---

29 Mar 2004 : Column 1149W—continued

Embassy and High Commission Land

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much embassy and high commission land has been sold in each year since 1998; and what the value was in pounds sterling. [163830]

Mr. Rammell: The value and areas of land that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has sold since 1998 are as follows:

Financial year	Area soldsquare metre	Sale proceeds (£000)
1998–99	9,400	383
1999–2000	142,454.4	18,652
2000–01	—	—
2001–02	11,881	20,041
2002–03	19,132.6	1,787
2003–04	1,500	112

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the (a) high commissions and (b) embassies from which land has been sold in each year since 1998. [163831]

Mr. Rammell: In each year since 1998 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has sold land at the following posts:

29 Mar 2004 : Column 1150W

	Post
2001–02	British High Commission, Singapore
2001–02	British High Commission, Valletta
2002–03	British High Commission, Pretoria
1998–99	British High Commission, Quito
1999–2000	British Embassy, Dublin
2001–02	British Embassy, Kiev
2002–03	British Consulate-General, Alexandria
2003–04	British Embassy, Kiev

Iran

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to impose trade sanctions on Iran; and if he will make a statement. [163536]

Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no plans to impose trade sanctions on Iran, a country with which we have normal diplomatic relations.

Iraq

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list, for each month since it was established, the total income from oil revenues paid into the development fund for Iraq. [163083]

Mr. Rammell: Information on the amount of Iraqi oil produced each month from May 2003 to January 2004 inclusive is given in the following table. Information on the amount paid for the oil is not publicly available. However, as of 5 March 2004, a total of US $6.18 billion of oil proceeds had been received by the Development Fund for Iraq. This information is available through the Coalition Provisional Authority website at www.cpa-iraq.org/budget/DFI introl.html.

Iraqi oil production(million barrels per day)	Net production
May 2003	0.28
June 2003	0.44
July 2003	0.70
August 2003	1.11
September 2003	1.41
October 2003	1.58
November 2003	1.92
December 2003	1.97
January 2004	2.04

⁽¹⁾ Estimated Iraqi oil supply net of re-injected crude oil.

Israel

Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the US Administration about the Israeli wall. [163834]

Mr. Rammell: We are in regular contact with the US Administration, at all levels, about the situation in the Middle East including the Israeli security barrier.

Press Releases

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which

29 Mar 2004 : Column 1151W

occasions since 1 January 2003 his Department has quoted an official from a foreign Government in the title of a press release. [163660]

Mr. Straw: My Press Office has checked its database for all press releases issued since January 2003. No quotes from foreign government officials have been found in any of the titles.

Canada

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Canadian Government on seal culling in that country; and if he will make a statement. [163618]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We last made formal representations to the Canadian Government in 1999. The Canadian authorities are fully aware of our views. We do not accept the need for any seal cull, but if one does take place it should be sustainable and based on a precautionary principle.

Sri Lanka

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his officials have had with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka about the needs of Muslims in Sri Lanka. [163363]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: In their contacts with representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) officials from the British high commission in Sri Lanka regularly raise concerns regarding community relations in LTTE-held areas including the situation of the Muslim community.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to stop the displacement of Muslims in Sri Lanka. [163364]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The forced displacement in the past of large numbers of the Muslim community in parts of North and East Sri Lanka by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is one of the many regrettable aspects of the conflict. A large number of Muslims remain internally displaced. Their reintegration and that of other internally displaced people will be a major issue for a permanent peace agreement to address. We are not aware of any significant recent displacements of Muslims although relations between Muslim, Tamil and Sinhalese communities in eastern Sri Lanka remains an issue of concern. The Government, through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool, are currently funding work by local NGOs to develop early warning mechanisms to prevent local disputes in the east from escalating.

Sudan

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress in the Sudan peace talks. [163978]

29 Mar 2004 : Column 1152W

Mr. Mullin: The current round of peace talks had been due to adjourn on 16 March but have now been extended until 31 March 2004. The First-Vice President and the Chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement continue to discuss the outstanding issues. We remain hopeful that a framework agreement will be finalised soon.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the fighting between the Sudan People's Liberation Army and the Lord's Resistance Army in Southern Sudan. [163981]

Mr. Mullin: We are aware of recent reports of skirmishes between the Ugandan rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army, and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in southern Sudan but have no confirmed details.

However, we recognise that Sudan has a potentially significant role to play in the resolution of the conflict in northern Uganda and are encouraged by recent efforts at cooperation between the two countries. We continue to emphasise this through our Embassy in Khartoum and in ministerial exchanges.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the role of the Government of Chad in the conflict in Darfur. [163979]

Mr. Mullin: We welcome the Government of Chad's readiness to help the parties to the conflict to find a solution to Darfur's problems, and its continued support to the 110,000 Sudanese refugees whom they are currently hosting.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the US Administration on the situation in Darfur. [163980]

Mr. Mullin: We are in daily contact with the US Administration about the situation in Darfur and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development spoke to the Administrator of the US Agency for International Development about Darfur on 10 March 2004. We are working closely with the US to get the parties to re-establish a ceasefire, preferably with international monitoring, to permit humanitarian access to all those in need, and to resume talks to find a peaceful solution to Darfur's problems.

Travel Guidance

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance is issued to British embassies and high commissions abroad on appropriate support to (a) visiting Government Ministers, (b) visiting select committees, (c) select committee members travelling individually and (d) visiting hon. Members; and if he will publish the guidelines in full. [163468]

Mr. Straw: Guidance on handling visiting select committees, individual MPs and opposition front bench Members is available to all Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff, at home and abroad, on the FCO intranet. I have placed copies of the relevant guidance in

29 Mar 2004 : Column 1153W

the Library of the House. The FCO does not issue specific guidance on what level of support should be provided for visiting Government Ministers or select committee members travelling individually.

---