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Correspondence

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to reply to the letter of 6 December 2004, reference 184348/04, from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford. [219529]

Mr. Alexander [holding answer 3 March 2005]: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in replying. A reply to his letter of 6 December was not issued due to a misunderstanding about whether the Foreign
 
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and Commonwealth Office or the Department for Constitutional Affairs would respond. A reply will be sent forthwith.

Europe Day

Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance has been issued to UK embassies in the EU regarding the celebration of Europe Day on 9 May. [212382]

Mr. Alexander [holding answer 3 March 2005]: None.

Indonesia

Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of Papuans killed in civil conflict in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [218845]

Mr. Alexander: We are not aware of any official figures for those killed in Papua over the last 10 years.

Iran

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written answer of 23 February 2005, Official Report, column 621W, on Iran, and the oral answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn) of 9 February 2005, Official Report, column 1496, what the E3 have agreed with Iran following the (a) working groups on political/security issues meeting in Geneva on 9 to 11 February and (b) working group on technology co-operation meeting on 8 February. [219564]

Mr. Alexander [holding answer 3 March 2005]: These working groups, and one on nuclear issues, were set up under the agreement between Iran and the UK, France and Germany on 15 November 2004. Their aim is to agree long-term arrangements for Iran's nuclear programme based on objective guarantees that the programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes; and they provide for co-operation in other areas. The groups meet every three or four weeks in Geneva. The group on political and security issues has discussed, for example, export controls, counter-narcotics co-operation and other subjects of mutual interest. The working group on technology and co-operation is looking at issues in a range of economic sectors. But in view of the need to build mutual confidence and trust, the two sides have agreed not to disclose details of the discussions, which are continuing.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials in his Department have tendered their resignation citing the war in Iraq as their reason for doing so. [212343]

Mr. Alexander [holding answer 3 March 2005]: Two Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have tendered their resignation citing the war in Iraq as the reason for doing so.

Lebanon

Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Lebanese Government about the treatment of Palestinian refugees. [216075]

 
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Mr. Alexander [holding answer 1 March 2005]: Our ambassador in Beirut raises the situation of the Palestinian refugees with the Lebanese authorities on a regular basis. In the context of the right of return for all Palestinians, subject to final status negotiations, Lebanon restricts Palestinian refugees from settling permanently in Lebanon. We have raised our concerns that this policy places restrictions on the civil and social rights of Palestinian refugees by limiting, for example, their access to education and employment.

North Korea

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage the re-establishment of the six-country discussions on north Korea. [218576]

Mr. Rammell: The Government have no direct involvement in the six-party talks process. We follow developments closely as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, as a Depositary State of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and as a member of the European Union. We are also in direct and regular contact with all the parties involved in the six-party talks process, including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. We have urged the north Korean authorities to reconsider their suspension and we very much hope that the talks will be resumed as soon as possible.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the trend in the level of suppression of dissidents in north Korea in recent months; and what recent discussions he has had with the Chinese Government on this matter. [218577]

Mr. Rammell: We have no information on the level of suppression of dissidents in north Korea in recent months. We have raised the matter of north Korean refugees in China on a number of occasions with the Chinese Government, most recently during the UK/China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing in November 2004. We continue to urge China to observe its obligations under the 1951 Convention.

Russia

Mr. Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what programmes his Department has in place to encourage the establishment of democratic institutions in Russia. [218872]

Mr. Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has spent over £900,000 this financial year on projects that cover democracy, human rights and governance issues in Russia.

One of the larger projects, for example, aims to improve the interaction between local government and local media. Another is contributing to the process of reform of regional-level public administration, intended to improve standards in public life.

Other projects include training for small independent media companies and a project to liberalize new legislation on alternative civilian service for conscientious objectors.
 
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Funding for the financial year 2005–06 is currently under discussion. The focus in Russia will be on increasing respect for the rule of law and freedom of expression, both of which are critical to developing democracy and civil society.

Student Visas

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of charges for applications for student visas on the number of overseas students applying to universities in Scotland. [220331]

Mr. Mullin: The fees for applying for entry clearance in order to study in the UK are set at £36 in order to recover the cost of processing the application without burdening the taxpayer. They have not risen since 2002 and are currently under review.

While statistics are available only for entry clearance to the UK as a whole and not by area, applications to study in the UK have increased year by year since 2000. I refer the hon. Member to the reply below. (UIN 220332).

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications were made for student visas to study in each country of the UK in each year since 2000; and how many student visas were issued in each year since 2000, broken down by country of study in each year. [220332]

Mr. Mullin: Statistics are available only for entry clearance to the UK as a whole and not by area.

As of March 2001, UK visas, the department responsible for entry clearance matters arising overseas, began providing statistics by financial year. Before this, statistics were provided by calendar year.

The number of those applying to study in the UK and issued entry clearance since 2000 is as follows:
Number

	Applications received	Issued
January 2000–December 2001	125,239	99,559
March 2001–April 2002	151,524	121,466
March 2002–April 2003	181,905	128144
March 2003–April 2004	225,239	146,736

These figures are publicly available on the UK visas website (www.ukvisas.gov.uk). Figures for 2004–2005 are not yet available.

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was raised from charges for applications for student visas from students studying or seeking to study in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland in each year since 2000. [220333]

Mr. Mullin: Statistics are available only for entry clearance to the UK as a whole and not by area.

The overseas entry clearance operation is required to function on a full cost recovery basis and is therefore non-profitable. The student visa fee is calculated to ensure that it covers the cost of the work involved in processing the application. The charge for a student visa application is currently £36 irrespective of factors such as the duration of the course, where the student applied
 
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for entry clearance overseas or where they intend to study in the UK. The fee was last raised in 2002 and the level of visa fees is currently under review.

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to remove charges for student visa applications for students studying or seeking to study in Scotland. [220334]

Mr. Mullin: No. Visa fees are set in order to recover the costs of issuing visas overseas. The overseas entry clearance operation is not funded from general taxation but operates on a full cost recovery basis. Visa fees are related to the amount of work involved in issuing them.

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