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Kurdistan (Human Rights)
Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of allegations of human rights abuses in the Diyarbakir region of Kurdistan by agencies of the Turkish Government; and if he will make a statement. [7462]
Mr. Doug Henderson: Our embassy in Ankara monitors all such allegations of abuses in Turkey, including the province of Diyarbakir. We have consistently reminded the Turkish authorities of their obligation to deal with the problems in the south-east with respect to human rights.
Kenya (Rwandan Refugees)
Mr. Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his assessment of the safety of Rwandan refugees in Kenya; and if he will make a statement. [7545]
Mr. Tony Lloyd: We are not aware of any grounds for believing that Rwandan refugees in Kenya may be in danger.
Romania
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Romanian President's comments on NATO's decision to exclude Romania from early admission to NATO. [7260]
Mr. Tony Lloyd: We are well aware of the seriousness with which the President and people of Romania have pursued Romania's application to join NATO. Romania's application is a matter for members of the Alliance collectively. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister told the House on 9 July, column 937, we see Romania as a strong candidate for any future enlargement.
St. Paul's Chaldean Church, Baghdad
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received
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regarding the search by an inspection team of the UN Special Commission of the St. Paul's Chaldean Church in Baghdad on 18 June. [7161]
Mr. Fatchett:
On 18 June an official of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) briefly visited two convents and a church which were in an area designated for inspection by a joint team of the UN Special Commission and the IAEA. Under Security Council Resolutions, the Special Commission has the right to designate for inspection any site in Iraq. I am arranging to place in the libraries of the House, copies of a letter from the IAEA to the President of the UN Security Council describing this incident in detail.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the recent article in the Der Spiegel magazine on the Lockerbie bombing; and if he will make a statement. [7792]
Mr. Tony Lloyd
[holding answer 10 July 1997]: The Lord Advocate reconfirmed on 25 June-- Official Report, House of Lords, columns 1571-73 that he is satisfied on the information available to him that there is no reason not to proceed with the petitions against the Libyans accused of the Lockerbie bombing.
The charges against the accused are based on evidence collected by Dumfries and Galloway Police and anyone with any new evidence should make it available to them. The investigation remains open. We have contacted the German authorities for further information on these allegations. They are pursuing their enquiries.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will undertake an independent threat assessment study in the context of the Strategic Defence Review. [7261]
Dr. Reid:
I have been asked to reply.
The Strategic Defence Review draws on assessments of risks and challenges from a variety of sources, both inside and outside Government. We are therefore measuring our classified assessments against a range of independent outside views.
New Government
Mr. Colvin: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to publish his Department's White Paper on New Government. [7573]
Dr. David Clark: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for the City of Durham (Mr. Steinberg), Official Report, 3 June 1997, columns 19-20.
Better Regulation
Mr. Colvin:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer of 3 July, Official Report, column 221, what meetings he has attended with
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his European counterparts to ensure that the European Social and Employment Chapters ensure better quality regulation at the European level; and if he will make a statement. [7661]
Dr. David Clark:
It is important for us to ensure that European regulations are clear, focused and accessible without imposing unnecessary burdens on business and citizens.
On 9 July in Vienna, I met Dr. Hannes Farnleitner, Austrian Minister for Economic Affairs, and Dr. Klaus Bunger, State Secretary in the German Economics Ministry, to discuss ways of working together to improve the quality of European regulation during our consecutive EU Presidencies.
I plan to visit other Member States and the European Commission in the Autumn.
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if the Property Advisers to the Civil Estate have assessed the potential of City House, Cambridge, as accommodation for Government purposes. [7483]
Dr. David Clark
[holding answer 10 July 1997]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated under the terms of the Framework Document to the Property Advisers to the Civil Estate. I have asked its acting Chief Executive, Mr. Malcolm Bowles, to write to the hon. member.
Letter from Malcolm Bowles to Mr. Andrew Lansley, dated 8 July 1997:
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has asked me to reply to your Question about City House, Cambridge.
Since 1 April 1996 it has been the responsibility of individual Government Departments to assess the suitability of prospective accommodation.
PACE has not been asked by any department to undertake an assessment as to the potential of City House, Cambridge as accommodation for their own purposes.
Public Appointments
Mr. Robert McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on which occasions the British side of the Anglo-Irish Secretariat has provided information to the Irish side on the Irish Government's nominees for public appointments. [5572]
Marjorie Mowlam:
Under Article 6 of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, the Irish Government may put forward proposals for membership of public bodies in Northern Ireland. The role of the British side of the Secretariat is confined to receiving any such names put forward by the Irish side and, once a decision has been made in relation to a particular appointment, informing the Irish side of the success or otherwise of any candidate they had put forward.
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Mr. Donaldson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans she has to increase the funding available to the education sector in Northern Ireland in the next financial year. [5979]
Mr. Worthington:
Schools will benefit by £35.4 million in 1998-99 as a result of the recent budget statement by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Overall allocations for education in 1998-99 and beyond will be informed by decisions on the Comprehensive Spending Review.
The recently announced £140 million Welfare to Work programme in Northern Ireland will also benefit the education sector as each of the four new options on offer to unemployed people taking up the programme will include an education or training element. More details about this programme will be announced later this year.
Mr. David Atkinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will make a statement on her Department's timetable for dealing with the Year 2000 Computer Problem; who is in charge of the project; how many staff are working on it; what is the projected cost of resolving the problem; and whether the project is on schedule. [7136]
Mr. Paul Murphy:
The individual Departments within the Northern Ireland Civil Service, together with the Northern Ireland Office, have their own programmes of action to overcome the Year 2000 problem and these are being progressed. Northern Ireland Departments are following the guidance issued recently by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency within OPS. They are working towards a deadline of 1 December 1997 to have fully costed and prioritised plans in place. Accurate figures for the work therefore will be available towards the end of the year.
Ms Rosie Winterton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Crown premises have fire certificates. [8635]
Majorie Mowlam:
Following acceptance of Sir Reginald Doyle's Report into the fire at Parliament Buildings, a 2 year target was set for complete certification coverage of the Northern Ireland Government Estate.
As at 11 June 1997 there are 239 certifiable premises.
Certificates have been issued in respect of 200. In a further 6 buildings, only parts of which are occupied by the Crown, all necessary work in the Crown portion has been completed to the satisfaction of the certifying authority. Certificates will be issued once landlords have completed the necessary work in their portions.
Fire safety measures are ongoing at 12 buildings, including some where the work forms part of a major repair and refurbishment scheme.
In a further 15 cases the implementation of the work has been deferred because of significant operational requirements or imminent vacation of the premises.
11 Jul 1997 : Column: 629
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