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Mr. Amos : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the outcome of his meeting with the Agriculture Council of Ministers regarding the future arrangements for hill livestock compensatory allowances.
Mr. Curry : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ludlow (Mr. Gill) on 22 November at column 8.
Eli Lilley
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met a representative from Eli Lilley ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Maclean : My right hon. Friend has not met representatives of Eli Lilley since his appointment as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
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PRIME MINISTER
Wales
Q22. Mr. Wigley : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on her recent visit to Wales.
The Prime Minister : During my visit to the Rhondda valley and Cardiff bay, I was able to see the remarkable regeneration that is taking place ; with new factories, shops, new housing and offices together with major improvements in the local environment. I visited Allied Steel and Wire where I was pleased to meet management and employees and to congratulate them on their impressive growth and achievements over recent years. I also saw a fine example of inward investment when I visited the Kyushu Matsushita Electric United Kingdom plant at Newport. This inward investment has high productivity and a fine export record. It is just one example of over 230 inward investment projects that have been attracted to Wales. I met the Health Promotion Authority for Wales and to learn about its campaign to reduce the incidence of heart disease and cancer. I visited Companies House which is one of many examples of the relocation of Government activities from London to the regions. These have brought benefits to the local economy and provided very good facilities for those carrying out these important Government operations.
I was delighted to witness personally the remarkable transformation that is taking place in both the economy and the environment of Wales under this Government.
Child Abuse
Q39. Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Prime Minister if she is satisfied with co-ordination between programmes in Whitehall to combat the problem of child abuse.
The Prime Minister : The interdepartmental group on child abuse provides a permanent and formal mechanism to facilitate interdepartmental co-ordination in the field of child protection.
German Democratic Republic
Q55. Mrs. Currie : To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit the German Democratic Republic.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
Portsmouth
Q62. Mr. David Martin : To ask the Prime Minister whether she will make an official visit to Portsmouth.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
USA President
Q70. Mr. Latham : To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to meet the President of the United States of America.
The Prime Minister : I shall meet President Bush at the NATO Summit in Brussels on 4 December following his meeting with President Gorbachev.
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Haemophiliacs (AIDS)
Q81. Mr. Ashley : To ask the Prime Minister when she intends to reply to the letter she received from an all-party group of hon. Members requesting an immediate out-of-court compensation payment for AIDS-infected haemophiliacs.
Q113. Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Prime Minister what representations she has received about the plight of people with haemophilia who, in the course of National Health Service treatment, have been infected with the AIDS virus ; and what reply she has sent.
The Prime Minister : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced on 23 November that we have offered an additional £19 million to the Macfarlane Trust to provide ex gratia payments to haemophiliacs who contracted the AIDS virus in the course of treatment. I refer the right hon. Members to the reply my right hon. and learned Friend gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) on 23 November at columns 11-12. Over 300 representations in support of people with haemophilia and HIV infection have been received. Replies will be sent shortly. As court proceedings have now begun, it would be inappropriate to comment on the question of an out-of-court settlement.
Hereford
Q88. Mr. Colin Shepherd : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make an official visit to Hereford.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
Cyprus (President)
Q118. Mr. Cox : To ask the the Prime Minister if she will invite the President of Cyprus to make an official visit to the United Kingdom.
The Prime Minister : President Vassiliou paid an official visit to this country in March this year. He is a frequent visitor to the United Kingdom and had talks with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in London earlier today.
Northern Ireland
Q139. Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Prime Minister when she last met the leaders of the Northern Ireland political parties represented at Westminster.
The Prime Minister : I last met the leaders of the main Northern Ireland political parties represented at Westminster on 23 February, when we discussed the future of Harland and Wolff.
English Language
Q151. Mr. Boswell : To ask the Prime Minister what recent representations she has received on the role of English as a world language.
The Prime Minister : I have received no such representations. I believe that it is essential that young people should have a full command of the English language and that they should be proficient in at least one modern foreign language. Both are included as foundation subjects in the national curriculum.
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Keighley
Q156. Mr. Waller : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make an official visit to Keighley.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
Ambulance Dispute
Q168. Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement about the ambulance dispute.
The Prime Minister : It is a matter of great regret that ambulance staff are refusing to do non-emergency work and in many cases not maintaining an adequate accident and emergency service as the unions have promised. The National Health Service chief executive has put forward an excellent basis for a settlement. This includes an increase of 9 per cent. on basic rates, with 11.8 per cent. for qualified staff in the London ambulance service, and an additional annual payment of £500 for fully trained paramedical staff. The unions should return to the negotiating table.
Edmonton
Q200. Dr. Twinn : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make an official visit to Edmonton.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
Clifton, Rugby
Q212. Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Prime Minister whether she has any plans to make an official visit to Clifton, near Rugby.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to do so.
Government Accountability
Q215. Mr. Allen : To ask the Prime Minister what steps she will take to improve Government accountability to Parliament.
The Prime Minister : I am satisfied that Ministers are already fully accountable to Parliament for the work of their Departments.
Wales
Q227. Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Prime Minister when she next intends to visit Wales.
The Prime Minister : I visited Wales on 17 November 1989. I have at present no further plans to do so.
Exchange Rate Mechanism
Q240. Mr. Dykes : To ask the Prime Minister if she will give the list of conditions she has established for United Kingdom adherence to the European monetary system exchange rate mechanism of the European Community.
The Prime Minister : The decision on when to join the exchange rate mechanism will have to be judged against progress in a number of areas--in particular, when the level of United Kingdom inflation is significantly lower, there is capital liberalisation in the Community and real progress has been made towards the completion of the single market, freedom of financial services and strengthened competition policy.
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British Rail
Mr. Adley : To ask the Prime Minister when she last met the chairman of the British Rail board ; and what was discussed.
The Prime Minister : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport regularly meets the chairman to discuss a wide range of issues.
India
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Prime Minister when she next intends to pay an official visit to India.
The Prime Minister : I look forward to visiting India again, but have no current plans to do so.
European Community
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister if she will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the cost of the common agricultural policy ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : The United Kingdom has taken the lead in EC budgetary reform. I have no plans to raise the cost of the common agricultural policy at the next European Council.
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister what issues she intends to raise at the next meeting of the European Council.
The Prime Minister : I expect discussion of a range of issues, including eastern Europe, the single market, economic and monetary union and the social charter.
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister if she will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the degree of progress made in the implementing of free trade within the European Economic Community ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : In the context of the single market programme, considerable progress has been made on breaking down the barriers to free trade within the European Community : 147 single market measures have now been agreed. This means the community is about halfway through the programme set out in the Commission's White Paper, "Completing the internal market". At the meeting of the European Council in Strasbourg I shall be urging that the momentum on the single market programme be kept up, and that the Community should not allow itself to be distracted from this important goal.
Relocation
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Prime Minister if, in the process of implementing the Government's policy of dispersing departmental offices out of high-cost urban areas, she will co-ordinate the plans of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Defence, and the Minister of Agricultue, Fisheries and Food to concentrate into Cambridge offices of the Inland Revenue, the Property Services Agency, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food that at present are located in East Anglia's smaller market towns.
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The Prime Minister : The guidelines already require relocating Departments to consult other relevant Departments, so that issues such as comparative costs, the benefits of property rationalisation and interdepartmental co-ordination can be fully considered in advance of Ministers announcing their decisions.Nicaragua
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Prime Minister what discussions she had with Senora Violeta Chamoro on 13 November concerning United Kingdom development aid to Nicaragua after the elections in February 1990.
The Prime Minister : I saw Senora Chamoro in order to demonstrate our support for the democratic process in Nicaragua. We did not discuss development aid.
United Nations
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Prime Minister why representatives of the African National Congress were asked by officials of the United Kingdom mission to the United Nations not to offer her
congratulations on the occasion of her recent speech to the United Nations General Assembly.
The Prime Minister : We look to the African National Congress to agree to the suspension of violence on the basis set out in the negotiating concept of the Commonwealth eminent persons group. It has not yet done so. The question of ministerial contact with the ANC is viewed in this context.
Engagements
Mr. David Martin : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 November.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 November.
Mr. McFall : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 November.
Mr. Pike : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 November.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 November.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 November.
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 28 November.
The Prime Minister : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today, including one with President Roh of South Korea who is on an official visit.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Kincora Boys' Home
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will set up a public inquiry into the events at Kincora boys' home.
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Arts
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has any plans to encourage co-operation between the Belfast festival at Queen's and Glasgow, European city of culture as part of overall promotion of the arts ; whether he will investigate the possibility of sponsorship by his Department ; and if he will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : Co-operation between the Belfast festival at Queen's and Glasgow, European city of culture is a matter for the organisers of the festival which is already supported by public funds through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Equally, the question of sponsorship of any co -operative ventures is a matter for the respective organisers. I understand that contact between the organisers has in fact already been established.
Belfast Airport
Mr. Clifford Forsythe : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what European Community and Government grants have been provided for Belfast international airport in the last 10 years ; and what are the projected airport passenger traffic figures for the next 10 years.
Mr. Peter Bottomley [holding answer 27 November 1989] : In the 10 years to 31 March 1989, Belfast international airport received grants of £11.98 million and £11.76 million from the Government and the European Community respectively. Northern Ireland Airports Ltd. projects airport passenger traffic figures for the next 10 years as follows :
|Million
--------------------------
1989-90 |2.2
1990-91 |2.4
1991-92 |2.7
1992-93 |2.8
1993-94 |2.9
1994-95 |3.0
1995-96 |3.1
1996-97 |3.2
1997-98 |3.3
1998-99 |3.4
1999-2000 |3.5
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Chemical Weapons
Mr. Cyril D. Townsend : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made with negotiations with the Soviet Union over the elimination of chemical weapons.
Mr. Waldegrave : Negotiations are taking place at the Geneva conference on disarmament, to which the Soviet Union is a party, for a comprehensive, global ban on chemical weapons. Useful progress has been made in the talks, which are due to resume on 28 November. Separately, the United States and the Soviet Union have agreed on a bilateral data exchange and series of
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visits. In addition, the United States has proposed a substantial mutual destruction of chemical weapon stockpiles.Poland
Mr. Tredinnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current state of relations between the EEC and Poland.
Mr. Maude : Relations are excellent based on a trade, economic and commercial co-operation agreement signed in September 1989. The Community's aim is to support and encourage economic liberalisation and political reform ; it has agreed in principle a substantial package of assistance for Poland which includes free food, trade concessions, European investment bank lending, and aid for agriculture reform, environment and training. The EC Commission is also co-ordinating broader western assistance to Poland.
Amnesty International
Mr. Butcher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will meet British representatives of Amnesty International to discuss the Indian Government's refusal to grant entry visas to representatives of Amnesty in January, March and December 1985, November 1986, November 1987 and March 1989.
Mr. Sainsbury : We are always ready to consider requests from Amnesty for meetings, which take place regularly. On the substance of the issue of visas, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office gave him on 8 November.
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the implications of recent events in the German Democratic Republic for the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
Mr. Waldegrave : NATO remains the cornerstone of our defence and has a vital role in providing the framework of stability within which further progress towards democracy and freedom in the German Democratic Republic can be made.
Refuseniks
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 Vladimir and Irina Tsifkin of Leningrad and their daughter.
Mr. Waldegrave : We have not previously raised this particular case with the Soviet authorities but we will be happy to do so if my hon. Friend will provide the necessary details.
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British Embassies
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current number of naval and air attache s, defence and military attache s and attache s (defence) posted to British embassies.
Mr. Waldegrave : At present the total global deployment of service attache s and advisers at British embassies and high commissions overseas is 132. The current numbers of naval and air attache s, defence and military attache s and attache s (defence) posted to British embassies are eight, 16 and two respectively.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the current tours of duty of the naval and air attache , the defence and military attache and the attache (defence) presently attached to the British embassy in Thailand began ; and when they are due to end.
Mr. Sainsbury : The current naval and air attache in the British embassy in Bangkok began his tour in November 1989 ; the defence and military attache arrived in October 1988, and the attache (defence) arrived in December 1988. They will leave Bangkok on the completion of their postings ; it is not our practice to release details of staff movements in advance.
Vietnamese Boat People
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will reconsider his decision forcibly to repatriate Vietnamese boat people from Hong Kong.
Mr. Maude : There is unanimous international agreement that those who are not refugees should return to Vietnam. It is universal practice for non-refugees to be repatriated to their country of origin. Involuntary repatriation to Vietnam will go ahead only if there are assurances from the Vietnamese Government that they will not be persecuted and there is independent monitoring of their condition.
Tibet
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the present situation in Tibet.
Mr. Maude : Martial law remains in force in Lhasa, but there have been no recent reports of widespread unrest.
Bilateral Aid
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what levels and types of technical assistance and bilateral aid are given to (a) Costa Rica, (b) Panama, (c) Nicaragua, (d) Guatemala, (e) El Salvador, (f) Belize and (g) Mexico, according to the latest available figures ; and when was the last time a project for such aid or assistance was approved for Nicaragua.
Mr. Sainsbury : The table shows the kinds and amounts of bilateral aid provided in 1988 :
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£'000
|TechnicalFinancial aid|Relief aid |Commonwealth |Aid and trade
|co-operation |Development |provisional
|Corporation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Costa Rica |713 |- |20 |817 |-
Panama |134 |- |- |- |854
Nicaragua |- |- |180 |- |-
Guatemala |4 |- |- |- |-
El Salvador |14 |- |140 |- |-
Belize |1,242 |1,547 |- |340 |47
Mexico |1,249 |- |- |- |-
The last project for Nicaragua was approved in 1973 and concluded in 1979. The last expenditure on non-projectised aid--training awards and wholly financed personnel--was in 1986.
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