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Information and Communication Specialists

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many information and communication technology specialists are in full-time employment in the Department. [189595]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department of Trade and Industry currently employs 69 (full-time equivalent) ICT specialists.

TRANSPORT

Humber Bridge Toll

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of converting the toll system on the Humber Bridge so that tolls can be mainly collected automatically without the need for employing attendants. [189783]

 
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Mr. Jamieson: The Secretary of State has made no such estimate. The Humber Bridge is not part of the trunk road network and is, therefore, not the direct responsibility of the Secretary of State. The financing and operation of the Bridge is primarily a matter for the board of local authorities who manage the bridge, the Humber Bridge Board.

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost was of employing persons to collect toll money on the Humber Bridge in each of the past four years for which figures are available. [189784]

Mr. Jamieson: The Department for Transport does not hold such information centrally. The Humber Bridge is not part of the trunk road network and is, therefore, not the direct responsibility of the Secretary of State. The financing and operation of the bridge is primarily a matter for the Humber Bridge Board.

Road Traffic Accidents

Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many deaths in road traffic accidents there were in (a) 1975, (b) 1980, (c) 1990, (d) 2000 and (e) 2003. [189939]

Mr. Jamieson: The numbers of deaths in road traffic accidents are shown in the following table.

	Number killed
1975	6,366
1980	6,010
1990	5,217
2000	3,409
2003	3,508

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

European Union Presidency

15. Mr. David: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Lisbon Agenda will be one of the priorities of the British presidency of the EU. [190330]

Mr. MacShane: Yes it will be. Our overriding presidency priority will be to take forward the EU policy agenda in an efficient, effective and impartial way, with a strong emphasis on the agenda we inherit from preceding presidencies.

Delivering sustainable, long-term improvements to Europe's growth and employment is of course a major task for the EU and a priority for our presidency and the new Commission.

North Korea

16. Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact on relations between the UK and North Korea of establishing diplomatic missions in the capitals of each country. [190331]

Mr. Rammell: The establishment of embassies in London and Pyongyang has provided an effective and regular channel of communication between our
 
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respective governments. This, together with my own visit to Pyongyang last month, has enabled us to make clear our views on issues of international concern, such as North Korea's nuclear programmes and human rights record. We will continue to encourage the North Koreans to engage fully on these issues.

23. Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with North Korea on nuclear policy. [190338]

Mr. Rammell: I visited North Korea from 11 to 14 September. North Korea's nuclear policy was one of the issues which I raised during my visit.

I made a written statement to the House on my discussions in North Korea on 16 September 2004, Official Report, columns 186–88WS.

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. [190326]

Mr. Rammell: The Government assesses that North Korea has sufficient fissile material for a small number of nuclear weapons, and the technical capability to produce them. North Korea has also confirmed that it has completed the reprocessing of some 8,000 spent fuel rods, something about which we, and the international community, are very concerned.

Afghanistan

18. Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements he has made to (a) monitor and (b) assess the presidential elections in Afghanistan. [190333]

Mr. Rammell: The UK provided four UK nationals to the OSCE Election Support Team, plus funding of £140,000. We contributed £50,000 to the "Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan", which fielded some (1,700) local Afghan monitors; and £25,000 to the "Asia Network for Free Elections" to monitor voting by Afghan refugees in Iran. British embassy staff observed in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.

We shall assess the results with our international partners.

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on women's rights and dowry payments in Afghanistan. [189884]

Mr. Rammell: Women's rights have improved dramatically since the fall of the Taliban, with access to education, healthcare and employment opportunities that would have been unthinkable under the Taliban regime. Just under 2 million girls have returned to school and one-third of Afghanistan's 70,000 teachers are now women. Women's rights are protected by the new constitution, which also reserves a proportion of seats in Parliament for women candidates. Women have registered in large numbers to vote for the upcoming elections: over 40 per cent. of the 10.5 million Afghans registered.
 
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Despite these improvements many challenges still remain. Women suffer disproportionately from violence in Afghan society. Women's ability to exercise their rights also remains heavily constrained in some areas, particularly rural areas in the south and south-east. The UK is committed to working with the Afghan Government and their international partners to improve women's ability to exercise their rights. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development have agreed a comprehensive Gender Strategy for 2004–05, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Dowry payments are a traditional part of Afghan marriage ceremonies, as in many other countries.

St. Helena

19. Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit St. Helena to discuss its economy. [190334]

Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no current plans to visit St. Helena.

However, Ministers take every opportunity to meet with councillors from St. Helena when they visit the UK, during which we discuss a whole range of issues. My most recent meeting with councillors was last month in the margins of the Overseas Territories Consultative Council.

Darfur

20. Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the situation in Darfur. [190335]

Mr. Mullin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy.

We remain very concerned about the situation in Darfur. Despite some progress on the humanitarian side, ceasefire violations by rebel and government forces continue. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister discussed these issues last week with the Sudanese President, who agreed to a five-point action plan. The Sudanese will be judged not by their words, but by their actions over the coming weeks.

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his Answer of 14 September 2004, Official Report, columns 1551–52W, what evidence the Government would need in order to determine that the atrocities carried out in Darfur constituted genocide; and if he will set out the direct consequences of defining a situation as genocide. [189796]

Mr. Mullin: As called for in Security Council Resolution 1564, the Secretary-General has established an International Commission of Inquiry to determine whether or not acts of genocide have occurred and to identify the perpetrators. He has asked the Commission to report within three months. Article II of the 1948 Genocide Convention defines genocide as the "intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group". Under this convention, the State Parties undertake to prevent and to punish the crime of genocide.
 
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