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Self-catering Accommodation

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if the new star rating system for self-catering accommodation is in operation in north-west England. [146819]

Janet Anderson: Yes. The new self-catering star rating system was launched throughout England on 27 September 2000.

Digital Broadcasting

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the percentage of households which make use of (a) digital television and (b) digital radio. [146696]

Janet Anderson [holding answer 23 January 2001]: From the figures declared by the service providers, we estimate that around 6 million households in the UK use digital television, which represents 26 per cent. of households with a television. Estimates for the take-up of digital radio are not available, but around 20,000 digital radio receivers have been sold in the UK to date.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Indonesia

Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Indonesia. [145911]

Mr. Battle: We continue to follow events in Indonesia closely, and have a detailed dialogue with the Indonesian Government. The challenge for Indonesia is to build on the foundations laid by the recent democratic process and to deliver human rights and economic prosperity that benefit everybody. We will play a full part in helping towards that goal.

We welcome the commitment of the Indonesian Government to resolve the country's regional conflicts through dialogue and reconciliation. We welcome the recently agreed moratorium on violence in Aceh. We hope this will allow both sides to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, through dialogue rather than force. We remain concerned about events in Maluku and Irian Jaya, and have made these concerns known to the Indonesian Government--I did so most recently with Foreign Minister Shihab on 12 December.

Visa Applications

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many spouses of UK citizens living abroad have been refused a visa to enter the UK. [146164]

Mr. Vaz: I regret that the information requested is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Statistics are available for the number of spouses refused entry clearance to join husbands or wives settled in the UK, but they do not distinguish between spouses of UK citizens living abroad and others. For most non-settlement applications, statistics are not available distinguishing between spouses and others.

24 Jan 2001 : Column: 594W

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many foreign relatives of UK citizens were denied visas to attend family weddings in the UK in the most recent year for which figures are available. [146165]

Mr. Vaz: I regret that the information requested is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Statistics are not collected on the number of applications for visas to attend weddings.

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many initially refused applications for visas to enter the UK were (a) reconsidered and (b) approved, following intervention by hon. Members in the last three years. [146166]

Mr. Vaz: As Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with responsibility for entry clearance, I am replying on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.

I regret that the number of visa applications reconsidered following intervention by hon. Members is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

As a result of intervention by hon. Members, I have, since October 1999, approved the issue of 45 visas that had previously been refused. No records of such approvals were held before this date.

Biological Weapons Convention

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library copies of the most recent returns relating to confidence- building measures submitted by states which are parties to the biological weapons convention. [146428]

Mr. Hain: The confidence-building measures (CBMs) drawn up by the states part to the biological weapons convention (BWC) are first submitted to the United Nations centre for disarmament and then shared on a Government-to-Government basis. The UK does not therefore presently have agreement to make the contents of these documents public. This can only be given by the BWC review conference which next takes place on 19 November to 17 December 2001 in Geneva. The UK will press for wider dissemination of this information on that occasion.

A decision to place a copy of the UK CBMs in the House of Commons Library will be made after the necessary consultations with the other Government Departments, laboratories, and commercial companies which contribute to the UK's returns. I will write to my hon. Friend.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the British Government provide to support air traffic control monitoring in the air space in Sub-Saharan Africa. [146833]

Mr. Hain: We do not at present provide support for air traffic control monitoring in the air space of Sub- Saharan Africa.

24 Jan 2001 : Column: 595W

We have urged all members of the United Nations Security Council to consider what help we can provide in the region.

Departmental Policies (Slough)

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Slough constituency, the effects on Slough of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [146933]

Mr. Vaz: We hold no information of the kind sought by my hon. Friend. The mission of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is to promote the national interests of the United Kingdom and to contribute to a strong world community. For details of the Government's achievements in meeting its foreign policy targets, the following page of the FCO website may be helpful:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/directory/dynpage.asp?page=108

Nigeria

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the Government have provided for Nigeria's human rights violations investigation commission. [146829]

Mr. Hain: Although we have not provided specific assistance to Nigeria's human rights violations investigation commission, we have directly funded several projects for Nigeria's permanent human rights body, the Nigerian human rights commission. We have also supported human rights projects through a number of NGOs and have helped NGOs attend Senate public hearings aimed at developing a national policy on human rights.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will disclose information collected by the British security services in Nigeria between 1966 and 1998 for the use of Nigeria's Human Rights Violations Investigations Commission. [147051]

Mr. Hain: We have received no requests for information from the Nigerians. It is not Government policy to comment on intelligence matters.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Mr. Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the prospects for a ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of Congo following the death of President Kabila; and if he will make a statement. [147018]

Mr. Hain: The UK condemns all acts of political violence, including the assassination of President Laurent Kabila. The political situation in DRC is still not clear, but it is vital that the new leadership restores stability and seizes the opportunity fully to implement the Lusaka agreement, including facilitating the deployment of UN personnel in DRC territory and the establishment of national dialogue. We are urging all parties to the conflict not to take military advantage of the current uncertainty and to give new impetus to fulfilling their commitments under the Lusaka agreement.

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Southern Sudan

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many reports he has received of aerial bombings of civilian targets in Southern Sudan. [147052]

Mr. Hain: We received several reports of aerial bombings of civilian targets in southern Sudan last month from NGOs and church representatives. Our ambassador in Khartoum has made our concerns clear to the Sudanese authorities. We will continue to urge both sides to return to the negotiating table and agree a comprehensive ceasefire.

Depleted Uranium

Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) the health risks and (b) actual health damage to people in Iraq arising from exposure to depleted uranium used for bombing. [143502]

Mr. Hain: The Government are aware of claims of an increase in ill-health (including alleged deformities, cancers and birth defects) in southern Iraq, and that some have attributed this to the use of depleted uranium (DU)--based ammunition by UK and US forces during the Gulf conflict of 1991. The principal problem is lack of detailed information about the health situation not just in that area but throughout Iraq. However, we have encouraged the World Health Organisation to work with the Iraqis on a proper study--only then can particular problems be properly addressed.

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