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Fines

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what proportion of fine-defaulters were in full time employment since 1990. [65123]

Yvette Cooper [pursuant to her reply, 9 July]: This information is currently not collected centrally. In 1994–1995, the Home Office conducted a survey of 2,000 offenders who appeared in means courts. It found that only 20 per cent of male and 11 per cent of female offenders in the sample had any sort of job. We are considering ways to collect more information on the means of offenders.

Ambulance Staff (Attacks)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many offenders have been prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2002 for attacks against ambulance service staff. [71101]

The Solicitor-General: I have been asked to reply. The Crown Prosecution Service do not hold this information centrally and could only provide it at a disproportionate cost.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Temporary Staff

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost to his Department was of employing staff in (a) London and (b) south-east from employment agencies in each year since 1997. [56514]

Mr. MacShane: [holding answer of 16 May]: The cost to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from employing staff in London and the south east from employment agencies in each financial year since 1997 is as follows:

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Financial Year	£
1997–98	445,944
1998–99	804,788
1999–2000	971,657
2000–01	1,255,817
2001–02	1,933,841

Western Sahara

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made by UK representatives to the UN Security Council concerning the General Secretary's special report on Western Sahara to be discussed on 31 July; and if he will make a statement. [70942]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UN Secretary General asked Security Council members to choose a suitable direction for his special envoy James Baker to pursue in helping the parties find a solution to the dispute in Western Sahara.

We have been working with all Security Council members in New York and in their capitals, and have consulted the parties and interested observers in an effort to reach a consensus direction before 31 July.

HMG continues to support the efforts of the United Nations Secretary General in trying to find a just and durable resolution to the dispute.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what visits to the Western Sahara have been made by UK diplomatic staff in the past year; which (a) individuals and (b) organisations they met; and if he will make a statement. [70943]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Five members of UK diplomatic staff from our Embassies in Rabat and New York have visited Western Sahara in the last year.

The primary purpose of these was to visit MINURSO. Where time and schedules allowed they met as wide a range of Moroccan and Saharawi interests groups as possible. They also met UNHCR and OAU representatives.

Sudan

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Sudanese Government regarding its willingness to ratify the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. [71371]

Mr. MacShane: The Sudanese government has signed the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The Embassy in Khartoum has regularly lobbied the Government of Sudan to ratify the Convention. The Head of the joint FCO/DFID Sudan Unit also lobbied the Government of Sudan last month. We expect the Sudanese Government to present a Bill to Parliament in the near future.

Indonesia

Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent violence in the Moluccas Islands directed towards Christians and other minorities by the

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Liskar Jihad movement, and the breakdown of the Malino Peace Agreement between the Christian and Muslim communities. [70773]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Tensions remain high in the Moluccas with Christian and Muslim extremists trying to undermine the Malino Agreement. HMG deplores the continuing violence. The Indonesian Government is taking steps to improve coordination between the army, police and the civilian governor, including the appointment of a new regional military commander. A National Investigation Team has been appointed by the President to assess the progress of the Malino Agreement and to draw attention to areas of concern. We have offered to share with police officers in the Moluccas the UK experience of policing inter-communal conflict.

Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the UK Government are taking to encourage the Indonesian Government to promote inter-faith dialogue between the groups and to prosecute persons responsible for inciting violence between religious communities. [70774]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The FCO is sponsoring a visit to Indonesia by a mixed-faith delegation of Westminster Parliamentarians from 28 July to 2 August. The visit aims, amongst other things, to discuss inter-faith initiatives in Indonesia. The UK Government supports the Malino Agreement for the Moluccas and encourages the Indonesian Government to pursue inter-faith solutions to cummunal conflict.

Indonesian authorities have arrested Laskar Jihad leader Ja'far Umar Thalib and Maluku Sovereignty Front leader Alex Manuputty, and are pursuing prosecutions against them. They have also sent additional judges and prosecuters to the Moluccas to tackle a back-log of criminal cases.

Nepal

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Nepal regarding reports of unlawful killings by Government security forces; and if he will make a statement. [71479]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have consistently made clear to the Nepalese government the need for Nepal to fulfill its international obligations in the field of human rights, and to investigate in a fair and transparent way any allegations of abuses of human rights. We have raised this issue with the Nepalese government at all levels and on numerous occasions. We have also lobbied in conjunction with other EU Member States to ensure the investigation of recent allegations of abuses by security forces in the Chitwan district—an investigation which led to disciplinary action being taken by the Army. We also lobbied for the investigation of recent allegations concerning the fate of the journalist Krishna Sen. We have made clear that continued international support for Nepal is dependent on firm action being taken to maintain human rights and investigate allegations of human rights abuses.

China

Mr. Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had during his visit to China about trade. [69698]

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Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary had a substantive discussion with Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, during which our commercial interests in the oil and gas, ports and aerospace sectors were raised. In addition, the state of our bilateral commercial relationship was discussed more generally during talks with President Jiang Zemin.

Macedonia

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to send observers to the parliamentary elections in Macedonia on 15 September. [69778]

Mr. MacShane: The UK attaches great importance to the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Macedonia. Holding these elections successfully and peacefully will be an important step in Macedonia's progress towards integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. To support this process, the UK will be sending seventy-five short-term observers (deployed for a week), two medium-term observers (for three weeks) and three long-term observers who will be on the ground for six weeks. This is, as is normal, 10 per cent of the OSCE total.

European Security and Defence Policy

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place a copy of the Ankara Document laying out the participation of non-EU NATO member countries in the ESDP in the Library. [71564]

Mr. Straw: No. The arrangement for the participation of non-EU NATO member countries in ESDP are still under negotiation between the EU and NATO, and it would not assist the process of negotiation for the document to be made public.

Export Controls

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the annual report on strategic export controls will be published. [72211]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The 2001 annual report on Strategic Export Controls is being published today. It covers arms export licensing decisions and exports in 2001, as well as domestic and international policy developments. Since 1997, the reports have established themselves as among the most transparent produced by any arms exporting country, giving Parliament and public the ability to scrutinise our export licensing policy as never before. This year's Report will be a clear restatement of that commitment to accountability and transparency in Strategic Export controls. The report will be available on the FCO website (www.fco.gov.uk) and through the Stationery Office.

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