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Timber

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to press the European Commission to introduce laws to prevent the import and sale of illegally logged timber and timber products in the European Union; and if he will make a statement. [112939]

Mr. MacShane: The UK supports sanctions on Liberian timber exports. We were therefore pleased that on 6 May 2003 the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1478 (2003) unanimously. The resolution renewed and extended sanctions against Liberia. The Council added a new ban on all timber sales from Liberia. This will deprive the Government of Liberia of its revenue used to fund arms purchases. The ban will come into effect on 7 July 2003.

On 8 May 2003 the EU successfully negotiated a draft Common Position, which will be adopted shortly. A Council regulation will be passed to implement the timber sanctions within the Community.

The Government support the Africa Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (AFLEG) process, calling on all African Governments and trading partners to take actions to control illegal activities in the logging sector and associated trade.

We continue to call on all countries to respect the sanctions imposed on Liberia.

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Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the call for UN sanctions on Liberia to be extended to include timber; and if he will make a statement. [112940]

Mr. Rammell: The UK supports sanctions on Liberian timber exports. We were therefore pleased that on 6 May 2003 the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1478 (2003) unanimously. The resolution renewed and extended sanctions against Liberia. The Council added a new ban on all timber sales from Liberia. This will deprive the Government of Liberia of revenue used to fund arms purchases. The ban will come into effect on 7 July 2003.

We continue to call on all countries to respect the sanctions imposed on Liberia.

Turkey

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Turkish government and (b) the European Union on Turkey's progress on meeting the criteria for EU membership. [113714]

Mr. MacShane: On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary I discussed Turkey's EU candidacy with EU foreign ministers in Brussels at the 14–15 April 2003 General Affairs and External Relations Council, where they agreed on a revised Accession Partnership for Turkey, which sets out priorities for meeting the political criteria. The Foreign Secretary also periodically meets with senior members of the Turkish government to review a range of issues including Turkey's progress in meeting the criteria for membership. The last time he met with members of the Turkish government was during the informal meeting of foreign ministers in Rhodes on 2–3 May 2003, which he and Turkish Foreign Minister Gul attended. Discussions on Turkey's progress in meeting the political criteria between the UK and Turkish governments also continue to take place regularly at ministerial and senior official levels.

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Turkish Government and (b) the European Union on human rights violations in Turkey. [113713]

Mr. MacShane: EU Foreign Ministers discussed human rights violations in Turkey at the 14–15 April 2003 General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels. I attended on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary. They agreed on a revised Accession Partnership for Turkey, which sets out priorities for meeting the political criteria for membership of the EU. These priorities cover many aspects of human rights. The Foreign Secretary periodically meets with senior members of the Turkish Government to review a range of issues, including Turkey's progress in meeting the criteria for membership. On 3 December 2002 he held talks with the former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister during a visit to Ankara. FCO officials also frequently discuss human rights violations with the Turkish authorities; the latest round of an ongoing UK-Turkey Human Rights Dialogue took place in London on 26 November 2002.

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PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION

Property Values

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission what firm of valuers were used by the National Audit Office to value properties being disposed of in the Inventures sale; and how much the firm cost to employ. [114508]

Mr. Alan Williams: NHS Estates, an executive agency of the Department of Health, is in the process of disposing of a portfolio of surplus property together with a property consultancy company called Inventures. The National Audit Office appointed King Sturge Financial Services Limited to advise on aspects of the sale of properties including the valuation methodology. The Comptroller and Auditor General expects to report to Parliament in due course. The cost of the work carried out by King Sturge Financial Services Limited was some £15,000 including VAT.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Solicitor General if the Government will publish the advice tendered by the Attorney General (a) in respect of the legal basis for invading Iraq and (b) the post war reconstruction arrangements in Iraq. [114077]

The Solicitor-General [holding answer 20 May 2003]: No. As the hon. Member is aware from my answer to him on the 26 March, by long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of and content of Law Officers' advice to the Government is not disclosed outside Government.

This is reflected in paragraph 24 of the Ministerial Code. The Law Officers' advice to Government is given in confidence.

Exceptionally, the Attorney provided a written answer to Baroness Ramsey in the House of Lords on 17 March in which he set out his views on the legal basis for the armed conflict against Iraq. I repeated that answer in this House on the same day.

Hon. Members will also know that the Foreign Secretary submitted a document to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 17 March dealing with the legal basis for the armed conflict against Iraq. Furthermore, on the 22 April in a letter to the Foreign Affairs Committee the Foreign Office set out the scope and authority of an occupying power under international law.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Honours

Mr. Pope: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many officials in the Department have received honours; and how many honours are held by officials, broken down by category of honour. [111491]

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Ms Rosie Winterton: We do not routinely keep records of those officials awarded honours before joining the Department or those officials who are awarded honours in recognition of activities outside of their Departmental duties. This information could therefore be collected only at a disproportionate cost.

However, since 1992, a total of 91 officials have received awards following a recommendation from my Department (information prior to 1992 could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost). Of those officials who have received awards since 1992, 24 are still serving and a breakdown of their awards by category is as follows:

CB—2

CBE—4

OBE—2

MBE—16

WALES

Criminal Offences

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list, broken down by Act, the offences created in legislation sponsored by his Department since 1997. [112857]

Peter Hain: My Department came into being on 1 July 1999.

The National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 2003 (SI 2003/284) created two new offences. These relate to false statements in relation to absent voting procedures (Article 13) and to the publication of exit polls before the close of the election poll (Article 34).

The same Order also rolled forward a number of pre-existing offences from the National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 1999 (SI 1999/450) as amended by the National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) (Amendment) order 2002 (SI 2002/834).

Departmental Invoices

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reasons underlying the percentage of invoices paid within the target time in 2002–03. [115143]

Peter Hain: Wales Office invoices are approved by the Wales Office, following which the payments are processed by the Assembly.

During 2002–03 my Department paid 88 per cent. of its invoices on time. We continue to look for improvements on that level of performance and in the first month of the current financial year we have achieved 97 per cent.

Departmental Underspending

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to reduce his Department's underspend in 2003–04 from that of 2002–03. [112775]

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Peter Hain: Final figures for 2002–03 are not yet available. My Department's objective is to derive maximum benefit from the funds allocated to it in each Spending Review.

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