| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Boswell : My right hon. Friend collects no information about individual students' debts or overdrafts. The "Student Income and Expenditure Survey" included questions to students in the sample about overdrafts. A copy of the report of the survey, commissioned by the Department, was placed in the Library on 16 December. My right hon. Friend keeps the repayment arrangements for student loans under review. He believes it right that students should contribute towards their own maintenance costs. The repayment terms of the student loan facility are generous. Graduates can defer repayments for a year at a time if their income is below 85 per cent. of average earnings. For those with incomes above that
level--currently about £14,000 a year--the level of repayments should be manageable.
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will conduct an analysis of mature student borrowing by year of course undertaken.
Column 263
Mr. Boswell : My right hon. Friend does not propose to undertake such an analysis.
Education Institutions
Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many education institutions he and other Ministers in his Department have visited since the 1992 general election.
Mr. Patten : The information requested is as follows :
|Number
---------------------------------------------
Schools |237
Further education institutions |44
Higher education institutions |53
Total |334
Drug Abuse (Pupil Exclusions)
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils have been permanently excluded from schools in the north Warwickshire area for drug abuse in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Forth : Figures for each of the last 10 years are not available. Information on permanent exclusions from maintained schools in England was collected by the Department over a two-year period, starting with the summer term 1990, under the national exclusions reporting system--NERS. In England, 81 pupils were excluded for drug-related offences and solvent abuse in year one and 179 in year two. It is not possible to provide an area breakdown of the figures because of assurances given as to confidentiality.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Slaughter Licences
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans she has to introduce legislation which would require the purchaser of animals for slaughter to be licensed.
Mr. Soames : I have no such plans.
Pesticides Safety Directorate
Mr. Clappison : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what targets have been set for the pesticides safety directorate in 1994-95.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I have set the pesticides safety directorate the following targets relating to relocation, financial performance, efficiency, the delivery of pesticides approval services and policy advice in 1994-95 :
To relocate the agency from its present three sites to a single site in York in the Autumn of 1994.
To achieve 100 per cent. recovery of full costs and an overall efficiency gain of 2 per cent.
To meet the targets for delivery of services as specified :
Pesticides approval |Applications |Maximum
|completed |processing time
|(working days)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Technical Stream
Normal |280 |335
Administrative Fast |500 |20
Fast |265 |115
Experimental Permit |40 |190
Off label |100 |60
Upgrade |160 |-
Departmental Exp. Permit |12 |255
Departmental Normal |4 |335
Committee Stream
Sift |8 |120
Active Ingredient |12 |235-275
The processing time targets apply to 80 per cent. of new applications.
The scientific quality of the directorate's work on the evaluation of pesticides will be monitored by the chairman of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides.
Details of performance in 1993-94 will be set out in the agency's annual report and accounts to be published during July 1994.
PRIME MINISTER
Meigle
Q7. Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to visit Meigle.
The Prime Minister : I have no immediate plans to do so.
Aberdeen
Q9. Mr. Raymond S. Robertson : To ask the Prime Minister if he has any plans to visit Aberdeen in the near future.
The Prime Minister : I have no immediate plans to do so.
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 14 April.
Sir Peter Tapsell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 14 April.
The Prime Minister : This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
Kashmir
Mr. Cox : To ask the Prime Minister if he was able to clarify, in his recent discussions with the Indian Prime Minister, whether the Indian National Commission on Human Rights will be able to look at the situation in Indian-administered Kashmir ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : I discussed the Indian Human Rights Commission in general terms with the Indian Prime Minister during our meeting on 14 March. We have welcomed the Commission's decision to conduct its first investigation into the incident at Bijbehara in Kashmir in October. Its report is due to be published on 17 April.
Column 265
NATIONAL HERITAGE
England v Germany Football Match
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what advice he gave to the Football Association in relation to the proposed England v Germany match in Berlin ; and when he first became aware of the date of the match.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I have been asked to reply.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office gave no advice to the Football Association about staging the England v Germany football match in Berlin. We first became aware of the fixture in January of this year.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Somalia
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 24 February, Official Report, column 307, what action has been taken by the United Nations Development Programme and other United Nations agencies to ensure that there is funding to ensure the security of the heavy weapons being handed over by militias in Somaliland and to provide for the civilian rehabilitation of the disarmed militias.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The proposal prepared by the National Demobilization Committee--NDC--in northwest Somalia, with assistance from the UNDP/OPS contracted team of Zimbabweans--ZIMDAT--has now been refined and will be presented to donors at a briefing and discussion session in Nairobi on 22 April 1994. An appeal for funds will follow the briefing.
Burma
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress in Burma on human rights ; and what representations he is currently making to the Burmese Government for human rights improvements.
Mr. Goodlad : There has been no significant improvement in Burma's human rights record.
We and our European partners continue to press the ruling military regime-- the State Law and Order Restoration Council--to respect the human rights of all Burmese people, including ethnic minorities, and to release Aung San Suu Kyi and other political leaders. A resolution on these lines was adopted by consensus at the recent session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what stance was taken on Burma at the recent meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Mr. Goodlad : A consensus resolution was adopted at the recent session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, calling on Burma to release unconditionally Aung San Suu Kyi and other political leaders, and criticising the human rights violations reported by the special rapporteur, Professor Yokota.
Column 266
Hebron Massacre
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Israeli Government about Israeli terrorists and the Hebron massacre.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Clydebank and Milngavie (Mr. Worthington) on 30 March, Official Report, column 806.
Syria
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's current relations with Syria.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Since diplomatic relations were restored in 1990 relations have steadily improved. They are now good.
Occupied Territories
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current situation in the Gaza strip and Jericho regarding the withdrawal of Israeli military forces, in line with the timetable scheduled for the implementation of the declaration of principles ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I understand that the Israeli army has begun preparation for withdrawal from the Gaza strip and Jericho. The details of that withdrawal are still the subject of negotiations between the parties.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from the Palestine Liberation Organisation for Her Majesty's Government to join an international observer force to oversee withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza strip and Jericho ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We have received no request for participation in an observer force on withdrawal from Gaza and Jericho. We remain ready, together with our European Union partners, to contribute to a temporary international presence in the occupied territories as called for in United Nations Security Council resolution 904, if requested by the parties.
Korea
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current year's Team Spirit exercise in the Republic of Korea.
Mr. Goodlad : I have nothing to add to the answer I gave the hon. Gentleman on 16 March, Official Report, column 702.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the implications of the US decision to deploy Patriot missiles in South Korea for the United Kingdom's policy on Korea ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Goodlad : The deployment of Patriot missiles in South Korea is not a matter for us. But we have much
Column 267
sympathy for the considerations which have led the US Government and the Government of the Republic of Korea to agree that this defensive system should be deployed.Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest information he has received from the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and the Centre for Disarmament Affairs at the UN in New York regarding the inspection of nuclear sites in North Korea.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Clydebank and Milngavie (Mr. Worthington) on 13 April, at column 206 .
Ukraine
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current situation in the Ukraine and its commitment to accede to the non-proliferation treaty.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We welcomed the decision adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament on 3 February to ratify the strategic arms reduction talks treaty. We also welcomed the Parliament's decision to withdraw its reservation to article V of the Lisbon protocol of the START treaty, under which Ukraine undertakes to accede to the non-proliferation treaty in the shortest possible time. We have noted the affirmations by the Ukrainian President of Ukraine's intention to accede to the treaty, and we shall continue to urge her to do so at the earliest possible date.
Nuclear Weapons
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries that have not acceded to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : A list of the 27 countries which have yet to accede to the non-proliferation treaty has been deposited in the Library of the House.
Nuclear Non-proliferation
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries that have recently announced their intention to accede to the non-proliferation treaty.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Argentina and Algeria have recently announced their intention to accede to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. We have also welcomed the affirmations by the Ukrainian President of Ukraine's intention to accede to the treaty, and we shall continue to urge her to do so at the earliest possible date.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest situation in respect of accession to the non-proliferation treaty by the states of the former Soviet Union ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Those republics of the former Soviet Union which have yet to accede to the non-proliferation treaty are Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.
Column 268
Iraq
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations the International Atomic Energy Agency has made to Iraq regarding its obligations under the non- proliferation treaty ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : In Iraq's case, the terms of the fullscope safeguards agreement, concluded pursuant to its membership of the NPT, have been subsumed into United Nations Security Council resolutions requiring Iraq to surrender to the IAEA all its nuclear weapons-usable material for destruction or removal. Moreover Iraq may not in the future acquire, research or develop any materials relating to nuclear weapons. The IAEA is at present setting in place a monitoring regime to ensure that weapons programmes of this type cannot be regenerated in Iraq.
Israel
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the International Atomic Energy Agency made to Israel regarding inspection of nuclear bases ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Israel has concluded a safeguards agreement with the IAEA to cover its research reactor at Soreq. We continue to urge Israel to allay suspicions about its nuclear programme by acceding to the non- proliferation treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state, and concluding a fullscope safeguards agreement with the IAEA.
Yemen
Mr. Bates : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Yemen.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We fully support all the people of Yemen in their efforts to overcome the political crisis currently facing the country. We urge all parties to engage in dialogue and to work together for a peaceful and stable future for the people of Yemen.
Diplomats
Mr. Peter Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish figures recording the number of unpaid parking fines incurred by diplomatic missions in London during 1993.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The information requested by my hon. Friend is given in the table. The table also includes those international organisations which incurred unpaid fines. The figures may be reduced by late payments.
The total of 1,941 represents a 53.4 per cent. reduction from the 1992 published figure of 4,166 which has now been further reduced to 2,328 by late payments. This compares favourably with the same period in 1985 when almost 60,000 fines were recorded, and continues the downward trend in parking offences. We welcome this further reduction in unpaid parking fines and appreciate the co-operation of diplomatic missions and international organisations since the introduction of the parking policy. We shall continue carefully to monitor the level of unpaid fines, and take appropriate measures to ensure that fines are paid.
Column 269
Unpaid Parking Fines
Diplomatic Mission |1993 |1992
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nigeria |91 |167
India |71 |66
Saudi Arabia |60 |127
Bangladesh |59 |41
Pakistan |54 |57
German Federal Republic |51 |60
U.A.E. |51 |128
Jordan |50 |38
Hungary |50 |60
Spain |48 |60
Greece |46 |153
Zambia |45 |117
Oman |45 |59
Tanzania |40 |23
Sudan |39 |70
Egypt |35 |68
Cameroon |35 |70
Ghana |35 |48
Bulgaria |34 |33
Thailand |32 |80
Morocco |31 |48
Gambia |30 |63
Angola |30 |35
Bahrain |29 |18
Qatar |28 |52
Tunisia |28 |81
Poland |27 |69
Israel |27 |86
Romania |25 |62
Uganda |25 |7
France |25 |182
Gabon |23 |32
Uruguay |23 |61
Brunei |22 |24
Cyprus |21 |62
Cote D'Ivoire |21 |106
Kuwait |21 |85
Italy |21 |25
Russia |20 |226
Cuba |20 |11
Barbados |19 |29
Malawi |18 |18
Philippines |17 |10
Algeria |17 |34
Malaysia |15 |27
Zimbabwe |15 |38
China |14 |159
Turkey |13 |245
Portugal |12 |42
Brazil |12 |25
Afghanistan |11 |2
Lesotho |11 |10
Peru |11 |7
East Caribbean |10 |5
Mexico |10 |19
Syria |9 |22
Indonesia |9 |5
Sierra Leone |8 |6
Burma |8 |7
Zaire |8 |20
Mauritius |8 |38
Liberia |8 |4
Iran |7 |12
Kenya |7 |12
Libya |6 |44
Chile |6 |5
Czechoslovakia |6 |4
Trinidad |6 |2
Switzerland |6 |2
Botswana |6 |1
Yemen |5 |12
Bahamas |5 |1
Japan |5 |14
Costa Rica |5 |1
Fiji |5 |9
Belgium |5 |4
Jamaica |5 |11
Swaziland |5 |0
Iceland |3 |1
Korea |3 |85
Lebanon |3 |14
Tonga |3 |0
Guatemala |3 |7
Canada |3 |10
United States |3 |26
Finland |2 |16
Senegal |2 |19
Ireland |2 |13
Nepal |2 |11
Colombia |2 |2
Panama |2 |3
Paraguay |2 |10
Namibia |2 |0
Lithuania |2 |2
Austria |2 |5
Ethiopia |2 |14
Australia |2 |5
Mongolia |2 |4
Antigua |2 |0
South Africa |2 |5
Yugoslavia |2 |12
Malta |1 |5
Benin |1 |0
Bolivia |1 |0
Nicaragua |1 |2
Seychelles |1 |3
Ukraine |1 |0
Armenia |1 |2
Sweden |1 |4
Guyana |1 |7
Venezuela |1 |16
Vietnam |1 |2
Estonia |1 |0
Slovakia |1 |0
Netherlands |1 |2
Latvia |0 |0
Iraq |0 |11
Honduras |0 |5
Mozambique |0 |3
Grenada |0 |0
El Salvador |0 |1
Ecuador |0 |0
New Zealand |0 |1
Dominica |0 |0
Luxembourg |0 |3
Norway |0 |2
Singapore |0 |1
Denmark |0 |2
Slovenia |0 |0
Somalia |- |-
Croatia |0 |0
Belize |0 |0
Sri Lanka |0 |3
Papua New Guinea |0 |1
Argentina |0 |0
International Organisations
Comm Sec |17 |28
Cocoa |12 |0
EBRD |11 |8
African Dev Ban |9 |5
Coffee |2 |2
E C |1 |1
W E U |1 |1
I M O |0 |1
United Nations |0 |0
INMARSAT |0 |7
Sugar |0 |0
|1,941 |4,166
Mr. Peter Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many serious
Column 271
offences were allegedly committed in 1993 by persons entitled to diplomatic immunity ; and how many foreign diplomats were withdrawn from their posts in Britain in the past year as a result of alleged offences.Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Twenty-nine alleged serious offences by persons entitled to diplomatic immunity were drawn to the attention of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1993. "Serious offences" are defined in
Column 272
accordance with the report to the Foreign Affairs Committee "The Abuse of Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges (1985)" as offences falling into the category which would in certain circumstances attract a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment or more. The majority involved drinking and driving, and shoplifting.One diplomat was withdrawn from post in Britain as a result of alleged offences compared with eight the previous year.
Column 271
|1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Traffic offences<1>
(a) Drink/Driving |23 |24 |25 |28 |27 |24 |24 |15 |13
(b) Minor offences |87 |71 |86 |103 |75 |53 |45 |30 |31
|---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |----
Totals |110 |95 |111 |131 |102 |77 |69 |45 |44
Serious offences
1. Drink/Driving as (a) above |23 |24 |25 |28 |27 |24 |24 |15 |13
2. Theft/shoplifting |20 |12 |11 |10 |10 |8 |9 |9 |9
3. Others |9 |5 |4 |6 |3 |1 |7 |9 |7
|---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |----
Totals |52 |41 |40 |44 |40 |33 |40 |33 |29
Other minor offences |16 |6 |12 |8 |16 |7 |11 |2 |4
Parking<2>
Unpaid fines |59,625 |22,337 |14,437 |10,079 |7,831 |6,551 |5,145 |4,166 |1,941
Withdrawals
Diplomats withdrawn at FCO request |18 |17 |18 |14 |14 |6 |7 |8 |1 plus (1
|pending)
<1> NB Technically all traffic offences are "criminal" offences
<2> Pre-1985 White Paper: 1984 unpaid parking fines totalled 108,932
South Africa
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what remaining sanctions are being applied by Britain and other countries on South Africa ; and when it is intended that they should be lifted.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The following international sanctions against South Africa are being applied by Britain--with exceptions as indicated :
United Nations
A mandatory embargo under SCR 418 of 4 November 1977 on the export of arms and para-military equipment to South Africa.
European Union
(i) An embargo on exports of arms and para-military equipment to South Africa ;
(ii) An embargo on imports of arms and para-military equipment from South Africa ;
(iii) A refusal to cooperate in the military sphere (ie a continuing ban on eg joint military exercises).
Commonwealth
(i) The strict enforcement of the mandatory Arms Embargo against South Africa ;
(ii) Economic measures against South Africa as follows : (
(a) A ban on the sale and export of computer equipment capable of use by South African military forces, police or security forces ; (
(b) A ban on new contracts for the sale and export of nuclear goods, materials and technology to South Africa ;
(c) A ban on the sale and export of oil to South Africa ; (
(d) A strict and rigorously controlled embargo on imports of arms, ammunition, military vehicles and para-military equipment from South Africa ;
(e) An embargo on all military cooperation with South Africa.
Column 272
United Kingdom adherence ended following lifting of comparable European Union restrictions following the first meeting of the Transitional Executive Council on 7 December 1993.United Kingdom adherence ended following lifting of EC Oil Embargo in April 1992.
The lifting of United Nations embargoes is a matter for the Security Council. The European Union and Commonwealth have not yet agreed when their remaining restrictions will be lifted.
Somalia
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has received from the United Nations regarding the recent meeting of faction leaders in Nairobi to bring an end to the war in Somalia ; and if he will make a statement.
| Next Section
| Home Page |