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Iran

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Iran about human rights in that country; and if he will make a statement. [149198]

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Mr. Wilson: We and our EU partners take every appropriate opportunity to press the Iranian authorities over our concerns about human rights issues in Iran. The Foreign Secretary raised human rights matters with his counterpart, Dr. Kharrazi, when they met in New York on 15 September and with the Iranian Ambassador to London on 4 October. More recently, my hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr. Hain) discussed human rights concerns with Ambassador Sarmadi on 22 January. In conjunction with our EU partners, we also table twice yearly UN Resolutions on Human Rights in Iran. The most recent resolution, reflecting both positive developments and remaining concerns, was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 4 December.

Caribbean Territories (Homosexuality)

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will make an Order in Council to legalise homosexual acts in the five Caribbean territories where such acts remain illegal. [148842]

Mr. Battle: An Order in Council to de-criminalise consensual homosexual acts between adults in private in Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands, was made by Her Majesty at the Privy Council meeting on the 13 December 2000 and came into force on 1 January 2001.

Premier Oil

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to Premier Oil regarding their operations in Burma. [148841]

Mr. Battle: Premier Oil are well aware of our views which we reiterate at all opportunities: HMG do not encourage trade with or investment in Burma. We have told Premier Oil that we would welcome their moving out of Burma as soon as and to the fullest extent that they lawfully can.

SCOTLAND

Judiciary (Training)

Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what training the judiciary in Scotland was given between 1 May 1997 and 1 July 1999. [145890]

Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 16 January 2001]: Responsibility for training the judiciary in Scotland lies with the independent Judicial Studies Committee which was funded by the Scottish Office during the period in question. Between May 1997 and 1 July 1999 the Committee ran training events in connection with new legislation on criminal justice in Scotland and on changes in legislation affecting children's cases. Guidance was also issued to all members of the judiciary on a number of other pieces of legislation which came into effect during this period. Training in the use of information technology was also a prominent feature.

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Departmental Surveys

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will list for (a) 1992-93, (b) 1993-94, (c) 1994-95, (d) 1995-96, (e) 1996-97, (f) 1997-98, (g) 1998-99, (h) 1999-2000 and (i) 2000-01, (I) her Department's total spending on quantitative and qualitative surveys of policy issues by focus groups, opinion polling, task forces or other means and (II) the cost of each individual project. [146587]

Mr. Foulkes: An important element of the Modernising Government initiative is to ensure effective communication. No expenditure has been incurred by the Scotland Office since 1 July 1999 on surveys through focus groups, opinion polls or task forces. For the Scottish Office before 1 July 1999, such information was not collected centrally and the information could be obtained now only at disproportionate cost.

CABINET OFFICE

Commonwealth Games

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much sponsorship money has been raised for the Manchester Commonwealth Games and how much more needs to be raised to meet the target set. [148981]

Mr. Ian McCartney: Manchester 2002 Ltd. has to date announced some £18 million in commercial income for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Manchester 2002 aim to raise income from a combination of sponsorship, television rights, merchandising and ticket sales to meet the operating costs of the Games. In addition, the sale of the Australian television rights to Channel 7 television has just been successfully negotiated. Further sponsorship deals are expected to be announced this month and Manchester 2002 Ltd. are working hard to ensure they stage a successful Games.

Civil Service (Management Functions) Act

Mr. Hope: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what delegations have been made in 2000 under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992; to whom those delegations were made; and what the main conditions attached to them were. [149507]

Marjorie Mowlam: No such delegations have been made.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act

Mr. Baker: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the Order to implement the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000 will be made; on what date the Act will commence; and if he will make a statement. [148108]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 1 February 2001]: The Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000 received Royal Assent on 23 November 2000. We will be consulting the industry on a statutory compensation scheme as required under the Act. Under section 7(3) of the Act, the

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provisions relating to compensation for existing businesses in section 5 of the Act came into force two months after the Act received Royal Assent.

Under section 7(2) of the Act, the ban on fur farming will come into force on a date to be appointed by commencement order, which cannot be before 1 January 2003. However, fur farmers may close down at any time after Royal Assent and before the ban comes into force, without losing eligibility for compensation. A number have indicated a desire to do so, and we have now appointed independent consultants who will be visiting the fur farms this month. The purpose of this delayed commencement is to give fur farmers an opportunity to adjust their affairs and wind down their businesses in advance of the ban. The Government are committed to implementing the ban at the earliest opportunity.

Fish Farming

Mr. Steen: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many fish farms there are in the United Kingdom; how much it costs to acquire a licence for fish farming; and how much funding was given to fish farms in each of the last three years by his Department. [148680]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 5 February 2001]: Fish farming in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Executive. At 1 February 2001, there were 508 registered fish farms in England and 53 in Wales.

Fish farmers do not require a licence to farm. They do need to be registered, but this is free of charge.

There has been no direct funding given to fish farming by the Department in the last three years. However, some £2 million is spent each year on aquaculture research, particularly in respect of work on disease control.

GM Crops

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what separation distances will apply to the GM farm-scale evaluations this spring. [149560]

Ms Quin: Following the scientific review and public consultation on separation distances that the Ministry commissioned last year, Ministers have asked the industry representative body, SCIMAC, this year to apply the separation distances for the spring farm-scale evaluations as set out in the table, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. These include changes to the distance for varietal associations and partially restored hybrids of oilseed rape (increased from 50 metres to 100 metres), and the distance for conventional forage maize (increased from 50 metres to 80 metres).

The purpose of the separation distances is to help ensure that any possible cross-pollination with nearby compatible crops is minimised. Based on best scientific data currently available, the distances in the table should ensure that if any cross-pollination does occur, the resulting GM presence in neighbouring crops would be extremely low. The separation distances agreed should reduce cross-pollination to a maximum of 1 per cent. for any crop and considerably below this maximum in most cases. A background note on the separation distances has been placed in the Library.

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The distances in question apply for the purposes of the spring 2001 farm-scale evaluations only, and will be kept under review for future plantings. Steps are being taken to strengthen early communication at local level with farmers in the vicinity of FSE sites. All farmers hosting trials are being given clear guidance by SCIMAC that they should discuss their cropping plans at the earliest possible opportunity beforehand with their immediate neighbours. Ministers are also encouraging early dialogue at local level between FSE operators and all relevant local organic growers, and have asked SCIMAC to work closely with certified seed producers to ensure that current and any prospective EU standards for certified seed can continue to be met. MAFF are arranging a meeting with beekeeping organisations and SCIMAC to discuss specific issues affecting local beekeepers. Communication with local farmers will begin in advance of final decision

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making and formal public notification, to allow as much time as possible for any potential difficulties to be resolved.

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