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Inquests

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inquests due to be held have been outstanding for over five years; and if he will make a statement. [134489]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 27 October 2003]: This information is not held centrally.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it a requirement on coroners to conduct inquests required of them within two years of a person's death. [134490]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 27 October 2003]: No. While we encourage coroners to hold inquests as quickly as possible, there will always be some circumstances where it may not be sensible for the inquest to be held within a prescribed period, for example where other relevant legal proceedings are outstanding.

Prisoners (Revocation of Licence)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were returned to custody owing to a revocation of licence in the last year for which figures are available. [134184]

Paul Goggins: The number of prisoners returned to custody due to a revocation of licence for the period 1 April 2002 to 30 March 2003 was 7,849.

Terrorism

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Burnley (Mr. Pike) of 15 October 2003, Official Report, column 260W, on terrorism, when

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section 44 powers were first used in London; on how many occasions and on what dates the powers have been confirmed since the Terrorism Act 2000 came into force; and whether the use of section 44 powers relates to specific areas of London or to the whole of the Metropolitan police area. [133966]

Mr. Blunkett: The Metropolitan police and City of London have authorised the use of stop and search powers under the Terrorism Act since it came into force on 19 February 2001. The powers have been authorised in respect of the whole of each force area since that time in accordance with the statutory procedures.

The decision to authorise use of the powers is made against the background of the current threat level and the assessment of the risk to any designated or whole force area. Authorisations are only confirmed on a monthly basis if the Secretary of State is satisfied that their use is necessary to prevent acts of terrorism.

Young Offenders (North Wales)

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what secure accommodation provision is in place for young offenders from North Wales. [133980]

Paul Goggins: In general, young people from North Wales who have been placed in custody by the courts are accommodated in secure facilities in North West England, although they may sometimes be placed elsewhere depending on the availability of places and other factors.

Young Offenders from North Wales aged 18–20 are normally allocated to the following Young Offender Institutions: Stoke Heath in Shropshire (sentenced males), Altcourse in Merseyside (remanded males), and Styal in Cheshire (sentenced and remanded females).

Responsibility for the commissioning and purchasing of all secure accommodation for juvenile offenders (i.e. for those below the age of 18), and for the placement of juveniles sentenced to a detention and training order, rests with the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. The Board's policy in relation to the placement of juvenile offenders from North Wales is as follows:

Remanded and sentenced males aged 15 to 17 will normally be placed in Stoke Heath Young Offender's Institute or, if this establishment is full, in Werrington Young Offender's Institute (Stoke-on-Trent) or Hindley Young Offender's Institute (Wigan). Thorn Cross Young Offender's Institute, an open establishment near Warrington, is also available, subject to a proper risk assessment of the individual.

Males below the age of 15 or those assessed as vulnerable will normally be placed in one of two Secure Training Centres, Rainsbrook in Warwickshire or Hassockfield in Durham, or in a local authority secure community home. The closest of these to North Wales are Barton Moss (Greater Manchester), Dales House (Lancashire), Dyson Hall (Merseyside), Red Bank (Merseyside), Redsands (Cheshire) and Hillside (West Glamorgan).

Females aged 17 are normally placed in New Hall Young Offender's Institute, near Wakefield. Those aged under 17 are normally placed in either Rainsbrook or Hassockfield Secure Training Centre or one of the local

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authority secure community homes that accommodate females. Those nearest to North Wales are St. Catherines (Merseyside), Redsands and Hillside.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bribery

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many allegations of bribery of a foreign public official have been received from diplomatic posts overseas since 14 February 2002. [132369]

Mr. MacShane: Reports on bribery and corruption overseas are received from time-to-time from diplomatic posts and after validation these are passed on to the appropriate authorities in the UK. Four such reports, specifically related to guidance on the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act, have been received since 14 February 2002.

British Missions (USA)

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many locally-engaged staff working in British missions in the United States pay cuts have been imposed; what the largest percentage pay cut is; what the average cut is; and what negotiations have taken place on the matter. [135031]

Mr. MacShane: No pay cuts have been imposed.

Burundi

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the peace accord signed in October 2003 by the President of Burundi and Pierre Nkurunziza of the Forces for the Defence of Democracy; what assessment has been made of the viability of the accord; and if he will make a statement. [134432]

Mr. Mullin: The UK welcomes the signing of the Pretoria protocol on 8 October between the Force pour la Defense de la Democratic (FDD) (Nkurunziza) and the Government of Burundi. This is a positive step towards implementation of the 2 December 2002 ceasefire agreement between the two parties. Further talks to resolve outstanding issues including an implementation timetable, immunity, army integration and registering the FDD as a political party, are due to take place soon. The UK is working with the Government of Burundi and our international partners to ensure momentum is not lost.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he, (b) members of his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with the (i) Government of Rwanda, (ii) Government of Tanzania, (iii) Government of Uganda, (iv) Government of France, (v) governments of other European Union member states, (vi) governments of EU candidate countries and (vii) Government of the United States of America concerning the (A) security situation in and

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(B) political stability of Burundi; what issues were raised; what actions were agreed on during these meetings; and if he will make a statement. [134433]

Mr. Mullin: The UK remains active in the Burundi peace process in a range of international fora. The UK maintains a dialogue on Burundi with our EU partners, the Regional Initiative chaired by Ugandan President Museveni, the South African led Facilitation and our key international partners in Burundi.

Key issues of concern include bringing the Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL) into the peace negotiations, ensuring the Forces pour la Defense de la Democratic (FDD) and the Government of Burundi honour their ceasefire commitments, supporting the AU peacekeeping force (AMIB), laying the foundations for a sustainable democracy and providing vital humanitarian assistance.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he, (b) members of his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with (i) representatives of the United Nations, (ii) representatives of the European Commission, (iii) representatives of African multilateral organisations and (iv) European and African non-governmental organisations concerning the human rights situation in Burundi; what issues were highlighted during these discussions; what concerns were voiced; what action was (A) formulated and (B) implemented directly addressing those issues and concerns; and if he will make a statement. [134434]

Mr. Mullin: The UK is in contact with a range of partners on the human rights situation in Burundi including the EU, AU and UN. The UK also maintains a dialogue with national and international human rights NGOs. We are concerned at the impact of the war on the human rights of the civilian population, particularly women and children. The UK is actively working with our international partners in promoting peace in Burundi as the key to protecting their human rights.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Forces for the National Liberation's absence from the peace talks leading up to the October peace accord in Burundi on the long-term viability of the peace accord; what discussions (a) he, (b) members of his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with the Government of Burundi on the inclusion of the Forces for National Liberation in the peace process; and if he will make a statement. [134444]

Mr. Mullin: An all-inclusive cease-fire in Burundi is vital for the long-term stability of Burundi. UK officials remain in regular contact with the Government of Burundi on the need to engage the Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL) in peace negotiations. Most recently, our Ambassador in Kigali raised this issue on 23–24 October with the President and Foreign Minister of Burundi.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the internal conflict in Burundi on the (a) security and (b) stability

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of border regions in (i) Tanzania, (ii) Rwanda and (iii) the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [134445]

Mr. Mullin: The 10-year civil war has had a destabilising effect on neighbouring countries. There are nearly 500,000 Burundi refugees in Tanzania. Some Burundi rebel forces remain in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UK is committed to supporting implementation of the Arusha agreement of 2000 and the transitional government institutions in Burundi as an integral part of achieving security and stability in the Great Lakes Region.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the developments in the security situation in (a) Burundi and (b) Rwanda since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [134446]

Mr. Mullin: We continually monitor the security situation in Rwanda and Burundi. The Government of Rwanda has made a concerted effort to bring security to the country. In this they have been broadly successful. However, the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi make the border areas potentially dangerous. The security situation in Burundi is unstable. But, there has been a positive development recently in Burundi with the signing of the Pretoria Protocol on 8 October on power sharing between the Force pour la Defence de la Democratie (FDD) (Nkurunziza) and the government of Burundi. Only the Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL) (Rwasa) lies outside the peace process.

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