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Property Leases

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the number, value and location of properties newly leased in each of the last five years by her Department, broken down by those leased by the Department itself, its next step agencies and its non-departmental public bodies, differentiating between purchases made as a result of the creation of new bodies and those purchases made by established bodies. [7810]

Dr. Howells: During the period 1996 to 2001 the Department has taken new leases in respect of only two properties namely:

179a Tottenham Court road, London, to re-house the Government Art Collection, leased from 1 May 1999 for a period of 15 years at an annual rent of £408, 063 subject to five-yearly rent reviews.

1 Cockspur Street, London, to re-house Departmental staff and accommodate expansion. Leased from 17 January 2000 for a period of 13 years at an annual rent of £465, 451 subject to five-yearly rent reviews.

The Department has over 50 non-departmental public bodies and, in common with many other central Government Departments does not hold centrally the details of the estates of those bodies with independent land holding powers. Collection of this information from NDPBs would incur a disproportionate cost. However, a database of these properties is being compiled, entitled E-PIMS (Electronic Property Information and Management System).

Olympic Games

Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what plans she has to meet representatives of the British Olympic Association to discuss the 2012 Olympic games; [8752]

(2) what assessment she has made of the prospects for success of a UK bid to host the 2012 Olympic games. [8753]

Mr. Caborn: The British Olympic Association has yet to decide whether or not to bid for the Olympics in 2012, 2016 or later. The Government remain committed to supporting a viable Olympic bid. My officials are discussing the terms of a research consultancy with the BOA, Greater London Authority and the London Development Agency which will aim to obtain the evidence required to enable the Government to make a proper assessment whether such a bid, if made, is viable.

19 Oct 2001 : Column: 1380W

Tennis

Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to meet representatives of the Lawn Tennis Association to discuss the future governance of the sport. [8758]

Mr. Caborn: I met John Crowther and representatives of the Lawn Tennis Association on 5 September. We had a useful discussion about club structure and the LTA's programmes and initiatives.

Licensing Laws

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if, as part of her review of licensing laws in England, she has made an assessment of the comparative licensing regulations in (a) Westminster, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Cardiff and (d) Belfast. [9146]

Dr. Howells: The review of the alcohol and public entertainment licensing laws in England and Wales was conducted by the Home Office between 1997 and 1999. Although no formal comparative analysis was conducted, the review included consideration of the licensing regimes operating in Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as those operating in many other countries. At the conclusion of the review, the Government decided that new and entirely unique licensing arrangements were required to meet the demands of the 21st Century in England and Wales. On 10 April 2000, the White Paper "Time for Reform: Proposals for the Modernisation of Our Licensing Laws (CM 4696)", was published and copies are available in the Library of the House. It sets out our proposals for reform and we intend to bring forward legislation to implement them as soon as parliamentary time permits.

National Stadium

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will place in the Library a copy of the report of the Task Force on the National Stadium. [9067]

Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what plans she has to make a statement on the future of Wembley stadium; [8755]

(2) what plans she has to meet representatives of the Football Association to discuss the Wembley project. [8754]

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if she will make a statement on the Wembley project; [8433]

(2) if she will make a statement on the proposals for a new National Stadium for football and rugby league. [8432]

Mr. Caborn: Patrick Carter is currently continuing discussions with the Football Association on the future of the National Stadium project arising from the conclusions of his review of that project. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will make an announcement on the extent of any future Government role in that project once those discussions have concluded and she has discussed the issue further with both Sport England and the Football Association.

19 Oct 2001 : Column: 1381W

The Government have no current plans to publish Patrick Carter's report on the National Stadium as this would compromise the discussions that Patrick Carter is currently having with the Football Association.

Rugby

Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Rugby Football Union to facilitate the Australian RFU's tour during the autumn. [9082]

Mr. Caborn: Neither I nor my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State have had any direct contact with the RFU on this issue.

Gaming Machines

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to prevent the use of jackpot machines in private members' clubs; and if she will make a statement. [8915]

Mr. Caborn: The report of the Gambling Review Body (CM 5206) included a recommendation that the law should be changed so that members' clubs which were not casinos or bingo clubs would no longer be allowed to install jackpot gaming machines. We are undertaking public consultations on all the proposals in the report, and will not reach decisions until we have considered all the points made.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Women's Rights (Jordan)

Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Jordanian Government about human rights abuses relating to women. [8071]

Mr. Bradshaw: The UK has an active dialogue at official level with the Jordanian Government and with Jordanian NGOs about human rights matters.

The UK also plays a leading role in multilateral fora to promote the human rights of women, and supports initiatives to eliminate violence against women. At the UN Commission on Human Rights in April 2001, together with EU partners, we stated that social, cultural or religious factors cannot be used as a justification for violating the human rights of women and girls.

At the UN General Assembly in 2000, the UK co-sponsored and played a strong role in negotiating the passage of the first ever resolution on so called "honour crimes". The resolution was a significant step forward in raising awareness of this violent crime. It was adopted by a vote of 120 votes to zero, though 25 countries, including Jordan, abstained.

The UK's main development programme supports a number of reforms in social policy and social protection in Jordan, including the rights of women.

19 Oct 2001 : Column: 1382W

Afghanistan

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason Her Majesty's Government did not recognise the Taliban regime in Afghanistan between May 1997 and August 2001. [8515]

Mr. Bradshaw: HMG recognise states not governments or particular regimes. HMG recognise the State of Afghanistan. Like almost all other states in the world, the Government do not have normal government- to-government dealings with the Taliban.

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions between May 1997 and August 2001 he took advice on recognising the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. [8516]

Mr. Bradshaw: HMG has a policy of recognising states not governments. The Government recognises the State of Afghanistan. The nature of our relationship with the Taliban regime, with which we do not have government-to-government dealings, has been kept under regular review.

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimates he has of the quantities of heroin exported worldwide from areas controlled by (a) the Taliban Government of Afghanistan and (b) the Northern Alliance of Afghanistan in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [8684]

Mr. Bradshaw: The size of Taliban and the Northern Alliance controlled areas has fluctuated in the last four years, making direct comparisons from year to year difficult. United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) surveys indicate that Taliban controlled areas of Afghanistan produced 2,592 tonnes of opium in 1998, 4,510 tonnes in 1993, 3,139 tonnes in 2000 and 21 tonnes in 2001. Northern Alliance controlled areas produced 108 tonnes of opium in 1998, 140 tonnes in 1999, 131 tonnes in 2000 and 164 tonnes in 2001. Some of this was exported as opium, some as processed morphine and heroin. The proportion exported as heroin appears to have risen over the last four years but the data available, based largely on seizures in Afghanistan's immediate neighbouring countries, is insufficient to provide a detailed breakdown.

An international inspection in April/May confirmed that opium poppy cultivation was effectively eliminated in Taliban controlled areas. Nevertheless, drug trafficking from those areas continued at a high level from stockpiles: the product of surplus product in previous years.

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