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National Insurance
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much would be raised by a 1 per cent. national insurance contribution in earnings above the level of the upper earnings limit.
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Mr. Hague : I have been asked to reply.
It is estimated that the additional yield in respect of the 1993-94 year would have been about £270 million.
VAT
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many collection staff were working for Customs and Excise in each year since 1980 (a) in London and the south-east and (b) in the United Kingdom as a whole in the area of value added tax.
Sir John Cope : It is not possible to provide value added tax employment figures for London and the south-east for the whole period requested. For the years ending 31 March 1991-92 and 1992-93, 3,727 and 3,627 staff in this geographical area were employed on such work. The comparable figure on plans for the current financial year is 3, 350 staff. The United Kingdom figures for the same three years are 9, 612, 9,429 and 9,500 respectively.
Correspondence
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of correspondence received by (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's agencies receives (i) an
acknowledgement within five days and (ii) a substantive reply within 15 days.
Sir John Cope [pursuant to his reply, 20 January 1994, c. 779] : I much regret that the figure relating to the proportion of letters to Treasury Ministers receiving a substantive reply within 15 days was incorrect. In 1993 Treasury Ministers replied to 58 per cent. of ministerial letters handled within central Treasury within the target set.
This mistake arose as a result of a flaw in our procedures for logging completed correspondence casework against new targets, and has only recently come to light. Action has been taken to ensure that in future our records are complete and accurate. I apologise for having inadvertently given a wrong figure in my original answer to the hon. Member.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Deportees
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to which countries deportees escorted in 1993 and 1994 to date by the police forces of (a) South Yorkshire, (b) North Yorkshire, (c) West Yorkshire and (d) Humberside were being deported ; and what was the cost for each police force authority involved.
Mr. Charles Wardle : No in-flight escorts for deportees were provided by the police forces of South Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire or Humberside in 1993 or 1994 to date.
Drugs
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people in (a) Doncaster and (b) South Yorkshire convicted of drug offences in each year for the past four years were under 21 years of age ;
(2) how many people in (a) Doncaster and (b) South Yorkshire have been convicted of drug offences in each year for the past four years.
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Mr. Maclean : The information is given in the table. The 1993 data will not be available until autumn 1994.
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Number and percentage of persons convicted of indictable drug offences at
Doncaster Petty Sessional Division<1>
and South Yorkshire Police Force Area and England and Wales 1989 to 1992
Doncaster<1> South Yorkshire England and Wales
Year/Age |Number |Per cent.|Number |Per cent.|Number |Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989
Under 21 |16 |17 |33 |14 |5,014 |22
All ages |92 |100 |233 |100 |22,578 |100
1990
Under 21 |22 |25 |56 |22 |6,298 |26
All ages |87 |100 |252 |100 |24,558 |100
1991
Under 21 |26 |28 |84 |25 |6,251 |27
All ages |92 |100 |339 |100 |23,455 |100
1992
Under 21 |47 |26 |156 |29 |5,772 |25
All ages |181 |100 |539 |100 |22,677 |100
<1> Includes cases heard at the Crown Court where the committing court was
Doncaster psd.
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many juveniles were cautioned for drug-related offences in north Yorkshire in each year since 1990.
Mr. Maclean : The information is given in the table. The 1993 data will not be available until autumn 1994.
Number of juveniles-persons aged 10 to under 17
years-cautioned for
indictable drug offences in North Yorkshire Police Force
Area
1990-1992
Year |Juveniles aged|Persons
|10 to under 17|All ages
------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |3 |49
1991 |26 |140
1992 |41 |266
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department is currently conducting into drug usage and drugs prevention in rural areas.
Mr. Maclean : I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Spring) on 15 March, Official Report, column 597. In addition to the telephone survey in Greater Manchester and its rural hinterland, information about self-reported drug misuse by people living in rural areas was collected in the 1992 British crime survey. Work is in hand to compare the data for inner-city, other urban and rural areas, which will be reported on in due course.
My Department has also part-funded some locally managed research in rural east Sussex, the results of which were published in a report by Dr. Russell Newcombe "Drug Use in the North Wealden District of East Sussex : A report on the investigation of the nature and prevalence of illicit drug use among young people in a rural area of East Sussex in 1993", available from the East Sussex Drugs Advisory Council ; and is funding a Somerset county youth service project which involves, among other things, research to estimate the prevalence of drug misuse among the local population and the transient population of young holiday-makers and to develop primary preventive work in response.
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Unlawful Killing (Children)
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing (a) how many men and (b) how many women have been convicted of unlawful killing of a child during the last three years for which figures are available ; and how many such men and women were (i) under the age of 16 years, (ii) 16 to 18 years and (iii) aged between 18 and 21 years.
Mr. Maclean : The available information, which relates to offences of homicide, is contained in the following table :
Number of suspects convicted of
offences currently recorded as
homicide where the victim was a
person under the age of 16 years
|1990|1991|1992
-----------------------------------
Total suspects
Male |30 |31 |24
Female |10 |22 |5
Age of suspect
Aged 10 to 15
Male |2 |1 |-
Female |- |1 |-
Aged 16 to 17
Male |- |1 |1
Female |1 |2 |-
Aged 18 to 20
Male |2 |8 |5
Female |1 |3 |1
The years shown relate to the year the offence was originally recorded by the police and figures are as at 27 August 1993. They are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and the courts, or as further information becomes available.
Remand Prisoners
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, for the latest date available, the number of remand prisoners held in police cells by each of the police forces in Humberside, and the
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three counties of Yorkshire ; if he will list the police stations concerned ; and what were the corresponding figures 12 months ago.Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Butler to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 22 March 1994 :
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the Office, to reply to your recent Question about the number of remand prisoners held in police cells by the Humberside and three Yorkshire police forces.
On 17 March 1994, the latest date for which complete information is available, no remand prisoners were being held in police cells in the Humberside, West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire police areas. In the South Yorkshrie police area, 31 remand prisoners were being held in the following police stations :
Doncaster 4
Rotherham 11
Thorne 5
Sheffield (Bridge Street) 11
This time last year there were no prisoners in police cells.
Child Witnesses
Mr. Jonathan Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish the research findings from the project currently being conducted by Graham Davies at the University of
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Leicester : "Evaluation of New Provision for Children Witnesses, 1991" ; and if he will outline the issues and scope of the research evaluation.Mr. Maclean : The research project to which my hon. Friend refers is due to publish its findings in late-1994. The project is : monitoring and observing child witnesses giving evidence ; sampling a range of opinion among legal, social service and police personnel and also child witnesses ; evaluating sample video-taped interviews to test for their adherence to the memorandum of good practice, the voluntary guidance issued with the Criminal Justice Act 1991 concerning good practice in the recording of interviews with child witnesses ; and analysing information from the Lord Chancellor's Department relating to the number of cases involving children and the outcomes of those cases, in order to assess the effectiveness of the provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 1991 relating to the evidence of children.
Firefighters
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many firefighters have been injured in south Yorkshire, north Yorkshire, west Yorkshire and Humberside in the line of duty in each year since 1980.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The numbers of firefighters killed or seriously injured in the line of duty each year since 1980 are shown in the table.
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Table showing the number of firefighters seriously injured<1> or killed in the line of duty, 1980 to 1992
South Yorkshire North Yorkshire West Yorkshire Humberside
Year |Fatalities|Serious |Fatalities|Serious |Fatalities|Serious |Fatalities|Serious
|injuries |injuries |injuries |injuries
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |- |20 |- |9 |- |27 |1 |16
1981 |- |35 |- |4 |- |32 |- |10
1982 |- |16 |- |4 |- |24 |- |27
1983 |- |18 |- |2 |1 |31 |- |14
1984 |- |26 |- |8 |- |39 |- |8
1985 |- |33 |- |4 |- |22 |- |14
1986 |- |14 |- |5 |- |40 |- |16
1987 |- |12 |- |11 |- |51 |- |9
1988 |- |19 |- |- |- |42 |- |12
1989 |- |32 |- |2 |- |34 |1 |12
1990 |- |27 |- |5 |- |32 |- |7
1991 |- |23 |- |13 |- |45 |- |11
1992<2> |- |23 |- |23 |- |38 |- |4
<1> Serious injuries are defined as those which result in absence of duty for at least one month.
<2> Provisional figures.
Source: Home Office fire statistics.
Operation Barnard
Mr. Gerrard : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police personnel were used in Operation Barnard in Wanstead on 16 February ; and what was the total cost of the operation.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that Operation Barnard involved just over 700 officers. The additional costs of the operation are estimated to be over £200,000. Information on the cost of support services and other resources involved is not available.
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Disabled Employees
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many registered disabled people are employed in his Department ; and what percentage this is of the total.
Mr. Michael Howard : The information requested is set out in the annual disability report contained in the magazine "Independent", which was published on Friday 18 March. A copy of this has been placed in the Library. The report shows that 182.5 of the staff currently employed by the Home Office are registered disabled, representing 0.4 per cent. of all staff.
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Yugoslavia (Asylum Seekers)
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people from the former Yugoslavia have applied, to date, to the United Kingdom for asylum ; how many have been (a) granted asylum, (b) granted exceptional leave to remain, (c) application still under consideration and (d) application refused ; how many of those applicants who have been refused asylum or exceptional leave have, to date, been removed from the United Kingdom ; to which country such people were removed ; how many refusals are currently subject to appeal ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Information for the period 1 January 1992 to 28 February 1994 is given in the table. The large majority of applications made in the period--an estimated 6,640 at 28 February 1994--are under consideration and the applicants are being allowed to stay in the meantime.
Information on the destination of cases removed is not readily available. No nationals of the former Yugoslavia are being removed to war zones. The number of refusals of former Yugoslav cases curently subject to appeal is not separately identifiable in the statistics. In addition to consideration of asylum applications, the Government have, under arrangements announced in November 1992 and June 1993, offered to receive 1,000 particularly vulnerable individuals from the former Yugoslavia and their close dependants, an estimated total of 4,000 people in all. As at 18 March 1994, 601 particularly vulnerable individuals and 810 dependants had arrived under these arrangements. Before this, 68 sick and wounded ex-detainees from Bosnia arrived in September 1992.
Decisions<1> on applications<1> received for asylum in the United
Kingdom
from nationals of the former Yugoslavia, excluding dependants,
1 January 1992 to 28 February 1994
|Number
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Asylum applications<2> |7,685
Decisions<2><3><4> |455
Recognised as a refugee and granted asylum |5
Not recognised as a refugee but granted exceptional
leave to remain<5> |175
Refusals |270
Refused asylum and exceptional leave-after full
consideration |20
Refused under paragraph 180F<6> |155
Refused on safe third country grounds<7> |95
Applications pending<4> |6,640
Removals:
Port cases
Safe third country |65
Other |5
In-country cases<8> |n/a
<1> Provisional figures rounded to the nearest five.
<2> Figures exclude information on applications made overseas.
<3> Decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the
period.
<4> Information on withdrawals is not readily available and not
shown in the table.
<5> Usually granted for a year in the first instance, subject then
to further review.
<6> For failure to provide evidence to support the asylum claim
within a reasonable period, including failure to respond to
invitation to interview to establish identity (paragraph 101 prior
to 26 July 1993).
<7> Refused on the grounds that the applicant had arrived from a
safe
third country.
<8> Information for enforcement cases is not available for the
entire period. However, during the periods 1 January 1992 to 31
December 1992 and 1 August 1993 to 28 February 1994 the total
number of removals in after entry enforcement cases, including also
voluntary departures, was three.
Mrs. Liberty Cloke
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the husband in the United Kingdom of Mrs. Liberty Cloke--Ref : GV100/21136--is to be interviewed for a second time ; when the British embassy in Manila requested his Department to arrange a second interview with Mr. Cloke ; and what further information is required of Mr. Cloke to enable the British embassy in Manila to reach a decision on Mrs. Cloke's application to join her husband in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The request from the British embassy in Manila for a further interview with Mr. Cloke was received by the Home Office on 17 March 1994. Mr. Cloke will be interviewed as soon as possible to obtain further information which will enable the entry clearance officer to assess whether Mr. Cloke meets the requirements of the immigration rules for entry as a spouse.
Refugee Settlement Research Project
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the research findings from the refugee settlement research project will be released.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) on 8 March, Official Report, column 176.
Immigration
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of 28 February, Official Report, column 545, what improvements are being made to procedures in his Department to ensure determinations favourable to the applicant are sent promptly to British posts overseas.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Arrangements are already in place to ensure that determinations are sent promptly and no changes to those arrangements are contemplated at present.
Armley Prison
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the provision of adequate toilet facilities and the cessation of slopping out to be completed at Armley prison.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 21 March 1994] : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Butler to Mr. Bob Cryer, dated 22 March 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the Office, to reply to your recent Question about the provision of toilet facilities at Leeds prison.
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Prisoners in B, E and F Wings now have access to toilets either in or directly from their cells. Proposals for refurbishing the remaining wings envisage that, by February 1996 all prisoners at Leeds will have similar access to toilets and that slopping out will therefore no longer be necessary.PRIME MINISTER
Punjab
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Prime Minister whether he raised the question of human rights in the Punjab with the Indian Prime Minister during his recent visit.
The Prime Minister : I discussed human rights in India with Mr. Narasimha Rao. The main focus of our discussion on human rights was, however, Kashmir.
Chief of Defence Staff
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Prime Minister on what date he was first informed that the position of Sir Peter Harding as Chief of the Defence Staff might be compromised.
The Prime Minister : I was first informed of the circumstances which led up to the resignation of Sir Peter Harding on Saturday 12 March.
Bosnia
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Prime Minister if, during his visit to Bosnia he sought to establish whether British-manufactured or designed shells, and British-licensed guns, have been used offensively against Bosnian civilians and British service men in Bosnia.
The Prime Minister : We have no evidence of British-made or British- designed weapons or ammunition being used offensively in Bosnia.
We understand that a formerly British-owned 1942 40mm Bofors gun has been surrendered under the ceasefire arrangements in central Bosnia.
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 22 March.
The Prime Minister : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall be having further meetings later today.
Sir Peter Tapsell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 22 March.
The Prime Minister : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall be having further meetings later today.
Second World War Commemorations
Sir Jim Spicer : To ask the Prime Minister whether he intends to invite German representation at the events commemorating the end of the second world war.
The Prime Minister : The commemoration in Britain on 7 May 1995 of the end of the second world war will be the occasion to celebrate the 50 years of peace and reconciliation we have enjoyed since 1945. During that time we have developed extremely close relations with our
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allies and partners in Germany. We very much hope Germany will play a full part and be represented at a high level in the 1995 commemorations, for which planning is now in hand.The focus of the 1995 commemorations will be :
a service in St. Paul's ;
a parade in central London ; and
a lunch or dinner for the Heads of State or Government who attend.
In addition we hope to arrange a variety of events throughout the country designed to build on the theme of reconciliation.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list for the last 12 months how many parliamentary questions he has referred to the Cabinet Office for answer ; and what percentage of parliamentary questions to him this represents.
The Prime Minister : In the past 12 months approximately 3 per cent. of my written parliamentary questions were referred to the Cabinet Office for answer.
Council of Europe
Sir Russell Johnston : To ask the Prime Minister whether he has replied to the letter from the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Catherine Lalumie re, concerning participation in the Council of Europe's campaign against racism, xenophobia, anti-semitism and intolerance ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : As far as I am aware I have not received such a letter, but I understand that Mrs. Lalumie re has written to the Lord Chancellor who will be replying shortly.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Human Rights
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his Department's views on the proposed changes to the European Court's treatment of human rights cases.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, 21 March, Official Report, column 31.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions in the last five years he has knowingly provided incomplete information in answers to parliamentary questions other than on grounds of disproportionate cost ; and on what subjects.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : My Department answers parliamentary questions on the basis set out in paragraph 27 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers".
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Diplomatic Representation
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in which independent countries of the world the United Kingdom is unrepresented by career members of the diplomatic service.
Mr. Goodlad : There is currently no resident representation by career members of the diplomatic service in the following independent countries : Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Georgia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iraq, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Laos, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Moldavia, Monaco, Nauru, Niger, Rwanda, St. Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, Surinam, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Western Samoa. Total countries : 49.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in which countries his Office is represented solely by locally engaged staff.
Mr. Goodlad : The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently represented solely by locally engaged staff and/or honorary consuls in 28 independent countries : Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea- Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Liechtenstein, Mali, Mauritania, Monaco, Niger, Rwanda, Surinam, Togo, Western Samoa. In three of those countries it is represented solely by locally engaged staff : Afghanistan, Burundi, Kiribati.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which posts of his office have been reduced since 1990 ; and by how many staff.
Mr. Goodlad : The information is in the table :
FCO posts overseas Reductions in United Kingdom based staff 1990-94 Country |Post |Reduction ------------------------------------------------------------------- Algeria |Algiers |3.0 Antigua |Antigua |1.0 Australia |Canberra |6.0 Austria |Vienna |3.0 Austria |Vienna CSCE |4.0 Bahamas |Nassau |5.0 Bangladesh |Dhaka |11.0 Barbados |Bridgetown |5.0 Belgium |Brussels |6.0 Belgium |Brussels JMO |2.0 Belgium |Brusselsukrp |4.0 Bolivia |La Paz |1.0 Brazil |Sao Paulo |1.0 Bulgaria |Sofia |2.0 Burma |Rangoon |2.0 Cameroon |Yaounde |2.0 Canada |Montreal |1.0 Chile |Santiago |2.0 China |Peking |3.0 China |Shanghai |1.0 Costa Rica |San Jose |1.0 Cuba |Havana |5.0 Cyprus |Nicosia |2.0 Czech Republic |Prague |8.0 Denmark |Copenhagen |2.0 Ecuador |Quito |2.0 Egypt |Alexandria |1.0 Egypt |Cairo |4.0 Ethiopia |Addis Ababa |2.0 Fiji |Suva |1.0 Finland |Helsinki |6.0 France |Lyons |1.0 France |Marseilles |1.0 France |Paris |14.0 Germany |Berlin |28.0 Germany |Bonn |12.0 Germany |Dusseldorf |4.0 Ghana |Accra |3.0 Greece |Athens |4.0 Guyana |Georgetown |2.0 Honduras |Tegucigalpa |1.0 Hungary |Budapest |5.0 India |Calcutta |2.0 India |New Delhi |10.0 Iraq |Baghdad |15.0 Italy |Rome |3.0 Jamaica |Kingston |4.0 Kenya |Nairobi |5.0 Kuwait |Kuwait |1.0 Malaysia |Kuala Lumpur |3.0 Malta |Valletta |1.0 Mauritius |Port Louis |2.0 Mexico |Mexico City |3.5 Morocco |Rabat |3.0 Netherlands |The Hague |1.0 Nigeria |Lagos |5.0 Norway |Oslo |2.0 Oman |Muscat |1.0 Pakistan |Karachi |3.0 Panama |Panama City |1.0 Paraguay |Asuncion |1.0 Peru |Lima |1.0 Poland |Warsaw |7.0 Qatar |Doha |1.0 Saudi Arabia |Riyadh |2.0 Senegal |Dakar |1.0 Sierra Leone |Freetown |1.0 Singapore |Singapore |5.0 Solomon Islands |Honiara |1.0 South Africa |Pretoria |3.5 Spain |Barcelona |1.0 Spain |Madrid |3.0 Sri Lanka |Colombo |1.0 Sudan |Khartoum |8.0 Sweden |Stockholm |1.0 Switzerland |Berne |1.0 Switzerland |Geneva Ukdel |0.5 Switzerland |Geneva Ukmis |1.5 Tanzania |Dar Es Salaam|1.0 Trinidad |Port of Spain|2.0 Turkey |Ankara |2.0 Turkey |Istanbul |3.0 United Arab Emirates |Abu Dhabi |1.0 United Arab Emirates |Dubai |4.0 Uruguay |Montevideo |5.0 United States of America |Chicago |3.0 United States of America |Los Angeles |1.0 United States of America |New York Btio|4.5 United States of America |New York Cg |1.5 United States of America |New York Jmo |6.0 United States of America |Washington |47.0 Venezuela |Caracas |3.0 Yugoslavia |Belgrade |3.0 Zaire |Kinshasa |5.0 Zambia |Lusaka |5.0 Zimbabwe |Harare |3.0 Kiribati |Tarawa |1.0 Congo |Brazzaville |1.0 Canada |Edmonton |1.0 Gabon |Libreville |2.0 Somalia |Mogadishu |3.0 Liberia |Monrovia |3.0 Afghanistan |Kabul |3.0 Nigeria |Kaduna |6.0 Yemen |Aden |3.0
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs where his Department proposes to open new posts during the coming year.
Mr. Goodlad : There are no plans at present to open new posts staffed by United Kingdom-based officers. However, discussions are well advanced with the Japanese and South Korean authorities about proposals to open trade offices staffed by locally engaged officers in Nagoya and Pusan respectively.
BBC World Service
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to increase the service given by the BBC world service and by BBC world service television in the coming year.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We are discussing with the world service plans for the 1994-97 triennium funding period. These include increases in broadcasting to Russia and to central Asia with the introduction of Uzbek and Azeri services. World Service Television operates commercially and decisions about its development are a matter for the BBC. It has the support in overseas markets of the official commercial and information services available to exporters.
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