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2 Jul 2003 : Column 311W—continued

Sudan

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring his Department carries out into shipments of arms destined for Sudan. [122477]

Mr. Mullin [holding answer 30 June 2003]: The Government fully support and comply with the EU arms embargo, which was implemented in 1994. The embargo was introduced as a result of the ongoing civil war in Sudan, the lack of any movement towards a peaceful settlement to the conflictand the resulting humanitarian crisis.

The Government work to ensure the rigorous enforcement of sanctions and takes all breaches very seriously. When the Government receive information regarding an alleged breach by a third country, we raise the issue with the country concerned.

Were we to receive allegations against a UK company, we would ensure that the information is passed to the appropriate authorities, who will consider conducting a formal investigation.

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Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department plans to take regarding the recent conflict in Darfur, western Sudan. [122703]

Mr. Mullin [holding answer 30 June 3003]: During his recent visit to Khartoum on 15–17 June 2003 the UK Special Representative met a group of Darfur MPs and intellectuals. He raised their concerns about the situation in Darfur with the Sudanese First Vice President. The Sudanese Government have given a commitment to ensure access for humanitarian aid but not all areas are within their control. In the longer term of arrangements being discussed at the peace talks in Machakos offer the best prospects of addressing the problems in Darfur.

Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Government of Sudan regarding reports of harassment of civil society groups in recent months. [122704]

Mr. Mullin: Our Ambassador in Khartoum raised this with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 19 June 2003 during the most recent EU/Sudan Dialogue meeting. The UK Special Representative raised it with the Sudanese First Vice-President on 16 June 2003 in Khartoum.

WALES

Valleys

7. 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 the economic future of South Wales valley communities. [122067]

Peter Hain: I have regular discussions with the First Minister including the economic future of the South Wales Valleys where unemployment has been falling.

Ombudsman Service

8. Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the review of Ombudsman Services for Wales. [122068]

Mr. Touhig: I announced on 11 March that following the overwhelming support received to the principle of unifying public sector Ombudsmen services in Wales there will now be a consultation on the powers and jurisdiction of that new Office. That consultation will begin in December.

Objective 1

10. Mr. David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Secretary about the implementation of the Objective 1 programme in West Wales and the Valleys. [122070]

Mr. Touhig: My right hon. Friend has regular discussions with the Assembly First Minister about economic development matters across Wales, including Objective 1.

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Customs and Excise

11. Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with Treasury Ministers about the impact on Wales of proposed changes in the organisation of anti-smuggling work by HM Customs and Excise. [122071]

Peter Hain: I have detailed discussions with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Broadband

12. Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has held with (a) ministerial colleagues and (b) National Assembly Secretaries on rolling out broadband services in North Wales. [122072]

Mr. Touhig: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I meet with ministerial colleagues and have regular bilateral meetings with National Assembly colleagues and broadband services is one of many subjects areas discussed. I have asked BT to make a presentation at the Wales Office, and have invited all right hon. and hon. Members with Welsh constituencies and the hon. Member for Ribble Valley Mr. Evans) to attend. I hope that they will take up this opportunity to learn more about broadband in Wales.

English Hospital Treatment

13. Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health concerning treatment of patients from Wales in English hospitals. [122073]

Mr. Touhig: I meet colleagues from the other Government Departments regularly and discuss a variety of topics, including health.

Public Sector Employees

14. Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were employed in the public sector in Wales (a) in 1997 and (b) in the last 12 months. [122074]

Peter Hain: In March 1997 there were just over 300,265 people employed in the public sector in Wales, representing 29.7 per cent. of the Welsh work-force. In December 2002 there were 336,674 people employed in this sector, representing 31.3 per cent.

GM Crops

15. Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received regarding the commercial cultivation of GM crops in Wales. [122075]

Mr. Touhig: None.

DEFENCE

A400M

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make a statement on the status of the A400M programme; [121872]

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(2) if he will make a statement on the landing gear system procurement for the A400M; when he expects to announce the awarding of the contract for the landing gear system for the A400M; and from which suppliers the equipment will be procured. [121873]

Mr. Ingram: A contract for the development and production of the A400M aircraft was signed with Airbus Military (AM) on 27 May 2003 by the Organisation for Joint Armaments Co-operation on behalf of the participating nations. The aircraft's planned In-Service Date for United Kingdom is now 2011.

The contract is for the complete aircraft, including its landing gear system. This requires AM to select equipment and sub systems through competition on the basis of cost and capability. We and the other participating nations expect this to secure the most cost-effective solution. We understand that AM are considering landing gear system proposals from Messier-Dowty of Gloucester and Liebherr-Aerospace of Germany and that they expect to announce their selection decision by the end of this year.

Angel Group

Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the properties acquired by the Angel Group and its subsidiaries from the Department and its agencies and the (a) dates and (b) costs of their acquisition. [118837]

Mr. Caplin: The information requested will take time to collate. I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Civil Servants

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new entrants to the Civil Service were employed in his Department in each of the last five years; and how many in each year were aged 50 or over. [119813]

Mr. Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 June 2003, Official Report, columns 657–61W, by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

Defence Procurement

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 20 June 2003 Official Report, column 510W, on defence procurement, when the various decisions were taken with regard to the forecast (a) in service date and (b) costs of the Bowman Communication System; and if he will make a statement. [122314]

Mr. Ingram: In 2001, when approving the BOWMAN programme, Ministers noted that, under the schedule claimed by the prime contractor, the target in-service date would be 30 March 2004. The Company, its sub-contractors and the Department continue to work in close partnership to meet this challenging target. At the time of the ministerial approval, the forecast full

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resource cost of the development and manufacture phase was some £1.9 billion. This was revised during the last annual planning round to £2.0 billion. Pursuant

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to my answer of 20 June 2003 Official Report, column 510W the entry for BOWMAN in the table printed should read:

Hansard reference	Project	Date contract let	Current forecast ISD	Current forecast cost (£ billion)	Estimated ISD at time contract let	Estimated cost at time contract let (£ billion)
110345	BOWMAN(22)	2001	2004	2.0	2004	1.9

⁽²²⁾ The BOWMAN costs refer to the Development and Manufacture Phase only.

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