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15 Nov 2005 : Column 1178W—continued
Radiotherapy
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether patients will be allowed to book appointments for radiotherapy through the infrastructure of the National Programme for IT. [23966]
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Mr. Byrne: The choose and book system currently covers referrals from primary care to the first consultant out-patient appointment. Radiotherapy appointments are typically booked after detailed consultations between clinicians and this means they fall within secondary or tertiary care. Therefore, radiotherapy appointments are outside of the current scope of the choose and book service.
Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) historic and (b) in-year debt is of Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust. [21392]
Mr. Byrne: The cumulative deficit for the Southport and Ormskirk national health service trust in 2004–05 was £1,179,000. The in-year deficit for the trust during the same period was £1,189,000.
Waiting Lists/Times
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long the central collection of statistics on waiting times for (a) CT scans, (b) MRI scans and (c) other imaging and diagnostic tests takes, including the production of reports; and if she will make a statement. [18560]
Mr. Byrne: Data on waiting times for diagnostic tests and procedures are not currently collected centrally.
However, to support delivery of the 18-week patient pathway, the Department, working with the national health service, has developed a commissioner-based diagnostics waiting times data collection, which will be introduced in January 2006. This will look at waiting times for a number of diagnostic tests and procedures, including magnetic resonance imaging and computerised tomography.
During the piloting phase, pilot sites were submitting diagnostics data on the 15th working day after the month end. It is anticipated that we will follow a similar timetable for national roll-out of the diagnostics data collection.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what interim waiting time targets have been put in place in order to progress towards the 18-week waiting time target by 2008. [18379]
Mr. Byrne:
No formal interim targets have been set for the national health service. The Department has agreed a framework of milestones with strategic health authorities to help them assess the robustness of local delivery plans and monitor progress against them. Further information on the 18-week target can be found at www.18weeks.nhs.uk. The Department is currently consulting on the rules and definitions to underpin the implementation of the 18 week target, and the responses may also influence how we choose to measure progress in future.
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West Yorkshire Health Services
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the merits of contestability in the provision of health services in West Yorkshire. [21048]
Mr. Byrne: The decision to include West Yorkshire in wave two elective independent sector procurement has been made on the basis of local capacity planning and the need to increase patient choice.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Azerbaijan
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he plans to have with the Government of Azerbaijan regarding (a) good governance, (b) democratic values and (c) tackling corruption. [27026]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: These issues are often raised by our ambassador to Baku in his dialogue with the Azerbaijan Government and will be raised again, on instruction, in the aftermath of this election. They are also due to be discussed at the EU-Azerbaijan Co-operation Council on 12 December. The EU is developing an action plan with Azerbaijan as part of its European Neighbourhood Policy. The action plan aims to establish a set of shared common values in exchange for a deeper relationship with the EU. Strengthening democracy, strengthening the protection of human rights and of fundamental freedoms and the rule of law and strengthening the fight against corruption are all areas identified as priorities in the action plan.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the recent elections in Azerbaijan were (a) free and (b) fair. [27027]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Government accept the assessment of the International Election Observation Mission led by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Their preliminary findings were released on 7 November. These found that the Azerbaijan parliamentary elections did not meet a number of OSCE and Council of Europe standards and commitments for democratic elections, suggesting that the elections were not free or fair. The UK, holding the presidency of the European Union, issued a statement on 7 November in response to the preliminary findings. This can be found on the presidency website at www.eu2005.gov.uk.
Burma
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with Mr Richard Horsey, the British employee of the International Labour Organisation, who has left Burma after receiving death threats. [26768]
Ian Pearson:
Our Embassy in Rangoon is in regular contact with Mr Richard Horsey. We understand from him that he has left Burma temporarily for reasons unconnected with the death threats he has received.
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We are very concerned about reports that Burma has recently indicated its intention to withdraw from the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Our Ambassador in Rangoon called on the Burmese Ministers for Labour and Foreign Affairs on 31 October and, on behalf of the EU, expressed our concern over these reports and over the death threat campaign. She urged the Burmese authorities to continue to co-operate with the ILO to eliminate forced labour and raised individual cases of harassment of those complaining of forced labour.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what assessment he has made (a) of the announcement by Burma's military junta that it has begun to move ministries to Pyinmana and (b) its implications for civilians in the Shan, Chin and Karen states; [27013]
(2) what assessment he has made of the impact of the Burmese Government's move to Pyinmana upon the local population; [27033]
(3) what assessment he has made of the likelihood of forced labour being used to construct the Burmese Government's development in Pyinmana; [27034]
(4) what assessment he has made of the implications of the decision by Burma's military junta to relocate to Pyinmana for the upholding of human rights in the region. [27035]
Ian Pearson: Diplomatic Missions in Rangoon were formally notified of the Burmese authorities' decision to relocate the seat of administration to Pyinmana on 7 November. The State Peace and Development Council claims that moving to a more central location will enable the government to carry out the development of the whole nation more effectively.
It is too early to assess the full impact of the move on human rights or on populations locally or in the ethnic areas. We are aware of reports of forced relocations of villages in the construction area. It appears that in most cases some compensation was paid for land that was requisitioned, although not at full market rate.
We are also aware of press reports of the use of forced labour during the construction. Forced labour has been used in the past for large scale infrastructure projects. Our position on forced labour is well known.
China
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the (a) occasions and (b) dates when he has raised human rights in (i) Tibet and (ii) China with members of the Chinese Government in each of the last three years. [26878]
Ian Pearson:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Human Rights Reports for 2004 and 2005 list ministerial engagements, including those of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, on human rights in China, including Tibet. The reports can be found at: www.fco.gov.uk/humanrightsreport2004 and http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/HumanRights2005.pdf. My right. hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and the Chinese Foreign Minister, Li Zhaoxing, also discussed Tibet-related issues at their meetings in New York on 19 September 2005 and in London on 8 November 2005.
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Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the meeting between the Chinese Government and representatives of the Dalai Lama in Berne on 1st July. [27066]
Ian Pearson: The European Union, under the UK Presidency, issued a statement welcoming the talks between the Chinese Government and the Dalai Lama's representatives which took place in Berne on 30 June to1 July. We hope the talks will bring about serious negotiations, without pre-conditions, which will lead to a peaceful, sustainable and legitimate solution for Tibet.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives the UK Government plans to take to advance the dialogue between the Chinese government and representatives of the Dalai Lama when China's President Hu Jintao visits the UK in November. [27067]
Ian Pearson: The Government's views on the Chinese role in Tibet and what needs to be done to improve the situation there is a matter of public record. We have encouraged the Chinese Government to enter into meaningful dialogue without pre-conditions with the Dalai Lama or his representatives in order to achieve a peaceful, sustainable and legitimate solution.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will develop a set of criteria that will allow him to evaluate the progress of formal contact between China and the Tibetan Government in exile. [27068]
Ian Pearson: We regularly ask both Chinese and Tibetan interlocutors about their engagement and contact. We are able to judge the progress or lack of it from the information received during such exchanges. We have no plans to develop further criteria by which to evaluate progress.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK Government have asked China (a) by what criteria it assesses the progress of formal contact with the Dalai Lama's representatives and (b) how China decides when future meetings between the two sides will take place. [27069]
Ian Pearson: The Government regularly urges China into meaningful dialogue without pre-conditions with the Dalai Lama or his representatives. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials did so most recently at a meeting with Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang on 25 October. We regularly inquire when the next round of talks will take place.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the current status is of the EU/China arms embargo; what the policy of the UK Government is on proposals to lift the embargo; and if he will make a statement. [27071]
Ian Pearson:
The European Union arms embargo on China has been under review since the decision by the European Council in December 2003 to launch a review. The December 2004 European Council set out Conclusions on the embargo and recalled these in June 2005. Pending any decision on lift, the Government continues to fully implement the embargo.
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