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Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the initiatives taken by the United Kingdom since May 1997 in respect of furtherance of the aims of Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. [91963]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UK has a very good record in fulfilling its NPT obligations. In furtherance of the aims of Article VI of The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the UK has, since May 1997:

withdrawn and dismantled the RAF's freefall WE 177 nuclear bomb, so that Trident is now our only nuclear weapons system;


reduced our operationally available stockpile to fewer than 200 warheads, which is a reduction of more than 70 per cent. in the potential explosive power of our nuclear forces since the end of the Cold War;


dismantled the UK's last Chevaline warhead in April 2002;


reduced the readiness of our nuclear forces. Only a single Trident submarine at a time is now on deterrent patrol, carrying 48 warheads. The submarine on patrol is normally on several days 'notice to fire' and its missiles are de-targeted;


placed fissile material no longer required for defence purposes under international safeguards, and all enrichment and reprocessing facilities in the UK are now liable to international inspection;


been more transparent about our nuclear and fissile material stockpiles and begun a national historical accounting study for fissile material produced;


published an initial summary report on the verification of the reduction and elimination of nuclear weapons. The Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston is undertaking work on this issue;


ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and promoted its early entry into force;


ratified the relevant protocols to the Treaty of Raratonga (South Pacific Nuclear Weapon Free Zone) and signed and ratified the relevant protocols to the Treaty of Pelindaba (African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone);


supported Nuclear Weapon Free Zones in central Asia, south east Asia, and the middle east, and is in negotiations with the relevant states for the first two of these; and

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continued to press for negotiations to begin at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva of a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty.

Plutonium

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 8 January 2003, Official Report, column 266W, on plutonium disposition, what proportion of the funds committed by the United Kingdom to the disposition of Russian plutonium is earmarked to convert the plutonium into MO" nuclear fuel. [92060]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The United Kingdom has committed £70 milion over ten years to help Russia dispose of plutonium, as it agreed to under the 2000 US/Russia agreement. That agreement saw both Russia and the US commit to dispose of 34 tonnes of plutonium each. The Russian 34 tonnes will be disposed of as MO". The UK, unlike some other contributors, has not earmarked its funds for a particular purpose. We believe this programme to be an important part of our wider non-proliferation policy, as it will ensure that a substantial quantity of fissile material cannot fall into terrorist or criminal hands.

Public Service Agreement Targets

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to publish his autumn departmental reports on public service agreement targets; and if he will make a statement. [91006]

Mr. Rammell: We hope to publish the report in the next few weeks.

Religious Tolerance

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with governments of other countries on protecting those who convert from Islam to other faiths, from (a) persecution and (b) arrest and punishment. [90730]

Mr. Rammell: We condemn all instances where individuals are persecuted because of their faith or belief. Ministers and officials take every opportunity, including with our EU partners, to urge states to pursue laws and practices which foster tolerance and mutual respect and to protect religious minorities against discrimination, intimidation and attacks. The UK co-sponsored a resolution at the UN General Assembly in November, 2002 in New York, to work to eliminate all forms of religious intolerance. We regularly raise specific cases of religious persecution with the Governments concerned.

Russian Federation

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 16 January 2003, ref 91205, when the Russian Federation has had its attention drawn to the need to put in place a legal framework satisfactory to donor countries. [92615]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UK has been engaged in both multilateral and bilateral negotiations with Russia on such a legal framework for some time, but these negotiations are yet to be concluded. Throughout the negotiating process, UK officials have taken every opportunity, both in the negotiations themselves and at appropriate international meetings, to resolve difficulties and to stress the importance of a legal framework. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister raised the matter in discussions with the Russian President Putin in Moscow in October 2002. We hope the remaining legal obstacles can be overcome in the near future, and work can begin on this important programme.

Zimbabwe

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with African leaders on the situation in Zimbabwe. [91798]

Mr. Rammell: We are in regular contact with African leaders about Zimbabwe. The crisis there is of concern to the entire region. Zimbabwe was discussed at two recent ministerial meetings attended by Baroness Amos: the EU-Southern African Development Community meeting in Maputo and the EU-Africa meeting in Ouagadougou, both in November 2002.

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British subjects he estimates reside in Zimbabwe; and how many have left in the last 12 months. [91263]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: There are 26,000 British nationals registered with our high commission in Harare. We believe that in total there are approximately 35,000 British Nationals in Zimbabwe. We do not have precise numbers for those that have left Zimbabwe. However, based on contact with the British community and our consular warden network, we estimate that 2,000 British nationals may have left Zimbabwe in the past 12 months.

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which occasions banned representatives of the Zimbabwe Government have visited (a) the UK and (b) the EU in the last 12 months, and under what authority. [91267]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Members of the Zimbabwe Government have been refused entry to the UK in line with the EU's travel ban.

The EU Common Position of 18 February 2002 states that member states may grant exemptions from the travel ban where travel is justified on the grounds of attending meetings of international bodies. For this reason, the following Zimbabwean Government officials have visited the EU in the last six months.

Aeneas Chigwedere, Minister of Education, Culture and Sports was in Paris for a UNESCO meeting on 9 and 10 January. Two junior ZANU(PF) Ministers, Christopher Kuruneri, Deputy Minister for Finance and Paul Mangwana, Minister of State for State Enterprises were in Brussels for an EU/ACP meeting in November 2002. This meeting broke down when the European Parliament refused to grant the Zimbabweans access to

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the building. ZANU (PF)'s Trade Minister, Samuel Mumbengegwi was in Brussels for an EU/ACP meeting in September. Police Commissioner, Augustine Chihuri, was in Lyon for an Interpol meeting in August.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Mr. Flight: To ask the Solicitor General when she expects the CPS to publish its autumn departmental reports on public service agreement targets; and if she will make a statement. [91008]

The Solicitor-General: I expect the autumn performance report of the Crown Prosecution Service to be published by the end of January, or shortly thereafter.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Appointments

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, who have been members of the Broadband Fixed Wireless Access Consultative Group since its inception; what (a) expenses and (b) salary each received; and if she will make a statement. [91664]

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Mr. Timms: The purpose of the Broadband Fixed Wireless Access Consultative Group is to advise the Radiocommunications Agency on a wide range of issues relating to the award of Broadband Fixed Wireless Access licences. There are over 200 members, representing telecommunications operators, manufacturers and others with an interest in the development of broadband fixed wireless access. It also has representatives from the Agency and its advisers and from other Government organisations. Members' salaries and expenses are met by themselves or their employers.

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who have been members of the Aerospace Committee since its inception; what (a) expenses and (b) salary each received; and if she will make a statement. [91660]

Alan Johnson: The members of the Aerospace Committee since its inception are listed in the following table.

Aerospace Committee members are unpaid, although travel expenses may be reimbursed.

Mr. Larry Brooke, a member from March 1999 to December 2000, claimed travel expenses totalling £26.10.

No other travel expenses have been requested or paid.

Aerospace Committee membership list—1999 to date

Name	Position	Company/Institution	Date
Mr. Colin Green	(Chairman) Director	Rolls-Royce plc	From March 1999
Dr. David Anderson	Managing Director	Future Systems Technology QinetiQ	From April 2002
Mr. Norman Barber	Chairman	Smiths Industries plc	Until May 2000
Mr. Martin Broadhurst	Managing Director	Marshall of Cambridge Aerospace Ltd.	From March 1999
Mr. Larry Brooke	National Secretary	MSF	Until December 2000
Mr. Ken Brundle	Vice President and General Manager	Shorts Brothers plc	Until May 2000
Mr. Robin Clark	Director	Cobham plc	From March 1999
Mr. Graham Cole	Director of Government Affairs	GKN plc	From March 2001
Mr. Allan Cook	Deputy Chief Executive	Cobham plc	Until January 2001
Prof. Bill Dawes	Francis Mond Prof. of Aeronautical Engineering	Cambridge University	From March 1999
Dr. John Ferrie	Group Managing Director Aerospace	Smiths Group plc	From March 2001
Mr. Simon Frost OBE	Chief Executive	Claverham Ltd.	From March 1999
Mr. Chris Geoghegan	Chief Operating Officer	BAE Systems	From July 2002
Mr. Ken Maciver	Consultant—formerly Executive Vice President	TRW Aeronautics—Lucas Aerospace	From March 1999
Mr. David Marshall	Director General	Society of British Aerospace Companies	From March 1999
Mr. John McGowan	Director of Strategic Planning	GKN Westland Ltd.	Until December 2000
Ms Eva Persson	Business Development Director	Rolls-Royce plc	From March 1999
Prof. Ian Poll	Head of the College of Aeronautics	Cranfield University, MK43 0AL	From March 1999
Mr. John Quigley	National Officer (Shipbuilding and Aerospace)	AMICUS	From March 2001
Mr. Mike Rouse	Group Managing Director	Military Aircraft and Support Systems, British Aerospace plc	Until January 2002
Mr. Michael Ryan	General Manager, Aerospace Operations	Bombardier Aerospace, Shorts Brothers plc	From September 2000
Major General Alan Sharman	Director General	Defence Manufacturers Association	From March 1999
Mr. John Sharman	Executive Director	Spectrum Capital Ltd.	From March 1999
Mr. Mike Stacey	Chairman	Meggitt plc	Until March 2001
Mr. Tom Williams	Managing Director and General Manager	Airbus UK	From May 2001
Mr. Richard Wood	Managing Director	Weston Aerospace	From March 1999

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