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Public Accounts Commission
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission what discussions he has held with the Comptroller and Auditor General on the cost of inspecting the accounts of NHS trusts. [11846]
Mr. Sheldon: The Commission regularly discusses the costs of the National Audit Office's activities, most recently on 23 July 1997 when it considered the NAO's corporate plan for 1998-99 to 2002-03. The costs of inspecting the accounts of NHS trusts are included in the plan, but were not separately identified or discussed.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Waste Minimisation
Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what plans he has to introduce a waste minimisation strategy for his Department; [11547]
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(3) if he will make a statement on existing targets set to minimise waste within his Department. [11548]
Mr. Fatchett:
In 1996, in response to the White Paper "A Strategy for Sustainable Waste Management", we commissioned consultants to propose a waste minimisation strategy. Before then, there were no statistics available. Our consultants estimated that in 1996 this Department produced around 3,900 tons of solid waste per annum; 2,280 came from our London sites and 1,620 from our Hanslope Park site near Milton Keynes. Of the total, around 2,900 tons went ultimately to landfill. The balance, around 1,000 tons from the London sites, was incinerated by Westminster city council and the heat recovered for power generation.
Our current aim for central London by recycling, mainly paper, is to reduce by the year 2000 the amount of solid waste sent for landfill by 400 tons per annum. equivalent to a 33 per cent. reduction. Elements of this strategy were already in place in 1996 whereby white paper and toner cartridges were recycled.
At our Hanslope Park site, we are aiming for a reduction of 300 tons on the same time scale, representing a 20 per cent. reduction. At Hanslope Park, where we have a dispatch and packing operation, we introduced a recycling arrangement, whereby incoming cardboard packing material is shredded for reuse as an alternative to polystyrene products. We estimate that the financial savings from not dumping the cardboard as landfill, and not having to buy as much polystyrene packing materials, will meet the cost of the shredding equipment within 18 months. This is in addition to significantly reducing the amount of material sent to landfill.
The long-term aim of our waste minimisation strategy is to reduce by the year 2000 the proportion of waste going to landfill to 60 per cent. of the 1996 figure.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason he proposes to give up British claims to the area of the Atlantic around Rockall. [11779]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
British fishery limits to the west of Rockall will be redrawn upon the UK's accession to the United Nations convention on the law of the sea. The conversion will bring many advantages to the UK, including the right to impose strong anti-pollution measures around our shores and important freedom of navigation. The convention provides that rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.
Even before accession, the UK's claim to 200-mile fishery limits based on Rockall was highly questionable. Rockall itself will remain part of Scotland with a 12-mile territorial sea, and will remain within British fishery limits, as will the Rockall Bank and the new deep water fisheries to the east of Rockall. Redrawing our fishery limits has no effect on our continental shelf to the west of Rockall.
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Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the rules relating to straddling stocks under the UN law of the sea convention 1983; when they come into force; and if he will make a statement on the capacity of flag states to take action against foreign vessels taking straddling stocks. [11955]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The United Nations convention on the law of the sea--UNCLOS--of 10 December 1982, which enters into force for the United Kingdom on 24 August, contains a number of provisions relevant to straddling fish stocks, including a requirement that the states concerned seek to agree measures to conserve such stocks in the high seas. A detailed framework agreement of 1995 implementing these provisions of UNCLOS has been signed by the United Kingdom, but is not yet in force.
A costal state may pursue into the high seas foreign vessels fishing for straddling stocks within its fishery limits in breach of its law and regulations. The control of vessels fishing for straddling stocks on the high seas is primarily the responsibility of the flag state. A coastal state will also be able to take action to the extent provided in the 1995 straddling stocks agreement, once it enters into force.
Mr. Howard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the differences between the criteria set out in his answer to the hon. Member for East Ham (Mr. Timms) of 28 July, Official Report, columns 26-29 and the criteria followed by the previous Government. [11885]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The new criteria for considering licence applications for the export of conventional arms build on the UK's commitments to guidelines on arms transfers agreed with permanent members of the UN Security Council, the European Union and the then Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe.
The new criteria are more detailed and precise than those followed by the previous Government. They represent a clear tightening of policy on arms exports, inter alia, by:
Mr. Howard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contracts permitted by the previous Government he intends to prohibit in accordance with the criteria set out in his answer to the hon. Member for East Ham of 28 July, Official Report, columns 26-29. [11886]
Mr. Lloyd:
As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary announced on 28 July, Official Report, columns 26-29, we were not responsible for the decisions on
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export licences made by the previous Administration. We do not, however, consider it realistic or practical to revoke licences which were valid and in force at the time of our election.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for East Ham of 28 July, Official Report, columns 26-29, for what reasons Her Majesty's Government do not consider it would be realistic or practical to revoke arms exports licences which were valid and in force at the time of the general election. [12211]
Mr. Lloyd:
I will write to my hon. Friend shortly.
Mr. Rooney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the re-application for entry clearance by Sikander Mahmood, Islam Abad ref. IMM/D2436, will be dealt with (a) on the documentation submitted and (b) by interview. [11793]
Mr. Fatchett:
We have asked our high commission in Islamabad for a detailed account of the application and my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will write to my hon. Friend within one week of receiving that account.
Mr. Howard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what factors underlie the continued sale of Hawk jets to Indonesia. [11832]
Mr. Fatchett:
The decision to authorise the issue of the current licences to export 16 Hawk Aircraft to Indonesia was announced to the House on 21 November 1996, Official Report, column 676.
As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary told the House on 28 July, Official Report, columns 26-29, the present Government were not responsible for the decisions on export licences made by the previous Administration. We do not, however, consider that it would be realistic or practical to revoke licences that were valid and in force at the time of our election.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many British made (a) Land Rovers, (b) water cannon and (c) other military, security and police equipment and vehicles are currently deployed in East Timor; and where they are located; [12105]
(3) what assurances the Government have received from the Indonesian authorities regarding the deployment and use of British-made military, security and police equipment and vehicles in East Timor. [12104]
Mr. Fatchett:
I will write to my hon. Friend shortly.
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(2) if he will list the amount, and proportion, of paper recycled by his Department in each of the last five years; [11549]
moving from an assessment of whether equipment is likely to be used for internal repression of international aggression to an assessment of whether equipment might be so used;
requiring officials to consider clear evidence of recent use of similar equipment exported by any country;
providing detailed guidance on the meaning of internal repression;
giving guidance on those goods which have a more obvious potential for use in internal repression.
(2) what steps the British Government have taken to ascertain the amount of British-made military, security and police vehicles and equipment currently deployed by Indonesia in East Timor; and what mechanisms have been put in place to monitor the end use in East Timor of such vehicles and equipment; [12106]
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