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PRIME MINISTER

In-patients (Treatment Disparity)

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions he has received letters from the right hon. Member for South-west Surrey concerning the disparity in waiting times for NHS in-patient treatment between South-west Surrey and Durham in the past year; on how many occasions he has read the letters; and on how many occasions he has replied personally. [143892]

The Prime Minister: My Office has received three letters on this subject from the right hon. Member. On each occasion the right hon. Member received a reply either from myself or a Minister in the Department of Health.

Prime Ministerial Correspondence

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Prime Minister if it is his policy to reply personally to letters from Back- Bench hon. and right hon. Members concerning issues raised with him at Prime Minister's Questions. [143891]

The Prime Minister: Where I undertake to provide hon. and right hon. Members with information on matters raised with me during Prime Minister's Questions it is my usual practice to write to the Member concerned personally.

Ministerial Code of Conduct

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to reform procedures for enforcing the Ministerial Code of Conduct. [144199]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him in the House today, Official Report, column 340.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Public Meetings Guidelines

Dr. Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what guidelines he follows for using civil servants' time to arrange public meetings between Ministers in his Department and prospective parliamentary candidates in that candidate's prospective constituency; [144658]

(2) what his policy is towards ensuring political balance in public meetings with representatives of opposition parties organised and paid for through the civil service. [144659]

Mr. Vaz: We arrange such events in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code. If the hon. Member has specific concerns, perhaps he would like to tell me.

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Dr. Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidelines were followed by his Department when they issued an invitation to a public meeting on 18 December 2000 in Henley between the Minister for Europe, the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz), Mr. Boris Johnson, the Conservative Party prospective parliamentary candidate for Henley-on- Thames, and a leading representative from the Liberal Democrats. [144660]

Mr. Vaz: Participation in this event was conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code.

Dr. Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the cost, of publicity and civil servants time, setting up the debate on 18 December 2000 in Henley between the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) and the Conservative Party prospective parliamentary candidate. [144661]

Mr. Vaz: We estimate that the cost of publicity and civil servants' time for the debate came to less than £300.

War Criminals

Mr. Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many suspected war criminals have been arrested by UK forces in Bosnia. [144946]

Mr. Vaz: UK forces serving with SFOR have successfully detained 10 war crimes suspects indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. They have supported Dutch SFOR troops in the arrest of a further two suspects. An indictee was also shot dead by British SFOR personnel acting in self-defence during a detention operation.

Cyprus

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many chapters of the European Union application for membership by the Republic of Cyprus have been successfully negotiated; how many remain to be discussed; and if he will make a statement. [144907]

Mr. Vaz: I refer my hon. Friend to my reply of 15 January 2001, Official Report, column 28W.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the rate of remuneration of Sir David Hannay in respect of his work in Cyprus. [145567]

Mr. Vaz: Sir David Hannay works on a part-time basis and receives a per diem remuneration which is commensurate with his expertise. I am very grateful for his considerable contribution to the settlement process over the last four and a half years.

SIS Translators

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the (a) average starting salary and (b) current average salary for London-based translators working for the Secret Intelligence Service. [145349]

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Mr. Robin Cook: In accordance with long-standing policy, it is not the Government's practice to comment on the details of the salaries of staff of the security and intelligence agencies. Salaries are, however, broadly in line with those of equivalent staff grades within other Government Departments.

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many London-based translators with the Secret Intelligence Service have (a) been recruited or (b) resigned and retired in each of the last five years. [145350]

Mr. Robin Cook: In accordance with long-standing policy, it is not the Government's practice to comment on details of the staffing of the security and intelligence services.

Exports (Iraq)

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the applications for exports to Iraq submitted in the last year which have been blocked in the 661 UN Committee by (a) Her Majesty's Government's representative and (b) other members of the Committee; and if he will indicate the value of the exports concerned. [145430]

Mr. Hain: The UK currently has on hold less than 2 per cent. of contracts, worth $595 million, circulated to the UN Iraq Sanctions Committee. We only put contracts on hold where there are serious concerns that the goods could be used in Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction programmes. Holds are generally placed temporarily until assurances have been received about the end-use or in-country monitoring of these goods. By comparison, at the end of October 2000, Iraq's bureaucracy was holding back the delivery of US$1.1 billion worth of goods already approved by the Sanctions Committee.

As for holds placed by other members of the Sanctions Committee I would refer my hon. Friend to the detailed information on contracts processing which can be found on the Office For Iraq Programme's website: http://www.un.org/Departments/oip/.

MOX Fuel

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which date he first received advice from the British Embassy in Japan that discussions should begin with the Japanese on returning the Takahama MOX fuel to the UK, following the discovery of the data falsification at Sellafield. [145693]

Mr. Hain: We and the Japanese Government regularly discuss all aspects of the disposal of MOX fuel. The British Embassy in Tokyo routinely played a role in this process along with other sections of HMG. Such internal consultations form a necessary part of the business of government, and the preparation of advice for Ministers. The possible return of MOX fuel was one of a number of issues relating to the nuclear industry in which the Embassy was involved.

Christians (India)

Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received

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concerning (a) violence directed against the Christian minority in India and (b) the recent abduction and beating of two Christian priests in Gujarat. [145759]

Mr. Hain: We are aware of continuing incidents of religious intolerance in India, including reports of an attack in Rajasthan on two priests from Gujarat in early January. We have regularly raised our concerns over such incidents with the Indian Government, including during my visit to India in November.

Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to support the Prime Minister of India's recent reaffirmation of his commitment to secularism and religious toleration in India. [145760]

Mr. Hain: India is a secular country where the right to freedom of religion is enshrined in the Constitution. We support the Indian Prime Minister's commitment to these principles and we will continue to urge him to ensure that the rights of minorities are upheld.

Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Indian authorities concerning the recent incidents of violence directed against the Christian minority in India, including attacks on churches in Vyara Taluka, Jwalapur and Bokaro, and a serious assault on a Catholic priest in Gwalior. [145758]

Mr. Hain: We are aware of reports of attacks on Christians in India, including those in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh mentioned. We continue to raise our concerns over such incidents with the Indian authorities. I discussed this issue with my counterpart, Ajit Panja, during my visit to India in November. The Indian Government can be in no doubt of our concern.

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