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9 Jan 2003 : Column 304W—continued
EU Enlargement
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what security concerns were raised regarding EU enlargement at the Copenhagen summit. [88951]
Mr. MacShane: There was no discussion at the Copenhagen European Council of security concerns regarding EU enlargement. The conclusions of the summit emphasise that enlargement
Xtestifies to the common determination of the peoples of Europe to come together in a Union that has become a driving force for peace, democracy, stability and prosperity on our continent".
Mr. MacShane: Successive independent studies have indicated that there is unlikely to be a large influx of workers from the new member states to the UK after accession. Two recent examples include: Bauer, Thomas K and Zimmerman, Klaus F (1999), XAssessment of Possible Migration Pressures and its Labour Market Impact Following EU Enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe", and Boeri, Tito and Bruecker, Herbert (2000), XThe Impact of Enlargement on Employment and Labour Markets in the EU Member States".
Murder (Overseas)
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are open to the Government to seek legal redress in the event of a United Kingdom citizen being murdered overseas by the forces of an occupying power. [88610]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The steps available would depend on the circumstances of any particular case. The UK's rules applying to international claims were published in the International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Volume 37 (1998) 1006–08.
National Missile Defence
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contradiction there has been with NATO member states on national missile defence; and if he will make a statement. [89380]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Prague summit underlined the commitment of all our NATO allies to examining ways to address the threat posed by ballistic missile proliferation through an appropriate mix of political and defence efforts. As a follow on to work on protecting deployed forces using theatre missile defences, NATO partners agreed to set up a new
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feasibility study to examine options for protecting alliance territory, forces and population centres against the full range of missile threats.
Somalia
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what UK representation there is at the peace negotiations on the future of Somalia; and if he will make a statement. [89375]
Mr. Rammell: The deputy high commissioner in Nairobi attended the opening ceremony of the Somalia National Reconciliation Conference on 15 October 2002 in Eldoret, Kenya. Experts from the UK attended some of the early sessions of the conference and we have had an expert in Eldoret since 2 December 2002.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements are in operation for UK diplomatic representation in Somalia; and if he will make a statement. [89376]
Mr. Rammell: The British Embassy in Mogadishu has been closed since 1990 for security reasons. Coverage of Somalia is provided by the British Embassy in Addis Ababa and by the British High Commission in Nairobi.
Syria (Elhannan Tannenbaum)
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to (a) the Syrian Government, (b) the Syrian ambassador in London, (c) the head of Hizballah and (d) the International Red Cross in respect of medical treatment for Mr. Elhannan Tannenbaum during his captivity. [88590]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: HMG has made a number of representations to governments in the middle east about the fate of the missing Israelis, including Elhannan Tannenbaum, and will continue to do so, pressing particularly for access to the hostages for the International Committee of the Red Cross. Most recently I raised them with the Syrian Foreign Minister, Farouk Al Shara'a, in London during the Syrian President's official visit to the UK on 16 to 18 December 2002. Our ambassadors in Beirut and Damascus also raised the missing men with their host governments, who took note of our interest on 3 October 2002 and 19 September 2002 respectively. On 12 December 2001, our ambassador in Beirut raised hostage taking in general terms with Hizballah. On each occasion we emphasised our absolute opposition to hostage taking, and that those holding hostages should free them at once.
Our ambassador in Tel Aviv met families of the missing men, including Mr. Tannenbaum's son, on 9 September 2002.
Timber
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the UK Government have taken to ensure that the Liberian Government, under UN Security Council resolution 1408 (2002), has established a transparent and internationally verifiable audit regime to ensure that revenue derived from the Liberian timber industry
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is used for legitimate social, humanitarian and development purposes, and not for purchasing arms, and if he will make a statement. [89069]
Mr. Rammell [holding answer 7 January 2003]: We regret that the Government of Liberia have not yet established an audit regime, and we remain concerned that revenues derived from logging activities are used to purchase arms in breach of UN sanctions. We have made repeated calls in the United Nations Security Council for the Government of Liberia to instigate an internationally verifiable and rigorous audit of their timber and shipping revenues as required under UNSCR 1408. We have briefed two potential auditors. Unfortunately, after discussion with the Government of Liberia, both decided not to undertake the contract.
Turkey/Cyprus
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on discussions with Turkey about the decision to admit Cyprus as a candidate member of the European Union. [88985]
Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to his Turkish counterpart during the Copenhagen European Council. They discussed the step forward Copenhagen signalled in Turkey's own candidacy and also touched on Cyprus, including the EU's continued wish to see a reunited island accede.
Western Sahara
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have been held with the Government of Algeria on the future of the western Sahara; and if he will make a statement. [89377]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I met Amine Kherbi the Algerian Presidential Special Envoy when he visited London to discuss western Sahara last July. Officials in London, Algiers and New York are in regular contact with their Algerian counterparts.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to receive proposals from the UN special representative on the future governance of the western Sahara; and if he will make a statement. [89379]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The mandate for MINURSO, the UN mission for a referendum in western Sahara is due to expire on 31 January 2003. We expect the UN Secretary General to report to the Security Council on the situation before that date.
PRIME MINISTER
Referendums
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 18 December 2002, Official Report, column 811W, what criteria he (a) applied and (b) applies in determining whether referendums are appropriate on (i) devolution and (ii) further European union. [89317]
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The Prime Minister: The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) provides a generic statutory framework for the conduct of referendums held across the United Kingdom, or a referendum held in Scotland, Wales, England or Northern Ireland, or in any region in England. There are no criteria, set out either in the PPERA or elsewhere, for deciding when it is appropriate to hold a referendum on a particular issue.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Community Sports Initiatives
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to develop a local agency approach for (a) gaining access to, and (b) supporting funding for community sports initiatives; and if she will make a statement. [89999]
Mr. Caborn: Sport England is, at my request, working on a programme of modernisation and restructuring. A key feature of the programme is the devolution of greater responsibility for funding decisions to the
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regions. To facilitate this process the regional sports boards are being reconstituted as sub-committees of Sport England. New chairs and members are being appointed, with the new boards becoming operational in April this year. Membership will comprise of representatives of local government, voluntary sport, education, health and private sectors. The boards will, in consultation with other regional agencies and local interests including regional assemblies, regional development agencies, regional cultural consortia, local, education and health authorities, produce regional sports strategies which will reflect national sporting priorities. The strategies will inform decision making by Sport England's regional offices on funding for community sports initiatives in their regions.
Mr. Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department intends to spend in the next year developing sport at (a) youth and (b) grassroots levels. [89553]
Mr. Caborn: My Department and the National Lottery will be investing the following resources in 2003–04 in the development of youth and grass roots sport.
| Development | Resources |
|---|---|
| School Sport Co-ordinators | #40 million |
| Community Club Development Programme | #20 million |
| Step into Sport Volunteering Project | #4 million |
| Coach development | #3 million |
| New Opportunities Fund—School Sport and PE Programme | #581 million (between 2001 and 2005) |
| Space for Sport and the Arts | #130 million (between 2001 and 2004) |
| Sport England Grant in Aid | #38.275 million (much of this will be directed to programmes for young people and grassroots sport.) |
| Lottery Sports Fund | #178 million (almost 80 per cent. of this will be allocated to youth and grassroots sport) |
The Department for Education and Skills will also be investing significant resources in sports provision in schools including #184 million for school sport co-ordinators and #115 million for specialist sports colleges over the next three years and #10 million for sporting playgrounds in 2003–04.
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with European colleagues regarding (a) resources for and (b) co-operation in securing international sporting events in European countries. [88730]
Mr. Caborn: I meet ministerial counterparts in EU member states at a range of international fora. In the course of these meetings, I have discussed major sporting events.
In the UK, sport's national governing bodies are responsible for securing the resources necessary for bidding for major international events, assisted where appropriate with Lottery and other funding from UK Sport and Sport England. Other EU member states have similar arrangements. It is the nature of the bidding process that national governing bodies compete for the rights to host events. As such, the scope for co-operation is limited to ensuring that fair criteria for bidding nations are applied by international sporting organisations.
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