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WALES

Departmental Vehicles

Mr. Pearson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for his Department and its agencies the approved list of manufacturers of (a) cars and (b) commercial vehicles; and if he will make a statement on his Department's leasing and purchasing policy. [128995]

Mr. Paul Murphy: The only cars used by the Wales Office are provided for ministerial use by the Government Car Service, and no commercial vehicles are used. My Department does not have any agencies, and neither leases nor buys vehicles.

The answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 19 July 2000, Official Report, column 191W, gives details for cars provided for the use of Ministers by the Government Car Service.

New Deal

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in Wales who have completed the New Deal once have (a) re-entered the gateway to New Deal for a second time and (b) progressed onto a second New Deal option. [130987]

Mr. Paul Murphy: To the end of April 2000, 2,560 young people in Wales entered the gateway for a second time. Of these, 873 progressed onto a New Deal option.

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in Wales who have been participants in (a) the New Deal for 18 to 24-year-olds, (b) the New Deal for those aged 25 and over and (c) the New Deal for older workers have subsequently enrolled on the New Deal for a second time. [130989]

Mr. Paul Murphy: To the end of April 2000, 3,030 young people in Wales and 4,100 people aged 25+ entered the New Deal for a second time. Similar information is not available for the 50+ New Deal programme.

Assembly

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what procedures are in place to monitor the effectiveness of the concordats between the Government and the Welsh Assembly. [131042]

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Mr. Paul Murphy: My Office has responsibility for ensuring that the devolution settlement for Wales continues to be implemented as effectively as possible. This includes monitoring the mechanisms and procedures which have been put in place to deliver devolution.

The concordats are informal and flexible agreements to which both parties commit themselves. The overarching and bilateral concordats provide for a review by the parties to them after one year of operation and thereafter at regular intervals.

The Joint Ministerial Committee also keeps the broad operation of the settlement under review and looks at the effectiveness of concordats and bilateral relations in general.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April which requested information, pursuant to his previous answers. [131226]

Mr. Paul Murphy: Between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000 there were three parliamentary questions tabled to my Department which requested information pursuant to previous answers.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Ministerial Visits

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department has for ministerial visits in (a) the rest of 2000 and (b) 2001 to (i) Bulgaria, (ii) Cyprus, (iii) the Czech Republic, (iv) Estonia, (v) Hungary, (vi) Latvia, (vii) Lithuania, (viii) Malta, (ix) Poland, (x) Romania, (xi) the Slovak Republic, (xii) Slovenia and (xiii) Turkey; and if he will make a statement. [130855]

Mr. Vaz: The ministerial visits programme for 2001 has not yet been agreed. For the remainder of 2000 the visits programme is as follows:

(i) Bulgaria

I intend to visit later this year.

(ii) Cyprus

I intend to visit later this year.

(iii) Czech Republic

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will visit on 25-26 July. I intend to visit later this year.

(iv) Estonia

I intend to visit next year. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited last year and President Meri visited the UK in March this year.

(v) Hungary

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will visit on 24-25 July.

(vi) Latvia

I intend to visit later this year.

(vii) Lithuania

I intend to visit later this year.

(viii) Malta

I visited earlier this month.

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(ix) Poland

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Baroness Scotland attended the 'Community of Democracies' conference from 25-27 June.

(x) Romania

President Constantinescu and Foreign Minister Roman have both visited the UK this year. I do not intend to visit this year but hope to do so in early 2001 after the Romanian general elections.

(xi) Slovak Republic

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited in March. I intend to visit later this year.

(xii) Slovenia

I intend to visit later this year.

(xiii) Turkey

The Minister of State my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) intends to visit in November. I also intend to visit later this year.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the occasions in each year from 1995 to 2000 when (a) Bulgaria, (b) Cyprus, (c) the Czech Republic, (d) Estonia, (e) Hungary, (f) Latvia, (g) Lithuania, (h) Malta, (i) Poland, (j) Romania, (k) the Slovak Republic, (l) Slovenia and (m) Turkey received ministerial visits from his Department; in each instance indicating the (i) head of the UK delegation and (ii) length of stay; and if he will make a statement. [130854]

Mr. Vaz: It will take some time to collate all the information requested by the hon. Member. I will write to him once it is available and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Sanctions (Yugoslavia)

Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he plans to take following the admission by Romania that it broke United Nations sanctions against Yugoslavia. [130948]

Mr. Hain: The UK has consistently urged all states to comply fully with their obligations to implement and enforce mandatory United Nations sanctions. We understand that the Romanian Government is conducting an inquiry into allegations concerning violations of the UN sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the previous Romanian Administration.

Middle East

Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the latest Middle East talks chaired by President Clinton. [130951]

Mr. Hain: We welcome the summit at Camp David between the Israelis and Palestinians, called by President Clinton. It is an important event in the progress towards a Permanent Status Agreement. We encourage all participants to show the courage needed to reach an agreement which is just and lasting.

Indonesia

Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on the ethnic conflict in Indonesia. [130953]

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Mr. Battle: We have been deeply disturbed by reports of escalating violence in Maluku. Diplomatic efforts are focused on bringing pressure to bear on the Indonesian government to take effective action and bring the perpetrators of violence to justice. I discussed this with the Indonesian Ambassador on 3 July. The head of the Diplomatic Service raised our concerns directly with President Wahid on 4 July and EU Ambassadors reinforced this at a further meeting with the President on 17 July. There is an urgent need to respond to the growing humanitarian crisis. We are pressing the Indonesians to ensure guaranteed safe access and acceptance of a humanitarian response by UN agencies and Indonesian NGOs. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is working closely with the Indonesians on humanitarian co-ordination.

Iran

Mr. Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of assassinations of Christian leaders in Iran in the past five years. [130773]

Mr. Hain: None, however I refer my hon. Friend to my answer today to his question UIN 130772, Official Report column 269W.

Mr. Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage religious tolerance in Iran. [130771]

Mr. Hain: Human Rights are a high priority in our dealings with the Iranian Government. We and our EU partners take every appropriate opportunity to press the Iranian authorities over our concerns about their treatment of religious minorities in Iran, particularly the Bahai and Jewish communities. The Iranian authorities are well aware that we and our EU partners view persecution on religious grounds as totally unacceptable.

Mr. Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received concerning religious liberty in Iran. [130792]

Mr. Hain: We receive reports from a number of sources on a wide range of human rights issues in Iran including religious liberty. These sources include among others our Embassy in Tehran, the UK and Iranian media, Amnesty International and the United Nations Commission of Human Rights Special Representative's annual reports. Most of these sources recognise that there have been a number of improvements in Iran since the election of President Khatami in 1997, but that a number of concerns remain. Our policy of engagement allows us to raise our concerns with the Iranian authorities.

Mr. Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received concerning the activities of the Ministry of Islamic Guidance in Iran. [130790]

Mr. Hain: Our Embassy in Tehran has reported that the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance is responsible for issuing licences and control of all printed material, music, film and other cultural and touristic activities. It also has responsibility for maintaining religious standards.

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Mr. Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Iranian authorities concerning the assassination of Christian pastors. [130772]

Mr. Hain: There have recently been a number of calls in Iran for further investigation into the appalling killings of four Christian clerics in 1994. We and our EU partners continue to hope that those responsible for these crimes will be brought to justice.

Mr. Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Iranian authorities concerning (a) equality of access to education for all religions, (b) freedom of the press and (c) the death sentence for apostasy. [130791]

Mr. Hain: (a) and (c) are most relevant in the context of Iranian treatment of the Baha'i community. We and our EU partners regularly raise our concerns about Iranian treatment of the Baha'is. We do so bilaterally through our Embassy in Tehran, and the Iranian Ambassador to London. We also do so multilaterally through the twice yearly UN resolutions on Human Rights in Iran, which we sponsor in conjunction with our EU partners, the most recent of which was adopted in April.

We also raise our concerns through the EU/Iran dialogue. On (b), at the last meeting in Tehran in June, the EU presidency, on behalf of all EU partners, pressed the Iranian authorities over our concern about the recent suppression of freedom of the press in Iran.

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