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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Cuba

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's relations with Cuba. [104583]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UK's bilateral relationship with Cuba is one of constructive engagement. HMG co-operates with Cuba in a number of areas including the fight against drug trafficking, HIV/AIDS, child protection and in science and sport. We share the EU goal of encouraging a process of transition to a pluralist democracy with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba. With our EU partners, we take every opportunity to make clear our concerns about human rights and the one-party system in Cuba. We have raised the recent arrests of dissidents with the Cuban authorities.

Departmental Creche Facilities

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what creche facilities are provided by his Department; and at what cost. [104302]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The FCO nursery has now been open for 18 months and can take up to 36 children. Parents pay between £110-£130 per week, depending on their grade and the age of the child. The subsidy is approximately £90,000 per annum, depending on the take-up of places and age of the children.

The FCO is also an employer partner in the Buffer Bear network of nurseries, with access to 10 priority places on the waiting list. The cost of a place varies depending on, among other things, the location of the nursery. Staff are offered a subsidy of £20-£40 per week depending on their grade. These nurseries are based at key commuter points and offer choice for parents who do not wish to bring their children into London.

Staff are also eligible to use the Westminster holiday playscheme, which caters for 4 to12-year-olds during school holidays, at three sites in central London. The cost is £30 per day, which is split equally between the FCO and the parent. The subsidy for financial year

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2002–03 will be in the region of £4,100. Places are offered on a first come, first served basis, which means the number of users varies each year.

Gibraltar

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Spanish Government since 1 January on sovereignty over Gibraltar; and if he will make a statement. [104980]

Mr. Straw: I have had several discussions with my Spanish counterpart on a range of issues since 1 January 2003. None of these concentrated on Gibraltar.

Iran

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of women's rights in Iran; what recent representations he has made to the Iranian Government on women's rights; and if he will make a statement. [104937]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: In Iran women make up over half the university intake, and are able to work, drive, and vote. There are 13 women MPs, a female Vice-President and many representatives on town and city councils. Nevertheless, we share the concerns expressed in the EU Council Conclusions of 19 March at the discrimination, in law and in practice, against women and girls in Iran. The head of the Iranian Judiciary has said there is a need to review the laws which deny women their rights. We encourage the efforts being made in Iran to have legislation passed which will permit Iran to ratify without reservations the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the decision by the Iranian Government not to remove stoning from the Islamic Punishment Act; and if he will make a statement. [104940]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Although the Iranian Government have not removed stoning from the Iranian penal code we welcome their recent de facto moratorium on death sentences by stoning and hope that it is the first step towards the abolition of this practice. The British Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and urges all states to abolish the death penalty. Debate on such issues is growing in Iran and we and our EU partners continue to make clear our views to the Iranian Government at every suitable opportunity.

Nigeria

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received concerning attacks upon Christians and animists by militant Muslims in the central and northern states of Nigeria, with particular reference to Plateau state; and what representations he will make to the Nigerian authorities concerning these attacks. [104735]

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Mr. Rammell: The British High Commission in Abuja systematically reports the violent clashes between Christian and Muslim communities in northern Nigeria, although we are not aware of attacks on animists.

In July last year, a British Government team specialising in conflict prevention visited Plateau state to see what help the UK could offer. The team convened a round-table discussion for Christians and Muslims. We also support the efforts of Coventry Cathedral's Centre for Reconciliation, who have been trying to build trust between the religious communities in Kaduna over the last year. They plan to extend their work to Plateau State.

As I told my hon. Friend, the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 357W, we remain in close touch with the Nigerian authorities on the issue of violence in northern Nigeria. Officials from the British High Commission in Abuja regularly visit the northern states, where the majority of religious violence takes place, and raise the matter of violence with the governors of the states concerned.

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received concerning the declared aim of militant Muslims in Nigeria to have Sharia law imposed on a majority of the states, in order to mount a challenge to the country's constitution. [104736]

Mr. Rammell: Some political commentators in Nigeria have claimed that militant Moslems in the north are working towards the adoption of Sharia law by a majority of states in the Federation, with the aim of eventually altering the constitution to make Nigeria an Islamic state. But there is no indication that the majority of Moslems in the country support these moves.

Plane Spotters

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the British plane spotters charged with espionage and associated charges have not received their bail money since they were acquitted in November 2002; what action the Foreign Office has taken to assist them in the return of this money; and what further action the Foreign Office plans to take. [101199]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The 12 British plane spotters have not yet received their bail money but Greek legal procedures can be lengthy. We advised the plane spotters to instruct a lawyer to apply for the return of the bail money on their behalf. Our ambassador in Athens wrote to the Minister of Justice on 28 January 2003, asking for this procedure to be expedited, and is actively pursuing this. We will continue to offer the plane spotters all the consular assistance we properly can.

Rachel Corrie

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with (a) The US Government and (b) the Government of Israel about the death of Rachel Corrie; and if he will make representations to the Israeli Government about its treatment of foreign nationals attempting to prevent the destruction of Palestinian homes by Israeli forces. [104771]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: We continue to make clear our deep concerns about the treatment of all civilians in the Occupied Territories by the Israeli authorities. I raised my concerns about civilian deaths in the Occupied Territories, including that of Rachel Corrie, in a meeting with the Israeli Ambassador on 19 March. The indiscriminate use of force by the Israel Defence Forces only fuels the cycle of violence and makes a comprehensive settlement harder to reach. We have always recognised Israel's right to take steps to provide security for its citizens, but these actions must fall within the parameters of international law.

Officials at the Consulate General in Jerusalem have discussed Rachel Corrie's death with their US counterparts.

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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Events

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press conferences which have been sponsored by her Department and which took place on non-departmental premises in the last 12 months, broken down by title, purpose, date and cost. [104282]

Dr. Howells: Details of the events sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that took place on non-departmental premises in the last 12 months are listed in the following table.

Title	Purpose	Date	Cost (£000)
(a) Conferences
Building a sustainable heritage held at the Science Museum	To raise awareness of the principles of sustainable development to the public through DCMS sectors	30 April 2002	7
People and places launch	To launch social inclusion policy for the built environment—held at the Dulwich picture Gallery	June 2002	1.1
Golden Jubilee Faith Forum, St. James Palace	To bring together young people of faith from across the UK to explore the practical dimension of faith and service to the community	9–10 June 2002	59
DCMS Finance Conference at the British Museum	To bring finance directors from the Departments non-departmental public bodies up to date on recent developments, share best practice and assist in networking	28 January 2003	2
Building Tomorrow: Culture in Regeneration Conference at The Lowry	A discussion between Ministers and key players about the role played by culture in the regeneration of urban and rural areas	25 February 2003	31.2
(b) Seminars
Golden Jubilee seminars	To brief local community and voluntary groups of events planned in Plymouth and Bristol	27 March 2002	0.8
Accounting Officers Seminar, Tower of London	To address a range of common strategic issues	13 May 2002	1.8
Public libraries seminar	To consult professionals on the Government's strategic framework for the public library service	18 June 2002	3.7
Visual Arts seminar, London	To discuss the structures and support required to assist the visual arts over the next 10 years	10 July 2002	0.3
Exploiting the scientific research programmes of national museums seminar	To raise awareness within Government of the scientific, research and educational work of the national museums	22 July 2002	0.3
Creativity for wealth and welfare seminar	To discuss the contribution creativity can make to wealth and welfare by participants from government, the academic world and others	26 September 2002	0.3
Cultural leadership seminar at the Globe Theatre	To discuss leadership and management issues with the cultural sector	16 October 2002	1.5
Fresh Perspectives Seminar	To raise awareness of core principles for involving children and young people among DCMS sectors	21 November 2002	4.2
PE school sport and club links; open morning	To update key stakeholders on the content and delivery of the Government's strategy for PE, school sport and club links	5 December 2002	1.6
NDPB Chief Executives' Spring Seminar, London	To address a range of common strategic issues	3 March 2003	7.2
Implementing recommendations of the Coaching Task Force	To consult with key stakeholders on the Government's proposals	10 March 2003	2.4
Capital of Culture Event	To acknowledge and celebrate the 12 cities short listed for the event	14 October 2002	7.6
(c) Workshops
Creative Industries Networking Event, London	To bring together a range of organisations from the creative industries to share best practice	July 2002	6
Informal Commonwealth Sports Ministers Meeting	To discuss a range of relevant sports policy issues, including anti-doping, women in sport and sport and social cohesion	24 July 2002	35.5
Developing a closer working relationship between the DCMS and local government	Workshop to explore and develop opportunities for DCMS to engage more systematically with local government	7 October 2002	0.4
(d) Exhibitions(13)
(e) Press conferences
Treasure Annual Report 2000	Launch at British Museum	14 August 2002	0

⁽¹³⁾ None

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