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Council of Europe Meetings

Mr. Terry Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many meetings of, or organised by, the Council of Europe since January 1995 have been attended by Ministers or officials of her Department; and if she will make a statement. [29355]

Mr. Forth: Since January 1995, officials of the Department for Education and Employment have attended 20 governmental committee or other meetings organised by the Council of Europe. There have been no meetings involving Ministers during the period concerned.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Council of Europe Meetings

Mr. Terry Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings of, or organised by, the Council of Europe since January 1995 have been attended by Ministers or officials of his Department; and if he will make a statement. [29353]

Mr. David Davis: There have been 212 meetings of, or organised by, the Council of Europe since January 1995 attended by members of staff of the UK delegation to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Officials from London have attended a further 22 such meetings.

Bosnia-Herzegovina (Civil Reconstruction)

Mr. Terry Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money has been promised by Her Majesty's Government for the voluntary fund established by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Council of Europe for civil reconstruction in Bosnia-Herzegovina; how much of that money has been paid; what proportion of the money has been specifically allocated to the funding and operation of (a) the chamber of human rights and (b) other institutions aimed at establishing the rule of law; and if he will make a statement. [29351]

Mr. David Davis: Her Majesty's Government have promised £3 million to the OSCE/Council of Europe voluntary fund; the full amount was paid on 29 March

17 May 1996 : Column: 616

1996. In view of the importance and urgency of starting the election process, the Government requested that this money be spent on elections-related expenses. Most of the UK's donation has since been used to fund the printing of voters' lists and registration application forms and the preparation of voter education material. The Government have also given £10,000 to support a centre to promote local non-governmental organisations in Sarajevo.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Restraint on Trade (Austrian Wine)

Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action in restraint of normal trade was taken (a) by the United Kingdom and (b) by the European Community following evidence that Austrian wine had been contaminated by chemicals in 1985; and what restraint on the normal trade in wine was applied at that time to wine exported from (i) Germany, (ii) Italy and (iii) central European countries outside the EC. [26911]

Mrs. Browning: I will write to the hon. Member.

WALES

Cattle Slaughter Scheme

Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the collection points for cull cows and cattle over 30 months in Wales under the slaughter scheme; and when he expects that the scheme will become operational. [28549]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: The 30-month slaughter scheme opened on 1 May, and the first animals were slaughtered on 3 May. Welsh markets and abattoirs approved by the intervention board to operate under the scheme are as follows:

Markets
Llanrwst
Llangefni
Bryncir

17 May 1996 : Column: 617

Llandovery
Sennybridge
Tregaron
Llanybydder
Dolgellau
Corwen
Mold
Whitland
Cardigan
Lampeter
Abergavenny
Cowbridge
Carmarthen
Llandysul
Haverfordwest
Llandeilo
Brecon
St. Asaph
Gaerwen
Newton
Newport
Ruthin
Welshpool
Abattoirs
Abergavenny Slaughter House Association Ltd.
Caernarfon, Cwmni Cig Arfon Meat Co. Cibyn
Llanidloes, E. Hamer International Ltd.
St. Asaph, David Jones and Son
Wrexham, Jones Brothers
Cardigan, Messrs Dewi James and Son
Llanybydder, Oriel Jones and Sons Ltd.
Llanelli, TWM Ltd.
Gaerwen, Welsh Country Foods Limited
Lampeter, O. Evans.

Higher Education

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total of (a) men and (b) women among (i) senior lecturers, (ii) lecturers and (iii) professors in further and higher education in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [28705]

Mr. Richards: The information requested is in the tables:

Table 1: Full-time academic staff at further and higher education institutions, excluding colleges of the University of Wales, in Wales, 1994(11)

	Male	Female	Total
Principals	22	3	25
Management scales	396	112	508
Principal lecturers	60	11	71
Senior lecturers	676	260	936
Lecturers scales	1,668	1,062	2,730
Other scales	37	7	44
Total	2,859	1,455	4,314

(11) At March 1994. Provisional.

Source:

Database of teacher records (DfEE).

17 May 1996 : Column: 618

Table 2: Full and part-time academic staff at colleges of the University of Wales, 1995(12)

	Male	Female	Total
Professors	338	16	354
Senior lecturers and researchers	583	53	636
Lecturers and researchers	1,708	753	2,461
Other grades	153	125	278
Total	2,782	947	3,729

(12) At July 1995. Provisional.

Source:

Higher education statistics agency--HESA.

Beef Exports

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of Untied Kingdom beef exports is represented by beef exported from Wales. [29043]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: In the 12 months leading up to the export ban on British beef, the estimated amount exported from Wales was 5,000 tonnes--about 1.8 per cent. of the UK total.

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how he proposes to improve the sales abroad of beef raised in Wales. [29045]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: The Government are seeking to have the export ban on British beef lifted. Once this has been achieved, beef from Wales will once again be able to compete successfully for export orders.

Welsh Development Agency

Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will ensure that at least one member of the board of the Welsh Development Agency has expertise in environmental matters and sustainable development. [29374]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: Section 2(3) of the Welsh Development Agency Act 1975 specifies the range of experience that is deemed appropriate for membership of the Welsh Development Agency board. It includes environmental matters. My right hon. Friend takes full account of these requirements when considering appointments to the board.

Coal Tips (Monitoring)

Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many safety inspectors are employed in monitoring coal tips in the south Wales former coalfields; how many tips are monitored; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the inspections. [29337]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: This information is not held centrally.

The mines and quarries inspectorate administers the Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act 1969 and has responsibility under that Act for the inspection of working tips. Responsibility for inspection of disused tips rests, under part II of that Act, with local authorities.

17 May 1996 : Column: 619

Colliery Areas (Regeneration)

Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what allocation of RECHAR funds will be made available to Wales. [29464]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: £16.9 million has been allocated under the RECHAR II programme for Wales for the period 1994 to 1997. I expect that further resources will be allocated to the initiative from the recently announced additional moneys made available to the UK from the community initiatives reserve.

Public Appointments (Women)

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of public appointments made by his Department were held by women, at the most recent date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [29596]

Mr. Hague: The most recent information about appointments that I make is set out in "Appointments by the Secretary of State for Wales, 1 March 1996", which is available in the Library of the House. The summary of appointments by gender included in the preface shows that 28 per cent. of appointments were held by women.

Council of Europe Meetings

Mr. Terry Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many meetings of, or organised by, the Council of Europe since January 1995 have been attended by Ministers or officials of his Department; and if he will make a statement. [29358]

Mr. Hague: None.

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