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Intergovernmental Conference
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment the Government have made of recent Franco-German proposals in the intergovernmental conference on defence.[21574]
Mr. David Davis: Her Majesty's Government are a strong advocate of improved practical co-operation on defence among European countries. The decisions of the Berlin North Atlantic Council in June 1996 to support the development of the European security and Defence identity within NATO provide a sound framework for such co-operation, permitting the creation of militarily coherent and effective forces capable of operating under the political control and strategic direction of the Western European Union using NATO assets and capabilities when appropriate. Her Majesty's Government remain opposed to proposals to change the situation set out in the Maastricht treaty whereby the Western European Union elaborates and implements decisions and actions of the Union which have defence implications, and to proposals to subordinate the Western European Union to the European Union and to introduce a commitment to the eventual merger of the Western European Union and the European Union. Her Majesty's Government are firmly committed to the principle that decisions with defence implications taken by the European Union shall be taken by unanimity. It is opposed to flexibility arrangements within the European Union which could lead to a group of countries taking on collective defence commitments within a European Union framework which would undermine collective defence within NATO. Proposals along these lines, such as those put forward by the French and Germans, would undermine the development of the European security and defence identity within NATO.
Asylum and Immigration Appeals
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action his Department has taken in response to the recommendations made by Dame Elizabeth Anson in her reports as the independent monitor of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993. [21645]
Dr. Liam Fox: My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs sets great store by Dame Elizabeth's report, and, following annual publication, circulates guidance to all entry clearance posts to ensure that her recommendations are implemented. All entry clearance staff are expected to read the report. My officials in the UK examine Dame Elizabeth's recommendations in detail, and change procedures where necessary.
The independent monitor rightly considers that improved training will contribute significantly to improvements in our entry clearance operations. Acting in response to her reports, we have significantly broadened the scope of our training of entry clearance staff. Training courses and guidance have been introduced to develop the skills of entry clearance managers, locally engaged entry clearance support staff and interpreters. In her 1996 report Dame Elizabeth expressed her satisfaction with the improvements we have made to the training of our entry clearance managers and officers.
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We have also worked hard to meet the improved administrative standards set by the independent monitor. Increased access to IT is a continuing priority, and improvements we have made are already paying dividends. Administrative systems designed to speed up, and improve the quality of, the entry clearance process, such as the preliminary assessment system and automatic reviews of refusals, have been introduced and improved after recommendations in the independent monitor's report.
It is inevitable that some recommendations cannot be enacted immediately. This is true of those concerning applications by elderly relatives and couples seeking infertility treatment. However, work is in hand on both, as a result of which guidance to staff will be amended.
Dame Elizabeth wrote in her 1996 report:"I am satisfied that in the three years I have monitored the standards and performance of the system of granting and refusing temporary visas there has been a general improvement in the whole process of applying and being granted or refused a visa." I know that Dame Elizabeth also is satisfied that entry clearance staff are acting within the law, and in accordance with their obligations under the citizen's charter, in the discharge of their responsibilities. We take heart from these acknowledgments of our efforts, and will strive to meet the independent monitor's recommendations in the future.
Mr. Whittingdale:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the future of the United Nations; and what discussions he had during his recent visit to Washington.[21646]
Mr. Rifkind:
The United Kingdom is fully committed to a strong and effective United Nations in pursuit of the objectives set out in the charter. The United Nations plays a vital role in helping maintain international peace and security, and in promoting democracy, human rights, international law and economic and social progress around the world. As we approach the 21st century, we shall want to use the United Nations increasingly to help to achieve that partnership for sustainable human development about which I addressed the general assembly last September. The new global challenges such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, and threats to the environment and to natural resources because of population pressures on present patterns of production and consumption, will require the international community to agree policies and to work out practical solutions through international co-operation. The United Nations has some unique advantages for this.
We welcome the commitment of the new United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, in setting the United Nations on the path of reform, so that it can better measure up to these challenges. When he visited London last month the Prime Minister and I were impressed by his determination to give reform a high priority. We support him in his plans to secure tighter budgeting, greater management efficiency and the elimination of overlap between different UN bodies.
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But to succeed the United Nations needs not only to reform, but to be able to rely on the financial resources which member states have voted to it. I raised with a number of US Congressmen during my visit to Washington on 9 and 10 March our concerns on this score. At the end of 1996 the United States owed the United Nations some US $1.3 billion, which is approximately two thirds of total arrears due. This backlog of unpaid obligatory financial contributions is severely disabling the United Nations from working properly and from carrying out the policies voted by the member states. It also means that countries contributing to UN peacekeeping operations such as India, Bangladesh and the United Kingdom, which is currently owed £40 million, do not get their debts paid. I made it clear in Washington that this failure to honour financial obligations under the UN charter does the cause of UN reform no good and causes resentment among friends and allies. I know that President Clinton is committed to solving this problem. We need a new and fairer system of UN financing based more closely on the principle of capacity to pay and on the assurances that all member states will in future pay in full, unconditionally and on time. Once the problem of arrears has been dealt with, the British Government hope that it will be possible speedily to complete the process of UN reform and thus to relaunch the United Nations on its urgent new agenda.
Mr. Campbell-Savours:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place in the Library a list of all export licences relating to defence equipment (a) granted and (b) refused in (i) 1991 and (ii) 1992. [19699]
Mr. Nelson:
Statistics of export licence applications refused during 1992 were included in the annual report of my Department for 1993, copies of which were placed in the Library of the House. It is the intention that statistics of export licences relating to defence equipment issued during 1992 will also be placed in the Library of the House in due course. Information in respect of 1991 is not directly accessible in the same form and at present there are no plans to place that information in the Library of the House.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many tonnes of oxide spent nuclear fuel have been (a) sheared and dissolved and (b) reprocessed in the thermal oxide reprocessing plant since March 1994; what reports on the operational process at THORP are provided to his Department by British Nuclear Fuels; and what restrictions are placed on the disclosure of operational details of THORP at Sellafield. [20455]
Mr. Page:
BNFL recently stated that since March 1994 approximately 680 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel has been successfully sheared and dissolved and that
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by the end of March this year it is expected that the same amount will have been reprocessed. The disclosure of operational details are a matter for BNFL subject to meeting the relevant regulatory requirements. My Department maintains regular contact with the company on a range of issues, including THORP.
Mr. Austin Mitchell:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many Bills his Department has sponsored in each of the past 15 years; and how many have been passed by Parliament. [19775]
Mr. Lang
[holding answer 18 March 1997]: The information requested is as follows:
With one exception, in 1982-83, all the Bills received Royal Assent. Prior to the 1992-93 session the figures include Bills sponsored by the Department of Energy.
1981-82: 7
1982-83: 3
1983-84: 7
1984-85: 7
1985-86: 6
1986-87: 3
1987-88: 4
1988-89: 4
1989-90: 2
1990-91: 4
1991-92: 2
1992-93: 3
1993-94: 4
1994-95: 2
1995-96: 2.
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