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29 Apr 2004 : Column 1207W—continued

Upland Farms (Environmental Management)

Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she intends to take to ensure that farms in uplands are rewarded for improved environmental management of their land. [168948]

Alun Michael: A significant proportion of farmers in the uplands are already participating in our Environmentally Sensitive Area or Countryside Stewardship Schemes.

Next year we plan to roll out our new agri-environment scheme called Environmental Stewardship. The Entry Level of that scheme will be available to all upland farmers and we hope that many more of them will decide to join it.

Woodlands

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total (a) area and (b) production in cubic metres of (i) broadleaf and (ii) coniferous woodland was in each year since 1980 (A) in England and (B) broken down by region. [165799]

Mr. Bradshaw: A national woodland survey is carried out by the Forestry Commission at intervals of between 15 and 20 years. Comparative areas of woodland ¹ in 1980 and 1998 were published in the latest National Inventory of Woodland and Trees, Regional Inventory reports. The figures are given in the following table.
Thousand hectares

	1980 2		1998 3
Region	Broadleaves	Conifers	Broadleaves	Conifers
North-East	16.2	73.3	24.5	69.2
North-West	33.0	39.4	46.7	39.8
Yorkshire and the       Humber	39.0	37.4	46.1	35.4
East Midlands	37.8	21.6	52.9	17.9
West Midlands	44.1	28.3	63.1	25.7
East of England	59.4	40.7	90.2	37.5
London	5.4	0.3	5.5	0.2
South East	138.2	59.1	173.6	52.4
South West	95.7	63.8	137.4	60.8
Total England	468.8	363.9	640.0	338.9

⁽⁸⁾ Excluding open space, coppice and felled areas awaiting replanting.
⁽⁹⁾ 1980 Census of Woodland.
⁽¹⁰⁾ National Inventory of Woodland and Trees—Regional Inventory Reports. Reference dates varied by region 1995 to 1999.
⁽¹¹⁾ Differences in sampling methodology between 1980 and 1998 may account for some of the differences.
⁽¹²⁾ In the 1980 Census the area assigned to broadleaves and conifers included any associated open space such as roads and rides. In the 1998 Inventory open spaces are separately identified and to obtain meaningful comparison between the two datasets the 1980 Census data has been reduced by the percentage of open space identified in the 1998 Inventory (nationally 6.5 per cent.).

Timber production is not recorded by region and the estimate for total England production is given in the following table.
 
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	(13)Removals in million cubic metres overbark standing
	Hardwoods (from broadleafed trees)	Softwood (from conifer trees)
1980	1.2	1.3
1981	1.2	1.3
1982	1.0	1.4
1983	0.8	1.4
1984	0.8	1.5
1985	0.9	1.5
1986	0.9	1.7
1987	0.8	1.9
1988	1.1	2.3
1989	1.2	2.5
1990	1.1	2.5
1991	1.1	2.5
1992	0.8	2.6
1993	0.7	2.3
1994	0.8	2.6
1995	0.9	2.5
1996	0.8	2.4
1997	0.8	2.2
1998	0.7	2.1
1999	0.7	2.2
2000	0.6	2.1
2001	0.6	2.0
2002	0.6	1.8

⁽¹³⁾ Based on figures published in Forestry Facts and Figures for 1980–94, adjusted to consistent definition. Later figures for private sector removals estimated from a GB survey for 2000–02 and interpolated.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Prisoners (Thailand)

Mrs. Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last made representations to obtain pardons for British prisoners incarcerated in Thai prisons; and if he will make a statement. [168719]

Mr. Mullin: On 1 April 2004, the Government agreed to make representations to the Thai authorities in support of a clemency petition submitted by a British prisoner in Thailand.

China

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Chinese Government concerning (a) the repatriation of the North Korean refugee Mr. Park Yong-chol (alias Jo Yong-su) from China to North Korea and (b) the mistreatment of the Chinese house church leader Pastor Gong Shengliang while in prison in Hongshan Prison, Wuhan City, Hubei Province. [168799]

Mr. Rammell: We regularly raise the issue of North Korean border crossers at the biannual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue and on other high level occasions. We are aware of the case of Mr. Park. The European Commission has recently suggested that the EU should raise the matter urgently with the Chinese authorities; this is now under consideration by the EU presidency.

We have raised Pastor Gong Shengliang's case with   the Chinese authorities on several occasions. We supported an EU demarche in Beijing in July last year on this case.
 
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Climate Change

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made by his Department of the implications for national security of climate change. [168840]

Mr. Caplin: I have been asked to reply.

The Ministry of Defence is reviewing the implications of climate change for national security as part of its wider assessment of strategic trends that might impact on the United Kingdom's interests.

Correspondence

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to reply to the letter to him from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 26 January 2004 with regard to Mosamuat Meherun Nessa Begum. [168926]

Mr. Mullin: I refer my right hon. Friend to my answer of 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1316W.

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to reply to the letter to him from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 1 March 2004 with regard to Mr. Hachemi Nessai. [168927]

Mr. Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary replied on 25 March 2004. However, he will write again shortly.

Departmental Employment Policy

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for   Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make   a statement on his Department's employment termination policy for locally-engaged members of staff. [166919]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: In Foreign and Commonwealth Office posts overseas the rights of all locally engaged employees are protected by local law.

Every post is required to set out the termination procedure in the Terms and Conditions of Service given to each employee on appointment.

Procedures for terminating employment therefore vary across posts.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for   Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many employment termination cases of locally-engaged members of staff have been (a) disputed and (b) taken to arbitration; and in how many instances the findings have been in favour of the member of staff. [166921]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Locally engaged employees have the right to take their case to a local court if they have a dispute over the termination of their employment. To obtain details from each overseas post would incur disproportionate costs.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much severance pay has been awarded to his Department's locally-engaged members of staff in each year since 1997, broken down by country. [166922]

 
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Mr. Mike O'Brien: Severance pay for locally engaged employees of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is governed according to local law and practice in the country the employee is working. To obtain figures from each overseas post would incur disproportionate costs.

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