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Depleted Uranium (Iraq)
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the amount of uranium dust released in Iraq during the Gulf War from depleted uranium rounds; and what action he proposed to take to manage the risk to public health. [96667]
Mr. Spellar:
It is assessed that over 860,000 depleted uranium-based ammunition rounds, of varying calibre, were used by Coalition Forces during the Gulf conflict.
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Evaluation of the environmental effects of depleted uranium is ongoing.
As part of this work, we would, of course, consider any reliable medical or scientific data which may emerge from any source of risk to public health posed by depleted uranium.
Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list and summarize the specific areas of research being undertaken as part of the Army's Retention Study. [96837]
Mr. Spellar:
The Army Retention Study, which is being undertaken under contract by the Hay Management Group, will draw on and initiate structured quantitative and qualitative market research into retention in the Army. In addition to analysis of existing research and retention initiatives, a programme of field research will be conducted to establish a cross section of views from all ranks, and their families, to determine why people leave the Service and to identify trends. Further consultation will take place with Unit Retention Officers, Policy Staffs, and individuals who have recently joined and left the Army, among others. The Study will consider the extent to which current retention policies and initiatives are effective, and identify areas where they can be improved.
Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the remit of the Army's Retention Study currently being undertaken by the Hay Management Group. [96834]
Mr. Spellar:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 October 1999, Official Report, column 705.
Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will specify the (i) particular responsibilities, (ii) manner of operation and (iii) decision-making processes of the Ministerial Group, Families Forum and Working Group that make up the Service Families Task Force. [96836]
Mr. Spellar:
The Families Forum enables the three Service families associations to raise issues of concern to me and, in turn, allows me to inform them of the progress the Task Force is making. The Ministerial Group identifies the desired outcome to these issues and directs the Working Group of officials to progress them.
Mrs. Mahon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many forensic teams are investigating (a) war graves and (b) sites of war crimes; and which countries they represent. [96097]
Mr. Hain:
I have been asked to reply.
Thirteen states have provided investigative teams including forensic experts to assist the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in Kosovo, although forensic investigations have now been scaled down with the onset of winter. They are: the UK, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. The UK was the first
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to send such a team. ICTY also has its own team of investigators including forensic experts working in Bosnia.
Mrs. Mahon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what organisation is responsible for reporting on numbers of bodies found in graves in Kosovo and on evidence of war crimes committed; when it will report and to whom. [96098]
Mr. Hain:
I have been asked to reply.
There is no one organisation responsible for reporting on atrocities in Kosovo. However, the UN Commission for Human Rights has asked the UN High Commissioner to report on atrocities. She has produced two reports in May and September of this year.
Mrs. Mahon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many bodies were exhumed from the Trepca mine in Kosovo; and what forensic evidence was found that could prove claims that the Trepca mine had been a mass grave. [96096]
Mr. Hain:
I have been asked to reply.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has conducted extensive investigations at Trepca mine. No bodies have been found there to date. There is no forensic evidence to date to confirm that it was a mass grave site.
Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what efforts he has made to attract civilian airlines to use Wideawake Airfield on Ascension Island; and if he will make a statement. [96035]
Mr. Battle:
I have been asked to reply.
Civil aircraft may use Wideawake Airfield only with the agreement of both the UK and US authorities.
In December 1998, the UK passed to the United States authorities for consideration, a draft treaty to allow certain types of civil flights into Ascension.
During the visit of my noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to the United States on 4-5 October 1999, the United States Government agreed in principle that the airfield should be opened to certain types of civil flights on a limited basis.
We are encouraging the United States authorities to complete their internal discussions and to secure a mandate for formal negotiations to begin. British Embassy officials in Washington will soon meet State Department officials to take this issue forward.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on his policy
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towards funding of archaeology; what (a) national and (b) EC grants are available; and if he will make a statement. [95299]
Mr. Alan Howarth:
Funding for archaeological projects is provided through English Heritage's (EH) archaeology budget (£9.7 million for 1999-2000), of which £4.975 million is provided in grants to outside bodies; archaeology will also feature in other EH funded projects. Developers' contribution to archaeological costs is estimated at £30 million per annum. Although the Local Government Finance Settlement is the best one for seven years, the provision of conservation services in local authorities is kept under review, and, where necessary, EH will continue to fund a number of archaeological posts (costing £150,000 in 1999-2000). Financial assistance has been available from the EU's Raphael fund, which is due to be replaced by the Culture 2000 Framework Programme, under which archaeological projects will be eligible; projects may also qualify for funding under a range of other EU programmes.
HMG is also funding a two-year project of pilot schemes in six areas of England for the voluntary recording of all archaeological finds, which started in September 1997. The Heritage Lottery Fund is funding a further six pilot schemes from early 1999, extending coverage to more than half the country. An Annual Report and website were launched on 24 March.
Mr. Kaufman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will instruct the ITC to obtain from ITV the latest figures showing (a) the change in the numbers watching news on Channel 3 since the abolition of News at Ten and (b) the change in the viewing numbers for the 10 to 10.30 p.m. weekday slot on Channel 3 since the abolition of News at Ten. [95751]
Janet Anderson:
The Independent Television Commission is monitoring the performance of ITV following changes to its news provision. ITV began their new evening schedule on 8 March, replacing the bulletin at 5.40-6.00 and News at Ten with a half hour news bulletin from 6.30-7.00 and an update from 11.00-11.15. For the four weeks beginning 14 September, the latest figures available to the ITC, the average audiences who were watching news on Channel 3 and the figures for the equivalent weeks in 1999 are as follows:
| Million | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | |
| 5.40-6.00 | 4.1 |
| 10.00-10.30 | 5.6 |
| Total | 9.7 |
| 1999 | |
| 6.30-7.00 | 5.5 |
| 11.00-11.15 | 3.5 |
| Total | 9.0 |
During this period in 1998, 5.6 million were watching Channel 3 in the 10.00 to 10.30 pm slot and during the same period in 1999, since the rescheduling of News at Ten, this has changed to 6.8 million.
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Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what was the change in the total number of jobs in tourism-related industries in the year to December 1998 in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland; [95435]
Janet Anderson:
The changes in the number of self-employment and employee jobs in the tourism related industries in the year to December 1998 in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) London and (f) north-west England are shown in the table.
(2) what was the change in the total number of jobs in tourism-related industries in the year to December 1998 in (a) London and (b) the north-west of England. [95926]
| Region | December 1997 | December 1998 | Change over the year (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1,510,000 | 1,481,000 | -2 |
| Scotland | 170,000 | 171,000 | +0.06 |
| Wales | 79,000 | 82,000 | +4 |
| Northern Ireland | 43,000 | 44,000 | +2 |
| London | 276,000 | 275,000 | -0.4 |
| North West | 186,000 | 183,000 | -2 |
Source:
GB: Employee jobs from Annual Employment Survey and Short Term Employment Survey and self employment jobs from Labour Force Survey (ONS)
NI: Employee jobs from Northern Ireland Quarterly Employment Survey and self employment jobs from the NI Labour Force Survey (Northern Ireland Office)
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