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Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Indonesian military personnel and Indonesian state employees working on defence-related matters received support through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the past 10 years to study in Britain ; and through which programmes.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Indonesian military personnel have over the years attended a range of developmental and technical training courses in the United Kingdom. Details of the training, including numbers involved, are regarded as confidential between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of Indonesia.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Indonesian military personnel have been funded to study in Britain since 1975 ; through which Government Departments they have been funded ; and what subjects they have been studying.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Indonesian military personnel have, over the years, attended a range of developmental and technical training courses in the United Kingdom. Details of the training, including numbers involved, are regarded as confidential between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of Indonesia.
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Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring he is undertaking as to the use to which Hawk aircraft supplied by the United Kingdom to Indonesia are being or have been put ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Goodlad : It would be impracticable on a regular basis to monitor, after transfer, equipment which we have licensed for export. We are, however, ready where necessary to ask recipient countries, on a confidential basis, about the location and use of defence equipment we have supplied. We have no evidence that Hawk aircraft are being or have been used for repressive purposes against the civil population in Indonesia and East Timor. Nor do we believe that Hawk, or any other items of British equipment, have been or are likely to be used against the civilian population in Indonesia and East Timor. The Indonesian Government have given us assurances that Hawk aircraft will not be used for internal security purposes.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many military personnel have been funded to study under Foreign and Commonwealth Office scholarships from (a) Indonesia, (b) Jordan, (c) Ecuador, (d) Malaysia, (e) Nigeria, (f) Oman and (g) India in the past 10 years ; and what subjects they have been studying.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Military personnel are attending a range of developmental and technical training courses in the United Kingdom. Details of the training, including numbers involved, are regarded as confidential between Her Majesty's Government and the Governments concerned.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria were used in the appointments of (a) Pauline Neville-Jones to the post of political director of the Foreign Office and (b) Paul Lever as chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee.
Mr. Goodlad : The selection board's criteria were the same as those used in any other apointments for officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office--namely, their skills, experience and qualities as measured against the requirements of the job in question and the field of available candidates.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will provide an English translation when he deposits in the Library statements made by other states speaking on behalf of Her Majesty's Government in other languages.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : It is not our usual policy to deposit statements in the Library that are not in English.
When documents in other languages are deposited they are used to provide a translation and such translations are deposited as soon as they are available.
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Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the agenda of the 1994 session of the conference on disarmament in Geneva ; and how the quantity of work to be done in the conference on disarmament in 1994 has changed from that of previous years.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The agenda of the conference on disarmament remains the same as in 1993, and the following ad hoc committees have again been established : nuclear test ban ; effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear weapon states against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons ; transparency in armaments ; and prevention of an arms race in outer space. The overall quantity of work has not changed.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ensure that all statements made by representatives of Her Majesty's Government at the conference on disarmament are placed in the Library.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The working documents of the conference on disarmament contain verbatim texts of the statements of the delegates of all governments represented at the Conference, including those of Her Majesty's Government. Copies of these documents are normally placed in the Library.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration Her Majesty's Government are giving to offering an additional voluntary financial contribution to the costs of the 1995 non-proliferation treaty review and extension conference and the preparatory arrangements thereof.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Arrangements as to how costs for administration relating to the non-proliferation treaty extension and review conference are to be shared by states party to the treaty are currently being considered. However, as a co-depositary of the treaty, and in accordance with past practice, we have made clear our willingness to contribute significantly more to conference costs than would be the case under the regular United Nations budget scale.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the United Kingdom's annual contribution to the costs of the conference on disarmament ; and what consideration Her Majesty's Government are giving to offering an additional voluntary financial contribution towards these costs.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The United Kingdom contributes to the costs of the conference on disarmament through its contribution to the United Nations regular budget from which the conference is fully funded. No voluntary contributions are made to the conference on disarmament.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the position of Her Majesty's Government on the appointment of Miguel Marin Bosch of Mexico to be chair of the ad hoc committee on a nuclear test ban at the conference on disarmament.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : We shall work constructively in the committee, under Sen or Marin Bosch's chairmanship, for an effective comprehensive test ban treaty.
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Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration has been given to the use of tactical air support for the opening of the humanitarian aid route between Split and Sarajevo ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : An aid route linking Split and Sarajevo via Gornji Vakuf is in regular use. Air support to open the route is thus not required.
Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to withdrawal of British forces from Bosnia-Herzegovina ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : British forces will continue through the winter to support the UN in carrying out its humanitarian mandate. No decisions have yet been taken about the deployment of British forces thereafter.
Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what opportunities have arisen during recent NATO meetings to discuss the possible use of air strikes against Bosnian Croat forces ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The NATO summit on 10-11January reaffirmed the readiness of the alliance to provide close air support for UNPROFOR throughout Bosnia.
Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what basis the decision was taken not to use air support for the protection of the United Nations safe haven at Mostar ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : NATO has undertaken to make air power available to the UN Secretary General should he require it in support of the UNPROFOR mandate. The UN has not so far requested the use of this facility.
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received over human rights offences and disappearances in India ; and what
representations he has made to the Indian High Commissioner.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have received various representations of human rights in India from a number of sources. We regularly raise our concerns with the Indian Government, including with the Indian high commissioner.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Governments of Canada and British Columbia over the arrest of Cornelia Durrant, a British national, last November in connection with protests at Clayoquot Sound.
Mr. Ingram : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in his Department are covered by statutory sick pay.
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Mr. Goodlad : All staff in the Department are covered by statutory sick pay. FCO staff number 6,220 and ODA staff number 1,128 : a total of 7,348.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to raise at the next Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union the role of the Dresdner Bank in financing the export of dual-use machine tools from the European Communities to various countries in the middle east in breach of EC agreements on export control restrictions.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : No. Bilateral channels exist to take up such matters as appropriate.
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received over human rights offences and disappearances in Colombia ; and what representations he has made to the Colombian ambassador.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : We receive frequent representations. During my recent visit there I made clear to President Gaviria and his Government the concern felt in this country about human rights. We support the Colombian Government's efforts to tackle human rights abuses.
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will press the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva to express its concern at the human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir and to send a fact-finding mission to investigate and report on the situation.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We are concerned by the human rights situation in Kashmir, and shall continue to express our views clearly to the Indian Government. Our approach to Kashmir at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva will be closely co-ordinated with our European partners.
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his EC counterparts to prevent the export of land mines.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : There have been no discussions.
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those topics on which it is not his practice to answer parliamentary questions ; and if he will list any recent changes in the practice of his Department.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : There has been no change from the practice of this and previous Administrations, as described on page 292 of the current edition of "Erskine May".
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Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to involve the private sector in the work of GCHQ ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hurd : For many years GCHQ has used private sector contractors to provide various support services. There are no plans to change this practice.
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made towards establishing a new scheme for St. Helenians to enable them to come to the United Kingdom for training and work experience.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I have been asked to reply.
In order to mitigate the effects on the economy of St.Helena of the ending of the dependent territories quota scheme and in recognition of its unique position in being the only dependent territory in receipt of budgetary aid, the Government have decided to introduce a special arrangement, on a pilot basis, which will enable St.Helenians to come to this country to undertake training or work experience at a lower level than is normally permitted. The new arrangement will allow citizens of St.Helena to spend up to four years training towards vocational qualifications or up to two years gaining valuable work experience, while working with British businesses or other organisations. The Government hope that the new arrangement, which has been welcomed by the St.Helena Government, will benefit individuals and contribute to the economy of the island.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many civilians were found guilty of fraud in his Department in each year since 1989 ; and how many were dismissed.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : One employee was convicted of fraud in 1990. The person concerned was dismissed.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his Department's policy for dealing with employees found guilty of fraud.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 1 February 1994] : Employees convicted of fraud would be subject to internal disciplinary proceedings. Each case would be treated on its merits, but in serious cases the normal penalty would be dismissal.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of Employment Service claimants were paid the correct sum within three working days of signing on in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
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Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Hugh Bayley, dated 9 February 1994 :The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the proportion of Employment Service claimants who were paid correctly and within three working days of signing in the last year for which figures are available.
The Employment Service (ES) monitors both the accuracy of awards of benefit and the promptness of all payments made. However, our definition and measurement of promptness of payment is "the despatch of a payment on the day entitlement is established". We do not, I am afraid, collect information about payments in the terms requested by your question.
In 1992-93 we paid 96.7 per cent. of our clients accurately, and 97.5 per cent. of our clients promptly.
This exceeded both our Annual Performance Agreement and internal management targets.
I hope this is helpful.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of clients of the Employment Service are offered the option of having money sent direct to a bank or building society account rather than receiving a girocheque.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Hugh Bayley, dated 9February 1994 :
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the proportion of clients offered the option of being paid directly into a bank or building society account.
It may be helpful if I explain that automated credit transfer facilities for the payment of benefits is a feature of a new computer system (NUBS2). The system is being installed into our offices on a rolling programme, due to be completed in September 1994. Currently about 70 per cent. of clients are served by the new system, all of whom can chose to have their money paid direct into a bank or building society account. At the moment approximately 42,000 clients receive their payment in this way.
I hope this is helpful.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when his Department published national citizens charter targets.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : We have not published any national citizens charter targets for the Department as a whole. However, individual services across the Employment Department group which deal directly with the public have set and published their standards and targets in charters or charter statements of service standards. They include : Employment Service's job seeker's charter--published December 1991 and currently being revised.
Redundancy payments service charter--second edition published January 1993.
Advisory, Conciliatory and Arbitration Service commitment--published May 1992.
The Health and Safety Executive's booklets "HSE and You" and "HSE--Working for Employers"--published January 1994.
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Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when his Department last carried out its most recent annual national customer survey ; and how many local customer surveys were carried out in 1992-93.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : We have not carried out a national customer satisfaction survey for the Department as a whole.
However, individual services within the Department carry out annual surveys to get their customers' views about the services they provide. They include the following :
Employment Service
Redundancy payments service
Health and Safety Executive
Skills and enterprise network
Statistical services division
In addition, the Employment Service will be carrying out local customer surveys in all ES jobcentres in the spring.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what proportion of jobcentres displayed local targets as at July 1993 on (a) waiting times, (b) telephone answering, (c) promptness and accuracy in benefit payments and (d) information on local labour markets ; and in how many cases these targets were being met ; (2) what proportion of jobcentres displayed at July 1993 (a) the name of the local manager and (b) the name of the area manager.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Hugh Bayley dated 9February 1994 :
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about how many Employment Service local offices displayed standards and targets, how many local offices met the standards, and how many local offices displayed the name and address of the local manager and area manager in July 1993.
The Jobseeker's Charter sets out our aim for our local offices (1, 300 July 1993) to display standards of service. Between July and September 1993, 92 per cent. of local offices displayed standards and targets.
The information you have asked for is as follows :
WAITING TIME :
Clients waiting no longer than the 10 minutes standard : 1,170 offices; 90 per cent.
TELEPHONE ANSWERING TIME :
Calls answered within the 30 seconds standard : 1,170 offices; 90 per cent.
PROMPTNESS OF PAYMENTS :
98 per cent. of payments were made on time; on accuracy of payments of benefit you will wish to know that in the quarter July to September 1993 96.9 per cent. of payments were accurate. This is against a national target of 96.5 per cent.
LOCAL LABOUR MARKET INFORMATION :
Each local office has a target for the number of vacancies and number of placings they must achieve. We do not collect information about how many offices reach their target, but nationally, in the first six months of the operating year 1993-94, we placed over 859, 000 people. This is 10 per cent. above our profiled target for this period.
Turning to your second question, this information is not available centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate
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