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5 Jun 2008 : Column 1098W—continued
Indonesia: Politics and Government
Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Indonesian Government to encourage them to prevent violence directed at the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Indonesia. [207501]
Meg Munn: We are aware that the Indonesian Government are currently considering a recommendation from a governmental advisory body that a ban should be imposed on Ahmadiyya. Anti-Ahmadiyya demonstrations have taken place in different parts of Indonesia, and several mosques have been damaged.
Our ambassador in Jakarta raised UK concerns about the possible ban with the Indonesian authorities on 28 April 2008. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in London have also met representatives from the UK Ahmadiyya Association to hear their concerns. At the UN Human Rights Council examination of Indonesia under the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva on 9 April, the UK raised concerns about the treatment of the Ahmadiyya community. We are also discussing the issue with our EU partners.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and continue to raise the issue of respect for religious freedom with the Indonesian authorities.
Iran: Prisoners
David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Iran on the arrest on 14 May and the detention in Evin prison of Fabriba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afifi Naeimi, Saied Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakki and Vahid Tifzah, all of whom co-ordinate the activities of the Baha’i community in Iran; and if he will make a statement. [207490]
Dr. Howells: We are deeply concerned by the arrests of the informal Baha’i leadership in Tehran on 14 May and the ongoing persecution of the Baha’i community in Iran. We remain committed to pressing the Government of Iran to address their poor human rights record, including by protecting the right to religious freedom and ending the discrimination of the Baha’is in Iran. Following a recommendation by the UK, the EU issued a public declaration on 21 May which expressed
“serious concern about the continuing systematic discrimination and harassment of the Iranian Baha’is on the grounds of their religion”
and called for the release of the detained individuals. We will continue to raise this issue with the Iranian authorities.
David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Iran on the detention since 5 March of Mrs Mahuash Sabet, an Iranian Baha’i first held in Mashud and subsequently in Evin prison; and if he will make a statement. [207491]
Dr. Howells: We remain deeply concerned about the treatment of the Baha’i community in Iran and the recent arrests of the Baha’i leadership in particular. We have not specifically raised Mrs. Sabet’s detention with the Iranian authorities, but we regularly raise our concerns about the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran with the Iranian authorities bilaterally and through the EU. I raised UK concerns about the treatment of the Baha’is in a meeting with the Iranian ambassador on 1 April, and the EU has raised concerns at least four times this year in meetings with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and through public declarations. Most recently, on 21 May, the EU issued a public statement urging Iran to respect religious freedoms, end the persecution of the Baha’is and release the detained Baha’i leaders. We will make representations for the Baha’is situation, including Mrs. Sabet’s case, to be included in the next EU human rights démarche.
Middle East: Peace Negotiations
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the performance of the right hon. Tony Blair in his capacity as middle east peace envoy against his objectives; and if he will make a statement. [208924]
Dr. Howells: The right hon. Tony Blair is making a valuable contribution to the peace process. Despite the difficulties, the Quartet, and Mr. Blair as its representative, play a significant role in supporting the Annapolis process.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanism exists to (a) brief the right hon. Tony Blair and (b) receive reports from the right hon. Tony Blair in respect of his activities as Middle East peace envoy; and on how many occasions each has occurred to date. [208925]
Dr. Howells: The right hon. Tony Blair reports to the Quartet on and when required by it. There is no formal mechanism or requirement for him to report to or be briefed by the Government, but we stay in close touch with him and his team.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been allocated to the right hon. Tony Blair's activities as middle east peace envoy; on what date this funding was agreed; what further expenditure is anticipated; and over what period. [208926]
Dr. Howells: The UK has provided £400,000 to a UN Development Programme Trust Fund which gives support to the Quartet representative. These funds were allocated in September 2007. In addition, the Government have seconded four staff to his team for whom the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development continue to fund salaries and allowances. No decision has been made on future UK contribution.
Treaty of Lisbon
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on posts and institutions created by the Treaty of Lisbon; and if he will make a statement. [206817]
Mr. Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has regular contact with all our EU partners and with the EU institutions on a variety of issues.
As set out in my letters of 22 April to the chairs of the Commons European Scrutiny Committee and the Lords EU Select Committee, technical-level discussions to prepare for implementation have begun. While it is only sensible to ensure that the EU is ready to implement the treaty—if all countries have ratified it—we have made it clear to, and agreed with, our EU partners that no final decisions can be taken until ratification is confirmed.
Whales
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps UK embassies have been taking to encourage (a) foreign Governments to join the International Whaling Commission to support the international moratorium on commercial whaling and (b) existing International Whaling Commission members to support the international moratorium on commercial whaling; and if he will make a statement. [207252]
Meg Munn:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has instructed our embassies and high commissions to lobby certain Governments to join the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in support of the moratorium
on commercial whaling and to encourage attendance at the annual IWC meeting. A key component of the lobbying campaign is the updated publication by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, “Protecting Whales—a global responsibility”, which was delivered to Governments with a covering letter from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Since last year’s IWC meeting, Uruguay and Romania have joined the IWC as anti-whaling countries and Nicaragua has regained its voting rights.
Our embassies and high commissions have also been instructed to lobby certain existing IWC members with a view to maximising support for the moratorium at the Plenary Session of the Annual Meeting of the IWC, which will be held in Santiago between 23 and 27 June 2008.
Health
Abortions
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women in England and Wales had had (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five, (f) six, (g) seven and (h) eight or more abortions at the most recent date for which figures are available. [207026]
Dawn Primarolo: The available information is shown in the following table, which is from the “Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2006”. Copies of this publication have been placed in the Library.
| Legal abortions: number of previous abortions by age( 1) , 2006: England and Wales, residents | |||||
| Number of previous abortions | Total | Under 18 | 18-24 | 25-29 | 30+ |
| (1 )Age not stated have been distributed pro-rata across age group 20-24. (2 )Values are suppressed where totals are less than 10 (0-9) or where a presented total would reveal the suppressed value. | |||||
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much (a) direct Government and (b) Lottery funding was allocated to (i) awareness programmes and (ii) rehabilitation services for (A) alcohol addiction and (B) addiction to illegal drugs in each year since 1997. [200457]
Dawn Primarolo: We have financial information on direct Government alcohol expenditure from 2002-03. Figures for previous years were held on a financial system, which is no longer accessible.
| Alcohol awareness raising | ||
| £ million | ||
| Department of Health | Home Office | |
| (1) Planned | ||
No direct Government funding was allocated to rehabilitation services for alcohol addiction. National health service primary care trusts and local social services authorities are responsible for commissioning these services.
With regard to illegal drugs the FRANK information campaign was launched in May 2003 and provides young people and their families with advice and information about illegal drugs.
This campaign is jointly funded by the Department of Health, the Home Office, and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The total joint annual funding for the FRANK campaign are shown in the following table.
| Funding (£ million) | |
Prior to the FRANK campaign the former Health Education Authority ran the National Drugs Helpline from 1996 to 2002. Funding figures for these years are not available.
There was no direct Government funding for rehabilitation services prior to 2001-02. Health authorities were expected to fund drug treatment services, including rehabilitation services, from their existing budgets.
Since 2001-02, the Department of Health and the Home Office have provided specific resources for drug treatment in the form of the pooled drug treatment budget (PTB). There are no separate allocations for rehabilitation services.
The PTB is allocated to the 149 drug action teams across the country to use, along with local mainstream funding, to provide treatment and services according to specific local needs. The following table gives details of the PTB since 2001-02.
| PTB (£ million) | |
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