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Turkey
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what grounds Turkey qualifies as a recipient of bilateral aid.
Mrs. Chalker : Turkey is classified as a developing country by the development assistance committee of the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development.
Development Issues
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list, for each year since 1975, the number of Overseas Development Administration professional staff based overseas in development divisions, in embassies and elsewhere, showing how many of these are environmental specialists, agriculturalists, social advisers and other technical staff.
Mrs. Chalker : Information in the form requested is not available before 1983. Details of ODA permanent staff based overseas are as follows :
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|1983|1984|1985|1986|1987|1988|1989|1990|1991
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agriculturalists |9 |8 |8 |8 |9 |9 |9 |8 |10
Social advisers |- |- |- |- |- |- |1 |1 |1
Other technical staff |18 |20 |21 |20 |20 |20 |21 |20 |20
Staff on contract to the ODA funded by the Aid Programme :
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1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991Agriculturalists n/a n/a 136 161 137 183 188 184 154
Environmental specialists na/ n/a 29 44 52 61 73 78 75
Social advisers n/a n/a 131 141 145 147 146 146 125
Other technical staff n/a n/a 1,138 1,093 1,061 1,191 1,127 1,264 1,115
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the Overseas Development
Administration's policy regarding the responsibility of Overseas Development Administration staff working overseas to liaise with non- governmental organisations in those countries ; and whether any staff are posted with the specific responsibility of liaising with local non- governmental organsiations.
Mrs. Chalker : We encourage our staff working overseas to get to know, and co-operate with, other agencies operating in the countries concerned, including both local and United Kingdom-based NGOs. At present there are two ODA posts, one in Bangladesh and one in Pakistan, with a specific remit to liaise directly with local NGOs.
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New Aid Projects
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what efforts are being made to increase the amount of time spent by Overseas Development Administration staff overseas in identifying new aid projects, particularly poverty projects, in Africa.
Mrs. Chalker : Poverty alleviation is a major objective for the aid programme and a significant proportion of staff time in headquarters and overseas is already devoted to identifying, appraising and monitoring projects and programmes which contribute to this. New staff appointments also reflect this emphasis. For example, a new social development adviser post has recently been created in headquarters to help deal with Africa. Overseas, an additional economist has been appointed to the British development division in southern Africa specifically to work in the health and education sectors.
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Project Costs
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the Overseas Development
Administration's policy regarding the financing of recurrent costs of projects.
Mrs. Chalker : Recurrent costs are met, where possible, from the budget of the local agency undertaking the project or programme which our aid is helping to finance. However, in certain circumstances, we are ready to consider financing recurrent costs through the aid programme. In making judgments we would consider whether there is a genuine shortage of local funds, whether recurrent costs and revenues have been carefully considered and whether sectoral policies are appropriate ; also whether the nature of the proposal, for example if it has a pilot or demonstration purpose, presented special justification for contributions to local costs.
NGO Grants
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many indigenous non-governmental organisations in developing countries receive grants from the Overseas Development Administration.
Mrs. Chalker : This information is not centrally available. Many developing country NGOs receive grants for specific projects from United Kingdom heads of missions through the gifts schemes and small project schemes which they administer for ODA. In addition, grants to British NGOs through the ODA's joint funding scheme are often destined for projects designed and implemented in conjunction with indigenous NGOs, and sometimes spread across a number of countries.
Technical Co-operation
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether technical co-operation has ever been given to assist a developing country to assess the poverty impact of its own policies.
Mrs. Chalker : The Overseas Development Administration is providing technical co-operation funds to the Government of Mozambique to employ a social policy adviser to help analyse poverty incidence and advise on poverty policies. In Kenya and Bangladesh, technical co-operation funds are paying for consultants to work with the Governments to analyse poverty incidence and to suggest options for aid assistance.
Social Development Advisers
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many social development advisers there are in the Overseas Development Administration in the United Kingdom ; how many are overseas ; and in which country.
Mrs. Chalker : There are four full-time social development advisers and one assistant adviser in the United Kingdom. There is one full-time adviser in Thailand and one part time adviser in Barbados. In addition Her Majesty's Government fund 125 social advisers--this includes those in medical health, community development and social welfare--under the aid programme in 29 countries.
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Aid Projects
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of Overseas Development Administration projects that have been evaluated have been successfully operating more than two years after completion of the aid contract and withdrawal of Overseas Development Administration financing.
Mrs. Chalker : Evaluation of a project normally takes place after sufficient time has elapsed to permit an assessment of operational success. The timing depends upon the nature of the project, and on occasion may be less than two years after completion. An analysis of 79 projects evaluated between 1980 and 1989 showed that 43 of them--56.2 per cent. by value--were rated successful or highly successful. A further 23--31 per cent. by value- -were rated partially successful and the remainder--12.8 per cent. by value --were rated unsuccessful. This analysis is contained in the report "Lessons from Evaluation 1980-1989" which is available in the House of Commons Library.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Video Recordings
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the titles of the video recordings purchased by his Department during the financial year 1990-91 and 1991-92 to date.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : The Department does not keep central records of all video recordings purchased. Some records are kept of video recordings bought for training purposes. I will send the list to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Library.
Police Training
Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimates he has made of the effect on operational police strengths arising from the detachment of police officers for retraining following the passage of (a) the Road Traffic Bill and (b) the Criminal Justice Bill ;
(2) if he will make an estimate of the manpower costs involved in retraining police officers necessitated by the passage of (a) the Road Traffic Bill and (b) the Criminal Justice Bill.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. Friend expects that any retraining of police officers as a consequence of the legislation will be on a limited scale and will not affect operational policing.
Wolds Remand Prison
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the remand contracts unit of the prison department is undertaking an in-house costing for Wolds remand prison ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : Yes, with other parts of the Home Office.
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimate of the annual running costs of the new Wolds remand prison.
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Mrs. Rumbold : A costing for use in comparison with tenders is being prepared.Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the companies which have tendered for the Wolds remand prison contract have put in tenders in excess of the in-house costing of the prison department.
Mrs. Rumbold : No tenders for the operation of Wolds remand prison have yet been received. Companies are required to submit their tenders by 19 July.
Extradition
Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the persons who have been extradited for terrorist offences since 1980 (a) from Great Britain to the Republic of Ireland and (b) from the Republic of Ireland to Great Britain, giving the year in which the extradition occurred and indicating the outcome in each case.
Mr. John Patten : There have been no extraditions for terrorist offences from Great Britain to the Republic of Ireland. One person, Desmond Ellis, was returned from the Republic of Ireland in 1990. His case is pending.
Prison Officers' Accommodation
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present quantity of prison officers' accommodation at each of the London prisons available for letting to serving prison officers.
Mrs. Rumbold : The number of quarters available for serving prison officers at each of the London prisons as at 1 April 1991, the latest date for which information is available, is as follows :
|Number|Vacant
-------------------------------------
Belmarsh |6 |3
Brixton |223 |18
Holloway |145 |1
Pentonville |104 |5
Wandsworth |161 |7
Wormwood Scrubs |208 |3
Under the new conditions of service introduced by "fresh start" in 1987, prison officers are no longer quarters entitled. They occupy quarters on service tenancies and are allowed to purchase under a discount sale scheme, subject to availability and eligibility.
El Salvador
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Scotland Yard visit to El Salvador.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Scotland Yard team went to El Salvador at the request of President Cristiani to advise on the investigation into the murder of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter. Their report has now been passed to the Government of El Salvador.
Cable Television (Scotland)
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the cable television industry in Scotland.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : A total of 14 cable franchises have been awarded in Scotland. Work on laying cable in the Aberdeen franchise area is complete, a substantial amount of cable now exists in Glasgow ; and work has began in Dundee. All but the two earliest franchises were awarded by the Cable Authority, whose final report and accounts were laid before the House on 12 June.
Arctic Foxes
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to eliminate the keeping of wild arctic foxes in captivity for fur breeding purposes.
Mr. Maclean : I have been asked to reply.
We have no plans to do so.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Vietnamese Boat People
Sir Peter Blaker : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the United States Administration regarding the comprehensive programme of action for the return to Vietnam of illegal immigrants to Hong Kong ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I refer my right hon. Friend to the press release of 5 June entitled "Vietnamese asylum seekers", copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.
Sir Russell Johnston : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice he has received from the Government of Hong Kong about the projected numbers of Vietnamese boat people coming to Hong Kong during the remainder of 1991 ; and what action he proposes.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 18 June to my hon. Friend the Member for Leominster (Mr. Temple-Morris). To ease the pressure on Hong Kong, we are pursuing as a matter of urgency with Vietnam, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation of Migration the establishment of an internationally managed centre on territory provided by Vietnam for those asylum seekers who are determined not to be refugees and have not taken advantage of the existing voluntary return programme.
Burma
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make further representations to the Government of Burma concerning the transfer of power from the military junta to the National League of Democracy.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We will continue to make our views known whenever it is appropriate to do so.
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European Safeguards Research and Development Association
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department was represented at the annual meeting of the European Safeguards Research and Development Association held recently in Avignon ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : An official of the Department of Energy attended this symposium. The official proceedings of the symposium should be published within three months. It will be possible to obtain copies from the ESARDA symposium secretariat at the joint research centre, Ispra, Italy.
Vietnam
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 10 June, Official Report, column 413, what steps he has taken to validate the statement of the Vietnamese Government that people are not persecuted for their religious beliefs.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Our embassy in Hanoi is in regular contact with the Vietnamese authorities, in particular the Government Board for Religious Affairs, and raises with them specific cases of alleged human rights abuses, including religious persecution.
Football
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the behaviour of England football supporters in Kusadasi on the occasion of last month's England v. Turkey match.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : About 800 English supporters travelled to Turkey for the senior and under-21 international football matches. Following incidents in Kusadasi on 1 May 1991, 22 were arrested and appeared in court the same day. Eleven were released. The others were fined for causing damage to property and released on 3 May 1991 after the fines had been paid. British consular staff visited all those arrested and received full co-operation from the Turkish authorities.
Environmental Research Vessel
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what area of British waters the Soviet environmental research ship Akademik Boris Petrov was banned from entering ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : An application was received from the Soviet embassy for permission to conduct research in Scottish waters from Leith around to Port Glasgow. Such permission was not granted.
Fishing Rights (South Atlantic)
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of his discussions with European partners on fishing rights off the coast of British dependent territories, including Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Discussions with European partners on a fisheries agreement covering United Kingdom
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dependent territories have not yet started. We are examining, with the dependent territories, the possible components of such an agreement.El Salvador
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests he has had from El Salvador for help with improving its judicial system.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : No specific request for such help has been received from the government of El Salvador. During the annual San Jose meeting of EC and Central American Foreign Ministers, however, held in Managua in March this year, my hon. Friend the Minister of State and our EC colleagues agreed to develop programmes aimed in particular at improving the administrative and legal machinery in Central American countries, designed to ensure that human rights are fully guaranteed. A committee of European and Central American experts is to be entrusted with the task of working out how these programmes are implemented.
Brazil
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Brazilian Government to seek the transfer of forthcoming trials in the cases of Expedito Ribeiro de Sousa and Jose and Paulo Canuto to the state capital to reduce the risk of interference with jurors and witnesses.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : It would not be appropriate for us to express a view on this matter.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Brazilian Government about the continuing violence against rural workers in the region of Rio Maria and Xinguara in the state of Para .
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We are in regular touch with the Brazilian authorities regarding a range of human rights issues, including the position of rural workers.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will send a diplomatic representative to observe the trials in connection with the murders of trade union officials Expedito Ribeiro de Sousa and Jose and Paulo Canuto in the Brazilian state of Para .
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Our embassy in Brasilia will be monitoring the trials.
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 3 June, Official Report, column 49, if he will give such information as is available without disproportionate cost, in the form of his answers of 30 April 1990, Official Report, column 405 and 10 May 1990, Official Report, column 205.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Further to my answer of 3 June, Official Report, column 49 , the only figures that can be provided without disproportionate cost are those for total energy consumption and expenditure in Foreign and Commonwealth Office buildings in the financial year 1990-91. These are as follows :
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Consumption Expenditure
|£
------------------------------------------------------------
(i) Electricity |18,106,000|kwh |1,135,429
(ii) Gas |409,000 |therms |155,633
(iii) Fuel Oil |1,450,350 |litres |247,838
Figures for ODA energy consumption and expenditure are not readily available. I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contributions the United Kingdom is making towards United Nations peacekeeping operations in the Gulf and western Sahara.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : At present we plan to contribute a total of £8.55 million made up as follows :
|£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------
United Nations Iraq/Kuwait Observer Mission
(UNIKOM) |2.1
United Nations Special Commission Iraq |1.0
United Nations Observer Mission in Western
Sahara (MINURSO) |5.45
|-------
Total |8.55
Parliamentary approval for these new services will be sought in the winter supplementary estimate for "Foreign and Commonwealth Office : other external relations", vote--class II, vote 2. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £8.55 million will be met by a repayable advance from the Contingencies Fund.
Latin America
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he is having with Latin American Governments on the pace of decision-making of the judicial system in commercial law.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Among the priorities of our increased aid programme for Latin America is support for good government, which includes inter alia improvements in the judicial process. Bilateral investment promotion and protection agreements are signed or under negotiation with several Latin American countries. We also continue to work with Latin American and other Governments in the United Nations Commission of International Trade Law on the co-ordination of international trade law.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he is having with Latin American Governments on optimum technical or research co-operation between the European Economic Community and the United Kingdom and Latin America.
Mr. Garel-Jones : Co-operation in the field of science and technology was discussed earlier this year at the meetings between the European Community and the countries of Central America and the Rio group. I represented the United Kingdom. Consultation continues in the framework of the communities co-operation agreements with those countries.
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Hong Kong
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will call for a report on why Lee Bun and her husband were refused asylum in Hong Kong ; and what information he has over their fate after they had returned to China.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd [pursuant to his reply, 14 June 1991, c. 726] : The Chinese authorities have now told us that the story was unfounded and the couple have not been executed.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Water and Sewerage Installations
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the standard costs of mains water and sewerage installation in the constituency of South Down since 1 April 1980 to 31 March 1991 ; and what are the current standard costs.
Mr. Needham : The details of the standard unit cost yardsticks for water and sewerage are :
Effective date |Water |Sewerage
|£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 April 1980 |2,000 |1,500
1 April 1981 |2,250 |1,950
1 April 1982 |2,400 |2,050
1 September 1983 |2,600 |2,200
1 April 1984 |2,700 |2,200
1 September 1985 |2,900 |2,300
Planning Permissions
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many planning permissions have been (a) approved and (b) refused in each year since 1980 in areas of outstanding natural beauty in the constituency of South Down.
Mr. Needham : Information before 1987 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The information since 1987 is :
Year |Approved|Refused ---------------------------------------- 1987 |278 |23 1988 |336 |34 1989 |350 |64 1990 |301 |57 1991 to date |181 |38
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many planning permissions have been (a) approved and (b) refused in each year since 1980 in areas of special scientific interest--ASSIs--in the constituency of South Down.
Mr. Needham : Two ASSIs lie partly in the South Down constituency. These were declared in 1988 and 1989. Since then, no planning applications have been received in respect of sites within the ASSIs in that constituency.
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