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Gaming Act 1968

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will announce his response to the consultation on modernisation of the Gaming Act 1968. [66370]

Mr. George Howarth: We have been discussing specific issues with the Gaming Board and the industry, and hope to make an announcement shortly.

Illegal Lotteries

Mr. Corbett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of prosecutions in each of the last four years for which figures are available for alleged illegal operation of lotteries licensed under the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976; and what, for each successful prosecution, was the fine or sentence imposed and the names of those convicted. [66266]

Mr. George Howarth: The table sets out the information we have from court reports. We do not collect the names of those convicted.

Number of defendants prosecuted at magistrates' courts and convicted at all courts for lottery offences under sections 2, 3, 4, 13 and 14 of the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976
England and Wales

Offences/disposal1994199519961997
Prosecutions231677
Convictions131144
of which were sentenced to:
Absolute discharge--3----
Conditional discharge4323
Fine952--
Average fine (£)1144603,000--
Highest recorded fine (£)4001,0003,500--
Probation Order------1


20 Jan 1999 : Column: 483

Video Classification

Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will make any changes to the authority responsible for making arrangements for the classification of video works under the Video Recordings Act 1984; and if he will make a statement. [66999]

Mr. Straw: Following the proposal for designation which I laid before Parliament on 12 November 1998, I have today designated Lord Taylor of Warwick and Ms Janet Lewis Jones under section 4(4) of the Video Recordings Act 1984. Lord Taylor and Janet Lewis Jones were appointed as Vice Presidents designate of the British Board of Film Classification on 12 November 1998, and I am designating them, in that capacity, to replace Monica Sims.

I have placed in the Library a copy of my Notice of Designation and the text of letters I am sending to Lord Taylor and Janet Lewis Jones confirming the designation.

PRIME MINISTER

Franco-British Summit

Mr. Maclean: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the consequences of the Franco-British summit at St. Malo on the development of a shared African policy particularly in relation to (a) intelligence matters, (b) the ethical foreign policy and (c) arms supplies to Governments-in-exile. [66341]

The Prime Minister: At St. Malo both Governments agreed to seek to harmonise their policies on Africa and pursue close co-operation on the ground; to promote the EU Common Position on Human Rights, Democratic Principles, the Rule of Law and Good Governance in Africa; and to attach particular importance to tackling problems of debt and the maintenance of a significant level of development assistance. We intend to follow this up by intensified exchange of diplomatic reporting and other diplomatic collaboration. There is no intention to develop a shared policy on any of the areas mentioned by the right hon. Member.

Cross-party Co-operation

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the areas of co-operation with the Liberal Democrats through the Joint Cabinet Consultative Committee system where he intends to use their contributions to develop policy. [65816]

The Prime Minister [holding answer 18 January 1999]: Any contributions of the Liberal Democrats with the Joint Consultative Committee may be used in the development of policy, as may other contributions from a wide variety of sources.

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to extend the remit of the Joint Cabinet Consultative Committee to involve (a) the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) and (b) other Liberal Democrat right hon. and hon. Members in the development of Government policy on environmental issues. [66403]

20 Jan 1999 : Column: 484

The Prime Minister [holding answer 18 January 1999]: The terms of reference of the Joint Consultative Committee are



The Minister for the Cabinet Office and the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed are currently reviewing the work of the Committee, including what policy areas might be discussed at the Committee in future. Their review is not yet complete.

Iraq

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister what knowledge Her Majesty's Government have of the number of civilian casualties to which he referred in his letter to the hon. Member for Linlithgow of 13 January. [66492]

The Prime Minister [holding answer 19 January 1999]: As I said in my letter to my hon. Friend, the risk of civilian casualties was a major consideration in selecting targets during Operation Desert Fox. Only precision guided weapons were used where there was any risk of collateral damage. As I said, we regret any civilian injuries and deaths which may have occurred, but we are confident that these were minimal. There have been no reliable reports to the contrary.

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister what response he has made to the request by the Government of France on 22 December that Britain and the US should disclose the results of their attack against Iraq. [65649]

The Prime Minister: The Government have disclosed the results of military action against Iraq. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence sent a full report on the effects of Operation Desert Fox to all Members of the House on 22 December. An updated report will be issued shortly.

Sir Peter Emery: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what action was taken by himself, or with President Clinton, in response to the admission by a member of the UNSCOM arms inspectors in Iraq that UNSCOM information was being passed to the Israeli Intelligence Service; [66002]

The Prime Minister: UNSCOM is entitled to seek information and advice from all possible sources in pursuit of its mandate to destroy Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction capability.

UNSCOM Executive Chairman Richard Butler has made clear that he has always insisted on all UNSCOM activity being carried out strictly in pursuit of its disarmament mandate, not the benefit of any individual member state.

Joint Cabinet Consultative Committee

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister what sanctions would apply to Liberal Democrat Party members of the Joint Cabinet Consultative Committee considering foreign policy and defence and security issues who disclosed the contents of classified material. [66510]

20 Jan 1999 : Column: 485

The Prime Minister [holding answer 19 January 1999]: All members of the Joint Consultative Committee including the Liberal Democrat members are covered by the Official Secrets Act 1989 in respect of the Committee's work.

Honours Lists

Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Prime Minister how many United Kingdom nominations his office received for New Year and Birthday Honours in 1998; and how many United Kingdom honours were awarded in (a) the 1998 Birthday List and (b) the 1999 New Year List. [65905]

The Prime Minister [pursuant to his reply, 18 January 1999, c. 343]: The second sentence contains a typographical error and should read:


NORTHERN IRELAND

Joint Ministerial Councils

7. Mr. Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will make a statement about the relevance of joint ministerial councils and concordats for the new arrangements in Northern Ireland. [64861]

Mr. Paul Murphy: After Devolution, the Government and the new administrations in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff will need to work together very closely on a number of important issues. Some of this work will be set out in formal agreements--or, concordats--agreed by all concerned.

In addition, liaison and consultation will be achieved through the setting up of a Joint Ministerial Committee. These arrangements are purely within a UK context.


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