---

Orchestras

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is his estimate of the number of people employed full time as professional musicians working for orchestras in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [126076]

Mr. Alan Howarth: I have asked the Arts Council of England, as the main distributor of public subsidy for the arts in England, to provide this information for England. When it is available, I will write to the right hon. Member, and place a copy in the Library of the House. Figures for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

Independent Television

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will review the legislation that controls independent television in the UK with the aim of ensuring that adequate safeguards exist to protect local programme generation and local management of services. [126075]

Mr. Chris Smith: The Government are reviewing broadcasting legislation as part of our consideration of the future regulation of communications. Our conclusions

20 Jun 2000 : Column: 152W

will be announced in the forthcoming Communications White Paper, which is being prepared jointly by my Department and the Department for Trade and Industry.

Single Currency

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will estimate the cost to his Department of switching from the pound to the euro. [126398]

Mr. Chris Smith: Should the UK decide to join the euro, the cost of a changeover would depend on the detailed approach taken to a changeover.

Television Advertisements

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many television advertisements have been commissioned by his Department since 1 May 1997; and, of these, how many were provided with closed caption subtitling. [126898]

Mr. Chris Smith: None.

Opinion Research

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to his answer of 8 June 2000, Official Report, column 301W, on opinion research, if he will place all the unpublished opinion and market research carried out since January 1999 in the Library. [126984]

Mr. Chris Smith: This material could be provided only at disproportionate cost; as indicated in my answer of 8 June, all non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Department have been made aware of their obligations under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Advertising

Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent by his Department on advertising in each year since May 1997. [125692]

Mr. Chris Smith: The following table shows the cost of advertising undertaken by my Department. This expenditure was incurred to attract candidates for the many public appointments for which I am responsible.

	£
May 1997-March 1998	0
1998-1999	242,700
1999-2000	139,501
2000-01 to date	0

BBC Public Service Proposals

Mr. Pond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he will publish the criteria he uses in assessing new BBC public service proposals. [127227]

Mr. Chris Smith: I intend to publish the criteria tomorrow, and copies will be placed in the Library of the House.

20 Jun 2000 : Column: 153W

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Fiji

13. Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government have taken to encourage the restoration of democracy in Fiji. [125216]

Mr. Battle: We have condemned the use of criminal armed force by the kidnappers in Fiji and demanded the release of all the hostages, the restoration of democratic, constitutional government and the arrest of the hostage- takers. In pursuit of these aims, I participated in the meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on 6 June which agreed to suspend Fiji from Commonwealth Councils and to send a CMAG delegation to Fiji. We are also discussing with our EU partners ways of encouraging the restoration of democracy in Fiji.

Zimbabwe

14. Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Zimbabwe. [125217]

Mr. Hain: We hope that the presence of over 300 international observers will help the people of Zimbabwe to overcome their fears, political intimidation and violence and exercise their democratic right to vote.

21. Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Zimbabwe. [125224]

23. Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the UK's relations with Zimbabwe. [125226]

Mr. Hain: The UK and Zimbabwe have a shared history. Our people know each other well. But President Mugabe's actions and rhetoric have made it difficult for us to have the warm and friendly government-to- government relations that we would like.

27. Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Zimbabwean high commissioner on land reform. [125232]

Mr. Hain: The Zimbabwe High Commissioner was a member of the delegation that met my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on 27 April. We have had no further discussions with him on land reform.

29. Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the rule of law in Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement. [125234]

Mr. Hain: We have had discussions with people inside and outside of Zimbabwe on the urgent need to restore the rule of law there.

34. Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last visited Zimbabwe to discuss the political situation there; and if he will make a statement. [125240]

Mr. Hain: I have not visited Zimbabwe in my capacity as FCO Minister of State.

20 Jun 2000 : Column: 154W

International Criminal Court

15. Mr. David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many countries have ratified the statute for an International Criminal Court; and if he will make a statement. [125218]

Mr. Vaz: To date 97 countries have signed and 12 have ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The Court will come into existence once the Statute has been ratified by 60 states. The UK intends to be one of those 60.

Iran

16. Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Iranian authorities on securing a fair trial for the 13 Jews accused of espionage. [125219]

Mr. Hain: This Government and our EU colleagues have raised with the Iranians at every appropriate opportunity our concerns about the trial on espionage charges in Shiraz of 13 Jews and eight Muslims.

The Danube

17. Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of when a navigable route will be available along the Danube for the countries economically dependent on it; and if he will make a statement. [125220]

Mr. Vaz: The UK welcomed the proposal on 24 May by the European Commission for an EU contribution of up to 22 million euro to the International Fund for the Clearance of the Danube. This proposal followed a comprehensive examination of the technical issues associated with this project. The target date for the opening of a navigable channel at Novi Sad is spring 2001. Provided this timetable is met, work on the second phase of the project to restore the river-beds and banks would begin in summer 2001. We will work with the EU towards completing this work on time and in accordance with the EU sanctions regime.

Ethical Foreign Policy

18. Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in developing an ethical dimension to his foreign policy; and if he will make a statement. [125221]

Mr. Hain: We consistently promote British interests and pursue British values by supporting democracy and human rights wherever we can, however we can.

Sierra Leone

19. Mr. Ian Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the current position is in respect of the UN arms embargo on Sierra Leone. [125222]

Mr. Hain: United Nations Security Council resolution 1171 (1998) imposed an embargo on the sale and supply of arms and related material to Sierra Leone other than to the Government of Sierra Leone through named entry points. There are exemptions in that resolution and in resolution 1299 (2000) for supply to the United Nations

20 Jun 2000 : Column: 155W

and the Military Observer Group of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOMOG) as well as UN member states co-operating with UNAMSIL and the Government of Sierra Leone.

The UK fully supports and rigorously implements the embargo. We are discussing with Security Council colleagues ways to ensure that is implemented more effectively by all states.

---