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21 May 2003 : Column 786W—continued
Returning Troops (Iraq)
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilian aircraft have been chartered for the return of British troops from Iraq; how many military aircraft are being used to return troops from Iraq; what the average delay is for troops awaiting transport home from Iraq; and if he will make a statement about transporting troops home from Iraq. [113416]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 19 May 2003]: Between 5 and 16 May 2003 a total of 15 civilian aircraft were chartered for the return of British troops from Iraq.
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Over a similar period, there have been 153 movements by RAF aircraft in the same role and there are currently no delays for troops awaiting transport home from Iraq.
Territorial Army Estate
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the sites available for sale previously occupied by the Territorial Army, broken down by constituency; which sites have been sold; at what price; which department was credited with the profits; and if he will make a statement. [113042]
Dr. Moonie: The Ministry of Defence estate is continuously under review to ensure that it is no larger than required for operational and other essential purposes. Under the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), a total of 87 Territorial Army (TA) sites were identified for disposal. Of these sites, 55 have been sold, 15 are still awaiting disposal and 15 have been withdrawn from the programme. There are two sites at Northumberland, currently held on lease, which will be surrendered when the lease terminates. Details of the sites, broken into counties, are listed in the table. The information on a constituency basis could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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The following table shows other TA/RFCA sites currently in the Department's disposal programme of surplus land and property which were not identified as part of SDR.
| Sale progress | Name | County |
|---|---|---|
| Awaiting disposal | RFCA Dunstable | Bedfordshire |
| Awaiting disposal | TAC Aylesbury | Buckinghamshire |
| Awaiting disposal | AFC/ATC Longstanton | Cambs |
| Awaiting disposal | Cadet Centre, St Ives | Cornwall |
| Awaiting disposal | Cadet Centre, Alvaston | Derbyshire |
| Awaiting disposal | Drill Hall, St Leonards | East Sussex |
| Awaiting disposal | Hemel Hempstead (Lease) | Hertfordshire |
| Awaiting disposal | TAC Faversham | Kent |
| Awaiting disposal | Cadet Centre, Hinckley | Leicestershire |
| Awaiting disposal | TAC Kidlington | Oxford |
| Awaiting disposal | TAC King Street, Wellington | Shropshire |
| Awaiting disposal | RFCA Newmarket | Suffolk |
| Awaiting disposal | RFCA Pontefract (Lease) | West Yorkshire |
| Sold | ACF Shoeburyness (pt) | Essex |
The sale of the sites above has so far realised gross receipts in excess of £153 million, which have been credited to the Ministry of Defence. I am withholding details of sale prices for individual sites in accordance with Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Burma
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had regarding human rights in Burma. [113710]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: On 7 May 2003 I met the Burmese Ambassador to the UK and expressed my concern at the number of political prisoners in Burma. I urged the Burmese authorities to move ahead quickly with the release of all political prisoners. I explained that UK and EU policy would toughen unless there was significant improvement in human rights and progress towards democracy.
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I remain in close contact with the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Burma, Razali Ismail. When I met Razali in March, I expressed my concern over the deteriorating economic, political and human rights situation in Burma.
The EU decided to strengthen and update the EU Common Position on Burma on 14 April 2003. The Common Position contains a range of measures designed to bring pressure to bear on the military regime to move towards national reconciliation, respect for human rights and democracy in Burma. EU Ministers agreed that unless substantive political progress was made in Burma before 20 October 2003, the Common Position would further strengthen the arms embargo, visa ban and assets freeze.
Caribbean and Bermuda
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) preparations and (b) discussions have taken place on the agenda for the Caribbean Regional Seminar on Advancing the De-colonisation Process in the Caribbean and Bermuda on 20 May. [113541]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: In October 2002 the Chairman of the UN Special Committee on De-colonisation (C24) sought HMG's agreement to the Committee's annual seminar being held in 2003 in a UK Caribbean Overseas Territory. After consultation with the Territory Government, Anguilla was agreed as the venue. On 28 March officials discussed arrangements for the seminar with the C24 Chairman in New York. There has since been close liaison between the C24 Secretariat, the UK Mission in New York, the FCO and the Government of Anguilla. The agenda for the seminar, which this year will focus on the Caribbean and Bermuda, is set by the C24 and has not been the subject of discussion with HMG.
Economic Sanctions
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the nations against which the United Kingdom is applying economic sanctions (a) individually and (b) jointly with other EU member states, giving the reason in each case. [112652]
Mr. Rammell: As of 12 May 2003, the United Kingdom, along with EU partners, is implementing mandatory UN sanctions, imposed by the UN Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, in relation to Iraq, Liberia, Rwanda (and neighbouring States to prevent the supply of arms to Rwanda), Sierra Leone, Haiti and Somalia. The United Kingdom is also implementing sanctions imposed by the European Union in relation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burma, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Sudan and the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
In accordance with a decision of the Organisation for the Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the United Kingdom is implementing arms embargoes on Armenia and Azerbaijan. The UK is also imposing unilateral arms embargoes on Iran and Zimbabwe.
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A list of sanctions regimes and arms embargoes implemented by the UK is in the Library of the House. Annexed to this is a summary of additional UK restrictions on the export of strategic goods. These documents are also available on the FCO website (www.fco.gov.uk/sanctions) and are updated each time there are changes to sanctions regimes implemented by the UK or to UK restrictions on the export of strategic goods. The FCO website also contains full details of the reasons why such sanctions have been imposed (www.fco.gov.uk/country profiles).
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