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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Berezovsky and Zakayev

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Jack Straw): Russian citizens Boris Abramovich Berezovsky and Akhmed Iliasovich Zakayev were granted asylum in the UK last year, as is public knowledge.

The grant of asylum to these two persons was made after due assessment by the relevant authorities of their cases and of the UK's obligations under the 1951 UN Convention on refugees and domestic law. They did not enter the UK at the invitation of Her Majesty's Government. A grant of asylum does not imply support from the UK Government for an individual's views, activities or statements.

We take very seriously the requirement for any person granted asylum in the UK to comply with the conditions of the UN convention under which refugees are recognised, and with the provisions of UK law. Recipients of asylum receive cautions not to take part in criminal activities, or activities such as support for or encouragement of terrorist organisations, or activities endangering national security or public order. Where individuals granted asylum breach these conditions we would not hesitate to take action against them and have strengthened the law to enable us to do so more effectively.

Iraq: Export Licence Applications

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Bill Rammell): Following consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry recently approved a further licence to export military list goods to Iraq. The arms embargo against Iraq remains in place under United Nations Security Council resolutions 1483 (22 May 2003) and 1546 (8 June 2004). UNSCR 1483 (2003)
 
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includes an exception for "arms and related materiel required by the (Coalition Provisional) Authority to serve the purposes of this and other related resolutions".

Accordingly, prior to the hand over of power on 28 June and the Coalition Provisional Authority ceasing to exist, Her Majesty's Government considered it appropriate to grant exemptions for the export of military listed goods for use by Iraqi police forces, Ministry of Justice personnel, Ministry of Oil security personnel and Iraqi security forces. The licence is consistent with the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. Future applications will continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis against the UN embargo and consolidated criteria, taking into account the circumstances prevailing at the time.

Her Majesty's Government also considers it appropriate to grant a licence for the export of assault rifles and semi-automatic pistols for use by a private security company, contracted to provide support for personnel working under contract with the Iraqi Board of Supreme Audit. The coalition provisional authority (CPA) certified the requirement for these weapons prior to the CPA ceasing to exist on 28 June. The licence is consistent with the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. Future applications will continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis against the UN embargo and consolidated criteria, taking into account the circumstances prevailing at the time.

British Council Trustees

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Chris Mullin): Copies on the British Council Trustees' report and accounts for the financial year ended 31 March 2004 have been placed in the Library of the House. During the period the council received £165.5 million grant in aid from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Export Licensing

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Jack Straw): Enhanced statistical information on strategic export licensing will, from July 2004, be released on a quarterly basis, instead of once a year through the annual report on strategic export controls, as at present. The first quarterly report on strategic export controls will be published on the Department of Trade and Industry and Foreign and Commonwealth Office websites: www.dti.gov.ukand www.fco.gov.uk on 28 July. This report will contain information on export licensing decisions taken from January to March 2004.

From now on, statistical data will be published on the FCO and DTI websites three months after the last decision in any given quarter. Until now, decisions taken in one calendar year have been reported in the annual report on strategic export controls in the middle of the following year. Information on the earliest licensing decisions reported in the annual report was not therefore made available until some 18 months later.

From 2004, the annual report, which the Government have a statutory obligation to produce, will summarise information already provided in quarterly reports, as well as describing export control policy developments. It will be produced in hard and electronic copy. The hard copy will include a CD-ROM containing all of the
 
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licensing data published in the quarterly reports for that year. The Government intend to publish the next quarterly report, relating to decisions taken between April and June 2004, in October.

The introduction of quarterly reports reflects the Government's commitment to further improve the openness of its strategic export licensing system, which is already acknowledged to be amongst the most transparent in the world.

The Government's most recent strategic export controls annual report was published on 7 June.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Independent Review of S4C

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Tessa Jowell): On 3 March this year, I announced the appointment of Roger Laughton, Head of Bournemouth University Media School, assisted by Meurig Royles as Welsh language assessor, to carry out an independent review of S4C.

I am today publishing Mr Laughton's report of his review and copies have been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses. I welcome this very thorough analysis of S4C's current position and the challenges facing the authority in the digital age. The report's conclusions and recommendations raise a number of issues relating to the Government's Digital Action Plan, BBC Charter review and Ofcom's review of public service broadcasting, which will need to be addressed in the context of those initiatives. My Department will liaise with the authority and with other interested organisations to consider Mr Laughton's recommendations in detail and I will notify the House of the resulting conclusions in due course.

Digital Television

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Tessa Jowell): In my statement of 19 May I said that I would report further stages in establishing the plan for switchover. I am pleased to say that much progress has been made in the discussions between the Government, Ofcom, and the public service broadcasters.

While the broadcasters have not reached a full consensus on the optimum timetable, some—including the BBC—have suggested that 2012 may be the most appropriate date for the completion of switchover. This could mean beginning the switching sequence as early as 2007. This would be subject to agreement on a detailed plan, including resolution of the remaining issues raised in the discussions, Ofcom plans to include reference to this timetable in the draft digital licences for Channels 3, 4, 5 and Teletext which they expect to publish for consultation later this summer.

We continue to believe that an ordered process leading to the earliest practicable switchover remains desirable given the advantages to consumers, the broadcasting industry and future growth of innovative new services. We believe that switchover should be broadcaster-led but that the final decision on timetable should balance these benefits against the need to ensure that the interests of the most vulnerable consumers are protected. I have therefore asked Ofcom's independent
 
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consumer panel to consider what measures might be necessary to ensure this protection and to report to me later this year with their advice. We will also take advice from leading charities. The Government's final endorsement of a timetable will be subject to being satisfied that adequate measures are in place to meet this objective.

The BBC, in their 29 June publication "Building Public Value", proposed that 2012 should be the target date for switchover. The BBC made clear its willingness to be a "leader and coordinator across the industry" and to "take a special responsibility for bringing the final cohorts into the digital television universe". I have asked the BBC how they propose to take this forward.

The Government remains committed to ensuring that switchover is planned and implemented in a way which is platform and broadcaster neutral. Consumers must have clear, unbiased information about what is available on each platform and from each provider so that they can make an informed choice. In particular, people who buy television equipment now should know that switchover will take place during the expected lifetime of television sets bought today. We are therefore engaged with retailers and manufacturers—who also need to plan ahead—to see that good clear information is given to consumers currently planning to buy a television or an item of recording equipment. We expect this information to spread through retail outlets from September, identified by the switchover logo.

As an early step towards switchover, we are proceeding with a technical trial in two villages—Ferryside and Llansteffan—in South Wales. The residents have responded overwhelmingly in favour of taking part in this trial. If, as we expect, this switchover trial is successful, this community will be the first in the UK to go fully digital next spring.

We expect further progress on these matters in the coming months and I will report to the House on material developments as they occur.

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