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Mines

Mr. Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from what sources mines retained for training purposes as permitted under the Ottawa Treaty have been procured; and to what purposes they have been put. [101297]

Mr. Ingram: Mines retained for permitted purposes under the Ottawa Convention were kept from previous operational stocks and small numbers of different types have been procured from various sources. These have been declared in the United Kingdom's annual return to the Secretary-General of the United Nations in accordance with Article 7 of the Ottawa Convention.

Retained mines have been used for training in mine detection, mine clearance and mine destruction techniques as permitted in Article 3 of the Ottawa Convention. Specific purposes include: training

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explosive and mine detection dogs; training military and civilian mine clearance personnel; making relevant training films, videos, and posters; testing and trials of mine clearance devices; and testing and trials of protective clothing and equipment.

Weapons (Private Contractors)

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether surplus or redundant (a) small arms and (b) light weapons are (i) given and (ii) sold by the Department to private contractors. [103308]

Mr. Ingram: No surplus small arms or light weapons have been gifted to private contractors. No surplus small arms have been sold to private contractors in the last three years. Surplus light weapons would only be sold (via the Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Agency) to the original equipment manufacturer in support of an export order.

WALES

Airports

7. Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the National Assembly regarding assistance for regional airports. [102974]

Peter Hain: I have regular discussions with the First Minister on many issues including the role of airports throughout Wales.

Economic Development (North Wales)

8. Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the National Assembly about economic development in North Wales. [102975]

Peter Hain: I have regular discussions with the Assembly's First Minister about economic development matters across Wales.

Higher Education

9. Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales on widening participation in higher education, with particular reference to student funding. [102976]

Peter Hain: Regular ones, and with the Assembly Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning.

13. Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he held with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales regarding tuition fees before the publication of the Government's White Paper on higher education. [102980]

Peter Hain: The First Minister and I have been in close contact about the future of student funding in Wales and will continue to work with the Secretary for State for Education and Skills over the coming months.

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National Health Service

10. Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the National Assembly for Wales about the state of the national health service in Wales. [102977]

Mr. Touhig: I regularly meet the Assembly Minister for Health to discuss health matters in Wales.

Contaminated Land (Cynon Valley)

11. Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has discussed (a) the contaminated Phurnacite land in the Cynon Valley with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales and (b) action to be taken in respect of the land. [102978]

Peter Hain: I have regular discussions with the First Minister. I am aware of my hon. Friend's concerns regarding this land and I am pleased to tell her that the Feasibility Task Group is meeting today to consider the specifications for 'treatability tests'.

Pay Equality

12. Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues and the National Assembly for Wales on the pay gap between men and women in Wales. [102979]

Peter Hain: Regular ones. Closing the pay gap is a priority.

Agriculture

14. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Secretary about the future of the agricultural industry in Wales. [102981]

Mr. Touhig: My right hon. Friend has regular meetings with the First Secretary and I meet the Assembly Agriculture Secretary and DEFRA Ministers to discuss a variety of issues, including the future of the agriculture industry in Wales.

Minimum Wage

15. Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has held with ministerial colleagues about the impact of the national minimum wage in Wales. [102982]

Peter Hain: I have frequent contact with Ministerial colleagues and around 60,000 people stood to benefit from the introduction of the National Minimum Wage in Wales in April 1999 with around 80,000 people benefiting from the last major uprating in October 2001.

PRIME MINISTER

EU Regional Policy

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Prime Minister which Minister is leading on the revision of EU regional policy post-2006; if he will place in the Library a statement on

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the Cabinet Committee arrangements to deal with this issue; and if he will make a statement of the Government's policy. [103417]

The Prime Minister: The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry leads on EU Structural Funds. The Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for policy on the English regions, as well as central oversight of devolution. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible for matters concerning the EC budget and the European Investment Bank. All three Ministers share responsibility for the PSA target on improving the economic performance of the English Regions.

The European Policy (EP) Committee is the Cabinet committee responsible for the issue. Details on the composition of the Committee are in the Libraries of the House and are published on the Cabinet Office website.

The Deputy Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry published a paper on 6 March entitled 'A Modern Regional Policy for the United Kingdom', which launched a joint consultation on the future of EU Structural Funds.

Iraq

Paul Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to publish amendments to his assessment in the document 'Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction' presented to the House in September 2002 arising from the evidence of UNMOVIC inspectors on Iraqi (a) bases, (b) presidential palaces and (c) uranium imports. [102883]

The Prime Minister: I have no plans to publish an amended version of the dossier presented in September 2002, the contents of which still accurately reflect our assessment of the position with regard to Iraq's proscribed weapons programmes.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has revised his assessment of the threat posed by Iraq to the UK, following the statement on 7 March by the Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency; if he will make a statement of the source for his assertion that Saddam Hussein has been trying to buy significant quantities of uranium from Africa; and what action he is taking to verify intelligence documents which he has relied upon in forming policy. [103874]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the debate on Iraq in the House on 18 March 2003, Official Report.

Northern Ireland Assembly

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Prime Minister how many meetings his Department has had with representatives of each of the partners represented in the Northern Ireland Assembly since 1 October 2002. [103258]

The Prime Minister: I and members of my office have had frequent meetings with political parties in Northern Ireland in recent months.

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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

HIV/AIDS (East Asia)

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department is having with the governments of (a) China, (b) Japan, (c) Indonesia, (d) Philippines, (e) Malaysia, (f) North Korea, (g) South Korea, (h) Cambodia, (i) Burma, (j) Laos and (k) Vietnam on the spread and control of HIV and AIDS; and if she will make a statement. [103111]

Clare Short: Without sustained action in Asia, HIV/AIDS will have significant social and economic costs. It is estimated that over seven million people in Asia are already infected with HIV, 20 per cent. of the global total. Although HIV came later to Asia, it has made substantial inroads in a short time.

The epidemic in Asia varies dramatically between and within countries. Cambodia and Burma have significant national epidemics. Others are seeing concentrated epidemics in the most vulnerable populations, such as injecting drug users and sex workers. While prevalence is still low even among these groups in other countries, action now will prevent the pattern seen elsewhere of low prevalence for a number of years followed by rapid increases.

The spread of HIV/AIDS in is an issue which is a top priority for DFID in the region. Relevant targets for HIV/AIDS have been included in our Public Service Agreement.

In the countries in which DFID has a programme, HIV/AIDS is an issue that we continually raise in the context of policy discussions with governments about our development partnership. Our discussions cover a range of issues including priorities, targets and approaches. We have significant HIV/AIDS programmes in China, Cambodia, Burma and Vietnam. These are looking to strengthen national responses to HIV/AIDS through both targeted interventions for those groups most as risk, as well as improvements in the enabling environment for more effective action.

DFID does not have programmes in Japan, the Phillipines, Malaysia, North Korea or South Korea. Although we do have some discussions with the governments of some of these countries in the context of global financing instruments such as the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria.

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