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the special consultative meeting and to open the protocol for signature. We warmly welcome this outcome and look forward to increased environmental protection in Antarctica.Saudi Arabia
27. Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government have made any representations to the Saudi authorities about human rights violations in Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We discuss human rights issues regularly with the Saudi Arabian authorities. They have consistently denied allegations of human rights violations in Saudi Arabia.
Burma
28. Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards relations with Burma.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We maintain diplomatic relations with Burma. But we deplore the failure of the Burmese military authorities to respond to the people's clearly expressed wish for democratic government, and are appalled by reports of their continuing disregard for human rights.
29. Mr. Haynes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of Vietnam on the question of Vietnamese asylum seekers in Hong Kong.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : To ease the pressure on Hong Kong, we are urgently pursuing with Vietnam, UNHCR and the International Organisation for 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.
30. Sir Peter Blaker : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest position regarding the problem of Vietnamese migrants in Hong Kong.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The number of Vietnamese migrants in Hong Kong continues to increase. The population in camps now stands at over 61, 000 ; the highest level since 1979. We are urgently pursuing with Vietnam, UNHCR and IOM 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.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British dependent territories citizens from Hong Kong have (a) applied for and (b) been granted the status of British national (overseas) in each year since 1985.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The status of British National (overseas) came into being on 1 July 1987. Statistics (provided by the Hong Kong Government) are as follows :
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Year |Applications|Completed
|Received
----------------------------------------------------
<1>1987 |18,336 |16,275
1988 |31,916 |30,222
1989 |53,222 |49,519
1990 |80,213 |78,265
<2>1991 |51,903 |51,123
<1>(From 1 July).
(Up to 13 July).
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for naturalisation as British dependent territories citizens on the basis of a connection with Hong Kong have been (a) received, (b) granted and (c) refused for each year since 1989 and to the nearest available date.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : According to Hong Kong Government statistics, the number of applications for naturalisation as British dependent territories citizens on the basis of a connection with Hong Kong were :
Period |Received|Approved|Refused --------------------------------------------- 1989 |3,098 |1,098 |73 1990 |12,543 |1,699 |95 <1>1991 |5,995 |4,330 |129 <1>(Up to 30 June).
Cambodia
31. Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last discussed Cambodia with the American Secretary of State.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Cambodia with the American Secretary of State during the G7 economic summit on 15 to 17 July.
34. Mr. Turner : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government has made to governments of other countries on the situation in Cambodia.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We regularly discuss the situation in Cambodia at both ministerial and senior official level with the other permanent members of the UN Security Council, participants in the Paris conference on Cambodia, and other interested Governments including our EC partners.
Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe
33. Mr. Trimble : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the progress in expanding the CSCE process to include guarantees of democratic political rights.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Copenhagen meeting of the CSCE conference on the human dimension, held in June 1990, agreed a wide-ranging set of commitments to democratic political rights including free and fair elections and respect for the rule of law. The next meeting of the conference, to be held in Moscow in September will review the implementation of those commitments and seek to take the process forward.
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Israel
35. Sir Robert Rhodes James : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek to make an official visit to Israel.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I visited Israel in May. My right hon. Friend has no plans at present to go himself. He met the Israeli Foreign Minister in London on 18 July.
Lebanon
36. Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the hostages in Lebanon.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We continue to make every effort to secure the release of the hostages. My recent visit to Lebanon and Syria was a further opportunity to work for this objective. We remain in close touch with all parties we believe may be able to help achieve the hostages' release and will continue to do so.
G7 Summit
37. Mr. Moate : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the outcome of the G7 summit in London last week.
Mr. Garel-Jones : I refer my hon. Friend to the statement that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made to the House on Friday 19 July.
Indonesia
39. Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions Her Majesty's Government has had with the Government of Indonesia on human rights ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have repeatedly drawn our concerns about human rights to the attention of the Indonesian Government. My noble Friend, the Minister of State, raised the issue during his recent visit to Indonesia in April ; and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State did so with his Indonesian counterpart in Luxembourg in May.
Exit Visas
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Soviet Government about the failure to grant exit visas to Mikhail and Yeugenia Leviant and Lev Kunin of Moscow, and Alexander Kreyman and Ella and Vladimir Kodess of Leningrad, to join their children in Israel.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We have made representations several times about the cases of Lev Kunin and Ella and Vladimir Kodess. Their details were included on a list of refusenik cases brought to the attention of the Soviet authorities during President Gorbachev's visit last week.
We can certainly raise the cases of Mikhail and Yeugenia Leviant and Alexander Kreyman, but in order to make our representations most effective we shall need further details.
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Sri Lanka
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what other action apart from freezing aid of £13 million Her Majesty's Government is taking over the continued violations of human rights in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : As stated by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development in her written reply on 9 July to my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich (Mr. Bowden), a £3 million offer of programme aid has been withdrawn because of Sri Lanka's poor human rights record. There is no freeze of £13 million aid.
We believe that the Sri Lankan Government's decision to expel our high commissioner in Colombo was motivated by a desire to stifle our criticism of Sri Lanka's human rights record. In response to this action we have cancelled high level visits, further restricted arms sales and delayed consideration of major new aid commitments. We will review these policies once a new high commissioner is in place.
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimates he has of the number of Tamils killed in the north and east of the country through bombing by the Sri Lankans ; and what sources of information he has on the rate of deaths caused by military action in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : There are no reliable estimates of deaths caused by bombing. The latest official Sri Lankan figures for numbers killed in action between June 1990 and May 1991 are as follows :
|Number
-----------------------------------
Civilians |877
Armed forces, police |1,295
LTTE |3,933
The figure for civilian casualties does not distinguish between those caused by the armed forces and those by the terrorists. There are no reliable figures from alternative sources.
Croatia
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action is being taken by the European Community to negotiate the withdrawal of military forces from the republic of Croatia.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We and our EC partners have restated our readiness, if asked, to assist in negotiations towards a peaceful settlement of the Yugoslav crisis. However, it is for all Yugoslav parties to decide on future military arrangements for their country.
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek a meeting between the European Community leaders or their representatives with the leaders of the republic of Croatia.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The European Community Presidency has now sent a senior ambassador to Yugoslavia to discuss with the federal authorities and the leaders of all republics the prospects for negotiations and the role which the Twelve might play in them.
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Entry Clearance
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long a person applying for entry clearance for settlement at the British post in (a) Manila, (b) Accra, (c) Lagos, (d) Kingston, (d) Nicosia, (f) Cairo, (g) Ankara, (h) Istanbul, (i) Rabat, (j) Tunis and (k) Algiers on 31 March or the latest convenient date could expect to wait for (i) interview, (ii) referral of the case to the Home Office and the requested information being received by the post, (iii) decisions, and (iv) an explanatory statement prepared by the post in the event of an appeal against a refusal to be despatched to the immigration appellate authorities in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : As at 18 July the information required at (i), (ii) and (iv) is as follows.
The information at (iii) is not available. Times vary according to the circumstances of individul cases. Many decisions are made on the same day as interview.
Post |(i) |(ii) |(iv)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manila |10 weeks |3 months |3 months
Accra |5 days |2 months |3 months
Lagos |1 day |3 months |3 months
Kingston |6 weeks |2-4 months |3 months
Nicosia |1 day |Depends on |3 months
|complexity of case
Cairo |1 day |3 months |1 month
Ankara |1-3 days |3 months |3 months
Istanbul |3-5 days |3 months |3 months
Rabat |10 days |Depends on |3 months
|complexity of case
Tunis |2 days |Depends on |3 months
|complexity of case
Algiers |1 day |3 months |3 months
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many explanatory statements related to entry clearance appeals were awaiting typing at each post in the Indian sub- continent in Manila, Lagos and Accra on the latest available date ; how many staff are employed, both full-time and part-time, to type statements ; and when he expects any backlogs to be cleared.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The information requested is given in the following table (as at 18 July) :
(a) Number of explanatory statements awaiting typing.
(b) Staff whose duties include typing explanatory statements (staff also employed on other typing duties shown in brackets).
Post |(a) |(b) ------------------------------------- Islamabad |23 |12 Karachi |20 |(2) Dhaka |39 |5 New Delhi |21 |4 Bombay |70 |1 and(7) Madras |3 |1 Calcutta |12 |(1) Manila |14 |2 Lagos |38 |3 Accra |25 |1
Post (a) (b)
Islamabad 23 12
Karachi 20 (2)
Dhaka 39 5
New Delhi 21 4
Bombay 70 1 and (7)
Madras 3 1
Calcutta 12 (1)
Manila 14 2
Lagos 38 3
Accra 25 1
The preparation and processing of appeal statements is a rolling process and the figures in column (a) do not represent backlogs.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long a person applying
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for entry clearance on 31 March or the latest convenient date at each post in the Indian sub-continent could expect to wait, in each queue, for (a) first interview, (b) referral of the case to the Home Office and the requested information being received by the post, (c) decision after first interview and (d) for the explanatory statement prepared by the post in the case of appeal against any refusal to be dispatched to the immigration appellate authorities in the United Kingdom.Mr. Lennox-Boyd : (a) As at 18 July 1991 the estimated waiting times for interviews (in months) were :
$
Settlement-Post
|Q1 |Q2 |Q3 |Q4
------------------------------------
Islamabad |3 |4 |6 |10
Karachi |3 |3 |4 |6
Dhaka |3 |5 |6 |11
New Delhi |1 |4 |7 |10
Bombay |0 |5 |10 |11
Madras |1.5|1.5|1.5|1.5
Calcutta (days) |10 |10 |10 |10
Settlement queues are organised as follows :
Q1. Persons with a claim to the right of abode, dependent relatives over 70 years, special compassionate cases.
Q2. All spouses and all children under 18 years.
Q3. Fiance(e)s and others applying for the first time.
Q4. Re-applicants.
Visitors
(a) Due to seasonal high demand, applicants for visit visas in Islamabad requiring a full interview can expect to wait up to 5-7 days. Elsewhere they are dealt with within 24 hours.
(b) If referred to the Home Office, enquiries concerning applications from any of the posts in the Indian Sub-Continent may take from 1-12 months depending on individual circumstances. (c) Decisions after first interview are taken within 24 hours in the majority of cases in Indian Sub-Continent posts.
(d) Despatch times of explanatory statements are (at 18 July) :
<
|Settlement |Non-Settlement
|weeks |weeks
------------------------------------------------------------
Islamabad |12 |4
Karachi |12 |4
Dhaka |12 |11
New Delhi |12 |4
Bombay |8 |8
Madras |12 |8
Calcutta |4-8 |4
Immigration Applicants
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the present waiting times to first interview for all categories of applicant in each country and at each post in the Indian sub-continent.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The estimated present waiting times to first interview (in months) are :
Settlement |Q1 |Q2 |Q3 |Q4 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Islamabad |3 |4 |6 |10 Karachi |3 |3 |4 |6 Dhaka |3 |5 |6 |11 New Delhi |1 |4 |7 |10 Bombay |0 |5 |10 |11 Madras |1.5 |1.5 |1.5 |1.5 Calcutta (days) |10 |10 |10 |10
Visitors Due to seasonal high demand applicants for visit visas in Islamabad requiring a full interview can expect to wait for between 5 to 7 days. Elsewhere they are dealt with on day of application.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) men, (b) women and (c) children were waiting in each queue at each post in the Indian sub-continent on 31 March.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Information on the estimated number of applicants in each queue is given in the table. Separate information on men, women and children in all queues is not available centrally.
Estimated numbers of applicants in the Indian
Sub-Continent on 31
March 1991 awaiting their first interview for
entry to the United
Kingdom
Number of Persons
Category<1>
Post |Q1 |Q2 |Q3 |Q4
--------------------------------------------------
Dhaka |618 |937 |124 |628
New Delhi |Nil |88 |234 |63
Bombay |76 |175 |390 |141
Calcutta |Nil |Nil |Nil |Nil
Madras |Nil |Nil |Nil |38
Islamabad |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a
Karachi |22 |97 |30 |4
|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total ISC |716 |1,297 |778 |874
n/a not available.
<1> Queue 1. Persons with a claim to the right of
abode. Dependent
relatives over 70-years-old. Special
compassionate cases.
Queue 2. All spouses and all children over 18
years.
Queue 3. Fiance(e)s and others applying for the
first time for
settlement.
Queue 4. Reapplicants.
Human Rights
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the areas on which Her Majesty's Government are currently disbursing funds in support of its foreign policy on human rights.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Human rights are taken into account when allocating aid to developing countries. Certain of the positive measures on good government in the aid programme are designed to increase respect for human rights and the rule of law. Specific measures from this and other programmes include legal assistance, electoral assistance, inward visits, assistance to the media and seminars both abroad and in the United Kingdom.
Falkland Islands
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether seismic surveys are currently being conducted in international waters beyond the 12-mile territorial limit of the Falkland Islands ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Garel-Jones : I am not aware of any seismic surveys currently being conducted in Falkland Islands territorial waters, in waters lying above the continental shelf or in adjacent international waters.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to implement his Department's current proposals relating to the Falkland Islands and off-shore minerals and hydrocarbon extraction.
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Mr. Garel-Jones : This Department has not itself drawn up such proposals. However various Government Departments have been considering draft minerals legislation submitted for approval by the Falkland Islands Government. This process is continuing and we hope to conclude it before long.
Mr. Ramesh Kumar
Mr. Gorst : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to write to the hon. Member for Hendon, North with the reply he undertook to give in his written answer given on 10 June, Official Report, column 416.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I wrote to my hon. Friend on 23July.
Central America
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution the United Kingdom is making towards United Nations peacekeeping operations in central America.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The United Kingdom's assessed contribution towards the United Nations human rights verification unit in El Salvador (ONUSAL) is estimated to be £800,000. Parliamentary approval for this new service will be sought in the winter supplementary estimate for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office : Other external relations vote (class II, vote 2). Pending that approval urgent expenditure will be met by a repayable advance estimated at £500,000 from the contingencies fund.
Nigeria
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations with the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Mrs. Chalker : We enjoy close and cordial relations with Nigeria.
SCOTLAND
Manufacturing Employment
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people were employed in manufacturing in Scotland in June 1979 and at the latest available date.
Mr Allan Stewart : In June 1979 there were 604,000 employees in employment in manufacturing industries in Scotland. In March 1991, the latest date for which information is available, there were an estimated 388,000 employees in employment in manufacturing industries in Scotland. In the same period, the number of employees in employment in other industries increased by 69,000, and the number self employed is estimated to have increased by 75,000 in the 11 years since June 1979.
Education (Placing Requests)
Mr. McAvoy : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what powers are available to a regional council education authority to enable it to refuse to make available to
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councillors the names of persons who have had placing requests for their children rejected by the council under regulation 13 of the Education (Appeal Committee Procedures) (Scotland) Regulations 1982.Mr. Michael Forsyth : The 1982 regulations lay down how the procedures of an appeal committee are to be determined by an education authority. In more general terms, section 50F of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, prescribes the rights of access to documents for members of local authorities. Schedule 7A to the 1973 Act as inserted by the 1985 Act specifies the type of information which is exempt and therefore not required to be open to inspection by members. This includes information relating to the education of any particular child and information relating to any particular applicant for, or recipient of, any service provided by the authority. Interpretation of all of these provisions is, of course, a matter for the authority concerned.
Glasgow Eastern Area Renewal
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the performance of the public and private sector management structures set up to replace the GEAR project in the east end of Glasgow ; and what plans he has to alter the structure.
Mr. Allan Stewart : The post-GEAR management arrangements established that the co-ordination of social, residential and community related initiatives would be the responsibility of Glasgow district council and Strathclyde regional council through the east area management committee --a joint committee of both
councils--supported by the east area support unit and that private and public sector support for the continuing economic development of the area would be organised through the east end executive.
It is these bodies who should monitor performance, and consider any need for structural change.
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