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Animal Experimentation

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps were taken to ensure that the dogs supplied from non-designated sources in the United Kingdom in 1995 for use in scientific procedures were not ex-pets, strays or stolen. [1839]

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Mr. George Howarth: The provenance was checked as far as possible and the legal owner's consent obtained in each case.

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the acute lethal toxicity tests in Table 12, column 2 of the 1995 Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals in Great Britain were (1) LD50/LC50 tests, (2) other acute lethal tests and (3) sub-acute, repeat-dose lethal tests. [1739]

Mr. Howarth: Column 2 of table 12 reports aggregated totals by species for acute LD50, LC50 and other acute lethal tests. Licensees are not required to record in their statistical returns which of these tests they carried out. A breakdown into test type is therefore not centrally available. Sub-acute toxicity tests (which may include repeat dosages but which are not necessarily lethality tests) are recorded in column 5 of table 12.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many personal callers were there to the public inquiry desk at each branch of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate on 6 May. [1815]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: On 6 May, the number of applicants at the public enquiry offices of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate was:

Number
Belfast4
Birmingham56
Croydon Public Enquiry Office705
Croydon Asylum Screening Unit328
Glasgow24
Liverpool31

Disability

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to adopt a social model of disability in framing all future and amending previous relevant legislation and guidance; and if he will make a statement. [1684]

Mr. Straw: My Department will be contributing to the consultations, including discussions about the definition of disability, referred to by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Employment in his reply of 4 June, Official Report, column 190. It would not be appropriate to pre-judge the outcome of that work.

Immigration (Primary Purpose Rule)

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy in respect of the primary purpose rule in immigration cases. [2625]

Mr. Straw: Following our manifesto commitment, we are acting to end the primary purpose rule because it is arbitrary, unfair and ineffective and has penalised genuine marriages, divided families and unnecessarily increased the administrative burden on the immigration system. The rule has also placed British citizens resident here at a

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disadvantage compared with other European Union nationals resident in Britain--to whom no primary purpose rule has applied.

Applicants under the rule had to prove a negative both before the entry clearance officer and on appeal. But, even where applicants lost their appeal, they would then be allowed in where there was a child with right of abode in the United Kingdom or where the marriage had lasted five years. It is also very doubtful that this inherently ineffective and unfair rule has worked to filter out those who sought to cheat the system. This question is not therefore about numbers, but about fairness.

I am determined to build an immigration and asylum system that is fairer, faster and firmer. Ending this rule will allow resources to be focused on the other requirements of the rules, which are known to be fair, effective and enforceable. These include:


The burden of proof in these cases will remain on the applicant. In addition, couples will continue to be subject to a 12 month probationary period, at the end of which they must show again that their marriage is genuine. This will be firmly enforced.

An amendment to the Rules will be made today. Entry clearance officers are being instructed not to refuse entry clearance applications where the refusal depends solely on the primary purpose rule. Similar instructions are being issued to staff in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. Home Office Presenting Officers are being instructed not to oppose cases on appeal where the refusal was based wholly on the primary purpose rule and the rule will not apply to outstanding applications. However, if an appellant still decides to proceed on his own initiative, he will still have to prove his case to the adjudicator, even though the Presenting Officer will not formally oppose the appeal. Those who have had their case and their appeal refused will be entitled to apply again, on payment of an apppropriate fee.

DEFENCE

Arms Supplies (Central Africa)

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what military equipment has been supplied to the central African region from companies in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) the Isle of Man, (c) the Channel Islands and (d) other United Kingdom dependent territories in the last five years. [1054]

Mr. Spellar: The Ministry of Defence does not hold details of military equipment supplied, other than those which are provided voluntarily by companies for the purposes of the annual return to the UN Arms Register; no exports to Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi, Central African Republic or Congo, have been included in the UK's return to the UN Register in the period 1992-96.

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Details of export licences issued to companies seeking to supply controlled military goods to these countries are held by the DTI in respect of companies based in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man. Details of export licences issued by the Channel Islands and UK dependent territories are held by the authorities there. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The British Government have been fully committed to both the UN embargo imposed in May 1994 banning the supply of arms to Rwanda and the 1993 European Union embargo on the export of arms to Zaire. Press allegations were made in November 1996 that British companies might have been involved in the supply of arms to Rwandan extremists in 1994, but there was no evidence to suggest that arms had been exported from the UK. The Government established an inter-departmental committee to examine rigorously our procedures in relation to the trafficking in arms, to determine whether there had been a gap in our controls. A copy of the Committee's report was placed in the Library of the House in December last year.

Equipment Exhibition (Farnborough)

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the countries from which buyers (a) have been and (b) will be invited to the Royal Navy and British Army Equipment Exhibition being held at Farnborough from 31 August to 5 September. [1766]

Mr. Spellar [holding answer 2 June 1997]: The purpose of the Royal Navy and British Army Equipment Exhibition, which this year takes place jointly at Portsmouth and Farnborough, is to show a wide range of British defence equipment to representatives of countries with whom we have friendly relations. The equipment on display ranges from British built ships at one end of the scale to such items as communications equipment and Air Defence Radar at the other end of the scale.

The Government takes seriously its commitment to Article 51 of the United Nations charter which affirms the right of nations to self defence. Export licences for equipment on display will, however, be granted only on a case by case basis where the Government is satisfied that such equipment will be used neither for external aggression nor for internal repression. The Government is currently reviewing the criteria under which export licences will be issued.

The following countries have been invited to send delegations to RNBAEE 97:


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