| Previous Section | Home Page |
Year |Current |Constant
|prices |(1990) prices
--------------------------------------------------------
1970 |233 |1,604
1971 |232 |1,460
1972 |324 |1,886
1973 |507 |2,756
1974 |382 |1,807
1975 |306 |1,138
1976 |939 |3,032
1977 |2,073 |5,876
1978 |1,079 |2,747
1979 |2,131 |4,742
1980 |2,021 |3,764
1981 |1,452 |2,427
1982 |675 |1,049
1983 |442 |653
1984 |257 |363
1985 |256 |342
1986 |202 |260
1987 |236 |290
1988 |241 |277
1989 |267 |287
The figures in the first column include amounts, totalling over £11 million in current prices, spent since 1973 in support of various World University Service programmes for Chilean refugee students.
Column 27
Aid and Trade Provision
Mr. Dover : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will consider increasing the level of aid and trade provision for the current 12 months.
Mrs. Chalker : No. Additional resources are not available within the aid programme for this purpose.
Mr. Dover : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the actual level of aid and trade provision for each of the past five years and the official forecast for the next two years in monetary terms and as a percentage of total aid.
Mrs. Chalker : As a percentage of the overseas aid budget, expenditure on aid and trade provision over the last five financial years was :
£ million
|Aid and trade|Expenditure
|provision |as a
|expenditure |percentage of
|aid budget
1986-87 |81 |6.3
1987-88 |48 |3.7
1988-89 |59 |4.0
1989-90 |62 |3.9
1990-91 |<1>94 |<1>5.8
<1>Provisional.
The aid and trade provision budget for 1991-92 is £97 million out of a total overseas aid budget of £1,720 million. The budget for 1992-93 will be set following the outcome of the annual public expenditure survey.
PRIME MINISTER
St. John Ambulance Brigade
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make facilities available to staff in his office to contribute to the appeal that has been launched for people with the name of John to help raise £5 million for the St. John Ambulance Brigade.
The Prime Minister : Arrangements exist for officials to contribute by deduction from pay to charities of their choice. The decision by members of my office about which charitable appeals to support must be a matter for them.
Drink Driving
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Prime Minister if he, with his colleagues responsible for transport in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, will consider consultations on ways to let the public know whether a driver killed in a road crash had consumed alcohol.
The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply he received from my hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr. Lloyd) on 22 April 1991 at columns 350-51.
Management Consultants
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total sum paid out in fees by the Prime Minister's office to management consultants in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what is his estimate for 1990-91 and budget for 1991-92.
Column 28
The Prime Minister : There has been no expenditure by my office on fees to management consultants since 1979-80, and none is planned for 1991- 92.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total sum paid out in fees by the Cabinet Office to management consultants in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what is his estimate for 1990-91 and budget for 1991-92.
The Prime Minister : The expenditure by the Cabinet Office, including from its creation on 1 October 1987, the Office of the Minister of the Civil Service, on management and computer consultancies, including certain consultancies relating to the civil service as a whole, in the financial years from 1983-84 is as follows :
Year |£ ------------------------ 1983-84 |152,000 1984-85 |423,818 1985-86 |329,334 1986-87 |505,092 1987-88 |417,778
The figures for each year since then, which exclude the cost of computer consultants, are as follows :
Year |£ --------------------------------- 1988-89 |70,608 1989-90 |51,500 1990-91 |<1>182,000 1991-92 |<2>242,735 <1>Estimate. <2>Budget. Note: The figures for 1990-91 and 1991-92 reflect increases in management consultancies undertaken by the Cabinet Office for the civil service generally.
Press and Public Relations
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total expenditure by the Cabinet Office on press and public relations in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what is his estimate for 1990-91 and budget for 1991-92.
The Prime Minister : Expenditure on press and public relations by the Cabinet Office was :
|£
------------------------
1984-85 |247,495
1985-86 |232,980
1986-87 |224,813
1987-88 |215,925
1988-89 |201,837
1989-90 |205,650
The latest estimate for 1990-91 is £165,088 and the budget for 1991-92 is £213,323.
Similar information is not available for the years prior to 1984-85.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total expenditure by the Prime Minister's office on press and public relations in 1979-80 and in each following year ; and what is his estimate for 1990-91 and budget for 1991-92.
The Prime Minister : Expenditure by my office on press and public relations was not recorded separately before 1987-88. The total expenditure for each year since then and the budget for 1991-92 are as follows :
Column 29
|£
---------------------------------
1987-88 |377,987
1988-89 |419,326
1989-90 |427,802
1990-91 |<1>553,010
1991-92 |<2>554,748
<1> Estimate.
<2> Budget.
Note: The figures for 1990-91
and 1991-92 include notional
superannuation costs which are
excluded from the figures for
earlier years.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will give for each year from 1979-80, including 1991-92, the number of staff actually employed on 1 April and the full complement of staff, including vacant posts, by grade, in the statistical divisions in the Cabinet Office ; and if he will differentiate between staff in statistical posts and staff in administrative posts.
The Prime Minister : The number of staff, by grade, employed on 1 April in each of the years from 1982 in the statistical divisions of the Cabinet Office, differentiated between staff in statistical posts and staff in administrative posts, were :
Staff in post, with in brackets,
where different, total complement
Grade |Members of |Members of |Total
|Statistician |Administration
|Group |and other
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1982 |51.0 |153.0 |204.0 |(209.0)
1983 |50.0 |159.5 |209.5 |(208.5)
1984 |47.0 |146.0 |193.0 |(193.0)
1985 |50.5 |136.5 |187.0 |(186.0)
1986 |52.0 |148.5 |200.5 |(198.5)
1987
1a |1 |- |1
3 |3 |- |3
5 |9 |1 |10 |(9)
7 |24 |6 |30 |(31)
Senior Executive
Officer |- |8 |8 |(7)
Higher Executive
Officer |- |23 |23 |(22.5)
Executive Officer |- |34 |34 |(35.5)
Administrative
Officer |- |24 |24
Personal Secretary |- |13 |13 |(12.5)
Senior Assistant
and Assistant
Statistician |9 |- |9 |(11)
Cadet Statistician |7 |- |7
Chief
Draughtsman |- |1 |1
Senior
Draughtsman |- |1 |1
Higher
Draughtsman |- |2 |2
Draughtsman |- |6 |6 |(7)
Information
Officer |- |1 |1
|------- |------- |------- |-------
|53 |120 |173 |(175.5)
1988
1A |1 |- |1
3 |3 |- |3
5 |9 |1 |10 |(9)
7 |25 |4 |29 |(31)
Senior Executive
Officer |- |8 |8
Higher Executive
Officer |- |20 |20 |(21)
Executive Officer |- |31 |31 |(37)
Administrative
Officer |- |21 |21 |(24)
Senior Personal
Secretary |- |1 |1
Personal Secretary |- |11 |11 |(11.5)
Senior Assistant
and Assistant
Statistician |9 |- |9 |(10)
Cadet Statistician |6 |- |6 |(7)
Chief
Draughtsman |- |1 |1
Senior
Draughtsman |- |1 |1
Higher
Draughtsman |- |2 |2
Draughtsman |- |5 |5 |(7)
Information
Officer |- |1 |1
|-------- |------- |------- |-------
|53 |107 |160 |(175.5)
1989
1A |1 |- |1
3 |3 |- |3
5 |9 |1 |10 |(9)
7 |25 |4 |29 |(31.5)
Senior Executive
Officer |- |7 |7 |(5.5)
Higher Executive
Officer |- |18 |18 |(21)
Executive Officer |- |35 |35 |(36)
Administrative
Officer |- |25 |25 |(24.5)
Senior Personal
Secretary |- |2 |2
Personal Secretary |- |11 |11 |(10.5)
Senior Assistant
and Assistant
Statistician |8 |- |8 |(11)
Cadet Statistician |3 |- |3 |(1.5)
Chief
Draughtsman |- |1 |1
Senior
Draughtsman |- |1 |1
Higher
Draughtsman |- |2 |2 |(1)
Draughtsman |- |4 |4 |(7)
Information
Officer |- |1 |1
|------- |------- |------- |-------
|49 |112 |161 |(167.5)
<1>Includes all other non statistician group staff.
Figures for the years prior to 1982 are no longer available, and information on the numbers of staff by grade is not readily available for the years 1982 to 1986 and cannot be obtained except at disproportionate cost.
Since July 1989, when the Central Statistical Office became a separate department, the Cabinet Office has had no statistical divisions.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will give for each year from 1979-80, including 1991-92, the number of staff actually employed on 1 April and the full complement of staff, including vacant posts, by grade, in
Column 31
the statistical divisions in the Prime Minister's office ; and if he will differentiate between staff in statistical posts and staff in administrative posts.The Prime Minister : During the period in question, there has been no statistical division within my office. There are no statisticians in post or on the staff complement, and there are no plans to create any such posts.
Iraqi Refugees
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Prime Minister whether he has any plans to increase the financial year 1991-92 budget of the Overseas Development Administration to cover the costs of emergency relief for Iraqi refugees.
The Prime Minister : Additions to the overseas aid programme totalling up to £30 million have been agreed to fund the Government's further efforts to relieve the suffering of Iraqi refugees. Within this total, up to £20 million will be provided to continue the airbridge operation, to provide urgently needed supplies, and to finance the immediately foreseeable costs falling to the aid budget of the United Kingdom's participation in Operation Haven inside Iraq. The balance of £10 million represents the Government's contribution to the Kurdish refugee appeal announced on Thursday 25 April. These additions will enable the ODA to maintain its planned development activities, and to continue to provide substantial humanitarian assistance to help relieve famine in Africa.
North Sea
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Prime Minister if he will set up a high-level task force combining all the Departments of state concerned, all industries involved and all interested parties to bring forward proposals to secure continued viability of all uses and the well-being of the North sea, once gas and oil structures are decommissioned ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : Departments maintain regular contact with a wide range of organisations with an interest in many aspects of the North sea. I see no advantage in establishing an additional forum. Consideration of an abandonment programme by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy under the provisions of the Petroleum Act 1987 will take account of consultations with organisations concerned with other uses of the sea including fishing, and with environmental interests. The abandonment of offshore installations will be performed in such a way as to cause no significant adverse effects upon navigation or the marine environment, in accordance with our international obligations.
Opposition Parties (Access to Civil Service)
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Prime Minister whether he will consider allowing opposition parties equal access to civil servants and publicity budgets to enable them to prepare and publicise their own policies.
The Prime Minister : No. By long-standing convention, civil service time and Government publicity budgets are not used for party political purposes.
Column 32
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the civil service trade unions regarding the effectiveness of the rules set out in the Armstrong memorandum of December 1987 on the propriety of publishing party political material using civil servants' time.
Arms Trade
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what proposals he has for an international register of arms sales.
The Prime Minister : At the special European Council in Luxembourg on 8 April, I proposed a register of arms sales at the United Nations to monitor the scale of arms build-up in any one country. We are taking every opportunity to urge others to support the idea of such a register. Our ambassador at the United Nations is also taking this forward in New York.
First Division Association
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister how many of the demands of the First Division Association code of civil service ethics have been incorporated into official regulations.
The Prime Minister : The Government's position is set out in the note by the former head of the home civil service on the duties and responsibilities of civil servants in relation to Ministers, issued in December 1987, subject to the further points contained in the Government's responses to the fifth report of the Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee for the 1989-90 Session.
Iraqi Arms Disposal
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what proposals he has put to the United Nations for a commission to monitor Iraqi arms disposal.
The Prime Minister : United Nations Security Council resolution 687 requires the Secretary-General to establish a special commission to oversee the elimination of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. We hope that the special commission will start work as soon as possible, and we shall co-operate with it fully.
Members' Letters
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 22 April, Official Report, columns 293-94, to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East (Mr. Barnes), whether he will make it his aim to provide responses to Members' letters to Ministers which are as full and as helpful as possible, on a time scale similar to that for a response to a parliamentary question.
The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr. Davis) on 12 February at column 393. I have nothing further to add.
South Africa
Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister whether he raised with Mr. de Klerk at their meeting on 22 April the failure of the South African Government to release all political prisoners by the target date of 28 February 1991, as agreed in the Pretoria minute of 6 August 1990.
Column 33
The Prime Minister [holding answer 26 April 1991] : No, not least because the target date of 30 April has not yet been reached.DEFENCE
US Nuclear Weapons
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will obtain for his departmental library a copy of the recently published report "US Nuclear Weapons : Safety Implications for the United Kingdom," released by the British American Security Information Council.
The Gulf
Mr. George : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much and what equipment that returned from the Gulf has subsequently been sent back to the region.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The following major equipments are undertaking Operation Haven tasks ; three Hercules C-130 aircraft and 12 Chinook helicopters. Eight of the Chinook helicopters were transferred direct from Operation Granby tasks.
Submarines (Z-berths)
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it is his intention to proceed with plans to establish Z-berths for submarines at Swansea.
Column 34
Kurdish Refugees
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average cost of a flight of (a) Hercules aircraft and (b) Chinook helicopters involved in the operation to relieve Kurds on the borders of Iraq ; what is the cost of other relief work undertaken by United Kingdom forces ; and what proportion of costs incurred by the armed forces in the operation to relieve Iraqi Kurds will fall on the Overseas Development Administration budget.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is too early to give an estimate of the cost of MOD assistance to the Overseas Development Administration in support of its programme of humanitarian relief to the Kurds. The charges to the ODA will cover mainly the deployment of aircraft, goods supplied and in-theatre flying for the air drop, as well as the cost of building and supplying camps. Charges to the ODA for aircraft used in the relief operation will be based on an estimated average cost per flying hour of £2,020 for a Hercules and £2,445 for a Chinook.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give for each year from 1979-80, including 1991-92, the number of staff actually employed on 1 April and the full complement of staff, including vacant posts, by grade, in the statistical divisions in his Department ; and if he will differentiate between staff in statistical posts and staff in administrative posts.
Mr. Alan Clark : I regret that not all the information requested is available. However, the staff complements by grade, and the associated number of vacancies, in Ministry of Defence statistical divisions for the years 1989, 1990 and 1991 are as follows :
Column 33
Grade/Year 1 April 1989 1 April 1990 1 April 1991
|Complement|Vacancies |Complement|Vacancies |Complement|Vacancies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade 4<1> |1 |0 |1 |0 |1 |0
Grade 5<1> |2 |0 |2 |0 |2 |0
Grade 6<1> |1 |0 |1 |0 |1 |0
Grade 7<1> |25 |4 |25 |3 |21 |1
SEO |1 |0 |2 |0 |0 |0
HEO-Admin |16 |2 |14 |0 |15 |0
HEO-ADP |6 |0 |6 |0 |6 |0
HSO |1 |0 |1 |0 |1 |0
AS/SAS<1> |10 |1 |8 |3 |7 |1
EO-Admin |35 |3 |30 |1 |26 |2
EO-ADP |17 |1 |17 |1 |17 |1
AO |56 |9 |40.5 |5 |37 |4.5
AA |18 |6 |9 |0.5 |7.5 |2
PS |3 |0 |3 |0 |3 |0
Reprographic Op |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Total |193 |26 |159.5 |13.5 |144.5 |11.5
<1>Professional statisticians.
Chieftain Tank
Mr. Clelland : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the suitability of French-manufactured tanks as a replacement for Chieftain tanks.
Mr. Alan Clark : My Department is making a full assessment of the suitability of the French Leclerc tank equipment for our future main battle tank fleet.
Column 34
Armed Forces Personnel
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the latest figures for home ownership for married personnel in the armed forces by service.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The latest survey which included information on home ownership of personnel in the armed forces was conducted in 1987- 88. The following figures show the level of home ownership of personnel who were married, widowed, divorced or separated (figures for married personnel only are not available) :
Column 35
Armed Forces |Percentage --------------------------------------------------- Royal Navy/Royal Marines |75 Army |26 Royal Air Force |49
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will supply hon. Members with the latest Army personnel research establishment reports on (a) any continuous attitude survey for both officers and soldiers, (b) any premature voluntary release survey relating to officers and soldiers and (c) the proposed report on housing attitudes when it is ready.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State for the Armed Forces will write to my hon. Friend.
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the value of the gratuity-terminal grant for (a) a sergeant with 22 years' service and (b) a major aged 50 years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : A sergeant with 22 years reckonable service would receive a tax-free terminal grant of £16,050 ; a major aged 50 (assuming 29 years reckonable service from age 21) would receive £37, 932.
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the figures for premature voluntary release from the armed forces for the last two years by quarter.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The information requested is as follows :
|Number
----------------------------------
1989
January to March |2,693
April to June |3,010
July to September |3,014
October to December |2,685
1990
January to March |2,567
April to June |2,794
July to September |2,942
October to December |2,350
The figures include both officers and other ranks.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Michael Ashcroft
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if any form of diplomatic status has been (a) sought and (b) conferred on Michael Ashcroft, chairman of ADT, to cover his present stay in the United Kingdom in respect of his duties as roving trade ambassador for Belize.
Column 36
Sri Lanka
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received any representations from Amnesty International on disappearances, deaths in custody, torture and judicial killings in Sri Lanka since 1983 ; and if he will review Britain's aid to Sri Lanka with regard to the promotion of peace, political settlement and human rights.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We are in regular contact with Amnesty International about Sri Lanka, and have frequently raised our concerns about human rights issues with the Sri Lankan Government. Both bilaterally and with our European partners, we have make it clear that future decisions on development aid will be affected by the Government's performance on human rights.
Albatrosses
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the actions of his Environment, Science and Energy Department in preventing mortality of albatrosses through long fishing lines.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : At the general assembly of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, in Perth, Australia, last December an official from the Department discussed with his Australian counterparts the problem of the incidental mortality of albatrosses through long-line fishing, about which we share the hon. Member's concern. Since then, the Department has kept in touch with Mr. Nigel Brothers of the Tasmanian Department of Parks, Wildlife and Heritage, who is conducting excellent research into this problem. We will continue to keep the hon. Member informed of developments.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give for each year from 1979-80, including 1991-92, the number of staff actually employed on 1 April and the full complement of staff, including vacant posts, by grade, in the statistical divisions in his Department ; and if he will differentiate between staff in statistical posts and staff in administrative posts.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Staff in statistical and administrative posts are employed in the Overseas Development Administration but not in the diplomatic wing of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Figures are available only for the period 1984-85 to 1991-92, as follows :
Column 35
1984-85 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 1990-91 1991-92
|Complement|Actual |Complement|Actual |Complement|Actual |Complement|Actual |Complement|Actual |Complement|Actual |Complement|Actual |Complement|Actual
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Statistical Posts
Chief Statistician (G5) |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1
Statistician (G6) |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Statisticians (G7) |4 |4 |4 |4 |4 |5 |4 |5 |4 |5 |4 |5 |4 |5 |3 |3
Assistant/Senior
Assistants |3 |3 |3 |3 |3 |3 |3 |2 |3 |3 |3 |3 |3 |3 |3 |3
Administrative Posts
HEO |2 |2 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1
EO |3 |2 |3 |2 |2 |2 |2 |2 |2 |2 |2 |2 |2 |3 |2 |2
AO |7 |5 |6 |5 |4 |4 |5 |4 |4 |4 |5 |5 |5 |5 |5 |5
PS |1 |1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1
| ------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | ------- | -------
Total |21 |18 | 18.5 | 16.5 | 15.5 | 16.5 |17 |16 |16 |17 |17 |18 |17 |19 |17 |17
Peru
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice is being given to British travellers about travel to areas of Peru at risk from cholera.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We advise travellers that there is a risk from cholera in the coastal and interior regions of Peru, particularly in the poorer townships where hygiene and sanitation standards are inadequate. Travellers should avoid food vendors and cheap restaurants, observe strict personal hygiene, ensure they are vaccinated against the disease and carry a valid vaccination certificate.
Environmental Protection
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives in regard to fiscal and trade incentives to assist in protecting the environment were discussed in the meeting between the EC Foreign Affairs Ministers and the Foreign Ministers from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador and Mexico in Luxembourg on 25 April.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The Ministers of the Community and the Rio group, meeting in Luxembourg on 26 and 27 April, discussed extending co-operation in a wide range of areas including trade, investment and the environment, in the context of the institutional framework established between the European Community and the Rio group. I will place a copy of the meeting's communique in the Library.
Nuclear Non-proliferation
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he raised the issue of Brazil and Argentina signing the nuclear non-proliferation treaty during his meetings with his respective Brazilian and Argentine counterparts in Luxembourg on 25 April.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, attended the EC-Rio group meeting in Luxembourg on 26- 28 April. At the meeting, Ministers noted with interest the initiative by Argentina and Brazil to set up a joint system of accounting and verification, applicable to all nuclear installations in both countries, and to negotiate an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. A copy of the communique will be placed in the Library of the House.
Iraq
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will propose to the United Nations Security Council a resolution relating to the discussions which have taken place between the Kurdish leadership and the Iraqi Government.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Any agreement between the Kurdish groups and the Iraqi Government is an internal
Column 38
Iraqi matter, but, if requested to do so, the international community will wish to consider what further reassurance it can give to the Kurdish peoples. The United Nations has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Iraqi Government on the conduct of relief operations in Iraq based on the personal safety of the refugees and the normalisation of their lives in their places of origin.Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action is being taken by Her Majesty's Government to provide substantial humanitarian aid to Shias in southern Iraq ; if he will make it his policy that British and other coalition forces should remain on the southern Iraq-Kuwait border until an orderly replacement by United Nation's peace-keeping forces has taken place ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 25 April to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn), at column 521-22.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has about the Iraqi authorities offering rewards for Kurdish men and women handed over to Iraqi Ba'athist forces, including police ; what estimates he has received about how many such people have been handed over as a result ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Although we regularly receive information from a number of sources about conditions in the Kurdish areas in Iraq, we have seen no reports of the activities described by the hon. Member.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration is being given to the establishment of safe havens on the Iraq-Iran border ; what assessment has been made of the numbers of Kurds and others inside Iraq and inside Iran in need of humanitarian aid ; how many air strips are being built on the Iran-Iraq border ; what accessibility Hariri airport offers to humanitarian aid flights ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Safe havens will be established where they are needed. The most recent estimates we have of the number of refugees is almost 1 million on the Iranian side of the border and nearly half a million on the Iraqi side of the border. Our first priority has been to provide immediate humanitarian assistance using the existing infrastructure. Where necessary, helicopters are being used to fly supplies to inaccessible areas. We and non-Government agencies are considering the use of all facilities in the area for extending relief operations.
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