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Mr. Roger Crooks

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 3 April 2000, Official Report, column 284W, concerning officials who met Mr. Roger Crooks, which official they have been unable to contact; and what the reason is for the delay. [123386]

Mr. Hain: We had been unable to contact the relevant official, due to his absence on annual leave. He has now confirmed that he has not met Mr. Crooks.

Lome Agreement

Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what part the Government played in negotiating the Lome agreement of 7 July 1999. [123321]

Mr. Hain: The Lome Peace Agreement was negotiated between the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front, under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States. Representatives from the international community, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the Organisation of African Unity, and the United States, as well as Britain, attended the negotiations.

Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Lome peace accord. [123310]

Mr. Hain: The Lome Peace Agreement was signed on 7 July 1999. It provides for a permanent end to hostilities in Sierra Leone; disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of all former combatants; democratic elections; the creation of effective and democratically accountable armed forces; and an international peacekeeping force to supervise the peace process.

Western Sahara

Mr. Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Western Sahara. [123648]

Mr. Hain: With the support of the UN Security Council, James Baker, the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy on the Western Sahara recently visited several north African countries to assess the prospects for resolving the long-standing dispute over the Western Sahara.

Following these visits, Mr. Baker invited the two main parties--Morocco and the Polisario Front--and the two front-line states--Algeria and Mauritania--to meet in order to consider the options for moving discussions forward. The UN asked the British Government if we could provide a venue for 14 May. We agreed, and the UN accepted our offer of Lancaster House.

We welcome the willingness of the two parties to engage. We hope they will respect the spirit and aims of Mr. Baker's mission and work with him to secure an early, durable and agreed resolution of this dispute.

The 14 May talks were private and conducted throughout by Mr. Baker and his United Nations team. The UK's role was limited in this instance to logistical

23 May 2000 : Column: 416W

support. But I hope it sends a clear signal of our continuing willingness to support UN efforts to resolve conflicts in the African continent.

Kosovo

Mrs. Mahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the health of the Serbs held by KFOR in Kosovo who are on hunger strike. [121578]

Mr. Vaz: There are around 40 Kosovo Serbs on hunger strike in Mitrovica. We understand that they are being held in UNMIK detention facilities guarded by KFOR troops. Four of the 40 have been hospitalised. In three of the four cases, this was principally due to poor general health rather than the effects of the hunger strike.

Joannou and Paraskevaides Group

Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which of his Department's trade promotion initiatives in the last three years have involved the Joannou and Paraskevaides Construction Group. [123140]

Mr. Battle [holding answer 22 May 2000]: A representative from the Joannou and Paraskevaides Construction Group (J + P) attended and spoke at a promotional event in the UK in November 1998 to publicise export opportunities presented by the 2004 Olympics in Athens. J + P were also present at a follow-up event in Athens a year later.

There is no other record of the Joannou and Paraskevaides Construction Group having been involved in FCO (and since may 1999 in British Trade International) trade promotion initiatives in the last three years.

TREASURY

Working Families Tax Credit

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) recipients of Working Families Tax Credit and (b) partners of the recipients of Working Families Tax Credit who earn within (i) 5 per cent. and (ii) 10 per cent. of the minimum wage; and if he will make a statement. [123069]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Havant (Mr. Willetts) on 8 March 2000, Official Report, column 771W.

Green Transport

Mr. Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the key buildings for which his Department (a) submitted and (b) did not submit green transport plans by March. [122623]

Mr. Timms [holding answer 18 May 2000]: The Treasury submitted green transport plans in March 1999 covering the two buildings it occupies.

23 May 2000 : Column: 417W

Euro

Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the capital contribution which Britain would have to make to the European Central Bank on joining the euro. [123043]

Miss Melanie Johnson: As set out in Article 29 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, each national central bank of participating member states contributes to the ECB's capital according to a weighting, based on their relative population and national income.

Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total conversion costs for business of switching from the pound to the euro. [123044]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The level of costs would depend on the approach adopted by individual companies.

Cross-departmental Reviews

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place the terms of reference of the 13 cross-departmental reviews announced on 21 December 1999 in the Library; and if he will make a statement on their progress. [122785]

Mr. Andrew Smith: The terms of reference of the 13 cross-departmental reviews announced on 21 December 1999 have been placed in the Library, along with the terms of reference of the two cross-departmental reviews announced since December. The 15 reviews are making excellent progress. The 2000 Spending Review will report in due course.

Occupational Review

Jackie Ballard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to introduce tax relief for pensioners in receipt of low levels of occupational pensions which are subject to tax. [122095]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Only four out of 10 pensioners have any income tax to pay. People aged 65 or more receive a higher level of income tax personal allowance: for example, someone aged between 65 and 74 has a personal allowance of £5,790 in 2000-01, in contrast with the allowance for people under 65 of £4,385. The age-related personal allowances were increased by substantially more than statutory indexation in 1999-2000 and have risen in line with indexation this year. They are gradually withdrawn in cases where income exceeds £17,000 a year.

Endowment Mis-selling

Mr. Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to require banks and insurance companies to compensate mortgage borrowers who have been the victims of endowment mis-selling. [123250]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 22 May 2000]: Where mortgage borrowers have been mis-sold an endowment, the regulators have powers to take disciplinary action which can result in firms being directed to make compensation. Mis-selling may arise from unsuitable advice, ie recommending that a borrower plans to repay a mortgage with a product which is either

23 May 2000 : Column: 418W

unsuitable for the purpose or unsuitable for the borrower's circumstances. The Government intend that the FSA will have comparable powers under the Financial Services and Markets Bill when enacted.

Recently many endowment providers have contacted their customers to tell them that their endowments may not yield enough to repay associated mortgages. This does not necessarily arise from mis-selling and reflects the reduction in inflation in response to the Government's policy to deliver a stable macroeconomic environment conducive to long term economic growth. When inflation falls, investment returns also reduce so that the cash proceeds of an endowment may be lower than initially expected, eg insufficient to repay an associated mortgage.

Changeover Plan

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department plans to spend on the national changeover plan (a) in total, (b) in Wales and (c) in Ceredigion in this financial year; and if he will make a statement. [123454]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Information on changeover planning is contained in the second Outline National Changeover Plan, published on 9 March.

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