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Sri Lanka
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent discussions between his Minister of State and the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka. [7175]
Mr. Fatchett: I met the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Mr. Kadirgamar, on 5 June. We discussed bilateral relations and the current situation in Sri Lanka, including the Sri Lankan government's effort to find a resolution to the ethnic conflict.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals Her Majesty's Government have advanced regarding the possibility of playing a mediating role in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. [7176]
Mr. Fatchett: We have said publicly that we stand ready to help in the resolution of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka if both sides ask us to play a role.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to visit Sri Lanka.[7177]
Mr. Fatchett: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, has no plans to visit at present, but I hope to do so before very long.
Anglo-Chinese Relations
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Anglo-Chinese relations. [7179]
Mr. Fatchett: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave today.
Mr. David Mathieson
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if members of the News Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are required to assist Mr. David Mathieson with his work.[7696]
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Strategic Defence Review
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the dates and attendees, by department and grade, of meetings of officials which have taken place in her Department on the strategic defence review. [7152]
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Clare Short:
Development issues of relevance to the Strategic Defence Review have been discussed on a number of occasions in my Department. My officials are also involved as appropriate in inter-departmental consultations on the Review.
Mr. Grant:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what further consideration she has given to the needs of the people of Montserrat following the recent volcanic eruptions. [8564]
Clare Short:
Immediately following the volcanic activity two weeks ago, my department gave immediate approval for vital emergency work such as transport services, communications equipment and maintaining of fuel and food supplies and sanitation.
We have also been looking urgently at the best way of providing temporary shelter and upgrading health care for those displaced on Montserrat. I have now approved a further £6.5 million to help build emergency shelter for those left homeless. I also approved £450,000 for emergency repair work on the hospital at St. Johns.
At the same time we want to give the people of Montserrat real choices about their future; and will be undertaking a full consultation process within weeks.
Kali Mountford:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what progress has been made in his review of the sporting events listed for live television broadcasting purposes; and if he will make a statement.[8410]
Mr. Fisher:
We announced on 16 May that we would review the list of events which must be made available for general free to air broadcast under the 1996 Broadcasting Act, in line with our policy of ensuring that broadcasts of events of genuine national interest are available to the many not the few. As part of that review we are developing criteria to help decide which events fall into this category. We believe that an agreed set of criteria would make the listing process more consistent and more transparent; and would be helpful to broadcasters, sports bodies and viewers; and would assist my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in considering which events should be listed. My right hon. Friend wrote today to sports bodies, broadcasters and organisations representing viewers and listeners to seek their views on these listing criteria.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the extent of the control still exercised by Her Majesty's Government on the management of the BBC; if he was consulted over the pay rises for chief executives of the Corporation; and if he will make a statement. [7794]
Mr. Fisher:
Under the terms of its Royal Charter, rates of remuneration and conditions of employment for BBC employees are a matter for the Corporation itself. The
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Government has no locus to intervene. It is for the BBC Governors to ensure that they are delivering good value for money and paying only what is necessary, in a competitive market, to attract and retain the staff needed to maintain high quality services.
Mr. Gordon Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proposals he has to increase Britain's share of world tourism. [6576]
Mr. Tom Clarke:
We set out our main priorities for tourism in the "Breaking New Ground" document. These include: a positive approach from government to the industry; effective marketing of Britain overseas; reinvigorating domestic tourism; improving the quality of the product; jobs, training and investment in people; and sustainable development. We will work in partnership with the industry and others to pursue these priorities and ensure that Britain has a world class tourism industry.
Mr. Alan Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list each person advising or assisting his Department who has (a) membership of and (b) involvement in (i) the European Round Table of industrialists, (ii) the European Centre for Infrastructure Studies, (iii) the Competitiveness Advisory Group, (iv) Transatlantic Business Dialogue, (v) the Association for the Monetary Union of Europe, (vi) Union of Industrial and Employers Confederations of Europe, (vii) Europa Bio and (viii) the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. [5309]
Angela Eagle:
Membership of the European Round Table of Industrialists, the Competitiveness Advisory Group and the Transatlantic Business Dialogue is on a personal basis. No-one who presently advises or assists in this Department is a member of any of these groups.
Membership of the European Centre for Infrastructure Studies, the Association for the Monetary Union of Europe, the Union of Industrial and Employers Confederations of Europe, Europe Bio, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development is on a corporate basis. Representatives from companies and organisations involved with these groups may advise Departments from time to time.
Mr. Kemp:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will include in the legislation for the creation of regional development agencies proposals to allow those regions he considers have the necessary expertise and experience to become shadow agencies or pilot schemes in advance of 1 April 1999. [6641]
Angela Eagle:
On 11 June the Government launched a wide-ranging consultation on our proposals for setting up regional development agencies in England. It is too early to say what transitional arrangements might be made in
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advance of the agencies beginning operation, but we have invited views on this. Any such arrangements will build on the good work already being done at the regional level.
Mrs. Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the future of national non-domestic rates.[7347]
Mr. Raynsford:
We have said in our Manifesto that there are sound democratic reasons why business rates should be set locally. We are currently considering the options to achieve this. No changes will be made until we have fully consulted businesses, local authorities and other interested parties.
Mr. Winnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 20 May on valuation tribunals. [7457]
Ms Armstrong:
A letter was sent to the hon. Member on 9 July 1997.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he intends to lay regulations before Parliament under the Environment Act 1995 to introduce local authority powers for air quality management. [7583]
Angela Eagle:
An announcement on the commencement of local authority duties under Part IV of the Environment Act will be made in due course.
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