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Fine Defaulters
Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) men and (b) women were imprisoned because of their failure to pay fines levied by the courts in the last year for which figures are available, and in each of the past 15 years. [26191]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The subject of this question related to matters undertaken by the Scottish Prison Service. I have asked its chief executive, Mr. E. W. Frizzell, to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from E. W. Frizzell to Dr. Norman A. Godman, dated 7 June 1995:
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton has asked me to reply to your Question about the number of individuals imprisoned because of their failure to pay fines levied by the courts.
Information on the number of individuals imprisoned because of their failure to pay fines is not available. The table below shows the number of fine default receptions in 1994 and the preceding fifteen years. Receptions do not equate to "persons received". For example, where several fine default sentences are imposed on an individual by one court in one day this is counted as one reception. Where fine default sentences are imposed on a person by two or more courts in one day, however, two receptions are recorded. In addition, if a fine default warrant is received for an individual already serving a custodial sentence then this is regarded as a separate reception.
Year |Male |Female|Total ------------------------------------ 1979 |5,737 |290 |6,027 1980 |7,047 |342 |7,389 1981 |6,444 |311 |6,755 1982 |9,030 |422 |9,452 1983 |8,772 |557 |9,329 1984 |8,431 |452 |8,883 1985 |10,829|735 |11,564 1986 |9,969 |657 |10,626 1987 |10,365|618 |10,983 1988 |9,170 |544 |9,714 1989 |8,644 |510 |9,154 1990 |6,455 |380 |6,835 1991 |7,295 |614 |7,909 1992 |7,792 |547 |8,339 1993 |8,878 |738 |9,616 1994<1> |8,174 |701 |8,875 <1> Information for 1994 is provisional.
Water Pollution
Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of recorded cases of water pollution caused by (a) agricultural activities and (b) industrial firms in each of the past five years; how many of these cases resulted in court hearings; how may individuals or parties were successfully prosecuted in the courts; and if he will make a statement. [26192]
Sir Hector Monro: The information for 1992 93 and 1993 94 is set out in the table. Figures are not available for previous years.
E
|1992-93|1993-94
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Cases of water pollution<1>
Agricultural |495 |663
Industrial |796 |801
Prosecutions for water pollution offences<1>
Brought |48 |54
Successful |40 |48
<1> Recorded by river purification boards.
Departmental Budget
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes he intends to make to the cash limits and running costs provision for 1995 96 within his responsibility. [27857]
Mr. Lang: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, I intend to make changes to two voted cash limits.
a. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 2, training programmes, roads and transport services, industrial and regional support, Scotland will be increased by £1,038,000 from £940,184,000 to £941, 222,000. The increase takes account of a transfer from the Department of Trade and Industry to provide a technology advisory service to small and medium-sized businesses.
b. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 5, housing and environmental services, Scotland will be increased by £420,000 from £416,648,000 to £417,068,000. The increase in provision is required to meet the administrative costs associated with the creation of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and will be found within existing Scottish Office provision.
Neither of these changes will therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Kashmir
16. Mr. Heppell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the burning of the mosque and village of Charar-e-Sharief in Kashmir on Thursday 11 May. [25447]
Mr. Baldry: We deeply regret the burning of the village of Charar-e- Sharief in Kashmir and its historic shrine. We have urged all sides to exercise restraint. We shall continue to try to promote a peaceful solution in Kashmir.
29. Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his assessment of the political situation in Kashmir. [25460]
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Mr. Baldry: We remain concerned by the situation in Kashmir. The Indian Government have made clear their intention of holding elections there before mid-July. Free and fair elections might provide the first step towards the genuine political process for which we have long called.
Middle East
21. Sir David Madel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the latest developments in the middle east peace process. [25452]
Mr. Douglas Hogg: We welcome the recent announcement of an agreed framework for negotiations on security arrangements between Israel and Syria, and are urging both sides to press on. We also welcome Israel's suspension of the planned expropriation of land in east Jerusalem and the prospect of Israel and the Palestinians reaching agreement on elections and redeployment in the west bank by 1 July. We have pressed successfully for the EU to play the lead role in monitoring the Palestinian elections. Bilaterally and through the EU we are continuing to support the Palestinian Authority. We are giving $2 million bilaterally towards the EU's new package of support for Palestinian recurrent costs.
34. Mr. Dunnachie: To ask the Secretary ofState for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on recent developments in the middle east. [25465]
Mr. Douglas Hogg: We welcome the recent announcement of an agreed framework for negotiations on security arrangements between Israel and Syria. We continue to urge all parties to the peace process to redouble their efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement.
Intergovernmental Conference
22. Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government will publish their contributions to the EU IGC reflections group; and if he will make a statement. [25453]
Mr. David Davis: The Council report to the study group, to which we contributed, has been published as a Command Paper, Cm 2866. We have also contributed a memorandum on European defence which was tabled in the House on 1 March, Official Report , columns1060 74. We will continue to keep Parliament fully informed of developments.
23. Mr. Mudie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Foreign Ministers of the other European Union countries about the preparations for the 1996 intergovernmental conference. [25454]
Mr. Hurd: I see my European counterparts regularly at meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council, and for bilateral discussions. We all met at Messina last Friday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Messina conference. I discussed the IGC in general terms with a number of colleagues.
25. Sir Thomas Arnold: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress was made in Messina by the IGC reflections group on2 June. [25456]
Mr. David Davis: The study group discussed the scope and structure of its work.
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33. Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's position on the 1996 intergovernmental conference. [25464]
Mr. David Davis: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out very clearly our approach to the IGC, at Leiden in September and in this House on 1 March.
British Citizens
24. Mr. Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are taken to protect the rights of British citizens domiciled in foreign countries. [25455]
Mr. Baldry: It is our duty to safeguard the interests of all British nationals overseas. The functions of consular officers are set out in the Vienna convention on consular relations which entered into force in the United Kingdom on 8 June 1972, a copy of which may be seen in the Library of the House.
Nuclear Non-proliferation Conference
26. Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement on the outcome of the nuclear non-proliferation conference. [25457]
Mr. David Davis: No. I have nothing further to add to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in the House on 16 May, Official Report , columns 151-61.
Atlantic Alliance
27. Mr. Hargreaves: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether European defence can and will continue to be developed within the framework of the Atlantic alliance. [25458]
Mr. David Davis: We are committed to maintaining NATO as the bedrock of our common defence. The NATO summit in January last year welcomed the emergence of a European security and defence identity as a means of strengthening the European pillar of the alliance while enabling European allies to take greater responsibility for their common security and defence.
The proposals set out by the Prime Minister in this House on 1 March, Official Report , columns 1060-74, would promote this objective by allowing Europeans to act together more effectively within the Western European Union.
Western European Union
28. Dr. Goodson-Wickes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultations he has had with his counterparts in Europe over the foreign policy implications of the creation of new defence forces within the WEU. [25459]
Mr. David Davis: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and I discussed this issue with our counterparts from WEU countries in Lisbon on 15 May. The objective is not to create new standing forces but to establish common arrangements which will allow existing national forces to cooperate more effectively together in both the WEU and NATO frameworks.
In this context, WEU Ministers welcomed the arrangements for land and maritime forces announced by France, Italy and Spain at Lisbon.
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Tibet
30. Mr. Trend: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations Her Majesty's Government have made about human rights in Tibet. [25461]
Mr. Goodlad: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last raised the issue of human rights in Tibet when he met Chinese Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister Qian Qichen in New York on 18 April.
Rwanda
31. Mr. Eastham: To ask the Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on recent developments in Rwanda. [25462]
37. Mr. Loyden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations with Rwanda. [25468]
Mr. Baldry: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the reply I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Ms Anderson).
Fissile Materials
32. Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the negotiations for a fissile materials cut-off convention are expected to start. [25463]
Mr. David Davis: We anticipate that negotiations will begin in June when the conference on disarmament reconvenes in Geneva.
Women's Rights
35. Mrs. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution he has made to the Government's report to the UN Beijing conference in September with regard to women's human rights. [25466]
Mr. Douglas Hogg: My Department was closely involved in the preparation of the UK national report for the Peking conference. We have also taken a leading role in seeing to negotiate acceptable human rights language in the draft platform for action to be agreed at the conference.
Arms Exports
36. Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will makea statement on the Government's policy on arms exports. [25467]
Mr. David Davis: It is our policy to support the sale of British defence equipment overseas where this is compatible with our political, strategic and security interests. We observe strict responsibility in our defence exports. We consider applications for licences to export defence equipment on a case-by-case basis in the light of established criteria including the international guidelines to which we are committed.
Kenya
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests he has received from the government of Kenya for assistance in the design of a new constitution appropriate for a multi-party democracy. [26636]
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Mr. Baldry: We have not received a formal request from the Kenyan Government to provide an expert to help take forward the process of constitutional review. We have indicated to the Kenyan authorities that we would give careful and sympathetic consideration to any such request.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the cases involving the harassment of opposition hon. Members which he has taken up with the Government of Kenya. [26637]
Mr. Baldry: We regularly take up charges of harassment and detention of opposition MPs at all levels of the Kenyan Government, frequently in response to particular events. It is, however, not possible to provide precise details of all cases taken up. We shall continue to raise our concerns with the Kenyan authorities, who can be in no doubt about the importance we attach to this matter.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Kenya about the opposition Member, Paul Muite. [27015]
Mr. Baldry: We have raised at the highest levels our concerns about the arrest and detention of opposition MPs, including Mr. Paul Muite.
Angola
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about progress in the peace process in Angola and the involvement of British peacekeeping forces. [27325]
Mr. Baldry: In its statement of 11 May, the Security Council welcomed the recent positive developments in Angola, in particular the meeting between President dos Santos and Dr. Savimbi in Lusaka on 6 May. This has given new impetus to the peace process. The UK has contributed a 600-strong logistics battalion to UNAVEM III for three months and provided training in mine clearance in preparation for the deployment of a Zimbabwean battalion.
Journalists' Facility Trips
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list facility trips abroad which have been granted to British newspaper journalists in the last two years. [25907]
Mr. Baldry: The details are as follows:
|Number in press
Date of visit |Destination |party
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-4 June 1993 |Romania |4 Journalists
|Bulgaria
|Macedonia
6-8 September 1993 |UAE Saudi Arabia |7 Journalists
22-24 October 1993 |Syria |6 Journalists
3-7 January 1994 |Lebanon |10 Journalists
|Israel
|Occupied Territories
|Jordan
|Malta
19-20 January 1994 |Turkey |2 Journalists
4-11 April 1994 |Brazil |2 Journalists
|Falklands
22-24 May 1994 |Russia |3 Journalists
|Ukraine
11-20 September 1994 |Thailand |2 Journalists
|Vietnam
|Hong Kong
|Japan
12-14 October 1994 |Kuwait |16 Journalists
|Bahrain
|Saudi Arabia
|Jordan
|Syria
|Turkey
4 December 1994 |former Yugoslavia |11 Journalists
3-9 January 1995 |Bangladesh |1 Journalist
|(4 others-Lahore/
|India | Islamabad leg only)
|Pakistan
13-14 February 1995 |Sweden |1 Journalist
11-12 April 1995 |Slovakia |2 Journalists
|Poland
In all cases, journalists are charged for air and ground transportation.
Nuclear Safeguards
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what new proposals he has to improve the surveillance of nuclear installations by the International Atomic Energy Authority. [25431]
Mr Hurd: The International Atomic Energy Agency has made proposals to strengthen its safeguards system. These will be discussed by the board of governors in June. The proposals now strengthen the agency's ability to detect undeclared nuclear activity. The UK strongly supports this initiative to strengthen safeguards and we will try to get it quickly agreed and put into effect.
Special Operations Executive
Mr. Jacques Arnold: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to release more records of the wartime Special Operations Executive. [27753]
Mr. Hurd: I said on 26 November 1993 that a review of the SOE archives had begun. Since then, as I have said in later answers in 1993 and 1994, the records on the far east, Scandinavia, the middle east and north Africa have been made available to the public. The next batch, on eastern Europe, will be opened by the Public Record Office on 9 June 1995. Further SOE records will be made available in due course.
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European Union
Mr. Jacques Arnold: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union. [27754]
Mr. David Davis: The information is as follows: monthly forecast of business for june 1995
June 1: Development Council
Energy Council
June 6: Internal Market Council
June 9: Research Council
June 12: FAC
June 13: FAC
Telecom
June 15: Fisheries Council
June 17: FAC
June 19: Transport Council
ECOFIN
June 20: Transport Council
Justice and Home Affairs Council
June 21: Justice and Home Affairs Council
Culture/Audiovisual Council
June 22: Environment Council
June 23: Environment Council
June 26: Agriculture Council
June 27: Agriculture Council
June 29: Social Affairs Council
2. The following subjects were discussed:
June 1: Development Council
Adoption of the agenda.
(Poss) Approval of the list of "A" items.
Follow-up to the statement of 18 November 1992 on co-operation and development up to 2000.
a) Complementarity between the development policies and actions of the Union and its Member States.
b) Consistency between the various Community policies.
c) Operational co-ordination.
Structural adjustment Draft resolution.
Regional Integration Draft statement.
Research in Developing Countries Draft statement.
Evaluation.
Development Co-operation with South Africa Draft conclusion. Basic rules on Humanitarian Aid.
Progress of discussions on:
Actions on rehabilitation assistance
Migration and Development
Rwanda.
Other business.
June 1: Energy Council
Internal market in electricity: Council conclusions.
Trans-European energy networks: possible common positions on guidelines and supporting measures.
Energy policy Green Paper: Council Resolution.
Thermie II: possible decision.
Energy efficiency of fridges and freezers: progress report. Under "Any Other Business": Energy Charter: progress report; and energy dimension to the Euro-Mediterranean Conference: exchange of views/possible Council Conclusions.
June 6: Internal Market Council
White Paper on extending Single Market to the CEEs: discussion amongst the 15 on White Paper, followed by session (and lunch) with CEE and Baltic Ministers.
Operation of the Single Market (routine presentation and discussion of implementation figures and annual report on Single Market, plus announcement of Commission plans for "Citizens Guide to Single Market").
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