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Federation, have concentrated on helping to draft and encouraging support for a United Nations General Assembly resolution which formally calls into being the preparatory committee for the 1995 conference on the review and extension of the treaty on the non- proliferation of nuclear weapons. The resolution was approved by the General Assembly on 9 December by 168 votes to 0 with no abstentions. We have also had initial discussions with partners and allies, both bilaterally and in international fora, about the range of issues we expect to be raised at the first preparatory committee.Nuclear Testing
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many discussions his Department has had in the last year with United States Senators Hatfield, Exon and Mitchell on the issue of nuclear testing ; how many letters his Department has sent in the last year to these senators on the issue of nuclear testing ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Over the last year the embassy in Washington has had regular discussions on nuclear testing with the staff of a number of congressmen. The embassy wrote to Senators Hatfield, Exon and Mitchell on the subject during the consideration of the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill in August.
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has held with representatives of the Clinton/Gore transition team ; what discussions took place on the topic of nuclear testing ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The embassy in Washington keeps in regular touch with members of President-elect Clinton's transition team. The President- elect has made it clear that the responsibility for foreign policy until 20 January remains with the present administration. Our position on nuclear testing is well known to senior members of the Democratic party.
Immigration
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State forForeign and Commonwealth Affairs when instructions were received at the post in Islamabad to issue entry clearance to Mr. Syed Farhat Abbas--Ref. TH/16422/90 and B 020653--to join his wife in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : In the absence of any information about this case, we have asked the high commission in Islamabad for a full report. We shall arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State forForeign and Commonwealth Affairs when instructions were received at the post in Islamabad to issue entry clearance to Mr. Mohd Asif Gill--Ref. Imm/v 94835 and Imm (APP 320)--to join his wife in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : In the absence of any information about this case, we have asked the high commission in
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Islamabad for a full report. We shall arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible.Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State forForeign and Commonwealth Affairs when instructions were received at the post in Islamabad to issue entry clearance to Mr. Jahir Mahmood--Ref. TH/41452/91-- to join his wife in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : In the absence of any information about this case, we have asked the High Commission in Islamabad for a full report. We shall arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible.
Private Finance
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what areas of his Department's
responsibilities he has introduced, or may introduce, private finance ; and if he will describe in each case the procedures by which private finance is sought.
Mr. Goodlad : Our Department is considering how to apply the private finance initiative in its areas of responsibility on the basis of the guidance which has been published by the Treasury.
International Law
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the relationship between the decision in respect of Denmark taken by the European Council in Edinburgh on 11 and 12 December, and article 2 of the Vienna convention on the law of international treaties 1969 ; and what is the depository state in respect of that decision.
Mr. Goodlad : The decision concerning certain problems raised by Denmark is an international agreement binding on the parties to the treaty on European union. The decision does not require ratification and there is therefore no depositary state. The authentic text is held by the Council secretariat.
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by what mechanism adherence by Her Majesty's Government to decisions taken by the European Council of the European Community are applicable in either international law or any treaty of the Community.
Mr. Goodlad : The decision concerning certain problems raised by Denmark on the treaty on European union was not taken by the Edinburgh European Council but by the Heads of State and Government meeting within the European Council. It is an agreement binding in international law between the parties to the treaty on European union. It constitutes an agreement, in the sense of article 31 of the Vienna convention on the law of treaties, for the purposes of interpretation of the treaty on European union.
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St. Helena
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the rules regulating the extent to which citizens of St. Helena paid partly or wholly out of Government of St. Helena funds may stand for election to the Legislative Council ; and what discretion the Governor has in this respect.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Section 17 (2) of the St. Helena constitution provides that the Governor, acting in his discretion, may by notice published in the Government Gazette make provision for enabling any public officer or class of public officer to be qualified for election to the Legislative Council. This provision was given effect to by a Government Gazette notice dated 15 February 1989.
Iran
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from members of the Baha'i community regarding the persecution of their communities in Iran.
Mr. Douglas-Hogg : The Secretary-General of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United Kingdom informed us in October of the confiscation of the homes and property of Baha'is in Iran. Numerous local Baha'i assemblies subsequently made similar representations, and we were able to inform them of the strong representations which we, together with our EC partners, have in turn made to the Iranian authorities on this matter.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government plans to make to the Iranian Government regarding the persecution of the Baha'i communities in Iran.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The EC presidency made representations in May to the Iranian permanent representative in Geneva about the execution of Mr. Bahman Samandari. In October we made further representations on behalf of all EC member states to the Iranian authorities in both Geneva and Tehran over the death sentences passed on Mr. Kayvan Khalajabadi and Mr. Bihnam Mithaqi. The representations in Tehran also expressed our concern at the reports of the confiscation of homes and property of Baha'is in Iran. Together with EC partners, we have co-sponsored a resolution due to be adopted by the United Nations General Assembly this month on human rights in Iran, which expressed concern at the treatment of the Baha'i community.
Yugoslavia
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visas have been issued to citizens from the former Yugoslavia since 6 November ; how many have been refused ; on what grounds ; and how many appeals are pending.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : For the period 9 November to 4 December, the first month's operation of the visa requirement for nationals of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina and of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 663 visa applications for the United
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Kingdom, for both visits and settlement, were received at our posts in Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Rome, Milan, Du"sseldorf, Paris and Sofia. One hundred and eighty-two applications were refused. This figure includes the 166 visa applicants in the convoy arranged by the ALERT group whose applications were refused by the Home Office. The method of recording statistics at posts world wide does not allow us to give the precise detail which the hon. Member has requested without disproportionate expense.Uganda
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current situation in Uganda.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Since the present Government came to power in 1986, Uganda has taken commendable steps towards internal stability and economic rehabilitation after years of chaos. Progress with the economic recovery programme has been encouraging, but there are major structural weaknesses which still need to be overcome. We hope to see continued improvements including in the field of human rights, and a successful outcome to the constitutional reform process.
Angola
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contributions the British Government are making towards the peace process in Angola.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : With our EC partners, we have been active in support of the efforts of the United Nations to consolidate the ceasefire negotiated by the United Nations Secretary General's special representative on 1 November, and to secure full implementation of the Bicesse peace agreement, including the holding of a second presidential election round.
Under our presidency, the European Council in Edinburgh urged both sides, particularly UNITA, to respect the peace agreement and ceasefire and to continue demobilisation and formation of the new unified armed forces. It called upon UNITA to accept unequivocally the September election results and on the Government to continue the democratic process with a view to the reconciliation of the people of Angola.
Mauritius
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last received representations from the Government of Mauritius relating to the sovereignty of the Chagos group of islands.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Following discussions at official level, we reaffirmed to the Government of the Republic of Mauritius on 1 July that if the latter has proposals which it wishes to put to us concerning future arrangements for the British Indian Ocean Territory, we remain ready to give these close consideration.
Nuclear Reprocessing
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the intermediate-level radioactive waste streams at Sellafield
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arising from the reprocessing of foreign spent nuclear fuel have been specified in such a way to make them acceptable for return to country of origin under the framework agreements made by Her Majesty's Government with foreign Governments.Mr. Eggar : I have been asked to reply.
It is not technically possible in the reprocessing operation to identify the precise wastes which arise from processing specific items of fuel. In such cases, it is necessary to apportion wastes among the customers concerned. Furthermore, there are some waste streams for which the precise form of conditioning for interim storage prior to disposal has not been finalised. It has not been possible to issue specifications for these streams, which amount to about 2 per cent. by radioactivity of the total.
British Nuclear Fuels plc has advised me that the thermal oxide reprocessing plant contracts which provide for return of waste specify that unspecified intermediate level waste--ILW--will be replaced by a radiologically equivalent amount of specified ILW. This will apply to some 40 per cent. by activity of returnable ILW from THORP.
The specifications which BNFL has issued to its overseas THORP customers are presently being approved by those customers and their relevant authorities. Approvals covering the majority of the overseas business have already been received.
The Government are considering BNFL's proposals to implement return of low and intermediate-level waste by substituting a radiologically equivalent amount of high-level waste--HLW--in addition to the customer's normal HLW allocation.
DEFENCE
AWE Aldermaston
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what operations were being carried out at the time of the accident at AWE Aldermaston on 8 December ; what types of containers were involved in the accident ; and what types of wastes were they storing.
Mr. Aitken : The incident involved a sealed metal storage container of plutonium metal, not waste material. A routine accounting audit of plutonium holdings was being undertaken at the time of the incident.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the accident that occurred at AWE Aldermaston on 8 December ; how many persons were injured or contaminated ; what was the extent of the injuries and contamination ; what damage was caused to property ; and what is the estimated cost of (a) repairing damage and (b) removing contamination following the accident at AWE Aldermaston on 8 December.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the accident at AWE Aldermaston on 8 December.
Mr. Aitken : The incident at AWE Aldermaston on 8 December involved the release of a small amount of radioactive material from a damaged container within a storage building. The cause is being investigated by an inquiry which is now under way. There was no release of radioactive material outside the building. A total of five
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individuals were involved with the incident, four of whom received minor contamination ; subsequent monitoring has confirmed that none of them received a significant radiation dose. There were no injuries sustained in the incident. The interior of the building was contaminated in the vicinity of the incident, but is not otherwise damaged. Decontamination work has begun, but it is not possible to estimate at this stage what the effort involved in completing the work will be.Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many accidents of the type that occurred at AWE Aldermaston on 8 December have occurred in the last 10 years.
Mr. Aitken : A previous incident involving a release of material in a plutonium storage building occurred at AWE Aldermaston in 1984. That case involved a different building and a different method of packaging of material. The then Under-Secretary of State for Defence gave the details to the House on 12 April 1984, Official Report, column 357.
Sir David Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to alter the numbers employed in AWE Aldermaston (a) currently and (b) after contractorisation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : The numbers employed at AWE Aldermaston depend on the programme of work placed on the establishment. After
contractorisation, the exact number will be a matter for the contractor, but this Government are fully committed to maintaining the nuclear programme which will continue to support jobs at the establishment.
Reactor Cores
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's assessment as to the length of time that a used reactor core may safely be left in a decommissioned submarine.
Mr. Aitken : Government policy is to remove such cores to Sellafield for long-term storage at the earliest practicable opportunity. However, with the application of my Department's current care and maintenance procedures, there is no formal limit to the length of time that a used reactor core may safely be left in a decommissioned submarine.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when used core transportation package flasks were first licensed for use in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Aitken : My Department's used core transportation packages were first licensed for use in the United Kingdom in 1968.
Waste Materials (Burning)
Mr. Hague : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what quantities of oil, tyres or other materials were burned at RAF Leeming on 28 November ; how long the fire lasted ; and how many fire fighters received training during that period.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : A total of 13 firefighters from RAF Leeming and the North Yorkshire fire brigade took
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part in this training exercise. The fires were burning for less than 10 minutes and only uncontaminated waste aviation fuel was used for this exercise.Aerospace Industry
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings he or officials of his Department have held with the aerospace industry regional and local authority network in regard to diversification in production.
Mr. Aitken : I am not aware of any such meetings.
Investment Cuts
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the study recently released by the European Commission on the regional impact of cuts in defence investment.
Mr. Aitken : The report has not yet been received by Government Departments. The regional policy implications will be a matter for the President of the Board of Trade.
Defence Research Agency
Dr. Spink : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the rationalisation of the Defence Research Agency.
Mr. Aitken : The consultation period for the DRA's rationalisation plan ended on 14 November. Following further representations from hon. Members and the trade unions, I hope that an announcement will be made shortly.
Nuclear Non-proliferation
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what preparations his Department is undertaking for the nuclear non- proliferation treaty first preparatory committee meeting ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My Department works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on this subject, and will support the preparatory committee preparations as appropriate.
Nuclear Testing
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many discussions his Department has had in the last year with United States Senators Hatfield, Exon and Mitchell on the issue of nuclear testing ; how many letters his Department has sent in the last year to these senators on the issue of nuclear testing ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : None. Such contacts would normally be made through the British embassy in Washington.
Cnewr Estate
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 27 November, Official Report, columns 892-93, what action was taken or discussions undertaken with outside bodies by his Ministry about the proposed access agreement between the trustees
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of the Cnewr estate and the Brecon Beacons national park authority between May and July ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Ministry was informed in May of the proposed access agreement by the managing director of Cnewr Estate Ltd., but no action was taken. No discussions about this agreement took place with any other body between May and July.
Vacant Properties
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many houses of his Department are currently vacant.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As at 30 September, the latest date for which figures are available, 9,321 MOD-owned houses and flats were vacant out of a total stock of 72,946. Many of these properties were either undergoing or awaiting major maintenance work or modernisation, some were already allotted to service families who were due to move in shortly and others were being considered for disposal. In addition, some 1,800 dwellings were in the process of being sold.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to return vacant housing of his Department into civilian use ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The majority of my Department's vacant housing is undergoing or awaiting major maintenance work or modernisation, already allotted to service families due to move in shortly or in the process of sale. In addition, some vacant housing has been earmarked for service families returning from overseas as a result of "Options for Change". Wherever possible, surplus properties are sold to service personnel through the services discount scheme. Some 900 surplus properties which are not suitable for this scheme are currently in the process of being sold to housing associations at a discount in return for nomination rights on a proportion of the properties for personnel who will be leaving the services over the next few years.
Private Finance
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what areas of his Department's responsibilities he has introduced, or may introduce, private finance ; and if he will describe in each case the procedures by which private finance is sought.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The private finance initiative is intended to apply to all services which are traditionally provided by Government Departments. My Department will consider the introduction of private finance in cases where it represents value for money and the assumption of risk by the private sector, in accordance with the guidance which has been published by the Treasury. Some operating capital has been introduced into the royal dockyards under contractor operation and will be similarly used at the Atomic Weapons Establishment. Expressions of interest have been sought on the possible offer for sale of one or both dockyards. A proposal is being studied that a new non-profit-making organisation should take over the ownership and management of the married quarter estate.
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Medical Discharges
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what compensation or other payments are available to a service man or woman discharged from the armed services for medical reasons.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Financial provision in respect of those who are medically discharged from service is made under the armed forces pension scheme. Under current rules, members of the scheme are eligible for benefits, in the form of pensions and/or lump sums, which are payable in all cases except where medical discharge is due to causes which are not attributable to service and less than two years' reckonable service has been given. The amount and form of benefit depend on the circumstances of each case, such as the rank of the service man or woman, length of service, whether the injury or condition leading to the discharge is attributable to service and, where appropriate, degree of disability.
Where the condition or injury leading to medical discharge is attributable to service, provision is also made under the terms of the war pensions scheme administered by the Department of Social Security.
Royal Yacht
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions, and for how long, the royal yacht has been used by members of the royal family in each of the last three years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : In each of the last three years, the royal yacht Britannia has been used by members of the royal family for state and official visits, and other functions, as follows :
|Number of occasions |Total number of days
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |8 |42
1991 |6 |31
<1>1992 |6 |27
<1> To date.
The royal yacht was undergoing maintenance from 12 November 1991 to 8 May 1992.
Trident
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many kneel -down transporters are being purchased by his Department for transporting Trident missiles within Royal Navy armaments depot, Coulport.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when preliminary design work on the warhead for the Trident missile first started at Aldermaston.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Trident warhead was declared one-point safe.
Mr. Aitken : The Secretary of State was advised on 13 March 1992 that the United Kingdom Trident warhead was one-point safe. Results of experiments which became available after that date have reinforced the same conclusion.
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HMS Renown
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost of the recent refit of HMS Renown.
Mr. Aitken : The final cost certificates for the refit of HMS Renown have not yet been presented, but the current estimate of cost is in the region of £200 million.
Amphibious Capability
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what Regular Army amphibious engineer capability is to be available in the United Kingdom after 1995 ; when the current M2 equipment will be replaced by M3 equipment, and at what cost ; whether the bridging and ferry equipment currently in service can operate for a fully loaded Challenger main battle tank ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : We intend that the Regular Army's amphibious engineering capability will remain in Germany ; a Territorial Army capability will be provided in the United Kingdom.
We plan to replace the current M2 bridging equipment with M3 equipment from 1996. As we intend to hold a competition in the near future, the estimated cost is commercially confidential.
The current M2 equipment can carry a fully loaded Challenger I main battle tank. M3 has been designed with this and future tank requirements in mind.
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