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Saudi Arabia

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of democracy in Saudi Arabia. [11019]

Mr. Hanley: The Government of Saudi Arabia have taken significant steps in recent years to expand the consultative process. We welcome this progress.

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent meetings have been held with representatives of the Government of Saudi Arabia concerning human rights; and if he will make a statement. [11021]

Mr. Hanley: We and our European Union partners discuss human rights regularly with the Saudi Arabian Government.

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held with the Government of Saudi Arabia concerning the asylum request of Dr. al-Masari; and if he will make a statement. [10847]

Mr. Hanley: The presence and activities of Dr. al-Masari in the United Kingdom have been raised by the Saudi authorities on a number of occasions. The Saudis have been told that Her Majesty's Government disapprove of Dr. al-Masari's activities, but that he would be treated strictly in accordance with UK and international law.

23 Jan 1996 : Column: 167

Mobile Phones

Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the mobile telephones which have been supplied to his Department in each of the last eight years have been cloned; and on what dates. [11011]

Mr. Hanley: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, South (Mr. Donohoe) on 7 December 1995, Official Report, column 340. The overall incidence of cloning of phones issued to the diplomatic wing is listed:


No mobile phones used by the aid wing have been cloned.

World Service (Oman Transmitter)

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the impact on the BBC World Service of using the private finance initiative in the construction of the Oman transmitter; and what proposals he has to deal with the consequences of such a proposal. [11245]

Mr. Hanley: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 January, Official Report, columns 560-61. The impact on the BBC World Service of successfully applying the private finance initiative would be positive and the consequences would be a matter for discussion with them. The project referred to by the hon. Member is still the subject of detailed negotiations.

Sierra Leone

Mr. Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the feasibility of holding free and fair elections in Sierra Leone on 26 February. [10471]

Mr. Hanley: We have welcomed the assurance by the new Head of State that he intends to maintain the election timetable. Provided progress is maintained, we shall continue to provide support for the democratic transition.

Cameroon

Mr. Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the accession of Cameroon to the Commonwealth. [10472]

Mr. Hanley: The Government welcome Cameroon's entry into the Commonwealth. We look forward to Cameroon's contribution to the full range of Commonwealth activities.

23 Jan 1996 : Column: 168

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Executive Agencies

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action heads of his Department's executive agencies are taking to safeguard the provision of pre-retirement courses; and if he will make a statement. [9145]

Mr. Douglas Hogg: Responsibility for this matter is delegated to agency chief executives and I have asked them to reply to the hon. Member direct.

Letter from P. I. Stanley to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 23 January 1996:

Action to Safeguard the Provision of Pre-retirement Courses


Letter from T. W. A. Little to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 23 January 1996:



    The Minister has asked me to reply to your question on action being taken by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (known as the Central Veterinary Laboratory until 30 September 1995) to safeguard the provision of pre-retirement courses.
    MAFF provides pre-retirement courses which staff from the Veterinary Laboratories Agency attend as appropriate, and for which the Agency repays the service provider.

Letter from C. J. Lawson to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 23 January 1996:



    In my Chief Executive's absence, the Minister has asked me to reply to your question about pre-retirement courses for staff of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD). This is an operational matter for which my chief executive is responsible. (9145)
    The VMD has a formal agreement with the Establishments Group of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for the provision of personnel services. Under this agreement the Welfare branch of the Ministry is required to invite all VMD staff aged 57 or over (or otherwise if appropriate) to "Preparation for Retirement" seminars. This arrangement works well and VMD staff have benefited from the pre-retirement courses run by the Ministry. There are no proposals to change this arrangement.

Letter form G. K. Bruce to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 23 January 1996:


23 Jan 1996 : Column: 169

Letter from P. Needham to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 23 January 1996:

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply to you concerning your Parliamentary question (PQ384) in which you asked what action heads of his Department's Executive Agencies are taking to safeguard the provision of pre-retirement courses.(9145)


Letter from J. McNeill to Mr. M. Redmond, dated 23 January 1996:



    As Chief Executive of the Meat Hygiene Service, your question to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food concerning pre-retirement courses has been passed to me for reply with regard to this Executive Agency.(9145)
    As you may know, the Meat Hygiene Service was established on 1 April 1995. The Agency is committed to the providing staff with suitable preparation for retirement and intends to make use of MAFF's training facilities in this respect, as the need arises.

Official Hospitality

Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much was spent on official hospitality by agencies associated with his Department in (a) 1993-94 and 1994-95; what is projected for 1995-96. [9167]

Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 15 January 1996]: Responsibility for this matter is delegated to agency chief executives and I have asked them to reply to the hon. Member direct.

Letter from G. K. Bruce to Mr. Tony Banks, dated 23 January 1996:


Letter from P. I. Stanley to Mr. Tony Banks, dated 23 January 1996:


23 Jan 1996 : Column: 170

Letter from P. Needham to Mr. Tony Banks, dated 23 January 1996:



    The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply to you concerning your Parliamentary question (PQ385) in which you asked how much was spent on official hospitality by agencies associated with his Department in (a) 1994-95 and 1994-95; and what is projected for 1995-96.
    The costs incurred by ADAS on official hospitality for each of the last two years are as follows:
    1993/94: £14,197
    1994/95: £20,086
    There is no projected figure available for 1995/96.

Letter from J. McNeill to Mr. Tony Banks, dated 23 January 1996:



    As Chief Executive of the Meat Hygiene Service, your question to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food concerning official hospitality has been passed to me to reply with regard to this Executive Agency.
    As you may know, the Meat Hygiene Service was established on 1 April, 1995. Therefore, there was no such expenditure in the year 1993/94. In 94/95, prior to the Agency's launch, £10,580 was spent on hospitality and current projections for this financial year are for a total of circa £7,000.

Letter from J. M. Rutter to Mr. Tony Banks, dated 23 January 1996:



    The Minister has asked me to reply to your question about expenditure on official hospitality by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, for each year since 1993/94, as this is an operational matter for which I am responsible.(9167)
    Expenditure on official hospitality, which principally covers buffet lunches for industry liaison meetings and advisory groups, was as follows:
    1993/94: £1,034.63
    1994/95: £1,817.26
    It is anticipated that expenditure in 1995/96 will not exceed £1,000.

Letter from T. W. A. Little to Mr. Tony Banks, dated 23 January 1996:



    The Minister has asked me to reply to your question concerning spending on official hospitality in the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (known as the Central Veterinary Laboratory until 30 September 1995).(9167)
    The amounts spent on official hospitality in 1993/94 and 1994/95 were £16,720 and £12,076 respectively. I will write to you next week with projected figures for 1995/96.

Letter from T. W. A. Little to Mr. Tony Banks, dated 23 January 1996:



    I promised to write this week with the projected figures for spending on hospitality in the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) for 1995/96.
    The VLA was established on 1 October 1995, from the merger of the existing Central Veterinary Laboratory with the Veterinary Investigation Service, which was part of the State Veterinary Service. To provide this information it was necessary to incorporate expected spending from October 1995 to March 1996 by the former VI Service.
    Full year spending on official hospitality in the Agency is projected to be £16,400.

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