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22 May 2006 : Column 1423W—continued
North Korea
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if she will make it her policy to encourage other EU member states to raise concerns about the situation of Mr. Son Jung Nam in an EU demarche to the Government of North Korea; [71155]
(2) what representations she has made to the Government of North Korea concerning the treatment of Mr. Son Jung Nam; [71156]
(3) what representations she has made to the Government of North Korea (a) to refrain from executing Mr. Son Jung Nam and (b) to call for his release. [71157]
Mr. McCartney: The EU presidency has formally raised concerns with the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (DPRK) authorities about Son Jung Nam’s circumstances and fate, as have individual member states including the UK.
We, along with other EU partners, have asked the DPRK authorities to provide further information on Son Jung Nam's circumstances and fate but they have not done so.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have raised Son Jung Nam's case with the North Korean authorities. We set out our well-known opposition to the use of the death penalty and urged the DPRK not to apply it if it was in question in his case. We are deeply concerned about reports of serious human rights violations in the DPRK, but the lack of access for independent monitors makes it difficult to verify these reports.
Palestinian Authority
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to secure the release of taxes owed to the Palestinian Authority which are held by Israel. [71947]
Dr. Howells: We, along with our EU partners, continue to call upon Israel to transfer the customs revenue that they currently collect on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. At the 15 May General Affairs and External Relations Council, the EU urged Israel to transfer this revenue. In addition to this, the UK is leading EU efforts to set up a temporary international mechanism to ensure that assistance can be delivered directly to the Palestinian people.
Public Consultations
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many public consultations her Department undertook in the last year; and what the cost was (a) in total and (b) of each consultation. [70534]
Margaret Beckett: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office undertook three public consultations in 2005-06, at a total cost of £38,510.
The cost of each consultation was as follows:
| Cost (£) | |
Small Change Big Difference
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps her Department and its agencies have taken following the launch of the Government’s Small Change Big Difference Campaign. [72014]
Margaret Beckett: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not taken specific steps as a direct result of the launch of the Small Change Big Difference campaign, but our existing occupational health service and health promotion practice very much reflect the campaign’s advice.
Strategic Export Controls
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the evidence from the Minister for the Middle-East in her Department to the Quadripartite Committee on 3 May, HC 873-vi, on strategic export controls, what steps are being taken by the Government to investigate reports of an illicit diversion of UK-exported Beretta weapons intended for legitimate use in Iraq. [71452]
Dr. Howells: The hon. Member's question refers to my evidence session before the Quadripartite Committee on 25 April 2006.
Security conditions in Iraq make it very difficult to investigate all such allegations of diversion or theft of British exports of military listed equipment. Our embassy in Baghdad has investigated these reports as far as they have been able to and have found no firm evidence to support them.
Despite the anecdotal nature of such allegations of diversion, officials do take them into account when assessing export licence applications. Whenever appropriate, we take advice from our embassy in Baghdad on the risks of diversion.
Syria
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of Syrian compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1559; and if she will make a statement. [73069]
Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has taken note of the latest report on implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 by the UN Secretary-General. This report concluded that a number of operational requirements derived from the resolution had been met, including the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon and the conduct of free and fair legislative elections in Lebanon.
However, the Secretary-General also noted that other requirements of the resolution remained to be implemented, particularly the disarming and disbanding of the Lebanese and non-Lebanese militia; the extension of Government control throughout all Lebanon; and the full restoration and strict respect for the sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and political independence of Lebanon, most notably through the establishment of normal diplomatic relations and the demarcation of borders between Syria and Lebanon.
In response to the Secretary-General’s report, on17 May, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1680, co-drafted by the UK, calling on the Syrian Government to agree to delineate their common border with Lebanon and to establish full diplomatic relations and representation in Lebanon, noting that such measures would constitute a significant step towards asserting Lebanon's sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence, and improving relations between the two countries.
Turkey (EU Accession)
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on progress with Turkey's application for accession to the EU. [71700]
Mr. Hoon: Since the opening of accession negotiations on 3 October 2005, the Commission has been carrying out the screening process, measuring Turkey's legislation against the 35 chapters of the EU “acquis”. The Commission has completed screening on 17 chapters and published screening reports for Science and Research, Education and Culture, Public Procurement and Competition. After the screening of a chapter is complete, member states decide whether to set opening benchmarks, the specific requirements the candidate country must meet before the chapter can be opened. We expect the first chapter to be opened during the Austrian presidency.
Venezuela
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether the visit of the President of Venezuela to the United Kingdom will be a State Visit; [69912]
(2) which Ministers and officials will be meeting President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela during his visit to the United Kingdom on 15 to 16 May. [69918]
Mr. Hoon: President Chavez of Venezuela made a private visit to the UK between 14-16 May. It was not a State Visit. There were never plans for meetings with
Government Ministers or officials. The Venezuelan Government did not request any official meetings with the Government. A representative of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office met President Chavez on arrival in the UK.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Ministers will be meeting the President of Venezuela (a) publicly and (b) privately during his forthcoming visit tothe UK. [70868]
Mr. Hoon: There were never plans for meetings with Government Ministers, either publicly or privately, during this recent visit. President Chavez made a private visit to the UK and did not request any meetings with the Government.
Western Sahara
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had at the United Nations on the holding of a referendum on the future Government of Western Sahara. [72978]
Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed the issue of Western Sahara in the UN.
The UK supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to Western Sahara, Peter van Walsum, to find a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution to the Western Sahara dispute, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. On 28 April 2006, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted UN Security Council Resolution 1675 which renewed the mandate for the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara until 31 October 2006. The UK supported this, and UK officials at the UN played an active role in the Security Council's consideration of this issue. There are, however, no plans for a UN referendum to be held in the near future.
Treasury
Cancer
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people under the age of 18 years in (a) England and (b) Shropshire were diagnosed with leukaemia in (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005. [72138]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 22 May 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people under the age of 18 years in (a) England and (b) Shropshire were diagnosed with leukaemia in (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005. I am replying in her absence. (72138)
The most recent available figures for newly diagnosed cases of leukaemia registered in England are the year 2003. Figures for people under the age of 18 years at diagnosis for the years 2002 and 2003 are given in the table below.
| Number of newly diagnosed cases of leukaemia( 1) for people under the age of 18 years at diagnosis, registered in England and the county of Shropshire, 2002-03 | ||
| England | County of Shropshire | |
| (1) Figures selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD10) C91-C95. |
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in (a) England and (b) Shropshire were diagnosed with (i) leukaemia, (ii) breast cancer and (iii) prostate cancer in (A) 2004 and (B) 2005. [72140]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 22 May 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people in (a) England and (b) Shropshire were diagnosed with (i) leukaemia, (ii) breast cancer and (iii) prostate cancer in (A) 2004 and (B) 2005. I am replying in her absence. (72140)
The most recent available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer registered in England are the year 2003. Figures by selected cancers for the years 2002 and 2003 are given in the table below.
| Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of selected cancers( 1) , registered in England and the county of Shropshire: 2002-03 | ||
| England | County of Shropshire | |
| (1) Figures selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD10), all leukaemias coded as C91-C95, breast cancer as C50 and prostate cancer as C61. (2 )Figures provided here are for female breast cancer. However, there are around 300 cases of male breast cancer diagnosed each year. |
Children's Trust Funds
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list the (a) banks and (b) building societies which do not apply an administration charge to individual child trust funds; and if he will make a statement; [71921]
(2) what recent discussions he has held with (a) banks and (b) building societies on administration charges on individual child trust funds; and if he will make a statement. [71922]
Ed Balls: All providers of child trust fund accounts, including banks and building societies, take administration charges into account when setting the rate of return they offer.
For the stakeholder child trust fund product only, these charges are capped at 1.5 per cent. a year. The stakeholder charge cap was subject to consultation prior to the launch of child trust fund and the Government continue to monitor that this cap is adhered to. The Government keep the operation of the child trust fund under review and, as a matter of course, meet regularly with providers and distributors.
Coins
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the UK coins that cost more to mint than their face value; and if he will make a statement. [72357]
John Healey: None of the coins currently being issued for circulation cost more than their face value.
Correspondence
Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letters of 20 April and 27 April from the hon. Member for Northavon, regarding a constituent, Mrs. Hughes. [72763]
Dawn Primarolo: I have done so.
Departmental Estate
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) land and (b) property his Department (i) leases and (ii) leased in (A) the Southend, West constituency, (B) Essex, (C) Hertfordshire and (D) the Metropolitan Police area of London in (1) 1979,(2) 1983, (3) 1987, (4) 1992 and (5) 1997. [72482]
John Healey: In 1997 the Treasury held a lease on a property in Allington Street, London SW1.
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