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Women (Promotion)
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures her Department has implemented during the last 12 months to encourage the promotion of women into senior positions with his Department and its executive agencies; and what progress her Department has made in encouraging the promotion of women over the last five years. [31544]
Mr. Hanley: We have an action programme in place to ensure equality of access to recruitment, training, career development and promotion for all women. Graduate recruitment into the fast stream is particularly targeted to help redress the under-representation of women at senior levels. The policy is seeing results--in 1995, 57 per cent. of the fast stream intake were women. We encourage the retention of women through a number of initiatives including flexible/part-time work, generous career breaks, subsidised nursery facilities and holiday play schemes for school children. We have been an active member of the Opportunity 2000 campaign since 1992.
We are seeing a steady increase in the percentage of women at all levels in the FCO. The number of women at DS5--top level of middle management--has increased from 9.6 per cent. in 1991 to 13.7 per cent. in 1995. The number of women in the top three grades of the DS has increased by 1 per cent. in 1995 to 3.7 per cent. in 1991, a level that has been maintained to date. There are now eight female ambassadors/heads of mission compared to two in 1991.
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Mr. Madden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received about the detention in Mirpur prison of Chazanfer Ali; and if he will make a statement. [31421]
Mr. Hanley:
Our high commission in Islamabad was told on 6 June by the Mirpur prison authorities that Chazanfer Ali, a Pakistani national, is still making regular court appearances and that he is in good health.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration has been given to market testing the services provided by his Department's agencies; and if he will make a statement. [31558]
Mr. Hanley:
A prior options review of the diplomatic wing's executive agency, Wilton Park, took place in 1995. The study recommend that the commercial--that is, non-conference--operation be market tested by November 1997. This would not affect Wilton Park's core business of organising conferences on foreign policy matters. This has been endorsed by Ministers.
The ODA's agency--the Natural Resources Institute--has recently been transferred to private ownership.
Sir David Knox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many judgments were given against each of the member countries in the European Union by the European Court of Justice in each year since 1989; [31607]
Mr. David Davis:
The most up-to-date information is in annexe II of the 12th annual report on monitoring the applications of Community law, OJC No. 254, 1994. The data for 1989 are in annexe II of the 11th report, OJC No. 154, 1993. The 13th report will be published shortly. The reports are in the Library of the House. They summarise the progress of all infraction proceedings against member states.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the numbers of harp and hooded seal pups taken in the region of the White sea in 1996 to date. [31832]
Sir Nicholas Bonsor:
None. The question of seal culling in the White sea was last raised with the Russian Environment Ministry by our embassy in Moscow in December 1995.
The embassy in Moscow has been instructed to ask for an update on the latest position and I shall write to the hon. Member in due course.
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Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the total costs of staffing and running embassies and missions in (a) Vilnius, (b) Riga and (c) Talinn (d) Paris and (e) Rome in each of the past three years. [32212]
(2) on how many occasions each of the member countries in the European Union were taken to the European Court of Justice in each year since 1989. [31619]
| 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vilnius | 213,196 | 267,328 | 267,481 |
| Riga | 663,185 | 698,407 | 450,518 |
| Talinn | 243,013 | 210,379 | 239,960 |
| Paris | 12,522,331 | 12,577,264 | 12,582,954 |
| Rome | 6,220,557 | 6,192,928 | 5,893,770 |
African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Britain's recent signature to the African nuclear weapons free zone treaty; and what restrictions the treaty places on the use of nuclear weapons against an African party to that treaty which has used other weapons of mass destruction. [32050]
Mr. David Davis: The UK signed, subject to ratification protocols 1 and 2 to the African nuclear weapons free zone treaty on 11 April. Parties to protocol 1 undertake not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against parties to the treaty. On signature, we stated that we would not be bound by this undertaking if a state party to the treaty attacked us in alliance with a nuclear weapon state, or was in breach of its own non-proliferation obligations under the treaty. Our statement also noted that compliance with international agreements to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is vital to the maintenance of world security.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
European Union Flag
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Attorney-General what instructions were issued to his Department's offices and agencies in respect of flying the European Union flag on 8 May; and if he will make a statement. [31498]
The Attorney-General: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Boothferry (Mr. Davis) on 6 June 1996, Official Report, column 518.
LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
Drug Abuse
34. Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Lord President of the Council what evidence he has evaluated that suggests that the taking of soft drugs leads to the taking of hard drugs; and if he will make a statement. [30637]
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Mr. Newton: The Government have neither commissioned nor evaluated evidence on this specific point as we do not find the distinction between so-called hard and soft drugs helpful: all illegal drugs carry physical and mental health risks.
36. Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make a statement on measures to combat drug abuse. [30639]
Mr. Newton: The Government's drugs strategy for England for the period 1995-98, "Tackling Drugs Together", was published on 10 May 1995. In answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Mr. Rathbone) on 13 May, Official Report, columns 341-42, I described the considerable progress made in implementing the strategy during its first year, and on 14 May I wrote to all hon. Members in England outlining the work of drug action teams. Similar strategies are in place in the other parts of the United Kingdom.
38. Lady Olga Maitland: To ask the Lord President of the Council what progress he had made in ensuring provision of resources for drug rehabilitation. [30641]
Mr. Newton: The Government's policy is to ensure that individual drug misusers have access to a range of advice, counselling, treatment, rehabilitation and after-care services. The independent task force set up to undertake a review of effective treatment services for drug misusers has reported to Ministers and its report was published on 1 May. Guidance to purchasers will be issued in the summer. Additional resources are being made available this year to boost drug treatment services: an extra £6 million will go to health authorities, and £5.1 million will be invested in treatment programmes in the Prison Service.
Health Strategy
35. Mr. Bayley: To ask the Lord President of the Council what is his role in the co-ordination of health strategy. [30638]
Mr. Newton: I chair the Ministerial Sub-committee on Health Strategy. The sub-committee's purpose is to oversee the development, implementation and monitoring of the Government's health strategy, and to co-ordinate the Government's policies on United Kingdom-wide issues affecting health.
Drug Trafficking
37. Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Lord President of the Council what assessment the group he chairs on tackling drugs has made of drug trafficking via Holland. [30640]
Mr. Newton: The Ministerial Sub-committee of the Cabinet on the misuse of drugs, which I chair, has the task of co-ordinating the Government's national and international policies for tackling drug misuse, and reporting as necessary to the Ministerial Committee on Home and Social Affairs. As part of its remit, the sub-committee makes periodic assessments of drug trafficking patterns and of the arrangements in place to combat them.
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