House of Commons Hansard Debates for 22 May 1991

Antarctica

7. Mr. Clelland : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent meeting of Antarctic treaty parties in Madrid.

32. Mr. Robert B. Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Madrid conference on the future of Antarctica.

Mr. Garel-Jones : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 10 May to my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridgeshire, South-East (Mr. Paice) in which he stated that the Government warmly welcome the outcome of the Madrid meeting and hope that the draft protocol tabled there will provide the basis for comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment.

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Further, the Prime Minister indicated that of particular importance are the provisions for a ban on mineral activity for 50 years, and mechanisms for review of the ban after 50 years, or before if everyone agrees.

The results of these provisions would be that there can never be mining in Antarctica unless all the present consultative parties agree.

Weapons Control

19. Mr. Roger King : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to control the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Mr. Hurd : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Mr. Viggers) on 24 April at column 1072.

20. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to clarify the Soviet disarmament figures.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : We and our NATO partners are continuing to press the Soviet Union to ensure the full and early implementation of the CFE treaty.

30. Mr. Sumberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in controlling the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are working to strengthen existing regimes of restriction and control. We have already reinforced and widened the scope of our export controls on chemical weapons precursors. We are considering urgently how to improve the regimes to prevent the export of technology and materials for biological weapons.

We shall also be working :

for further accessions to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to strengthen the international safeguards administered by the International Atomic Energy Agency

to harmonise and improve existing export controls through the Zangger committee, nuclear suppliers group and Australia group to secure a commitment to the early negotiation of a chemical weapons convention and the strengthening of the biological weapons convention at its review conference in September

and to strengthen the missile technology control regime.

Albania

21. Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about relations with Albania.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : Her Majesty's Government have decided in principle to re-establish diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Albania, in response to the offer made when the Albanian Foreign Minister called on me on 13 May. We are in touch with the Albanian authorities about the form and timing of an announcement.

Taiwan

22. Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has plans to make an official visit to Taiwan.

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Mr. Lennox-Boyd : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to do so.

Bangladesh

23. Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on United Kingdom- Bangladesh relations.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have very good relations with the newly elected democratic Government of Bangladesh and are working closely with them in the relief effort following the recent cyclone.

Poland

25. Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to visit Poland to discuss its entry into the European Community.

Mr. Garel-Jones : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no present plans to visit Poland. We believe that the option of full membership of the European Community should be available to Poland when she is able to meet the political and economic obligations it entails.

Iraq

26. Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of relief operations in northern Iraq.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : The relief operation is going well. Refugees are coming down from the mountains in increasing numbers. With the assistance of allied forces, many are returning to their homes. United Nations staff are now also working in the area.

Israel

27. Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last visited Israel and the occupied territories ; and if he will make a statement.

28. Dr. Hampson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Israel and the occupied territories.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend last visited Israel and the occupied territories in October 1990. Since then we have stayed in regular contact with the Israeli Foreign Minister. I visited Israel and the occupied territories from 6 to 9 May. I had detailed discussions with leading Israelis and Palestinians on the peace process. I urged both sides to show the flexibility necessary for Mr. Baker's initiative to succeed.

Middle East

29. Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement on the middle east peace process.

33. Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current situation in the middle east.

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Mr. Douglas Hogg : We welcome continuing American efforts to restart the middle east peace process. With our EC partners, we have given them our full support. There has been some progress towards acceptance of the idea of a peace conference. Important differences remain but there is enough encouragement to all of us to wear down those differences in order to get a conference under way.

Cuba

31. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next intends to visit Cuba to discuss restrictions on British trade with Cuba.

Mr. Garel-Jones : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no such plans. We have normal trade relations with Cuba.

South Africa

34. Mr. John Carlisle : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to visit South Africa.

Mrs. Chalker : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs plans to visit South Africa during the summer.

China

35. Mr. Jack Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what attempts the British Government are making to improve relations with the People's Republic of China.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We want to have a full and constructive relationship with the People's Republic of China. We are seeking to intensify our co-operation over Hong Kong in order to bring about the full implementation of the joint declaration. Since the October Foreign Affairs Council's decision to relax most of the EC Twelve's measures against China, we have restored a number of areas of contact and cooperation. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs' visit to Peking in April was a further step in this process.

Kuwait

36. Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his visit to Kuwait.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Knapman) on 8 May at cols 473-75.

Third World

Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent meetings he has had with other Foreign Ministers to discuss third world matters ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs regularly discusses third world matters with other foreign ministers.

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President Aylwin

Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the visit to the United Kingdom in April of President Aylwin of Chile.

Mr. Garel-Jones : President Aylwin visited the United Kingdom from 10-15 April. Among others, he met Her Majesty the Queen and my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. His Foreign Minister, Mr. Silva Cimma, signed a memorandum of understanding with me on co-operation against drugs. The visit served to underline Chile's return to democratic government.

Agency Status

Mr. Cash : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those bodies currently with agency status within his Department under the next steps initiative ; and whether he has identified any further candidates for agency status under the initiative within his Department.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The diplomatic wing of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not so far set up any "next steps" agencies. However, it has been agreed that the Wilton Park conference centre will be established as an agency. Our aim is to launch it on 1 September.

The Overseas Development Administration (ODA) has one agency--the National Resources Institute. The ODA has no further candidates under consideration at present.

Visas (Bombay)

Mrs. Wise : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that applicants attending for interview for visas do not have to queue for long periods of time in the main road outside the British high commission in Bombay.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The British Deputy High Commission in Bombay is moving to new accommodation on 23 May which will provide better facilities for applicants waiting to apply for visas. An improved lay-out and a larger waiting area inside the building should ensure that applications are processed more quickly.

The new address is :

Maker Chambers IV

222 Jamnalal Bajaj Road

(PO Box) 11714

Nariman Point

Bombay 400 021

Egypt (Christians)

Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representation has been made to the Egyptian Government regarding the treatment of Moustaffa Mohammed Said al Sharkawi, Mohammed Hussein Sallam and Hassan Muhammed Ismael Muhammed and others who have embraced the Christian religion.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised the matter with the then Egyptian Foreign Minister in Cairo on 1 May. He told Dr. Abdel Meguid of the widespread concern in Britain at the detention of the three Christians.

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Miss Valerie Howell

Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why Mr. H. C. Barnes, a constituent of the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds, has received no replies to his inquiries of 28 February and 7 April concerning the death of Miss Valerie Howell in Zimbabwe ; and what disposition has been, or is being, made of the late Miss Howell's effects.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : As the inquiries to which my hon. Friend refers were addressed to the authorities of another sovereign state, of which Miss Howell was a citizen, I am not in a position to explain the absence of replies.

I have no information about the disposition of her effects. This could best be pursued through legal channels in Zimbabwe and details of local lawyers have been sent to Mr. Barnes.

Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has received from the high commission in Zimbabwe about the murder in October 1990 of a British citizen, Valerie Howell, in the area of Northwood, Harare ; and if Her Majesty's consul in Harare has been in contact with the Zimbabwean CID in respect of its investigations and undertaking to report via the Zimbabwean high commission in London to the late Miss Howell's relative Mr. H. C. Barnes, a constituent of the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : As a Zimbabwe/British dual national who had made a form of renunciation of British nationality to the Zimbabwe authorities, in Zimbabwe law the late Miss Howell was a Zimbabwe citizen only. Under international convention Her Majesty's consul in Harare has no standing to receive or request information about matters relating to her.

The High Commission in Harare ia aware only that Miss Howell died at her home in Zimbabwe on 27 October 1990 and that murder was suspected.

Iraq

Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the leaders of the Kurdish people in Iraq ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : I last met representatives of Iraqi opposition groups on 22 April 1991. These included three representatives from Kurdish organisations. The delegation expressed their gratitude for Britain's support for Iraqi refugees.

European Community

Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards increasing the number of countries in membership of the EC.

Mr. Garel-Jones : The Community has agreed that there should be no decisions on enlargement until 1993. We support enlargement thereafter to include those countries which are qualified to join and able to take on all the obligations of membership.

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Turkey

Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Turkey concerning article 39 of the treaty of Lausanne and the Kurdish language.

Mr. Garel-Jones : We have not made representations to the Government of Turkey regarding article 39 of the treaty of Lausanne. We have noted the recent decision of the Turkish Cabinet to ease restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language.

Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Government of Turkey, concerning the theft of emergency supplies from Kurdish refugee camps in Turkey by members of the Turkish army ; and to what extent such incidents have occurred.

Mr. Garel-Jones : No representations have been made to the Turkish authorities, who have formally denied press allegations of the theft of emergency supplies by members of the Turkish army. We are not aware of any other reports of any looting of relief aid.

Mr. Mohinder Singh Bedi

Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many invitations have been issued to Mr. Mohinder Paul Singh Bedi since 1979 to attend official functions organised by his Department ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have checked records available to us and can find no trace of a recent invitation. However, information as far back as 1979 is not readily available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the United States of America and the European Community about the creation of comprehensive multilateral arms export control regimes.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are in discussion with them on how to promote a more responsible multilateral approach to arms sales, and we are pursuing with them my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's proposal, launched at the European Council in Luxembourg on 8 April, for a United Nations arms register.

Angola

Mr. Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the situation in Angola and Her Majesty's Government's policy towards achieving a political settlement there.

Mrs. Chalker : We congratulate the Government of Angola and UNITA on reaching a ceasefire agreement and hope that this will formally enter into force on 31 May. We have strongly supported the peace process and will play our part in helping Angola find her feet again.

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ENVIRONMENT

Local Government Finance

Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing (i) for each of the years 1970-71 to 1991-92 an analysis by class of authority within standard region of non-domestic rateable values, average poundages, actual payments, and uncollected non- domestic rate revenues and (ii) for each of the years 1970-71 to 1989-90 by class of authority within standard region of domestic rateable values, gross rates, rates net of rebates, and uncollected domestic rate revenue.

Mr. Portillo : I have arranged for the available information to be placed in the Library of the House.

Homelessness

Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing for each local authority in England the number of persons accepted as homeless in each year since 1979 inclusive.

Sir George Young : I have today placed in the Library a table giving the numbers of households for whom local authorities accepted responsibility for securing accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 and the Housing Act 1985, for each year from 1981 to 1990.

In a majority of cases, the main immediate reasons for acceptance by local authorities were that their relations or friends were no longer willing or able to house them or as a result of the breakdown of a relationship. Those accepted will either have been rehoused directly, found temporary accommodation, or enabled to stay in existing accommodation until suitable permanent housing was found. Information for the years 1979 and 1980 is available in edition No. 54--table 14--edition No. 61--table 11--and edition No. 62--table 13--of "Local Housing Statistics : England and Wales", copies of which are in the Library.

A new reporting system was introduced for non-metropolitan districts in the fourth quarter of 1980 and for metropolitan districts and the London boroughs in the third quarter of 1982, so that the figures are not directly comparable over the whole period.

Refuse Collection

Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to issue new guidelines to local authorities for the collection of refuse from composite premises.

Mr. Baldry : My predecessor and I have both issued clear guidelines on this matter. I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Sir T. Arnold) on 15 January this year. We intend to amend the Collection and Disposal of Waste Regulations 1988 to reinforce this guidance as soon as is practicable.

County Hall, London

Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what use is currently being made of county hall.

Mr. Key : County hall is currently unoccupied pending its intended disposal by the London residuary body.

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Thurrock Borough Council

Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make an order declaring Thurrock borough council to be in default of its duties in respect of public health by its decision to end its service of emptying cesspools in part of its area, and ordering it to resume these functions within one month.

Mr. Baldry : No : my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no powers to do so. It is acceptable for local authorities to nominate private contractors, by means of competitive tender, to empty cesspools on their behalf. I understand that Thurrock borough council is merely mainatining a list of contractors willing to provide a service : this would not in my Department's view be sufficient to discharge the council's legal obligations to provide a service on request on payment of a reasonable fee. My officials have drawn these views to the council's attention.

Uniform Business Rate

Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many appeals against the uniform business rate have been lodged in the areas covering the parliamentary constituency of Blyth Valley.

Mr. Key : By 31 March 1991, the valuation office had received 836 proposals to alter the 1990 rating list in respect of the area of the parliamentary constituency of Blyth Valley.

Chromium Compound Emissions

Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of industrial sites known to his Department which emit chromium compounds into the atmosphere ; and what is the damage to public health from these substances.

Mr. Baldry : The major potential sources of chromium emissions must be registered on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Environment by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under the Alkali etc. Works Regulation Act 1906.

Certificates of registration have been issued for the following such works.

Name of discharger and Location

Ferro-Alloys and Metals Limited--Glossop, Derbyshire

Murex Limited--Rainham, Essex

Harcros Chemicals UK Limited--Eaglescliffe, Cleveland

London & Scandinavia Metallurgical Co. Limited--Rotherham, South Yorkshire

Additionally a number of industrial processes may emit small quantities of chromium. Such processes will be progressively controlled, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, during the next five years.

The effect of airborne emissions of chromium compounds on public health is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health.

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