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Mr. Dorrell: My hon. Friend's question brings Meopham to new prominence in the nation's affairs, and I am sure that that fact will be widely welcomed in Meopham.
National Lottery
15. Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what recent representations he has received about the distribution of national lottery funds to voluntary organisations which are concerned with the encouragement of social, cultural and sporting activities involving the active participation of people with disabilities. [28757]
Mr. Sproat: I have received a number of representations about the distribution of national lottery proceeds and disability issues.
Dr. Godman: Does the Minister agree that far too many theatres, cinemas, galleries, sports halls and swimming pools are utterly inaccessible to disabled people? Should not the question of accessibility loom large whenever grant applications are assessed by those in charge of such funds?
Mr. Sproat: Yes, certainly; the hon. Gentleman makes a good point. The Sports Council has been specifically instructed by my right hon. Friend to take disability issues, including access, very much into consideration when grants are being made.
Fine Art Collections
17. Mr. Carrington: To ask the Secretary of Statefor National Heritage what proposals he has to enablethe national museums to expand their collections offine art. [28760]
Mr. Sproat: It is for the trustees of individual museums to decide on acquisitions. The Government have a number of measures that help to develop the national collections. They include the funding of the national heritage memorial fund, Waverley system of export controls and important tax concessions. The national collections may also benefit from the net proceeds of the national lottery.
Mr. Carrington: Now that national lottery money seems to be used, rightly, to save Waverley-quality items
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being exported, the problem in our national museums is keeping collections balanced. They must obviously include Waverley-quality items but also items of lesser quality, to show the full range of fine arts. Will my hon. Friend review the purchase money available to museums, to ensure that they are able to keep a balanced collection in future?Mr. Sproat: My hon. Friend is entirely right to stress the importance of balanced collections. He may be sure that the Government keep all such matters under constant review.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Scott Inquiry
28. Mr. Winnick: To ask the Attorney-General what further approaches he has received from Lord Justice Scott. [28732]
The Attorney-General (Sir Nicholas Lyell): It is the intention of the inquiry that any exchanges with individual witnesses should be confidential. That is to be respected.
Mr. Winnick: Although we are not given fuller information from the Attorney-General, is it not deplorable that that distinguished judge is being rubbished by the Government machinery, by people who accuse him of not understanding the realities of ministerial life? Is not it unfortunate that Lord Justice Scott is being caught up in the Tory civil war?
The Attorney-General: Neither the hon. Gentleman nor the House is getting any misleading information from me on that topic. If the hon. Gentleman had taken the trouble to read my statement to the inquiry and tried to understand a little more carefully the subject, for example, of public interest immunity certificates, there would be rather less misleading material going around generally.
Mr. McLoughlin: Did my right hon. and learned Friend hear the comments of Lord Justice Scott following the leaking of the report by the BBC, when Lord Justice Scott said that the BBC had demeaned its status and reputation? Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that, if such a thing were said about members of the Government, Opposition Members would demand resignations? Should we not be looking for resignations from the BBC?
The Attorney-General: I well understand why Sir Richard Scott said what he did. The purpose of confidentiality is fairness. Deliberately to break a confidence when it is known to be likely to be unfair is demeaning to any aspect of the media.
Mr. John Morris: Will the Attorney-General confirm his intention, when he announced the Scott inquiry nearly 20 months ago, that it should be conducted as speedily as possible? The report's publication is a movable feast. What is the latest publication forecast? Will the Attorney-General confirm that no ministerial considerations, including the calling of a snap election, will inhibit the judge's sole discretion as to the date of publication?
While I deprecate the publication of leaks, will the
Attorney-General confirm their accuracy, as apparently indicating the judge's prima facie views, before hearing
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any further submissions by criticised Ministers? Has the Attorney-General himself received part of the report, and has he responded?The Attorney-General: The right hon. and learned Gentleman, uncharacteristically, obviously did not listen to my first answer. If he did, he, as much as anybody else, should respect the confidence requested by Sir Richard Scott. The date and timing of any publication of Sir Richard Scott's report is a matter for Sir Richard.
Director of Public Prosecutions
29. Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the time within which the Director of Public Prosecutions is expected to reply substantively to letters from hon. Members. [28733]
The Solicitor-General (Sir Derek Spencer): The target which my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General has agreed with the Crown Prosecution Service for replies to correspondence from hon. Members is 15 working days. In 1994, that target was met in 77 per cent. of cases.
Mr. Campbell-Savours: Why did it take three months for the Director of Public Prosecutions to tell me that she intended to take no action on the evidence of Miss Eileen McAndrew, secretary to Ms Morgan Thomas--one of the so-called noble Lord Archer's insider dealing friends? Is the reality that this man will never be prosecuted for what we all know was criminal activity?
The Solicitor-General: I am very surprised at the hon. Gentleman's petulant tone. In letters which he wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions he was at pains to acknowledge her independence. Indeed, he said expressly that that was why he was writing to her rather than to anyone else. The director has considered the matter extremely carefully, independently, having in mind that the primary responsibility for prosecuting and investigating insider dealing cases lies with the DTI. She has decided, as she told the hon. Gentleman--he knows this full well--not to ask the police to carry out investigations at this stage. The decision is a matter for the director acting independently, and neither Law Officer has been involved in her decision.
War Crimes
30. Mr. Janner: To ask the Attorney-General what progress has been made on prosecutions under the War Crimes Act 1991. [28734]
The Attorney-General: Further to my previous answers to the House, seven cases have been closely examined by leading counsel and junior Treasury counsel, who have recommended certain further urgent inquiries. These are in hand. Decisions will be taken as soon as all relevant matters have been fully considered.
Mr. Janner: Can the Attorney-General confirm that, as one of the Sunday newspapers alleged, a committee has been set up that will recommend appropriate decisions, and will do so before the summer recess? In any event, will he tell the House how decisions will be announced? Will he confirm that the committee's recommendations will be made before the recess so that
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the House will be able to make such observations as may be proper, bearing in mind that a majority of the House is in favour of the Act but only, of course, if there is sufficient evidence to warrant prosecution?The Attorney-General: The matter is one not for committees of any nature but for the Director of Public Prosecutions, who may or may not seek my consent to any prosecution. If she does, it is a matter for me. I have explained that these matters are being examined extremely carefully. Decisions will be taken as soon as all relevant aspects have been fully considered.
Mr. John Marshall: My right hon. and learned Friend said that these matters would be dealt with urgently. May I underline the need to get on with them? It was wrong that the individuals concerned escaped prosecution in the 1940s, and they should not be allowed to escape in the 1990s.
The Attorney-General: I am happy to make it clear to my hon. Friend again that these matters are being progressed with all proper speed and care. I emphasise care as well as speed. Fairness and care are essential in such matters, as they are in relation to any prosecution.
Crown Prosecution Service
31. Dr. Spink: To ask the Attorney-General what are the latest statistics for the number of cases brought to court by the Crown Prosecution Service. [28735]
The Solicitor-General: During the year ending March 1995, cases in respect of 1,477,617 defendants were finalised by the Crown Prosecution Service. In the magistrates courts 161,429, or 11.7 per cent. of proceedings instituted, were discontinued compared with 12.5 per cent. and 13.5 per cent. for the two previous years.
Dr. Spink: I am indebted to my hon. and learned Friend for that answer. It confirms that the number of cases discontinued, when compared with the figures for the previous two years, has fallen. Will he welcome that trend and ensure that there is the closest possible liaison between the police and the CPS to encourage it and to build on it in future?
The Solicitor-General: I join my hon. Friend in welcoming that trend. He should be aware that the consultation survey that took place on discontinuance showed that in 74 per cent. of all cases discontinued, the police agreed with that decision in 96 per cent. of those cases. In 29 per cent. of discontinued cases,the CPS had no option but to discontinue because witnesses either did not attend or refused to go to court, or, in motoring offences, defendants produced documents at court. The complaint made by the hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw) that there is anger in the police service about the level of discontinuance is entirely wrong.
Mr. Hutton: But is the Solicitor-General satisfied with the growing number of cases that have been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service and subsequently taken on successfully as private prosecutions? Could it be argued that in those cases the CPS has let down many victims of crime?
The Solicitor-General: The hon. Gentleman is wrong in speaking of a growing number of cases. I repeat that it
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is not a growing number of cases. Such cases are few and far between. When the House passed the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 it was astute in leaving with citizens the right to initiate a private prosecution if they so wished. Only very occasionally does the private citizen feel obliged to do that.OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
South Africa
36. Mr. Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what aid is provided for sport in black South African townships. [28772]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Tony Baldry): We are currently funding, iconjunction with the British Council, an initiative with the United Kingdom Sports Council to develop sports administration and coaching, and we are about to embark with Voluntary Service Overseas, on a two-year sports development pilot programme. Both projects are aimed specifically at disadvantaged communities in the townships and rural areas.
Mr. Hain: I welcome the Minister's statement. Does he agree that the Springboks' victory on Saturday was a magnificent advertisement for the new multiracial South Africa? Does he also agree that it is vital that there is investment in black township sports so that standards can be raised? In that context, will he welcome the coming tour by the Soweto cricket club, which will play at Ynysygerwyn in my constituency next Wednesday? Will he fund such tours in future so that people will be given opportunities always denied to them historically?
Mr. Baldry: I do not think that anyone reporting on South Africa 10 years ago would have dreamed that a multiracial South African rugby team would win the world cup. The presence of President Mandela at the Springboks' game on Saturday was a further sign of South Africa coming back into the world. As I said, we are supporting the development of sport in townships. We want to support the development of South Africans who have been disadvantaged as a result of apartheid.
Our programme also aims to re-establish those sporting links between the UK and South Africa and to develop sport as a means of community development and bringing youth into organised structures. I certainly welcome the visit to the hon. Gentleman's constituency. We are helping to finance stands for a tour by English cricket teams to townships in South Africa later this year. So a lot is happening. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for National Heritage has just visited South Africa and has been able to take forward much of this work.
Mr. Harry Greenway: Is my hon. Friend aware that Archbishop Trevor Huddleston, who is a lifelong friend of mine and with whom I had a meal a week ago, is returning to South Africa to spend such days as are left to him? No one has done more for South Africa than Trevor Huddleston. He hopes to do just the sort of work that my hon. Friend describes to bring better sporting, cultural and educational opportunities to black children. Will my hon. Friend's funding be available to Archbishop Huddleston?
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Mr. Baldry: We have an aid package to South Africa of £100 million over three years, including some £60 million of bilateral aid. It is clear from my earlier answer that we are supporting worthwhile projects to help those who have been disadvantaged by apartheid fully to come back into the world. Of course, if Archbishop Trevor Huddleston comes forward with a project, we will look at it, as we look at any of the other projects, all of which we hope will be of worthwhile benefit to the people of South Africa.Aid (Award Criteria)
37. Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the criteria for the award of overseas aid. [28773]
Mr. Baldry: We give aid where it will be most effective in promoting sustainable economic and social development, focused on the poorest countries, particularly in the Commonwealth.
Mrs. Roche: As this is the 50th anniversary of the granting of the United Nations charter, does the Minister agree that it is about time that Britain switched its aid focus to countries that really are the poorest and which need basic health care and education? Instead of that, the Minister and the Government consistently give aid to rich countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Bermuda.
Mr. Baldry: The hon. Lady's question contains a number of misconceptions. First, nine out of 10 of the biggest recipients of our bilateral aid are among the poorest countries in Africa and Asia. Secondly, we have just had a question on South Africa, but if one followed the definition of "poorest", one would not give South Africa a penny of aid because it does not qualify as one of the poorest countries. We are about to have a question on renewable energy, but if we followed the hon. Lady's definitions of poverty, health care and education, we would not give a penny of aid to that. One must look at these matters sensibly. Our aid budget is focused on the poorest and on ensuring that they have sustainable economic development.
Mr. Lester: Anyone who had the good fortune to attend the ceremony in Westminster Hall this morning would know that Britain's convincing commitment to the United Nations has been steady from the moment that it started until now. Equally, my hon. Friend knows that those of us who travel the world and who have seen the working of the British aid programme know that the most substantial part of it goes to the poorest countries and the people within them, and that it wholly supports the Government's policy on aid.
Mr. Baldry: As my hon. Friend will know, a recent Opposition Supply day debate on overseas development was thinly attended by Opposition Members. I think that only about four or five bothered to turn up. I do not think that any hon. Member challenged a single Overseas Development Administration project as not being worth while. As hon. Members travel the world and see the ODA's work, they recognise that the projects bring real value to poor countries, helping them to achieve sustainable economic development.
Miss Lestor: I should like to follow up the question by my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green
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(Mrs. Roche) and the Minister's answer. Last week the Prime Minister received a letter from representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states, who represent 70 of the world's poorest countries. The letter urged Britain to reconsider plans to slash its contribution to the EDF by 30 per cent. As the Foreign Secretary has praised the EDF as an effective and efficient channel for European Union aid, will the Government at the Cannes summit this week, and even as I speak, reverse their policy and respond positively to the ACP request?Mr. Baldry: We have been over this territory before many times. As the hon. Lady knows, we are seeking to strike an appropriate balance between multilateral and bilateral aid. She may have seen press reports today stating that leading UK aid organisations such as Action Aid are already expressing concern leading up to the Cannes summit that far too much of our budget will be spent on multilateral rather than on bilateral aid. As I have said, we must strike an appropriate balance. We have a substantial aid programme of £2.2 billion, and we will strike that balance with the EDF programme.
Sir David Steel: Does the Minister welcome the decision of the G7 leaders in Halifax last week that future trends in military and other unproductive spending should be taken into account by international institutions in their granting of aid? Will that become part of the Government's policy?
Mr. Baldry: It always has been. Good government has always been one of the criteria that we look at when determining aid programmes. We also look to see whether countries are engaging in excessive military spending when we are determining bilateral country programmes. That will continue to be the case.
Mr. Jacques Arnold: One of the advantages of bilateral aid is that we can properly target it. Other than for emergencies, is not the advantage of bilateral aid the fact that we can target it on projects that help people in third world countries to develop their own way of making a living? Surely British technology, particularly in agriculture, is invaluable for that purpose.
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Mr. Baldry: Yes, and our bilateral aid programme has been widely praised. The 1994 Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development review of the United Kingdom's aid programme recognised its concessionality and the way in which it focused on the poor. Britain has the fifth largest aid budget in the world and, apart from the four leading aid donors, no other country devotes so much of its budget to the poor and the poorest countries. That is why we need to ensure that we retain a substantial bilateral aid programme.Renewable Energy
38. Mr. Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the renewable energy projects, other than the Pergau dam, which have received funding from the Overseas Development aid programme. [28774]
Mr. Baldry: Since 1987, the ODA has directly funded 46 renewable energy projects. A list of those projects has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Cook: I am grateful to the Minister for that information, but with particular attention to the Pergau dam and the likes of that, will he acknowledge that such projects are costly, first, in terms of capital cost incurred and, secondly, in terms of the voltage drop that is incurred as power is transmitted over a wide network? Does he acknowledge that it is much better to use small-scale, renewable schemes that supply power directly at the point of need in any country, whether it be from wind, water or the sun?
Mr. Baldry: In other countries, as here, different energy needs will be met in different ways. There has never been any inherent criticism of the Pergau dam project or of its inherent worth. The criticism has involved the way in which it was funded. The hon. Gentleman must be careful about this. It is not for us to seek to impose on other countries solutions to their energy problems or to other problems that they face. That has a smack of latter-day imperialism. It is for such countries to come forward with what they think are their solutions to their problems and, where we can, we will assist and support. Often that will involve mini or micro hydrowater projects such as he suggests.
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