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South Africa

Donald Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his visit to South Africa on 13 and 14 May. [113795]

Mr. Straw [holding answer of 19 May 2003]: I visited South Africa on 13–14 May accompanied by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and the Under

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Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Skills, my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr. Twigg). I had talks with President Mbeki and Foreign Minister Zuma, attended the memorial service for Walter Sisulu, and visited Soweto. My discussions with the South African Government covered NEPAD, the Middle East, and a range of key African issues, including Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. My ministerial colleagues had parallel discussions with their South African counterparts on the environment and education.

My visit was a positive demonstration of the excellent relationship between the UK and South Africa, which covers areas of priority for both governments, as shown in our Joint Communiqué. I have placed a copy of that Communiqué in the Library of the House. My visit also reminded me of the remarkable progress and reconciliation which South Africa has achieved in just a few years since the end of apartheid.

Sudan

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the progress and prospects of the peace process in Sudan. [113641]

Mr. Rammell: New momentum has been injected into the Sudan peace process following the summit meeting between President Bashir and Dr. Garang in Nairobi on 2 April. Both leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to the peace process, the Machakos Protocol, and the agreements on cessation of hostilities and unimpeded humanitarian access.

There are outstanding problems which need to be resolved, on power and wealth sharing, the three conflict areas and ceasefire and security issues. Discussion of these issues has now begun and we are optimistic about the prospects for peace. There is a good chance of agreement this year.

Syria

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many diplomatic staff represent the United Kingdom in Syria; how many there were (a) five years ago, (b) 10 years ago and (c) 15 years ago; what plans are in place to change the number of diplomatic staff in Syria in the next five months; and if he will make a statement. [113290]

Mr. Rammell: There are currently 13 Diplomatic Staff in our embassy in Damascus plus two Ministry of Defence staff attached to the Mission. There were 12 Diplomatic Staff in 1998 and 1993. In 1988 there were only six Diplomatic Staff.

We have no plans to withdraw any Diplomatic Staff from Syria in the next five months.

US Administration (Talks)

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the US administration on (a) NATO reconfiguration and (b) plans to increase its troops presence in Africa. [113526]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has regular discussions on the future development of NATO with the US and other Allies. NATO Foreign Ministers last met in Brussels on 3 April.

At the Prague Summit in November 2002, NATO Heads of State and Government took decisions to transform the Alliance to meet the new threats and security challenges of the 21st Century. To do this NATO must develop new military capabilities to meet these new threats, streamline NATO command structures and have access to flexible Allied forces, able to move quickly to wherever they are needed. As part of this process, NATO has embarked on a radical reshaping of its command structure. The UK strongly supports this process.

Prague also emphasises the commitment of NATO to operate out of the Euro-Atlantic area, in order to meet threats to the Allies' common security interests. In this context, NATO decided on 16 April 2003 to offer increased support to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. NATO has no permanent troop presence in Africa and no plans to establish one.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Asylum Seekers

Linda Perham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to assist local authorities to undertake their duties under the Children Act 1989 to care for all unaccompanied asylum seekers under the age of 18. [113912]

Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.

Unaccompanied asylum seeking children are supported by local authorities' social services departments under the Children Act 1989. This support is financed through a grant from the Home Office.

Fire Services

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his most recent estimate is of the cost of the Fire Service dispute; and if he will make a statement. [114945]

Mr. Raynsford: As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister said in his statement to the House on 8 May, the total cost to the public purse now stands at over £100 million.

Housing Bill

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion he estimates charges by the Environment Agency will represent of the total costs of the seller's packs proposed in the draft Housing Bill. [114345]

Mr. McNulty: A consultation paper on contents of the home information pack was published on 31 March 2003. This invites views on, among other things, the nature and content of any environmental information to be included in the pack. The cost of obtaining such information from the Environment Agency or other

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source would depend on the nature and extent of the information required. This cannot be estimated at this time.

Listed Buildings

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what powers he has to revoke a planning consent affecting an historic building whose listed status has been upgraded subsequent to the consent; and if he will make a statement. [114633]

Mr. McNulty: Planning permission can be revoked only in exceptional circumstances. It would be for the local planning authority to consider whether to make a revocation order. Any such order would need to be approved by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister. In determining any subsequent application for planning permission, the local planning authority would need to take into account the revised listed status of the building.

Polluted Land

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what effect seller's packs will have on properties situated on polluted land. [114346]

Mr. McNulty: The effect of the home information pack on such properties will be to make more information on possible pollution available to prospective buyers at the start of the transaction process. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's consultation paper on the contents of the home information pack identifies three ways in which the pack could identify potential pollution problems affecting the property. The first is the standard searches made of local authorities. These would identify, for example, any entry relating to the property in the register maintained under section 78R(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The second is an environmental search, which could identify, for example, close proximity to the operation of certain prescribed industrial processes. The third is the home condition report, which would identify any potential pollution problem observed by the home inspector in the course of his inspection of the property. The detailed contents of the home information pack will be considered further in the light of responses to the consultation.

Right to Buy Order

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received about the Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount (Amendment)) Order. [114129]

Mr. McNulty: A number of representations have been received since this Order was laid before Parliament on 6 March 2003. Some oppose the Government's decision to lower the maximum Right to Buy discount available to tenants in certain areas where housing market pressures are greatest. Others welcome the changes.

Tourism

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he carried out a regulatory impact assessment on the impact on tourism in England of (a) his proposals to withdraw PPG21 on Tourism, (b) the abolition of

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county councils' strategic planning role on tourism in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill and (c) the effectiveness of the increased role for Regional Planning Guidance for tourism, with special reference to the boundaries of (i) the former English regional tourist boards and (ii) English regions. [114016]

Mr. McNulty: A regulatory impact assessment was not appropriate in respect of proposals to withdraw PPG21, given that no new regulations are proposed. Since we are not proposing to abolish the county council's strategic role in relation to tourism, we did not cover this issue in the regulatory impact assessment for the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill. The new Regional Spatial Strategies will have an increasing sub-regional dimension in which the strategic planning authorities will have an important role through their representation on the Regional Planning Bodies, as statutory consultees, and in some cases, as agents of the Regional Planning Bodies. The new arrangements will enable the sub-regional planning aspects of tourism to be addressed on a more effective functional basis than structure plan boundaries allow.

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how planning guidance as outlined in (a) Annex A on hotels, (b) Annex B on holidays and touring caravans and (c) Annex C on seasonal and holiday occupancy conditions will be disseminated to local planning authorities when PPG21 on tourism is withdrawn. [114017]

Mr. McNulty: Key planning policies for tourism are contained in other PPGs, particularly PPG6 on town centres, PPG7 on the countryside and PPG13 on transport. All PPGs are to be reviewed in accordance with our proposals for the reform of the planning system. In the event that PPG21 on tourism is withdrawn, the planning guidance as outlined in Annexes A, B and C of the existing PPG21 on tourism will feed into other relevant PPGs, or to Good Practice Guidance, as appropriate.

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