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Austria
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what change in the UK's bilateral relations with Austria has resulted from the resignation of the Leader of the Freedom Party of Austria; and if he will make a statement. [113015]
Mr. Vaz: Joerg Haider's resignation as Leader of the Freedom Party has not affected the measures introduced by the 14 members of the EU against Austria on 4 February. The issue has not been Haider's leadership of the Freedom Party, but the participation of the Freedom Party in the government of Austria. We will continue to judge the Austrian Government on how it lives up to its commitments in its Declaration.
Iran
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the death sentences imposed on three Iranian Baha'is in the city of Mashad on 3 February; and what representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Iranian Ambassador about them. [113014]
Mr. Hain: We remain concerned at reports of the death sentences passed on Mr. Najafabadi, Mr. Moghaddam and Mr. Khulusi in Mashad on 3 February. The picture has been somewhat confused by the recent statement by Mr. Sabeqi, spokesman for the Iranian Judiciary, that no such sentences had been passed. The Portuguese Presidency, on behalf of EU partners, presented a demarche to the Iranian authorities expressing our concern and seeking clarification as to the current status of these three gentlemen on 17 February. We took similar bilateral action with the Iranian Ambassador on 21 February.
We regularly raise with the Iranian authorities our serious concern about treatment of the Baha'is. Persecution of individuals on religious grounds is totally unacceptable.
Mr. Temple-Morris:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received concerning the claims by the Iranian exile group, the National Council of Resistance, about the turnout for the recent Iranian Majles elections and falsification of results. [113069]
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Mr. Hain:
I was aware of this attempt by the National Council for the Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to dismiss as a fraud the conduct and outcome of the recent Iranian elections. Their claims are not credible. The political choice made in the elections by the Iranian people is a matter for them, but our view, and that of all impartial observers, is that the election result in Iran has been a substantial vote of confidence in President Khatami's political and economic reforms, and a clear signal of the Iranian people's interest in modernisation.
For us, that is also a vindication of the policy of engagement with Iran pursued by this Government. That policy has attracted some criticism in the past, sometimes from the people who have accepted at face value the propaganda of the NCRI, which is an organisation dominated by the terrorist Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO). The MKO are based in Baghdad and are regarded by Saddam Hussein as some of his most trusted allies. They are despised by most Iranians within Iran for their support for Saddam during the Iran/Iraq war in the 1980s. They have been responsible for a series of terrorist attacks in Iran which we have condemned.
In our dealings with the Iranian Government we and our EU partners have regularly expressed our concern over a number of issues, particularly human rights, and we will continue to do so until those legitimate concerns are dealt with to our satisfaction. But in assessing those concerns, and the progress of events in Iran generally, we will pay little attention to the views of the MKO or NCRI, whose own background and methods do not permit them to speak with authority on democracy or human rights.
The outcome of the elections strengthens our optimism for the future of Iran, and for Britain's developing relationship with Iran.
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Nigeria concerning the Christian-Muslim conflicts in the north of the country. [112988]
Mr. Hain:
I discussed the situation in Northern Nigeria with Nigerian Foreign Minister Lamido on 14 February.
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I was deeply concerned by the situation in Kaduna and condemn the recent violence there and elsewhere. I have appealed to all those concerned for calm and for them to settle their differences without recourse to violence.
Mr. Gardiner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visa applications have been submitted to the Deputy High Commission in (a) Delhi, (b) Mumbai and (c) Calcutta during February 2000; and what were the figures for February 1999. [112790]
Mr. Vaz:
The deadline for the submission of entry clearance statistics from overseas posts for the month of February is 15 March. I will write to my hon. Friend when the figures requested are available. I am glad that my hon. Friend was able to visit our entry clearance operations in New Delhi and Bombay recently.
Dr. Marek:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent developments there have been in the revision of the St. Helena constitution. [113019]
Mr. Battle:
Following the publication of the White Paper "Partnership for Progress and Prosperity" we have asked the St. Helena Legislative Council what changes they would like to see in the Constitution. We have told them that we are prepared to consider specific, detailed and well argued recommendations for the amendment of the 1988 Constitutional Order.
Mr. Gareth Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish the report from Mr. J. J. Rowe on the operation in 1999 of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989. [113408]
Mr. Straw:
I have today arranged for copies of Mr. Rowe's report to be placed in the Library. Mr. Rowe recommends that the legislation should be renewed. A draft Order is being laid before the House today which continues all those provisions of the Act which are currently in force.
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will announce the outcome of the Prison Service's Quantum project. [113409]
Mr. Boateng:
I announced in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle), on 14 December 1999, Official Report, columns 139-40W, that Martin Narey, the Director-General of the Prison Service had selected Electronic Data Systems (EDS) as the preferred supplier for the Quantum project and that
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negotiations would be held with a view to award of contract. I am pleased to say that the preferred supplier negotiations with EDS have concluded successfully. Martin Narey has decided to award a contract to EDS for the provision of Information Technology services for the Prison Service.
Mr. Peter Bottomley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times in each (a) women's and (b) men's prison a prisoner has been strip-searched after a visit by an hon. Member since 1 January. [111968]
Mr. Boateng:
Prisons are not required to maintain statistics of the number of strip searches carried out, nor records of visits by hon. Members to prisoners. I am, however, aware that a female prisoner at Highpoint prison was strip searched following a visit by her Member of Parliament on 3 February.
As I advised the hon. Member during the debate he raised on Tuesday 29 February, this strip search was purely a random search. All prisons are required to carry out random searches of prisoners on completion of visits; Highpoint prison has a set level of 10 per cent. for such random searches. Category A prisoners will always be strip searched following any visit in open conditions.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what surveys he undertook in 1999 in prisons in England and Wales to check the efficacy of the suicide awareness programmes. [111978]
Mr. Boateng:
The Prison Service has developed a set of auditable key performance baselines for policies and practices in prison establishments, including the suicide awareness strategy. The standards audit unit of the Prison Service visit establishments to conduct these audits.
In 1999, a total of 71 establishments were audited on the suicide awareness baseline. Of these, 13 achieved a rating of good; 27 acceptable; 24 deficient; and seven unacceptable.
The Director-General is personally committed to ensuring that the suicide awareness strategy works, as are the Director of Security, who has policy responsibility for suicide awareness, and the area managers responsible for establishments. All regularly visit establishments. Members of the suicide awareness support unit at Prison Service headquarters also visit establishments to provide support to those operating the strategy.
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons also inspects prisons on a regular and unannounced basis during which he will look at the operation of the suicide awareness strategy. In addition to any recommendations that may arise from a visit to an individual prison, the Chief Inspector published a thematic review into the suicide awareness strategy in 1999. This contained a number of recommendations as to how the strategy could be improved; these recommendations are currently being acted upon.
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Act 1989
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