for employee share ownership, stating in each case their connection with the water holding company ;
(2) if he will list for each regional rivers advisory committee each member who is either a board member or a senior employee of a water plc ;
(3) if he will list for each regional fisheries advisory committee each member who is either a board member or a senior employee of a water plc ;
(4) how many technical assessors of water quality he intends to appoint within his Department ;
(5) whether his Department has issued any research contracts relating to surface and groundwater quality within the last 12 months.
Mr. Chris Patten : I will write to the hon. Member.
Mersey Basin
Mr. James Lamond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) when he expects to make an announcement regarding European Community funding through the Mersey basin phase II programme ;
(2) if he will exclude water-related projects from the Mersey basin phase II programmes in order to attract European regional development funds.
Mr. Moynihan : I will write to the hon. Member.
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