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Planning Appeals

Mr. Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make an assessment of the frequency with which Government planning inspectors disallow section 106 agreements following the successful allowance of an appeal; and if he will make a statement. [77986]

Mr. NcNulty: Since 1999, The Planning Inspectorate has decided 17 appeals under Section 106B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Ten have been allowed. Huw

Coalfield Regeneration Trust

Mr. David: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the allocations of the monies from the Coalfield Regeneration Trust were for (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland in (i) 2000–01 and (ii) 2001–02. [77976]

Mr. McNulty: Funding for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust for 2000–01 and 2001–02 was provided as follows:

	2000–01	2001–02
England	#15.650m	#24.397m
Scotland	#2.434m	#1.847m
Wales	#1.776m	#1.455m

Community Regeneration Trust

Mr. David: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the basis on which monies under the Community Regeneration Trust are allocated to England, Wales and Scotland. [77975]

Mr. McNulty: Funding for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust is a devolved issue. My office provides core funding for the Trust's activities in England, the Welsh Assembly provides core funding for the Trust's activities in Wales and the Scottish Executive provides core funding for the Trust's activities in Scotland.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Sudan

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Government of Sudan regarding the transparency of Sudan's oil revenues.[74888]

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Mr. Macshane: We have not made representations recently because this issue is being handled at the peace talks at Machakos.

Mr. Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his Department's involvement in the peace process in Sudan. [76606]

Mr. Macshane: The UK government is actively engaged in the peace process in Sudan. The UK Special Representative for Sudan, Alan Goulty, is leading the UK observer delegation at the peace talks. He and his team work closely with the mediators. We also carry out intensive consultations with the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in Khartoum and elsewhere. We co-ordinate our efforts with international partners. Peter

Mr. Ian Stillman

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation of Mr. Ian Stillman, who is in an Indian prison. [75964]

Mike O'Brien: Mr. Stillman is a long term resident of India who is physically handicapped. He was arrested and convicted on narcotics charges and has been in prison in Himachal Pradesh since 28 August 2000. We are very concerned about his welfare and are in close touch with him and his family. We have raised his case with the Government of India on many occasions. Most recently my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister spoke with the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Vajpayee, on 12 October and I spoke with the Indian Foreign Secretary on 16 October.

Our High Commission in New Delhi will be following up these conversations with the Government of India to clarify the next steps in Mr. Stillman's case, as well as pursuing with the Himachal Pradesh authorities practical questions relating to Mr. Stillman's welfare. I very much hope that he will be released from prison soon.

Angola

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made with the clearance of landmines in Angola.[76743]

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Mr. Macshane: A total of eight demining NGOs, including two British (HALO Trust and Mines Advisory Group (MAG)) are active in Angola. The cessation of military hostilities earlier this year has allowed them access to areas previously inaccessible because of insecurity.

According to data available from the Angolan Government, NGOs, and UNICEF/UNDP sources, humanitarian demining agencies in Angola have in 2002 collectively worked on a total of 35 minefields, of which 29 have been completely cleared. This work has involved clearing a total of 1.5 million square metres of mined/suspect land and more than 500 km of road. A further 3.5 million square metres have been surveyed during the same period in the provinces of Cunene, Benguela, Bie, Huambo, Kuanza Norte, Luanda, Malanje and Moxico. Throughout the course of the year demining NGOs have uncovered and destroyed over 2,000 anti-personnel landmines, 176 anti-tank mines and 28,000 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO).

Zimbabwe

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with (a) the MDC and (b) the UN over investigations by the UN Commission on Human Rights of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.[76905]

Mr. Macshane: FCO Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and other opposition and civil society groups, on developments in Zimbabwe. The UK supported the EU's draft resolution on Zimbabwe at the UN Commission on Human Rights in April this year in Geneva. Officials have regular contact with UN officials at all levels. Peter

Rough Diamonds

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions (a) her Department and (b) other Government departments have had with participant governments regarding the development of national action plans in preparation for the establishment of an international certification scheme for rough diamonds. [77062]

Mr. Macshane: I have been asked to reply.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the lead department for the Kimberley Process international certification Scheme for rough diamonds, which we expect to start in January 2003.

The European Commission has issued a draft Regulation, setting out how the Kimberley Process will be implemented in the EC. The FCO has submitted an Explanatory Memorandum for parliamentary scrutiny, in advance of final approval of the Regulation by the Council.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is setting up a Government Diamond Office to implement the Regulation within the UK and is preparing guidance for companies.

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We have had discussions with a number of other participants about their implementation and understand that they are also in the process of completing their plans for implementation.

Shener Levent

Mr. Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the human rights implications of the forthcoming trial of Shener Levent of the Afrika newspaper in Northern Cyprus. [77089]

Mr. Macshane: I am disappointed that Sener Levent is again being tried in court for publishing articles critical of the Turkish Cypriot authorities. I condemn all attacks on press freedom, and call upon the Turkish Cypriot authorities to ensure full respect for the right to freedom of expression of Sener Levent and all Turkish Cypriots. The British Government made official representations when Sener Levent and Memduh Ener were imprisoned in August and we will continue to follow this case closely. Peter

Iraq

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps are being taken to ensure that communications between weapons inspectors working in Iraq with the United Nations are secure; and if he will make a statement. [77280]

Mr. Macshane: It is the responsibility of UNMOVIC to ensure its readiness to operate effectively on the ground in Iraq.

UNMOVIC have told us that they have identified, but not yet procured, a range of new technologies and equipment that should ensure encrypted communications of both voice and data between inspectors in Iraq and the UN offices in New York and Vienna as well as internally within the UN Monitoring Centre in Baghdad.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library the text of the resolution prepared by the United States and United Kingdom for the United Nations Security Council in respect of action to be taken against Iraq to permit international inspectors and to destroy its weapons of mass destruction. [77222]

Mr. Macshane: The draft resolution is under discussion at the United Nations Security Council in New York. A copy will be placed in the House Libraries when it has been agreed.

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to ensure that weapons inspectors are reintroduced and active in Iraq as soon as is possible.[77509]

Mr. Macshane: Discussions on a new Security Council resolution focusing on Iraqi disarmament and the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq are continuing in New York. Planning by the Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC and the Director General of the IAEA for their inspection teams to enter Iraq is at an advanced stage, and they expect to be ready to do so soon after the resolution has been adopted.

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