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Adrian Thorpe

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 24 November 2000, Official Report, column 344W, if the written comments by Adrian Thorpe in the manuscript referred to reflected the departmental position on this issue. [141206]

Mr. Vaz: No. Nor is there any record of a departmental position having been taken on this issue.

Lloyd Pinnock

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Spanish authorities in respect of Mr. Lloyd Pinnock, held in custody in Ibiza; what charges have been brought against him; for what reason bail was rescinded; and if he will make a statement. [141041]

Mr. Hain: Lloyd Pinnock was arrested on 18 August in San Antonio, Ibiza, on drugs charges. Bail was set at 2.5 million pesetas (approximately £8,620). The court revoked bail in October after making further inquiries. Mr. Pinnock's defence is a matter for his lawyer in Ibiza.

Our Consulate in Ibiza is responsible for ensuring the well-being of Mr. Pinnock and other British prisoners in Ibiza. Our Vice-Consul in Ibiza visits the prisoners on a monthly basis and last visited Mr. Pinnock on 29 November. Mr. Pinnock was in good health and had no welfare problems.

Rebuttal Unit

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date the Rebuttal Unit in his Department was set up; what its terms of reference are; how many staff are employed in it; what the annual costs of the unit have been since its establishment; and if the unit is (a) permanent or (b) temporary. [141051]

Mr. Vaz: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring) on 9 November 2000, Official Report, column 367W.

Angel Quintero and Claudia Monslave

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has

30 Nov 2000 : Column: 840W

made to the Colombian Government concerning the disappearance of Colombian human rights workers Angel Quintero and Claudia Monslave. [140815]

Mr. Battle: The British Embassy in Bogota has made representations to the Colombian Government about the disappearance of Angel Quintero and Claudia Monslave. HM Ambassador also made our concern clear to the local authorities in Medellin during a recent visit to that city. FCO officials have raised this matter with the Colombian Ambassador to London and have asked to be kept informed of developments.

We remain very concerned about the safety of all human rights defenders in Colombia. We will continue to do what we can to assist them. We will continue to monitor this case and keep in close contact with the Colombian authorities and others about it.

Warsaw Pact

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of (a) Soviet and (b) other Warsaw Pact countries' contingency plans for possible military attacks on NATO states on the basis of archives discovered since the end of the Cold War. [135043]

Mr. Spellar: I have been asked to reply.

I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces (European Communities)

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the (a) ranks and (b) positions of the officers assigned to the Council Secretariat referred to in his answer of 14 November 2000, Official Report, columns 608-09W, on Armed Forces (European Communities); on what areas and to whom they offer advice; who funds their pay and expenses; and if he will make a statement. [139905]

Mr. Hoon: I have been asked to reply.

The two United Kingdom officers on secondment to the Council Secretariat are a Major General, who is Head of the interim Military Staff and a Wing Commander, who is a staff officer. The interim Military Staff serve the Council of the European Union. The United Kingdom pays the salaries of the two officers on secondment.

SOCIAL SECURITY

Incapacity Benefit

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the number of people receiving Incapacity Benefit, or its equivalent, on the grounds of dependency on (a) drugs and (b) alcohol for each year since 1990. [139322]

Mr. Bayley: Incapacity Benefit replaced Sickness Benefit and Invalidity Benefit in April 1995. As separate figures for Sickness Benefit are not available, the table shows the number of people with a diagnosis of alcoholism or drug abuse as the main medical condition

30 Nov 2000 : Column: 841W

who, at a date in each year since 1990, were entitled to Invalidity Benefit or the Incapacity Benefit equivalent (either short-term higher or long-term rates).

Thousand

	Alcoholism	Drug abuse
31 March 1990	4.3	*0.8
30 March 1991	5.0	*1.0
4 April 1992	5.6	*1.6
3 April 1993	7.3	*1.6
2 April 1994	8.6	2.6
12 April 1995	8.7	2.8
29 February 1996	9.0	2.8
28 February 1997	10.3	2.9
28 February 1998	11.3	3.8
28 February 1999	11.8	4.1
29 February 2000	12.7	4.4

Notes:

1. Diagnosis codes are coded from the International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition up to 1995, and the 10th edition from the introduction of IB. If there is more than one diagnosis, only the first shown is coded. It should also be noted that some doctors may be reluctant to show these diagnoses on medical certificates.

2. Figures for Sickness Benefit recipients are excluded as they cannot be separated from claims to National Insurance credits only.

3. Numbers marked * are taken from very few sample cases and are therefore subject to a high degree of error, they should therefore only be used as an indication of the situation. Numbers are expressed as thousands and are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Sources:

Figures from 1990 to 1995 are taken from a 1 per cent. sample of IVB claimants.

1996 figures are taken from a 5 per cent. sample of the benefit computer system and exclude a small number of cases held clerically.

Asbestos-related Diseases

Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people were in receipt of disablement awards for asbestos-related diseases in each (a) county and (b) district in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what change there was in the number of awards in the last 12 months from the previous year. [140727]

Mr. Bayley: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.

The tables compares the number of newly diagnosed Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit asbestos-related assessments from July 1998 to June 1999 and from July 1999 to June 2000.

Diagnosed in the period July 1998 to June 1999

	D1	D3	D8	D9	All
All Regions	376	631	38	206	1,251
North East	27	52	5	21	105
North West	80	81	4	34	199
Yorks and Humber	6	22	2	8	38
East Midlands	39	56	4	20	119
West Midlands	22	47	4	21	94
East	20	83	5	10	118
London	14	39	1	4	58
South East	26	94	4	39	163
South West	43	63	3	21	130
Wales	27	18	4	14	63
Scotland	69	69	2	12	152
Overseas	3	7	--	2	12

30 Nov 2000 : Column: 842W

Diagnosed in the period July 1999 to June 2000

	D1	D3	D8	D9	All
All Regions	428	623	35	231	1,317
North East	26	47	5	18	96
North West	97	87	3	35	222
Yorks and Humber	20	41	3	15	79
East Midlands	28	59	1	15	103
West Midlands	42	50	3	25	120
East	8	53	1	13	75
London	14	41	4	8	67
South East	37	65	7	20	129
South West	67	81	1	44	193
Wales	16	17	5	27	65
Scotland	66	70	2	10	148
Overseas	7	12	--	1	20

Diagnosed in the period--percentage change

	D1	D3	D8	D9	All
All Regions	14	-1	-8	12	5
North East	-4	-10	0	-14	-9
North West	21	7	-25	3	12
Yorks and Humber	233	86	50	88	108
East Midlands	-28	5	-75	-25	-13
West Midlands	91	6	-25	19	28
East	-60	-36	-80	30	-36
London	0	5	300	100	16
South East	42	-31	75	-49	-21
South West	56	29	-67	110	48
Wales	-41	-6	25	93	3
Scotland	-4	1	0	-17	-3
Overseas	133	71	--	-50	67

Notes:

1. Information is collected on first diagnosed assessments, based on 100 per cent. count, involving asbestos-related prescribed diseases and is analysed by Government Office Region (GOR).

2. Industrial Injuries Disablement Pension is paid for asbestos-related diseases from 1 per cent. disability assessment for Pneumoconiosis (D1) and Diffuse Mesothelioma (D3) and from 14 per cent. for Primary Carcinoma of the lung with accompanying evidence of one or both (a) asbestos (b) unilateral or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening (D8), and for unilateral or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening (D9). Prescribed Diseases D3, D8 and D9 are always regarded as asbestos-related, the tables also show D1 cases where asbestos is identified as the attributable agent.

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