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Gibraltar
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy that there will be no joint authority with Spain over Gibraltar. [40667]
Peter Hain: The Government stand by the commitment set out in the preamble to the 1969 Gibraltar Constitution that we will not enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar will pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes.
Zimbabwe
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received regarding the exchange rates used by the British Embassy in Harare for fees paid by British citizens with joint Zimbabwe citizenship wishing to waive their British citizenship. [40480]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 5 March 2002]: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have received a small number of letters on this topic from Members representing their constituents.
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Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements have been made for the funding of an emergency air-lift of British citizens from Zimbabwe. [40482]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 5 March 2002]: No funding arrangements have been made for an emergency air-lift of British citizens from Zimbabwe. We have a Civil Contingency Plan in place for Zimbabwe, as we do for many other countries. This is kept under constant review given the rise in tension in the country.
Israel
Mr. Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the designation of Israel as a nuclear weapon state; and if he will make a statement. [40795]
Mr. Bradshaw: We continue to encourage Israel to resolve international concerns about its nuclear status by acceding to the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state, and concluding a fullscope safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. We also support the creation of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, as demonstrated by our consistent support for relevant United Nations resolutions.
Middle East
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will investigate the circumstances in which Israeli troops have delayed the return to Ramallah of Palestinian teachers from the Friends School who were on the visit to Birmingham between 22 February and 2 March organised by the British Council; and if he will make a statement. [41207]
Mr. Bradshaw: Officials at the British Council have informed me that the teachers have returned to their school in Ramallah. Their journey was difficult because of problems they encountered crossing Israeli Defence Force checkpoints.
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I am deeply concerned about the humanitarian and economic impact of closures. Sustained closures continue to restrict the free movement of people and essential supplies between the Occupied Territories and Israel and other countries, as well as within the Occupied Territories. The suffocation of the Palestinian economy, growing unemployment and the disruption of public service and normal social activity in the territories can only fuel hatred and violence. The lifting of closures form part of the recommendations of the Mitchell Committee report. We have expressed our serious concerns to the Israeli Government on political, legal and humanitarian grounds, and will continue to do so.
Immigration
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications have been received to enter and reside in the UK on the basis of (a) being married to a UK citizen and (b) intending to marry a UK citizen; and if he will list by the country of applicants the number of (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful applications in each category in each of the last three years. [40640]
Mr. Bradshaw: We do not maintain centrally statistics on the number of applications received to enter and reside in the UK on the basis of either being married to or intending to marry a UK citizen.
Such applicants are recorded under the general category of settlement. The figures within this category include dependants and those seeking to reside in the UK on the basis of marriage to someone already resident in the UK but not necessarily a British citizen. to differentiate between these type of applications, we would need to ask all posts to conduct a manual check of all applications.
Figures for total number of settlement applications received, issued and refused in 1999, 2000 and 2001 are attached. Those for 1999 and 2000 are already in the House Library; those for 2001 are based on monthly statistical returns from the largest 110 entry clearance posts handling 98 per cent. of all visa applications.
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