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Whale and Dolphin Conservation

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has received a copy of the joint report by Greenpeace and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, entitled The Net Effect. [150882]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Department has received a copy of the joint report "The Net Effect". I share Greenpeace and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society concern about the levels of cetacean bycatch in fisheries. Indeed we have carried out extensive research into this issue and produced a UK strategy for the reduction of small cetacean bycatch.

Meaningful action to address the bycatch problem requires action on the part of all EU Member States involved in the fisheries concerned, not just the UK. Discussions are currently taking place on European Commission proposals to protect dolphins and small cetaceans from injury or death in fishing gear.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Cote d'Ivoire

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to assist the peace process in Côte d'Ivoire; and if he will make a statement. [153350]

Mr. Mullin: The UK fully supports the Linas Marcoussis Agreement (LMA) as the basis for sustainable peace in Côte d'Ivoire. Our engagement has included £4 million to help fund regional peacekeepers

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and £800,000 in humanitarian aid. We welcome the progress made in the peace process since December 2003. We continue to urge all parties to proceed quickly with full implementation of the LMA, including the programme of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration. We are supporting the early deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation to Côte d'Ivoire to assist this.

Ethiopia

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made in the last 12 months of human rights in Ethiopia. [153343]

Mr. Mullin: We continue to have concerns about the human rights situation in Ethiopia. In the Memorandum of Understanding we signed with Ethiopia in January 2003, the Government of Ethiopia made a commitment to protect the full range of human rights including economic and social rights of all Ethiopians, especially the poor. We are assisting the implementation of this commitment through our support for Ethiopia's poverty reduction strategy and through regular dialogue with the Ethiopian Government, as well as carefully monitoring their performance.

EU Enlargement

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 27 January 2004, Official Report, column 148, if the Government will introduce a seven-year transition period for the free movement of workers from countries joining the EU on 1 May 2004. [152968]

Mr. MacShane: The Government's policy on free movement of workers after accession of the new member states on 1 May 2004 remains as set out in my answer of 27 January 2004.

The Government will be monitoring the effect of the free movement of workers on the UK labour market and in the unexpected event of a large influx of workers to the UK, which threatens the level of employment or standard of living in a particular region or occupation, it would re-impose restrictions on workers.

Iran

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the number of (a) injuries and (b) deaths which occurred among the population of Shahr-e Babak in the southern province of Kerman in Iran in January as a result of police and military action; and if he will make a statement. [152924]

Mr. Rammell: Iran's official media have reported that four people were killed and 40 were injured on 24 January in clashes between law enforcement forces and striking workers at a copper factory in Shahr-e Babak. President Khatemi is reported to have ordered an investigation.

We are following the situation closely.

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Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Sir Jeremy Greenstock will attend the planned meeting between the Iraqi Government Council and United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, on 19 January 2004. [149607]

Mr. Rammell: I apologise to my hon. Friend for the late response. Sir Jeremy Greenstock did attend.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support the highest possible level of Kurdish independence and self-determination within a federal administration for Iraq. [153118]

Mr. Rammell: The Government are committed to maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq. The Government have no preferred model of federalism in Iraq. These are issues that the Iraqis need to decide among themselves during the constitutional convention scheduled for 2005.

Publicity Campaigns

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on (a) advertising and publicity and (b) information campaigns in 2001–02. [152980]

Mr. Mullin: To provide a breakdown on spend for advertising and publicity, and information campaigns in the form requested would incur disproportionate costs. However, the total spend on all three activities in 2001–02 was £2,558,570. The major part of these costs was for generic publications, which were made available to all Foreign and Commonwealth Office Departments and overseas posts.

In addition, the spend on recruitment advertising for 2001–02 was £2,791,659.

Somaliland

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to encourage the EU to recognise the Republic of Somaliland. [153449]

Mr. Mullin: We have no immediate plans to encourage the EU to recognise an independent Somaliland.

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to encourage the United Nations to assist in settling the disagreement between the state of Somaliland and the territory of Puntland concerning Las Anod. [153450]

Mr. Mullin: I share the hon. Member's concern about recent hostilities between Somaliland and Puntland and registered my anxieties with Somaliland foreign affairs spokesperson Edna Adan when I met her in Addis Ababa on 19 January. I understand that the two sides have drawn back and the traditional leaders and elders in the area are working hard to find a peaceful settlement. We see no need for UN intervention.

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Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to provide assistance for parliamentary elections in the Republic of Somaliland. [153471]

Mr. Mullin: Yes. We stand ready to provide support to the parliamentary elections in Somaliland. We hope these will take place soon and make this point regularly to the Somaliland authorities.

Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the (a) Chinese Foreign Minister and (b) Chinese ambassador to the Court of St. James's in connection with the imprisonment of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche. [153294]

Mr. Rammell: I raised the case with Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui in Beijing on 17 December 2003. He replied that Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche had had a fair and public trial and been sentenced in accordance with Chinese law.

The latest EU demarche took place in Beijing on 4 February. In response, Mr. Wang Min, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Organisations and Conferences at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche was in good health and being held in Tuandong prison, Sichuan province.

We have raised Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche's case with the Chinese authorities on a number of occasions, including in our bilateral human rights dialogue and through the EU. We have raised concerns about both his welfare and his medical treatment on other occasions.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Acquired Brain Injury

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Government have to provide central funding for community-based training and rehabilitation for people with acquired brain injury in Northern Ireland after the Department of Employment and Learning ceases to provide further funding for the ReConnect training facility; and what alternative plans he has for funding this service. [152417]

Jane Kennedy: The Department for Employment and Learning and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety are currently considering the implications of the failure of ReConnect to win ESF funding for its work. As part of this process of consideration they will explore how best the training and rehabilitation needs of this client group can be met, in the longer term.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Government Department is responsible for the provision of community-based training and rehabilitation of those with acquired brain injury in Northern Ireland. [152419]

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Jane Kennedy: The Department for Employment and Learning is responsible for the provision of support for individuals with acquired brain injury to help them re-enter the labour market. This includes the provision of appropriate vocational training.

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety is responsible for the provision of rehabilitation for people with a brain injury where this is required to meet assessed clinical or social need. This includes intensive in-patient rehabilitation and community-based social rehabilitation covering such areas as social and daily living skills.

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