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27 Jan 2009 : Column 391W—continued
Mustafa Abdel Dayem
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the trial of the Saharawi Mustafa Abdel Dayem in Morocco; and if he will make a statement. [249352]
Bill Rammell:
The Government are aware of the trial of Mustafa Abdel Dayem, which was discussed during a European Union meeting in Rabat on 16 January. The trial will be discussed again at the European Union
Heads of Mission meeting in Rabat on 28 January 2009. We will continue to monitor developments alongside our European Union colleagues.
People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment the Government has made of the implications of the judgement of the European Court of First Instance annulling the proscription by the EU of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran; if he will make it his policy to vote against the continued inclusion of the group on the EU list of proscribed groups at the next relevant meeting of the Council of Ministers; and if he will make a statement. [248860]
Bill Rammell: We have made clear that we believe the Council of Ministers should respect the judgment of the Court of First Instance annulling the listing of the People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran when conducting its current review of the EU list of terrorist organisations.
We expect a decision on a new list by the end of January 2009.
Somalia: Politics and Government
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Somalia; and if he will make a statement. [250457]
Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 January 2009, Official Report, columns 126/7.
Sri Lanka
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Sri Lankan counterpart on the humanitarian and security situation in northern Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement. [250411]
Bill Rammell: [holding answer 22 January 2009]: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister raised these issues with President Rajapakse when they last met in September 2008. The Prime Minister also wrote to President Rajapakse in January 2009. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary set out the UK's position on Sri Lanka in a written ministerial statement on 21 January 2009, Official Report, columns 30-31WS.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent assessment is of the security and humanitarian situation in northern Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement. [250412]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 22 January 2009]: I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary’s written ministerial statement on Sri Lanka, 21 January 2009, Official Report, columns 30-31WS.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Sri Lankan Government following the killing of the chief editor of the Sunday Leader on 8 January 2009. [250413]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 22 January 2009]: We welcome the stated commitment of the Sri Lankan Government to investigate the killing of The Sunday Leader’s chief editor on 8 January 2009. The UK has been clear that it is vital for the perpetrators of such reprehensible acts to be brought to justice following a thorough and independent investigation. Our high commission officials in Colombo have emphasised this to President Rajapakse.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the (a) UN, (b) EU and (c) Commonwealth to encourage the establishment of a ceasefire in northern Sri Lanka. [250414]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 22 January 2009]: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are in regular contact with the EU, Commonwealth and UN about the situation in Sri Lanka. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made clear that the UK wants to see an end to the conflict.
Sri Lanka: Armed Conflict
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Sri Lanka to call a ceasefire in its operations against Tamil forces in the north and east of the country. [249090]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 20 January 2009]: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made clear that we must see an end to the conflict and a new drive for a lasting political solution. He wrote to President Rajapakse in January to express our concerns. We continue to engage with all political parties across all communities in Sri Lanka to support progress in this direction. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary set out the UK's position on Sri Lanka in a written ministerial statement on 21 January 2009, Official Report, columns 30-31WS.
Western Sahara
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 381W, on the Western Sahara, if he will make representations on Morocco's continued occupation of Western Sahara to the Moroccan Ambassador to the UK. [249643]
Bill Rammell: The Government continue to engage in regular discussions with all the parties to the western Sahara dispute, including Morocco.
We continue to urge the parties to make progress towards a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution providing for the self-determination of the
people of western Sahara, negotiated under the auspices of the UN. We therefore welcome the recent appointment of Christopher Ross as the UN Secretary-General's new personal envoy to western Sahara and hope his appointment will lead to renewed engagement by all the parties.
Western Sahara: Exports
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) reports and (b) representations he has received on the purchase of goods from occupied Western Sahara by UK companies, with particular reference to the legality of such purchases. [248471]
Bill Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not received any reports or representations from UK companies regarding the purchase of goods from Western Sahara or the legalities of such purchases.
Zimbabwe: Politics and Government
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk of 14 January 2009, Official Report, column 866W, what recent discussions have been held (a) at the United Nations and (b) in the EU on direct intervention in Zimbabwe to secure the removal of Robert Mugabe and his regime. [250857]
Gillian Merron: We have not had discussions with any international organisations on direct intervention in Zimbabwe to remove Robert Mugabe from power. Those working for change and reform in Zimbabwe are not calling for military intervention. Their, and our, focus is foremost on the humanitarian situation and doing what can be done to alleviate suffering. We do, however, regularly discuss with the UN and EU non-military options for encouraging a resolution to the crisis. On 26 January 2009, my right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary, met EU Foreign Ministers to discuss the extension of EU targeted sanctions.
Health
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many alcohol-related emergency admissions to hospitals of (a) men and (b) women there have been in the London borough of Hillingdon in each year since 1997, broken down by age of patient. [250780]
Dawn Primarolo: These data are collected and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care. The following table shows the number of alcohol-related finished emergency admissions for residents of the London borough of Hillingdon for the years 2002-03 to 2006-07 has been placed in the Library. Data for earlier years are not available. 2006-07 is the latest year for which data are available.
| Number of alcohol-related finished emergency admissions for residents of Hillingdon | |||||||||||||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |||||||||||
| Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | Males | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | |
| Notes: 1. Includes activity in English national health service (NHS) hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. 2. Small numbers: To protect patient confidentiality, figures between one and five have been suppressed and replaced with "*" (an asterisk). Where it was possible to identify numbers from the total due to a single suppressed number in a row or column, an additional number (the next smallest) has been suppressed. 3. Alcohol-related admissions: The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO). Following international best practice, the NWPHO methodology includes a wide range of diseases and injuries in which alcohol plays a part and estimates the proportion of cases that are attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Details of the conditions and associated proportions can be found in the report Jones et al. (2008) ‘Alcohol-attributable fractions for England: Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions’. 4. Figures for under 16s only include admissions where one or more alcohol-specific conditions were listed. This is because the research on which the attributable fractions are based does not cover under 16s. Alcohol-specific conditions are those that are wholly attributed to alcohol - that is, those with an attributable fraction of one. They are: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (142.6) Alcoholic gastritis (K29.2) Alcoholic myopathy (G72.1) Alcoholic polyneuropathy (G62.1) Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome (E24.4) Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol (G31.2) Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10) Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (X45) Ethanol poisoning (T51.0) Methanol poisoning (T51.1) Toxic effect of alcohol, unspecified (T51.9) 5. Number of episodes in which the patient had an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosis: These figures represent the number of episodes where an alcohol-related diagnosis was recorded in any of the 14 (7 prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-related diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record. 6. Finished admission episodes: A finished admission episode is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 7. Emergency admissions: Includes all types of emergency admission (Method of admission codes 21-28). 8. Primary diagnosis: The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. 9. Secondary diagnoses: As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care. 10. Data Quality: HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: HES, The NHS Information Centre for health and social care | |||||||||||||||
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