---

15 Sept 2003 : Column 588W—continued

West Sussex Safe House Project

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions his Department has had with West Sussex county council over the future of the West Sussex Safe House Project; and if he will make a statement. [129089]

Beverley Hughes: We understand that West Sussex are considering closure of the safe house. It is, of course, for local authorities to decide how best to provide support and services for children in need in its area, including accommodation for children who are the victims of trafficking. There is no current specific earmarked funding for services of this nature. Instead, Government funding is allocated to councils with social services responsibilities on the basis of the needs of their populations. It is, therefore, for councils, working in partnership with relevant local stakeholders, to determine their spending priorities on the basis of local needs. A National Asylum Support Service grant reimburses local authorities for the extra costs incurred for the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

15 Sept 2003 : Column 589W

West Sussex recognise that a body of expertise has been built up in the safe house over the last two years. They plan to close the safe house and use this expertise in the form of training and support packages for carers of young people assessed as being at risk of being trafficked. Currently, the safe house caters only for 17 and 18-year-old girls. There are also concerns that its location has become widely known, thus undermining the security of the service provided. West Sussex feel that by closing the safe house they will be able to offer a service to all children at risk from traffickers, including boys and under-16s and address the security concerns that have arisen.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Andrew Wang

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from Taiwan regarding Mr. Andrew Wang. [129762]

Mr. Rammell: It is the Government's policy not to make public announcements on individual extradition requests that may or may not have been received. This is to ensure that any on-going investigations by relevant law enforcement agencies are not jeopardised in any way.

However, the UK is not, at present, able to establish extradition arrangements with the Taiwanese authorities as HMG does not recognise Taiwan as a state.

Arms Promotion (Czech Republic)

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 14 July 2003, Official Report, column 48W, on arms promotion activities, if he will list the Ministers carrying out promotion activities in the Czech Republic, the dates on which such conversations took place and the transactions which were discussed; and if he will make a statement. [129510]

Mr. Straw [holding answer 11 September 2003]: I refer the right hon. Member to my previous answer on 9 September 2003, Official Report, column 282W.

I discussed the proposed sale of Gripen fighter aircraft by a UK/Swedish consortium on 25 January 2002 with my then Czech counterpart, Jan Kavan, and informally on other occasions. Ben Bradshaw met the Czech Defence Minister, Stanislav Tvrdik, on 5 March 2002 where they discussed the Gripen proposal. I am not aware of any other meetings during 2002 where Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers discussed UK arms exports with Czech colleagues.

Brazil

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Britain's relations with Brazil following the election of President Lula. [129076]

Mr. Rammell: UK-Brazil relations are good and continuing to develop. I visited Brazil in December 2002 to start the formal process of engagement with the new

15 Sept 2003 : Column 590W

government, and my noble Friend the Leader of the House of Lords (Lord Williams) represented Her Majesty's Government at President Lula's inauguration. The Brazilian Trade Minister, Furlan visited the UK in March. I led the UK delegation at the latest round of bilateral High Level Political Talks in Brasilia in May. President Lula paid a successful first official visit to the UK in July for the Progressive Governance Summit. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister held substantive of bilateral talks with him.

Chechnya

Mr. Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the situation in (a) Chechnya and (b) the Caucasus Region. [129584]

Mr. Rammell: We continue to monitor the situation in Chechnya and in the Caucasus. We have noted the steps the Russian Government is taking to establish a political process in Chechnya and welcomed the constitutional referendum held in March 2003. We continue to believe that the success of the political process will be dependent on the thorough and consistent implementation of the political and civil rights set out in the new constitution. While recognising the serious threat posed by terrorism in the region, we remain concerned about the security and human rights situation in Chechnya and the surrounding republics. We also note with concern the bombings in recent months throughout the North Caucasus.

Conflicts in and between the countries of the Southern Caucasus pose challenges for regional security and stability and the prospects for regional co-operation. As a member of the Group of Friends of the UN Secretary General on Georgia, the UK is participating in the process to find a political settlement to the Abkhazia dispute. On Nagorno Karabakh our policy is to support any solution acceptable to both parties, and capable of delivering a lasting political settlement. We support the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group in this regard. Her Majesty's Government's Special Representative for the Caucasus region. Sir Brian Fall, is actively addressing these problems and will work closely with his newly-appointed EU colleague.

Colombia

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Colombia. [129077]

Mr. Rammell: After over a year in power, President Uribe continues to receive much support from the Colombian people. His government is still battling guerrilla and paramilitary groups which commit appalling human rights violations funded by illegal drug production, extortion and kidnapping. We support his efforts to tackle these problems and to develop a fully functioning democratic state throughout Colombia based on social and economic reform and sustainable economic development. At the same time we underline the need in so doing to respect the rule of law, human rights and the safety and welfare of its citizens. There is still much to do.

15 Sept 2003 : Column 591W

Cyprus

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many residents from the occupied part of Cyprus have been (a) granted and (b) refused a visa to visit the UK in each year since its introduction; and if he will make a statement. [127811]

Mr. Mullin: The information requested is as follows:

Visitor visa applications

	Received	Issued	Refused	Other
1998	7,819	7,286	413	120
1999	7386	6,900	452	34
2000	6,782	5,603	284	895
FY 2001–02	5,831	5,060	135	636
FY 2002–03	6,593	5,400	470	723

The column referring to 'other' may include those unresolved applications which have been deferred pending further inquiries and have been carried over to the following year. Applications may also be withdrawn during processing but still count as an application received. Posts are also required to count all applications received (for example, a mother and her three children on one passport may count as four applications but only one entry clearance may be issued). Not all of the applicants who apply in the "TRNC" are "Turkish Cypriots". From 2001 Posts began reporting statistics by financial rather than calendar year.

European Union

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the rights of national parliaments to (a) hold up and (b) veto proposals from the EU Commission, as contained in the report of the Convention on the Future of Europe. [129129]

Mr. MacShane: The proposal in the draft Constitutional Treaty, to introduce a mechanism to enforce the subsidiarity principle, represents a significant step forward in the role that national parliaments will have in EU business. It provides, for the first time, a Treaty-based power for national parliaments to question EU legislative proposals on the basis of subsidiarity. If more than a third of national parliaments considered a proposal at odds with the principle of subsidiarity, the Commission would have to review it; and would in practice find it very difficult to ignore those parliaments' views.

This proposal will help to ensure that the EU only legislates when it adds value to the actions of the individual Member States.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visits there have been to the Government's website regarding consultation on the future of the EU; how many have responded with comments; and what percentage have expressed support for an EU constitution. [129130]

Mr. MacShane: The Government's online consultation on the draft EU Constitutional Treaty has received over 27,000 readings and 985 contributions so far. The consultation does not aim to measure support for the

15 Sept 2003 : Column 592W

draft EU Constitutional Treaty but to enable discussion of the main policy issues we expect the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference to address.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how far the Government's objectives for the EU of (a) simplification of the Union's instruments and (b) more democracy, transparency and efficiency in the EU have been met by the proposals of the Convention on the Future of Europe. [129132]

Mr. MacShane: The Convention's draft text meets most of the Government's objectives. It succeeds in simplifying the Union's instruments by streamlining them and defining them more clearly.

The Convention's draft also proposes more democracy, transparency and efficiency by, for example: making it clear where the Union can and cannot act; reinforcing the role of national parliaments in policing the principle of subsidiarity; providing for greater openness in the meetings of the Council of Ministers; replacing the Maastricht "three pillars" system with a single Treaty structure: and setting up a Chair of the European Council.

---