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Parvez Masih

Mr. Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Pakistani authorities concerning the case of Parvez Masih. [158923]

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Mr. Wilson: Although no representations have been made to the Pakistani authorities concerning the arrest of Parvez Masih, my noble Friend Baroness Scotland reiterated our concerns over the position of religious minorities and the abuse of the blasphemy laws with the Pakistani Attorney General and Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights, Ms Shahida Jamil on 3 April.

Cryptography Documents

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will release to the Public Record Office the (a) cryptographic memorandum No. 101 JNA 10 Naval Attache Code and Additive Cypher and (b) cryptographic memorandum No. 119 of June 1946, The JN 11 Cyphers. [158992]

Mr. Robin Cook [holding answer 26 April 2001]: These memoranda underwent sensitivity reviews in 1999 and, on the basis of those reviews, will continue to be withheld for the foreseeable future.

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will release to the Public Record Office the (a) report on the interrogation of Lt. Frowein of OKM/4SKL/111 on his work on the security of the German naval four-wheel Enigma (TICOM 1-38), (b) OKW/Chi cryptanalytic research Enigma, Hagelin and cipher teleprinter machines (TICOM 1-45), (c) paper by Dr. Otto Buggisch of OKH/In7/V1 and OKW/Chi on TYPEX (TICOM 1-66), (d) first part of the report by Wm Buggisch on SG41 (TICOM 1-72), (e) translations of joint report made by doctors Huettenhain, Fricke on the Zaehlwerk Enigma (TICOM 1-77) and (f) further statement on Typex by Huettenhaim, Fricke and Mettig (TICOM 1-61). [158991]

Mr. Robin Cook [holding answer 26 April 2001]: The reports in question will undergo a sensitivity review in about 18 months time. If they are deemed releasable, and are accepted by the Public Record Office, they will be made available to the public in about two years from now.

Religious Freedom

Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Development about the promotion of religious freedom in Government aid programmes. [159392]

Mr. Battle: According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. However, reality can fall far short of the standards set down in international law.

Promotion of human rights is at the heart of our foreign policy and we regard religious freedom as a fundamental human right. We condemn instances where individuals are persecuted because of their faith, wherever it happens and whatever the religion of the individual or group concerned.

We take every opportunity, often working with our EU partners, to urge states to pursue laws and practices which foster tolerance and mutual respect and to protect religious minorities against discrimination, intimidation and attacks. We also regularly raise specific cases of religious persecution with the Governments concerned.

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Wherever possible we aim to work with officials, religious leaders and non-governmental organisations at international and local level to promote mutual understanding and tolerance. Where the possibility of meaningful dialogue on human rights issues exists, we believe that this is the best way to achieve lasting change.

WALES

Brookhill Landfill Site

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what discussions he has had with the First Secretary concerning the representations of Flintshire county council against the disposal of carcases at the Brookhill landfill site; and if he will make a statement; [159236]

(2) what discussions he has had with the First Secretary concerning the disposal of carcases following welfare culling at the Brookhill landfill site at Buckley, Flintshire; and if he will make a statement. [159235]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I meet the First Secretary regularly to discuss a range of issues including measures to control the current outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

The National Assembly approves the use of landfill sites for the Livestock Welfare Disposal Scheme on the basis of Environment Agency advice as to suitability. Carwyn Jones, Assembly Secretary for Rural Affairs, recently met representatives of Flintshire county council and the Brookhill site operators to discus local concerns.

ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS

London Underground

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many suicides and attempted suicides there were on London Underground property in each of last 10 years and in each of the past 12 months. [157470]

Mr. Hill [holding answer 9 April 2001]: London Underground emphasise that safety and security are their top priorities, and they do everything possible to prevent suicide attempts. They have provided the following

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information on all incidents where, after full examination of the incident, they have recorded suicide or attempted suicide as a cause.

	Total
1996-97	45
1997-98	52
1998-99	48
1999-2000	52
2000-01	47

	2000-01 total
April 2000	1
May 2000	7
June 2000	4
July 2000	4
August 2000	0
September 2000	4
October 2000	5
November 2000	3
December 2000	3
January 2001	4
February 2001	7
March 2001	5

Figures for years before 1996-97 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.It should be noted that Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate separately publish figures in the HMRI Annual Report on Railway Safety, which include totals of suicides and attempted suicides on London Underground. However, those figures are lower because they are based on statutory returns from Coroners made under the Coroners Act 1988. The LUL figures are based on LUL's subsequent investigation into each fatality.

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate has been made of the average punctuality and reliability of services on each of the London Underground lines in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [157480]

Mr. Hill [holding answer 9 April 2001]: This is an operational matter for London Underground who inform me that although they do not keep statistics on punctuality of services, they do keep information on train service reliability in terms of the percentage of scheduled kilometres operated. The table shows the percentage of scheduled kilometres operated for each of the Underground lines over the last five years.

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Percentage

Lines	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01
Bakerloo	91.4	93.6	92.5	90.5	83.0
Central (inc. Waterloo and City)	95.3	95.2	95.3	96.6	97.0
Circle and Hammersmith	90.9	93.0	91.4	89.7	81.6
District	96.0	98.3	97.4	97.0	93.0
Jubilee	96.4	98.0	97.5	92.7	89.8
East London	97.3	97.3	92.7	95.7	94.5
Metropolitan	95.9	98.0	97.5	96.7	95.4
Northern	94.4	95.5	90.2	94.9	96.6
Piccadilly	93.5	92.9	89.5	90.9	86.9
Victoria	95.0	95.1	96.1	97.4	96.1
Total	94.5	95.5	93.6	94.3	91.9

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In 2000-01 the reliability figure of 91.9 per cent. shown in the table for the year to February reflects the demands of a substantial increase in kilometres operated, and continuing strong growth in passenger demand. LUL's performance was measured against an original target of operating 67.3 million train kilometres in the year (an increase of 4.2 million on 1999-2000 performance). Although this was not attained, the underlying figures for actual train kilometres delivered during 2000-01 and earlier years have been on an increasing trend, as follows:

	Train kilometres operated (million)
1996-97	58.6
1997-98	62.1
1998-99	61.2
1999-2000	63.1
2000-01	(6)64.1

⁽⁶⁾ Current estimate

Whistleblowers

Mr. Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what his policy is on introducing protection for whistleblowers who reveal that a company is breaking environmental laws. [158671]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 23 April 2001]: The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 protects workers who make qualifying disclosures either to the employer or a prescribed person. The Department of Trade and Industry has published a guide to the Act (PL502) which is available on their website. Independent advice is available from the charity Public Concern at Work. I have no evidence that this does not provide protection for those who blow the whistle on companies which break environmental laws.

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