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Ivory Coast

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had with European Union counterparts regarding the conflict in Ivory Coast; and if he will make a statement. [199499]

Mr. Mullin: During a UK-France summit on 18 November, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary expressed solidarity with France's position and thanked Foreign Minister Barnier for French assistance in the evacuation of British citizens. Both agreed that it was important to return to the Linas-Marcoussis agreement, and that the situation in Côte d'lvoire was of great importance for regional stability.

UK officials have been in regular contact with their European colleagues, including the Dutch, German and Portuguese, about the evacuation of their citizens and the wider conflict in Côte d'lvoire.

Namibia

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the presidential and parliamentary elections held in Namibia in November; and if he will make a statement. [199500]

Mr. Mullin: In August 2004, the Southern African Development Community agreed a set of principles by which free and fair elections in the region would be judged. We believe the General and Presidential elections held in Namibia on 15/16 November accorded well with those principles.

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the land reform policy in Namibia; what recent discussions the Government have had with (a) the Namibian Government and (b) white farmers' groups regarding land reform; and if he will make a statement. [199501]

Mr. Mullin: We support the need for land reform in Namibia, but any programme must be transparent, equitable and within the rule of law. Our High Commissioner in Windhoek discusses the issue regularly with the Namibian Government, the Namibian Agricultural Union and other interested parties.
 
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Palestinian Elections

Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what discussions are planned with the Palestinian Authority on elections; [200128]

(2) if his Department will allocate funds to assist the Palestinian election in January 2005. [200130]

Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed elections with both the Israeli Government and Palestinian Authority (PA) during his visit to the region on 24 and 25 November. Abu Mazen, President of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said that the PA had announced local elections to begin on 23 December and Presidential elections to be held on 9 January. The PA expect to be able to hold Palestinian Legislative Council elections in mid-May.

The Foreign Secretary offered full UK support to the PA's efforts. As a member of the Electoral Reform Support Group in the Occupied Territories, the UK is involved in regular consultation with the PA in order to support the conduct of elections.

We have already allocated funds to assist the Palestinian elections in January 2005. We are providing £750.000 funding in support of the Palestinian Authority's efforts to establish a Central Intervention Force whose first role will be to contribute towards election security. We are also contributing through the European Union. The European Commission has provided €10 million this year to the Central Elections Committee for presidential and legislative elections. The UK contribution accounts for 19 per cent. of EU funding.

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the United Kingdom is giving to the Palestinian authority for the elections scheduled for 9 January 2005. [200278]

Mr. Rammell: During his visit to the region last month my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary offered full UK support to the Palestinian authority for the presidential elections in January. He also pressed the Israeli Government to do all they can to facilitate the Palestinian electoral process, including freedom of movement and allowing East Jerusalem voters to vote. Israel gave assurances it would co-operate.

We are supporting the Palestinian authority financially, both bilaterally and through the European Union. We are also supporting the elections in practical ways, for example, liaising with organisers of the EU electoral observation mission on sending out British election observers, and encouraging an Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe electoral observation mission.

Saudi Arabia

Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list British citizens held and released in Saudi Arabia since 1997. [200126]

 
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Mr. Mullin: Since 1997, 53 British Nationals have been held in Saudi Arabia. I regret that for reasons of consular confidentiality, we are unable to list the names of these British nationals, because disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy under Exemption 12 of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. Other restrictions under Exemption 15 also apply; in this case the Data Protection Act 1998. However we can confirm that all except one of the 53 have been released.

Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to visit Saudi Arabia. [200127]

Mr. Rammell: Foreign engagements for my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers are kept under constant review. It is not our practice to announce such visits until they are firm. Because of the unpredictable nature of world events, final decisions on overseas visits are often not possible until very shortly before the day of travel.

The Foreign Secretary visited Saudi Arabia in March and October this year.

Voter Registration

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what extra resources will be made available to embassies and high commissions in their efforts to publicise overseas voter registration, following his meeting on 10 November with the Electoral Commission. [200483]

Mr. Mullin: The Electoral Commission has the lead responsibility for publicising overseas registration. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) supports their efforts. The FCO has not been approached by the Electoral Commission to provide additional assistance. However, we are willing to consider any requests we receive.

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what decisions were taken at the meeting between representatives of his Department and the Electoral Commission on 10 November regarding assistance from his Department to the Electoral Commission in its efforts to publicise overseas voter registration. [200484]

Mr. Mullin: At its last meeting with the Electoral Commission on 10 November, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) reiterated its support for the Commission, as lead agency, in its efforts to publicise overseas voter registration.

Although no clear indication of what assistance they require was given by the Electoral Commission, the FCO undertook as in previous years, to make any suitable publicity material produced by the Electoral Commission—such as leaflets and posters—available through its network of overseas Posts. Where possible, the FCO would also assist in local advertising ahead of any visit overseas by an Electoral Commission spokesperson. The Electoral Commission agreed to inform the FCO of any changes required to the overseas voter registration content on the FCO website: www.fco.gov.uk and relevant FCO post websites.
 
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HEALTH

Salt

15. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on levels of dietary salt intake. [202216]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government are committed, through the NHS Plan and the recently published White Paper Choosing Health: "Making healthy choices easier", to reducing population average intakes of salt in order to reduce the burden of cardio-vascular disease. The Department of Health and the Food Standards Agency are working with the food industry and others to reduce the salt content of processed foods to reduce population average intakes to 6g per day by 2010.

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