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Nigeria

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultation took place with the Central Council of Physical

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Recreation or national governing bodies of sport regarding the Government's sporting boycott of Nigeria; and if he will make a statement. [7998]

Mr. Tony Lloyd: The EU Common Position on Nigeria adopted on 4 December 1995 agreed a series of measures including a sports ban implemented through the denial of visas to official delegations and national teams. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport wrote to the UK Sports Council on 12 December 1995 to inform them of this decision and they in turn advised the relevant national sporting bodies.

NATO Enlargement (Slovenia)

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the admission of Slovenia to NATO; what steps his Department has taken to facilitate its admission; and what estimate he has made of the timetable for admission. [7807]

Mr. Tony Lloyd: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in the House on 9 July, Official Report, column 937. We see Slovenia as a strong candidate for any future enlargement of NATO.

EU Presidency

Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library his draft programme for the British presidency of the EU.[7699]

Mr. Doug Henderson: I have placed the provisional Calendar of Council meetings during the UK presidency in the Libraries of the House. A revised version will be produced in the autumn. Key events during the UK Presidency will include (dates remain to be decided):

	Draft Programme
Early January:	Visit to London by the College of Commissioners
February/March	Event in London to mark the formal start of the EU enlargement process
Spring	Council of Heads of State or Government to decide the participants in Stage III of Economic and Monetary Union
15-16 June	European Council in Cardiff

There will in addition be a number of informal Ministerial Councils held in the UK.

Interception of Communications

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many United Kingdom personnel are based inside the National Security Agency headquarters in Washington; and what is their function; [7617]

(2) how many National Security Agency employees are based inside GCHQ at Cheltenham; what is their function; and what controls exist to ensure that the British national interest is protected. [7618]

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Mr. Robin Cook: It is a long-standing practice not to disclose details of specific staff deployments by the intelligence and security agencies. However, there are a number of UK personnel at National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters and a number of NSA personnel at GCHQ in a variety of posts.

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what bilateral agreements exist between GCHQ and the National Security Agency allowing American personnel to tap the communications of United Kingdom nationals. [7622]

Mr. Cook: United Kingdom law applies to US operations in the UK and prohibits the unauthorised interception of communications carried on UK public telecommunications systems. National Security Agency personnel comply with that law.

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many complaints have been received since 1990 from EU Governments concerning the interception of diplomatic and commercial communications by US personnel based in the UK. [7630]

Mr. Cook: We are not aware of any such complaints.

Schengen Agreement

Mr. Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the documents comprising the Schengen acquis are to be incorporated into European Union law as part of the Amsterdam treaty. [6394]

Mr. Doug Henderson [holding answer 3 July 1997]: From the entry into force of the Schengen Protocol to be annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the European Community Treaty, the Schengen acquis, as defined in the Annex to the Protocol, will apply as a matter of EU law to all Member States except the United Kingdom and Ireland.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Wrongful Convictions

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 22 May, Official Report, column 111, what considerations are involved in the processing of a final claim for compensation prior to its presentation to the independent assessors; and how long on average such an assessment takes. [7397]

Mr. Michael: The independent assessment of a final claim for compensation is made on the basis of written submissions from the claimant or his or her solicitor, setting out the information which he or she would like the assessor to take into account. Based on this material, a memorandum is prepared by the Home Office which sets out the background to the wrongful conviction and summarises the claim. The claimant receives a draft of the completed memorandum and, subject to any comments which he or she may wish to make on its content, or to clarification of any points arising from his or her representations, it is then submitted, with the representations, to the assessor--currently Sir David Calcutt QC.

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On average, the final assessment is received within six to eight weeks of submission of the substantive claim to the assessor.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 22 May, Official Report, column 111, what considerations must be taken into account when assessing whether an individual found by the Court of Appeal to have been wrongfully convicted may qualify for compensation; and how long on average such an assessment takes. [7396]

Mr. Michael: All applications for compensation are considered first under the provisions of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and then, if the statutory requirements are not met, under the ex-gratia arrangements announced by the then Home Secretary in his statement to the House on 29 November 1985. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced on 17 June that he will continue to be bound by those arrangements.

On average, a decision on whether an applicant qualifies for compensation is taken within six to nine months of receipt of the application.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 22 May, Official Report, column 111, how many requests for interim compensation payments were received in each of the past five years from individuals found by the Court of Appeal to have been wrongfully convicted; what considerations are taken into account when deciding whether to grant such a request; how many such requests were granted; and how long individuals wait on average before receiving a payment. [7398]

Mr. Michael: Twenty-two requests for interim payments were received during the last financial year, all of which were granted. No central record is held of requests for interim payments in preceding years.

The question of whether and in what sum interim payments may be made is entirely at the discretion of the independent assessor.

On average, an interim assessment is received within two weeks of submission of the request to the assessor and, subject to written confirmation that the claimant accepts the interim award in part payment of the amount to be finally offered, a payable order is sent within seven to 10 days.

State of Emergency (Northern Ireland)

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the grounds for maintaining the state of emergency related to the affairs of Northern Ireland; and what plans he has to withdraw the United Kingdom derogation from its international obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. [7372]

Mr. Straw: The Government are currently considering what change might be made to the arrangements for extending detention under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989. Substituting judicial for executive authority for extensions would require primary legislation. In the interim, the Government

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consider that the derogation in respect of article 5(3) of the European Convention on Human Rights continues to be necessary.

Torture

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the next United Kingdom periodic report is due under the UN Convention Against Torture; and if he will consult with non-governmental organisations on its content. [7374]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The United Kingdom's third periodic report under article 19 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture is due to be submitted to the United Nations in January 1998. Non-governmental organisations will be consulted during preparation of the report.

This is in keeping with the Government's wish for greater engagement with and openness toward non-governmental organisations.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) meetings and (b) discussions have taken place since May between the staff of the Prison Service and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture. [7373]

Mr. Straw: There have been no official meetings or discussions between Prison Service staff and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) since May 1994 when the CPT last visited places of detention in the United Kingdom.

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