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Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those states that have (a) signed and (b) ratified the inhumane weapons convention.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The following states have ratified, accepted or acceded to the convention :
Australia, Austria, Benin, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Byelorussia, China, Cuba, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Japan, Latvia, Laos, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Mongolia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. The following states have signed but not ratified the convention :
Afghanistan, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, Iceland, Ireland, Italy. Luxembourg, Morocco, Nicaragua, Nigeria, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Sierra Leone, Spain, Sudan, Togo, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on how many states have made representations to the United Nations Secretary-General with regard to the holding of a conference to review the inhumane weapons convention.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Our information is that only France has made representations to the United Nations Secretary General to request the convening of a review conference on the United Nations weaponry convention.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects that the United Kingdom will ratify the 1981 inhumane weapons convention.
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Mr. Douglas Hogg : As I told the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) in my reply to his question on 22 October at column 371, we hope to reach a decision soon on ratification of the 1981 UN weaponry convention.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the cost of the construction of the new British High Commission office in Nairobi, Kenya ; and when this work is expected to be completed.
Mr. Goodlad : The estimated outturn construction cost is £5.3 million and the High Commission is programmed to move into the new premises in summer 1995.
Mr. Michael Spicer : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to what extent the European Movement continues to receive funds from his Department.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The Foreign and Commonwealth Office gave the European Movement a grant of £30,000 in 1992 to fund a series of regional conferences on the Maastricht treaty. The European Movement will receive a grant of £10,000 this year. No commitment has been given for future years.
Ms Jowell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the case of Gul Masih, a Christian sentenced to death under the blasphemy laws in Pakistan ; and what action he has taken.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : There has been considerable parliamentary and public interest in this case. While an appeal is pending and the case is sub judice, we have not taken any formal action. We have however on several occasions made clear informally to the Pakistani authorities the strength of feeling this case has aroused in the United Kingdom. We will consider what action we should take when the appeal has been heard.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support he has given to Amnesty International's Human Rights Week ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We take every opportunity to promote respect for human rights. We recognise Amnesty International's important role in identifying human rights abuses and bringing pressure to bear on governments which commit them. We welcome Amnesty International's efforts to highlight the obnoxious practices of political killings and disappearances.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes have taken place in the procedures of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Commission of Human Rights since the Vienna declaration ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Douglas Hogg : There have been no changes because discussions on reform of the procedures of the European Commission and Court of Human Rights are still in progress. The Vienna declaration called for the work on reform to be completed, and a draft protocol amending the European Convention on Human Rights to be finalised, in time for the Council of Europe ministerial meeting in May 1994. The United Kingdom will contribute fully to this process.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the texts of regional law in China are available to his Department.
Mr. Goodlad : The texts of most Chinese regional laws are now published in Chinese and are freely available.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the United Kingdom will support the United States resolution at the United Nations General Assembly calling for a moratorium on the export of anti-personnel mines ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are in touch with the United States about their draft resolution but we will not be able to take a final position on it until we see the final text.
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on discussions with the Arab States on moves to rescind the secondary and tertiary aspects of the Arab trade boycott of Israel.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We welcome the progress towards the relaxation of the secondary and tertiary boycotts. We hope that further progress can be made soon in light of recent developments in the peace process. We continue to urge Arab states to lift the boycott.
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what circumstances and when the style European Community will be replaced by the style European Union.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The European Communities, that is to say the European Community, the European Coal and Steel Community and Euratom, will remain in being after the Maastricht treaty enters into force. They are not replaced by the European Union. No decisions have yet been taken on where it may be appropriate to replace "European Communities" by "European Union" as a descriptive title.
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials in his Department have (a) children in fee-paying schools for whom Her Majesty's Government meet the bill because the officials are posted abroad and (b) children in fee-paying schools for whom Her Majesty's Government meet the bill
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after the officials have returned because their children remain in the school ; and if he will detail the cost for the last 15 years for each of these two categories.Mr. Goodlad : In the time available it has not been possible to retrieve all of the information requested. I shall write to the hon. Member in due course with the balance of the information. In academic year 1992-93 :
(a) 313 officials of the Diplomatic Service serving overseas had children in fee-paying schools in the United Kingdom, plus an unquantifiable number who had children educated locally at post. The cost was £3.9 million in the United Kingdom and £2 million overseas. (
(b) 182 diplomatic service officials serving in the United Kingdom had children in fee-paying schools. The cost was £3.93 million. The comparable figures for the three previous years, are as follows :
1991-92 (a) 340, £3.91 million, £1.78 million
(b) 200, £3.75 million
1990-91 (a) 374, £3.88 million, £1.67 million
(b) 223, £3.65 million
1989-90 (a) 390, £3.55 million, £1.57 million
(b) 240, £3.54 million
This breakdown does not exist for earlier years, in which the total cost for (a) boarding school allowance and (b) local education was :
|(a) |(b) |Boarding school|Local education |allowance |(£ million) |(£ million) ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1988-89 |7.08 |1.53 1987-88 |7.03 |1.5 1986-87 |6.81 |1.3 1985-86 |6.44 |1.19 1984-85 |6.24 |1.22 1983-84 |5.94 |1
The Overseas Development Administration has five officials serving overseas who have children in fee-paying schools in the United Kingdom. The cost in 1992-93 was £45,228.77. One official serving in the United Kingdom has children in a fee-paying school and the cost was £15,620.00. For earlier years the costs were :
|United Kingdom|Overseas |(£) |(£) ------------------------------------------------------------ 1991-92 |2,093 |63,170.81 1990-91 |nil |65,879.69 1989-90 |38,694.67 |86,247.82
We do not "meet the bill" for schools in the United Kingdom. Her Majesty's Government make a contribution towards the basic fees, up to a ceiling which is based on the average fee of headmasters' conference schools.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the agreement reached between Mr. Ekeus as special representative for the United Nations Security Council and the Iraqi Government on 22 July in regard to implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions in Iraq.
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Mr. Douglas Hogg : Security Council members, including the United Kingdom, have expressed support for Mr. Ekeus's actions. The Security Council, and UNSCOM, will continue to press for sustained Iraqi implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he expects the citizens of Hong Kong to be forced to comply with Chinese legislation implementing or specifying (a) the need to obtain permission to marry, (b) the one-child policy, (c) the legal obligation to have an intra-uterine device inserted in the woman after one child, (d) the obligation for one of the partners in a marriage to be sterilised after the birth of a second child and (e) the obligation to abort any subsequent pregnancy ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Goodlad : No. The Sino-British joint declaration, a legally binding agreement registered at the United Nations, provides that Hong Kong's present rights and freedoms, including the freedom to marry and the right to raise a family freely, will be maintained. In general Chinese laws will not be applied to Hong Kong.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if China is a signatory to any United Nations statement guaranteeing freedom to marry and the right to raise a family freely ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Goodlad : Yes. China has signed the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, which is a legally binding document. We have consistently urged the Chinese authorities to sign other relevant conventions and covenants, including the international convention on civil and political rights (ICCPR) and the international covenant on economic and social rights (ICESR), and to improve their human rights performance generally.
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many import permits have been allowed over the last three years for products derived from (a) Asiatic black bears, (b) any other bear listed under appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and (c) any bear listed under appendix 2 of CITES.
Mr. Yeo : No import permits have been issued in the last three years for products derived from the Asiatic black bear--Selenarctos thibetanus-- or any other species of bear listed in appendix I of CITES. Seventy-four import permits have been issued for products derived from species of bears listed in appendix II of CITES.
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average domestic living space available for each individual in the United Kingdom ; what are the comparable figures for other EC countries, for the latest year for which figures are available ; and what were the comparable figures 10 years earlier.
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Sir George Young : Our most recent estimate, based on the 1991 census, the 1991 English, Scottish and Northern Ireland house condition surveys and the 1986 Welsh house condition survey, is that the average domestic living space available to each individual in the United Kingdom is32 sq. m. Comparable figures for other EC countries and for 10 years earlier are not available.
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many private sector landlords are approved landlords.
Sir George Young : None : my Department has no power to approve landlords.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will call for a report from the National Rivers Authority as to how many staff are employed at its Northumbria office ; what their functions are ; what plans there are for reductions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : No. The questions raised by the hon. Member concern the internal management of the NRA, and are a matter for the board.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many civil servants, previously employed by the Property Services Agency, have now taken redundancy following the sale of PSA Noreast ; and what was the cost of the redundancies.
Mr. Baldry : There have been eight redundancies to date as a result of the sale of PSA BM Noreast. The estimated cost of these redundancies is £212,000.
A further seven members of staff employed by PSA BM Noreast, who had earlier agreed to leave on voluntary redundancy terms, have left since 1 October 1993 at an estimated cost of £378,000.
Mr. Renton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to the environmental impact of wind-farms on beautiful landscapes ; and if he will withdraw the subsidy for the generation of electricity by wind turbines situated on high ground.
Mr. Yeo : The Government's policy is to encourage the development of renewable energy wherever it has the prospect of being economically attractive and environmentally acceptable. Planning policy guidance note 22 sets out the Government's planning policies on renewable energy in more detail and advises that local planning authorities must always weigh the desirability of exploiting a clean, renewable energy resource against the visual impact which wind turbines may have on the landscape. We believe it is better to leave it to the local planning authority to determine the suitability of different sites for wind turbines rather than to build site- related provision into the non-fossil fuel obligation arrangement.
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Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice or guidance has been given to the Local Government Commission concerning the possible creation of new local authorities which straddle the commission's review areas.
Mr. Baldry : In drafting its final report to my right hon. Friend, in respect of a particular review, the Commission should make recommendations only in respect of the area specified by him in his direction to it.
The procedure guidance issued to the Commission in July 1992 provides that :
"where the Commission judges it necessary, at any stage of a review, to make recommendations concerning localities bordering on that area, it should make a formal request to the Secretary of State, with reasons, for a variation in the direction requiring the review to be conducted."
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he is giving to local planning authorities on how to deal with the closure of large military bases in their areas ; what plans he has to introduce a planning policy guidance not on this subject ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : Local planning authorities should take account of such bases in preparing their development plans, and consider producing site development briefs where appropriate. Circular 18/84 advises on the disposal of surplus Crown land.
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made by his Department to date in developing a national plan for waste.
Mr. Yeo : The Government have indicated the need for some form of national waste policy summary when the Environment Agency has been established, to replace the waste disposal plans currently drawn up by waste regulation authorities. We are considering the timing and content of such a policy summary.
Sir Anthony Durant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what financial profit or loss to the Ordnance Survey will arise from its three-year contring of the bid complied with Her Majesty's Treasury and Cabinet Office guidance and was compiled on a fully commercial basis.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what permission has been given to interested foreign organisations and individuals to submit their response to the second consultation on the thermal oxide reprocessing plant authorisations in their native language, and on what dates ; in what foreign languages submissions have been received ; what arrangements have been made to
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translate these submissions ; how long this has taken ; at what cost ; and if he will summarise the foreign submissions in regard to whether they expressed support or opposition to Thorp.Mr. Yeo : Foreign organisations or individuals have not sought permission to submit responses in their native language. Responses to the consultation are being counted and assessed. Information about the responses will be made available once they have all been considered.
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing for each local authority in south-east Northumberland the number of persons accepted as homeless in each year since 1979.
Sir George Young : For the information for the years 1979 to 1991 inclusive, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Angus, East (Mr. Welsh) on 17 June 1992 at columns 569-70
The information for 1992 for local authorities in south-east Northumberland is as follows :
Households accepted as homeless in 1992<1> |Number ----------------------------- Blyth Valley |330 Castle Morpeth |<2>24 Wansbeck |317 <1> Excluding intentionally homeless households. <2> Castle Morpeth only reported figures for two quarters.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many current city challenge authorities have developed exit strategies.
Mr. Yeo : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 22 July 1993 at column 347 .
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many appeals are currently outstanding regarding the council tax.
Mr. Baldry : As at 30 September 1993, 580,721 proposals for the alteration of the valuation list were outstanding in England.
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what provisions have been made to assist authorities with clearance procedures for new housebuilding ; and if he will list what help has been given to each local authority in Lancashire.
Sir George Young [holding answer 22 October 1993] : I shall write to the hon. Member following my meeting with him and other members of the Bishop of Burnley's delegation on Monday 25 October to discuss the Lancashire housing inquiry panel's recent report on housing in Lancashire.
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Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the power stations in England and Wales which have been authorised to use sour gas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : I have been asked to reply.
Section 14(2) of the Energy Act 1976 requires that notice be given to me of any proposals to enter into contractual or other arrangements to obtain a supply of gas as fuel for a power station. I am empowered under section 14(3) to direct that any proposal of which I am notified should not be carried out, or should be carried out in accordance with specified conditions.
There is no requirement for the notice to distinguish between sour and other gas. However, the following proposals have been notified under section 14(2) which may involve sour gas. I have not given any directions under section 14(3) preventing or modifying them. Peterhead (North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board)--1,550 Mw Kelt, Ryedale (Kelt (UK) Limited)- -50 Mw
Connah's Quay, Clwyd (PowerGen)--1,350 Mw
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest position regarding humanitarian aid to the former Yugoslavia ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd [pursuant to his reply, 18 October 1993, c. 103] : The total of Britain's financial commitments for humanitarian aid to the former Yugoslavia is £141 million, not £152 million as stated.
Mr. Tracey : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what are the judicial responsibilities currently performed by the holders of the office of justices' clerk.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Justices' clerks, or upon delegation, any court clerks, have certain quasi-judicial functions in relation to family cases. In criminal cases, some essentially administrative functions formerly exercised by a single justice have been delegated to justices' clerks or on their delegation to court clerks.
Mr. Tracey : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) what assessment he has made of the effects of the White Paper "A New Framework for Local Justice" on the independence of justices' clerks when advising magistrates in relation to their judicial duties otherwise than in individual cases ;
(2) what assessment he has made of the effects of the White Paper "A New Framework for Local Justice" on the independence of justices' clerks in the performance by them of their judicial responsibilities.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Lord Chancellor and I have considered carefully the implications of the White Paper,
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studied the views put forward by various bodies, and taken note of the effects of the reforms in those areas where the changes have already been introduced. We are satisfied that the changes will not interfere with judicial independence and we shall emphasis this by including in legislation a provision which makes clear that justices' clerks and other court staff are not liable to direction in respect of the legal advice given to magistrates in court.Mr. David Porter : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to review the legal position of Alzheimer's disease sufferers who are unable to grant power of attorney to relatives or who have no close relatives ; and if he will make a statement.
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