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Diplomatic Missions (Visas)

Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which British diplomatic missions in Europe are not allowed to issue visas to visit the United Kingdom. [100321]

30 Nov 1999 : Column: 168W

Mr. Vaz: The following British diplomatic posts in Europe do not offer an entry clearance service:

CountryPost
FranceBordeaux
Lille
Lyon
Marseille
Strasbourg
GermanyFrankfurt
Hamburg
Munich
Stuttgart
GreeceCorfu
Heraklion
ItalyFlorence
Milan
Naples
PortugalOporto
SloveniaLjubljana
SpainAlicante
Barcelona
Bilbao
Ibiza
Las Palmas
Malaga
Palma
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Seville

The following posts offer a limited service to resident members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps (including International Organisations) and officials of the host country. Other applicants for visit visas may apply at any post offering a full entry clearance service.

CountryPost
GermanyBerlin
MoroccoRabat
NetherlandsThe Hague
SwitzerlandBerne
TurkeyAnkara

The following posts offer a limited entry clearance service as indicated:

30 Nov 1999 : Column: 167W

CountryPostService available
ArmeniaYerevanOnly accepts applications from Armenian nationals, diplomats representatives of major international organisations in Armenia
AzerbaijanBakuAccepts applications from Azeri nationals, diplomats, officials and resident third country nationals
EstoniaTallinnOnly accepts applications from residents of Estonia
GeorgiaTbilisiAccepts applications from Georgian nationals; diplomats; officials of international organisations; third country nationals resident in Georgia for longer than six months
LatviaRigaOnly accepts applications from residents of Latvia
LithuaniaVilniusOnly accepts applications from residents of Lithuania
MacedoniaSkopjeOnly accepts applications from diplomats; urgent medical applications; refugee cases accepted by either UNHCR or the Home Office

30 Nov 1999 : Column: 169W

No entry clearance service is available in the following countries to which non-resident British diplomatic missions are accredited:



    Moldova


    Monaco


    San Marino.

Angola

Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made in inhibiting the use of diamond sales for funding the war in Angola. [100671]

Mr. Hain: UN Security Council resolution 1173 of 12 June 1998 imposed a ban on the direct or indirect import from Angola of all diamonds not controlled through the Certificate of Origin regime of the Government of Unity and National Reconciliation of Angola (GURN). The aim was to cut off diamond revenues to UNITA, and so reduce their ability to fund continued fighting. Following the adoption of the resolution, the Government amended the Open General Import Licence to prohibit the import into the UK of diamonds exported from Angola not accompanied by a GURN Certificate or Origin. The ban is implemented in the Overseas Territories through the Angola (United Nations Sanctions) (Dependent Territories) Order 1998.

This corrects information in a previous written answer to my hon. Friend on how the UK implements its obligations under resolution 1173 with regard to the import of diamonds--3 November 1999, Official Report, column 189W. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to my hon. Friend for that error.

UN Security Council resolution 1237 of 7 May 1999 established a panel of experts to investigate alleged violations of the sanctions against UNITA, in support of the work on the UN Angola Sanctions Committee. Panel members are paying a series of visits to the region, and will report on how sanctions in relation to UNITA diamonds can be implemented and enforced more effectively.

We welcomed the announcement by De Beers on 5 October that they will no longer purchase any Angolan diamonds, and will urge their clients to adopt a similar policy. In this task I want to see full co-operation from trading centres such as New York, Antwerp and Tel Aviv and also from other diamond companies to follow De Beers' lead. This is vital to disabling UNITA's murderous war effort.

TREASURY

Annual Migration (South-East)

Mr. Blunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the annual net migration into the south-east region from each of the other regions of England. [99036]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

30 Nov 1999 : Column: 170W

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Crispin Blunt, dated 30 November 1999:



    The latest figures available relate to 1998. The attached table shows the inflow, outflow and balance for migration into and out of the South East with respect to each of the other regions of England.


    The estimates of internal population movements are based on the movement of NHS doctors' patients between the former Family Health Services Authority Areas. They should not be regarded as a perfect measure of migration as there is variation in the delay between a person moving and registering with a new doctor. Additionally, some moves may not result in a re-registration: for example, individuals may migrate again before registering with a doctor. Conversely, there may be others who move and re-register several times a year.

Movements into and out of the South East Government Office Region for the Year ending December 1998
Crown copyright

Thousand
RegionInflowOutflowBalance
England217.9198.719.2
North East5.24.60.6
North West (including Merseyside)14.612.91.8
Yorkshire and the Humber11.711.30.3
East Midlands15.318.6-3.3
West Midlands15.115.1--
East30.629.41.2
London89.559.829.7
South West36.047.1-11.1

Winter Deaths

Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths of (a) people aged 60 to 74 years, (b) people aged 75 to 84 years, (c) people aged over 85 years and (d) in total, in England and Wales, were attributed wholly or partly to hypothermia in 1998. [100478]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Eddie O'Hara, dated 30 November 1999:



    The information requested is given in the table below.

Deaths attributed to Hypothermia, England and Wales, 1998

60-7475-8485+All ages
Hypothermia72115111352

Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people died in England and Wales in winter 1998-99 (a) aged 60 to 74 years, (b) aged 75 to 84 years, (c) aged over 85 years and (d) in total; and what was the average number of deaths in winter in each category over the last 10-year period. [100479]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

30 Nov 1999 : Column: 171W

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Eddie O'Hara, dated 30 November 1995:



    The information requested is given in the table below, using the standard ONS definition of winter being December to March.

Winter deaths, England and Wales

AgeWinter 1998-99Average 1993-94 to 1997-98
60-7451,75055,759
75-8472,55770,261
85+69,88860,423
All ages216,653209,171

Figures for monthly deaths are only readily available from 1993 onwards. Deaths are only averaged therefore for the five winters from 1993-94 to 1997-98.



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