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Written Answers
Monday, 18th January 1999.
Sudan: Refugees
Lord McNair asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What are the latest estimates of the number of non-Sudanese refugees presently in the Sudan; whether Her Majesty's Government provides, or has provided humanitarian assistance in relation to these refugees; and what the nature of any such assistance has been.[HL483]
Baroness Amos: The most recent estimates of the number of non-Sudanese who are refugees in Sudan is as follows:
Her Majesty's Government have provided humanitarian assistance to refugees in Sudan, mainly through NGOs, with projects in education, community development and health. The following table gives a breakdown:
| NGO | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 |
| Christian Outreach-- Community Development | 30,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Christian Outreach-- Shagarab Health Project | 120,000 | 35,000 | 0 |
| International Extension College--Distance Learning | 100,000 | 0 | 100,000 |
| Ockenden Venture-- Community Development | 86,760 | 90,000 | 0 |
| Ockenden Venture-- Primary Education | 0 | 62,290 | 0 |
| Ockenden Venture-- Community Assistance | 50,000 | 92,000 | 56,797 |
| You and Me Medical Project | 34,000 | 20,000 | 14,000 |
| Totals | 420,760 | 329,290 | 200,797 |
In addition Her Majesty's Government are a major contributor to the UNHCR, whose mandate is to protect refugees and find durable solutions to their problems. UK contributions over the past three years are as follows:
| 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 |
| 18.6 | 7.8 | 16.1 |
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Hayman): The Government will submit their second report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child of their progress in implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in March 1999. The Government intend to publish the report in April 1999 and to make it widely available.
Lord Acton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Hayman: The final 10 places are expected to be available for use later this month. The Government announced on 22 July 1998 at col. WA 112 how they intend to proceed on the future provision of juvenile secure accommodation, including local authority secure units. This includes the proposed extension of the role of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, established on 30 September 1998 under the Crime and Disorder Act, to include
the commissioning and purchasing of secure accommodation for young offenders and for children and young people held on remand. This will help to ensure that children and young people in custody are held in facilities appropriate to their needs. The Government will set out further details of this proposal when these are finalised.
Lord Acton asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence
(Lord Gilbert): Professor Donald Davies has agreed to take on the role of chairman of the Independent Panel overseeing the MoD Interactions research programme. This programme is designed to investigate the possible adverse health effects of the combination of vaccines and tablets which were given to UK troops
Professor Davies is the Director of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology (Division of Medicine) at Imperial College School of Medicine and the Director of the Department of Health Toxicology Unit, located at the same site. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal College of Pathologists, and an honorary member of the Royal College of Physicians.
Professor Davies is presently a member of the Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, and the National Biological Standards Board; he also sits on the expert Panel which advises the European Medicines Evaluation Agency, and was a member of the Committee on Safety of Medicines until December 1998.
We expect that the next meeting of the Independent Panel, the first at which Professor Davies will act as Chairman, will be held shortly.
Lord Sefton of Garston asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty): It has been a requirement for many years that all motorway service areas (MSAs) should provide, free of charge, both toilets and a picnic area. They must also provide free parking for up to two hours, though operators have a long-standing right to charge for longer stays. Enforcement does not depend on government ownership of MSA freeholds and we have no plans to alter the existing requirements either in conjunction with the sale of freeholds or for any other reason.
The Earl of Mar and Kellie asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Whitty: A vehicle excise licence is required under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 whenever a mechanically propelled vehicle which is not an exempt vehicle is used on a public road. A "public
Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 insurance is required when a motor vehicle is used on a road. A "road" for this purpose in England and Wales means a highway (including a public footpath or bridleway) or other road to which the public has access. In Scotland, a "road" means any way over which there is a
public right of passage and any other way to which the public has access.
The application of the law to individual cases depends on the particular circumstances.
Lord Lamont of Lerwick asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn): No. The only visit ever made to Chile by the Home Secretary was in July/August 1966. He was a student at the time and the visit, which was organised by the Fund for International Student Co-operation, was intended to help foster relations between British and Chilean students. The Home Secretary helped with the building work for a youth centre near Valparaiso.
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics, who has been asked to reply.
Letter to Lord Stoddart of Swindon from the Director of the Office for National Statistics, Dr. T. Holt, dated 18 January 1999.
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question asking how many deaths there have been from breast cancer and prostate cancer over the past five years.
The data requested are shown in the table below.
Note:
* Data for 1997 are provisional.
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Latest figures showing the geographical breakdown of the current account of the balance of payments relate to 1997 and were published by the Office for National Statistics in an article in the December 1998 edition of Economic Trends. These show that the value of exports of goods and services to the European Union (EU) accounted for 14.4 per cent. of UK gross domestic product (GDP) in 1997. The balance of trade in goods and services with EU countries was in deficit by £5.4 billion in this period. The value of exports of goods and services to the rest of the world accounted for 14.1 per cent. of UK GDP in 1997. The balance of trade in goods and services with the rest of the world was in surplus by £4.8 billion in this period.
The Government's policy is one of constructive engagement with Europe. Rather than standing on the sidelines unable to influence the course of the European debate, the Government will be engaged and constructive in setting out its ideas for Europe's future.
When they will submit to the United Nations
the Second Report of the United Kingdom under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; and whether it will be made public.[HL427]
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jay of Paddington on 20 November 1997 (WA 93), whether the final 10 of the 170 new places under the Secure Accommodation Development Programme have been completed; and whether they now contemplate a further Secure Accommodation Development Programme.[HL435]
When they plan to appoint the next Chairman of the Independent Panel which oversees the MoD Interactions research programme into Gulf veterans' illnesses?[HL564]
Whether they still adhere to the principle that no charges should be made when motorists use motorway service areas either to picnic or to use toilets, as promised at the time of the disposal of service areas: and whether they will take steps to ensure that no restrictions will be placed on motorists using such parking areas.[HL434]
Whether a motor cyclist riding on a public footpath with the landowner's consent requires a vehicle licence and insurance.[HL420]
Whether the present Home Secretary visited Chile during the Presidency of either Salvador Allende or Augusto Pinochet; and, if so, whether they will give details. [HL461]
How many deaths there have been from breast cancer and prostate cancer over the past five years.[HL416]
Year of Occurrence Cancer of female breast Cancer of prostate
1993 14,639 9,533
1994 14,443 9,640
1995 14,114 9,858
1996 13,678 9,696
1997* 13,399 9,439
Further to the reply given by the Leader of the House on 14 December (H.L. Deb., col. 1138):
18 Jan 1999 : Column WA90
(a) what proportion of the United Kingdom's gross domestic product goes in export to the European Union and whether the trade balance is in favour of the United Kingdom or the European Union;
(b) what proportion of the United Kingdom's gross domestic product goes in export to the rest of the world and whether the trade balance is in favour of the United Kingdom or the rest of the world; and
(c) why it would be "profoundly damaging" for the United Kingdom to stay in the European Common Market but to leave the rest of the Treaty of Rome.[HL397]
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