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Raul Reyes
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts concerning the European tour of Raul Reyes, the senior Colombian FARC commander. [114777]
Mr. Battle:
In February, the Colombian Government's High Commissioner for Peace, Victor G. Ricardo, together with Raul Reyes, the FARC's leading spokesperson, visited some European capitals (none in the UK) to seek support for the peace process. The aim of the trip was also to study the economic models in a variety of countries.
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They visited Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Holy See, Spain and France. We have obtained reports of the visits from Italy, Spain and France. Sweden have undertaken to report on the visit shortly.
In addition, we have had discussions on the visit with our EU Partners in the context of the regular EU/Latin America Working Groups (COLAT) in Brussels.
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received concerning violence in the Ituri region of north-eastern Congo. [114776]
Mr. Hain:
We are concerned at recent reports of massacres. We condemn all such incidents and have called on all parties to exercise restraint. During my meeting with President Museveni on 22 February I noted that Ugandan forces currently control the area and urged him to do all he could to stop such events. Along with our EU partners we also raised this issue with the Ugandan Government. With our UN partners we have called for an international investigation into all such events with a view to bringing all those responsible to justice.
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals for reform of the United Nations, Her Majesty's Government will be putting forward at the Millennium Assembly and Summit in September this year. [114779]
Mr. Hain:
The Government, along with our EU partners, are pressing for a high-level discussion on strengthening the United Nations at the Millennium Summit. At the Millennium Assembly, we will work for further modernisation of the UN along the lines of the Secretary-General's 1997 "Track II" package of reform recommendations in order to make the UN more efficient and effective and better able to meet the needs of all its members.
Mr. Winnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Latvian authorities regarding the prosecution for war crimes of a Latvian citizen who had fought against the Nazis. [114938]
Mr. Vaz:
We are aware of the case of Vassily Kononov, which is currently the subject of an appeal at the Supreme Court of Latvia. The matter is still sub judice.
Mr. Winnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Latvian authorities regarding the non- prosecution of Nazi war criminals. [114939]
Mr. Vaz:
We take our international obligation to bring to account those responsible for war crimes very seriously and have been in the forefront of international efforts to achieve restitution for victims of Nazi persecution. While the UK has no jurisdiction in the case, we have been assisting the Latvian authorities with their inquiries into Konrad Kalejs. A team of three Metropolitan police
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officers attended a meeting in Riga on 16-17 January to discuss this case with officers from Australia, Canada and the United States. Latvian police officials have been invited to London to examine material on war crimes in Latvia held by the Metropolitan police.
Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the estimated cost of his visit to Brazil; and how many staff will travel with him. [115019]
Mr. Battle:
I understand that the hon. Member is referring to the visit of my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister.
My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is in Brazil at the request of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to build on the close relationship between the UK and Brazil established during President Cardoso's state visit to the UK in December 1997, and to expand trade and investment links with the UK's largest trading partner in Latin America.
My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is visiting Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro and will meet with President Cardoso, Vice President Maciel, Foreign Minister Lampreia and other Ministers, businessmen and business organisations.
Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the purpose of his visit to Brazil; and if he will publish his itinerary. [115018]
Mr. Battle:
I understand the hon. Member is referring to the visit of my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister.
My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is in Brazil at the request of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to build on the close relationship between the UK and Brazil established during President Cardoso's state visit to the UK in December 1997, and to expand trade and investment links with the UK's largest trading partner in Latin America.
My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is visiting Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro and I will meet with President Cardoso, Vice President Maciel, Foreign Minister Lampreia and other Ministers, businessmen and business organisations.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he was informed of the cancellation of the Global Cultural Diversity Congress and the collapse of Global Cultural Diversity Congress 2000 Ltd., and by whom; and if he will make a statement. [112792]
Mr. Andrew Smith
[holding answer 3 March 2000]: The Treasury became aware of the cancellation of the Global Cultural Diversity Congress on 21 February.
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Mr. Love:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the role of micro-credit in assisting the growth of enterprise in deprived communities; and if he will make a statement. [114636]
Mr. Timms:
The role of micro-credit was considered at length by the Policy Action Team 3 in their report, "Enterprise and Social Exclusion". People in deprived communities often find it difficult to find capital to start or grow businesses, for several reasons:
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs have been created in the hospitality industry by the New Deal; and if he will indicate the methods by which he calculated this figure. [111118]
Ms Jowell:
I have been asked to reply.
The New Deal is not a job-creation programme; rather it is designed to help unemployed people improve their skills and compete effectively for vacancies.
The latest figures to the end of December 1999 show that this policy is working; nationally, 185,250 young people have found jobs under the New Deal. We do not hold detailed figures for the jobs taken in the hospitality sector. However, the Employment Service is working closely with 15 companies who are members of the British Hospitality Association to address ways of enhancing the sector's image to increase the number of New Deal participants. This work includes development of a sector specific gateway that will tap into the many vacancies that will arise this year. In the last year there were some 385,000 vacancies notified in this sector.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will estimate the amount of heroin which was sent via Kosovo in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement; [114929]
(3) what is his estimate of the percentage of heroin sold in the (a) UK and (b) EEC which came from smuggling through Kosovo in the last 12 months. [114928]
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Mr. Timms:
There is no evidence that any heroin detected in the United Kingdom in the last 12 months has originated from, or transited through, any area of the former Yugoslavia.
they are themselves capital poor, and lack collateral to support small firm lending;
a more fragile local economy increases the risk to lenders of business failure;
the high unit cost of making small firm loans makes them less profitable to lenders; and
accessibility to lenders, where banks can appear to be unapproachable.
While UK commercial banks are the major formal suppliers of external finance, new intermediaries such as Community Finance Initiatives (CFIs) can play a valuable role by acting as additional sources of credit in the community, including micro-credit facilities. The launch of the £30 million Phoenix Fund, which will be implemented in 2000-01, will include a challenge fund to help resource CFIs and provide loan guarantees to help co-finance commercial lending to CFIs.
(2) how much heroin sourced from Kosovo has been surrendered at UK ports by HM Customs and Excise in the past 12 months; [114926]
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