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Visit Visas

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list, for each British post abroad which operates a preliminary assessment sift system for people applying for visit visas, how many people (a) were advised to withdraw their applications and (b) followed that advice in 1999. [127110]

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Mr. Vaz: I regret that we do not maintain statistics on the number of people advised to withdraw applications. However, our records show that just over 55,000 applicants actually withdrew during 1999. This figure was broken down as follows:

	Number
Abu Dhabi	60
Accra	1,405
Addis Ababa	2,210
Amman	344
Amsterdam	254
Bangkok	46
Banjul	687
Beirut	3
Bombay	5,212
Bucharest	214
Cairo	302
Calcutta	109
Canberra	52
Casablanca	330
Colombo	13
Copenhagen	40
Damascus	924
Dhaka	1,002
Dubai	192
Dublin	177
Dusseldorf	564
Geneva	105
Islamabad	22,943
Kampala	21
Kiev	1
Kingston	858
Lagos	1,341
Los Angeles	2,435
Madras	1,101
Madrid	2
Manila	119
Nairobi	2
New Delhi	6,078
Oslo	84
Paris	1,741
Quito	819
Rome	349
Sanaa	779
Sarajevo	20
Sofia	1
Stockholm	38
Tehran	1,835
Tunis	493
Wellington	79

Latvia

Mr. Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements there are for housing the commercial section of the British Embassy in Riga; how many staff are employed by the commercial section, broken down by (a) UK-based and (b) locally-employed staff; how much space the section occupies; and what plans he has to rehouse the section in preparation for the British Week to be held in Riga in 2001. [127858]

Mr. Vaz: The Commercial section in Riga is in the main Embassy building. The Embassy is currently undergoing refurbishment and reorganisation, which will improve the quality of Commercial Section accommodation and make it more accessible to visitors.

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There are four full-time commercial staff in Riga: one UK-based and three locally engaged.

The Commercial Section occupies approximately 52m ² . An additional 28m ² is available on the lower ground floor.

There are no plans to rehouse the Section in preparation for British Week in 2001: we do not regard this as necessary.

Kosovo

Ms Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the export of de-mining vehicles to the HALO Trust in Kosovo. [128297]

Mr. Vaz: The Government have granted a licence for the export to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) of an armour protected wheel loading tractor for use by the HALO Trust, an organisation engaged in humanitarian de-mining activities in Kosovo on behalf of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). This vehicle is rated on the UK's Military List.

Although UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1160 (1998) imposed an arms embargo on the FRY, UNSCR 1160 shall not apply to the sale or supply of arms and related material for use by the international civil and security presence in Kosovo. We have notified the UN FRY Sanctions Committee of this export and they have raised no objection.

Thailand

Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he made about the case of Sandra Gregory during his recent visit to Thailand; and if he will make a statement. [128147]

Mr. Hain: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State was briefed on the case of Sandra Gregory before his visit to Thailand. However, he did not raise any consular issues during his visit.

Ms Gregory submitted a Royal Pardon Petition in May 1997. Ms Gregory is waiting for His Majesty the King of Thailand to make his decision on her application. Our Embassy in Bangkok continues to make regular inquiries with the Thai authorities on the progress of Ms Gregory's Royal Pardon Petition.

Jordan

Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit Jordan to discuss trade issues. [127811]

Mr. Hain: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs visited Jordan in January 2000 and I did so in March 2000 when trade issues were discussed.

Indonesia (Arms Exports)

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the (a) use and (b) location of British arms exported to Indonesia; and if he will make a statement. [127891]

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Mr. Battle: We are in close touch with our Embassy in Jakarta on this issue and we have seen no evidence that any of the reduced amount of military equipment supplied by this Administration has been used for internal repression in Indonesia. We have asked for and received assurances from the Indonesian Government that UK supplied equipment, wherever it is located in Indonesia, is not used for internal repression.

Saudi Arabia (Human Rights)

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Saudi Arabia concerning abuse of human rights; and if he will make a statement. [127892]

Mr. Hain: We are firmly committed to constructive engagement on human rights with Saudi Arabia and discuss the issue regularly with the Saudis. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary did so most recently on 22 May at the EU/GCC Joint Ministerial Meeting in Brussels with the Saudi Foreign Minister.

West Papua

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which representatives from the British Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, attended the congress for self-determination in Japura, West Papua; and if he will make a statement. [127904]

Mr. Battle: No representatives from the British Embassy attended the Papuan Congress in Jayapura. In light of the declaration made by the Congress, the EU issued a statement on 8 June stressing its support for a strong, democratic, united and prosperous Indonesia. It also reaffirmed its support for Indonesia's territorial integrity and for the efforts of the current Indonesian Government to solve problems, such as in Aceh and West Papua, through peaceful negotiation.

TREASURY

Working Families Tax Credit

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families have received the Working Families Tax Credit in the Crosby constituency. [127168]

Dawn Primarolo: The number of families in receipt of Working Families Tax Credit at the end of April 2000 is provisionally estimated at 1,053,000. Available figures by constituency are given in tables which have been deposited in the Library.

Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the practicalities of paying Working Families Tax Credit by means other than through employers; what assessment he has made of the impact of the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data (ETS No. 108, 28.1.1981) on his policy on payment of Working Families Tax Credit; and what assessment he has made of Recommendation No. R(90) 19, adopted by the Committee of Ministers, on the Protection of Personal Data used for payment and other related operations on 13 September 1990. [128025]

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Dawn Primarolo: Paying Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) through the wage packet helps to demonstrate the rewards of work and to make work pay for families on low incomes. An employee applying for WFTC will be paid the tax credit by his or her employer as part of the pay packet and will be able to see clearly the amount of tax credit being paid in each pay period. If the applicant is self-employed or is not working the tax credit is paid by the Inland Revenue either by Automatic Credit Transfer (ACT) into a bank account or by Order Book.

The Government's policy on payment of WFTC does not conflict with the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data (ETS No. 108, 28.1.1981) or the associated Recommendation No. R(90) 19.

Stress Audit

Mr. Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the independently conducted Stress Audit of the Treasury. [127885]

Mr. Timms: I have done so.

Correspondence

Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire will receive a reply to his letter of 3 April on behalf of his constituent the Reverend Mr. Leeke. [127890]

Mr. Andrew Smith: I replied to the right hon. Member on 5 June. A further copy will be forwarded.

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