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Oesophageal Cancer
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will report the current progress of the clinical trials regarding the treatment of oesophageal cancer relating to chemotherapy (OEO2). [81750]
Mr. Battle: I have been asked to reply.
The clinical trial on pre-operative chemotherapy for oesophageal cancer conducted by the Medical Research Council closed to new patients in June 1998. The trial recruited 800 patients across a large number of centres.
The data from the trial are currently being analysed and validated. It is anticipated that the research results will be published next year.
Visas (China)
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visa applications from Chinese nationals for one-year study courses were made in each year since 1989; and what were the numbers (a) approved, (b) rejected and (c) subject to appeal in each year. [80784]
Mr. Fatchett:
The figures requested are not collected by my Department and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he intends to open a trade mission in Libya; and if he will make a statement. [80808]
Mr. Fatchett
[holding answer 16 April 1999]: We offer limited trade services to UK companies. But the resumption of more normal relations with Libya, including the expansion of our presence in Tripoli, depends in the first instance on satisfactory co-operation from Libya over the WPC Fletcher case.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff by grade are employed as professional statisticians in his Department; how many of these staff have been accepted as fast stream by the Civil Service Selection Board; and how many have been granted chartered statistician status by the Royal Statistical Society. [81203]
Mr. Fatchett:
There is one Home Civil Service Grade 7 statistician in the FCO. The person concerned joined the Civil Service as a fast stream entrant. Although not having chartered statistician status, the statistician is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and has an MSc in Statistics.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff who have worked as professional statisticians in his Department have left on early retirement in each of the past 10 years. [81183]
Mr. Fatchett:
One statistician left the FCO in 1997 on early retirement.
Ms Julie Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries (a) from which police officers have visited the UK and (b) have been visited by UK military or police personnel to receive training under the assistance for in-service training scheme since 1 April 1998. [81376]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The countries from which police officers have visited the United Kingdom to receive training under the Assistance to Support Stability with In-Service Training (ASSIST) scheme since 1 April 1998 are: Argentine, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Bermuda, Chile, Cyprus, Fiji, Ghana, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Lebanon, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, St. Lucia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The countries whose police officers have been visited by UK military or police personnel to receive training under ASSIST since 1 April 1998 are: Brazil, China, El Salvador, Fiji, Kenya, Philippines, Turkey and Zimbabwe.
Ms Julie Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries from which police officers (a) have visited the United Kingdom and (b) have been visited by United
26 Apr 1999 : Column: 31
Kingdom military or police personnel to receive training under the United Kingdom military training assistance scheme in the financial year 1997-98. [81377]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The countries from which police officers have visited the United Kingdom to receive training under the United Kingdom Military Training Assistance Scheme (UKMTAS) in the financial year 1997-98 are: Anguilla, Antigua, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Fiji, Gibraltar, Grenada, Hungary, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, St. Christopher and Nevis, St. Vincent, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The countries from which police officers have been visited by United Kingdom police or military personnel to receive training under UKMTAS in financial year 1997-98 are: Bosnia, Czech Republic, Fiji and Mongolia.
Mr. Fabricant:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will meet his counterpart in the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia to discuss the situation in East Timor. [81709]
Mr. Fatchett:
We are in regular contact with the Australian government about East Timor. I will be doing so again following my visit to Indonesia and East Timor this week.
Mr. Fabricant:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement concerning reports of a massacre of Timorese people by armed civilians on 16 and 17 April. [81710]
Mr. Fatchett:
We are appalled at the recent killings in East Timor. We have called on the Indonesian government to rein in the militias. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister sent a strong message to President Habibie on 19 April. The violence must not be allowed to derail the UN process at this crucial time.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Indonesian Government following the recent killing of people in East Timor by soldiers of the Indonesian Government. [81896]
Mr. Fatchett
[holding answer 23 April 1999]: We are appalled at the recent killings in East Timor. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister sent a strong message to President Habibie on 19 April.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the (a) nature, (b) length, (c) location, (d) means and (e) time of his communication with Hashim Thaqi of the Kosovo Liberation Army urging restraint. [81653]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
In a letter addressed to Mr. Thaqi, jointly signed by the French Foreign Minister and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on the
26 Apr 1999 : Column: 32
adjournment of the talks on Kosovo at the Kleber Centre in Paris on 19 March, they emphasised the importance of the Kosovo Albanian side avoiding provocations and respecting the commitment they had made to a peaceful solution. The letter was delivered to the Kosovo Albanian delegation in Paris on 19 March. We believe that Mr. Thaqi has indeed shown commendable restraint, despite the worsening situation in Kosovo.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the state of relations with the French Government over the Guernsey court case involving the French vessel La Confiance 2; what representations he has received; and what is his policy on the jurisdiction over the waters concerned. [81652]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The Master of La Confiance 2 was arrested on 26 August last year on suspicion of fishing illegally within Guernsey's fishing limits. He was convicted on 7 April by a Guernsey court. Our Ambassador in Paris discussed the case with the French authorities on 19 April. Sir M. Jay made clear that we considered the arrest had been made in accordance with UK and international law.
Fiona Mactaggart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list, for each British post abroad which operates a pre-sift system for people applying for visit visas, how many people (a) were advised to withdraw their applications and (b) followed that advice, in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1999 to the latest convenient date. [81688]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
During 1998, a total of 44,031 applicants withdrew their application at the Preliminary Assessment Stage. 52 posts operated a pre-sift system in 1998. They were as follows:
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The number of applicants who choose not to withdraw their application is not separately recorded.
Figures for 1999 will not be available until posts complete their 1999 Annual Statistical Return early in the year 2000. These figures are not collected monthly.
Fiona Mactaggart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what factors underlie the decisions on which posts abroad operate a pre-sift system in dealing with applications for visit visas. [81689]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The decision to introduce a "sift" at any post can be taken only with the agreement of Migration and Visa Division. The factors taken into account will include overall numbers of applicants and the time each has to wait. Where a post experiences a large number of inadequately documented applications or visit visa applicants who have no connection with the UK or who are unclear about what they intend to do there, a "sift" may be introduced. The benefits of the "sift" procedure are that it prevents unnecessary work for the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) and saves time, money and the disappointment of a refusal for the applicant. In addition, it shortens the waiting time for the well-prepared and well-supported applicant.
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