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Trade Statistics

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the source of the statistics used in the section Trade in Goods, under International Trade, of his booklet, "The British Economy". [84096]

Mr. Robin Cook: The United Kingdom Balance of Payments (The Pink Book) 1997.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the statistical source for levels of imports and exports provided in his Departmental poster, Outline Britain; and what is the (a) target audience and (b) how many have been distributed. [84097]

Mr. Hoon: The statistical source was the Annual Abstract of Statistics 1998, published by the ONS.


(a) The target audience was Press and Public Affairs Officers and Commercial Officers at Diplomatic Posts.
(b) The distribution between 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999 was 14,996.

Conference on Perceptions of Britain

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the planned (a) timing and (b) contents of the first biennial Conference on Perceptions of Britain. [84091]

Mr. Hoon: The first conference on perceptions of Britain, recommended by Panel 2000, is planned for 23 November 1999. The content will cover interchange of information on how Britain is perceived overseas, including the results of research organised by the British Council in 12 key markets, and how better co-operation can enhance perceptions of Britain.

18 May 1999 : Column: 332

Panel 2000

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recommendations in the Panel 2000 consultation document he has (a) adopted and (b) rejected; and if he will make a statement. [84099]

Mr. Robin Cook: All the recommendations in the Panel 2000 Consultation document were adopted by the Panel at its meeting on 17 December 1998. This followed a broad welcome for the recommendations during the consultation process which included a wide range of public and private sector organisations; feedback will be reflected in the implementation of the recommendations now underway. Individual participants in the Panel are engaged in the implementation process. The full Panel will meet again in the second half of this year to assess progress.

Information Technology

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 11 May 1999, Official Report, column 119, on information technology, how much of the expenditure incurred was connected with millennium computer compliance. [84515]

Mr. Hoon: None of the total of £44 million can be specifically identified as being directly related to achieving Y2K compliance. However, the expenditure forms part of the FCO's modernisation programme, which, by replacing obsolete IT, is helping to achieve that compliance.

Uganda

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to review his Department's current advice about travel to Uganda. [84572]

Mr. Hoon: All travel advice is reviewed routinely on a monthly basis and more frequently when there is reason to do so.

The travel advice for Uganda was last revised on 17 May. Because of the variety and fluidity of risks to travellers in Uganda the advice is constantly monitored.

International Fact-finding Commission

Mr. HomeRobertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to be able to recognise the competence of the International Fact-finding Commission enshrined in Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions. [84793]

Mr. Tony Lloyd: I am pleased to inform the House that a declaration confirming the United Kingdom's recognition of the competence of that body was yesterday being deposited with the Swiss authorities in Berne. This further demonstrates our commitment to international humanitarian law, following our ratification of the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions in January 1998, our ratification of the Ottawa Convention in July 1998 and our acceptance of Amended Protocol II and Additional Protocol IV to the UN Weaponry Convention earlier this year.

18 May 1999 : Column: 333

Tobacco

Mr. Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what instructions have been issued to overseas diplomatic posts to restrict their involvement in the promotion of tobacco products following the publication of the Tobacco White Paper in December. [84843]

Mr. Tony Lloyd: We have issued the following guidelines to overseas posts:



18 May 1999 : Column: 334

Media Relations

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) civil servants and (b) special advisers involved in media relations were employed within his Department at 1 May (i) 1997, (ii) 1998 and (iii) 1999. [84193]

Mr. Hoon: Detailed information on the numbers of permanent civil servants employed in Departmental Press Offices during the financial years 1997-98 and 1998-99 was provided in a memorandum to the Select Committee on Public Administration and published in its report on 'The Government Information and Communication Service' (HC 770) in July 1998. A copy is in the Library of the House. There are at present 17.7 such staff in the FCO.

Special Advisers in this Department have ad hoc contact with the media but none are specifically employed in media relations.


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