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Zimbabwe

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Zimbabwean Government regarding the shutting down of the Daily News. [131212]

Mr. Straw: I issued a press statement on 15 September condemning the Government of Zimbabwe for this latest attack on the free and independent media in Zimbabwe. I made it clear that we regard the closure of the Daily News as a blatant attempt by the Government of Zimbabwe to stifle independent scrutiny and silence democratic voices in Zimbabwe. With our support the EU also issued a declaration on 18 September, condemning the closure of the Daily News and describing it as a serious attack on freedom of information in Zimbabwe. I issued a further press statement on 20 September. We will continue to press for the Daily News to be allowed to resume publication.

Visitor Visa Applications

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visitor visa

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applications were (a) received, (b) determined and (c) refused at entry clearance posts worldwide in each month since 1 January. [131097]

Mr. Mullin: Worldwide statistics for all visitor visas are collated by financial year (1 April to 31 March) only, and are not available on a monthly basis. During the financial year 2002–03 the worldwide figures for the number of visitor visa applications that were received, determined and refused were as follows:

Applications	Number
(a) Received	1,421,597
(b) Determined	1,219,169
(c) Refused	175,434

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many family visitor visa applications were (a) received, (b) determined and (c) refused at (i) Mumbai, (ii) New Delhi, (iii) Dhaka, (iv) Islamabad, (v) Tehran, (vi) Nicosia, (vii) Accra, (viii) Lagos and (ix) Nairobi in each month since 1 January. [131098]

Mr. Mullin: The following table shows the statistics requested up to July, after which figures are not yet available.

	Mumbai	New Delhi	Dhaka	Islamabad	Tehran	Nicosia	Accra	Lagos	Nairobi
Received
January	825	1,210	410	619	645	297	2,039	1,558	173
February	840	962	289	723	798	139	1,879	1,145	187
March	1,384	1,468	421	2,281	855	189	1,749	1,019	116
April	2,314	2,499	383	1,852	89	196	2,198	582	199
May	2,610	3,172	409	1,447	1,592	223	2,378	643	147
June	2,700	3,520	807	2,057	2,009	487	1,999	940	543
July	2,862	3,747	1,238	2,865	1,911	485	1,975	1,057	749
Issued
January	659	584	116	524	504	284	725	1,281	146
February	690	458	99	631	602	126	701	130	156
March	1,202	810	144	2,263	635	(33)174	737	197	58
April	2,016	1,726	77	1,827	98	(33)174	1,131	318	152
May	1,984	2,272	123	1,393	1,339	456	1,225	456	128
June	2,044	2,265	467	1,943	1,674	454	1,205	559	464
July	2,336	2,579	830	2,563	1,508	449	1,346	681	618
Refused
January	219	626	247	95	134	13	1,317	264	27
February	198	504	190	92	190	13	1,213	649	31
March	305	658	277	18	220	15	1,083	706	58
April	418	773	306	25	—	22	1,053	341	43
May	658	900	232	54	253	17	1,151	344	16
June	713	1,223	251	114	300	33	838	385	58
July	589	1,168	315	302	403	36	638	340	80

⁽³³⁾ Figures given for March and April in Nicosia have been double-checked. The identical figure is coincidental.

The discrepancies in these figures are due to the fact that applications can be carried forward from one month to the next before being resolved, and applications can be withdrawn during processing and still count as an application received. Post are also required to count all applications received (a mother and three children on one passport may count as four applications, but one entry clearance may be issued).

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many family visitor visa applications were (a) received, (b) determined and (c) refused at entry clearance posts in (i) South Asia region, (ii) Middle East region, (iii) Far East region, (iv) Central Europe region, (v) Southern Europe region, (vi) Western Europe region, (vii) Equatorial Africa region, (viii) Southern Africa region and (ix) Near East and North Africa region in each month since 1 January. [131099]

Mr. Mullin: The following table shows the statistics requested up to July, after which figures are not yet available.

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	South Asia	Middle East	Far East	Central Europe	Southern Europe	Western Europe	Equatorial Africa	Southern Africa	Near East/North Africa
Received
January	3,618	962	798	1,497	1,712	969	4,403	1,253	1,202
February	3,528	1,055	502	1,400	1,575	1,138	3,792	456	941
March	6,836	1,081	794	1,731	1,974	1,519	3,634	518	976
April	8,846	322	789	1,850	2,088	11,733	3,861	616	1,270
May	9,492	2,166	557	2,153	2,501	1,649	4,120	513	1,428
June	11,066	2,912	1,256	2,994	3,397	2,017	4,868	1,055	2,257
July	12,655	2,565	1,629	3,233	3,636	2,767	5,110	1,523	2,718
Issued
January	2,467	761	725	1,396	1,616	901	2,561	720	1,006
February	2,615	779	416	1,220	1,383	993	1,364	279	787
March	5,658	822	719	1,548	1,792	1,368	1,424	263	795
April	7,297	271	675	1,577	1,801	1,614	2,094	375	948
May	7,515	1,829	502	1,945	2,264	1,497	2,510	340	1,144
June	8,565	2,485	1,172	2,721	3,110	2,007	3,166	678	1,912
July	9,964	2,049	1,489	2,983	3,370	2,870	3,568	1,008	2,244
Refused
January	1,317	217	58	124	136	71	1,874	516	166
February	1,088	260	80	115	127	61	2,138	188	152
March	1,339	263	86	110	129	98	2,135	246	123
April	1,688	53	99	122	137	109	1,833	245	235
May	2,024	316	61	166	181	90	1,785	139	276
June	2,473	391	75	223	248	87	1,732	430	265
July	2,685	501	135	235	250	163	1,441	509	369

The discrepancies in these figures are due to the fact that applications can be carried forward from one month to the next before being resolved, and applications can be withdrawn during processing and still count as an application received. Posts are also required to count all applications received (a mother and three children on one passport may count as four applications, but one entry clearance may be issued).

Western Sahara

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made on the Baker peace plan in the Western Sahara. [130574]

Mr. Rammell: In July this year the Security Council called upon the parties to the dispute to work with the United Nations and with each other towards acceptance and implementation of James Baker's Peace Plan which provides for a UN organised referendum after a transitional period. The United Kingdom is encouraging the parties and States of the region to cooperate fully with the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to this end.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Child Care

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on measures taken to encourage employer responsibilities towards child care costs for employees with children. [131307]

Margaret Hodge: The Government recognises that making child care affordable is a key challenge for the National Child care Strategy and has made a substantial investment to achieve this.

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All working parents may receive means-tested support through the child care element of the Working Tax Credit (WTC). Families are eligible to apply for the child care element of WTC where a lone parent or both parents work for at least 16 hours a week. Support may be worth up to 70 per cent. (maximum £135 a week for one child) of eligible child care costs up to £200 a week. Parents cannot claim the child care element of WTC for the time their children receive a free nursery education place but may be eligible for help for extended hours or wraparound care. The responsibility for claiming WTC rests with parents, not child care providers.

We are working closely with Inland Revenue and the Treasury over proposals to improve employer supported child care for employees. Inland Revenue and Treasury launched a consultation document in February 2003, and the responses were published on September 17.

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