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Lord Braine of Wheatley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will publish in the Official Report a list of those countries who entered reservations to Chapter VII and VIII of the report of the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo because of their opposition to abortion.
Lord Chesham: The following countries entered reservations on text relating to abortion in Chapters VII and VIII of the Cairo Programme of Action:
- Argentina
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Holy See
- Honduras
- Libya
- Malta
- Nicaragua
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Yemen
International Planned Parenthood Federation
Lord Braine of Wheatley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will place in the Library a copy of the annual report of the International Planned Parenthood Federation for each of the last two years, together with any other publications showing its budget, activities and abortion-lobbying.
Lord Chesham: The following documents will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses:
- The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) 1994/95 Annual Report,
- IPPF's 1994/95 Annual Report Supplement,
- A booklet placing IPPF's strategic plan in the context of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development.
UN Population Fund
Lord Braine of Wheatley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will place in the Library a copy of the annual report of the United Nations Population Fund for each of the last two years, together with any other publications showing its budget and activities.
Lord Chesham: Copies of the following United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) documents will be placed in the libraries of both Houses.
(i) Population Policies and Programmes: Lessons learned from two decades of experience;
(ii) Gender, Population and Development: The role of the United Nations Population Fund;
(iii) Annual Reports 1993 and 1994;
(iv) Global Assistance Report 1993.
Treaties: "Ponsonby Rule"
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Answer by Baroness Chalker
of Wallasey on 28 November 1995 (HL Deb,
col. WA 38), whether in determining which treaties not requiring legislation are of sufficient importance that a debate on a Motion be held, they consider themselves bound by the statement made in 1924 by the then Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ponsonby, that "if there is a formal demand for discussion forwarded through the usual channels from the Opposition or any other party, time will be found
- for the discussion of the Treaty in question" (HC Deb, 1 April 1924, col. 2003).
Lord Chesham: The Government do not consider themselves bound by a statement made over 70 years ago by a member of an Administration of a different political persuasion. However, in responding to requests for debate, the Government have regard to a wide range of considerations and give due weight to representations made by the Opposition and others.
Sri Lanka: Galle Port Project
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have studied reports of alleged irregularities in the tender procedure for the $700 million Galle Port Project in Sri Lanka, and whether, if any United Kingdom or European aid is earmarked for this scheme, they will have it withheld pending satisfactory investigation of the detailed complaints made by Mr. Anura Bandaranaike MP.
Lord Chesham: We have studied the allegations of irregularities in the tender procedure for the Galle Port Project in Sri Lanka. No British or European Union aid is earmarked for this project.
Turkey: Distribution of EU Funds
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What regional distribution they anticipate for the proposed 375 million ecus of aid and the two billion ecus of loans from the European Union to Turkey, and whether they will argue for substantial allocations to the depopulated eastern provinces.
Lord Chesham: The European Commission and the European Investment Bank have yet to make proposals in respect of Turkey on how EC grant assistance and loans respectively will be allocated. We will consider the case for the eastern provinces, along with other parts of Turkey, when proposals are made.
Campbeltown/Ballycastle Ferry Service
The Earl of Mar and Kellie asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they are satisfied that an adequate level of marketing effort will be in place for the launch of the Campbeltown to Ballycastle ferry service in 1997.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Scottish Office (The Earl of Lindsay): The provision of the proposed ferry service between Campbeltown and Ballycastle is the responsibility of Argyll and the Islands Enterprise and Moyle District Council, who are the sponsors of this project.
Medical Tests: NHS Availability
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether caffeine clearance, debrisoquine, benzoate conversion, paracetamol conversion and mucodyne tests are available on the National Health Service.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege): If one of these tests is needed for the care and treatment of an individual patient, it could be carried out under the National Health Service. The tests in question are more generally performed as research procedures.
Alcohol: Recommended Consumption Limits
The Viscount of Falkland asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Which organisations they consulted before announcing an increase in the recommended consumption of alcohol.
Baroness Cumberlege: Interested persons and organisations were invited to submit written evidence to the inter departmental group reviewing the sensible drinking message by 31 October 1994.
Divorces
Lord Simon of Glaisdale asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many persons divorced in the respective years of 1970, 1980 and 1990 married within (a) one year or (b) five years.
The Lord Chancellor (Lord Mackay of Clashfern): This information is not available.
Divorced Parents: Children's Ages
Lord Simon of Glaisdale asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they can state, on average, how many children of parents divorced in any particular year are still under the age of 16 years by the end of the following year.
The Lord Chancellor: The information requested is not available. However, set out below the numbers of children aged between 0-4 years; 5-10 years and 11-15 years at the time that their parents petitioned for divorce, for each of the last five years. My noble and learned friend will appreciate that all those children in the first two groups will still be under 16 after a year, but that some of those in the third group will have reached their 16th birthday within that time.
| Age/year | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 |
| 0-4 | 50,495 | 52,738 | 54,510 | 55,451 | 50,210 |
| 5-10 | 64,069 | 68,074 | 70,954 | 75,189 | 70,935 |
| 11-16 | 38,313 | 39,872 | 42,784 | 45,321 | 43,689 |
| Total | 152,877 | 160,684 | 168,428 | 175,961 | 164,834 |
Libraries: Spending on Books
Earl Russell asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they accept the accuracy of the Book Price Index calculated for the National Book Committee by the Library and Information Statistics Unit at Loughborough University; whether they accept that in terms of that index spending on books in the London Borough of Brent has fallen by 71 per cent. in
10 years; and whether they believe cuts of that order are compatible with the authority's statutory duty to provide well-stocked libraries.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of National Heritage (Lord Inglewood): The Library and Information Statistics Unit provides valuable background information for everyone involved in public libraries. Decisions on how much to spend on books are made by library authorities in the light of local needs and available resources. In assessing whether or not an authority is fulfilling its statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient public library service, the Government would view book expenditure alongside expenditure on other aspects of the library service, and consider the effectiveness of the service as a whole.
Museums: Visitor Statistics
Lord Freyberg asked Her Majesty's Government:
- In which year compulsory entry charges and voluntary donations were introduced for the National Museum for Science and Industry; how many people visited the museum in the year before and the year after the introduction of any such charge or donation, and what percentage change this represents; and how many people visited the museum in 1993-94.
Lord Inglewood: The National Museum of Science and Industry consists of the Science Museum in London, the National Railway Museum in York, and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford.
Compulsory entry charges were introduced for the Science Museum in 1988 but the Museum offered--as it still does--free entry for all visitors after 4.30 p.m. and for pre-booked school parties at all times. There were 1.84 million visits to that museum in the financial year 1987-88 and 1.23 million in 1989-90. This represents a 33.2 per cent. reduction compared with 1987-88. There were 1.27 million visits to the museum in 1993-94.
Compulsory entry charges were introduced for the National Railway Museum in 1987 but the museum
offered--as it still does--free entry for pre-booked school parties for an annual fee for the school of £30. There were 945,000 visits to the museum in 1986-87 and 595,000 in 1988-89. This represents a 37.0 per cent. reduction compared with 1986-87. There were 479,000 visits to the museum in 1993-94.Entry to the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television remains free of charge.
The number of free admissions are estimates only and the data are therefore not directly comparable to the numbers of paid admissions.
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