| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Television Licence Fees
Mr. Coe: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will announce the television licence fees which will take effect from 1 April 1996. [3911]
Mr. Sproat: The Government announced on 4 November 1993, Official Report, columns 309-10, that they had decided to link increases in the television licence fee to the retail prices index for the remaining three years of the BBC's current royal charter.
Licence fee increases are based on the annual RPI figure as at the previous September, in the same way as pensions and other state benefits. Application of the RPI figure of 3.9 per cent. for the year September 1995 to the current unrounded licence fees produces new rounded totals of £90.00 for a colour licence and £30.00 for a black and white licence. The necessary regulations to bring these fees into force will be laid before the House in due course.
Scratchcards
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will estimate the number of national lottery outlets selling scratchcards to under 16-year-olds. [1970]
Mr. Sproat: My Department cannot estimate the number of national lottery outlets selling scratchcards to under 16-year-olds. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has, under section 11 of the National Lottery etc. Act 1993, issued a direction to the Director General of the National Lottery, that no licence should be granted which authorises the promotion of any lottery, which does not allow for sufficient controls to prevent persons who have not attained the age of 16 from participating. I have therefore asked the director general to write to the hon. Member, placing copies of his response in the Libraries of the House.
30 Nov 1995 : Column: 815
30 Nov 1995 : Column: 817
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
BBC World Service
Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the performance of the BBC World Service against its remit to explain, inform and educate those outside the United Kingdom of the affairs and nature of the United Kingdom. [3169]
Mr. Hanley: We have regular discussions with the World Service about its performance. The World Service is aware that informing overseas listeners about the United Kingdom is an important aspect of its remit. The content of programmes is a matter for the World Service.
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to require the BBC World Service to broadcast the "Today", "The World at One", "PM" and "The World Tonight" programmes. [3170]
Mr. Hanley: It is for the BBC World Service to decide which domestic BBC programmes are suitable for international broadcasting.
Mr. Faulds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to meet the managing director of the BBC World Service to discuss funding proposals for the next triennium. [3163]
Mr. Hanley: Detailed discussions on the next triennium will begin early next year.
Investors in People
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to achieve investor in people status; when it started the process; when it expects to achieve investor in people status; and if he will make a statement. [2976]
Mr. Hanley: The personnel and security command of the diplomatic wing is committed to seeking investor in people recognition and expects to be able to do so in April 1996. We regard this as a pilot project which, if successful, might lead to investor in people status later being sought by other commands and divisions of the diplomatic wing.
The aid wing is committed to achieving investor in people status, has completed initial diagnostic work and engaged an adviser.
Indonesia
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the pro-democracy groups in Indonesia which have been
30 Nov 1995 : Column: 818
funded in the last five years; and how much each group received. [3145]
Mr. Hanley: We provide no funding to any Indonesian political group, but we maintain contact with a range of groups in Indonesia through our embassy in Jakarta and have invited on occasion representatives to visit the UK under our sponsored visit scheme.
Angola
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the peace process in Angola. [1494]
Mr. Hanley [holding answer 29 November 1995]: We are encouraged that, a year after the signing of the Lusaka protocol, the ceasefire in Angola continues to hold and that the quartering of UNITA troops has now begun. However, there is still much to be achieved before the Lusaka protocol is implemented in full. We urge both parties to fulfil their obligations.
Nigeria
Mr. Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 21 November, Official Report, column 71, on what dates in 1995 Ahmed Abdullahi, a senior member of the Nigerian Provisional Ruling Council, was in Britain.
Mr. Hanley [holding answer 29 November 1995]: General Abdullahi made two visits to the UK in 1995. In February, he was given, exceptionally, a visa on compassionate grounds to receive urgent medical attention. He made a further private visit in September, having acquired a visa through misrepresentation. Procedures at the visa section of our high commission in Lagos have been reviewed.
World Conference on Women
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which aspects of the Beijing programme of action he is prioritising. [2911]
Mrs. Gillan: I have been asked to reply.
The Government attach a great deal of importance to the world conference on women, and we are fully committed to implementation of the "Platform for Action", its outcome document.
I have outlined a plan for implementation which includes a short, accessible public report of the conference, which will be available shortly; an invitation to non-governmental organisations to submit their views on priorities for implementation by 1 February 1996; and a report on progress on implementation one year after the conference. We await the outcome of the consultation exercise before setting any specific priorities for implementation.
30 Nov 1995 : Column: 819
Mr. Worthington:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action has been taken by the international community and the Rwanda Government to improve conditions at Kigali prison. [2556]
Mr. Hanley:
The international community provides food and medical treatment for prisoners in Kigali and other prisons in Rwanda. Over 500 women and children have already been transferred from Kigali prison to new facilities or to a new wing within the Kigali prison, built with international funding and the co-operation of the Rwandan Government. Adolescent prisoners and 1,500 adult prisoners are to be transferred to new facilities shortly.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the estimated cost to public funds of moving to mandatory land registration within five years. [2246]
Mr. Jonathan Evans:
The question concerns a specific matter on which the chief executive of HM Land Registry Executive Agency is best placed to provide the answer. I have accordingly asked the chief executive to reply direct.
Letter from John Manthorpe to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 30 November 1995:
30 Nov 1995 : Column: 820
Mr. Evans:
The question concerns a specific matter on which the chief executive of HM Land Registry Executive Agency is best placed to provide the answer. I have accordingly asked the chief executive to reply direct.
Mr. Prentice:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department which countries in the European Union limit the acreage of land to which any one owner may have title. [2245]
I have been asked by the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, to reply to your recent question concerning the estimated cost to public funds of moving to mandatory land registration within five years.
Land Registration is compulsory on sale throughout England and Wales for all conveyances and transfers of freehold land and all leases for a term of more than 21 years. Over 15.7 million titles are already registered and it is estimated that, under existing legislative provisions, approximately 18 million titles will be registered by the year 2000.
If the remaining unregistered titles were to be brought onto the public land register within five years by new, mandatory, compulsory registration provisions there would be no direct cost to public funds as the Land Registry is required to cover all its expenditures from fees paid by those who use its services. However, under existing legislation, public authorities, in their capacity as landowners, would be required to pay fees for registering their titles.
In September, a joint report by the Law Commission and the Land Registry (Law Com No 235; Cm 2950) was published which proposes extending the circumstances in which a disposition of unregistered land must be completed by registration, thereby bringing forward the time when all land in England and Wales would be brought onto the public land register. The report also recommends the introduction of a new fee structure to enable reduced fees to be charged to encourage voluntary registration. A draft Bill to give effect to these (and other) recommendations is included in the report and a suitable opportunity is being sought to bring this forward for consideration by Parliament.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |